Good morning!
Here are several go-to links to make your Monday a bit more bearable:
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Via D. J. Short of HardballTalk: Fireballer Aroldis Chapman gave up his first earned run of the season last Thursday after 29 innings of scoreless pitching. (And wouldn’t you know? Chapman gave up two more runs last night.)
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Alex Rodriguez is having a better season than we think, according to “Jedi Master A-Rod” of Pinstripe Alley.
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FanGraphs’ David Laurila asks David Ortiz and Justin Verlander if a hitter can “cover all 17 inches of the plate?”
David Ortiz: If you go up there trying to cover both sides of the plate, you have no chance. Where I’m looking depends on the pitcher. I make my adjustments that way. As I get older, I have to stay away from power swinging. I’m looking more for location now. When I was younger, I wanted to hit the ball 500 feet. My reactions were better, so it didn’t really matter to me. Now I’m like, “They’re going to pitch me this way, so I’m going do this.”
Justin Verlander: Off a guy like me, I think hitters have to look in zones. There are guys who can cover both sides against a guy who doesn’t throw as hard as I do. Hitters adjust, and I do, as well. I’m going to adjust based on what I see and feel out on the mound.
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Via Jeff Sullivan of Lookout Landing: The Mariners are the latest team to accomplish the no-no feat, as six of their pitchers combined to hold the visiting Dodgers hitless in Friday night’s 1–0 victory.
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The Mets got swept in the Bronx, but perhaps that’s because R. A. Dickey did not pitch in the Subway Series. Paul Swydan of FanGraphs marvels at the amazing consistency of the knuckleballer.
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Chris Perez continues to excite too but, as Awful Announcing’s Ben Koo shows, the closer’s postgame maneuver yesterday was not the prettiest of sights.
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Maybe a catcher is most likely to know how to evade his opponent at home plate. Congrats to Rod Barajas for one of the best slides we will see this season.
That’s it. Have a walk-off week!
