18 Responses to “Matt Moore fans 11 Yanks in his first start”

1. Johnny Twisto Says:
   September 22nd, 2011 at 11:59 pm

   I watched a good portion of the game. I will say that Moore didn't look *that* impressive to me -- certainly not like Strasburg did. I think he benefited a bit from the Yankees' B-lineup and their never having seen him before. That said:

   He throws easy gas, sort of like David Price. Smooth delivery with a big fastball. I noticed about a 5-mph range on his fastball, but I don't know if that was purposeful or not. His relaxed delivery (not to mention his extreme minor league success) leads me to believe that it probably is, and he might reserve the high-90s heat for big situations.

   His slider was pretty flat early on, but he got some swings-and-misses just by virtue of the change in speeds. In his last 2-3 innings, it started looking a lot sharper.

   A good changeup, and again it seemed he may have been changing speeds on it. A few came in around 87, and then he might have choked one a little harder and threw it about 84 with better downward movement.

2. John Autin Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 12:14 am

   Nice scouting report, JT. I only got to watch a few batters, and I didn't see any especially dazzling pitch, but he sure looked poised.

3. Johnny Twisto Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 12:19 am

   I should say (as I try to dredge my memory) that I think Price has a quicker, somewhat more frenetic delivery. Moore's was slow and smooth. Still, I've always gotten the impression when watching Price that he's holding back a bit on the fastball. It looks like he could dial it up more if he had to. Moore seemed the same way.

4. Nick Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 12:44 am

   Just an FYI, I don't think Gerald Laird actually played in this game.

5. John Autin Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 12:51 am

   Thanks, Nick. I'll fix that. (But do we really need another guy named Brandon?)

6. Doug Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 1:06 am

   Love those 140+ pitch counts in a first career game. Even as recently as 1992.

   Look at Karl Spooner. 270 pitches in his first two starts, and on 3 days rest. Both shutouts, and both with game scores over 85. He came back the next season and was "okay". But, that was it - done at 24. Surprising.

7. Voomo Zanzibar Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 1:46 am

   Bobby Witt
   Five innings
   0 hits
   8 walks
   Awesome

8. Doug Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 2:14 am

   Blue Jays really played spoiler against the Angels tonight. Knocked out Santana with a lead-off HR by Thames in the 7th as they came from behind to tie, than won it on a walk-off HR by Encarnacion in the 12th.

   Magic numbers to eliminate the Angels are 2 for Texas, 4 for Boston, or 6 for Tampa Bay. Don't like their chances.

9. Andy Says:
   September 23rd, 2011 at 4:21 am

   Is "bingle" a typo or some sort of lingo?

10. Larry R. Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 9:33 am

    @6

    Spooner hurt his arm in '55 spring training and never recovered. He was the Mark Fidrych of his day, sort of.

    @9

    A bingle is a single. Or...a nickname for Bing Crosby (Der Bingle),who as owner of the '60 champion Pirates deserves mention on this blog as well.

11. Detroit Michael Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 9:38 am

    The Steve Woodard game still seems odd. He wasn't a fireballer at all. In 94 career starts, the 12 Ks in his debut turned out to be his career high.

    Also, a similar post using baseball-reference.com was made here:
    http://www.baseballanalytics.org/baseball-analytics-blog/2011/9/23/moore-mows-down-yankees.html

12. Matt Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 10:48 am

    I agree with JT's assessment of Moore. He has an easy delivery, which probably makes his fastball appear even faster. However, his fastball seemed pretty straight, ala Farnsworth. With that said, I didn't see anything that looked "nasty" --nothing that said, this guy has filthy movement. For sure a nice arm, especially given he's a lefty.

13. Tmckelv Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 11:15 am

    Bingle is a fun word.

    I definitely like "bingle" better than "base knock" any day.

14. John Autin Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    Who wants to chip in for Andy's birthday present? We're getting him a copy of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary! 🙂

    THE JARGON OF THE DIAMOND

    The diamond has a language all its own;
    If a player makes an error, it’s a “bone”;
    If he attempts the “squeeze”
    And strikes out, it’s a “breeze”;
    A play at which the fans belch forth a groan.

    A safe drive to the field is called a “bingle”;
    If good for one base only, it’s a “single”;
    If the hurler throws a “cripple”
    And the batter clouts a “triple,”
    The swat will put the nerves of fans a-tingle.

    When a runner’s left on base, ’tis said he “died”;
    If he goes out on a high fly, he has “skied”;
    A one-hand stop’s a “stab”;
    The pitcher’s mound, the “slab”;
    Successful plays are certainly “inside.”

    When a player’s making good his work is “grand.”
    But let him boot just one and he’s “panned”;
    If he comes up in a “pinch”
    And he “whiffs” well, it’s a cinch,
    The fickle fans will yell, “He should he ‘canned.’”

    —Baseball Magazine (Oct. 1916)

15. Kahuna Tuna Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    I first read "bingle" in a David Nemec trivia book in the late '70s. Classic baseball term. Thanks for dusting it off and giving us a look at it, John.

16. John Autin Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 1:21 pm

    For some reason, "bingle" was part of my childhood baseball chatter vocabulary. My dad always hated the simplistic Little League chatter --"Hey, batter-batter-batter..." -- and he encouraged my brother and me to be more like the semi-pro fast-pitch softball players we loved to watch at Veterans Park in Ann Arbor, MI. That league was a veritable Academy of Infield Banter, not to mention a living reenactment of the dead-ball-era style of play. (Plus, there was a one-armed player who was pretty good; that's damn cool stuff when you're 8 years old.)

    So, um, yeah ... "bingle." 🙂

17. Jon Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    "Off meadows?"

18. John Autin Says:
    September 23rd, 2011 at 2:40 pm

    @17, Jon -- I'm sorry; was that confusing? Perhaps I should have said "the outer pastures." 🙂

    It's a long season. Writing the same baseball jargon over and over again can be a bit tedious. I'm just aiming for a little variety. And I'll admit that I'm a fan of old baseball writers such as Heywood Broun ("The Ruth is mighty and shall prevail."), Red Smith ("The art of fiction is dead. Reality has strangled invention. Only the utterly impossible, the inexpressibly fantastic, can ever be plausible again."), Ring Lardner, and so on.

    I hope that my litle fun never gets in the way of conveying meaning.

    BTW, "stanzas" are innings, "pillows" are bases, and "Long Tom" is Satchel's fastball.