Baseball. Tim Hudson quote:

Moses · 06-17-2004, 03:43 PM

Interleague play will allow A's pitcher his first opportunity to swing a bat this year. During batting practice, he knocked a few pitches over the centerfield fence.

Reporter: "That was some pretty good hitting, Tim."

Hudson: "There ain't a park that can hold me."

Gotta love this guys sense of humor.

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

he could go all season without hitting a pitch, and i would still sign him if I were the GM of a National League team. This guy can pitch! Luckily for him, he gets to sit on the bench while his team is at bat

I wonder what we gotta do to get Hudson, Zito, or Mulder in a Sox uniform for 2005?.......

...oh crap, i think the John Henry group is spoiling us... starting to sound a bit like Yankees fans....

Moses · 06-17-2004, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CJFusco
I wonder what we gotta do to get Hudson, Zito, or Mulder in a Sox uniform for 2005?.......

Hudsons contract is the first one up. There will be huge pressure to sign him. More likely to snag Zito or Mulder.

Funny, Hudson was the starting center fielder at Auburn and half the teams that wanted to sign him didn't want him to pitch. (He hit .400 his last year of college.)

Typical Hudson night tonight. Pitches his butt off for 8 innings leaving the game with a 4-2 lead. Bullpen blows it in the 9th. Loss for the A's. No decision for Hudson.

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

Well, you have no reason to panic yet... Oakland is still in 1st place in the West.

What the Sox usually do is give up about 7 runs throughout the ballgame, then rally to score 6 in the bottom of the 9th, only to pop up with two outs to end the game.

Amazingly, the Yankees actually LOST A GAME last night. Amazing, eh?

Moses · 06-18-2004, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CJFusco

Amazingly, the Yankees actually LOST A GAME last night. Amazing, eh?

Man, I hate the Yankees. Almost as much as I hate the Giants.

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

"Man, I hate the Yankees. Almost as much as I hate the Giants."

The Yankees have a 4.5 game lead on the Sox right now in the East, and the Sox have the 2nd best record in the Majors... but the Yankees pitching is slowly starting to unravel. You can only survive so long on offense alone - just ask the 2003 Boston Red Sox.

You guys have a pretty good race going in the West... Oakland and Anaheim are both pretty outstanding teams. In all honesty, I really think that Anaheim will end up taking the division, but I think that I'd rather see Oakland in there this year.

Moses · 06-18-2004, 07:16 AM

The A's may have the worst bullpen in the majors. It's pathetic. Hudson has had 17 starts and has left the game with the lead 14 times. He has 7 wins. Pathetic. If the A's don't get bullpen help, it's all over this year.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

There was an interesting article in the LATimes last weekend talking about how the game has changed. They interviewed Nolan Ryan, and harkened back to a story from '74 where Ryan struck out 19 batters in 13 innings, and grudgingly came out in the 14th. The Angels won in the 15th, finally scoring the winning run off of Luis Tiant...who had STARTED for the Sox. Tiant got a 15 inning complete game loss, Ryan a 13 inning no decision.

Ryan would routinely throw 200 pitches in a game.

So, are the hitters better so you need fresh pitchers every damn inning, or are the players just pussies now? 6 innings is a "quality" start? Back in the day pitchers used to throw both games of a double header on occasion.

Moses · 06-18-2004, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic

So, are the hitters better so you need fresh pitchers every damn inning, or are the players just pussies now? 6 innings is a "quality" start? Back in the day pitchers used to throw both games of a double header on occasion.

Ryan was a physical freak. Very few like him. In the old days, most "speed" pitchers would burn out in a few short years.

Most pitchers can throw 80 MPH all day long. As the speeds go over 90 mph, the stress on the elbow increases the risk of injury. Even without injury, fireballers will usually develop permanent "rubber arm" if they throw too many pitches.

Pitchers haven't changed much, but pitching has. Now we want pitchers to throw harder, so we need relief pitchers and closers. in the old days most pitchers were the Jamie Moyer type; 70-80 mph, constantly altering speed and location.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

I seem to recall Randy Jones having great success with a 70mph sinker, and Phil Niekro knucklballing batters out at 60mph.

Exceptions maybe, but I think that the art of pitching has been lost. People get all hot and bothered by a 95mph fastball, when in reality someone with great control and the ability to change speeds can get batters out all day long.

Or maybe I'm just getting old...

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

" Phil Niekro knucklballing batters out at 60mph."

Can anyone say "Tim Wakefield?" He has three pitches: 65 mph knuckle, 75 mph curve, 85 mph fastball. All three pitches look the exact same until they get within feet of the batter's box... and the guy can pitch in relief one day, and then start 3 days later. Very versitile... the only problem is that he's either lights-out, or he gets shelled.

Guys like Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling can throw 120+ pitch games without a problem because of their build, guys like Barry Zito and Pedro Martinez need to limit themselves to about 100 pitches because their bodies are simply too small to take the abuse.

"People get all hot and bothered by a 95mph fastball, when in reality someone with great control and the ability to change speeds can get batters out all day long."

Exactly. That's why the Boston media got all bent out of shape when Pedro's fastball didn't top 90 in Spring Training; if he doesn't have velocity, his off-speed stuff won't be as effective. He got hit pretty hard in April and May, but in his last few starts he's been pretty devastating. Surprise, surprise, he's worked his velocity up to 96mph or so. The fastball is probably his least-effective pitch, but it may well be the most important becuase it allows his off-speed stuff to be that much more effective.

Moses · 06-18-2004, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic
I seem to recall Randy Jones having great success with a 70mph sinker, and Phil Niekro knucklballing batters out at 60mph.

Exceptions maybe, but I think that the art of pitching has been lost. People get all hot and bothered by a 95mph fastball, when in reality someone with great control and the ability to change speeds can get batters out all day long.

Or maybe I'm just getting old...

I think you're exactly right. In Hudsons first year, he struck out everybody. 96 mph fastball and a nasty splitter. Now he pitches location. Less velocity. Fewer strikeouts. Leads the league in ground outs. Leads the league in inducing double plays. He has made the transition from thrower to pitcher. It may get him into the hall of fame someday.

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

"He has made the transition from thrower to pitcher. It may get him into the hall of fame someday."

I agree completely, i've noticed the transition. He isn't as dazzling to watch, but he is more effective. That's why he is on my fantasy team

If the A's ever win a Championship, I could see Hudson being a Hall-of-Famer... but that might be the deciding factor. Don't worry,you could say the same thing about Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, or Curt Schilling. The Championship might be the key.

Same thing that happened with Hudson happened with Pedro, really... he found out after a few years that he couldn't throw his 98mph fastball anymore without hurting himself... couldn't strike out batters with the heat, so he had to learn to outsmart them. And then he starting winning Cy Youngs...

Moses · 06-18-2004, 10:11 AM

Ever watch Moyer pitch? He has about 6 different changeups. All at different speeds. Never over the middle of the plate. 65-75 mph. It's funny watching batters get frustrated with him.

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

Moyer is interesting to watch, but this year it looks like batters are starting to figure him out.

Zito is one of my favorite pitchers to watch, because of his curveball. It starts out WAYYYYYY inside (or outside, depending on which side of the plate the batter is on) and ends up on the opposite corner of the plate. Love it!

Clemens has to be one of the most amazing pitchers to watch, along with Johnson, Schilling, and Pedro. And who can forget Gagne? Amazing.

Just a heads-up: Wakefield is pitching against the Giants tonight. When Wakefield gets hit, he gets hit hard... so if he challenges Barry... I shudder to think.

Here's to hoping that Ramirez dumps a couple in McCovey cove.

UconnTim97 · UconnTim97's Garage

Wakefield ususally does better on hot and humid days. The knuckler moves more for him...He is still one of my favorite pitchers to watch.

Moses · 06-18-2004, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CJFusco
Here's to hoping that Ramirez dumps a couple in McCovey cove.

I'm hoping the Sox sweep the Giants.

UconnTim97 · UconnTim97's Garage

It's great to see Trot back with the team. His defense surely was missed in the outfield.

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

And his offense. Went deep for the 2nd time in 3 games tonight. Batting over .400 so far.

By the way, the Giants hit the Sox hard, but the Sox still won 14-9.