Brownie19

stuff+ 112 location+ 54

Lazaro Estrada, RHP. The owner of the best curveball in the Blue Jays system, Estrada gets his curveball up to 3,400 rpm with heavy, two-plane break.

Believe me - you're not in my head. I actually love how much this pitch clock is pissing people off.

You're neck and neck with JaysAllMighty for the broken record leader on this board. Keep up the 'great' work.

Pop is exactly the guy I would have hoped spent all winter in the lab working on developing a swing and miss pitch(es).

We know you hate all change. Your last 37 posts have been to complain about it. Why don't you try the facebook comment page where this type of closeminded ******** is more accepted?

Rob Friedman (@pitchingninja) • Instagram reel WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 43K likes, 66 comments - pitchingninja on February 27, 2023: "Max Scherzer calling his own Pitches on PitchCom.". That's pretty cool. Baseball is changing!

Is this a good move for the Buds? I don't follow hockey enough to know.

I was talking to my friends about how the pitch clock will impact the broadcast. Less dead time to tell stories (or for Buck to tell us things that simply aren't true) - which some will probably miss. I think it may help as with less dead time to fill (while the batter scratches his nuts and adjusts his batting gloves), the broadcast crew will be able to stick to their 'A' material.

You're suggesting umpires ignore balks on purpose in late game situations because they don't want them to impact the outcome of the game? There is a 0% chance I believe this happens. I mean an umpire may "miss" a balk call, but there's no way I'm going to believe that they see the balk and choose not to call it (as this would also require the other umpires on the field to see and then make the same non-call on purpose). It was just posted above that 23 games have ended on balk calls MLB history. Did those umpires forget to not call them in absolutely the most impactful time of the game (ie, where a balk ends the game)? Balks are rare because pitchers know they are against the rules and the work hard to avoid breaking the rules. The same thing will happen with the pitch clock - especially when the game is on the line.

Exactly. Don't we all remember the people who were losing their minds when we eliminated take out slides at 2nd base? Did they all quit watching baseball? I don't hear anyone talk about that rule change anymore - it all died within a couple of months (except for the s*** at home plate, which I think they could fix really easily - can't ever block any bag - problem solved).

I mean - didn't we always hear about how awesome it was to watch Greg Maddux, Mark Buehrle and Doc pitch? Didn't people love how much more pace the game had because these guys would just get it and throw it and you could have games complete in just over 2 hours? I know we're talking about 3 great pitchers, but I think that's the type of pace we're hoping to get. It keeps the defense on their toes more too. Maybe it's easier to put it this way. I never heard someone complain that the games those guys started "went too fast". I certainly hear LOTS of people complain when the Yankee/Red Sox playoff games go 4+ hours (I complained about those also) and while I know they increase the commercials and such in those games - they still f***ing took forever. Is that the type of game you'd rather see? I sure don't. I fully expect once players adjust, it will be a huge positive for baseball.

Maybe Grant is colour blind.

Can you elaborate? You want to see Judge and Freeman have more time to scratch their balls or "think" about what's coming? Or you want to see Romano or Hader have more time to rub down the ball and 'recover' between pitches? Or you just want to see players step off or step out to throw off timing? I will agree that in tight situations, the time between pitches helps build the suspense - is that what you mean?

We should probably remove balk calls and runner/defensive interference too as we don't want to see games end like that either

[insert Altuve joke here]

No offense, but I'd rather hear that from an expert who studies swings and has reviewed various case studies and such. Everything he does in statcast is elite - except his LA.

That's awesome - I didn't know that. I just expect there will soon come a day where all players are there come January 1st - in the lab, under the guidance and direction of the Blue Jays organization. That's all I'm trying to say. No issue with them taking a few months off from the end of the year until then. I think teams that do this first will gain advantages over those who don't. Is anyone within the organization allowed to do the same? Or would only certain prospects be allowed? Like is Orelvis already there too?

Thank you John - I'm not trying to use race at all FFS. But yes, I would have liked to see Vlad in the lab working with Blue Jay personnel this offseason - using the very best technology possible to ensure he's a 160 wRC+ hitter instead of a 130 wRC+ hitter who leads the league in double plays again. And yes I don't know what he did in the DR this offseason, but all I've ever seen is him flipping some tires, playing home run derby at the sandlot and eating grandma's cooking. He's the example I used because he's a huge key to the Jays success - not because he's from the DR. I also hope Biggio was at Driveline this offseason, working with the weighted bats, trying to increase his bat speed and improve his stroke so he can return to a 15-20 HR hitter with a 120 wRC+

I mean - they need their eyes checked if they can't see that baby. A tad smaller would be nice. I assume there's another clock in the OF that the home plate ump/catcher can see too? Is it only the plate ump who makes calls? or can a base ump call a violation also?

And some of the best players of all time sat around and did f*** all during the offseason. They didn't work out at all (see Kruk, John). But at some point, players realized that if they worked out during the offseason, they could get better than their peers and now that's the norm. Players don't show up to camp 20 lbs overweight and use Spring Training to lose a few lbs. Why do you think we now have stables of pitchers who can throw 95+? Times change and I believe these labs are currently what is producing the very best results for the average player. Sure there are still naturally gifted players who can f*** around on the sandlot and be stars, but if you took 100 player and put them in the sandlot and then took the same 100 players and put them in the lab - I surely expect the lab will produce more great baseball players. Accordingly, I think we'll continue to see more and more players gravitate to these labs to fine tune and improve their games. The players that don't will eventually fall behind and will be replaced by those who are. There's too much money in baseball for people to not take advantage of the resources that are producing the best results. I mean we have players saying they only want to be drafted by the Jays because of these facilities... Do you play golf? Remember when 'lessons' used to be from the pro on the driving range? Sure they produced some results, for some. These days the best way to improve your game is to get into a facility that videos and analyses your swing. It shows you spin rates, axes, contact point, etc. Lessons in that environment are producing SIGNFICANTLY better results and the pro who's telling you to keep you head down on the range. You can see the video and track the results in real time. It's no different in a baseball lab. I understand the need for rest - they can go do that for a few months for sure - but I certainly see more and more labs being created and players routinely using them to train in the offseason. Adapt or die Grady.

I don't have the video, but the first violation was called on Manny Machado (surprise, surprise) for being too f***ing slow getting in the box. The umps points at him and clearly stats the count is 0-1, but of course the broadcasters can't figure out what happened, thought he pointed at the catcher and assigned a ball. IG comment section is going off - most of which didn't catch the violation was on Manny - screaming this is stupid and the catcher didn't do anything wrong. What a s*** show. It's going to take several weeks for players, fans and broadcasters to adjust.

Everyone has to pitch like Mark Buehrle, so they may in fact need to pitch to contact a bit more.

Yes - I'm aware. I'm just baffled that every team hasn't invested in these types of facilities - especially the Dodgers. I still find it bizarre that guys like Orelvis (and Vlad to be honest) don't spend all winter in the Dunedin area - working in the facility to make them better players. Kirk's still in Mexico and I suspect hasn't set foot in the facility since last spring. I'm going to let this go. I guess it is what it is. Teams just have to hope players get the right training, coaching and advice all offseason.

If you wait until spring training to analyze and make adjustments - it's going to already be too late IMO...