High & Tight

LaVelle E. Neal is the Tom Hardicourt of the Minnesota Twins. Or is he the Anthony Witrado? Either way he seems neither as ornery nor as ignorant as either of those guys. I haven't (so far) found the need to post any complaints about him because he covers the Twins in an objective way (he's a White Sox fan, I believe, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr). Anyways, in his most recent blog entry he talks about pitching inside and the fact that the Twins pitchers don't do it. Mostly, he blames the lack of bean balls and brush backs on inexperience, but he did add this juicy note that I'm sure Dietz would enjoy.

Ultimately, it’s up to the pitcher to throw the right pitches where they can be the most effective. But the coaching staff has to get it out of him.

The catcher does too. There were some pitches the coaching staff thought Joe Mauer could have called differently on Friday, especially when Nick Blackburn kept firing first pitch fastballs in the fifth inning. And the catcher can influence the pitcher to throw inside more.

Great. It's Butt Stink's fault that the pitchers don't throw inside and only throw fastballs. I wish no one would have ever stated this in print because it will only give credence to the argument that our home town hero isn't everything he is cracked up to be. Now I will have to spend more endless hours fending off the Butt Stink bashing that occurs within the friendly confines of the Metrodome, Emma's Bar or Our House. I almost wish I wouldn't have read it. Boo, information technology!!!

P.S. I write this post as I listen to Otis Redding singing "Nobody Knows You (When You're Down & Out). This should be the song that Rick Anderson plays during all of his pitchers' side sessions.