Ryan had arm side action on his FB, which meant his FB would drift into RH hitters ... at 100 mph ... as the batters were stepping into the pitch.
We are cut from the same cloth. I've always said Bags and Biggio had to face the impossible a slider that was called a strike 4 inches off the plate. Those umps were so sold on Braves pitching it was mind numbing to watch. Ryan just believed in not letting guys hit the ball at all. Alan Ashby: "The funniest line I ever heard about Nolan was said by Oscar Gamble. We were teammates on Cleveland and driving past Anaheim Stadium. The marquee advertised: 'Nolan Ryan versus the Cleveland Indians.' Oscar turned to me and said, 'A good night tonight is 0-for-4 and don't get hit in the head.'"
Reliever performance is hard to predict. A reliever is proven until he isn’t. I think this was a fine trade - it’s a salary dump for next year and it could wind up helping this year if Smith can turn it around.
Odorizzi wasn't going to start in the playoffs and he wasn't going to the Bullpen. So Smith has an infinitely higher chance of contributing in the post season. It was a salary dump for someone that has a chance to be really good for us.
Young Nolan was a wildman, he didn't know where the FB or Curve were going a large percentage of the time. He got better, added the Changeup...
How about they fix Phil Maton first? I might be being a little tough on a back of he bullpen pitcher with a 3.38 ERA.
Smith had 37 Saves last year, three more than his 2019 All Star season. It’s always been kind of odd how quickly relief pitchers fall out of favor with teams/fans. I was thinking the other day about how the top guys from the 2019 bullpen just seemed to disappear. Obviously, Osuna had off the field stuff working against him, but the shelf life for these guys, even the “all stars,” is peculiar.
Pitching is really hard on the arm especially with the emphasis on maximum effort. I'm usually a fan of looking at multiple seasons (weighting more recent data) for position players and starting pitchers. For relievers, the intra-year data is really important. Something gets out of whack for a reliever, and it could take him 2-3 months or longer to get things right sometimes if at all. I think reliever performance would become more predictable if they rested more between outings, but then that really hurts who's available and limits how often a great reliever can pitch.
On the plus side, when a broadcaster calls a Houston reliever Will Smith during the postseason, they might actually be right for a change.
Relievers are notoriously fickle. At last year's deadline, the Astros traded for Montero and his 7+ ERA. He had a 0.00 ERA for the Astros last year and is one of their best relievers this year.
Wait, so now Maton is a problem? We Astros fans have become increasingly spoiled, It's as if nobody can have any hiccups throughout the year. People are now turning on Tucker. This is not a post coming for you, it's just amazing how a guy becomes a whipping boy so easily.
Yeah, I hear ya. Yuli/Tucker can't hit. Baker can't manage. Click can't make trades. Beat Seattle 7 out of 8 times, but that one relief pitcher who took the L can't pitch. When Tucker doesn't play CF, Tucker can't field. Jake Odorizzi makes ONE comment and then permanently becomes a malcontent and a locker room cancer. After Pressly blew a save in The Bronx, he can't take the pressure any more and has got to be replaced. etc. I think it must be the nature of the beast. Some fans need a whipping boy to grind on or they are not happy.
Maton is lucky AF to have that low an ERA considering how he was pitching early in the year. However, he's been looking like he's been fixed for about a month now. Not perfect, but mostly good.
It’s insane. If you can’t revel in how badass this team is, top to bottom, how is it fun being a fan? These are the best days in Astros history and we should all enjoy the hell out of it because in a decade we will look back and wish we could come back to this period.
