How you get a 16k sq ft house in Scottsdale...

[southsider2k5]

http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/whitesox-ta...09513145568-914

 

Paul Konerko, fastball masher

November 3, 2011, 7:55 pm

 

No American League hitter has been better against fastballs than Paul Konerko since 2010. (US Presswire)

 

JJ STANKEVITZ

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Paul Konerko has hit 70 home runs over the last two seasons, tied for the fourth-highest total in baseball with Prince Fielder. He's statistically been a better hitter than the likes of Matt Holliday, Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano. He goes through stretches -- like his streak of five games with a home run in June -- where pitchers can't seem to get him out.

 

Maybe they should stop throwing him fastballs.

 

Okay, that's unrealistic. No pitcher is going to toss junk at Konerko -- or any hitter for that matter -- like it's a video game. But maybe opposing hurlers should cut back on the heat just a little bit.

 

By FanGraphs' pitch values -- which rate the number of runs above or below average a hitter is against a specific offering per 100 pitches -- Konerko has been the best fastball hitter in the American League since the start of the 2010 season. Better than Jose Bautista, better than Miguel Cabrera, better than Dustin Pedroia. The only player who's hit fastballs at a better rate has been Joey Votto, who won the 2010 NL MVP.

 

It's not as if Konerko faces more fastballs than the average middle-of-the-order hitter. Over the last two seasons, 56 percent of the pitches he's faced have been fastballs, roughly the same rate as Votto and most other power hitters have seen.

 

What appears to be the most reliable way to get Konerko out is via the cut fastball, although that's a specialty pitch that's hardly thrown by everybody. Konerko already faces a fairly high rate of sliders, and the same goes for the amount of changeups he sees relative to the fact he bats right-handed (quite a few switch-hitters and lefties see more changeups, but few righties do).

 

Konerko owns Tim Wakefield in his career, so trying a gimmicky knuckleball is probably out of the question.

 

So what are opposing pitchers supposed to do if they don't have a cutter?

 

Hope Konerko's bat slows down with old age. But he's made a fantastic adjustment against the fastball in the last two years, and while Konerko will be 36 on opening day next year, he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. Even when he's playing on one leg.

[Princess Dye]

Lets get real. Most of the people getting those types of houses in Scottsdale are rich kids inheriting crap

[elrockinMT]

We Sox fans always knew the Konerko was one of the best fastball hitters in the game today.

[greg775]

We Sox fans always knew the Konerko was one of the best fastball hitters in the game today.

 

Very true elrockin.

He's been on fire the past few seasons smoking hits all over the place.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

Lets get real. Most of the people getting those types of houses in Scottsdale are rich kids inheriting crap

 

Expanding on this a little bit, if I had that kind of money, Scottsdale would be pretty far down on my list of places to own a 16k sq ft. house. The east coast is much more appealing IMO.

Edited November 7, 2011 by Swingandalongonetoleft

[ewokpelts]

Expanding on this a little bit, if I had that kind of money, Scottsdale would be pretty far down on my list of places to own a 16k sq ft. house. The east coast is much more appealing IMO.

yeah, but bonerko loves it in AZ. he's a coyotes and cardinals STH.