No reason to Panic over slow bats
Lots of stats being thrown around about the slow start for the M's bottom half of the lineup. My response?
What did you expect?
The M's have faced two of the toughest pitchers in the AL, with Santana clearly the best pitcher in the AL until he proves otherwise. When you face tough pitching, you lean on your stars. Only your very best hitters are going to have any success against teams top pitchers.
You expect the hitters making over $10 million a year to be carrying the load when you face a Santana and that is what is happening. Guys like Reed and Winn are predictably overmatched. We don't need to worry about the bottom of the lineup until next week at the earliest. Let these guys get a chance to bat against Texas. Give them a chance to see 4 and 5 starters, and tired bullpens. Then we'll get a better idea on who is ready to help this club and who is struggling.
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It was clear watching last nights game that Santana was overthrowing in the first inning. He had so much adrenaline going he was ready to throw the ball 100 miles an hour.
Think about it. The guy is the defending Cy Young winner. He signed a $40 million contract over the winter. His team lost the first game, a game many thought he should have started. This guy is pumped!
Did you notice last night when he had two strikes against Ichiro in the first? He was practically hyperventilating on the mound. He ends up throwing the pitch in the dirt, a classic sign of overthrowing.
As the game wore on, he settled into a nice groove and just threw the ball like he was supposed to. For those of you who have him in a Fantasy League, don't worry.
He'll be just fine.
Lots of stats being thrown around about the slow start for the M's bottom half of the lineup. My response?
What did you expect?
The M's have faced two of the toughest pitchers in the AL, with Santana clearly the best pitcher in the AL until he proves otherwise. When you face tough pitching, you lean on your stars. Only your very best hitters are going to have any success against teams top pitchers.
You expect the hitters making over $10 million a year to be carrying the load when you face a Santana and that is what is happening. Guys like Reed and Winn are predictably overmatched. We don't need to worry about the bottom of the lineup until next week at the earliest. Let these guys get a chance to bat against Texas. Give them a chance to see 4 and 5 starters, and tired bullpens. Then we'll get a better idea on who is ready to help this club and who is struggling.
--------------
It was clear watching last nights game that Santana was overthrowing in the first inning. He had so much adrenaline going he was ready to throw the ball 100 miles an hour.
Think about it. The guy is the defending Cy Young winner. He signed a $40 million contract over the winter. His team lost the first game, a game many thought he should have started. This guy is pumped!
Did you notice last night when he had two strikes against Ichiro in the first? He was practically hyperventilating on the mound. He ends up throwing the pitch in the dirt, a classic sign of overthrowing.
As the game wore on, he settled into a nice groove and just threw the ball like he was supposed to. For those of you who have him in a Fantasy League, don't worry.
He'll be just fine.
posted by Tom at
12:30 PM
