Not a Bad Idea? Lopez as closer

[Jammer7]

1 hour ago, cboemmeljr said:

Here's a story with some of the details.

Thanks for looking that up and posting. Crazy day at work. Lopez was understandably emotional last year, but I do wonder if he has the mental toughness to handle this role long term. Maybe he just needs confidence and some success should help. Their mental skills coach must have had a role with him. 

[wildcard]

2 hours ago, Jammer7 said:

Lopez’ toddler son had a very serious illness, and had to undergo a scary procedure. He pitched most of the year with that on his mind. I do not recall the details, but it could have been a fatal situation. 

I was not talking about Lopez.   Holt left the team of over a month last year.

[now]

His appearance and pitching reminds me a lot of Ubaldo... the good Dr. Jekyll Ubaldo, not the bad Mr. Hyde Ubaldo. 

[Jammer7]

5 hours ago, wildcard said:

I was not talking about Lopez.   Holt left the team of over a month last year.

Ok.

[Pushmonkey]

Here we go. How will he do against a real lineup.  

[Snutchy]

15 minutes ago, Pushmonkey said:

Here we go. How will he do against a real lineup.  

Looked good to me. He recognized that he was getting the high strike and went back to it. 

[seak05]

This keeps up, we might have to change the title of the thread

[wildcard]

10 minutes ago, seak05 said:

This keeps up, we might have to change the title of the thread

Hey, I'm happy.  Just keep doing it.

[Frobby]

Good to see him allow a leadoff hit and not get rattled.  

[RZNJ]

20 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Good to see him allow a leadoff hit and not get rattled.  

I watched the game.   Trout hit an inside fastball almost right on the corner.   Great hitter.   We got the benefit of some high strike calls but, hey, why not.

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

I watched the game.   Trout hit an inside fastball almost right on the corner.   Great hitter.   We got the benefit of some high strike calls but, hey, why not.

I agree about Trout’s hit.   I thought all the “high strike” calls were inside the box they show on the screen, so not outrageous.  Lopez was commanding the ball well in the upper part of the zone.  

[Aristotelian]

4 hours ago, RZNJ said:

I watched the game.   Trout hit an inside fastball almost right on the corner.   Great hitter.   We got the benefit of some high strike calls but, hey, why not.

He went with four straight FB's, perhaps not wanting to make a mistake to Trout? Got two by him but not three. Trout did not like the 2nd pitch for strike one but it looked clearly in the zone to me.

Strike 1 and 3 to Marsh both looked out of the zone on the telecast but MLB has them catching the zone, barely (in the exact same spot to the point they look like one pitch!). https://imgur.com/QF6gtqU

 

 

[Pushmonkey]

Lopez vs MVP and HOF

[Moose Milligan]

Slammed the door tonight against the heart of the Angels order.  

The Ohtani at bat was interesting, IMO.  The first three pitches just weren't competitive.  IIRC, no fastballs, all out of the zone and not particularly close.  Then he bore down and attacked the zone for the strikeout.  

[lovetoaster]

59 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Slammed the door tonight against the heart of the Angels order.  

The Ohtani at bat was interesting, IMO.  The first three pitches just weren't competitive.  IIRC, no fastballs, all out of the zone and not particularly close.  Then he bore down and attacked the zone for the strikeout.  

I was wondering what was going on there. It almost looked like he was trying to walk him. But then down 3-0, he started attacking him and dispatched him pretty quickly. That was crazy, and that 3-2 pitch was nasty.