Cowser on the HBP

[sportsfan8703]

Accountability. That’s a start. Part of the growing up process. We really need the young guys to reevaluate what they’re doing at the plate.  Hope they do.

Edited 4 hours ago by sportsfan8703

[casadeozo]

Link?

[Moose Milligan]

Yeah, I feel like you let the team down there, too, Colton.

[interloper]

1 hour ago, casadeozo said:

Link?

You can find it on Roch's blog. He said this right after they got eliminated. Kind of an old quote. 

[waroriole]

He did. And so did everyone else who picked up a bat in the series. 

[TommyPickles]

I was in the stadium for that. The fifth inning of that game 2 will go down in infamy. It's up there with Ubaldo coming in to pitch the eleventh in that wild card game in Toronto.

That said, I appreciate this quote from Cowser. 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by TommyPickles

[interloper]

It was the moment I knew the season was over, basically. 

[StottyByNature]

Hopefully it was a mistake of inexperience and being too amped up in a big spot.  

[Otter]

I really like Cowser, both from a talent perspective and his mentality/intensity.  I think his horrible RISP production is hopefully just a result of him being a rookie and pressing too hard in clutch situations.  I believe he'll be much more relaxed in his second season and we'll see a marked improvement in his RISP stats.

[ChuckS]

You gotta feel for Colton, but I don't know about anyone else.....the lasting memory of the 2024 playoffs for me will be him striking out with the bases loaded on a HBP.

Plenty of blame to go around of course, but that will be the burning image for me. 

I have high hopes for him in 2025 and hope he can work in the offseason and spring training to reduce his strikeout rate.  Only thing keeping him from becoming a superstar.  He has all the tools. 

[drjohnnyfever1]

I still think it's kind of remarkable that the team won 91 games.  I don't think it's a testament to toughness anymore, even despite losing 4 starters before the AS Break.  They just seemed marginal the whole year.  I think that's sort of the characterization for the whole league this year.  There was a lack of dominance and a heap of mediocrity.

I appreciate Cowser's take.  The whole OFF needs to get back it's plate discipline of 2023.

[LookitsPuck]

At least Colton has the rookie excuse. Santander was the biggest issue to me. Bases juiced, nobody out, and he's up there predictably hacking at balls at his head. The Royals had a report on him and just pounded that report and Tony made zero adjustments when it mattered. 

[interloper]

1 minute ago, LookitsPuck said:

At least Colton has the rookie excuse. Santander was the biggest issue to me. Bases juiced, nobody out, and he's up there predictably hacking at balls at his head. The Royals had a report on him and just pounded that report and Tony made zero adjustments when it mattered. 

Yep. They consistently attacked him with high fastballs and he just never adjusted. And he's a guy that I thought made some good adjustments during the season - we've seen him get to that high fastball. Just didn't happen. 

[panick]

55 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

You gotta feel for Colton, but I don't know about anyone else.....the lasting memory of the 2024 playoffs for me will be him striking out with the bases loaded on a HBP.

Plenty of blame to go around of course, but that will be the burning image for me. 

I have high hopes for him in 2025 and hope he can work in the offseason and spring training to reduce his strikeout rate.  Only thing keeping him from becoming a superstar.  He has all the tools. 

That would require him to quit swinging and missing every change-up that's thrown to him.

[LookitsPuck]

7 minutes ago, interloper said:

Yep. They consistently attacked him with high fastballs and he just never adjusted. And he's a guy that I thought made some good adjustments during the season - we've seen him get to that high fastball. Just didn't happen. 

Santander has been incredibly vulnerable to high pitches middle and inside as a lefty. That pitch was center cut but high. If it was away *maybe* he does better damage. But his whole approach that at bat was abysmal.

First pitch was even higher than the one he popped out on. So, he's already behind 0-1. This is when I knew he was cooked. That pitch is something that Santander *can* drive. That was his pitch. Even though it was high, it was outside and something he could drive. There was no way once Santander missed on it that Lugo was going to groove anything.

2nd pitch was even higher and inside, which was smart by Lugo. But Santander didn't bite. But Lugo knew the O's were being overly aggressive (they were doing such all game. That inning, Urias swung at the first pitch (got a single), Lugo pitched around Gunnar (great AB), went right after Westy who reached on an error on the 2nd pitch, and Santander just went up and was way too aggressive.