OGT: Miami Marlins @ Detroit Tigers (Lakeland) 3/26/2012

[General283]

I still can't believe how young Porky is...

PLEASE, just PLEASE don't rush Turner, don't even THINK about bringing him to Detroit this year- if the competition/talent pool is really as deep as they're saying (5 guys in mix), that's all the season NOT to rush JT.

and CB, you mention the groundball vs flyball thing for porky, and that's good, right? I think I remember some talk (somewhere) about how he has a good sinker, and I think Leyland doesn't like him straying from that TOO much (I believe there was a start this spring where Leyland said he threw too many fastballs?) - and when that Sinker is "On" it induces more groundballs (which was a concern for this defense)... So in summary:


= Good for Porky?

Yes, groundballs are always good. There has yet to be a ground ball then went for a home run in MLB history, far as I know

[SportsFromA2]

Yes, groundballs are always good. There has yet to be a ground ball then went for a home run in MLB history, far as I know

no **** Sherlock, but contact=bad, right? so when CB says: There was a lot of contact, but a lot of ground balls, I'm trying to figure out if I should be excited or not, lol

[tommyz]

they tied again..lol 3-3

Babe was 0-3 with a K and a DP

[GF-22a]

no **** Sherlock, but contact=bad, right? so when CB says: There was a lot of contact, but a lot of ground balls, I'm trying to figure out if I should be excited or not, lol

Doesn't he pitch to contact? He wants ground balls... Ground balls = double plays. And with our all-start infield we should be turning all kinds of DP's .

[General283]

no **** Sherlock, but contact=bad, right? so when CB says: There was a lot of contact, but a lot of ground balls, I'm trying to figure out if I should be excited or not, lol

Contact does not necessarily mean bad. Greg Maddux pitched to contact. A lot of pitchers do, the key is to make them swing at pitchers pitches in specific locations, and to make them get on top of the ball to force grounders. Not every 1 is going to be a strikeout pitcher, and it's better to be a Porky IMO than just some regular #4 starter who hates contact because it might be going yard.

[SportsFromA2]

Doesn't he pitch to contact? He wants ground balls... Ground balls = double plays. And with our all-start infield we should be turning all kinds of DP's .

Contact does not necessarily mean bad. Greg Maddux pitched to contact. A lot of pitchers do, the key is to make them swing at pitchers pitches in specific locations, and to make them get on top of the ball to force grounders. Not every 1 is going to be a strikeout pitcher, and it's better to be a Porky IMO than just some regular #4 starter who hates contact because it might be going yard.

ah, makes sense...

I was totally off the Porcello train last year, but now I'm fairly optimistic based on his numbers in the spring... And the point that CB made (Porky NOW is as old as JV as a rookie) is huge IMO.

[Scott37189]

Generally yeah, groundballs vs. Porcello = he's sharp

[ChrisBrown]

and CB, you mention the groundball vs flyball thing for porky, and that's good, right? I think I remember some talk (somewhere) about how he has a good sinker, and I think Leyland doesn't like him straying from that TOO much (I believe there was a start this spring where Leyland said he threw too many fastballs?) - and when that Sinker is "On" it induces more groundballs (which was a concern for this defense)...

When Porcello is at his best, he's getting a ton of groundballs because his 2-seamer is getting in on the hands of right-handed hitters. One thing I noticed in his televised start against the Mets (I think) is that he really seems to be intent on getting his slider in on the hands of left-handed hitters. We saw that a bit toward the last half of last year, when he started plunking a lot of guys, and I think it's a good way to go, although I wish he'd concentrate on his changeup more because that thing is occasionally a plus pitch and the slider never seems to be more than average.

Pitching to contact works best for him, but that means we're gonna see the same sort of inconsistency we've seen over the last few years. There will be games where every ball seems to find a glove and he'll go 8 scoreless innings, but there will also be games were every ball finds a hole in the infield and he gives up 6 runs in an inning. He was able to get his K rate up slightly last season (4.7 per 9 to 5.1 per 9) and he'll need to make similar progress this year to keep improving. If he can ever find a way to strikeout 6-7 guys per 9 innings, then he'd be a solid #3 starter.

Contact does not necessarily mean bad. Greg Maddux pitched to contact. A lot of pitchers do, the key is to make them swing at pitchers pitches in specific locations, and to make them get on top of the ball to force grounders. Not every 1 is going to be a strikeout pitcher, and it's better to be a Porky IMO than just some regular #4 starter who hates contact because it might be going yard.

The alternative is a guy like Galarraga, who didn't get strikeouts or groundballs, so he rarely threw strikes, he walked batters, and he gave up homers.