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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>ALCS Game 2 scouting report
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER height="1" width="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><STYLE type=text/css> td.yspwidearticlebody { font-size: 13.5px; }</STYLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspwidearticlebody>By Yahoo! Sports courtesy of Inside Edge
October 12, 2007
Inside Edge, a leading baseball scouting and information service, will provide scouting reports to Yahoo! Sports throughout the MLB playoffs. Here's their breakdown of the American League championship series Game 2 between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox.
HITTERS • The Indians were more inclined to swing and miss than any other AL club this season against Boston's Game 2 starter, Curt Schilling. Tribe batters missed 22 percent of their swings (13 of 59) against Schilling. The rest of the league missed 14.5 percent of the time when taking a hack against the Boston right-hander.
• Schilling likes to use his split-fingered fastball when he is ahead in the count. That is good news for two Indians hitters – Kenny Lofton is 3-for-5 and Travis Hafner is 3-for-7 against splitters from righties on pitcher's counts.
• Indians batters struck out 10 times against Schilling when they hooked up in May. That was the highest single-game strikeout total for the Red Sox starter this season. Four of those strikeouts came when Tribe hitters swung through his fastball up in the strike zone.
• The Red Sox had great success against groundball pitchers this season. There were thirteen pitchers in the league who induced more than 340 groundballs this season, including Indians starter Fausto Carmona. The Red Sox led the league in well-hit average against that group of pitchers.
• The Red Sox, however, did not solve Carmona in the regular season. They batted .167 (4-for-24) as a team against the Indians' sinkerballer and were one of only two teams that did not record an extra-base hit against him. The Devil Rays were the other.
• BoSox hitters took 79 percent of the first pitches they saw from Carmona in their one regular season meeting. They did not put a first pitch in play the entire game against him.
PITCHERS • What do you get when you have a 92-95 mph sinker? You get Fausto Carmona, the AL's groundball percentage leader. Sixty-five percent of the total pitches put in play against Carmona were grounders.
• When opponents did lift Carmona's sinking fastball in the air they batted .474 (82-for-173). Here is a breakdown:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=687><TBODY><TR bgColor=#003366><TD vAlign=top colSpan=7>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>66.7%</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>.233</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>.250</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>348</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>81</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>6</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>• Carmona allowed just one extra-base hit to a right-handed batter against his sinker in the final month of the regular season – a home run by Seattle's Jose Guillen.
• Red Sox starter Curt Schilling was outstanding in his division series victory over the Angels. Here are a few of his pitch-by-pitch accomplishments from that game:
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="99%" align=center bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=24 height=4></TD><TD width=6></TD><TD width=83></TD><TD width=9></TD><TD width=403></TD><TD width=73></TD><TD width=25></TD><TR><TD height=294> </TD><TD vAlign=top colSpan=5><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD colSpan=2 height=29>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>ALCS Game 2 scouting report
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER height="1" width="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><STYLE type=text/css> td.yspwidearticlebody { font-size: 13.5px; }</STYLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=yspwidearticlebody>By Yahoo! Sports courtesy of Inside Edge
October 12, 2007
Inside Edge, a leading baseball scouting and information service, will provide scouting reports to Yahoo! Sports throughout the MLB playoffs. Here's their breakdown of the American League championship series Game 2 between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox.
HITTERS • The Indians were more inclined to swing and miss than any other AL club this season against Boston's Game 2 starter, Curt Schilling. Tribe batters missed 22 percent of their swings (13 of 59) against Schilling. The rest of the league missed 14.5 percent of the time when taking a hack against the Boston right-hander.
• Schilling likes to use his split-fingered fastball when he is ahead in the count. That is good news for two Indians hitters – Kenny Lofton is 3-for-5 and Travis Hafner is 3-for-7 against splitters from righties on pitcher's counts.
• Indians batters struck out 10 times against Schilling when they hooked up in May. That was the highest single-game strikeout total for the Red Sox starter this season. Four of those strikeouts came when Tribe hitters swung through his fastball up in the strike zone.
• The Red Sox had great success against groundball pitchers this season. There were thirteen pitchers in the league who induced more than 340 groundballs this season, including Indians starter Fausto Carmona. The Red Sox led the league in well-hit average against that group of pitchers.
• The Red Sox, however, did not solve Carmona in the regular season. They batted .167 (4-for-24) as a team against the Indians' sinkerballer and were one of only two teams that did not record an extra-base hit against him. The Devil Rays were the other.
• BoSox hitters took 79 percent of the first pitches they saw from Carmona in their one regular season meeting. They did not put a first pitch in play the entire game against him.
PITCHERS • What do you get when you have a 92-95 mph sinker? You get Fausto Carmona, the AL's groundball percentage leader. Sixty-five percent of the total pitches put in play against Carmona were grounders.
• When opponents did lift Carmona's sinking fastball in the air they batted .474 (82-for-173). Here is a breakdown:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=687><TBODY><TR bgColor=#003366><TD vAlign=top colSpan=7>
Carmona's sinkers put in play
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom width=123>GB / FLY</TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=155>Pct. of balls in play </TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=109>BAVG </TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=75>SLG </TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=74>AB </TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=74>H </TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=76>XBH </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>Fly ball</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>33.3%</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>.474</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>.780</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>173</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>82</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>31</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>Ground ball</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>66.7%</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>.233</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>.250</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>348</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>81</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>6</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>• Carmona allowed just one extra-base hit to a right-handed batter against his sinker in the final month of the regular season – a home run by Seattle's Jose Guillen.
• Red Sox starter Curt Schilling was outstanding in his division series victory over the Angels. Here are a few of his pitch-by-pitch accomplishments from that game:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#003366><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>
Schilling's ALDS start vs. Angels
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom width=175></TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=116>Schilling</TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=116>League Average </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>Pct. of 0-1 counts turned into 0-2 counts </TD><TD vAlign=bottom>75% </TD><TD vAlign=bottom>47% </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>Pct. of at-bats that ended in 4 or less pitches</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>78%</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>65%</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>Pct. of off-speed pitches thrown for strikes </TD><TD vAlign=bottom>79%</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>61%</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>Pct. of innings that were 1-2-3 </TD><TD vAlign=bottom>43%</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>31%</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>• Schilling's split-fingered fastball was not as deadly this season as it has been in years past. Opponents hit .300 (45-for-150) against it in 2007 and just .173 in the four previous seasons. The Indians were only 1-for-10 against Schilling's splitter this year, however. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="99%" align=center bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=24 height=4></TD><TD width=6></TD><TD width=83></TD><TD width=9></TD><TD width=403></TD><TD width=73></TD><TD width=25></TD><TR><TD height=294> </TD><TD vAlign=top colSpan=5><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD colSpan=2 height=29>
GAME 2 MATCHUP NOTES
</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD colSpan=2 height=29>FAUSTO CARMONA (INDIANS) VS. CURT SCHILLING (RED SOX)
</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#993333><TD colSpan=2 height=20>Indians hitters who match up well vs. Schilling
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="16%">Travis Hafner </TD><TD vAlign=top width="84%">There's a reason Schilling has used his fastball only 46 percent of the time against Hafner. The Indians slugger is 3-for-3 against Schilling's heater, and has handled it in all locations – up, middle, and down. </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Grady Sizemore</TD><TD vAlign=top>He's 2-for-2 against Schilling's out-pitch to left-handed batters (the splitter). Sizemore also handles pitchers who are similar in style to Schilling; he has batted .345 with 7 homers against them since 2006. </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Kenny Lofton</TD><TD vAlign=top>He has seen more of Schilling than any of his teammates except utility infielder Chris Gomez. Expect Lofton to make contact against Schilling – he has missed only four times in 44 career swings against him, which is the lowest miss percentage (9%) of any other Cleveland hitter against the Boston hurler. </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#003366><TD colSpan=2 height=20>Indians hitters who could struggle
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Jhonny Peralta</TD><TD vAlign=top>Is 1-for-6 with no well-hit balls against Schilling in his career. Peralta is also 1-for-10 against right-handed split-fingered fastballs this season. </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Jason Michaels </TD><TD vAlign=top>Schilling has come right after him with fastballs for 80 percent of his pitches. Michaels has taken 21 swings against Schilling's heater with only one hit. </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Victor Martinez </TD><TD vAlign=top>On the surface, Martinez has done well against Schilling (4-for-8 lifetime), but the Indians catcher made solid contact on just one of those hits (a fastball down the middle of the plate) and has struck out 3 times. </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#993333><TD colSpan=2 height=24>Red Sox hitters who match up well vs. Carmona
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>David Ortiz</TD><TD vAlign=top>2-for-2 with a home run off of Carmona's 94 mph sinker going back to last season.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Alex Cora</TD><TD vAlign=top>Is 2-for-4 lifetime against Carmona and hit .318 (12-for-38) against right-handed fastballs down in the zone this year.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Jason Varitek</TD><TD vAlign=top>Carmona has made 13 pitches to Varitek; only six were strikes. Varitek is 1-for-2 against him and has not chased a pitch out of the zone.</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#003366><TD colSpan=2 height=22>Red Sox hitters who could struggle
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>J.D. Drew</TD><TD vAlign=top>Batted .200 (11-for-55) against right-handed fastballs that were down in the strike zone. Carmona keeps his sinker at the knees or lower half the time.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Julio Lugo</TD><TD vAlign=top>Batted .122 (6-for-49) against other hard-throwing righty sinkerballers.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Coco Crisp</TD><TD vAlign=top>Has one weak-contact single against Carmona and just one hit in 26 fastball strikes located down and away versus similar pitchers.</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD bgColor=#ffffff></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 7:56 pm, EDT
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