Is Chapman getting the rookie squeeze or is his stuff fooling umpires?

[Roy Tucker]

I don't think Chapman is getting treated any different than any other rookie. I've noticed over the years that umps squeeze rookies. I don't think they should, a strike is a strike, but those are the realities.

And I thought that ump yesterday was ridiculous. His strike zone was miniscule and affected how the game went and factored into Harang getting torched. And then suddenly he expanded the strike zone for Jimanez in the 5th and 6th inning.

[OesterPoster]

Originally Posted by Roy Tucker

His strike zone was miniscule and affected how the game went and factored into Harang getting torched. And then suddenly he expanded the strike zone for Jimanez in the 5th and 6th inning.

This is what ticked me off the most. He started calling pitches strikes for Jimenez which were balls for everyone earlier.

[sivman17]

Originally Posted by OesterPoster

This is what ticked me off the most. He started calling pitches strikes for Jimenez which were balls for everyone earlier.

That's what bugs me the most about umps- when they are inconsistent. I realize every ump has a little different strike zone, but there's no excuse for changing it in the middle of a game.

[BCubb2003]

For someone who throws at unprecedented speeds whenever he wants, Chapman doesn't miss as many bats as you'd expect. Even in his hitless innings, guys were putting bats on the ball. Maybe that'll come as he gets used to moving the ball around and mixing pitches against major leaguers. But I wonder if it's something to keep an eye on.

[pahster]

Originally Posted by BCubb2003

For someone who throws at unprecedented speeds whenever he wants, Chapman doesn't miss as many bats as you'd expect. Even in his hitless innings, guys were putting bats on the ball. Maybe that'll come as he gets used to moving the ball around and mixing pitches against major leaguers. But I wonder if it's something to keep an eye on.

His K/9 in the majors is 10.8.

[BCubb2003]

Originally Posted by pahster

His K/9 in the majors is 10.8.

That's not too shabby. I guess I was expecting him to throw it past nearly everyone.

[smith288]

Most of his fb's are around the zone so i imagine they just wait for it and put the bat on it. The speed does the rest.

Tut's hillarious swing on that nasty slider makes it obvious he was guessing fb.

[Wheelhouse]

Do we know what kind of pitches the bad calls were? The action on Chapman's slider is so acute, and it's the speed of a good fastball, that it must be very hard to call...

[Wheelhouse]

Originally Posted by BCubb2003

For someone who throws at unprecedented speeds whenever he wants, Chapman doesn't miss as many bats as you'd expect. Even in his hitless innings, guys were putting bats on the ball. Maybe that'll come as he gets used to moving the ball around and mixing pitches against major leaguers. But I wonder if it's something to keep an eye on.

Yeah they put the bat on the ball, but except for the two balls hit yesterday, they were all dribblers.

[Scrap Irony]

Umpiring over the past two days has missed over 20% of Chapman's pitches.

That's more than a little bit.

That's game-changing.

His stuff fools hitters and umpires, IMO.

[sivman17]

Perhaps the ump is blinking when Chapman throws a pitch. I think it was Daugherty who said his pitch comes in faster than a human blink of the eye.

[George Anderson]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Umpiring over the past two days has missed over 20% of Chapman's pitches.

That's more than a little bit.

That's game-changing.

His stuff fools hitters and umpires, IMO.

Chapmans last two umpires have two of the tightest zones in MLB. It could be in some cases Chapman is fooling them but my take is these two umpires just have very tight zones and regardless of who pitches they won't get that many strikes called.

[Always Red]

Originally Posted by George Anderson

Chapmans last two umpires have two of the tightest zones in MLB. It could be in some cases Chapman is fooling them but my take is these two umpires just have very tight zones and regardless of who pitches they won't get that many strikes called.

Chris Welsh said as much just prior to yesterday's game- the crew umpiring the Colorado series has the smallest strike zone in baseball.

Get ready for more squeezing the next 3 games.

[bucksfan2]

Originally Posted by Always Red

Chris Welsh said as much just prior to yesterday's game- the crew umpiring the Colorado series has the smallest strike zone in baseball.

Get ready for more squeezing the next 3 games.

If the announcers know this then the pitchers and hitters should know this. I guess my think is you know its going to be a small strike zone, adapt to that zone.

[RedsManRick]

Originally Posted by bucksfan2

If the announcers know this then the pitchers and hitters should know this. I guess my think is you know its going to be a small strike zone, adapt to that zone.

If the ump is going to make you throw it dead center, you might be better off walking a guy or two and getting the rest to chase and get themselves out rather than pumping fastballs in dead center. It's a lose-lose for the pitcher when the ump is calling a small zone.

Though hitters can obviously adjust to a small zone too, I'm willing to bet that, on balance, hitters are swinging or taking based on a version of the strike zone that they've internalized -- not the one being called that day. I say keep painting and force the ump to call it a ball and the hitter to take it.

Joe Posnanski put up an article today about fast pitchers and a story he relayed in regards to Nolan Ryan seems relevant here:

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/09/0...fast-pitchers/

I will never forget the image that umpire Ron Luciano painted of Ryan in one of his books. I was probably 15 or so when I read it, but I remember it so clearly. Luciano was talking about how he was once behind the plate for Ryan, and a fastball came in, and to Luciano it suddenly seemed to explode into a million pieces. Luciano turned away and waited for the crowd to go crazy — imagine a guy throwing a fastball that was so fast that it exploded. But the crowd reacted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Later, the same thing happened. Luciano went to the doctor after the game, who explained that Ryan’s pitches were coming so fast that Luciano’s eyes simply could not adjust to the ball coming at him.

I’m not sure that’s much more than storytelling, but it’s good storytelling. I haven’t forgotten it.