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Can we hit the breaking ball ?

Discussion in 'Houston Astros' started by snowconeman22, Oct 16, 2017.

  1. snowconeman22

    snowconeman22 Member

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    Its clear that the Astros young hitters are exceptional at connecting with and driving the fastball . Are there any stats for we , collectively as a team , handle offspeed stuff?

    The Yankees have been executing a game plan fairly well ( yes they've gotten breaks ) . They've been pitching our guys backwards all series . Breaking balls for
    a first pitch strike . Veteran starters like tanaka and sabathia do this well .

    Can our hitters adapt quickly enough to punish them ? Will the Yankees be able to throw breaking pitches for strikes for the remainder of the series ?

    To me , the Yankees have had our hitters confused and guessing more often than not . The pitch mixing and selection has been excellent . When we do make contact , our hitters are off balance and it's weak.

    This is in general of course , sometimes our hitters have good approaches and can get solid hits. But , I'm worried about how well the Yankees have managed to keep us off balance so far .

    Thoughts ?
     
  2. Buck Turgidson

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    Stros hit fastballs.

    Stros hit breaking balls.

    Stros hit.

    Stros had a rough night. Their pitchers were trying too.
     
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  3. bobrek

    bobrek Politics belong in the D & D

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    The Astros are playing really good teams with really good pitching staffs.
     
  4. snowconeman22

    snowconeman22 Member

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    I know ; that's why I started this thread . The scouting and focus is at a maximum ... And the Yankees have adopted a strategy that has been effective so far . They have more or less kept our hitters off balance .

    I want to discuss what the Astros can do to counter and if a counter is necessary .
     
  5. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Your Tweety Bird dance just cost us a run

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    It would be one of the most interesting case studies in baseball history if a team had a top 3 offense--and then after a 168 game sample, it was discovered that throwing non-fastballs was the answer that made them mediocre.
     
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  6. Buck Turgidson

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    The Stros lead MLB in hitting fastballs.

    The Stros lead MLB in hitting breaking balls, iirc.
     
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  7. bobrek

    bobrek Politics belong in the D & D

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    Point is they are in a bit of a slump brought on by good pitching. What they can do is to do what they normally do. They don't have to change anything.
     
  8. DonkeyMagic

    DonkeyMagic Contributing Member
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  9. moonsh0t

    moonsh0t Member

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    Houstunna and Nook like this.
  10. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

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    Short answer: YES.
     
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  11. Nook

    Nook Member

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    The Yankees are not doing anything different than they did against the Indians. CC did the exact same thing early against the Indians before they got to him. The Astros had chances against CC but didn't get the big hit. I don't think that it is anything that the Yankees are doing special or different. The Yankees are a good team and have been playing very well. They just dumped arguably the best team in baseball (Indians).

    As far as your question about the Astros offense. The Astros are the best team in baseball against what is considered elite pitches. I don't have the time now to dig it up, but the Astros ranked as one of the best offenses ever against pitches over 95 mph, pitches that had over a certain percentage of movement and by pitchers with the best measurable qualities (WHIP etc.). Having said that, no offense is going to hit every single game against good pitching in a short series.

    The team that has poor measurables against good pitching is the Cubs, it has been the case all year. They currently are struggling offensively and there is real concern in their front office that they need to add/change their line up this off season.

    The Astros are up 2-1, and like every one of these series; it is close to a coin flip. A bad run by a starting pitcher or reliever, or a power bat going cold can spell doom.
     
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  12. Nook

    Nook Member

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    Honestly, even if the Astros COULD change something; it would be foolish to do so at this point in the season.
     
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  13. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
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    So I checked out the leaderboards to see which teams do the most damage against breaking balls. In the regular season, Astros hitters did the most damage against sliders. In the regular season, Astros hitters did the most damage against curveballs. Granted, the Astros did the most damage against fastballs by a much wider margin than either sliders or curveballs.
     
  14. Malaya

    Malaya Member

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    We had a lead in Game 4. Bullpen let us down. Confidence at a record low at thus point.

    Nerves, pressure make muscles tight and affects judgment at the plate. Only a special type of player thrives in such situations. Either highly skilled players or those too young with nothing to lose (yankees). Unfortunately only experience can teach this poise.

    Solution: get tried and tested players esp. bullpen players.
     
  15. PhiSlammaJamma

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    If momentum is real, as science dictates, then you must apply a force to change it. I would argue they need to do something different after a three game swoon, whether it's psychological or physical, they need to apply a force. Doing nothing, changing nothing at this point, is doom. If you are doing well, keep players in their roles, they don't like change, they don't need it, but if things are faltering, do something different. Teams make changes in the offseason to apply new forces. This is no different. They've got to change the game. Rudy T on the other hand would yell at his team even up 2-0 on the magic, so that dude applied a force even when everything was going well.
     
  16. bobrek

    bobrek Politics belong in the D & D

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    Not sure who "we" is but the Astros can.
     
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