A Fan's Point of View

A fan writes:

".......I am by no means a “baseball expert”, I don’t know how to throw a good curveball nor can I hit the ball out of the ballpark. But I do know a lot about sports, baseball included. On the subject of relief pitchers it is pretty cut and dry. When you bring a pitcher in, you want him to throw strikes, period. Now of course you want him to throw strikes and get people out, but whatever you do, don’t walk people. Any pitcher can tell you that, walks always come back to hurt you. So if you are a pitcher who throws strikes, that is one plus. Now when throwing a strike, what is the difference between an out and a hit? Well it’s quite simple…location and timing. Location is huge, but for what pitcher is it not? Location is always important…keep the ball down. Timing, well if the hitter knows you throwing a fastball, then he has the edge. If you change speeds and mix the pitches up, the pitcher has the edge. Now just because you perform these two tasks doesn’t mean you will get every hitter out. Depending on the talent or luck of the batter; he can miss a bad pitch or even hit a good one out of the park. But let’s just say those wash each other out. Bottom line is: throw strikes, mix your pitches and speeds, and keep the location down. Easier said then done, I understand, but all of those things can come with practice. When any manager puts a reliever in, they want outs, but walks are the last thing they want. Relief pitchers who throw strikes, low walks, and high strikeouts are a hot commodity, just look at 75% of the trades that occurred this MLB season. My reason for this article is Scott Dohmann. At the beginning of the year he was getting hammered and his ERA was crazy. Well after 6 innings pitched he got sent down to Triple A and has not been called up since. All he has done in Triple A is thrown strikes. His strikeout to innings ratio is crazy! Now his ERA isn’t great and he does get hit, but who on the Rockies doesn’t huh? But what sets him apart is he throws strikes and does not walk batters.
He deserves to be in the majors and if the Rockies don’t want to use him, like I said relief pitchers that throw strikes, low walks, and high strikeouts are a hot commodity…for the REST of the league...."

Good points. Thanks to 'the Gunn' for writing in.