Matsuzaka and gyroball

[natsfan1a]

There's an interesting piece by the Post's Dave Sheinin in the March 7 issue of Sporting News. It goes deeper into the subject than Sheinin's February 16 Post piece. There are also some interesting graphics and sidebars about the history of pitching and pitches generally, including an item about how announcers are able (or not) to identify pitches from their booths above the action (I've always wondered about that). You can find the main article (but not all the graphics and sidbars) via the link below.

www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=182857

[tomterp]

Hey natsfan1a, I just noticed your avatar.  Where'd that great pic come from?

[natsfan1a]

It was added to the available avatars on this site at some point. I like it, too.

[Senators2005]

The "GYRO-ball" is all BS.  A bunch of baseball sports-writers letting their imaginations get the best of them to create good copy.   

[tomterp]

It was added to the available avatars on this site at some point. I like it, too.

I think it's from a picture I took at the last game of 2006, Chad getting a rare plate appearance.  I had moved down to the lower deck near Shoeshineboy's seats, though closer to the dugouts.  We (my son and I) were hoping to get some bling from the players, but weren't tall or aggressive enough.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

I heard the gyroball is nothing but a change-up thrown with a little "So You Think You Can Dance?" action.

[Dave B]

The Yale guy knows what he is talking about. Everything he says makes sense.  That Carroll guy is an idiot.

Side to side motion? Are you kidding me?  That would only happen if you had some kind of unbalanced ball.  Sometimes if you are catching a tightly spiraled football, you can see  a little side to side due to some inbalance (maybe due to the laces or the fact the ball might be crappy).

[shoeshineboy]

J

The "GYRO-ball" is all BS.  A bunch of baseball sports-writers letting their imaginations get the best of them to create good copy.  

John Patterson was interviewed about it, and his response was, "Guys, it's a screwball."

[natsfan1a]

Thanks, it's a great picture!

---

I think it's from a picture I took at the last game of 2006, Chad getting a rare plate appearance.  I had moved down to the lower deck near Shoeshineboy's seats, though closer to the dugouts.  We (my son and I) were hoping to get some bling from the players, but weren't tall or aggressive enough.

[Agoia]

 The gyroball's purported debut in America has all the hallmarks of a Japanese movie monster, from the pitch's birth in a scientist's laboratory to the nearly supernatural powers its believers claim it possesses to its dramatic unleashing upon our unsuspecting shores via the right arm of Matsuzaka.

that sorta blows up the fiction right there

[Nat of the Living Dead]

The gyroball's purported debut in America has all the hallmarks of a Japanese movie monster, from the pitch's birth in a scientist's laboratory to the nearly supernatural powers its believers claim it possesses to its dramatic unleashing upon our unsuspecting shores via the right arm of Matsuzaka.

that sorta blows up the fiction right there

Yeah but in everyone of those movies the monster goes on the warpath in the beginning but by the end man has reeled him in and defeated the monster with a hydrogen bomb.

I highly believe this pitch will ultimately fail due to what I call the "Ron Mexico Effect" or Micheal Vick Effect.  Batters will be fooled by it for awhile.  They will be fearful of its reputation.  But they will eventually get on top of it and figure it out.  They will adapt to his style and soon will be crushing the heck out of it.  Much like how NFL teams are beginning to reel in Ron Mexico.