May

[MN_ExPat]

Self doubt is an almost impossible to beat, soul crushing demon that can choke the life and light out of even the brightest stars.   I for one will not demonize the man or the player for the battle that clearly wages within him right now.   Flat-out, May has the ability to not just pitch in the Show, but even excel... however, like we have seen time and time again through the years, baseball is tough, unforgiving, and even cruel.

 

Folks may very well be right, and May never really gets past his own demons.   This game we love does that all.   I believe in him and pray for continued success, the same way I do all Twins players.   To do any less invites bitterness and resentment.   This doesn't mean that I don't feel disappointment when things don't go well for him, but it at least allows me personally to look past whatever his failings are and celebrate how much he has accomplished.   And... if the Twins should ultimately decide that they must part ways, then I will thank him for his service and welcome the next man up.

[ashbury]

 

Self doubt is an almost impossible to beat, soul crushing demon that can choke the life and light out of even the brightest stars.   I for one will not demonize the man or the player for the battle that clearly wages within him right now.   Flat-out, May has the ability to not just pitch in the Show, but even excel... however, like we have seen time and time again through the years, baseball is tough, unforgiving, and even cruel.

 

Folks may very well be right, and May never really gets past his own demons.   This game we love does that all.   I believe in him and pray for continued success, the same way I do all Twins players.   To do any less invites bitterness and resentment.   This doesn't mean that I don't feel disappointment when things don't go well for him, but it at least allows me personally to look past whatever his failings are and celebrate how much he has accomplished.   And... if the Twins should ultimately decide that they must part ways, then I will thank him for his service and welcome the next man up.

Normally I don't hold much stock with trying to psychoanalyze^*. But I think there is scope for improvement with Trevor May. The other day, after a strikeout for out #2, he suddenly looked like a man on a mission. He was Lurch. Boom boom boom, he struck out the next guy too. Then... he came out for the next inning and was back to his usual ways. The body language for a moment there was what you want to see out of a reliever, but it evaporated.

 

Like a lot of top relievers, Dirty Craig Kimbrel has that moxie. When he's on the mound, he's The Man. Now, when it's the other team's guy, he's exactly the type that you want your first batter to scorch a liner back at him right through the wickets, and then the next batter launch one 500 feet, just to wipe the smug look off his face. And late in a career, when the results are declining but he keeps the same act, it can come across as pathetic. But... there's something about channeling the mindset correctly and having it pay off a few percent in performance, and it shows in the body language. I keep wanting to see that from May. I want to see Lurch. And if it doesn't work, and he pitches his way out of a job, like it seems like he's on his way to doing? At least, then, you didn't cheat yourself, Lurch.

 

I guess that's it. Like a batter who gets rung up on a weak half-swing, I feel like Trevor May is cheating himself by being in-between. I don't even know what it means when I say that. I just see the body language. And I don't remembering thinking this way about any other pitcher.

 

^{* _{Who am I kidding, I love to do it. But I don't take even my own thoughts seriously in this vein.}}

[Bill Brown69]

I have posted this before but for those who don't know my Dad was a minor league catcher, but this can go to every position on the field.

 

2 stories about Dad and handling the pitchers.

A young kid with a real live arm but control problems. 12 pitches into the game and not a strike thrown. 3 went to the backstop and 1 run scored. Dad took the ball to the mound, shoved it right under the pitchers nose and yelled " I got too F----ing drunk last night to chase this so throw it over the plate and let somebody else run after it." 9 innings later the pitcher had his first no hitter.

Another pitcher with a live arm comes in the game in the 9th inning with 2 on nobody out up by 1 run. 4 straight balls. Dad goes out to the mound and tells him if he can get out of this jam he will set him up with that pretty blond in the 4th row behind the dugout. Made the kid look at her. Took his mind off being nervous and 3 outs with nobody scoring they won the game. Later this year that kid and my Aunt will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

Controlling a game cannot be measured, it has to be lived.

[Doomtints]

May is feast or famine. As his K rate climbs, so does his inconsistency. He would probably do a bit better on a team where the coaching message was to stick to the plan instead of challenging batters more often when he's at a high point. He gets himself burned, he starts throwing wild, and everything resets....

 

As others have said, Baldelli on upward need some blame here too. The bullpen depth on this team isn't doing anybody any favors.

[ashbury]

The bullpen depth on this team isn't doing anybody any favors.

I dunno. Some teams have probably been tempted to send a thank-you basket.

[JW24]

 

The fist pump to me showed me that perhaps he is struggling with his confidence right now....and he should be...especially in the curve ball that continues to get hammered.  Visually, it looks good, but it must also look good to the hitter because it is taking a ride that should have a flight attendant.  So, that sort of eliminates a pitch from his arsenal.  And I do have to point out that he was blowing a guy away with his fastball and then threw a curve that got whacked...why?  Don't know if he shook off the catcher or not, but that was the wrong call.

 

The more I watch May pitch, the more I feel like he is throwing the wrong kind of breaking ball too frequently. He throws his curveball 21% of the time and his slider only 10% (per Fangraphs). I think for May to see better results, he should scrap the curveball entirely and throw his slider about 30% of the time.

 

It might take him some time to get the feel for the pitch, but with his fastball velocity up to 95.8 MPH, I think he needs a harder, sharper breaking ball to pair with it and his change up.

 

This seems like something Wes Johnson could help with.

[SwainZag]

 

The more I watch May pitch, the more I feel like he is throwing the wrong kind of breaking ball too frequently. He throws his curveball 21% of the time and his slider only 10% (per Fangraphs). I think for May to see better results, he should scrap the curveball entirely and throw his slider about 30% of the time.

 

It might take him some time to get the feel for the pitch, but with his fastball velocity up to 95.8 MPH, I think he needs a harder, sharper breaking ball to pair with it and his change up.

 

This seems like something Wes Johnson could help with.

 

It's certainly something.  I just think he is missing.  He gave up the two 0-2 HR's on breaking pitches.....both which were in the zone.  I want to think that he had zero intention of putting those pitches anywhere close to the zone, and wanted them at the ankle or in the dirt.  His command just seems pretty off more often than not, which is unfortunate because his stuff looks pretty good.

[JW24]

 

It's certainly something.  I just think he is missing.  He gave up the two 0-2 HR's on breaking pitches.....both which were in the zone.  I want to think that he had zero intention of putting those pitches anywhere close to the zone, and wanted them at the ankle or in the dirt.  His command just seems pretty off more often than not, which is unfortunate because his stuff looks pretty good.

 

I don't think his curveball is well disguised at all; while it is relatively sharp, it is 80 MPH and the shape of the pitch allows hitters to recognize it earlier than they would a slider/fastball/change up.

 

Of course he missed with his spot with the homers he gave up 0-2. If he throws a slider in that same location instead of a curveball, the outcome might be identical, but with additional velocity and a different movement shape, I think he would allow himself more room for error.

 

I don't think he will ever be a guy who has above-average command of his pitches. There is no quantitative way to measure and train for achieving better command that I am aware of. So, this means he needs to find other ways to improve what he does well to increase his margin of error.