5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

[tonybologna]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Cards pitcher Jordan Hicks hits 105 MPH on the radar gun: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...05-mph-pitches

[Blzer]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Cards pitcher Jordan Hicks hits 105 MPH on the radar gun: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...05-mph-pitches

If that's a Statcast value, then I don't trust it anymore.

Holy hell does that ball move, though! If only he knew where it was going...

[Jr.]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

So, then, looking at this rationally they're valuing getting those righties out in the first inning moreso than maybe the 6th or 7th inning when Romo would come on to face them normally. Whether it's Romo then a "starter" or a "starter" then Romo, they're presumably facing those batters the same number of times? Maybe they believe that giving the starting pitcher a "cleaner" start with less platoon disadvantages early will allow the pitcher settle into a rhythm and have a better/longer "start"?

Yeah I guess you're looking at the value of "We can for sure set it up to have our best R on R pitcher face these guys in a row in a 0-0 game" vs. "Maybe we get a shot late in the game to use our best R on R guy against these guys"

It's an interesting idea

[Blzer]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Yeah I guess you're looking at the value of "We can for sure set it up to have our best R on R pitcher face these guys in a row in a 0-0 game" vs. "Maybe we get a shot late in the game to use our best R on R guy against these guys"

It's an interesting idea

Brings the discussion back to when a closer should actually be used in a game. You have the 3-4-5 hitters coming up in the eighth inning that are all righties, and your 6-7-8 hitters are all lefties potentially due up for the ninth inning. You have a righty closer and a lefty specialist. So throw and ol' setup man for the eighth and have your closer go the ninth for that heralded save statistic? Sounds stupid to me, but that's how most managers would play that.

I forget which team it was, but somebody put their closer in like the fifth or sixth inning because it was a dire situation right then and there. I don't know if it was the Reds, but if not I think it was a team that played the Reds.

[bcruise]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

If that's a Statcast value, then I don't trust it anymore.

Holy hell does that ball move, though! If only he knew where it was going...

He was throwing 99-100 for most of the rest of his outing, then it spiked up to 104-105 (and he had absolutely no control of that pitch) for the Herrerra AB. Announcers were calling out the gun readings and they were getting those from the Busch Stadium scoreboards (could tell because the players and crowd were reacting as well). IIRC you have MLB.TV, so you can probably check too.

It actually seems legit because of that variance, as crazy as that sounds. If it was a fast gun, it was an extremely selective one.

[Blzer]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

He was throwing 99-100 for most of the rest of his outing, then it spiked up to 104-105 (and he had absolutely no control of that pitch) for the Herrerra AB. Announcers were calling out the gun readings and they were getting those from the Busch Stadium scoreboards (could tell because the players and crowd were reacting as well). IIRC you have MLB.TV, so you can probably check too.

It actually seems legit because of that variance, as crazy as that sounds. If it was a fast gun, it was an extremely selective one.

I was joking about the Statcast thing because of the Trout home run (and a Bryant and Mazara blast of old). I trust those were the actual speeds. Looked damn unhittable, uncatchable, and mostly unlocatable lol.

[Mabster]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Any explanation for the Sergio Romo strategy? I haven't really thought about it, but I'm not sure what Tampa is trying to gain from it.

I surmised a few strategical advantages, but nothing officially mentioned from TB themselves.

It looks like they didn't have a starter enter at all today.

From the TB Times:

So on Saturday night against the Angels, look for veteran right-handed reliever Sergio Romo to start and work the first inning, and maybe into the second, with rookie lefty Ryan Yarbrough eventually coming in to handle the bulk of the innings.

The thinking is that Romo's combination of slow, sweeping breaking balls will stymie the six or so aggressive right-handers at the top of the Angels order.

And that that in theory would allow Yarbrough to come in against the bottom third of the order and work deeper into the game without facing the likes of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Justin Upton for an onerous third time.

"The way that their lineup stacks generally speaking is very heavy right-handed at the top," manager Kevin Cash said when asked about the plan after Thursday's game.

"It allows us in theory to let Sergio to come in there and play the matchup game in the first, which is somewhat unheard of – up until Saturday anyway.

"Then Yarbs can, in theory, have the availability to get deeper in the game. There's no more secret about the third time through the order, everybody knows that. And that's kind of what this is about."

[Sportsforever]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

From the TB Times:

So on Saturday night against the Angels, look for veteran right-handed reliever Sergio Romo to start and work the first inning, and maybe into the second, with rookie lefty Ryan Yarbrough eventually coming in to handle the bulk of the innings.

The thinking is that Romo's combination of slow, sweeping breaking balls will stymie the six or so aggressive right-handers at the top of the Angels order.

And that that in theory would allow Yarbrough to come in against the bottom third of the order and work deeper into the game without facing the likes of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Justin Upton for an onerous third time.

"The way that their lineup stacks generally speaking is very heavy right-handed at the top," manager Kevin Cash said when asked about the plan after Thursday's game.

"It allows us in theory to let Sergio to come in there and play the matchup game in the first, which is somewhat unheard of – up until Saturday anyway.

"Then Yarbs can, in theory, have the availability to get deeper in the game. There's no more secret about the third time through the order, everybody knows that. And that's kind of what this is about."

The other aspect of this is that Romo handles RHB, but gets hammered by LHB. You use him in a key spot in the 7th/8th inning against a RHB and the opposing manager can call on a pinch LHB. By using him in this manner you take that away because no way a manager pinch hits in the first inning or two.

[Watson]

5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

So I picked a hell of series to make my first ever Braves games. I got to see a dominant pitching performance (unfortunately for the wrong team), a blowout for my Braves and a six-run comeback to cap it on my birthday.



Sun Trust Park exceeded literally every one of my expectations, and Minute Maid set that bar pretty high. It helped that I had people inside the organization and a certain field reporter there to take care of me and ensure I had the best experience. The Battery is so nice, I had my issues when it was announced but it works so well. Doesn't have the same feel as a downtown area but it does feel like a natural extension of the ballpark.

[Jr.]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Weird that the statue of Hank would be one of him hitting it off the label

[daflyboys]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Pivetta surely improved on his 1.13 WHIP tonight and really showed no fear to the division leaders who had had the Phils number this year thus far. He is starting to show that he is the real thing, but as they say there is a lot of baseball yet to play.

It is good to see the old division rivals going at it again this "late" into the season. Now if Velasquez can stay out of his own head, he can take over the team strike out record and keep this early race tight. Very fun.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Certain field reporter?! Kelsey?!

[Watson]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Certain field reporter?! Kelsey?!

Geaux Tigers


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[SPTO]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Looks like Sun Trust Park is one of those stadiums that look better in person than it does on TV. That looks pretty neat

[KSUowls]

Re: 5/7 - 5/20 Game Discussion Thread

Yeah Suntrust is a beautiful park both inside and out. The area around it may not quite have the feel of a downtown area, but it's pretty close. It feels like it's own little city (legally it kind of is actually).