Q. I can show you another sub-88mph pitcher who threw all FB's and did great.
A. Right, so if the Yankees "realized" that Ring has an 84-mph fastball that dives like a spitball, and just told him to throw that, then .... that would explain EVERYTHING typed in up to this point.
Every once in a while you run into a guy whose sinker moves as if it were a spitball. Chien-Ming Wang, Derek Lowe, Kevin Brown, Scott Erickson, etc.
Tommy John threw the same pitch every pitch -- literally 90% of the time he just threw that "fastball" at the knees, and it dropped four inches just as the batter swung, and he made a near-HOF career out of that one pitch.
John said that over the course of his life, he learned how to "maximize" the sink ... the Big Red Machine claimed that he "maximized" the sink with the sharp edges of his rings and his catcher's shin pad buckles and that kind of stuff.
......................
When I was a kid, there was a guy named Randy Jones, threw literally 77 mph, sinker all the time. The ball just moved like a wiffle ball.
Looks like the Yankees saw Royce Ring, said "that's the only thing you do worth a plugged nickel, that little sinker," and told him to throw that.
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Q. Explaining the velo dropoff?
A. Of course. Take 4 mph off and the ball moves more.
Looks like the Yankees were admirably decisive about their plan with Ring. They were confident enough in it, to encourage him to back the fastball down from "lousy" to "high school."
The result? Lobbing the ball in there at 83 mph, every pitch, Ring scored a terrific +1.47 runs per 100 pitches with the "heater," er, cooler.
Look, there's no vid, but it's a necessary inference that Ring's sinker is, for all practical purposes, a knuckleball.
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Q. Which is why he's not a LOOGY?
A. Right. Reasons that Royce Ring is not a LOOGY:
- 85 mph sinking fastball is not a LOOGY, end of story
- Curve ball is worthless, to either side hitter
- Ring's splits aren't really that big a deal
- LHP's do not specialize in sinkers that drop into LH hitters' hot zones
Look, you've got a guy with a minus-minus fastball (velo-wise) and his curve ball is a tragedy. The only reason he's gotten looks as a LOOGY is because every LHP gets a look as a LOOGY.
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Q. So let's nickname Safeco 'The Matterhorn' and give this guy the ball on day 4. Felix, Bedard, Pineda, and then John.
A. Well, it might not be as far-fetched as it sounds...
Tell you one thing I like about Royce, if he is indeed going to try and pitch like Tommy John.
Crazy sinkerballers have a novelty effect. Go look up the "splashes" for Scott Erickson, Chien-Ming Wang, and guys like that.
Could very well be that such pitchers can figure on two years' worth of baffling the league. His first trip 'round the league could feasibly be a splash.
Like we say, it starts with a look in March. Love the way Jack brings in NRI's who have some sparkle dust to them. He gets him an Aardsma once in a while.
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