Tonight's pitcher is Felix Hernandez. Hernandez has the potential to be an absolute star. He throws a very fast fastball (he can hit 97 mph on the gun), an excellent curveball, and a really good change-up. He has excellent command of everything he throws. He induces a lot of groundball outs, so having a speedy lineup is important to beating him. If runners do get on base, he can become bothered by their presence. He also tends to be a slow starter, having a rough first inning before getting down to business. Lefties have had better luck against him in the past.
Miguel Batista is the scheduled pitcher for tomorrow. He's more of a finesse pitcher who outsmarts hitters than a power pitcher. He does have a very good cut fastball. If he starts to over-think things, it can go badly for him-the ball stays up and he gets hit hard.
Wednesday is Erik Bedard. It would seem that the breeze off Puget Sound is no better for his health than the one off Baltimore Harbor; in April he went on the fifteen day DL with a hip injury. When healthy, Bedard is a dominant strike out pitcher. He has a deceptive fastball and a really great curveball. He doesn't give in easily but he has had a history of falling into slumps.
Their two best hitters are Raul Ibanez *tilde implied* and Adrian Beltre. They don't have a lot of power hitters; besides those two, Richie Sexson is the only other player with more than four homeruns. Ichiro Suzuki is really the only threat to steal a base (he has twenty-one so far this season.) They don't bunt a lot. They don't walk a lot. They don't strike out a lot but they don't get a lot of hits either.
No comments:
Post a Comment