MLB Network - Horse Racing Forum - PaceAdvantage.Com

ElKabong · 01-09-2010, 12:06 AM

Anyone else semi addicted to that channel? During the season I really digged listening to most of their former players that make up the studio talent.

Who'da thought Mitch Williams would be an intelligent analyst, learned a helluva lot from the guy about pitching and defense....Harold Reynolds- at espn he was greatness, went way deeper than the surface of the game. But this set up at MLBN is his wheelhouse.

Honestly, I thought I knew about every thing there was to know about the game (and was totally turned off after the 1994 strike). Baseball was my first athletic passion like most kids of my generation. Ate it, breathed it, lived it thru HS (football too). Last yr I learned more about the game than any 4 month period. The MLBN really is entertainment as well as a good place to dial in for west coast game look-ins.

schweitz · 01-09-2010, 09:43 AM

Have to check it out.

Did play golf with Mitch Williams once when he first came up to the Rangers. Couldn't tell then that he knew much about how the game was played.

ElKabong · 01-09-2010, 03:58 PM

LOL, he was a dumb young pup if I recall. "Wild Thing" from the flick Major League.

He gave a good descript on how batters can figure out guys w/ three-quarter deliveries (position of fingers on ball- if fingers aren't on top, you'll get little movement). Easier said than done, picking it up just 60' away....but the way he described it was very interesting.

Also gave good reasons why most managers don't like pitch-to -contact guys as closers. Contact finds gaps, K's don't. Late innings, runners get more aggressive, when the ball is hit in play "S happens"....Personally I like control pitchers, could never figure why most closer were hard throwers. "An out is an out" thing....His explanation made sense given a managers mindets.

schweitz · 01-09-2010, 04:27 PM

One of my sons is a Mitch Williams clone and in the minors. He has a 95-98 fastball but is very inconsistent---needs to start figuring it out soon. He has been described as a real life 'Nick' LaLoosh from the movie "Bull Durham".

ElKabong · 01-09-2010, 04:39 PM

If he has that kind of heat he'll get every opportunity to get to the bigs. I'm pulling for him.

bisket · 01-10-2010, 12:01 AM

any good hitter can hit the fastball. especially one without movement. whether it 80 mph or 105 mph. its the movement that makes the difference. to many young pitchers concentrate on throwing hard to spots. the best pitchers learn to throw the fastball that rides, dips, or rises TO SPOTS. the majority of young pitchers don't learn to use their wrist correctly when throwing a fastball nowadays. thats the bigggest reason hitters have begun to own the game. the live ball, roids, lifting weights, conditioning are side items in the reasons the game has become easier for the hitters. begin to teach pitchers to throw the fastball correctly, and things will change.

DanG · 01-10-2010, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bisket

thats the bigggest reason hitters have begun to own the game. the game has become easier for the hitters.

You might have a hard time convincing Toronto, Baltimore and Tampa that is factual; here’s a partial list of what they face 36+ times a year…

CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez, Joba Chamberlain, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, John Lackey, Daniel Bard, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka...etc...

IMO: Pitching ‘league wide’ is as tough as it has been in decades.

BTW: Agreed EK on the MLB network; I wish I had more time to watch it. They go well beyond the 3 high ‘Q stories our 24-news channels beat into the ground.

bisket · 01-10-2010, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanG

You might have a hard time convincing Toronto, Baltimore and Tampa that is factual; here’s a partial list of what they face 36+ times a year…

CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez, Joba Chamberlain, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, John Lackey, Daniel Bard, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka...etc...

IMO: Pitching ‘league wide’ is as tough as it has been in decades.

BTW: Agreed EK on the MLB network; I wish I had more time to watch it. They go well beyond the 3 high ‘Q stories our 24-news channels beat into the ground.

yes this is true, but the reason hitters own the game is because they only face these pitchers 3 times a game. then it party time when the relievers come in throwing straight 90 mph fastballs. the problem is theres no depth to the talent today. so individually there are pitchers just as talented as in years gone past, but theres only one or two good pitchers on most teams. once you get past the pitchers you mentioned above. its batting practice.

ElKabong · 01-11-2010, 12:47 AM

too many teams, diluting the pitching talent, maybe?

it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they contracted back to 20 teams, had a 7 game world series w/ no month long playoff system....won't happen, but i'd like to see it.

bisket · 01-11-2010, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElKabong

too many teams, diluting the pitching talent, maybe?

it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they contracted back to 20 teams, had a 7 game world series w/ no month long playoff system....won't happen, but i'd like to see it.

no i think alot of athetes that would have chosen baseball in years past are choosing other sports. or they want to play the field and hit. being a pitcher also means most likely your career will be much shorter than other positions. the people who pitch nowadays do so because they can't make it playing the field. pitching most times nowadays isn't the position of choice for many players.years ago the pitcher was like the quarterback. nowadays the pitcher is the prettyboy whiner like the qb, but most times he's not the best athelete anymore.