Nothing new this week. The best part of the telecast tonight was when Kruk & Kuip talked to Dave Righetti in the 5th inning. He was both interesting and informative. Intriguing, as well. Did you know that Tim Lincecum's famous late-season slider is really "more like a shuuto" than a true slider? That's according to Rags. Intrigued? I was. He kept talking about how Tim got "on top of it" and that was what made it look like (and be mis-identified as) the change-up. The shuuto is like a screwball, like a split-finger, like a two-seamer, and like a change-up. It breaks down and in on right-handed batters when thrown by a right-handed pitcher. All this time we thought it was just another slider. Well, better than most, but still a slider. Little did we know it was the dreaded shuuto, the one Tom Selleck (Mr. Baseball) could never hit. Righetti also praised Jonathan Sanchez for his good outing (in the inning he gave up the run he also struck out three) and mentioned that Sergio Romo is looking good with his fastball-changeup combo. Sergio "Slider" Romo is now a fastball-changeup guy. Like I said, informative. And interesting.
--M.C.
p.s. Posey signs one-year deal with Giants (q.v. Henry Schulman, The Splash).
4 comments:
Not bad when you can learn something from a ho-hum spring training update! Now I can impress all of y friends with my knowledge of a shuuto!
I enjoyed listening to Righetti. You can sure learn a lot. He knows one hell of a lot about pitching. I wish we got more stuff like that from baseball media. Righetti was relaxed and expansive, and you got to see more of what a coach actually does and his role on the team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZZ01WQhFnU
YouTube of Japanese baseball clips showing the shuuto.
Isn't it great that somehow Righetti is now a certified genius? I happened to be listening to that interview during the Rangers game. The Shuuto comment caught my ear.
What new pitch will Tim pull out of his stocking cap this year? Are four great pitches enough? What hasn't this kid achieved yet? Durability and longevity are the only variables left to be revealed. If he holds up (a la Zito, at least physically) he will continue to get better and better, and in time there will be 20 win seasons, a big career-win total, plenty of post-season appearances, etc.
Post a Comment