Wednesday, April 23, 2008

More Dirtbag Love

We all knew that PITCHf/x data was neat-o, and our own JCP has us looking at it when The Linkster takes the hill, but Chris at Bay City Ball has turned the tables a bit. Check out today's post about John Bowker. This time we see PITCHf/x from the batter's view, just like we do on Gameday. Excellent analysis of our young Dirtbag. Is he the FBOTF (First Baseman of the Future) we've been hoping and praying for?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the shout out, RMC!

Bowker looked good last night and I think you can draw a couple of positives from his game, even if he did K a couple of times and left some men on base.

First, the double he spanked off of Webb was riding middle of the plate in on him. He really seems to be able to get around on pitches inside, which is a testament to his hands and batspeed. Not an easy thing to do against Webb because his fastball has so much movement and in that location it's really tough to hit. Gold star for the Dirtbag.

Second, in the 5th inning, he hit a single to CF on a changeup that was down and away from him, a location that I think teams will try to pitch him at. In that AB, Webb immediately came inside on the first pitch and then worked him away on the next two. Nice adjustment from Bowker and it's nice to see a Giants prospect hit the ball the other way.

Watching players with Felizitis (trying to pull everything, and rolling over on most pitches) is maddening.