All About Adjustments

1. What makes a player great in any professional sport is not simply talent or even hard work. The essence of games is adjustments. Case in point, the AL Rookie of the Month, Scott Ritchmond. He's had problems his last two starts, and last night he didn't get out of the second inning. He couldn't locate his slider, and he had nothing else to fall back on. The Yankees ripped his fastball, as well they should have, because without the threat of the slider his fastball is very average. Over the course of the year Richmond will have to make adjustents as the hitters adjust to him. What will he do if he can't locate a certain pitch? What happens if he is having an "off-stuff" night?

Incidentally, this is what makes Halladay one of the top two pitchers in the game. Kevin Cash, the backup catcher for the Yankees who caught Halladay when he won the Cy Young in 2003, noted after Tuesday's game that Halladay can now throw his cutter and sinker to both sides of the plate. That is, he's a better pitcher now than he was when he won the award for the league's best pitcher! When people call Zach Greinke, who is having an unbelievable season with the Royals, the best pitcher in the game, baseball purists should be objecting to that kind of hyperbole. Yes, he's a great talent, but when he is able to do it year after year, when the hitters are consistently behind and off balance, well, we check back. Until then, recognize the great players, like Albert Pujols and Doc, have been great for a long time. And it's all about their ability to make adjustments.

2. What happened to the fans on Wednesday night? Where did everyone go? To watch the Leafs? We're a fickle town, Toronto...

3. I'm glad Jay Triano got the head coaching gig for the Raptors. Very good news for Canada basketball. However, I'm not convinced the Raptors will be any good next year. Get us a wing, Brian!

-Steve