Good Pitching or Poor Hitting in Game 2?

In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.

Was it the pitching or the offense's inability to produce? It's the question we always want the answer to when pitching shuts down a lineup over an extended period. In Game 2 of the ALCS, we watched two teams scratch and claw through extra innings to push runs across. Of course, there can never be a completely definitive answer, but Saturday night there were some instances where there were some answers.

In Joe Saunders, the Yankees faced a pitcher that generally thrives on throwing first-pitch strikes and changing speeds. And in A.J. Burnett, the Angels faced a pitcher that must be forced out of the strike zone to get him out of his groove. One could argue that both lineups could have done a better job with their approach against these pitchers.

Things were rather easy for Burnett through the early part of his outing. Much of that may have had to do with the Angel approach. Until the fifth inning when Burnett began to falter, they were going after him early in the count and not allowing him to get himself into trouble. Any problems that Burnett runs into are usually of his own doing, so this is a case where the Angels' hitters should have made the right-hander labor more.

Saunders took a page out of the book of many other crafty strike-throwing pitchers. If you can get strike one against the Yankee lineup and throw a secondary pitch for strikes after that, your odds of beating them drastically increases. Saunders was able to take the Yankees out of their methodical, patient approach. When you can do that, the lineup becomes much more navigable.

Saunders' performance aside, the key to the night might have been the Angels' inability to land a knockout blow on a struggling Burnett in the fifth inning. If you examine him closely in that inning, pretty much all the things that could go wrong in his delivery did. Not only did his command suffer, but so did his velocity and the bite on his breaking ball. Normally at 94-96 mph, he was pitching around 91-92 at some points in the trouble innings.

Looking more closely at his delivery, it was clear in several slow-motion replays what was going wrong. Continuing to open up his front shoulder early as he tends to do when he's going badly, Burnett was suddenly pulling off of his release point, causing the ball to run to his arm side. This is what caused the decrease in velocity and also the loss of command. It also made it far more difficult for him to get on top of his big breaking ball. Instead, we saw him getting around that pitch as his arm slot dropped. When the front shoulder opens, the elbow and arm slot come down. Burnett at his best is on top of the ball, producing that explosive velocity and downer breaking ball.

This was an inning where not even Burnett's stuff was at its typical level. With his mechanics betraying him, little command of his breaking ball and his velocity down the Angels had their opportunity to pounce on him. They did push two runs across, but this had the makings of a meltdown inning that Yankee fans have seen from Burnett at times in 2009. Lots of things could have gotten Los Angeles a win in Game 2, but the inability to break Burnett might be the most haunting thing about the loss.

Spotlight Moment

Knowing a situation and making smart pitch selections is often what wins or loses these big playoff games. As Brian Fuentes can now attest to, making the wrong pitch against a hot Alex Rodriguez can be especially a dangerous. It can not be said enough: a pitcher should not make pitches on which he can be hurt in an 0-2 count.

For whatever reason, Fuentes went right into Rodriguez's strength out over the heart of the plate with a fastball anyway in a pitcher's count. He was likely trying to go up the ladder out of the strike zone, but any pitcher will tell you if you are going to miss your spot, it better be out of the strike zone. As locked in as he is, A-Rod is not missing those fastballs which he can extend his arms on out over the plate.

Frankie Piliere spent the last three seasons working as a scout, most recently in the professional scouting department for the Texas Rangers in 2009. He now serves as the National Baseball Analyst here at FanHouse.

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MLB Postseason Photos

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 17: Jerry Hairston Jr. of the New York Yankees is hit in the face with a pie after scoring the winning run for a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the bottom of the 13th inning of Game Two of the ALCS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 17, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jerry Hairston Jr.

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2009 Baseball Playoffs

Los Angeles Angels' Maicer Izturis throws to third on a fielder's choice single by New York Yankees' Melky Cabrera during the 13th inning of Game 2 of the American League Championship baseball series Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in New York. New York Yankees' Jerry Hairston Jr. scored on a throwing error by Izturis to win the game 4-3. The Yankees lead the series 2-0. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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NEW YORK - OCTOBER 18: Jerry Hairston Jr. #17 of the New York Yankees wipes off a pie in the face after scoring the game-winning run in 13th inning of Game Two of the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Angels 4-3 in 13 innings. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jerry Hairston Jr.

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NEW YORK - OCTOBER 18: The New York Yankees celebrate after Jerry Hairston Jr. scored the game-winning run in the 13th inning of Game Two of the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Angels 4-3 in 13 innings. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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NEW YORK - OCTOBER 18: Mark Teixeira #25 and Jorge Posada #20 of the New York Yankees celebrate after Game Two of the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Angels 4-3 in 13 innings. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Teixeira;Jorge Posada

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NEW YORK - OCTOBER 17: Robinson Cano #24 of the New York Yankees runs to second base on a throwing error by Maicer Izturis #13 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim which Erick Aybar #2 reaches for in the bottom on the 13th inning of Game Two of the ALCS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 17, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The New York Yankees won 4-3 over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Robinson Cano;Erick Aybar

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Spectators celebrate after New York Yankees' Jerry Hairston Jr. scored on a throwing error by Los Angeles Angels' Maicer Izturis during the 13th inning of Game 2 of the American League Championship baseball series Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in New York. The Yankees won 4-3 to lead the series 2-0. The Los Angeles Angels catcher is Mike Napoli. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

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New York Yankees' Jerry Hairston Jr. (17) celebrates with his teammates after scoring on a throwing error by Los Angeles Angels' Maicer Izturis during the 13th inning of Game 2 of the American League Championship baseball series Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in New York. The Yankees won 4-3 to lead the series 2-0. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 17: Jerry Hairston Jr. of the New York Yankees celebrates scoring to win Game Two of the ALCS 4-3 over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 17, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jerry Hairston Jr.

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