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Monday, October 19, 2009
What can happen if you manage (or pitch) like Buck Martinez…
What do I mean? I’ll tell you.
After Broxton allowed 2 baserunners in the 9th, he threw a first pitch slider for a strike to Dobbs. Buck Martinez said something like this:
“He threw that slider to get his arm back in the right slot. Now he can go back to what he does best - throw 99 mph fastballs.” The last part of that statement is similar to when you hear a commentator (or a manager or coach) say something like, “You don’t want to get beat with something other than your best pitch.”
Now, a 98-99 mph fastball is not easy to hit even when you know it is coming, and Broxton throws a fastball 70-75% of the time and quite successfully. And, the fact that he threw Rollins two (or was it three?) fastballs was not the reason he lost the game, but…
Buck, and all the other idiots out there who thinks that a pitcher can just throw a certain pitch in a certain situation…
There is a reason why almost no pitcher throws any one pitch exclusively (even Rivera does not throw the same pitch all the time). And that reason is you can’t do that and be successful. The ONLY reason that Broxton (and every other pitcher with a great fastball) is so successful with his fastball is because of the threat of the slider, which is a good one by the way. If all he threw were a 98-99 fastball, it simply wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it is.
Otherwise smart commentators like Martinez don’t seem to get that. This is not the only time that he told us exactly what pitch or series of pitches the pitcher should be throwing. Had Broxton thrown a slider and Rollins gotten a hit, Martinez would have been one of the many complaining about Broxton “getting beat on his second best pitch.” On top of everything, I don’t know whether Rollins is a good fastball hitter or not, but I do know that he seems to be vulnerable to the off-speed pitch low under his hands (and even in the dirt).
Again, I am not saying that Broxton did anything wrong (other than accidentally throwing a fastball in a bad spot - thigh high and middle in, I think). We don’t know what Broxton was planning on doing during that AB. If he was planning on throwing nothing but fastballs no matter what, like Martinez wanted, then yes, that would probably be wrong. But given that he only throws 74% fastballs this year, that would probably not be the case.
I have always wondered what the line “Don’t get beat with your second best pitch” even means. Only throw it when the game or the AB doesn’t count for much? When the game is on the line, only throw one pitch exclusively? Of course, it should be just the opposite! If the game is meaningless or the leverage is low, you can throw one pitch most of the time if you want. When the game is on the line, you need to be very careful about not being predictable, which means, “Mix up your pitches, like all good pitchers do!”
Did anyone notice why Pedro was brilliant the other night with an 88 mph fastball and no other great pitch? Because he throws any pitch at any count and in any situation! Basically at any time, the batter is equally (almost) likely to get a fastball, change-up, or curve ball. Even if you have average major league stuff, if you have enough command and enough guts to do that, you are going to be very successful.