On Sunday night, I came up with what I thought was a really good idea for a series of spring training posts. On Monday morning, I got to lab, started piecing things together for my upcoming lab meeting and committee meeting, and most of that went right out the window. The good news is that all of this stuff will be off of my plate with enough time to get some real season previews in before the start of the season. The bad news is that all I have for you today is a link.
Given how much time I've spent looking at the PitchFX of various Pirate pitchers over the last couple of years, I very strongly recommend that you check out Tim Williams' comprehensive look at the different "sinkers" that the Pirates' staff throws. I always try to stress this when I write about guys like Charlie Morton; the difference between a four-seamer and a two-seamer and a sinker can be awfully objective at times. The underlying theme here is pretty unmissable, though; the Pirates like pitchers to have fastballs that move. It's also notable how many of these pitchers have picked up their sinkers and two-seamers in the last two or so years.
Anyway, it's a great article to read, both to have a better understanding of how sinkers work now and to file away for the future.
