Keith Law takes another shot at the O's

[Sports Guy]

Why do people hate it when people tell the truth?

[Rene88]

I can't stand Keith Law. I just despise the guy. But anybody who does not think he is correct in his hammering on the handling of this team.....Especially this offseason, is a Homer. Period. When I read about how people are pleased with DD's performance thus far, I just want to puke. Wilson Betemit is the only legit ML addition to this ballclub all off season long. Wilson freaking Betemit.

LOL, this is great and spot on. Sometimes I feel like I am alone:)

[ScottP]

Maybe it's Kim Jong-un with a fake birth certificate, in which case $550k is a bargain

[Rene88]

Maybe it's Kim Jong-un with a fake birth certificate, in which case $550k is a bargain

I don't believe you! Prove it! I want the long form certificate.

-Luke Scott

[VThokie7]

Surprise, surprise.

Until Angelos makes some sort of legit effort to improve the club, he and the team deserves whatever they get from the media.

[byrdz]

Why do people hate it when people tell the truth?

That height matter with pitchers?? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard.

[allstar1579]

That height matter with pitchers?? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard.

Not at all. Many more successful pitchers over 6 foot than hovering around 5'9. Sure there are exceptions here and there, but a large majority stick to that.

[Moose Milligan]

Why do people hate it when people tell the truth?

The Orioles are like your idiot relative that all your family members hate. You can all talk smack about him but the minute someone outside the family says something, you get defensive.

Bash away, Law. Not like the Orioles don't deserve it.

[sangar]

Not at all. Many more successful pitchers over 6 foot than hovering around 5'9. Sure there are exceptions here and there, but a large majority stick to that.

Isn't this true of baseball players in general?

[.500_OR_BETTER]

Wasn't there like 5'5 reliever... He was a young kid.. Blanking on the name... But he was effective for a few weeks..

[byrdz]

Not at all. Many more successful pitchers over 6 foot than hovering around 5'9. Sure there are exceptions here and there, but a large majority stick to that.

Well that could be due to them not being given a chance early on maybe from societal pressures to change positions or even before. There are more right handed pitchers than left handed pitchers but that doesn't mean it's because they are better pitchers as a group. If taller guys are more successful then is it because they throw with more velocity? We've had former NBA players who couldn't crack 90mph on our team and his downward plane didn't seem to help much at all. Lincecum is one of the smallest guys in baseball but that hasn't slowed him down. Pedro as well.

http://sabr.org/research/does-pitcher-s-height-matter

The idea that taller pitchers are more effective and durable is ingrained in baseball. For example, Whitey Ford signed with the Yankees after they offered him more than the Dodgers did, who “told me they thought I was too small anyway,” Ford recalled many years later.1 At first glance, the theory makes intuitive sense. Taller pitchers are more intimidating, throw on a greater downhill plane, and release the ball closer to the plate. You would think that someone taller would be able to throw harder since they have longer arms and their greater size should enable them to be better able to withstand the punishment of pitching.

However, if you start to think about these assumptions, many of them just don’t hold up. While Randy Johnson was incredibly intimidating at 6-foot-10, the same can be said for Pedro Martinez at 5-foot-11. While longer arms, acting as levers, are certainly helpful in throwing hard, having a quick arm is just as important, if not more so. When it comes to durability, each pitcher is throwing his hardest, so his muscles are working at their hardest. Jon Rauch is not trying less hard to throw his 92-mph fastball than Francisco Rodriguez is trying when he throws his fastball at 92 mph. “We’re not selling jeans here,” as Billy Beane, responding to scouts who said that Jeremy Brown had a bad body, is quoted in Moneyball. Under this thinking height should not have a significant impact on a pitcher’s effectiveness or durability.

Maybe DD HAS found the next Moneyball in short players?

[allstar1579]

Isn't this true of baseball players in general?

Pretty much. I was told at 19 I wouldn't make it anywhere because I wasn't 6'0+.

Here's a good article on it.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8122

[.500_OR_BETTER]

Tim Collins 5'7 KC

[allstar1579]

Well that could be due to them not being given a chance early on maybe from societal pressures to change positions or even before. There are more right handed pitchers than left handed pitchers but that doesn't mean it's because they are better pitchers. If taller guys are more successful then is it because they throw with more velocity? We've had former NBA players who couldn't crack 90mph on our team and his downward plane didn't seem to help much at all. Lincecum is one of the smallest guys in baseball but that hasn't slowed him down. Pedro as well.

http://sabr.org/research/does-pitcher-s-height-matter

How many more examples besides those two do you have though? You are talking about two guys that are 5'11. Far cry from 5'9. I want to say that 6'2 is league average for a pitcher, so 5'11 isn't THAT far off.

The bigger issues that I've seen is that without that downward plane they aren't throwing as hard. That plane gives an extra boost. I could always feel it, but in order to get it I had to release awkwardly above my head and it never felt comfortable for me, there was definitely some extra "oomph" on it though. There's more involved than just the plane, mechanics, muscles in the right place and so on (basketball players and baseball players develop muscles in different places for their respective sports.)

It's more complicated and involves the whole package of ligaments, mechanics, muscles, plane etc. to add up to high velocity, but taller and longer arms helps. I've seen many more kids at 6'2-6'4 throwing 90's than 5'9-5'11 kids.

[allstar1579]

Well we're focused on velocity but that isn't the total package as you must know.

Nope, absolutely not, I'm not even a huge fan of power pitchers...too much injury risk for me. But you still want them to have the ability to sit in the high 80's low 90's, just how ML hitting goes, if you throw in the mid-high 80's you have to be PERFECT in the other areas, those extra couple mph gives you more wiggle room.

That plane helps with everything though, you want to keep the ball down in the zone, or below the zone, so you'd like the ball to be moving high to low instead of coming in on almost a straight line. It makes it harder for the guy to square up on the ball. Also helps with breaking pitches.