BigEd76 wrote:Sean Rodriguez and his family were t-boned by a stolen police cruiser on Saturday. He was OK, but his wife has a broken femur, tibia and wrist, and one of the kids needed stitches and a cast

Sooner or later, we forget, right? That’s the way we’re supposed to be in life.

Look at that pitch chart and weep for the whole enterprise. Jake Thompson, facing a man who might as well be a carnival-prize stuffed bear propped up in the batter's box, throws him four pitches and three of them are out of the zone. The fourth one, according to ESPN Stats & Information, is called a strike only 10.9 percent of the time.

The fact that Thompson couldn't throw Gsellman three strikes isn't exclusively a Thompson problem. Most pitchers miss their targets constantly. In the most get-it-over situation imaginable -- on a 3-0 count to the opposing pitcher, who will under virtually no circumstances be swinging -- pitchers still manage to get their pitch in the strike zone only 68 percent of the time. That's arguably a skewed sample -- wild pitchers are more likely to fall behind 3-0 to an opposing pitcher -- but if pitchers are only capable of finding the strike zone even 70 percent of the time, a hitter with no bat would walk in more than 7 percent of his plate appearances. Even if it were 75 percent strikes, a batter could walk every 25 at-bats or so.

Once Gsellman got ahead 2-1, he was 22 percent likely to draw a walk, just by not swinging. (We're using the 70 percent estimate for pitchers' ability to throw any strike on command.) Once Thompson let go of the 2-1 pitch that would come in up and inside, Gsellman was closer to 65 percent likely to draw a walk. All he had to do was not swing at anything, which by his great luck was the one thing in the world God made his body qualified to do.

But he didn't. Instead, Gsellman pushed a bunt to Ryan Howard, who was playing so far behind first base that the ball traveled 65 feet before Howard even entered the camera frame. His only chance after that was to tag Gsellman, but Jake Thompson stopped running and blocked Howard.

"Not sure there was a whole lot Howard could have done," the Phillies broadcaster says.

Look. You have expectations when you walk out the door every morning. You expect basic competency: The chef at the restaurant knows the difference between cooking oil and bleach. You expect basic self-preservation: The guy driving in the opposite direction as you isn't suicidal. You expect that cause and effect will follow predictable rules: The cashier will give you a handful of change, not a raccoon.

You expect to turn on a baseball game and see two capable, self-interested teams. And you end up with a batter who can't (and shouldn't) swing a bat, a pitcher who can't throw a strike and Ryan Howard standing 15 feet behind the bag. Mathematically speaking, all three of these men are better at their job than your doctor is. Cheers.

14.
Bases loaded, one out. Gsellman bunts into a force at home. I suddenly remember that the Philadelphia Phillies once had 30 losing seasons in a span of 31 years.

15.
Phillies broadcaster 1: They gonna let him swing away here? Phillies broadcaster 2: Yeah, I would think so.

slugsrbad wrote:

15.
Phillies broadcaster 1: They gonna let him swing away here? Phillies broadcaster 2: Yeah, I would think so.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/1861 ... et-exposed

BigEd76 wrote:The thinking on #1 is batters wouldn't be swinging at low pitches and grounding out as much = pitchers throw higher pitches = chicks digging the long ball again

BigEd76 wrote:2 changes MLB is proposing:

-- a smaller strike zone where the bottom border would be the top of the knees instead of the middle, meaning all the low strikes at the shins would go away

Stripes wrote:

BigEd76 wrote:2 changes MLB is proposing:

-- a smaller strike zone where the bottom border would be the top of the knees instead of the middle, meaning all the low strikes at the shins would go away

Because more walks will really speed up the game

iladelph53 wrote:

Stripes wrote:

BigEd76 wrote:2 changes MLB is proposing:

-- a smaller strike zone where the bottom border would be the top of the knees instead of the middle, meaning all the low strikes at the shins would go away

Because more walks will really speed up the game

It's an interesting debate because there is a game time problem but there is also a strikeout problem. Strikeouts take more pitches. Maybe more pitches up equals more balls in play equals quicker at bats?