Jason Bay in ALDS, part 2
by rglass44 on Oct 8, 2008 11:13 AM EDT
Email
PrintI guess it was too long for one post. This contains the written review of Bay on the series as well as the screen shots and sequences of games 3 and 4.
Game 3
AB 1
| Saunders | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 92 | FB | Called Strike |
| 2 | 93 | FB | Ball |
| 3 | 74 | CB | Ball |
| 4 | 93 | FB | Ball |
| 5 | 93 | FB | Foul |
| 6 | 94 | FB | Ground out to 3B |
Patience once again, fouls off a good hitter’s fastball up in the zone in a 3-1 count, then rolls over on an outside FB.
AB 2
| Saunders | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 94 | FB | Ball |
| 2 | 85 | CH | Ball |
| 3 | 93 | FB | Swinging Strike |
| 4 | 93 | FB | Fly out RF. |
Couldn't watch... ehhh
AB 3
| Saunders | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 83 | CH | Foul |
| 2 | 95 | FB | Foul |
| 3 | 84 | CH | Ball |
| 4 | 82 | CH | Ball in dirt |
| 5 | 83 | CH | Ball in dirt |
| 6 | 95 | FB | Foul |
| 7 | 84 | CH | Ball in dirt |
Couldn't watch... ehhh (this is the only AB that he swings at the first pitch in the entire series)
AB 4
| Shields | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 93 | FB | Ball |
| 2 | 92 | FB | Called Strike |
| 3 | 81 | CB | Ball |
| 4 | 92 | FB | Ball |
| 5 | 93 | FB | Fly out CF |
Gets to a 3-1 count and weakly flys a FB to LF. Looked like he got jammed.
AB 5
| Rodriguez | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 81 | CB | Called Strike |
| 2 | 81 | CB | Swinging Strike |
| 3 | 81 | CB | Ball in dirt |
| 4 | 88 | FB | Ball |
| 5 | 82 | CB | Swinging Strike |
Starts him off with breaking balls and gets him behind in the count. After missing on two pitches he makes him look silly with a CB, the second time he did so that AB.
AB 6
| Weaver | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 91 | FB | Called strike |
| 2 | 80 | SL | Called strike |
| 3 | 80 | SL | Ball |
| 4 | 80 | SL | Foul |
| 5 | 92 | FB | Called strike |
Fouls off the only pitch he swings at in the AB.
Probably Bay's worst game of the series. He struck out twice, and the only time he reached base was a good AB where he walked.
Game 4
AB 1
| Lackey | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 93 | FB | Ball |
| 2 | 81 | CB | Ball in dirt |
| 3 | 79 | CB | Ball |
| 4 | 91 | FB | Called strike |
| 5 | 92 | FB | Ball |
Watches 5 pitches.
AB 2
| Lackey | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 80 | CB | Called Strike |
| 2 | 80 | CB | Swinging Strike |
| 3 | 81 | CB | Ball in dirt |
| 4 | 79 | CB | Flyout LF |
Gives him 4 CBs, and Bay swings at the second and fourth. Misses badly on the second, and connects on the fourth with one that hangs a bit. Still doesn’t hit it square, though, as he flies it out to LF.
AB 3
| Lackey | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 80 | CB | Ball |
| 2 | 90 | FB | Called Strike |
| 3 | 91 | FB | Ball |
| 4 | 78 | CB | GB 1B to CF |
Lackey once again pounds the low and away part of the zone. After getting ahead 2-1, Bay hits a soft grounder on a CB that should have been fielded by Aybar. He lets the ball go right under his glove.
AB 4
| Shields | SPD | Pitch | Result |
| 1 | 80 | CB | Ball |
| 2 | 92 | FB | Called Strike |
| 3 | 92 | FB | Groundrule 2B to RF |
Shields gives him a FB over the heart of the plate and he loops it to RF. Willits dives for it and it goes into the seats. If Willits stands up and catches it off the hop, Bay stays on 1B and the Angels might still be playing today.
Bay went 2-4 on the day with a double and single and scored the game-winning run. Neither was hit well, and the single should never have gotten through the infield.
What have we learned?
Well, I came into this exercise to see if Bay could hit a breaking ball. I've decided that he can, under certain circumstances. He can hit a breaking ball, if it's bad (a hanger or just a bad pitch) or if it's late in the count and he gets lucky on a poorly struck ball.
In the entire series, he never seemed to squarely connect on a decent breaking ball. That is not an issue, though, if he can get hittable fastballs or punish mistakes. You need to start him off with a strike because if you get ahead you can get him to chase a breaking ball down and out of the zone.
Bay is a mistake hitter. The type of hitter that is very patient, he doesn't mind hitting with 2 strikes, and it takes a good pitch to get him out generally. He waits for the pitcher to leave a fastball up in the zone or hang a breaking ball. He is definitely more susceptible to a good breaking ball, but there are few hitters that are not. He won't swing at a pitcher's pitch early in the count. The jury is out on whether or not he will be as successful in a full year in the AL East where evrything is magnified just a bit more. I'll tell you this, though, Crawford could learn a thing or two watching Bay's at bats.
17 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
While many may assume
he’s flourished as a Red Sock, he actually had a higher OPS pre SB than post
That being said, Bay is a FB hitter.
Bay v Kaz will be the deciding at bats for that particular game
but he can't hit lefties
remember
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.
I was actually going to mention that in the end.
A lot of this has been attributed to his youth, hopefully that’s the case.
Watching his ABs over and over, I really came to appreciate his approach.
He’s just so patient and so rarely beats himself.
TWSS
His O-Swing% reflects his approach quite well.
by R.J. Anderson on Oct 8, 2008 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Props to RJ....
from Will Lietch (even if he picked the Sox).
http://deadspin.com/5060250/alcs-preview-rays-vs-red-sox
Boom. Outta Here.
The bottom line
Jason Bay will kill the fastball and cannot hit a breaking pitch. He looks like Pedro Sarano when thrown a curveball. Hopefully the Rays have scouted this. Bay sits dead fastball every pitch of every AB. He can’t hit the curve! If I’m Maddon I give Bay a steady diet of breaking pitches, show him an out of the K zone fastball and come back to the curve, HE JUST CAN’T HIT IT!
This would be a good plan if we had the horses to do it
Take a look at what our pitchers throw….shields
dominates with his change, kaz never throws his
slider, Balfour is all fastballs, etc….this is a good game
plan for sonny and a few others, but in the end we
have to rely on what got us here
Throw strikes early
Pound the zone low and away. No one can put good wood on Garza or Balfour’s FB when they are located.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Please read our Community Guidelines.
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
DRB Suggestion Box
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Heather Nabozny of Tigers, Nicole Sherry of Orioles: Women groundskeepers in MLB
- 10 notable team reps for MLB’s upcoming draft
- Rays’ gladiator helmets: Fernando Rodney, Joel Peralta do as Romans do (VIDEO)
- Rickie Weeks forgets number of outs, passes up chance for inning-ending double play (VIDEO)
- David Ortiz is angry that more people don’t see him as a leader of the Red Sox
