Command

[klaiggeb]

The more I watch San Francisco Giants starters, the more concerned I become because I just don't see enough strikes.

Rodon and Wood, and webb, consistently fall behind and counts.

It looks to me like nobody is attacking the strike zone, but rather trying to be cute, and nibble instead of attacking.

And with the stuff Carlos Rodon has that's inexcusable.

Stating the obvious, it causes all of our staff to have early exits and games, with rodon being the biggest
offender.

And tonight, once again rodon does not have good command!

I guess my concept of a good major league pitcher is different than theirs

[reedonly]

May 27, 2022 20:35:30 GMT -5 klaiggeb said:

The more I watch San Francisco Giants starters, the more concerned I become because I just don't see enough strikes.

Rodon and Wood, and webb, consistently fall behind and counts.

It looks to me like nobody is attacking the strike zone, but rather trying to be cute, and nibble instead of attacking.

And with the stuff Carlos Rodon has that's inexcusable.

Stating the obvious, it causes all of our staff to have early exits and games, with rodon being the biggest
offender.

And tonight, once again rodon does not have good command!

I guess my concept of a good major league pitcher is different than theirs

Yesterday, Rodon left and the bullpen coughed it up.  Estes was asked this morning if they should have taken Rodon out or not and the answer was that they are playing the long game with Rodon and they want to manage his workload to keep him healthy.  One thing Estes brought up was that for the month of May, the bullpen had the worst ERA in all of baseball.  Estes says not to be too concerned about it but it something to wonder about, whether it is that baseball is becoming more familiar with these guys or its an overwork thing.  

[klaiggeb]

By the time you reach the major leagues, a pitcher should have the working knowledge of what it takes to command his pitches.

When you've been in the show 3 or 4 years, you bloody well better understand how to attack the strike zone and throw strikes.

That said, of course, sometimes pitchers lose the 'feel' of the ball, and fall off their game.

But what has happened to Rodon, Wood and others including Webb, IMHO, is inexcusable.


Period!

Wood doesn't have Rodon's stuff. No question, so to some extent his has to 'nibble'.

But he falls behind in counts way too often, as does Rodon, and for a while, Webb.

For crying out stinking loud, Junis, who DOESN'T have the stuff of either, attacks the zone better!

Junis has done far, far, faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar better than I ever could have imagined.

He's really a 1 pitch guy; the slider. But he's added a very effective change up and attacks the strike zone.


As far as Estes goes, I really don't put a lot of value in what he has to say. To me, he's just another ex-jock in the booth. I learned last year that his opinion really isn't any better than just about anybodies.



Kurkow is different, as is Lopez. They have insightful things to add, and as I've said multiple times, I've learned a TON about pitching from Kruk.

I have yet to hear anything insightful from Estes

[reedonly]

Jun 3, 2022 10:18:54 GMT -5 klaiggeb said:

By the time you reach the major leagues, a pitcher should have the working knowledge of what it takes to command his pitches.

When you've been in the show 3 or 4 years, you bloody well better understand how to attack the strike zone and throw strikes.

That said, of course, sometimes pitchers lose the 'feel' of the ball, and fall off their game.

But what has happened to Rodon, Wood and others including Webb, IMHO, is inexcusable.


Period!

Wood doesn't have Rodon's stuff. No question, so to some extent his has to 'nibble'.

But he falls behind in counts way too often, as does Rodon, and for a while, Webb.

For crying out stinking loud, Junis, who DOESN'T have the stuff of either, attacks the zone better!

Junis has done far, far, faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar better than I ever could have imagined.

He's really a 1 pitch guy; the slider. But he's added a very effective change up and attacks the strike zone.


As far as Estes goes, I really don't put a lot of value in what he has to say. To me, he's just another ex-jock in the booth. I learned last year that his opinion really isn't any better than just about anybodies.



Kurkow is different, as is Lopez. They have insightful things to add, and as I've said multiple times, I've learned a TON about pitching from Kruk.

I have yet to hear anything insightful from Estes

Estes had an interesting discussion last week about the current use of behavioral coaches.  When he was playing, if anyone brought up the subject, it was considered weakness so it wasn't brought up much.  Now, after he has watched how these coaches operate, he admitted that it was something he could have benefitted from.  As we know, he was the kind of player who would fall off the rails when his emotions got the better of him.  Even doing something simple as counting numbers to reset and refocused might have helped him.  So, as far as being the ex-jock in the booth, he's probably next in line as both Krukow and Kuiper are having physical problems and he is being called to go on road trips a lot more. 

[klaiggeb]

Jun 3, 2022 10:30:44 GMT -5 reedonly said:

Jun 3, 2022 10:18:54 GMT -5 klaiggeb said:

By the time you reach the major leagues, a pitcher should have the working knowledge of what it takes to command his pitches.

When you've been in the show 3 or 4 years, you bloody well better understand how to attack the strike zone and throw strikes.

That said, of course, sometimes pitchers lose the 'feel' of the ball, and fall off their game.

But what has happened to Rodon, Wood and others including Webb, IMHO, is inexcusable.


Period!

Wood doesn't have Rodon's stuff. No question, so to some extent his has to 'nibble'.

But he falls behind in counts way too often, as does Rodon, and for a while, Webb.

For crying out stinking loud, Junis, who DOESN'T have the stuff of either, attacks the zone better!

Junis has done far, far, faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar better than I ever could have imagined.

He's really a 1 pitch guy; the slider. But he's added a very effective change up and attacks the strike zone.


As far as Estes goes, I really don't put a lot of value in what he has to say. To me, he's just another ex-jock in the booth. I learned last year that his opinion really isn't any better than just about anybodies.



Kurkow is different, as is Lopez. They have insightful things to add, and as I've said multiple times, I've learned a TON about pitching from Kruk.

I have yet to hear anything insightful from Estes

Estes had an interesting discussion last week about the current use of behavioral coaches.  When he was playing, if anyone brought up the subject, it was considered weakness so it wasn't brought up much.  Now, after he has watched how these coaches operate, he admitted that it was something he could have benefitted from.  As we know, he was the kind of player who would fall off the rails when his emotions got the better of him.  Even doing something simple as counting numbers to reset and refocused might have helped him.  So, as far as being the ex-jock in the booth, he's probably next in line as both Krukow and Kuiper are having physical problems and he is being called to go on road trips a lot more. 

That's exactly what I was thinking and what I fear.

I could live with Lopez... but he's just not that good.

[reedonly]

Actually, Krukow and Kuiper were not that good when they started because they were trying to be funny and did not respect the intelligence of the fanbase. Now that they do not talk down to the audience as much, they are much improved. One of the morning guys now says that if you need a three minute answer about anything baseball, Estes will give it to you. In fact, during the recent road trips, the guys there the most are Flemming and Estes. Kuiper is out there occasionally but with Kuiper's chemo and Krukow's mobility problems, its getting really dangerous for them to travel.

[klaiggeb]

Jun 3, 2022 14:44:35 GMT -5 reedonly said:

Actually, Krukow and Kuiper were not that good when they started because they were trying to be funny and did not respect the intelligence of the fanbase. Now that they do not talk down to the audience as much, they are much improved. One of the morning guys now says that if you need a three minute answer about anything baseball, Estes will give it to you. In fact, during the recent road trips, the guys there the most are Flemming and Estes. Kuiper is out there occasionally but with Kuiper's chemo and Krukow's mobility problems, its getting really dangerous for them to travel.

I couldn't disagree more!

If he thinks ESTES will give you the best baseball stuff, that guy needs to put the crack pipe down, and step away from the table!

[Islandboagie]

Estes is proving to be a better analyst/announcer than he was a pitcher (which doesn't say a whole lot.) He doesn't really strike me as a great baseball mind during the broadcasts but I don't know him personally, maybe he has a lot of good baseball knowledge behind the scenes.

I like Lopez when he announces, and I've preferred Miller and Flemming over Kruk and Kuip for a while now...so I do realize I'm in the minority when it comes to the broadcasters.

[reedonly]

On my daily drive to work, Krukow, Kuiper, and Estes are on the 7:40-8:00 segment. Krukow has the most interesting insights, Estes is not as good because he doesn't have as many stories as Krukow. If you hear these guys on the games on TV, realize that Krukow and Kuiper are often not there in person if it is an away game and they are having a hard time adjusting. They are seeing the same video feed as you are. Also, they are not getting a lot of the clubhouse chatter that they did before.  You know that Kuiper would have gone to Milwaukee and Cleveland if he could have but they are being cautious since the immune system gets knocked out by chemotherapy.  He's slowly becoming more active but its sad he'll probably have to wait another six years to broadcast for the Giants against Cleveland.