-Can we please stop with the ‘Cervelli was hitting .190 in AA’ stuff? It was 16 games and he’s a career .271 hitter in the minors. No sportswriter worth his salt would quote a batting average seriously until May 1st and/or 100 ABs, yet they keep repeating Cervelli’s after 52 ABs.
-CC looks great, doesn’t he? That 7th inning where he loaded the bases and got out of trouble is the difference between April CC and May CC.
-Still concerned about Mo. He’s looked great last night and was his usual, efficient self. But the Cut Fastball was still clocked at 89-90 last night. A better lineup could have given him more trouble.
-Nice play call by Girardi last night. In the top of the 7th, with Gardner at 1B and Cervelli at the plate, he had Cervelli bunt on a 2-0 count. Then he took the bunt off and called a hit and run. Cervelli hit a ball right at SS, it clearly would have been a double play, but Scutaro was out of position and the ball went right past him. The bunt has Scutaro playing a step closer to Second and the hit and run makes him break for the bag. Its nice when these plays go as designed.
-Don’t expect Wang back anytime soon. I know the results were good, but those are AAA hitters he’s facing. Don’t forget that Darrel Rasner had a 0.88 ERA in Scranton last year. His 2-seamer is still consistently being clocked at around 89-90, and was reported to top out at 92 once or twice. At his best, Wang throws the 2-seamer at 95-96 and it sets up all of his other pitches. Even Cashman’s quotes were telling:
“He’s definitely heading in the right direction. He’s much better. He had great mound presence, showed some great tempo. Threw strikes. I thought his slider was terrific.
Heading in the right direction means you’re not there yet. And ‘his slider’? He’s not getting MLB hitters out by setting them up with his slider. He needs the 2 seamer working for the slider to be effective. At 89-90 MPH, he will need to hit his spots to get big league hitters out. His mistakes will get crushed, as will any pitch above the hitter’s waist. He’s a very mediocre pitcher with that 2 seamer, and we’re better off sticking it out with Hughes.
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0 Responses to Random Thoughts-Game 34
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“But the Cut Fastball was still clocked at 89-90″
I know the YES gun had him in this range, but is that correct? That gun has been off all year, and I believe I read somehwere he was throwing 93 mph. Anyone know for sure?
Yeah, Steve, i thought you knew better than to trust the YES gun. He was 92-93 on Gameday, with his average pitch speed at 92.28. He is fine- his ball was darting all over the place last night. When we were worried about those two blown games, Gameday had him at 89-91.
Some of the latter pitches looked pretty good but I agree with Steve that there were some fat balls thrown that did not seem to move as much as usual.
Keys: Tex and Arod still outside looking in… hopefully these guys will be ready to roll soon. Like the pitching… just hope Hughes can get it together tonight. Lets kill those Twinks!
Really? i just went back and looked at it and I didnt see one. If anything, the ball was moving too much. I think people just get that perception because the YES gun is slow, so you think, “hmm, Mo isnt himself.”
I think the first pitch he threw could have been drilled… that is what I remember at least. I do think the last few pitches were moving and on the corners but first couple were not the perfect Mo. – Splitting hairs for sure.
Let me just be clear: Mo is my hero.
Mo will be Mo, every year it’s the same…so-so to slow start! Yes, age will catch up to him, sooner or later…later, would be fine with me.
When Cervelli’s name was dropped earlier this spring as the back-up to Molina, there were an awful lot of naysayers…he’s only in AA hitting .190, low up-side, etc. Stats will kill ya if one doesn’t pay attention to the full contents. One person stated; Cervelli is a better back-up then Molina, defensively-they are about the same, athletically-Cervelli gets the nod, hitting-again Cervelli, better except for HR. power. Will Cervelli ever be #1 catcher, he could make a life as the back-up on most teams (and starter on some)????
CC, done did good. Got outs when he really needed them, he PITCHED a good game.
I’m sure it’s too small of a defensive sample to conclude anything with any degree of certainty, but I thought that (based on 2009 alone) Cervelli is currently the better defensive catcher.
Agree…
Time will tell if this is only an aberration or not. Having seen him a few time in the minors, what you see is what you get…nothing fancy. Romine and Higashioka have higher up side but, Cervelli will get the job done just fine.