A couple of Clinton pix 9/1/2008
by rooster on Sep 1, 2008 11:01 PM CDT
12 comments
I finally had a chance to see Main in action. I forced the fam to make the 1 hour 50 minute drive from Ames to Cedar Rapids to see the Lumberkings finish the season. As luck would have it, Main pitched one whole inning. Since I haven't heard that he left due to injury, I presume they kept him on schedule but limited him so he could start game two or three of the first playoff series.
When I go to these games, I just try to see which players are doing things differently than the other players on the field. Here's what stood out to me:
Smoak is a really big man. He has a very simple swing, at least from the left side. He doesn't run so well.
Main had the nicest pitching motion of the folks who pitched today (Main, Santana, Eppley, Castillo, Hamburger, Robert Fish, Chris Armstrong, Tim Kiely, Ismael Carmona, Leonardo Calderon). His fastball was the least hittable also.
Julio Santana had an unhittable slider, but a fastball that was very hittable.
Castillo looks like he's short-arming the ball.
No one else's bat speed compared to Cristian Santana's, not even Smoak. Santana is beginning to look a bit like Raul Mondesi.
Main warms in the pen before the game.
Santana watches knee-high heat from Main.
Julio Santana warms in the pen.
2 recs |
12 comments
Email
Print
Comments
You live in Ames?
Wow. Didn’t think there were any other Rangers fans in central Iowa. Ha ha.
Highway 30 sucks, doesn’t it? But at least you got to see a good game. More offense than in my game (Sunday) anyway.
-- Micah
Baseball Is My Boyfriend
"Football is like having a fling once a week. Baseball is a relationship." - oc
by baseballismyboyfriend on Sep 1, 2008 11:08 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I forgot to say that I agree with your high opinion of the Kernels' stadium.
Just moved back to Ames. Hwy 30 does suck, but it’s better than when I left.
Go Rangers!
by rooster on Sep 1, 2008 11:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
My parents live in Ames, so I get there often
And I actually hope to move there soon. Very soon.
Highway 30 is just an interminable route. I wonder if they’ll ever make it four-lane all the way through.
Nice to have another fan in close proximity!!
-- Micah
Baseball Is My Boyfriend
"Football is like having a fling once a week. Baseball is a relationship." - oc
by baseballismyboyfriend on Sep 1, 2008 11:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
firebat
said that Main was cut short because he was facing the team he would face in the playoffs.
also, how did hamburger look? i saw that he got all three outs on groundballs. interesting that he hasn’t k’ed anyone in 4 innings after k’ing more than 1/IP previously, while his G/F ratio has improved. i wonder if the team has asked him to work on certain pitches in Clinton.
by clark on Sep 1, 2008 11:21 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, I knew he was in there but he did nothing unusually better than others.
I was a bit disappointed in him, but I’m still willing to bet the Rangers found another Brennan Garr. Robert Fish was the only Kernel that did anything interesting.
Go Rangers!
by rooster on Sep 1, 2008 11:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
A couple of notes on fastball velocity.
The radar gun is very inconsistent with pitches at different spots in the zone. Low fastballs rarely showed anything other than 88-90 for any of the pitchers. Main had the top low fastball at 91. He pitched low in the zone (the one hit was a seeing-eye grounder up the middle), and so that was also his fastest pitch.
The fastballs up in the zone ranged anywhere from 86 to 96. Castillo posted the 96 on a head-high fastball, and he looked to throw harder than anyone else on this day.
Main snapped off a couple of curves, and I think one was swung at and missed and the other bounced in the dirt. His fastball is apparently in a tough hitting location as most batters were either watching it go by or swinging and missing it. The best offspeed pitch of the day was Santana’s slider.
I was impressed with Robert Fish. He kept his fastball low in the zone, registering 88 and 89, and he made a couple of the Lumberkings look bad on something offspeed. Cristian Santana could’ve had a Bugs Bunny K, because he was so far ahead of one offspeed offering that he could’ve swung three times.
Go Rangers!
by rooster on Sep 2, 2008 12:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
damn
main is skinny (havent seen pics since he was drafted)
Every pitch thrown to Josh Hamilton is recorded as an E1. -- clark
by knockoutking on Sep 2, 2008 2:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
like meat.
Nothing really stood out about his performance in comparison to others who had pitched. He kept the ball low in the zone and got some ground balls. He was effective with average looking stuff.
Go Rangers!
by rooster on Sep 2, 2008 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
what the hell is randykuehl?
Hey, you suck McBain.
by oc on Sep 2, 2008 4:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
A pretty typical Midwestern name.
Sells cars.
Go Rangers!
by rooster on Sep 2, 2008 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
