Major League Baseball : Ask Rotoman
The new one’s out, written before Jose Contreras gave himself over to Jorge Posada’s charms and kicked some Oakland butt. If there is something I left out it’s the concept of nibbling and confidence. Pitchers who are able to throw strikes and get guys out have the confidence that they’ll be able to do that always, or at least much of the time. They throw strikes and use the natural advantage pitchers have over hitters to do well.
Guys who worry about that nibble, don’t throw strikes, and end up pitching at a disadvantage.
Supposedly that’s Contreras’s problem. And Posada calling his game for him is supposedly the solution. We’ll see what happens when he pitches against a team that actually has hitters in the lineup, but in general I buy it.