Pickles
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Posts posted by Pickles
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4 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:
lol ok.
So now not only are you being over the top, you are also claiming that you know his intention.
As I said, this is a little bat sh!t crazy.
You can watch the swing and you can tell he is not trying to hit the ball to the opposite field. He clearly pulls off of it.
That's isn't reading his mind. That's watching his swing mechanics.
What's bat shit crazy is watching that hit, and going, "Yup. That's what he meant to do. Just how he drew it up. 55 mph cue ball 3 inches out of the reach of the 3rd baseman."
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Just now, Can_of_corn said:
Because they aren't perfect?
I've seen guys miss hanging sinkers, middle-middle fastball, cookie curveballs, it's part of the game.
Did you see the first homerun Gunnar had this season?
Was that a bad swing decision on a 3-2 count?
No, because it was clearly a ball he could drive, as evidenced by him hitting it 410 feet.
I actually think the reason I might be on an island here is I don't think he intentionally hit that ball the other way. I think he pulled off it and quibbed it.
If I thought he'd had gone with the pitch intentionally, hitting against the shift, as some seem to, then I'd be a lot better with the swing.
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2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:
I mean, it was definitely a strike. Nothing borderline about it. It was clearly in the zone according to the MASN box. Do agree it was more of a pitchers pitch though.
And yes, you are being overdramatic. Calling it a poor at bat is over the top.
I think it’s fair to call the swing decision questionable but that doesn’t mean it’s poor or atrocious.
I also like that he went with the pitch instead of just rolling it over and hitting a weak grounder to first (even if that would have advanced the runner). But it was the right approach with the pitch that was thrown.Well, I don't think he meant to hit it to the left side either. That was not intentional imo.
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4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:
Not every hitter has the same "hot zones". Based off of no where near enough data it appears that's a pitch he can handle.
And it was a strike.
If he can handle it so well, why'd he quib a dribbler down the line at about 55 mph?
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3 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:
Look at the video Frobby posted. The ball was a strike and he took it the other way.
A bad swing decision would have been if that ball was more outside and lower.
You are acting like he swung at a ball off his shoe tops. He took an outside pitch the other way.
We also know he has been a good off speed hitter, where as he has had some issues with fastballs, especially up in the zone.
So maybe he saw that as a pitch he could handle.
Where I agree with you is that there’s a good argument that it was more of a pitchers pitch and that you lay off of it. But you don’t know that you are going to get a better pitch to hit and he did swing at a strike.
You are just being over dramatic about it. If anyone was reading your posts and didn’t see the at bat, they would think he swung at an Actual bad pitch in a 3-1 count, which wasn’t the case.He swung at a breaking ball that was a borderline strike.
That's the definition of a pitcher's pitch.
He was ahead in the count and had no strikes.
Why was he swinging at a pitcher's pitch with no strikes? That's not a good decision.
I don't think I'm being dramatic. I've stated over and over again it was a borderline strike.
@RZNJ If this is just about semantics, then yeah, ok, atrocious is too strong of a word.
It was a poor at bat and a poor decision, but it worked out well for him.
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20 minutes ago, RZNJ said:
Cowser.
“I think for him it’s about rebuilding that confidence again,” he said. “I feel like when he got up here, he was kind of being more passive, whereas I want him to be more aggressive. He was walking, he was having great at-bats, but at the big league level it just comes down to being aggressive. I just think for him, it just seemed like he was starting to lose his confidence a little bit, and once you lose that as a young player in the big leagues, it’s kind of tough to regain it back.”
I agree they want him to be more aggressive this year, and that's going to include attacking strikes earlier in the count.
I do not agree they want him swinging at borderline breaking balls ahead in the count with no strikes.
There is a fine line between passive and aggressive.
I would really like access to their swing decisions app. That would be fascinating to me.
I'd like it if a reporter asked this kind of question of Cowser and management, but I don't expect any to because this is of little interest except to baseball autists.
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6 minutes ago, RZNJ said:
Now a guarantee? lol
A 1-0 count is a lot different than a 3-1 count. He swung at a strike on a 1-0 count and didn’t hit the ball hard. That’s not an atrocious at bat. It’s not a pitch that he can’t hit hard. He just didn’t.
Borderline breaking balls are not a pitch you should be swinging at with no strikes. This is literally the exact thing they're talking about when they talk about swing decisions.
I know they rank every swing decision and then have some app to share them with the players after the game.
Sure would like to have that available right now.
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4 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:
I think Pickles is a little bat sh!t crazy with some of his points here but the one thing I will say is that a good result doesn’t mean you make a good decision.
What's bat shit crazy about what I've said? Be specific.
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Just now, Just Regular said:
Tactically, it wasn't the sharpest individual decision, but strategically I do think Cowser is now in the "swing more, Gunnar" mode of his rookie integration.
That's probably true, but that doesn't forgive this individual bad decision.
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Just now, RZNJ said:
Cowser was too passive last year waiting for that pitch. This year he’s doing exactly what they wanted him to do. Attack strikes early.
Please, no more of your assurances.
They want him to swing at borderline breaking balls when he's up in the count?
I guarantee you that's not true.
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11 minutes ago, RZNJ said:
If he had hit the ball hard down the LF line would you have had a problem with it? It seems that would have met your criteria. Or does it have to be to the right side too?
What's difficult to understand?
They are specifically taught to not swing at balls they cannot drive until they get down in the count. This often involves hunting pitches, particularly fastballs.
He instead swings at a breaking ball, which is a borderline strike, low and away, when he's up in the count.
Yes, if he hits it 450 feet, you say, "Great job." Here's the thing though: He swung at a low and away borderline breaking ball. That drastically reduces his abiltity to hit it 450 feet.
He instead did what happens a lot when you swing at low and away borderline breaking balls: He hit a weak ground ball to the other side.
I assure you this is the exact conversation they have with these guys.
"What's your thoughts process on that swing, Colton?"
"That's probably not a pitch you want to swing at in that game situation."
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Just now, RZNJ said:
So, bad result means bad swing decision? The ball was a strike, bottom of the zone outer half. So, you’re saying he should have taken it for strike one, right?
I'm saying if he couldn't hit it better than that, yeah, he shouldn't have swung.
He should have been looking for a pitch he could 1) Hit hard and 2) Hit to the right side of the field. In that order.
Instead, he swings at a breaking ball, low and away, that's a borderline strike, and hits a weak ground ball.
Bad decision.
If he doesn't swing, it's at worst 1-1 and he still has a chance to do 1 and/or 2 above. Perhaps he gets the call and it's 2-0, and then he's in a better position to do either 1 or 2.
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4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:
Why was it a bad swing decision?
Because he was in a hitter's count and he swung at a ball he didn't drive.
When they're talking about swing decisions this is the exact kind of thing they're talking about.
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18 minutes ago, RZNJ said:
I think you don’t understand the game. Players don’t get the job done all of the time. It doesn’t mean they had an atrocious AB. The score dictates strategy. Does Gunnar Henderson qualify for an atrocious at bat every time he doesn’t hit the ball hard?
An atrocious at bat is when Austin Hays swings at a ball a foot outside, takes one down the middle, and then strikes out on a high fastball a foot above the zone.
I understand the game quite well, thank you.
I understand that the best fail 7 out of 10 times, and that it is a game of failure.
Cowswer made a bad swing decision. The outcome was good but the swing decision was a bad one.
I assure you that's exactly what his coaches are telling him.
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2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:
The guy on the mound, with the ball, he's a professional athlete as well.
I'm not saying Cowser should have a successful at bat every time. I'm saying he didn't have one there despite the positive outcome.
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2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:
I have nothing nice to say. Lol
Do you think this is intramural ball?
Cowser has a job to do in that situation. He didn't do it.
Now, it goes down as an RBI double but that's why the box score doesn't tell the whole story, and I thought it noteworthy to comment upon it.
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Just now, RZNJ said:
Haha. If he hit a ball hard it was ok? You think these guys can hit a ball hard whenever they want? You don’t think he was trying to hit the ball hard?
Yes, hitting the ball hard is the point.
I don't care what he was trying to do. They don't get paid to try to do things. They're professional athletes.
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1 minute ago, RZNJ said:
I don’t know that Hyde or Sigbot has a problem down 3-0 with just trying to get a hit versus trying to direct the ball to the right side. You wouldn’t bunt in that situation, would you? While trying to hit the ball to only one side of the field isn’t the same as giving yourself up it’s certainly not optimal for getting a hit.You seem to be really into the fickleness of the OH. LOL
Ahead in the count, hitting the ball hard to the right side of the field shouldn't be a problem.
Now, if he hit a ball HARD to the left side, your forgive it.
But up 1-0 in the count and you put a swing like that on the ball is just a bad approach.
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2 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:
Hard to ignore it when it's so obvious in situations like this. Cowser was like the A1 trade candidate that everyone wanted to send to CWS this offseason for Cease and any other proposed trade that would have brought us back something significant. Kjerstad was looked at as the one to keep.
And so because he's on the ML team, and there's a thread about him, what exactly?
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Thoughts on Cowser's first start:
1) He looked much better in the field than he did at any point last season. He made two nice running catches in the 4th inning I believe. Neither was amazing but both were solid plays and showed his athleticism.
2) His first double will go down in the books as an RBI double, but it was an absolutely atrocious piece of hitting. Man on 2nd, nobody out, 3-0 score. He gets ahead in the count 1-0, and Palmer says, "He must get the runner over to third or drive him in, in this game situation," no sooner does he finish speaking than Cowser hits a weak ground ball to the left side of the infield. Now, lucky for him it rolled down the third base line and into the outfield for an RBI double, but it was the exact opposite of what he should have been doing.
This was a solid start for him. And hopefully a spring board to more playing time.
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10 minutes ago, Frobby said:
I hope Cowser has a great game. Best way to get more at bats is to hit well when given the opportunity.
That's the way.
And it's no surprise the guys who were on the 101 win team last year are going to be playing now, and given some leash- and a lot more than 4 games too.
But performance will dictate playing time for all involved.
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16 minutes ago, RZNJ said:
Can’t believe how many people think Hays should have called Henderson off on the blooper in the 9th. You don’t call for a ball if you’re not sure you can get there. I don’t think Hays could have gotten there. Henderson had the better chance.
Co-sign this.
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28 minutes ago, spleen1015 said:
Does it really matter?
In the grand scheme of things? No, none of this stuff does.
In The Defense Thread, 2024 it is one of the most notable incidents.
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5 minutes ago, Frobby said:
Your math is pretty terribly flawed. 79 mph at 85 feet takes a bit more than 0.7 seconds, not less than a tenth of a second.
My bad. I moved a decimal.
All I can say, is go watch the play. He didn't have time to get in front of that ball, and the announcers were as surprised as I was it was an E.
People want to say it was questionable is fine by me.
Saying it was "clearly an error" or he "had time to get in front of it" are not dealing with reality.
Colton Cowser 2024
in Orioles Talk
Posted
Well, let's say his intentions were to hit the ball hard and to the right side. Would you agree that was likely his intention as he's waiting for the pitch to come in?
Is that batshit crazy to assume?
Because if we assume that, then he swung at about the worst pitch imaginable (that's still a strike) in order to accomplish that, while being in a count where he didn't need to swing at all.