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Maurer's bugaboo is that LHB's see the fastball out of his hand very well.

He can work around this, as many RHP's do.  But it is definitely his Achilles' heel, and he'll always have to attend to it very carefully.  Tuesday night, he failed to do so. 

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Let's take the first inning AB-by-AB, just to raise your comfort level that --- > the information you're getting is accurate.

Cheap at twice the price.

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MAURER vs McCLOUTH, INNING 1, BATTER 1

Start by understanding that Nate McClouth is the hottest hitter in _________ right now.  Fill in the blank with whatever context you like; you could start with "the major leagues" and that would be accurate.  BJOL runs a little meter telling you, in thermometer terms, who's hot.  McClouth was at 108 degrees coming into the game.

The entire 1-5 Orioles hitters are blazing hot.  They are going to hit pitches that aren't unhittable, and you can't throw unhittable pitches at a 100% rate.  Unless, of course, you're from Japan.

...............

Here's the GameDay if you want a better image.  

So Brandon Maurer establishes his fastball to start the game, as he should IN GENERAL PRINCIPLES, but as he should not IN THIS SPECIFIC CASE.  He throws four (4) straight fastballs to the game's best* hitter, all at the same eye level:

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The fourth one is down-and-in, pleasantly thigh-high.  To a power lefty like McClouth, this area is called "the wheelhouse" and he would crush this pitch whether or not he were on a hot streak.  But in this case:

• He's on fire, and the ball looks like a balloon to him
• It's the 4th pitch in a row at the same hitting speed
• It's the 4th fastball in a row at the same eye level
• It's thrown from a nice low arm angle, softly moving in for him

Dr. D isn't one for cliches.  He hated it when Dave Neihaus called every home run a blunder by the pitcher.  But this pitch?  It was indeed a brainless pitch, totally brainless, one you'd throw if your blood alcohol content were .15 out there on the mound.

In the NBA, if you're down 40-32 on the road in game five, you don't dribble up and fire a deep 3-pointer with 17 seconds on the shot clock.  Neither do you throw this pitch against Nate McClouth.  It's just first principles.

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It's also first principles, by the way, for Brandon Maurer to change the eye level with his fastball.  (Not with his offspeed stuff.)  He can only ESTABLISH the fastball IF he moves it up and down.

Maurer pitched bad, deserved to give up a home run, and did give up a home run.

By the way, Cindy and I hadn't quite settled into our (pricey) seats.  So we could have done without this sort of lazy thinking on Maurer's part.  So be advised, Brandon, we took it personally.

:- /

Pitch good.  That's an order.

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CONTINUED ....