Judging the Royals

Games » Seattle Mariners

Lee Judge

None

Flat learning curve…

The winning run was scored by Chone Figgins. Josh Rupe walked him on four pitches. Chone was batting less than .183 at the time. He was eventually forced to home plate when Bruce Chen gave a bases-loaded walk to Milton Bradley. Milton was batting .204 at the time.

If the relievers are afraid to throw strikes to these guys, who would they be willing to challenge?

Sooner or later, pitchers HAVE to throw strikes. Otherwise, innings would never end. Games would go on for eternity. So if pitchers HAVE to eventually throw strikes, the sooner they do it, the better. They can throw strikes after they walk in the winning run, or before. I’m no Bill James, but I’m pretty sure which one is preferable.

One of my favorite expressions from psychology is “flat learning curve.” It means no matter how many times you put the rat in the maze, he doesn’t remember where the cheese is.

This bullpen appears to have a “flat learning curve.” The pitchers go out, throw balls until they’ve created a mess and painted themselves into a corner, and THEN throw strikes, when it’s too late. And they’ve been doing this game after game.

Look at the player point totals on this web site and pay attention to where all the relievers, with the exception of Joakim Soria, are ranked. Walks are killing this team, this season and several careers.

Overswinging…

Jose Guillen appears to be overswinging. I say “appears” to give me some weasel room. I’d also say the sun “appears” to be bright.

When a batter overswings, his muscles tighten up. This includes the muscles in his neck. This causes the head to move when the swing begins. This makes the eyes move. (You didn’t know I had a medical background, did you?)

It’s hard enough to hit when you can actually see a 95-mph fastball, but once you start moving your head, it’s right next to impossible.

Jose has been hitting a lot of home runs lately, and I imagine that’s a lot of fun. (I say imagine because I’ve never done it…and all my daydreams about it involve calling a pinch runner out to make the actual trip around the bases.) I imagine Jose would like to hit some more.

According to Harvey Dorfman, a sports psychologist, the No. 1 reason for getting a pitch to hit, and not doing so, is overswinging.

I’m much more familiar with the No. 2 reason: lack of talent.