Rays Diary 4/25/13 The Art of Psychometric “Compooper” Scouting
Never watched Chris Sale pitch before. Tall guy, throws a sweeping semi sidearm delivery every time in only one direction: from first base toward third, no backup sliders or other sneaky pitches. He does have good stuff, however, every pitch crosses the outside part of the plate to the right handed hitter. That’s Sale’s potential weakness: the right hander hitting the pitch on the outside corner to right field. Unfortunately, this observation was nowhere to be found in the Rays “compooper” system. Since noone on the Rays seems to be allowed to do any live scouting or to even watch the actual game, right handed Rays batters seemed to go up to the plate with no idea what to do, taking scores of pitches over the middle and outer half of the plate. Even when they swung, they kept trying to pull the ball, definitely not a good strategy against Mr. Sale. Of course, “telling” a player to hit the ball to the opposite field is one thing, Coach Peter Principle, but “showing” the player how it’s done is quite another. Good luck, Coach.
Looking forward to David Price throwing fewer “sidearm” pitches in his next start. He’s still potentially the best pitcher in the league. Never say “die.” Go Rays!
Al Finkelstein, 4/25/13