PIT 5, MIN 4: Lynn Surrenders Grand Slam in Twins Debut

I think there is always an off day scheduled after a home opener, because teams charge a premium for home openers, so they can make up a postponement on that off day, and it will still be the home opener.

Ah.  I guess that makes sense.  Thank you.

Lynn is a fastball pitcher and he didn’t have command of the fastball today. His offspeed offerings aren’t likely to bail him out when he can’t command the fastball.

A relatively slow fastball pitcher.....

We've all seen enough games to know that Blue was squeezing the zone or is just very conservative with his calls.   It wasn't horrible or unfair, just a very unforgiving zone.

 

And yes, because my son pitches I'm rather biased towards pitchers

Any wrong call, no matter how close, is still wrong. That is when the hitter or batter really deserves to be rewarded for the perfect take or pitch. It is horrible and unfair. Most have just been numbed into still accepting it, and it is normalized. Lynn got several calls in his favor that were wrong, too.

A relatively slow fastball pitcher.....

Command will outdo velocity. He had the command to make it effective prior to Tommy John. According to fangraphs, he threw his fastball 81.1% of the time in 2017. That was the most frequent among qualified starters by a huge margin. He threw his fastball more often before TJS in 2015 at 85.4%. His success in the major leagues is due to the effectiveness of his fastball.

Command will trump velocity. He had the command to make it effective prior to Tommy John. According to fangraphs, he threw his fastball 81.1% of the time in 2017. That was the most frequent among qualified starters by a huge margin. He threw his fastball more often before TJS in 2015 at 85.4%. His success in the major leagues is due to the effectiveness of his fastball.

Ah. This can be very true. Not inferring he isn't a fastball pitcher, just qualifying it. Of course, you don't make it at all without some command, that is a given. I would take command AND velocity over just command. It is fine that he had success, but the fact remains, he is a relatively slow fastball pitcher. And even slower so far this year (and last year). But I gotta go with upstage, eclipse, surpass, outdo, outperform, outshine, outclass..... the word you used has turned into a nasty word, and probably should go on the banned list. It made me vomit a bit just reading it.

Ah. This can be very true. Of course, you don't make it at all without some command, that is a given. I would take command AND velocity over just command. It is fine that he had success, but the fact remains, he is a relatively slow fastball pitcher. And even slower so far this year (and last year). But I gotta go with upstage, eclipse, surpass, outdo, outperform, outshine, outclass..... the word you used has turned into a nasty word, and probably should go on the banned list.

Took a moment to get it but noted and edited.

Yes, I will give him a mulligan on that first inning. He was signed late and it was about 40 degrees at game time.

We'll talk again if he still looks like this on his next couple of starts.

...Which figure to take place with temperatures in the 30s.

Was never real high on Lynn. He'll fill a back-end role nicely, but probably not the #1-#2 in the rotation that some thought we were getting.

I think Gibson puts together a better season than Lynn does this year.....but I may be the only one alive that actually believes Gibson has turned a corner.