Felix stole the show
Of course everyone is in awe of last nights performance. He didn't pitch like someone who was 20 years old, he was in command, and when he really needed to get an out he got it. You don't get to watch a pitcher throw like that very often. It reminded me a lot of his first few appearances, where the ball was always around the plate. The pitches that weren't strikes didn't miss by much, and there were a few times I found myself questioning the umps strike zone.
Speaking of which, I hated the new pitch location graphic being used last night. For those of you that saw the game on TV, did you have the same reaction? It seemed to show pitches that were borderline strikes like they were two feet off the plate, and pitches that were clearly strikes (to my eye and the umps) were shown way off as well. It was a huge step backward from the tool they used last year. I'll be watching again tonight to see if its been tuned up a little. Last nights was terrible.
Speaking of terrible, a few people have pointed out if Crosby doesn't make that error, the game might have been lost in extra innings. We'll never know, but we can say we won the game, and we'll take any break we can from the A's. History says they'll heat up after the All Star break, so let's stomp on them while we can and try and get some confidence!
The other story is Vidro, who doesn't look like a #3 hitter at all. I give this experiment a month at the most... when Bill Krueger is openly questioning him one day into the season, you know you've got problems.
The only reason he is there is because the team is trying to pretend his is a valuable addition to a $110 million team, not the aging veteran who was almost tendered and has no power to be your full-time DH.
Oh well, no reason to be negative after a great opening night. Go M's and let's hope the pitching can keep them in the game.
Of course everyone is in awe of last nights performance. He didn't pitch like someone who was 20 years old, he was in command, and when he really needed to get an out he got it. You don't get to watch a pitcher throw like that very often. It reminded me a lot of his first few appearances, where the ball was always around the plate. The pitches that weren't strikes didn't miss by much, and there were a few times I found myself questioning the umps strike zone.
Speaking of which, I hated the new pitch location graphic being used last night. For those of you that saw the game on TV, did you have the same reaction? It seemed to show pitches that were borderline strikes like they were two feet off the plate, and pitches that were clearly strikes (to my eye and the umps) were shown way off as well. It was a huge step backward from the tool they used last year. I'll be watching again tonight to see if its been tuned up a little. Last nights was terrible.
Speaking of terrible, a few people have pointed out if Crosby doesn't make that error, the game might have been lost in extra innings. We'll never know, but we can say we won the game, and we'll take any break we can from the A's. History says they'll heat up after the All Star break, so let's stomp on them while we can and try and get some confidence!
The other story is Vidro, who doesn't look like a #3 hitter at all. I give this experiment a month at the most... when Bill Krueger is openly questioning him one day into the season, you know you've got problems.
The only reason he is there is because the team is trying to pretend his is a valuable addition to a $110 million team, not the aging veteran who was almost tendered and has no power to be your full-time DH.
Oh well, no reason to be negative after a great opening night. Go M's and let's hope the pitching can keep them in the game.
posted by Tom at
3:45 PM
