0-2 Counts

by Matthew on Apr 19, 2009 9:21 PM PDT in Seattle Mariners Game Recaps

Eight times today, Mariner pitchers got to an 0-2 count on a Tiger hitter.

Top 3, Carlos Silva vs Placido Polanco, 1 out, no runners:
Polanco is hardly a power threat.
Ball, Ball, Ball, In play (GB)

Top 4, Carlos Silva vs Miguel Cabrera, 0 out, no runners:
Ronny Cedeno had just tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd. Cabrera was the leadoff hitter of the inning.
Ball, Ball, Ball, Foul, Foul, Ball (BB)

Top 4, Carlos Silva vs Matt Treanor, 1 out, runners 1st and 3rd:
With Curtis Granderson on deck and in a jam, this would be a perfect time not to dick around with the likes of Matt Treanor.
Ball, Ball, Ball, In play (IF)

Top 6, Mark Lowe vs Miguel Cabrera, 0 out, no runners:
Hey look what having an out pitch and testicles can do for you!
Ball, Swinging Strike (K)

Top 8, Miguel Batista vs Matt Treanor, 1 out, runner on 2nd:
Even Miguel gets in on the action.
Foul, Called Strike (K)

Top 9, Shawn Kelley vs Magglio Ordonez, 1 out, no runners:
Meh.
Foul, Ball, Ball, Foul, Ball, Ball (BB)

Top 9, Shawn Kelley vs Carlos Guillen, 1 out, runners 1st and 2nd:
Having walked Mags and given up a single to Cabrera, Kelley found a chance to redeem himself a bit
Ball, Called Strike (K)

Top 9, Shawn Kelley vs Brandon Inge, 2 outs, runners 1st and 2nd (moved to 2nd and 3rd during PA):
Not the greatest sequence here, but after the 2nd ball went to the backstop, there was first base open and Josh Anderson on deck, so I can sort of give Kelley a pass here.
Ball, Ball, Ball, In Play (FB)

Shawn Kelley got some mixed results here, while Batista and Lowe did the right things, but what I wanted to point out here was Silva. Three times Carlos Silva reached 0-2 on a hitter, and all three of those times called for Silva to stay aggressive at the hitter. The result? In each case, Silva wasted the next three pitches out of the zone. Carlos Silva does not have a pitch that hitters are going to chase. Nothing he throws even moves in a surprising way.

via www.brooksbaseball.net

Carlos Silva's strategy for putting hitters away in advantageous situations seems to consist of throwing the ball out of the zone and praying that hitters forget they're facing Carlos Silva.

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Do you have a handy chart that could show whether Silva's 0-2 balls were just outside the strikezone or completely missing it?

by Dewey N on Apr 19, 2009 9:30 PM PDT reply actions

Not a handy chart, but

Polanco: way inside, way low, way outside
Cabrera: way outside, low and outside, off low-away corner
Treanor: way inside, way inside, way inside

Of the nine, one was within reach of a bat.

by Matthew on Apr 19, 2009 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions

"Carlos Silva's strategy for putting hitters away in advantageous situations seems to consist of throwing the ball out of the zone and praying that hitters forget they're facing Carlos Silva."

As if.

There seems to be a lot of picking and nibbling of late with SIlva, and I honestly can’t remember back as far as Minnesota to recall if he had those tendencies then, when he was the pitcher that Bavasi wanted.

by msb on Apr 19, 2009 9:31 PM PDT reply actions

You would think

that someone who manages and trims and takes care of a goatee with as much detail as Carlos Silva would be a person who would have attention to detail and killer instinct on finding the cutting edges of the strike zone.

Mentally, I think he’s gone apeshit and needs an attitude adjustment. Yuni too. Someone in the post below mentioned his attitude. Not to beat the dead horse, but his weight gain probably and likely was related to his mental drain. These things don’t come back overnight.

Who is the team shrink? Also, heck of a finish in the Sharks Ducks game coming up.

by Tony S on Apr 19, 2009 9:33 PM PDT reply actions

???

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Apr 19, 2009 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions

I haven't seen that before

I hate shaving. I don’t understand how so many people in North America (see: at airports and golf courses primarily, with cellphone on belt and oversized shades) can upkeep a goatee.

by Tony S on Apr 19, 2009 9:40 PM PDT up reply actions