GaryMrMets
07-01-2004, 02:58 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/9053224.htm
Posted on Thu, Jul. 01, 2004
Not everyone likes those homers
By PAUL HAGEN
hagenp@phillynews.com
Shortly after the Phillies traded for Dennis Cook in 1989, the lefthander began giving up home runs at an alarming rate. But when it was suggested he might want to work on keeping his pitches down to force batters to hit the ball on the ground, the lanky Texan shrugged.
"I'm a pop-ball pitcher," he said with an air of finality. "Been a pop-ball pitcher all my life, and I always will be."
Then again, Cook never pitched at Citizens Bank Park.
As anybody who's paid attention knows by now, the Phillies' stately new pleasure dome is a launching pad. The ball flies out to left, to center and to right. Already this season, 113 assorted long fly balls, line drives and tracer bullets have left the premises in only 37 games.
So far, the Phillies have gotten the best of this extended home run derby. They've knocked 62 out of their home park, compared with 51 for opponents.
Still, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan is acutely aware of the lurking danger. If the Phillies pitchers spend half their season learning the hard way that any mistake can end up in the seats, they eventually could become tentative. They might start trying to make every pitch perfect, fall behind in the count, be forced to come in with a pitch that has "Hit Me" written all over it.
"I don't see it being like [Colorado's] Coors Field," Kerrigan said before the Phillies' 6-3 loss to the Expos last night. "I've seen it a little bit with visiting teams. But I've also seen our guys still giving up home runs."
And, naturally, Kerrigan has begun to search for ways to keep that from happening as frequently. So he went to the numbers and came up with two conclusions, one pretty obvious, one less so.
The first thing Kerrigan discovered was that, among the 16 National League teams, the Phillies ranked next to last in ground ball-to-fly ball ratio. Going into play last night, Phillies pitchers had induced 903 grounders, compared with 769 fly balls (1-to-0.85). The more times a pitcher can keep the ball on the ground, the better it's considered.
Or, as manager Larry Bowa put it: "This is a tough place to leave the ball up in the strike zone. If you do it here, they're going to be souvenirs."
Paul Abbott, who started for the Phillies last night, perfectly illustrated the point. His 2-1 fastball to Expos third baseman Tony Batista leading off the second was letter-high. Batista drilled it to left for a home run.
With one out in the fifth, he left a changeup above the belt to Brad Wilkerson, and the Montreal centerfelder didn't miss it. It landed some 400 feet away.
"I try to go out there and pitch to the ballpark," Abbott said. "I try to keep the ball down, like you're taught when you're young. But you're going to make mistakes."
Abbott hasn't been here long, but the way the ball carries has made an impression already. He noted that he was "befuddled" that Batista's ball left the park.
Three Phillies starters have been in the rotation all season. Brett Myers has the best ground ball-to-fly ball ratio at 1-to-0.66. Kevin Millwood is next at 1-to-0.87. Eric Milton is a scary 1-to-1.65, which probably explains why he's allowed 18 homers this season, tied for third in the National League.
So can fly-ball pitchers change their approach?
"We've got to figure out a way," Kerrigan said.
It's interesting to note, by the way, that all three of these starters have been more prone to surrendering homers on the road than at home. For Myers, it's two in 30 2/3 innings at Citizens Bank Park and nine in 53 1/3 innings on the road. For Millwood, it's six in 43 innings at CBP and six in 53 2/3 innings on the road. For Milton, it's eight in 45 1/3 innings at home and 10 in 45 innings on the road.
The second thing he discovered was that Phillies pitchers were throwing an unnaturally high percentage of fastballs.
"We've done a pretty good internal study the last few days on the number of fastballs our starters have thrown. And it's on the high side, especially when we're behind in the count," he said. "We have to mix it up a little more and find another reliable pitch we can throw for a strike."
Heck, even Dennis Cook probably would agree with that.
Posted on Thu, Jul. 01, 2004
Not everyone likes those homers
By PAUL HAGEN
hagenp@phillynews.com
Shortly after the Phillies traded for Dennis Cook in 1989, the lefthander began giving up home runs at an alarming rate. But when it was suggested he might want to work on keeping his pitches down to force batters to hit the ball on the ground, the lanky Texan shrugged.
"I'm a pop-ball pitcher," he said with an air of finality. "Been a pop-ball pitcher all my life, and I always will be."
Then again, Cook never pitched at Citizens Bank Park.
As anybody who's paid attention knows by now, the Phillies' stately new pleasure dome is a launching pad. The ball flies out to left, to center and to right. Already this season, 113 assorted long fly balls, line drives and tracer bullets have left the premises in only 37 games.
So far, the Phillies have gotten the best of this extended home run derby. They've knocked 62 out of their home park, compared with 51 for opponents.
Still, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan is acutely aware of the lurking danger. If the Phillies pitchers spend half their season learning the hard way that any mistake can end up in the seats, they eventually could become tentative. They might start trying to make every pitch perfect, fall behind in the count, be forced to come in with a pitch that has "Hit Me" written all over it.
"I don't see it being like [Colorado's] Coors Field," Kerrigan said before the Phillies' 6-3 loss to the Expos last night. "I've seen it a little bit with visiting teams. But I've also seen our guys still giving up home runs."
And, naturally, Kerrigan has begun to search for ways to keep that from happening as frequently. So he went to the numbers and came up with two conclusions, one pretty obvious, one less so.
The first thing Kerrigan discovered was that, among the 16 National League teams, the Phillies ranked next to last in ground ball-to-fly ball ratio. Going into play last night, Phillies pitchers had induced 903 grounders, compared with 769 fly balls (1-to-0.85). The more times a pitcher can keep the ball on the ground, the better it's considered.
Or, as manager Larry Bowa put it: "This is a tough place to leave the ball up in the strike zone. If you do it here, they're going to be souvenirs."
Paul Abbott, who started for the Phillies last night, perfectly illustrated the point. His 2-1 fastball to Expos third baseman Tony Batista leading off the second was letter-high. Batista drilled it to left for a home run.
With one out in the fifth, he left a changeup above the belt to Brad Wilkerson, and the Montreal centerfelder didn't miss it. It landed some 400 feet away.
"I try to go out there and pitch to the ballpark," Abbott said. "I try to keep the ball down, like you're taught when you're young. But you're going to make mistakes."
Abbott hasn't been here long, but the way the ball carries has made an impression already. He noted that he was "befuddled" that Batista's ball left the park.
Three Phillies starters have been in the rotation all season. Brett Myers has the best ground ball-to-fly ball ratio at 1-to-0.66. Kevin Millwood is next at 1-to-0.87. Eric Milton is a scary 1-to-1.65, which probably explains why he's allowed 18 homers this season, tied for third in the National League.
So can fly-ball pitchers change their approach?
"We've got to figure out a way," Kerrigan said.
It's interesting to note, by the way, that all three of these starters have been more prone to surrendering homers on the road than at home. For Myers, it's two in 30 2/3 innings at Citizens Bank Park and nine in 53 1/3 innings on the road. For Millwood, it's six in 43 innings at CBP and six in 53 2/3 innings on the road. For Milton, it's eight in 45 1/3 innings at home and 10 in 45 innings on the road.
The second thing he discovered was that Phillies pitchers were throwing an unnaturally high percentage of fastballs.
"We've done a pretty good internal study the last few days on the number of fastballs our starters have thrown. And it's on the high side, especially when we're behind in the count," he said. "We have to mix it up a little more and find another reliable pitch we can throw for a strike."
Heck, even Dennis Cook probably would agree with that.