Grayson Rodriguez 2023

[7Mo]

1 minute ago, DirtyBird said:

He was downright awful

Time for you to say Tuesday's game is a must win.

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, RZNJ said:

And yet he came up huge in game 3 of the Tampa series which was huge.  I’m not disagreeing with the idea that the moment was too big for him yesterday but I chalk it up to a painful learning experience.  Also, I believe the Orioles already employ a sports psychologist.

This is where I am with his start yesterday. We all know Rodriguez absolutely has the stuff to be a dominant starter at the major league level. But we've also seen that when he's a little too amped up, he has trouble commanding his stuff.

This is amped up Grayson:

 

This is Grayson in command:

The big thing I see here is command and control. He landed his 4-seamer yesterday just 43% in the zone and all of his stuff just 47%. Yesterday he went fastball changeup mostly throwing just two curveballs and sliders.

When he was good, he mixed in his curveball a lot more, but look at that 4-seamer zone percentage of 73% and overall he had a 66% in the zone percentage.

The velocities where about the same so it really comes with commanding the stuff, which Rodriguez wasn't unable to do on the big stage. 

Overall, it's probably a good learning experience and the failure should drive him even more. He's going to win a lot of playoff games for the Orioles in the future.

[Jim'sKid26]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Is the moment "too big" for anyone that doesn't perform in a high stakes moment?

Yes. This is a game of performance and results. He didn't get unlucky. He has enormous talent. He couldn't throw strikes. It's a playoff game. Those are the not-so-subtle clues for me.

[Moose Milligan]

27 minutes ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

Yes. This is a game of performance and results. He didn't get unlucky. He has enormous talent. He couldn't throw strikes. It's a playoff game. Those are the not-so-subtle clues for me.

This doesn't make much sense.

[Jim'sKid26]

42 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

This doesn't make much sense.

I'm sorry you are struggling with this concept.

[Moose Milligan]

2 minutes ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

I'm sorry you are struggling with this concept.

I'm sorry you're not making sense enough for a dolt like me to understand it.  If the concept was clear, any moron like myself should be able to understand it.  

But I don't.  All you seem to be saying so far is that someone with tremendous talent couldn't throw strikes because it was a playoff game without any proof that the playoff game is the exact reason why he couldn't throw strikes.  He couldn't throw strikes at the beginning of the year, could he not handle the moment in those lowly, early season games that don't mean anything?  

 

[Jim'sKid26]

8 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I'm sorry you're not making sense enough for a dolt like me to understand it.  If the concept was clear, any moron like myself should be able to understand it.  

But I don't.  All you seem to be saying so far is that someone with tremendous talent couldn't throw strikes because it was a playoff game without any proof that the playoff game is the exact reason why he couldn't throw strikes.  He couldn't throw strikes at the beginning of the year, could he not handle the moment in those lowly, early season games that don't mean anything?  

 

The evidence is circumstantial. Without Grayson himself stating that he was overwhelmed by the moment (something he would be very unlikely to admit publicly), I'm afraid your desire for "proof" is likely to be unfulfilled.

Is it, however infrequent it might be, possible that your personal experiences with big moments might allow a bit of insight into the impact of anxiety, inexperience and overstimulation on performance? If not, so be it.

[Moshagge3]

1 hour ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

Yes. This is a game of performance and results. He didn't get unlucky. He has enormous talent. He couldn't throw strikes. It's a playoff game. Those are the not-so-subtle clues for me.

Clues of what? If you're saying he had poor command because it was the playoffs, that's hard to square with the fact that he had the best start of his career against Tampa Bay in what was essentially a must-win situation in front of a near sellout crowd.

[Moose Milligan]

4 minutes ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

The evidence is circumstantial. Without Grayson himself stating that he was overwhelmed by the moment (something he would be very unlikely to admit publicly), I'm afraid your desire for "proof" is likely to be unfulfilled.

Is it, however infrequent it might be, possible that your personal experiences with big moments might allow a bit of insight into the impact of anxiety, inexperience and overstimulation on performance? If not, so be it.

It's possible.  That's all it is...possible.  

Yet people are acting like they're certain the "moment was too big for him" yesterday.  

[Jim'sKid26]

1 minute ago, Moshagge3 said:

Clues of what? If you're saying he had poor command because it was the playoffs, that's hard to square with the fact that he had the best start of his career against Tampa Bay in what was essentially a must-win situation in front of a near sellout crowd.

Yes. The playoffs are just a different beast. The mental side of pitching is very substantial. Ask any pitcher worth his salt. 

Read this: How the Braves’ Spencer Strider rebuilt his mental approach to become an ace - The Athletic

 

[Sports Guy]

4 hours ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

It might be time to invest in a sports psychologist. 

The moment was just too big for him and he couldn't self-correct.

It was really painful to watch.

Multi-million dollar arm.....

I can’t tell if you mean this or if it’s parody. If you mean it, wtf?  

[SilentJames]

Well, if things go our way - Grayson might get a chance to redeem himself on Friday. 

Wouldn't that just beat all?

[Moose Milligan]

So Spencer Strider needed to write his thoughts in a google doc, that must mean that Grayson had a hard time focusing yesterday because the playoffs are a different beast.

His fastball only drifted out of the zone yesterday because that's where his thoughts were.  Somewhere else, other than the game and the enormity of the moment.  It's a good thing we probably won't be advancing to the ALCS, he might be too scared to leave his house the day of his start.

[Sports Guy]

Oh I see he meant it.  Wow, that’s an absurd opinion.

He hadnt pitched in 11 days. He walked 4 guys. One was on a pitch that was a clear strike and was called ball 4 and another was an obvious pitch around of Seager.

About 63% of his pitches went for strikes and if ball 4 to Carter was called a strike, that % jumps to 64.4%, which is above the league average.

He just didn’t throw enough quality strikes, especially with 2 strikes. They hit a lot of balls hard but they also found holes with those balls.  It happens especially when you are a little off and you had 11 days off. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Sports Guy

[Sports Guy]

The rest of the Os pitchers threw 53% of their pitches for strikes.  Do all of them need to see a shrink too?

Who picks up that bill?  Is that the team? And can they get a “we all had a bad game so therefore we are mental weaklings” discount?

Edited October 9, 2023 by Sports Guy