4/3 Game Thread - Opening Day

skinnyhorse · Post by **skinnyhorse** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:14 pm

776A4E4C42270 wrote: Cole was dominant. He was working on one of the best starts of his career, esp. given the circumstances (opening day at Fenway). As mentioned above, his velocity was as high as ever and he was hitting his spots with all of his pitches.

Then the triple. I think he was ok with that. It was the next hit. The crappy infield single by the slowest guy on their team that lost him. It allowed the first run. Then Leon dropped down the bunt that Cole misplayed and he was done. He lost it mentally. It was really too bad, esp in hindsight.

All of that said, he seems to be a really mentally tough guy. The manager and pitching coach are exactly the people you want talking to him after a game like that. They are people managers. Someone above made the comparison to Kip Wells. I strongly disagree with that. Cole is much tougher mentally. I think he learns from this and doesn't allow himself to fold mentally again.
Cutch did not impress. I know it's one game, swung at a ball in the dirt with a chance to drive in a run. That didn't used to happen. He used to have the best eye on the team. Put me down as very concerned about Cutch.

massbucsfan · Post by **massbucsfan** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:57 pm

Yeah any pirate fan that says they are not worried about cutch should watch his 4 at bats over and over again compile what he looked like last year and including the wbc and spring training along with today I'm definitely worried

CutchisaBoss · Post by **CutchisaBoss** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:01 am

Cole beat himself today. Very obvious the extra 3 or 4 runs were because he didn't get his head back in the game. It's disappointing that he hasn't improved his mental game this far into his career.

Awful start to a hopeful bounce back campaign for Cutch.

Despite the 5 run inning, the team still put themselves in a position to win this one, just couldn't capitalize fully on the opportunities.

ChitownBucco · Post by **ChitownBucco** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:44 am

didn't get to see the game

Did the HR off Cole come off a mistake pitch?

how did the relievers look?

IABucFan · Post by **IABucFan** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 3:47 am

Opening day is one of my three favorite days of the year. The customary day off after opening day is one of my most hated. It's like you just the keys to a new sports car and can't drive it because of weather.

CutchisaBoss · Post by **CutchisaBoss** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 4:32 am

123938253E263F132432323E510 wrote: didn't get to see the game

Did the HR off Cole come off a mistake pitch?

how did the relievers look?

He was having a temper tantrum on the mound, so the answer to your question is basically yes...

The pen was better than expected...in my opinion at least

mouse · Post by **mouse** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 10:27 am

Most of the post-game talk here seems to be on Cole's meltdown and Cutch's strikeouts. I thought it was also interesting that Mercer was unable to make that play on the ball to short. From the restricted view of the television camera it didn't look to be too far into the hole, but was far enough it was at the edge of Mercer's range. It was a play Ngoepe would have made, and the inning would have ended without any scoring. Instead it allowed one direct run and opened the door to five total runs. This is why I consider defense to be so hard to evaluate. No error shows there so it gets forgotten. But in a sense, five runs occurred because of Mercer's limited range. He did drive in a run later, so while he's down five on the defensive side, he recouped one on offense, so I have him at minus four on the day.

ThePirate · Post by **ThePirate** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:55 am

2123393F294C0 wrote: Most of the post-game talk here seems to be on Cole's meltdown and Cutch's strikeouts. I thought it was also interesting that Mercer was unable to make that play on the ball to short. From the restricted view of the television camera it didn't look to be too far into the hole, but was far enough it was at the edge of Mercer's range. It was a play Ngoepe would have made, and the inning would have ended without any scoring. Instead it allowed one direct run and opened the door to five total runs. This is why I consider defense to be so hard to evaluate. No error shows there so it gets forgotten. But in a sense, five runs occurred because of Mercer's limited range. He did drive in a run later, so while he's down five on the defensive side, he recouped one on offense, so I have him at minus four on the day.

WOW, to put all 5 of the runs on Mercer's head is so wrong.

SteadyFreddy · Post by **SteadyFreddy** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:09 pm

Yea Sandoval hit the ball in the perfect spot on that play a Mercer couldn't make. You can't blame Mercer for Cole giving up 4 runs after though and a 3 run homer to break the game open. Cole has to be able to limit damage in those kinds of situations. I still liked his stuff a lot yesterday and if he can pitch like he did the first 5 innings in a lot of games this season Cole will be fine and win a lot games.

Quail · Post by **Quail** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:25 pm

As far as Cole's bad inning is concerned I was reading on DK's site this morning that some of the players are perturbed with the defensive shift that was deployed during Leon's at bat. With only a single run in, a man on first, two outs and Cole pitching well the shift allowed a free base to Leon (who bunted for a single down the vacated 3B side) who (in the opinion of DK and some players) should have been defensed normally to force him to 'earn' the base. The upshot of the argument is that deploying a defensive shift dogmatically without considering the nuances of the game situation is counterproductive. It certainly appears to be a compelling argument in the case of yesterday's game. Leon may have gotten a hit or walk anyway but that shift was tantamount to an intentional walk with the top of the order due up.