Dusty Baker has changed course. Michael Brantley will DH tomorrow against the DBacks, he said. Lance McCullers Jr: "Opening the roof in the fourth is ass."
Exactly. You gotta still make your damn pitches and adjust. They knew the roof was going to be opened.
McCullers hasn't pitched in competitive games in almost 2 years, and for all practical purposes didnt have ST. I'm not gonna completely excuse his performance, but when you look at the big picture it's nothing to be alarmed about yet. While we all want to dominate and win the division, it isn't necessary this season. When you realize we just have to finish top 2 in this division, our situation isn't dire. We have a lot of wiggle room.
With the A's being the only other team playing well in our division. I agree. But if a few of the others get hot, it may not be so clear.
Glad somebody was right What I see, in great part, about McCullers is what I have always seen. When he is pitching well, the defense is making its plays, the offense is giving him some support, he looks great. But when he gets flustered, he is a different guy and he falls apart.
“I was much more upset with myself about how my last start went, with the walks and throwing some pitches to certain batters, where I knew those pitches wouldn’t play. That wasn’t really the case for me tonight,” McCullers said. “There are times where you go out there and you don’t execute and you fall behind and you walk guys and you make bad pitches and you get your ass handed to you. I’ve had those outings … it didn’t feel like one of those nights for me.” He ascribed blame to the “elements” and decried the DBacks’ decision to open Chase Field’s retractable roof after the third. Manager Dusty Baker said the DBacks did inform him they’d open the roof mid-game. It was a predetermined plan to “push the envelope,” Arizona CEO Mike Hall told The Arizona Republic. Baker foresaw the troubles that lay ahead, but not even he could comprehend how quickly it all arrived. “I’ve been here when that roof is open and it plays like Colorado,” Baker said. “I noticed before the game that this place, you never really feel safe here. Big gaps, the ball jumps. It seemed like when they opened the roof, the ball carried even better.” McCullers called the decision to open the roof in the fourth inning “ass.” The air got drier. It was 102 degrees when the game became outdoors. McCullers said he tried to lick his fingers to get a better grip, but umpires warned him to stop. Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols prohibit licking or spitting. “There were some big moments that got to be big moments because some of the stuff that happened there in the fourth,” McCullers said. “I just didn’t win those particular battles.” “I was having a hard time there in the fourth. It’s not an excuse. It just is what it is,” McCullers said. “Balls were being hit that were routine pop-ups and they were landing off walls. It was kind of just an unfortunate inning. But, like I said, the stuff was there. I felt really good. I just have to keep moving forward with that.” “I’m disappointed we lost, disappointed the guys gave me a lead and I didn’t throw better,” McCullers said. “I was definitely on pace for a very efficient kind of long-term game. But I’m not disappointed in my stuff, not disappointed in my game plan.” “If you kind of take my stuff in a vacuum, take that mentality and how I was executing pitches into most of my games, I’m going to come out with some great outings,” McCullers said. “I’m disappointed in the way things ended up but not disappointed or discouraged with how I felt I was throwing.” “With the way I feel like I’m throwing the ball, executing and placing the ball around the zone, I feel like there’s going to be a lot more great starts than poor ones.” https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...Lance-McCullers-has-been-in-this-15462920.php
I’ll say it again...McCullers has had three good games. 2015 ALDS Game 4 vs KC 2017 ALCS Game 7 vs NYY 2017 WS Game 3 vs LAD He’s overrated than a MF. If the over/under for his innings per start was set at 6....I would take the under every time, no hesitation.
I would say excuses excuses for Lance. But pitchers are weird creatures. He probably did let that get to his head. I'd never seen the roof open in the middle of the games. Post game peeps were saying they used to do that at Tenrrun park when it first opened.
MLB Starting Pitchers ERA through 3 innings: 3.56 MLB Starting Pitchers ERA in 4th inning: 5.25 Some pitchers have been able to go deeper in games fine, but it is uncanny how many starter pitchers league-wide have just gone to crap in the 4th inning (i.e,, you get past 4, the odds of having a severe meltdown goes down [James is an exception having his meltdowns earlier.]).
If Lance McCullers Jr was black, he would’ve been put in the bullpen a long time ago. I SAID WHAT I SAID.
I'd say this is pretty damn accurate so far. It's not that he doesn't have the talent though. It's the mental fortitude to get through mistakes and walks. So far, the jury is still out on that.
im guessing he went 5-6 inning in all of those starts. And your argument is 4 starts he made three years ago. He was consistently good for half a season in 2017. After the all star break that year, Lance Lanced.
