Orlando, again
Batting #2 in the third inning

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Runner on 1B, 0 out, here comes the mighty Paulo Orlando again.  Marco goes to 2-1 and then throws the blue pitch above, a fastball at the SHINS and way inside, ball three except ...

... Orlando absolutely blasts it down the LF line for a double.  Like we tolja, it has only been three or four times that Dr. D has ever seen this, every single hitter going wild on a pitcher who's throwing well.  Norm Charlton was tipping off his pitches for a couple of weeks in 1995 and it looked about like Monday's game -- not as bad.

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OK, runners on 2nd and 3rd, nobody out, Cam Gallagher strikes out, K.  

Servais comes out and mercifully removes Gonzales from the game.

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You want to take a Mike Leake 7 IP 2 ER game, and cut out the graphics, and tell me whether the pitches are any better than the above?  Well, we started the series off with "Marco Threw Well" and we confess that's a bit of clickbait.  With the ball-strike ratio, falling behind more than he should ... he wasn't missing by much, but he was indeed behind.  What we should say is that he threw the ball perfectly decent, as well as a Mark Buehrle type will throw when on his B game.

So, am interested in your thoughts.  Tipped pitches, or the Royals had the signs, or it's just one of those things, or something else?

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Enjoy,

Dr D

Blog: 

Comments

2

You pretty sure that's what you heard?  If so it would be really nice to have the puzzle settled.  Any whispers at all in that direction and I'd be convinced pretty quick.

It's not that Marc-O was getting hit, it's that the Royals were out in front, squaring it up, with ease.

3

...and not finding any articles on it immediately...I could swear I remember it being mentioned in the vid that was posted of Gonzalez throwing to Mike Zunino in a bullpen...there was an interlude where Zunino was talking to Dipoto and Stottlemyre about how Marco had made an adjustment on his change-up to stop tipping it...can anyone remember this?

4

All pitchers get shelled now and again for no good reason.  That's why it is so hard to diagnose a pitch tipping problem.  If a guy was tipping, how would you know without a half seasons worth of underperforming starts?  I would love to see the Royals' Marco book.  Maybe it says: "He looks at his girlfriend in the stands when he's about to throw offspeed" or some such.

5

It's maddening for a pitcher to go that half season, and 29 teams have the secret book, and the M's can't get ahold of it.  You'd think it would be worth trading for another team's scrub?!?

That girlfriend thing is funny.  And completely feasible.

BTW Mojo I'm shaking off my post-concussion syndrome, rating back up to 1900'ish, so anytime you want those rematches .... ;- )

No excuses; you are playing sensationally well for a first-year player.  Especially an adult.

6

Since I've graduated into 1300 chess, I've renamed my castles Pain and Suffering.  Pain is the H rook and Suffering is the A rook.  Suffering generally follows Pain.  I'd love a rematch if your so inclined.  Glad to hear your back into that filthy form.  I don't feel as if I made the most of my window to fatten up on your near death experience.  

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