Ya...kinda the same point I was making....Originally Posted by Falls City Beer
Ya...kinda the same point I was making....
I doubt its going anywhere because he has grown to like it. As most have probably heard before Narron is the one that told him to grow it his rookie year.I do wish he'd shave that Ugly goatee
There are 10 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary and those that don't.
They wheeled a 3x4 steel safe into the clubhouse Sunday morning to store the players' valuables. It took four guys to lift it off a dolly and onto a table.
Said pitcher Kent Mercker: "What's that, Junior Griffey's wallet?"
But I was taking it a step further by saying don't count on him suddenly finding that ability to throw it for a strike...hence, the prognosis metaphor.
In other words, he's not closer material.
He's 24; if he can't throw it for a strike by now, he's probably always going to have a tough time doing so.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
24 is pretty young. There is plenty of time, most guys that age are still in the minors working on it.
Not necessarily. Most guys are polishing themselves by the age of 24, not learning to throw their bread and butter pitch for a strike. Right now, he's getting by, in the way the Wagner did briefly with his slider, on the pure nastiness of the pitch. It takes more than that initial flash and sizzle.
Twenty four isn't ancient, and there is some time, but it definitely doesn't bode well for him being anything but a middling middle reliever.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
It's certainly the start of where a lot of guys break through. I don't expect Bray to be a fully cooked bird in 2007, but I think we'll probably have a good handle on whether he's closer material based on what he does next season.
I actually don't think his slider's the ticket for him. If you can't make hitters swing and miss on your fastball, then you're a dangerous closer (to your own team). My favorite example of why you probably don't want a closer who relies on a slider is the last pitch of the 1993 World Series. Mitch Williams threw a good slider there. It had movement and it was diving out of the strikezone. Didn't matter. It was still moving at slider speed and it was still close enough for Joe Carter to reach it.
Going down to AAA to fool lesser hitters with a wrinkle pitch doesn't strike me as good closer training. I want to see how his ace fares against major league hitters, at least if the notion is that he's got a big future. If the club thinks he's just a future setup man, then Louisville's fine by me.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
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