POTD Andrew Moore, Right Hand PITCHER - Setup
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Originally published on March 13, 2017, after Moore's early spring training outing. - Dr. D
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1 - ULTRA KING FELIX (TM) PITCH SEQUENCE
This was Andrew Moore's pitch chart to the first Reds hitter on Saturday, the LH Jesse Winker. Fastball HI for 1-0 ripped off by the ump hey ain't no thang, Fastball PAINTED for 1-1, Changeup / Splitfinger SHINS 1-2, Fastball POUND KNEES grounded through the infield for a base hit.
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This used to capture the essence of a King Felix (TM) at-bat: four, five, six pitches and none of em nowhere near the center gridsquare -- and yet only one ball on the hitter when the AB is resolved. Felix didn't run 2+ ERA's by accident, amigo. When the batter has nothing to hit, he ain't gonna hit. The profs call that a TAUTOLOGY. The scouts just say, "Throw Sucker Pitches. Vlad Guerrero's Dead."
Footnotes:
(1) By "center gridsquare" we also include half of the MID-AWAY square. And we include half of the MID-UP square. Capiche? Also for LH power hitters we include most of the LO-IN square. But the Mainframe just says "center gridsquare."
(2) The above is not actually a King Felix (TM) at-bat. It is an ULTRA King Felix (TM) at-bat, because nothing is in ALL NINE gridsquares. Yet Moore was ahead in the count. Ultra King Felix used to do this at. will. You'd see a 7-pitch at bat and four pitches would break outside the zone, and three would just nick the zone. It was unbelievable. Felix would do this all night long. The 8 IP, 1 ER nights were inevitable under those circumstances.
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3 - KING FELIX (TM) PITCH SEQUENCE
The third hitter, RH Stuart Turner, actually got pitches inside the strike zone: 92 Fastball TOP KNEES, 84 Signature Changeup AWAY. (In fairness this changeup was higher than Moore wanted. First time he missed the very catcher's glove.)
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4 - ULTRA FELIX (TM) PITCH SEQUENCE
The fourth hitter, RH Aristedes Aquino, saw a 78 MPH splitfinger on the hands (missed up and in a bit) and then saw a painted 93 fastball away:
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FULL DISCLOSURE
What happened to the #2 hitter in the fourth? In fairness, that was a 93 challenge fastball that WAS out-and-over. First pitch routine fly out. I didn't emphasize it because (1) first-pitch challenge fastballs are absolutely part of a Felix (TM) game, and (2) it was quite literally the only out-and-over fastball I saw among 50 separate Andrew Moore pitches that game.
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Go to MLB.com > March 11 > M's Game > GameDay > All Plays > click the location icon within each hitter, and you will see either 11 or 12 King Felix (TM) pitch sequences out of 13 batters. Depending on whether you count that first-pitch challenge fastball we just mentioned.
So that's the white meat on the bird. ... the potatoes, cranberry and sprig of parsley would be?
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