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By the Numbers - Hisashi Iwakuma vs Bronx Bombers, 7.25.12

10-Zip

Zero being the number of balls off the plate that Iwakuma had called for strikes, and 10 being the number of pitches on the plate that Iwakuma had called for strikes.  Well, five were actually in the zone, and five more nicked the zone if the green square represents the center of ball that has some displacement in physical space.

Iwakuma threw 92 pitches, and of those 92, 10 were changed from strikes to balls.  The other 82 pitches were, as a group, much more centered or much more off the plate, and much easier for the Yankees to decide about.  (Ivan Nova gave up 6 walks also.)

If you're interested in throwing 92 pitches to the New York Yankees, with Granderson, Teixeira, Cano etc. and having the 10 best of them called balls, you're obviously not a pitcher.

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5 IP, 1 ER

So under these circumstances, did Iwakuma walk four guys in the second inning, then center a pitch and give up a tape-measure shot?  ... you'll remember when you were five and This Episode Was Brought To You By The Letter (er) M.  This start was brought to you by the word Poise.

The Spirit of a Samurai

And arigato, Champ!

We wonder if this customized Japanese-to-English translation appeared anywhere else on the 'net tonight.

Surprising that Ichiro gave such an open, forthright explanation of his own motivations for leaving.  He was excruciatingly polite about it, but the opposite of "stimulating" is "dampening" and "stifling."  

In a karmic coincidence, yesterday happened to be the day that we posted our most reverent praise ever.  Ichiro has the spirit of a samurai, a sense of honor and integrity that invests even the tying of his shoes and the oiling of his glove with a spiritual responsibility.

Samurai must have difficulty dealing with the impossibility of victory.  But samurai maintain the same mu shin whether the battle is going well or poorly.  It's been an honor to enjoy his performances as a ballplayer and as a man.

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Fare Thee Well, Dept.

As with everybody else, Dr. D agrees that it was time for Ichiro to move on.  It's probably less necessary for SSI to offer funeral bouquets than it is for other websites.  We've savored his greatness from every possible camera angle, beginning with Silentpadna's proclamation of his greatness from Arizona in 1999.

Rock Theory and Appreciation 103 - the Mitt

Is baseball The Game Of The People?  Gerry Tsutakawa's 'The Mitt' burns the idea down the pipe with a rather heavy, er, hand.  Fans are welcome to sit in it, lean on it, and generally do any damage they feel they can manage against a gigantic bronze sculpture that could, if it wished, topple over on them and wreak its vengeance.

Dr. D actually finds this sculpture to be annoying.  On several different levels.  But I'll give it this:  there can be no question as to the Mariners' sincerity about extending Safeco Field's reach to as diverse a group of people as it possibly can.  On that, er, score The Mitt is an, er, pitch-perfect capture of the Mariners' vision for Safeco as pivot point of the entire city.

Hisashi Iwakuma Goes Dangerous, 1

The Good, Dept.

Some Japanese fans thought that Hisashi Iwakuma was going to perform better in the majors than Yu Darvish, and by extension, that Daisuke Matsuzaka.  The 2008-11 Iwakuma ran an ERA in the low 2's, starred in the WBC, and wielded seven pitches, all separated from each other by several MPH.  Read them and weep: 

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Iwakuma's finish-'em-off pitch was, if you believe the internet and why would you not, a forkball.  He got to two strikes, it was Brandon League city.  But before he got there, he also had a precision-located fastball ... and in between the fastball-forkball whipsaw, there was the deadly gyroball/shuuto, which verrrrrry reliably produces three-hoppers to third base.  The four breaking pitches were almost just there for showing off.

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The Bad, Dept.

Based entirely on the unanimous reports that Iwakuma had a Brandon League forkball, SSI was understandably bullish on him for 2012.  As had been Billy Beane.  As had been Iwakuma himself, who'd demanded a $100M plus contract and gone back to Japan when the impoverished A's could afford only $30M plus.

Hisashi Iwakuma Goes Dangerous, 3

... okay, okay, maybe the Rays didn't exactly sweat a death machine out there.  They did sweat 7 strikeouts, though

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Aaaaaand Heeeeere's Mr. WBC-San

Iwakuma had drawn his katana and set his back foot against his lumbering but mean-spirited American attackers, and I flat enjoyed watching the skirmish evolve.  In the booth, they were beginning to back off their (admittedly justified) "let's see if he can survive" tone and sort of quietly watch to see what was going on.

The second out of the third inning, came The Pitch that stood the Rays' boxing team up for chin shots:

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After busting Upton inside with fastballs on pitches two and three, Iwakuma reared back and fired a fastball at the knees... Upton swung and the ball ... disappeared.  WHAAaaaaaa?  Where'd it go?  Montero had smothered it with his glove.  :blinks:  THE FORKBALL!  THE FORKBALL!  HE'S GOT ONE!  THAT WAS THE FORKBALL!

Well, not really a forkball, as we'll see in a second, but.  Iwakuma simply butchered Upton on that entire at-bat and you could visibly watch him smile and relax.  From that point on, the leg kick hitched more and more.  The shoulder tucked a bit, the foot twirled higher, and the fastball started rising as he snapped it off.

Okay.  Anyway.  Next hitter, the lefty Carlos Pena.

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This time three (3) hostile, jam fastballs, whipsawed against two Jamie Moyer deadfish splitters low and away.  Think about those five pitches for a minute.  You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.  In his SECOND start?

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Danger Zone, Dept.

Hisashi Iwakuma Scouting Report, 7.15.12 - Context

Hey, who put the Mentos in my $100M cola contract

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=== Wormhole Back In Time Four Months ===

Mr. WBC-san looked okay from the TV screen in spring training.  His numbers weren't bad either: he threw 15 innings in Arizona, with 11 whuffs and 3 walks issued.  His arm looked reasonably healed up and the radar gun was pleasingly solid.

That's from the TV screen.  Down in the dugout they had a full panic on.  To them -- by "them" we mean Wedge, Zduriencik, all the catchers, and all the opposing hitters -- Iwakuma looked like a batting-practice pitcher.

As Geoffy finally disclosed later in the year, the guys in uniform believed that nobody respected Iwakuma's fastball.  Zduriencik, as the report goes, grabbed a seat behind home plate to see for himself.  He watched a few innings, shook his head sadly, and wandered away having lost all interest in Mr. WBC-san.

Then Iwakuma went to Japan, having been frozen out of his dream game against the A's, and got blasted by a Japanese team.  His fate was sealed.  He never threw another inning that mattered.  

That was quick.  Growf.

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=== Wormhole Back In Time Six Months ===

The M's had recruited Iwakuma persistently.  Why not?  He was one of Japan's true aces, with a full-blown Shuuto game, a wipeout forkball, 92 MPH and all the trimmings.  

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