Quote Originally Posted by traderumor View Post
3 run lead, challenge the hitters, throw strikes, if the AB went that long, then isn't it more a case that the batter won the battle?
throw strikes yes but keep the hitters off balance too. if you have a hitter 0-2, which is what Hoover had last night, why not throw a buckler of a breaking pitch. instead, they threw all fastballs and eventually the hitter caught up to one and tattooed it to deep left center.

two nights ago chapman delivered a great slider for strike three to buckle the hitter and end the game (called by Mesoraco) but yet Hanigan only had Chapman throw fastballs last night. point being, even good MLBer hitters can catch up to a 100 mph fastball. that rookie, Dietrich, up from AA was fouling off 101-102 mph Chapman fastballs.