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It was certainly nice of Noesi to deal up a gem in response to my "Baby Teeth" post.
I dearly love Doc's even-handed view of a solid effort where the results were better than the actual performance. It is, of course, much harder to be as even handed on those occasions when you get bad results from good performances.
For me, the performance was picture perfect ... not from a pitching standpoint, but from a mental snapshot perspective.
The pitch selection breakdown is telling. But, Doc limits his focus to that of who was calling the pitches. Yes, the catcher has initial control over pitch selection, but it is the pitcher that makes the final call. Anyone who lived through the Wash/Johjima years should appreciate the importance of a battery working "together".
Remember the era when Felix was too prone to challenge hitters? Experience has moved his HR/9 from 1.1 to 0.6. The point here is not that Noesi is done developing. He's not. There is "No-Easy" development path. Mistakes and setbacks are a part of what development is all about. But, Noesi wasn't just able to alter his pitch selection and execute a new game plan - he was WILLING to do so. The combo of willing and able is actually much rarer than one might think. Pro athletes are used to doing things "their" way. Too many are convinced they have all the answers because they have always been the best athlete on the field. Believe me -- having a kid more interested in winning than in proving his "stuff" is superior to the opposing bats ... that's a much bigger dealio than one might think.
Doc described the previous outing as a trip to the dentist. I think this outing would be the moment the "Nova-caine" kicked in. The procedure may not be over yet ... but it certainly shouldn't feel quite as painful moving forward after this effort.