Sigh
Dave · September 3, 2006 at 6:26 pm · Filed Under Mariners
“I’m a power pitcher, so I have to throw my fastball as my out pitch,” Hernandez said.
Whoever convinced Felix this is true should be beaten with wet noodles.
“I’m a power pitcher, so I have to throw my fastball as my out pitch,” Hernandez said.
Whoever convinced Felix this is true should be beaten with wet noodles.
Hmmm.
Hendu? Possible. Not sure how much he watches broadcasts of his games.
How ’bout Chaves? He’s the pitching coach, after all. Doesn’t his philosopy come into play here? Likely.
Hargrove? He’s the boss. Gotta be him.
Yeah. Sigh. That’s a good word for it.
Heck — after some time in the batting cages, I could probably hit Felix’s fastball. And I haven’t played baseball in decades…
The constant pounding of this flawed philosophy really IS getting tiring.
At this point I’m just waiting for Felix to gain fastball control to make this all a moot point; and I’ll try to endure the relatively high homerun and hit rates (when taking peripheral skills/stuff in consideration) in the meantime.
Felix needs to watch some film of Josh Beckett now and Pedro Martinez in 1999. I’m pretty sure 1999 Pedro didn’t just blow that speedball by you / make you look like a fool.
Ghah.
A) The fastball isn’t his best pitch. Power pitcher or not, use the best pitch to get people out. Use the brain, not the testosterone.
B) Even power pitchers have days where they don’t command the fast ball. On those days, they use something else.
This does not make me happy with Chaves.
[It’s PINIELLA, and he’s not coming back]
Is this quote after today’s game? What bonehead is preaching this? When major league hitters KNOW a fastball is coming, they frequently hit it, even in Tampa.
Did he really say that? OMFG.
How soon til Leo Mazzone is available?
why is Felix still in pitching the 8th? He hadn’t thrown a ton of pitches, but he wasn’t pitching that great. Better for Hargrove to take him out and atleast have Felix with end with a decent start.
felix = young/naive, hargrove = ignorant/arrogant, bavasi = aloof/traditional… me = amazed at how badly a multi million dollar company can be run for so long.
I feared something like this the last time Felix started and beat the Angels soundly.
The commentary from Rizzs, the post game chat from variously Bill Kruger, Tom Glasgow (sp?) etc all stressed 2 points that I thought were completely wrong headed:
1. He was relying on his fastball
2. He wasn’t afraid to put the ball in play
So he goes out to day, unafraid to put the ball in play, relying on his fastball, and gives up 10 hits and 3 long balls.
I saw that Kansas City game last year, when, frankly, Felix looked capable of throwing a perfect game. He was killing the hapless Royals with 84 and 86 mph pitches. I couldn’t see from the cheap seats what he was throwing, but I understand it was lots of those lethal tight power curves and a salting of change ups.
Someone in the M’s organisation is looking at the same data we are and drawing a completely different conclusion.
I personally would have gone to a LHP to face Kevin Witt, but that’s just me.
Why is Felix still in pitching the 8th?
Why is Hargrove still managing the Mariners? That’s the question.
With the M’s having to move a couple players off the 40-man to make room for the promotions… what are the odds they DFA Piniero?
He’ll learn, give him time. Hell, Meche JUST LEARNED that his offspead pitch is his out pitch.
I don’t want Felix to take 7 frigging years to learn how to pitch.
I want someone who is being paid a lot of money to walk up to him tomorrow and say, you know Randy Johnson’s best pitch for most of his career wasn’t his 98mph heater, but his “Mr Snappy” slider.
The team needs to hire someone to announce Felix’s presence with authority so he doesn’t feel obligated to do it with first-pitch fastballs.
I’m not sure what Felix was trying to do with that pitch, but you’d be surprised by what you might do with a pitch when you have no control.
(Pitchers have actually thrown strikes while they’re trying to issue intentional walks.)
Paul Schreiber, eat your heart out.
Um, wasn’t Joh the catcher in the last, Felix Felicis, game? And didn’t he have Felix using the off-speed stuff to bring in the shut out?
[roster construction]
The “have to throw the fast ball” mantra is one I have heard from Ron Fairly.
Obviously, Felix Hernandez should regularly throw a curveball as his out pitch; however, if Hernandez thinks he should always throw a fastball as his out-pitch, then he is a naïvé dolt. Likewise, if Rafael Chaves doesn’t have the ability and/or fortitude to instruct Hernandez how to effectively pitch, then he ought to be fired.
At this point in time, I’m tired of the complete and utter ineptitude that exists within the Seattle Mariners’ organization—it’s sheer vileness.
17- Is Michael Buffer available?
Buster Olney on Felix:
“I watched some of Felix Hernandez’s start and he is right to be mad about losing. He had great stuff, generally dominated the game, but made a small handful of mistakes. I can’t remember an instance this season where a pitcher’s final line failed to reflect how the guy threw more than in this case. He was exceptional for about 95 percent of his pitches, and still gave up seven runs.”
For those in the M’s organization who may be reading this, I’d like to point out something that I, a lowly Portland baseball fan of no consequence, noticed during Sunday’s game.
Felix on the mound, first inning.
Batter 1 (Zobrist): first pitch fastball, single to left
Batter 2 (Young): first pitch fastball, smoked to center but right at Ichiro
-At this point, it’s becoming fairly obvious that the Rays are aware of Felix’s fastball fetish, and are planning a brilliant “see fastball, aim three inches lower than you think you should and swing at fastball” strategy. Much to my delight, Felix adjusted his approach (or so I hoped).
Batter 3 (Crawford): change-up (whiff), change-up (ball), fastball (foul), curve-ball (ground out).
Batter 4 (Norton): Fastball (ball), fastball (ball), curve (strike), change-up (whiff), curve (whiff, strike-out).
For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 5 fastballs, two of which were hit hard, two were balls, and one was fouled off. The other six were off-speed, with only one ball, three whiffs, one grounder, and one looking strike.
How is it that analysts, commentators, and team personnel watch the same scenario unfold time after time and STILL conclude that he should establish his fastball? I know this is a small sample size, but it is still confoundingly indicative of Felix’s performance this year. His fastball is, without question, the least effective of his three pitches. His curve is fantastic (even when it’s hung it’s hard to hit), and his change might be the best pitch in the majors…it’s definitely the most underrated. Santana’s change is only better because he utilizes it properly. Felix, meet Johan Santana…and by all means, learn from him.
(And as an aside, why would the Mariners, who are planning on sitting Felix before the year ends to keep his innings down, want to leave him in for the eighth inning when ahead 6-4…especially after his off-speed pitches began failing to cross the plate?)
Didn’t Felix learn a single thing from watching Grandpa Moyer pitch the last two years????
Moyer is past his prime, but is still pitching to MLB hitters by being smart. Changeup, changeup, changeup…… and then he throws the SMOKING 84MPH fastball.
How great is that??? Keep them guessing.
Sigh….