what is up with that slow el duque pitch

[unk0wn]

what is up with taht pitch>? arod put it where it should be today. if hes gonna throw it he better not do it twice in a seqence. what is up with that pitch????

[Alex]

It's a great suprise pitch. However, 2 in a row kills the suprise. If he uses it sparingly, all the hitter will do is stare and buckle at it's tortoise like pace and cartoonish trajectory.

[Jersey Yankee]

If it's the 55mph pitch, I think it's called a "eephus pitch", which starts off above the head, then lands around the lower chest.

As mentioned, it can only work if used sparingly. If anything, it's like saying "Gotcha!!!" to someone and telling them there's another on the way. People will be looking for it, but won't know when it'll come. That oughta keep 'em on their toes!!!

Milestones the theme in Yankees' victory over Rangers

Aug. 26, 2002
SportsLine.com wire reports
NEW YORK -- Jason Giambi reached 100 RBI and Derek Jeter scored his 100th run. Alfonso Soriano set a team record for homers by a second baseman and Bernie Williams got three more hits.

Yet on big day for the New York Yankees' bats, most of the talk was about one pitch: a blooper by Orlando Hernandez that Alex Rodriguez blasted.

A-Rod hit his major league-leading 46th home run on an eephus pitch from El Duque, the most entertaining moment Monday in the Yankees' 10-3 romp over Texas. The two players even joked about it outside the Rangers ' clubhouse after the game, though they declined to detail their discussion.

"You can expect a lot of different arm angles and a lot of different pitches from him, but I never thought I'd get a 48 mph curveball," Rodriguez said. "It looked like a slow pitch, softball really. I think he threw one too many."

Laughing, El Duque agreed.

"It's possible it was a mistake," he said through a translator.

"Why not use that pitch? It's the same as if he'd hit a changeup or fastball," he added. "I don't think I'm fooling anyone with that pitch."

Hernandez (7-3) coasted through the early innings, keeping the Rangers off-balance. He drew a laugh from Rodriguez in the opening inning when he threw a blooper pitch for a ball.

Then in the sixth with a 4-0 lead, Hernandez floated up a 52 mph pitch that Rodriguez took for a ball. El Duque decided to come back with the same pitch, and Rodriguez timed it perfectly and launched it over the left-field fence for a solo home run.

Hernandez glanced at Rodriguez while he trotted between second and third, and A-Rod looked back when he was halfway home.

"I think he maybe got a little confident when A-Rod deposited that loop pitch, or whatever you call it," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "You're pitching to perhaps the best player in baseball in trying to tempt him twice."

Rafael Palmeiro, who also watched a blooper in the first inning, followed Rodriguez's drive with his 484th career home run, connecting on a fastball.

A crowd of 42,785 turned out for the last date at Yankee Stadium before Friday's strike deadline. There were only a few signs of dissatisfaction, including banners that popped out during the seventh-inning stretch that read "U Strike and We're Gone Forever" and "Next Home Game 9/2?"

In the eighth, two fans holding anti-strike signs walked around the lower deck. They drew no noticeable reaction.

"I want to keep playing," Giambi said.

It was a festive day as the AL East leaders feasted on Kenny Rogers (12-7). He gave up a career-high 13 hits in five-plus innings -- one more hit would've tied the Rangers record shared by Oil Can Boyd and Bobby Witt.

"The Yankees are always pretty disciplined. They give you quality at-bats," Rogers said.

The Yankees wound up with a split of the four-game set and finished 4-3 in the season series against the last-place Rangers.

Soriano's solo homer in the fourth broke the team mark for a second baseman of 30 set by Joe Gordon in 1940.

Soriano also hit a two-run single to cap a five-run sixth. Earlier in the inning, Jeter dashed home from third, making a headfirst slide to beat catcher Bill Haselman's diving tag on Jorge Posada's nubber.

Jeter joined Ted Williams (1939-49) and Earle Combs (1925-32) as the only players in modern history to score at least 100 runs in their first seven seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Jeter scored again in the eighth on Giambi's single. Giambi has had at least 100 RBI in five straight seasons.

Soriano and Williams each had three of New York's 19 hits. Williams extended his hitting streak to 17 games and Ron Coomer had a pair of RBI singles.

Jeff Weaver finished up with three innings for his second save, striking out five.

[DJeter1287]

It's a great pitch..when used sparingly.

Anyone see A Rod's reaction to that pitch? He couldn't help but laugh! Now that he figured out how to hit it.. I see why

However, when used at the appropriate times, that pitch could really help El Duque.

[DiMaggio5CF]

Originally posted by DJeter1287
It's a great pitch

No it's not. It's an absolutely retarded pitch. It's a pitch that's meant to be hit out of the ballpark.

It's a slow lob with no spin that gives the hitter a great look at the pitch and plenty of time to wind up and crush it.

It's a horrible pitch.

It's probably the worst pitch ever invented in the history of baseball.

But for some reason, it works.

It's horrible -- but effective.

Go figure.

[DJeter1287]

Originally posted by DiMaggio5CF


No it's not. It's an absolutely retarded pitch. It's a pitch that's meant to be hit out of the ballpark.

It's a slow lob with no spin that gives the hitter a great look at the pitch and plenty of time to wind up and crush it.

It's a horrible pitch.

It's probably the worst pitch ever invented in the history of baseball.

But for some reason, it works.

It's horrible -- but effective.

Go figure.

Well when I said great, I did mean effective...I apologize for not making my point clear.

[coalcracker]

ElDuque doesn't need that pitch. He should sail it back to Cooba.

[jroll]

Originally posted by DiMaggio5CF


But for some reason, it works.

It's horrible -- but effective.

Go figure.

I don't know about that. El Duque's gotten about a fourth of the pitches called for strikes. What's worst batters are going to start looking for the thing and if you're looking that pitch, it's long gone.

[NyMike]

Originally posted by jroll

What's worst batters are going to start looking for the thing and if you're looking that pitch, it's long gone.

If hitters really are looking for that pitch, then it's already helping him. Any batter who's standing at the plate waiting for a ball floating by at 49 mph will obviously have no chance to hit a 91 mph fast ball or 86 mph slider. That's why it should only be used sparingly to suprise batters.

Once he masters that pitch and is able to throw it for a strike (I think I've only seen two or three guys actually swing at it), it should be a very effective setup for the rest of his pitches, or an easy way to get ahead of a hitter in a tight spot.

[PippyPinstripes]

I think it's a fabulous weapon. Keeps them on their toes. Most batters look absolutely feeble when faced with it...unless it's thrown twice in a row.

[deranged2005]

The old saying is "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me". El Duque needs to use it a few times during a game.

Arod makes you pay if you throw him the same pitch twice. He made Roger and Duque pay.

That silly eefus pitch!!!!!

[djhitman01]

That is a great pitch to have. But it's just plain stupid to throw it 2 times in a row. That was the problem today.

[-tz]

For more on the "eephus pitch," see this thread ...
http://forums.bronx-bombers.com/show...threadid=32934

... and the wonderful article by Kirk Robinson that's linked to in there ...
http://www.thebaseballpage.com/features/eephus.htm

[2JAY]

Originally posted by djhitman01
That is a great pitch to have. But it's just plain stupid to throw it 2 times in a row. That was the problem today.

Orlando also featured the pitch twice in the 1st inning. Once to A-Rod and once to Palmeiro. Though I can see why he would ant to throw the hitters timing off with the pitch, I just do not understand why he insisted on throwing it so many times today. He pitched a great game today and I thought that when he went to that pitch in the 6th, it seemed to take him out of his rhythm out there on the mound and he lost his focus in doing so.

[PinstripeFanatic]

LOL I love that pitch. I thought it was funny how amused A-Rod was by it even in the dugout. Probably was even more amused after he homered... *sigh* :rolleyes:

[caroline331]

you mean the one that Arod hit out of the park

[1stluvyanks]

Originally posted by djhitman01
That is a great pitch to have. But it's just plain stupid to throw it 2 times in a row. That was the problem today.

He actually threw it 3 times in a row i believe, twice to A-rod (the second time it was long gone) and once to Palmeiro, but hey whose counting
I think that pitch is to screw with the hitters head and throw them off balance but I think today it was just overkill.

[jroll]

Originally posted by NyMike

If hitters really are looking for that pitch, then it's already helping him. Any batter who's standing at the plate waiting for a ball floating by at 49 mph will obviously have no chance to hit a 91 mph fast ball or 86 mph slider. That's why it should only be used sparingly to suprise batters.

Once he masters that pitch and is able to throw it for a strike (I think I've only seen two or three guys actually swing at it), it should be a very effective setup for the rest of his pitches, or an easy way to get ahead of a hitter in a tight spot.

Couldn't disagree more. Suppose you have a hitter come to the plate with the intention of taking the first pitch (as most do) all he has to do with El Duque now is say I'll take but I'll be looking for that bull................ thing he throws just in case.

So that eliminates throwing it on a 0-0 count right off the bat. He doesn't throw it for strikes enough to be a usable pitch when he's behind in the count. So that leaves 0-1 and 0-2. And the first time he throws it 0-2 and someone takes him deep I'm going to personally come to the Stadium and hit him upside the head with a big stick of wood. It's just not a usuable pitch, except on extremely rare situations about one every 3-4 outings.

It's a bull................ pitch and should be deep-sixed, if for no other reason than there isn't an umpire in the game that's going to call that thing a strike consistently. It's just too hard a pitch to judge.

[NyMike]

Originally posted by jroll
It's just not a usuable pitch, except on extremely rare situations about one every 3-4 outings.

Obviously El Duque threw it way too many times againt A-Rod and the Rangers. But if used right, I definitely think it can be an effective pitch if only as something else in the back of the hitters mind.

And now that we know it's actually a very slow curveball (and he's not just lobbing the ball up there with no spin or movement on it) I feel more comfortable with it in El Duque's arsenal.