Q-How much does having a “good” or a “bad” catcher behind the plate affect the pitcher? Why?A-Not sure I can quantify it. I’d liken a good and bad catcher to a QB. A good catcher is the QB who barks the plays in the huddle, and everyone in the huddle breaks to the line absolutely sure of what’s about to happen. The bad catcher would be the guy who is timid, sort of calls the play and wanders to the line of scrimmage, with the whole team wondering just what the hell is about to happen. They instill confidence, even when you might not have the stuff to HAVE confidence, and you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the fingers he’s putting down he’s putting down because he KNOWS when you make this pitch, the hitter is out. The bad catcher is sitting behind the plate, tying run on 2nd, thinking, “damn, if I can just keep my hands back I can hit the slider in my next AB”.
Q-what pitcher you think throws the best of each pitch being these days. we hear about Santana’s change-up or Rivera’s cutter. who do you think throws the best 2 seam fastball? 4 seamer? changeup? curveball? knuckleball? cutter? splitter? slider? forkball?A-...4 Seamer? Lot of good ones but Oswalts stands out to me. He throws his ball on a completely unique and different plane than most guys. A knee high FB that looks ‘flat’, and about the last 10 feet goes from 95 to 200mph. It explodes at the plate. Pete Harnish had the same kind of FB. Papelbon has that same thing. Guys were blown away last year facing him. They’d be talking about “It’s not 100, it’s a 95mph fastball, but I can’t catch up with it.” That’s because unlike most 4 seam fastballers his ball travels on a lower plane, and is ‘level’, which is weird as hell to see. I haven’t see a lot of him yet because he’s been hurt, but Harden is the other guy. His 4 seamer is unhittable because it belies his soft easy delivery. He winds up and next thing you know it’s at the plate.Curveball? Oswalt, Halladay have fantastic curveballs. Oswalt broke out the eephus one a few years back and that one is almost unfair on nights he’s got his A FB and location.
The bad catcher is sitting behind the plate, tying run on 2nd, thinking, “damn, if I can just keep my hands back I can hit the slider in my next AB”.
