The non-flukiness of Ryan Vogelsong
Hard to believe that this guy is now a formidable part of one of the best rotations in the bigs. Grant at McCovey Chronicles has a post about how he's like finding a $20 bill unexpectedly in a pair of pants. I like that--
The Mariners’ radio guys were talking about his ability to stay out of the middle of the plate. His pitches cause hitters to use either the tip of their bat or the handle of their bat to make contact. It seems pretty clear that all pitchers are trying to keep the ball off the fat part of the bat, but the way Vogelsong (and, indeed, all the Giants) pitches looks quite deliberately as an attempt to stay at the corners and down. Cutters, sliders, and changeups are great weapons for this strategy and it’s no wonder the pitching staff to a man has either this exact repertoire or some approximation of it (I would say that they don’t all have cutters, but they all have two-seamers)
The Mariners’ radio guys were talking about his ability to stay out of the middle of the plate. His pitches cause hitters to use either the tip of their bat or the handle of their bat to make contact. It seems pretty clear that all pitchers are trying to keep the ball off the fat part of the bat, but the way Vogelsong (and, indeed, all the Giants) pitches looks quite deliberately as an attempt to stay at the corners and down. Cutters, sliders, and changeups are great weapons for this strategy and it’s no wonder the pitching staff to a man has either this exact repertoire or some approximation of it (I would say that they don’t all have cutters, but they all have two-seamers)
posted by Big D at 9:24 AM
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