Blue Jays planning to increase use of knuckleball in the organization

[G-Snarls]

Good idea?

 

Dumb idea?

 

Thoughts??

[Angrioter]

Worst idea ever

[Angrioter]

RGriffinStar

Anthopoulos said he has spoken to @RADickey43 re mentoring all these knuckleballers at #jays camp -- as long as he still gets own work in

[fatcowxlive]

Who cares about if a pitcher is a knuckler or not? If the pitcher can pitch well, I don't care if he's a fastball pitcher or an eephus pitcher, just do well.

[G-Snarls]

At least none of them have to throw to JP Arencibia anymore

[G-Snarls]

Who cares about if a pitcher is a knuckler or not? If the pitcher can pitch well, I don't care if he's a fastball pitcher or an eephus pitcher, just do well.

 

That's true. As long as they're good, fine

 

Just seems a bit odd to deliberately add 2 new knuckleball guys in addition to Dickey

[G-Snarls]

Next up, turn Morrow in to one. 50% less chance of arm and shoulder injury.

 

#BadIdeaJeans

[TheHurl]

How's that Japanese girl Eri Yoshida, who throws the knuckleball, doing? Barrier breaking is new Ninja move

[Angrioter]

Who cares about if a pitcher is a knuckler or not? If the pitcher can pitch well, I don't care if he's a fastball pitcher or an eephus pitcher, just do well.

 

The knuckleball is the most inconsistent pitch in the game. A failed bet for sure.

[Angrioter]

Teach the knuckleball to Stroman

 

He's too short.

[G-Snarls]

He's too short.

 

HDMH

 

fool

 

[/Mr T voice]

[flafson]

Who's the other guy we added besides the the Japanese guy?

[HERPDERP]

It not a good or bad idea at all, it's just pretty odd.

 

First off, by increasing the use of the knuckleball, does that mean they are encouraging players to expand their repertoire to include it? I doubt it, since I don't think the arm-action of normal pitchers is suitable for knuckleballs. It defeats the purpose to have a pitcher have a normal repertoire and then add a knuckleball to it.

 

Or do they mean that they are going to encourage pitchers to go dedicate themselves to the knuckleball? Well I don't see how that is going to work. There has to be a lot to happen before a young pitcher would resort to that. You would have to blow your arm or just become plain ineffective at pitching. And even then, you just don't become a knuckleballer. It takes years and years. Why would a young pitcher dedicate that much time when they still think they can be effective as a normal pitcher? I don't see any of the 18-27 year olds resorting to a knuckleball. Sure, if you're a 32 year old journeyman, by all means, but is it really worth the emphasis?

 

And a 3rd point - having more knuckleball pitchers means you will need competent catchers at all levels. Again, you can't just teach that. And what happens when you are a developing knuckleballer but you have someone with the talent level of JP catching you? Pretty discouraging.

[G-Snarls]

Who's the other guy we added besides the the Japanese guy?

 

[G-Snarls]

[G-Snarls]

Who knows, maybe we will catch lightning in a bottle. Dickey was a minor league contract guy with the Mets too, right?

 

Yep

 

Rangers let him walk for nothing

[HERPDERP]

More like trying to give the catchers knuckleball experience incase of injury at the MLB level

 

Why do we have to go all the way down the pipeline to do that?

 

Is it a really good idea to teach a guy in single A how to catch a knuckleball, and if Thole gets injured, we rush him up and expose an unfinished product to the bigs?

 

Isn't this exactly why we got Thole AND that other Canadian dude? The back-up to the back-up?

[Olerud363]

The knuckleball is the most inconsistent pitch in the game. A failed bet for sure.

 

But who cares as long as the bet isn't for that much. If they are betting Syndegard on it then OK. Bad idea.

 

If they are just signing and working with fringe guys looking for a lottery ticket it's not a big deal.

[Olerud363]

Who knows, maybe we will catch lightning in a bottle. Dickey was a minor league contract guy with the Mets too, right?

 

Yeah. It's lotto 6-49. Buy some tickets. As long as it doesn't interfere with other tickets.

[Angrioter]

But who cares as long as the bet isn't for that much. If they are betting Syndegard on it then OK. Bad idea.

 

If they are just signing and working with fringe guys looking for a lottery ticket it's not a big deal.

 

Yes, and lose a lot of games in the process.

 

[Angrioter]

[HERPDERP]

Single A? Ohka will be pitching in AA, where Jimenez will be catching him.

 

Which is fine - I have no problem with the Ohka signing since it makes sense and has more of a purpose for teaching Jimmy than expecting value from Ohka.

 

I just find it odd that they will be encouraging knuckleball use in the organization

[Smokey]

But who cares as long as the bet isn't for that much. If they are betting Syndegard on it then OK. Bad idea.

 

If they are just signing and working with fringe guys looking for a lottery ticket it's not a big deal.

 

It might not be a big deal but the lottery is basically an extra tax on the poor idiots. It might not cost you much but it's generally a poor investment. When AA took over he preached about how important power pitching was to success in the AL East and now a few years later we're setting up a knuckleball clinique and paying MB almost 20 mil to be crafty.

[Chappy]

Knuckleballers are the new market inefficiency.

[NorthOf49]

I LOVE THIS. So smart and edgy.

 

Knuckleballers fail because there aren't any resources available to them. Nobody knows how to teach it, nobody can catch it, nobody can scout it, and teams generally find it embarrassing. Well, the Blue Jays are going to change that and it could pay massive dividends (if they keep it up and sign a few more guys). And at almost no cost.

[Anemic0ffense]

AA must have become the biggest druggie known to man since the Happ trade... Somebody test the man.

[saskjayfan]

Knuckleballers are the new market inefficiency.

 

I wonder what it would be like to face a guy who could throw a knuckleball, but also throw a 95 mile an hour fastball.....is he coming with the heat or the flutter ball....if you can throw it 95 you don't learn to throw a knuckleball.....would be interesting to see though..

[z3r0s]

I wonder what it would be like to face a guy who could throw a knuckleball, but also throw a 95 mile an hour fastball.....is he coming with the heat or the flutter ball....if you can throw it 95 you don't learn to throw a knuckleball.....would be interesting to see though..

 

I've wondered that myself. It would be interesting for sure. Could make a pitchers fastball more effective with a 'self knuckleball effect'. Interesting idea, but I don't think we see it any time soon.

[L54]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier for teams to make adjustments when they see a knuckleballer twice in the same series? Not that it would happen every series, but every third or fourth one it would (I just took a final, don't give a s*** about figuring out the math).

 

Remember last year, when the biggest problem this time was figuring out what order our rotation was going to be? Knuckleballer, POWER, soft, POWER, whoever. Oh the good ol days.

[Olerud363]

Yes, and lose a lot of games in the process.

 

 

I wasn't under the impression that they'd be calling these guys up to Toronto any time soon. Figured they'd just have 3 or 4 scatterred in the system.

 

Perhaps the negative is that it would be to much of a distraction (for the milb staff and catchers) then it is worth????????