.
=== Lookin' At You Sideways, Dept. ===
First pitch of the game, WBC-san rocked, paused at the top, drove forward and --- > fired a stinging little fastball --- > exactly into Shoppach's mitt, on the black and knee high.
The pitch had excellent life and drive, and was one of the best fastballs I've seen Iwakuma throw. Okayyyyyy.
And then guess what he did with the next pitch?
Dr. D lurched forward in his chair. We were two pitches in, and Iwakuma-ShoppAckA-Tack owned the building.
Pitch #3 came in looking just like a fastball, and the bottom fell out of it at the last second... 88 shuuuto. The only thing that saved Kinsler was the fact that he knew he could count on the ump to give him an 0-2 grace pitch (Kinsler didn't have to swing in any case).
But they two were jus' gettin' loose.
.
=== Go West, Young Man ===
Iwakuma, bemused, proceeded to deliver a very American interpretation of his own pitching arsenal the rest of the evening:
| Weapon | # |
| Fastballs, 89-94 MPH | 56 |
| Armside Shuutos, 87-88 | 22 |
| Gloveside Sliders, 83-84 | 12 |
| Changeups | 0 |
| Curve balls | 0 |
| Pitches slower than 82 MPH | 0 |
| "POWER" pitches thrown | ALL |
Dr. D had never seen Hisashi Iwakuma pitch off his fastball. Perhaps neither had Eric Wedge. But on this evening, his fastball was a dangerous weapon. With that and his fastball-juking shuuto and slider, he dominated the Texas Rangers.
About the 2nd inning, I was tapping my chin... er, pulling at my beard. Where had I seen a stinging little right hand fastball used like that?
Hmmm ... :tap:
Hmmm .. :tap:
Jered Weaver does you that way. Orel Hershiser used to do it. Who else... not Fassero; right hand ...
Don't think there has ever been a Mariner pitcher like that. Scott Bankhead for a few starts, like five or six starts one summer, about a thousand years ago ... Chris Bosio?, nah...
You guys know what I mean. The really maddening little 91 fastball, exploding late life, right on the corner where you can't reach it .... there's another 0-1 count; he does it literally at will. You're in the hole 0-1, 0-2 before the AB even begins.
Pedro did it, but at 94 ...
Well, Dan Haren, kind of. Doug Fister, pretty much. But Jered Weaver is the guy I'm thinking of, mostly.
...............
With a located fastball as dangerous as that, Kelly Shoppach used the gloveside slider to break off the plate --- > gloveside. And he used the armside shuuto to break off the plate --- > armside. Nothing was breaking into the plate. The breaking pitches were expanding the strike zone.
With two strikes, WBC-san had four pitches he used to put people away:
Establish the fastball, then EXPAND the strike zone with breaking pitches that LOOK like fastballs coming out of the hand. What a concept.
Not to put too fine a point on it -- Kelly Shoppach actually did take the kid catcher to school Friday night. I don't say there's a right and wrong way to catch. But the very things we've been yakking about, Shoppach was given a game behind the plate, and right out of the gate he went out and gave a blinkin' clinic. He did.
If you're Wedge, who catches Maurer on Sunday?
.
=== Five and Dive ... er, Six and "Nix" Dept. ===
Iwakuma has 16 strikeouts and 1 walk in 20 innings. He's allowed 9 hits in those innings, so I guess his WHIP is somewhere in the vicinity of 0.50. I'm no rotodweeb, but an 0.50 WHIP used to be a desirable attribute. 1 runner every 2 innings is preferable for the team with the mitts on.
Since he was given a rotation slot, he's maintained his status as top-5 ERA pitcher. Who's going to say him Nay this morning? You? :turns left: You? :looks around: You?
LOL. Always liked Japanese ballplayers, man.
...........
I think he pitched 89 innings last start, and 90 this start. If Iwakuma's my pitcher, I let him throw 80, 90 pitches and hit the showers any time it's feasible. With his efficiency, that's probably a lot of the time.
I bet you that Iwakuma can get through 6 IP, with a nice lead, at about 85 pitches most the time. so give it to your pen. And when you really need him to go 7, 8 IP, go ahead.
He's a Ferrari at this point. Drive him like one.
.
=== Roster Moves ===
Mo' Dawg axed what you do, if you change catchers...
Right now if Montero's the backup catcher, he can have some of Smoak's AB's too, right?
Doc, thanks for the posts... twice in one week - maybe I need a new day job.
You are correct. Shoppach did a great job. Kuma hit his spots right, and showed how to attack a strike zone... and Kuma demonstrated how Mariners brass wants their pitchers to pitch.
Now if only Shoppach or Wedgie can teach Montero how to call a game like that.... because even when Zunino is up, Montero will be catching at least once a week.
that Kuma had expended something like forty-two pitches, and thought to myself, "very efficient, Kuma, very efficient use of your repertoire ".
Yeah, Montero seems bright enough. He really does.
It's not that tough. Establish the fastball, if the batters are sitting back for the junk. ... establish the zone, and then go off the zone. What's so complicated?
If he can ZZZzzzzing that first-pitch fastball to spots, he's going to be routinely ahead in the count...
And with his pitchability, will be in their heads with 2 strikes...
... and may have a LOT of short pitch counts...
Three offerings stood out:
The first two seemed to indicate that the Rangers either had a hard time picking the ball up out of his hand OR that the rhyme/rhythm of Shoppach's pitch sequence had 'em bamboozled.
1. He threw a first pitch FB to Cruz in one AB that was one of the few he centered all night. Cruz never wiggled the bat.
2. At one point, I forget the RHB, he froze him with a first pitch slider. The batter turned his lead shoulder away a bit and then watched the ball wrinkle into Shoppach's mitt, clearly fooled.
3 At another point, after a FB strike, a FB strike, and a shuuto in the dirt, I just knew he was going to bust him up, probably out of the zone. Sure enough, as Iwa-san went into his motion, Shoppach popped out of his low stance and gave him a very high target. I think the pitch was foulded off and he got him on the next one, a slider, but I loved the challenge and the change of pitch level. I think that AB went FB in, FB away, dirt digging shuuto and FB at the top of the letters.
He was pretty dang good last night.
If Shoppach doesn't get the start tonight I'll be bamboozled myself. I would almost bet that it will be Smoak's night to "rest." Morales to 1B, and Montero to DH. Wait, Ogando is throwing tonight, correct? Dare Wedge sit Montero a second game in a row?
I'm in....is Wedge?
...I think Montero isn't all that bright, to be honest. He doesn't train like someone who cares about his job...he doesn't adjust quickly at the plate...he doesn't make intelligent decisions on pitch selection...I think he's going to be a grave disappointment to Mariner fans offensively and defensively.
I still think Shoppach is a better htiter right now than Montero. He is streaky so it won't last, but at the moment, he is seeing the ball well...had a couple of loud fouls and a good look at a large number of pitches last night. He and Smoak should be playing as much as possible they're having the best ABs on the team after Morales and Gutierrez.
Perhaps another case of a player reaching their plateau before expected.
A couple of times, when balls were popped up behind the plate, Shoppach busted his tail to the backstop. The difference in effort, from Montero's usual gait, was a pleasure to see.