Pitch by Pitch

The main theme I was trying to address this morning was about how a pitcher handles crucial game situations as well as makes adjustments to fix ongoing problems.

Setting aside Radke's particular problem for the moment, I think we could all agree that one of the most aggravating things a pitcher can do is to cough up runs immediately after he's been staked to a lead. It deflates his team's good mojo, reverses the momentum of the game, and puts extra pressure on his offense which suddenly has to play catch-up. Even if the pitcher ends up going 7 innings and can claim credit for a "quality start," he must know in his heart that he has to do a better job of bearing down to protect that lead he's just been given. If it becomes an ongoing problem nearly every time he starts--give him a lead in the 3rd, he coughs it up in the 4th--how many times could you see it happen before you begin to dread him taking the mound after his team has put runs on the board? How long before it begins to annoy and weigh on his teammates?

When a pitcher consistently puts his team in a hole to start the game, isn't it a similar problem? When it happens nearly every time he takes the mound for half a season, can it be ignored anymore? Radke's problem has become such a demoralizing nuisance, I believe, that to overlook it because he recovered to stick around for 7 innings and keep his team in the game is like damning with faint praise--and it does him and the team no favors.

For the record, I'll give you Radke's pitch sequences for all 7 batters he faced in the 1st inning yesterday. You tell me if the leader of the rotation "did his job" here:

D. DeJesus, lefty
Pitch 1: strike looking, down the middle
Pitch 2: strike, low and away, hit up the middle for a single

A. Berroa, righty
Pitch 1: strike, middle-low, bunted for a sacrifice

T. Long, lefty
Pitch 1: strike down the middle, hit to CF for groundrule double
(DeJesus scores from 2nd)

E. Brown, righty
Pitch 1: Ball, inside
Pitch 2: strike, middle-away, fouled
Pitch 3: strike, inner half, grounded to SS
(Brown reaches 1st on Rivas error, Long advances to 3rd)

M. Stairs, lefty
Pitch 1: Ball, low and away, just off corner
Pitch 2: strike, low and away on the corner, hit to LF for single
(Long scores, Brown advances to 2nd)

M. Teahen, lefty
Pitch 1: strike, low and away on the corner, grounded to 2B
(reaches on fielder's choice)

T. Graffanino, righty
Pitch 1: strike down the middle, looking
Pitch 2: strike, belt-high and outer half of the plate, looking
Pitch 3: strike, low and down the middle, looking

2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error

First of all, Tony Graffanino deserves a large fine for looking at three strikes in that situation, facing a pitcher who is guaranteed to deliver a steady diet of pitches over the plate. Tony, he can't just put it on a tee for you! But we thank you for your generous gift.

More importantly, does it look like Radke is starting with an effective gameplan, or that he's making any adjustments to the situations? Or does he remind you of a football coach who keeps running up the middle even while he sees his backs getting stuffed at the line time and again--because those are the 15 opening plays his staff scripted during the week and, dammit, he's going to stick with the plan!

It seems to me that the first 6 Royals batters were comfortable in the box and had a pretty good idea that they would see pitches to hit early in the count, and Brad never did anything to change that. He got what was coming to him, and nothing he didn't deserve.