Check out this "controversy"
 

This is beautiful.

YOU make the call: A ball or strike for Dunn during Unit's 300th? - Big Lea... - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

I think the quote from Dibble...Dunn, who year after year nearly, if not outright, leads the league in strikeouts...Dibble says,

"one of the best batter's eye in the game."

What a tool. Too much drama for me.

you're over thinking. dunn is always among the league leaders in walks (thats probably what dibble was referring to) and i dont know the numbers or care to try and find them, but in my limited experience in watching dunn, it seems like most of his Ks are swinging not looking.

just my .02

Waaaaaaah.

I've got a ball there...but if RichMSN has a strike, we're in a world of hurt...

Congrats to the Unit...saw many a K up here in Seattle...gee, I guess his back is ok..

Looks like a good pitch to me. Great job by F2. His line for strike zone is okay for the front leg, but look at the back leg.

strike three you're out!

Thanks
David

I don't get to see enough of Dunn in my market to have an opinion on whether or not he has a great eye or not. If I had to guess, because of his power, he gets pitched around a lot. Certainly, I'm not taking anything away from him, but overall, a lot of walks might not mean that you have a great eye. Dunn can mash. If the game is close, he's not going to see anything that he could hit out of the park to tie or win a game. His average would probably be a bit higher season to season if he had that 'great eye' though.

I can see your points too. But I think we disagree on a few of our ideas

And if we're watching your game, we'll be there all night waiting for you to call a strike!:p

Ok...ok
 

I tried to get my shot in on Rich...but you submarined me...

We could be here all day again talking about pitch location. Bottom line is we alll miss a few here and there...

I say we gang up on Finnerty...for leaving an open ended post...

Screw you Finnerty:D

That was my first thought.

My second thought was: *yawn*.

;)

you have a ball... you might want to work on your zone a ;ittle... its a strike all day.. catcher stuck as well... see you later Dunn.

Jeez, I hadn't even posted on this thread.

My last plate job, BTW, was a regional playoff game on Tuesday. 1:25, run rule. The only *****ing I heard from the stands was from the home (winning) parents who thought my zone was too big. Go figure.

I lived in Seattle for a year - do I know you? I had season tickets (20 games or so plan )the year they closed down the Kingdome and opened Safeco Field. My best memory of baseball in Seattle was actually the summer before when I moved up there -- Piniella threw one of the all-time Lou tantrums at the Kingdome - bases, dirt kicking, cap kicking, and all...

Is the ball over the plate, when this pic is snapped?

Clearly looked below the knees in the video. Catcher did a great job of framing it, but that doesn't change the pitch's location when it crossed the plate. The fact that it is a crucial situation does not mean one should change a ball into a strike. It's a legit call if he had been calling it that low all game.

What a WOBW that column was. What's the point, it should be 300* ?

According to the silly line drawn, it's at the hollow of the knee below the kneecap. I've got a strike here all day long. Hit the damn ball; that's what you get paid for and what everyone's there to see you do.

Let's remember that the knee is actually 5 or 6 inches in length if you include the hollow beneath the knee. The hollow is borderline unhittable in my opinion. A lot of curveballs and splitters pass the hallow at the plate but end up in the dirt- what are you going to call that pitch? The other potential problem with calling the hallow is that it could lead to more wild pitches.

That's why pitchers try to throw there.

Ball, probably

???

I called a big bender a ball yesterday, because it was scooped a couple inches off the ground. But the batter was up in the box and after rethinking it, I left it low because it was borderline as it crossed (hollow of the knee) and it was caught like it was low. The pitcher threw a borderline strike, and the catcher caught a ball.

Not a big deal. This evens out with the big bender that crosses at the shoulders and is caught belt high. I was told many years ago that the curve ball in the dirt is intended to make the batter swing, not thrown for a strike. I'll acknowledge the pitcher's intention and call this a ball if the batter lays off the pitch.

It has to be tough being a pitcher who's living on the big bender, because the pitches we each described are difficult to call a strike.

Huh? How does the batter's position in the box affect the strike zone?

Not if he moves up in the box. A pitch on the inside black is borderline unhittable for a guy crowding the plate; you gonna ball that pitch too? I get every strike I can, and the pitch at the bottom of the knee, especially on the outside corner, is my favorite pitch bar none when a guy's throwing it consistently.

Good point. Give a bit extra to the pitcher on the high curveball, and take a bit away on the low curveball is a good idea to go with.

If he moves up in the box, a 90+ mph fastball is probably going to be almost as low as if he didn't move up, unless it was a Roy Halladay sinking fastball. The inside-outside corner is more relative because batters can adjust their distance from the plate. Will moving up in the box really help the batter hit a fastball before it reaches the hallow?

A batter's box is 4'x6'. A batter has more adjustment room from the pitcher than the plate, amigo.

Strike.