David - there are a couple of old adages in baseball that I've always questioned. One is that bringing the infield in automatically adds 100 points to the hitter's BA. Do you know of any empirical data on that? Does it affect righty hitters and lefties differently? Has it changed recently now that everybody's trying to launch the ball into the air anyway?
It can't be that simple. It strikes me as one of those things that people say because they heard somebody else say it and because it has a certain intuitive plausibility to it whether it's accurate or not.
I think the same is probably true of the other adage: the one about how much easier it is to steal a base on a curveball than a fastball "because the ball takes so much longer to get to home plate." The difference in "travel time" between an 80mph curve and a 95mph fastball can't be that great. It's probably well below the limits of human perception - without doing the math I'm guessing that the difference is around 1/30th of a second. MLB hitters can certainly react to those kinds of velocity changes. But that doesn't mean that anyone can actually perceive 1/30th of a second.
If it really is easier to steal on a curveball it's probably because those pitches are harder for catchers to catch cleanly than fastballs are. Plus the knowledge that a curveball is coming perhaps makes some catchers rush their throws, rendering them inaccurate. Besides that, successful base stealing generally depends more on things that happen before the pitcher releases the ball rather than after. Even the catcher's POP time is usually less important than the base stealer's timing and the quality of the jump that he gets.
If this strikes anyone as a little off-topic, blame Hud. He was throwing those adages around with reckless abandon on Sunday.
I guess I'll take this one thing at a time. I don't know if the number is 100 points or 120 or 80, but it definitely adds a lot, specifically if the outfield remains at regular depth. Think about it. There's a ton of extra room for a bloop to fall in, so that's part of it, but the infielders are also, on average about 25 feet closer. Now imagine a 102 MPH ground ball that you have to get to 25 feet closer. It eats up a lot of infielders. Their range is compromised as well, which is just simple geometry. There might be studies done, but the infield in 100% makes it much easier on the hitter. I don't know how much that's changed with so much swing and miss in the game, but there's definitely a boost.
I don't know what Hud said because I was at the game, but he's also right about a curve vs. a fastball. It's less about the velocity and more about the trajectory of a pitch. Typically a fastball will put the catcher in a better position to make a throw than a curve will. A hanging curve may not, but we're talking about the average curve. That said, you're also right that the catcher has less to do with stolen bases than the pitcher. But a curve is absolutely easier to steal on than a fastball.
Send down Coleman. He is a mess right now. Call it whatever you want…..but it is time. Set the tone coaching staff! Let’s see what Stamount or Josh Taylor has this early.
Glad they won. I keep waiting for a game to say the bullpen was the difference that game..but they keep giving up runs. Lol.
I'm still not sure what to make of MJ. In the batter's box he shows a whole lot of movement before he swings which means a whole lot of things can go wrong. He needs to simplify.
OTOH his 443-ft HR reached the water in one hell of a hurry. That was extremely impressive.
Add in all the questions about his defense and what position(s) he should play and he's still an enigma to me.
My comments regarding Salvy on Twitter were not indicative of being "big-time mad"... surprised but not mad.
Man, did Eaton look overmatched. He can't have too many more games like that.
Singer doesn't get out of the 5th without self destructing two years ago.
Nicky Lopez doesn't get enough credit for his consistent, gold glove caliber defense at multiple positions. Interesting comment from him that it was his call to hit or bunt when he hit the triple. Quatraro gives them the freedom to decide.
Taylor Clarke gave up the HR, cause he went 2-0 and didn't want to walk a guy to start the inning with a big lead, and I appreciate that given the situation. After that, he looked good. He's higher in the "circle of trust" than Coleman at this point.
It was great to see the boys doing what they’re capable of. Relief pitching could have been better but I’m sure that will come around. I don’t think we’ll see it at HDH level anytime soon but they do look pretty good at times. It’s early, have faith and enjoy the process!
David - there are a couple of old adages in baseball that I've always questioned. One is that bringing the infield in automatically adds 100 points to the hitter's BA. Do you know of any empirical data on that? Does it affect righty hitters and lefties differently? Has it changed recently now that everybody's trying to launch the ball into the air anyway?
It can't be that simple. It strikes me as one of those things that people say because they heard somebody else say it and because it has a certain intuitive plausibility to it whether it's accurate or not.
I think the same is probably true of the other adage: the one about how much easier it is to steal a base on a curveball than a fastball "because the ball takes so much longer to get to home plate." The difference in "travel time" between an 80mph curve and a 95mph fastball can't be that great. It's probably well below the limits of human perception - without doing the math I'm guessing that the difference is around 1/30th of a second. MLB hitters can certainly react to those kinds of velocity changes. But that doesn't mean that anyone can actually perceive 1/30th of a second.
If it really is easier to steal on a curveball it's probably because those pitches are harder for catchers to catch cleanly than fastballs are. Plus the knowledge that a curveball is coming perhaps makes some catchers rush their throws, rendering them inaccurate. Besides that, successful base stealing generally depends more on things that happen before the pitcher releases the ball rather than after. Even the catcher's POP time is usually less important than the base stealer's timing and the quality of the jump that he gets.
If this strikes anyone as a little off-topic, blame Hud. He was throwing those adages around with reckless abandon on Sunday.
Your thoughts, David?
I guess I'll take this one thing at a time. I don't know if the number is 100 points or 120 or 80, but it definitely adds a lot, specifically if the outfield remains at regular depth. Think about it. There's a ton of extra room for a bloop to fall in, so that's part of it, but the infielders are also, on average about 25 feet closer. Now imagine a 102 MPH ground ball that you have to get to 25 feet closer. It eats up a lot of infielders. Their range is compromised as well, which is just simple geometry. There might be studies done, but the infield in 100% makes it much easier on the hitter. I don't know how much that's changed with so much swing and miss in the game, but there's definitely a boost.
I don't know what Hud said because I was at the game, but he's also right about a curve vs. a fastball. It's less about the velocity and more about the trajectory of a pitch. Typically a fastball will put the catcher in a better position to make a throw than a curve will. A hanging curve may not, but we're talking about the average curve. That said, you're also right that the catcher has less to do with stolen bases than the pitcher. But a curve is absolutely easier to steal on than a fastball.
Great reply. Thank you!
Send down Coleman. He is a mess right now. Call it whatever you want…..but it is time. Set the tone coaching staff! Let’s see what Stamount or Josh Taylor has this early.
Glad they won. I keep waiting for a game to say the bullpen was the difference that game..but they keep giving up runs. Lol.
I would say give him a chance if the stuff was there, but if he's throwing low-90s, it's more about getting him right.
I'm still not sure what to make of MJ. In the batter's box he shows a whole lot of movement before he swings which means a whole lot of things can go wrong. He needs to simplify.
OTOH his 443-ft HR reached the water in one hell of a hurry. That was extremely impressive.
Add in all the questions about his defense and what position(s) he should play and he's still an enigma to me.
He's a patient guy who can hit the ball like he did last night. Give him 650 at bats and don't think too much about it.
My comments regarding Salvy on Twitter were not indicative of being "big-time mad"... surprised but not mad.
Man, did Eaton look overmatched. He can't have too many more games like that.
Singer doesn't get out of the 5th without self destructing two years ago.
Nicky Lopez doesn't get enough credit for his consistent, gold glove caliber defense at multiple positions. Interesting comment from him that it was his call to hit or bunt when he hit the triple. Quatraro gives them the freedom to decide.
Taylor Clarke gave up the HR, cause he went 2-0 and didn't want to walk a guy to start the inning with a big lead, and I appreciate that given the situation. After that, he looked good. He's higher in the "circle of trust" than Coleman at this point.
Oh I didn’t think you were mad. I’m talking about some of the responses to the Royals lineup tweet.
Eaton did look horrible. He’s better than that but Drew Waters is looming in a few weeks.
I also thought Nicky’s comment was interesting. Just another one pointing to players being much happier now than they were under the old regime.
And yeah, I’m fine with Clarke attacking with a five run lead. He’s definitely above Coleman at this moment.
It was great to see the boys doing what they’re capable of. Relief pitching could have been better but I’m sure that will come around. I don’t think we’ll see it at HDH level anytime soon but they do look pretty good at times. It’s early, have faith and enjoy the process!
Good call on the righty heavy lineup. It looks like Kyle, Vinny, and MJ are all sitting tonight.