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[note: this is all tongue in cheek, I don't want to see anybody hurt, I'm just, y'know, playing along]
Oh, and if Utley gets hit, I demand Jeter and A-Rod get one near the head. Pedro wouldn't be afraid of doing it, either.
Not the first time I've seen something like this, but I fail to see what "guts" it takes to throw an object 90+ mph at a defenseless person's head. At least in an AL game.
Right, that shows guts because....you can get thrown out of the game for it? In a sense throwing at him is just an admission of weakness that you can't get him out.
I'm going to agree with Ray on this one. Stop putting softballs into his favorite spot, and he'll stop hitting them a mile.
That's just part of Bolshevik Bud's plan for redistribution of plunkings. Yankee opponents get extra HBP's of Yankee batters and the otherwise free HBPs that the Yankee hurlers would receive are taken away. So, the answer is actually zero. Consider yourself warned Andy.
He could be nice about it. Just lob it, real soft, right at his head.
Seriously, in what way is knocking down Utley with a pitch a display of guts?
"I can't compete with you on equal terms, so I'm going to take a cheap shot at you and you can't defend yourself" doesn't exactly sounds like the pinnacle of machismo, to me.
What they should do is any time a player gets hit with a ball, allow the player to wing the ball back at the pitcher. Kind of a more direct check and balance on ######### pitchers.
Mr Miyagi? Not machismo. Just a MAN.
I can't prove it, but I think Pedro ghosted this piece.
They definitely DO need to make Utley less comfortable. Pitching inside, in combination with breaking stuff away, and changing speeds can do that. Right now he's locked in and those meatballs over the middle of the plate are like a warm down comforter.
Hitting him and putting him on base in front of Howard (even given his struggles) seems silly. Not to mention the risk of being ejected.
Ah, the Torii Hunter approach.
Keep praying. The only thing Howard's knocking on is the Mendoza line.
It worked on Ray Chapman.
Sorry, too soon.
How many consecutive years has Utley led the league in HBP? I don't see how one more is going to get him to change his approach.
If Petitte's pitching when Utley hits, there's no reason to 'knock him down' or change his style anyway as Petitte dominated in their battles in game 3. If it's someone else pitching, they'll probably walk him and deal with Howard.
* Sample size and the bias of the last pitch. Foul off a tough pitch early in the count and later hit a dinger or walk on a ball two feet outside and no one will remember it.
That would be an interesting study, certainly, but until it comes back conclusively that brush backs and intimidations *don't* clear some space to pitch inside and put the hitter on his heels a bit, I go with the conventional wisdom and work the inner half. In Utley's case, he's so locked in that I'd absolutely drill him before and/or after working the inner half.
Pedro's second pitch to Matsui, top 5, Game 5, 2004 ALCS.
Before: 12-22, 10 RBI
After: 2-10, 0 RBI
Good enough for me.
That's sort of the problem with trying to quantify this sort of thing. All of the samples would be laughably small (like this one.) So you're really arguing anecdotally, and from recieved wisdom. Players are pretty unanimous that brush backs impact future at bats, so I'm trusting them on this one until proof-positive is presented otherwise.
Christ, he's been hit 76 times in the last three years. Seeing that, I've got to conclude that unless Andy gets lucky and goes all Lannan on him, I'm not sure a little chin music is going to do much good with Chase.
I don't think there's anything wrong with dusting a guy. They certainly don't have nything to do with personal qualities of courage or biological qualities of gamete production, but I do think that purpose pitches have a place in the game of baseball. And putting one up-and-in to a guy who's killing the ball, and in particular reaching out to pull middle- and middle-outside pitches into the right field stands, seems reasonable enough to me.
EDIT: Note that I am not in any way serious. This would be cool to see happen though.
If these guys were easily scared of pitched balls they'd be here posting with us.
Hit the bull.
That explains why my baseball career went the direction that it did.
Steinbrenner, is that you?
if the pitcher can get utley to back out of the batter's box on a purpose pitch or go down he really is going to get back some of the outside of the plate. its a tactic. they need to try it just to see if they can lower his production.
based on what howard's been doing, taking the chance on actually hitting utley doesn't seem too risky. though i will admit howard is overdue, so it could blow up in their faces.
that's why they play the game, and that's why i'll be watching.
Says you. Dude hasn't made an out since.
I would enjoy seeing (not that it would ever happen), Pettitte plunk Utley, blame it on Wells ("He said I should do it, and I read it, and I thought I had to do it, honest"), and Utley haul Wells' ass into court for publicly advocating another human being grievously endangering his wellbeing in response to being good at his job.
Dance, greenhorn, dance.
I'd enjoy seeing David Wells become a champion of the First Amendment and freedom of the press. Actually, I'd prefer seeing David Wells pummeled by a bunch of guys who make Ryan Howard look small.
He yeah, he was. And he despite my musings on how amazing his stealing of 3 bases was, he actually wasn't that bad on the bases for a big guy, especially when he was younger.
Given that the Yankees have won more games than the Phillies, this suggests that a strategy (to the extent that the stats represent a conscious strategy on anyone's part) of not plunking is the better one.
If Utley gets hit, he'll drop the bat, and run to first. There won't be any warnings. The reason that the warnings were issued in Game 4, was because A-Rod had to glare for several seconds, and then take 15 seconds to remove his batting glove, and amble to 1st base. By the end of his production number, the unps decided to have a meeting, and issue warnings. If Utley comes up with 2 out and no one on,and gets hit, he'll run to first, and Howard will be at the plate before it occurs to anyone that warnings are warrented.
Plus, a HBP as suggested by Wells doesn't seem like Pettitte's style.
While logically there is no reason to believe Joe Blanton was trying to hit Arod, it would be really hard to find a non-intentional HBP that looked more intentional than that one. Very weird.
No, what's going to happen is that Utley is going to let it hit him and take his base.
The problem the Yanks have had with Utley is that when they get him set up, they either miss with the out pitch or Utley fouls it off or takes it for a close called ball. I'm not saying it's as simple as "up and in" followed by "down and away". Up and in back to back can work. My point is just that you don't pitch inside so as to "scare" the hitter but to make him aware that the inner half (and further in than that) is in play.
While it would be small sample size for each individual batter, I'd think you could find enough instances across all batters to see if there was anything there.
While I'm not one to jump into the actual "work" of putting this data together, I think you could look at OPS pre HBP vs OPS post HBP in a playoff series, lump it all together for all batters HBP and then see if there's any respectable difference.
Sure, it's small sample size for each batter, but lump 'em all together and you'd have a decent sample size.
Re Plunking Utley: Agree with the sentiment that he's willing to take one in his right forearm, trot to first and hope Howard gets an XBH. He's never exhibited any "how dare you hit me" reaction ever, and I have no reason to suspect he'd do it on the biggest stage of the game.
Throw inside at Utley, and you hit him and put a batter on for Howard. Pick your poison (and right now Utley:Howard::ricin:saccharin).
Shouldn't the null hypothesis be that there is no effect, and therefore the burden of proof is on those who believe hitting a batter results in poorer subsequent plate appearances?
1) no effect. Players are pros and don't get affected.
2) negative effect. Players get mad at getting hit and work even harder to get on base.
3) positive effect. Players get gun-shy and become less productive.
I would agree #1 is most likely.
The fact that it was the 3rd time he had been hit in 2 games might have had something to do with both his reaction, and the umps' decision.
I try, man, I try!
Yes, what a clever strategy. Paint the corners and mix up your pitches...glad no one thought of this before!
It'll be fun to see Pedro's response just after the Utley dust up occurs.
Yeah, you know, it would be easy for younger players to have forgotten or never have known the reputation that Montreal Pedro had.
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