=== IP 4 - Michael Cuddyer - Groundout Other Way ===

Again I'm taken by Pineda's emerging interest in --- > the Catfish Syndrome, taking liberties with the outside corner.

Actually ... you amigos would probably relate to that better if I called it the Maddux/Glavine syndrome, eh?  :- )

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Can you imagine what happens when the umps start "buying in" to the rookie and giving him the Maddux treatment on the strike zone?

The ump buried Pineda again with a blown call.  On 2-1, Pineda chose the parachute slider for an easy garbage strike.  He throws it with impunity.  

But then, he throws a lot of pitches with impunity.  He grabs the ball and hucks it like the stadium was on fire.  Why shouldn't he?  What are hitters going to do with a 96 fastball in the spot that pitch 5 is located?

.........

Pineda isn't cocky.  He's just rationally aware that a 96 bullet, off the strike zone, isn't something that's going to be hit with a small wooden dowel.  

How many of you guys have ever stood close to home plate when a guy throws a 96 pitch?  It seems like it 'transports' from the hand to the mitt.  Energize, Scotty.  ... what if it isn't within reach of your bat?  What do you do?

You get shut out.

I imagine that this is why statisticians didn't realize that Pineda's located 97 fastballs didn't need complementary pitches.  They had probably never personally witnessed such a pitch.  

Did the Mariners hesitate at all about Michael Pineda?  Did you hear any pro player naysaying him, after batting against him?  Did any batter say, "well, he'll take some knocks, but he'll be all right?"

As with Lincecum, they shuffled away silently, even in ST.  A super great fastball is a gamebreaking weapon.

..........

The light comes on for a guy and he realizes that they can't deal with his game.

Of course, for Pineda, that light came on when he was about 19... isn't it interesting to think about the fact that Pineda came to camp knowing that big leaguers couldn't hit him? 

You might assume that Pineda hoped he'd succeed.  Not so.  Some guys know, before they even get in the game, that they're better than the game they're joining.  Dan Marino was that way.  Larry Bird was.  

Michael Pineda was.  You can see exactly why.

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=== IP 5 - Delmon Young - Strikeout ===

We trust that you recognize this maneuver.  Here is the HBT animation again.

I like the fact that Pineda ignores the conventional wisdom on 0-and-2, that you're supposed to jerk the hitter around.

Pineda simply proceeds as if it were 1-2.  Every time.  Randy Johnson used to do this.

It's one more illustration that general rules do not apply to freakish athletes.  You cannot coach Randy Johnson with the same booklet you brought to coach Luke French.

General rules are great.  Don't allow them to ossify into dogma.  Be aware of the general rules, but be ready to discard them when the specific situation is unusual.

.........

In so many ways, watching Michael Pineda feels like watching Randy Johnson.  I finally feel better about missing the decade of the '00's.

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