Just got a good laugh watching Strasburg vs. The Braves...

[snoopdog]

Strasburg is hitting the outside corner at about 98 and Pudge isn't even moving his glove. He is set up a few inches out of the strike zone. The Braves announcers are complaining that the ump is giving Starsburg the strike because he is hitting his target, even though it is outside. How many years did Glavine and Maddux live in that same location with those same calls. Of course they were hitting it at 88, not 98. But still, I found it ironic and humorous.

 

[Todd4State]

God they were so annoying. "Well, you get that call if you have a reputation like Greg Maddux". That's ********. You ask an umpire to be consistent for both teams. If they give Maddux a couple of inches off the plate, I want my pitcher to get two inches as well. That was my problem with it.

But for their announcers to complain about it- they have no room to talk. Especially if it's Don Sutton.

And yes, Albert Pujols does get calls because he is Albert Pujols, and no it isn't right either.

I'll tell you- the problem with relying on the corner so much if you are a control pitcher like Glavine and Maddux, is you are so dependent on the umpire. If the umpire wouldn't give them that corner, they were in for a LONG night. That's the value of velocity. Although, yeah, control, movement, and changing speeds are vital, but velocity is valuable- especially if you can locate and change speeds and have movement. Of course Maddux and Glavine got the corner more times than not because of the movement on their pitches.

 

[RebelBruiser]

I think it has more to do with hitting your spots than your reputation.

If you are hitting the glove over and over human nature gets the umps to extend the corner a couple inches. If you are all over the place you won't get that extra couple inches.