For the most part, Lester operates with five pitches - a changeup, curveball, and fastball, the latter of which can come in the form of a two-seamer, four-seamer, or cutter, all of which move differently. In Lester¡¯s case, because he is lefthanded, the two-seamer breaks in on a lefthanded batter, the cutter breaks in on a righthanded batter, and the four-seamer crosses the plate in what is closest to a straight line (but with the greatest velocity).
Generally speaking, Lester¡¯s bread-and-butter pitch is the cutter, a pitch he can throw in the low 90s and with sharp, aggressive movement in on righthanded batters. With that pitch alone, he can make righties extremely defensive. (For hitters, hard inside pitches are often the most uncomfortable.) Lester¡¯s problems earlier this season came when he was unable to control the inside of the plate against lefties, which is to say he had trouble throwing, with velocity and movement, to the first base side (or, in his case, arm side) of the plate.
ÀϹÝÀûÀ¸·Î À̾߱âÇÏÀÚ¸é, ·¹½ºÅÍÀÇ "¹ä°ú±¹" °ÝÀÎ Åõ±¸´Â ¿ìŸÀÚÀÇ ¸öÂÊÀ¸·Î ¿¹¸®ÇÏ°Ô ²ªÀÌ´Â 90¸¶ÀÏ ÃʹÝÀÇ Ä¿ÅÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ÀÌ ÇÇĪ Çϳª¸¸À¸·Îµµ ±×´Â ¿ìŸÀÚµéÀ» ¾ÆÁÖ ¹æ¾îÀûÀ¸·Î ¸¸µé ¼ö ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù. (ŸÀڵ鿡°Ô´Â ¸öÂÊ ±íÀÌ µé¾î¿À´Â °øµéÀÌ °¡Àå ºÒÆíÇÏ°ï ÇÕ´Ï´Ù) ¿Ã ½ÃÁð ÃÊ ·¹½ºÅÍÀÇ ¹®Á¦Á¡Àº ÁŸÀÚ¸¦ »ó´ëÇÒ¶§ ¸öÂÊ°øÀ» ÄÁÆ®·Ñ ÇÒ ¼ö ¾ø´Â »óȲ¿¡ ºÀÂøÇÏ¿© ÀÏ¾î³ ¹®Á¦µéÀ̾úÁö¿ä. ¸»ÇÏÀÚ¸é 1·çÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®(ȤÀº Åõ±¸ÇÏ´Â ÆÈ ÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®)¿¡ ¼Óµµ¿Í ¹«ºê¸ÕÆ®¸¦ ´ÙÇÏ¿© ´øÁö´Âµ¥ ¾Ö¸¦ ¸Ô¾ú´Ù´Â °ÍÀÌÁö¿ä.
¡°A lot of pitchers get comfortable on one side of the plate,¡¯¡¯ said Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who might also have used Timlin as an example. ¡°Maybe a righty can throw arm side to a lefthanded hitter because [the plate] is open. Maybe a righty can¡¯t throw inside to a righty because he¡¯s afraid he might hit him or leave it out over the middle of the plate.
"¸¹Àº Åõ¼öµéÀº Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®ÀÇ ÇÑÂÊ¿¡¸¸ Àͼ÷ÇØÁö°ï ÇØ¿ä." ¸¶Âù°¡Áö·Î ÆÀ¸°À» ¿¹·Î µé¾úÀ»¹ýÇÑ ·¹µå»è½ºÀÇ °¨µ¶ Å׸® ÇÁ·©ÄÚ³ª °¨µ¶ÀÌ À̾߱âÇÕ´Ï´Ù. Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®°¡ ¿·ÁÀֱ⿡ ¿ìÅõ¼ö°¡ ¸¾³õ°í ÁŸÀÚÀÇ ¹Ù±ùÂÊÀ» °ø·«ÇÒ ¼öµµ ÀÖ°í,¿ìÅõ¼ö°¡ ¿ìŸÀÚ¸¦ ¸ÂÃâ±îºÁ¼, ȤÀº °¡¿îµ¥ ¸ô¸±±îºÁ ¸ø´øÁö´Â °ÍÀϼöµµ ÀÖ¾î¿ä.
¡°Lester¡¯s the one who, when he¡¯s commanding both sides - a hitter can¡¯t just section off one part of the plate. It¡¯s hard for them to know what¡¯s coming.¡¯¡¯
·¹½ºÅÍ´Â ¾çÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ® ¸ðµÎ¿¡ Á¦±¸°¡ ÀßµÉ °æ¿ì, ŸÀÚ°¡ ÇÑÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®¸¦ ¹èÁ¦ÇÏ°í¼ Å¸°ÝÇÒ¼ö°¡ ¾ø½À´Ï´Ù. ¾î¶² °øÀÌ ¿ÃÁö ¿¹ÃøÇϱⰡ ¾î·ÆÁö¿ä.
In Lester¡¯s first 10 starts this year, while he was going 3-5 with a 6.07 ERA, pitching coach John Farrell ¡°basically¡¯¡¯ attributed the pitcher¡¯s problems to command of the two-seam fastball on the arm side of the plate (in this case, again, down and in to lefties). To that point in the season, lefthanded batters were hitting .300 against Lester with a whopping .614 slugging percentage, .965 OPS, and six home runs. In 2008, he allowed just three home runs to lefthanded batters all year.
¿Ã½ÃÁð ·¹½ºÅÍÀÇ Ã¹ 10 ¼±¹ß Åõ±¸¿¡¼ 3½Â 5Æп¡ 6.07ERA¸¦ Âï´ø¶§, Åõ¼öÄÚÄ¡ Á¸ ÆÄ·¼Àº ±âº»ÀûÀ¸·Î ÆÈÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®ÀÇ Åõ½É ÆнºÆ®º¼ (ÀÌ°æ¿ì ÁŸÀÚ ¸öÂÊ ¾Æ·¡·Î ±Á¾îµé¾î°¡´Â)ÀÇ Ä¿¸Çµå¿¡ ¹®Á¦°¡ ÀÖÀ½À» ÁöÀûÇß½À´Ï´Ù. ½ÃÁðÁß ±×¶§±îÁö ÁŸÀÚµéÀº ·¹½ºÅи¦ »ó´ë·Î 3ÇÒ, 0.614¶ó´Â ¾öû³ ¼öÄ¡ÀÇ ÀåŸÀ², 0.965 OPS, 6Ȩ·±À» ¶§·Á³»°í ÀÖ¾ú½À´Ï´Ù. 2008³â¿¡´Â ÁŸÀÚ¸¦ »ó´ë·Î °íÀÛ 3Ȩ·± »ÓÀÌ ³»ÁÖÁö ¾Ê¾Ò´Âµ¥µµ ¸»ÀÌÁö¿ä.
Since that time, in eight games, lefties have hit .234 against Lester with a .255 slugging percentage, .530 OPS, and zero homers. During that span, he is 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA, the only loss being a 2-1, rain-shortened, five-inning affair against the Florida Marlins.
±×¶§ ÀÌÈÄ(¹®Á¦°¡ °íÃÄÁø ÀÌÈÄ)·Î ·¹½ºÅÍ´Â 8°ÔÀÓµ¿¾È ÁŸÀڵ鿡°Ô 0.234, 0.245 SLG, 0.530OPS , Ȩ·± 0°³ »ÓÀÌ Çã¿ëÇÏÁö ¾Ê°ÔµË´Ï´Ù. ±×±â°£ Áß ±×´Â 5½Â 1ÆÐ 1.48ERA ¿´°í, À¯ÀÏÇÑ Æйè´Â ¿ìõÀ¸·Î ÀÎÇÏ¿© 5ÀÌ´×À¸·Î ´ÜÃàµÅ¹ö¸° 2-1ÀÇ ÆÐ¹è ¿´½À´Ï´Ù.
The day Lester reclaimed the arm side of the plate was the day his season changed.
·¹½ºÅÍ°¡ ÆÈÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®¸¦ µÇã´Â ±×³¯ºÎÅÍ ±×ÀÇ ½ÃÁðÀº ¿ÏÀüÈ÷ ¹Ù²î¾ú½À´Ï´Ù.
Hitters couldn¡¯t focus on the outer half of the plate because Martínez would beat them in. And they couldn¡¯t focus on the inner half of the plate because Martínez could pierce them away.
Of course, with regard to operating with sheer precision and movement on both sides of the plate, one name among recent pitchers stands out above all others.
Á¤±³ÇÔ°ú ÇÔ²² ¾çÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®¿¡ ¹«ºê¸ÕÆ®ÀÖ´Â °øÀ» ´øÁú ¼ö ÀÖ¾ú±â¿¡, ´ç¿¬È÷ ±×´Â ±Ù·¡ ¸ðµç Åõ¼öµé Áß ´Ü¿¬ µ¸º¸ÀÌ´Â Á¸Àç¿´½À´Ï´Ù.
¡°Maddux,¡¯¡¯ said Francona, referring to future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, the four-time Cy Young Award winner who could manipulate the ball as if guiding it with a joystick. ¡°He could throw that one right there [two-seamer inside] and he could live away. When we came [to Atlanta] with Philadelphia, we would marvel at the way they would set their defense. They¡¯d play the off-field outfielder almost on the line.¡¯¡¯
¹Ì·¡ÀÇ ¸í¿¹ÀÇ Àü´ç Çå¾×ÀÚÀÌÀÚ, »çÀÌ¿µ »ó 4ȸ ¼ö»óÀÚ¿¡ °øÀ» ¸¶Ä¡ Á¶À̽ºÆ½À¸·Î Á¶ÀÛÇÏµí ´øÁú ¼ö ÀÖ¾ú´ø ±× "¸Å´ö½º"¿¡ ´ëÇØ ÇÁ¶ûÄÚ³ª°¡ ÀÔÀ» ¿±´Ï´Ù.
"°ø Çϳª¸¦ µü °Å±â´Ù°¡(Åõ½É ¸öÂÊ) ´øÁö°íµµ ¹«»çÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ¾ú´Ù´Ï±î¿ä" Çʶóµ¨ÇÇ¾Æ ÀÖ´ø ½ÃÀý(ÇÁ¶ûÄÚ³ª´Â ·¹»è¿À±â Àü¿¡ Çʸ®½º °¨µ¶ÇÑ ÀûÀÌ ÀÖÀ½) ¾ÖƲ·£Å¸¿¡ °¬¾ú´Âµ¥, ±×Ä£±¸µé ¼öºñ ¼´Â°Å¿¡ ³î¶óÁö ¾ÊÀ» ¼ö°¡ ¾ø¾ú¾î¿ä. ¿Ü¾ß¼öµéÀ» ÁË´Ù ¶óÀÎ ±Ùó¿¡´Ù°¡ ¼¼¿ì´õ¶ó±¸¿ä"
And so, as Maddux wore out the outside corner, opponents hit one weak opposite-field fly after the next.
±×·¸µí, ¸Å´ö½º´Â ¹Ù±ùÂÊ Äڳʰ¡ ´âµµ·Ï °øÀ» ´øÁ³°í, »ó´ë¹æµéÀº Â÷·Ê·Î ¾àÇϵð ¾àÇÑ ¿Ü¾ßÇöóÀ̸¦ ÃÄ´òÁö¿ä.
Of course, Maddux, who won 355 games in his 23-year career, is an exception. For most pitchers, commanding both sides of the plate is far more difficult - and it can take years (or infinity) to master. Remember the comeback two-seamer Derek Lowe used to strike out Terrence Long for the final out in Game 5 of the 2003 AL Division Series between the Red Sox and Oakland A¡¯s? A year earlier, while suffering through a miserable year as the Boston closer, Lowe could not execute that pitch consistently. The result was a tumultuous season that led to Lowe¡¯s resurrection as a starter - and one that made him a far better pitcher, too.
¹°·Ð 23³âµ¿¾È 355½ÂÀ» ÇÑ ¸Å´ö½º´Â ¿¹¿ÜÀûÀÏ ¼ö ¹Û¿¡ ¾ø½À´Ï´Ù. ´ëºÎºÐÀÇ ÇÇÃĵ鿡°Ô ¾çÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®¸¦ ¸ðµÎ °ø·«ÇÏ´Â °ÍÀº ÈξÀ ¾î·Æ½À´Ï´Ù. À̸¦ ¸¶½ºÅÍÇÏ´Â °Í¿¡´Â ¼ö³âÀÌ °É¸®°í ¸¶½ºÅÍÇÏÁö ¸øÇÒ ¼öµµ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù. ¿ÀŬ·£µå¿ÍÀÇ 2003 ALDS 5Â÷Àü µ¥·º·Î°¡ Å×·±½º ·ÕÀ» »ó´ë·Î ´øÁø ÄĹé Åõ½ÉÀ» ±â¾ïÇϽôÂÁö¿ä? º¸½ºÅÏ¿¡¼ ¸¶¹«¸®·Î °íÀüÇÏ°í ÀÖ´ø 1³âÀü¸¸Çصµ ·Î´Â ±× Åõ±¸¸¦ ÀÏ°ü¼º ÀÖ°Ô ´øÁöÁö ¸øÇß½À´Ï´Ù. °á°ú´Â µéÂß³¯ÂßÇÑ ¼ºÀûÀÇ ÇÑ ½ÃÁðÀ̾ú°í, ÀÌ´Â ·Î¸¦ ´Ù½Ã ¼±¹ß·Î µ¹¸®°Ô ¸¸µì´Ï´Ù. °á°úÀûÀ¸·Î ±×¸¦ ÈξÀ ÁÁÀº Åõ¼ö·Î ¸¸µé¾îÁáÁö¿ä.
By the time the Oakland series ended, Lowe had used the pitch against a succession of lefthanded batters, striking out Long and before him the lefthanded-hitting Adam Melhuse looking with the game, series, and season on the line.
¿ÀŬ·£µå ½Ã¸®Áî ÁîÀ½, ·Î´Â ÁŸÀڵ鿡°Ô ÀÌ °øÀ» ¿¬´Þ¾Æ ´øÁ³½À´Ï´Ù. ·ÕÀº »ïÁø½ÃÄ×°í, ±× ÀüÀÇ Å¸ÀÚ¿´´ø ÁŸ ¾Æ´ã ¸áÈÞÁîµµ ·èÅ· »ïÁøÀ¸·Î Àâ¾Ò½À´Ï´Ù. ±× °ÔÀÓ, ½Ã¸®Áî, ±×¸®°í ½ÃÁðÀ» °É°í¼ ¸»ÀÌÁö¿ä.
¡°That was as clutch as you can possibly be,¡¯¡¯ Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said of Lowe at the time. ¡°I don¡¯t know how many pitchers in the game have the guts to make those pitches.¡¯¡¯
"±×°Ç Á¤¸» Ŭ·¯Ä¡ÀÇ ±ØÄ¡À̾ú¾î¿ä. " ·¹µå»è½º GM Å׿À ¿¦½ºÅ¸ÀÎÀÌ ±×¶§ÀÇ ·Î¿¡ ´ëÇØ À̾߱âÇÕ´Ï´Ù."±×·± Åõ±¸¸¦ ÇÒ ¹è¯ÀÌ ÀÖ´Â Åõ¼ö°¡ ¸îÀ̳ª µÉ±î¿ä?"
Said Varitek, ¡°That strike three pitch was the best pitch he¡¯s ever made.¡¯¡¯
¹è¸®ÅØÀÌ À̾߱âÇÕ´Ï´Ù. "±× 3¹ø° ½ºÆ®¶óÀÌÅ© Åõ±¸´Â ±×°¡ ¿©Áö²¯ ´øÁø ÃÖ°íÀÇ Åõ±¸¿´¾î¿ä"
To Melhuse or to Long?
¸áÈÞÁî¿ä? ·ÕÀÌ¿ä?
¡°Both of them,¡¯¡¯ Varitek said.
"µÑ ´Ù¿ä"
This brings us to righthander Justin Masterson, the talented young pitcher who, stylistically, is the best comparison to Lowe among those currently on the Boston roster. Like Lowe, Masterson is a sinkerballer who relies largely on the movement of his two-seamer (or sinker) to produce ground outs. Like Lowe early in his career, Masterson has trouble on the inner half of the plate against lefties (in this case, Masterson¡¯s glove side). Sometimes, Masterson¡¯s two-seamer tails back over the plate, where it gets pounded. Sometimes, it doesn¡¯t tail enough and misses the plate. Masterson is thus left to combat lefties with a slider that darts down and in, albeit at a lesser velocity, but his overall inability to deal with lefties is an ongoing issue.
ÀÌ À̾߱â´Â ÇÊ¿¬ÀûÀ¸·Î, º¸½ºÅÏ ·Î½ºÅÍ¿¡¼ ½ºÅ¸ÀÏ»ó ·Î¿Í °¡Àå ºñ½ÁÇÑ, Àç´ÉÀÖ´Â ÀþÀº ¿ì¿Ï Àú½ºÆ¾ ¸¶½ºÅͽ¼(Çö Àεð¾ðÁî)ÀÇ À̾߱⸦ ²ø¾î³À´Ï´Ù. ·Î ó·³ ¸Å½ºÅͽ¼ ¿ª½Ã³ª Åõ½É°ú ½ÌÄ¿¸¦ ¹ÙÅÁÀ¸·Î ¶¥º¼ ¾Æ¿ôÀ» À̲ø¾î ³»´Â ´É·Â¿¡ ÀÇÁ¸ÇÏ´Â ½ÌÄ¿º¼·¯ÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ·Î ó·³ ±×ÀÇ Ãʱâ Ä¿¸®¾î µ¿¾È ¸Å½ºÅͽ¼Àº ÁŸÀÚ¸¦ »ó´ë·Î ÇÒ¶§ ¸öÂÊ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ® °ø·«(¸Å½ºÅͽ¼ÀÇ ±Û·¯ºê³¤ ÆÈÂÊ)¿¡ ¾î·Á¿òÀ» °Þ¾î¿Ô½À´Ï´Ù. ¾î¶²¶§´Â ¸Å½ºÅͽ¼ÀÇ Åõ½ÉÀÌ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ® À§·Î ³Ê¹« ²ª¿© µé¾î°¡¸é¼ ³Å¸ ´çÇϴ°¡Çϸé, ¾î¶²¶§´Â ¿øÇÏ´Â ¹Ô¹ÔÇÏ°Ô ²ª¿©¼ Ç÷¹ÀÌÆ®¸¦ Åë°úÇÏÁö ¸øÇϱ⵵ ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ±×·¡¼ ¸¶½ºÅͽ¼Àº ÁŸÀÚ¸¦ »ó´ëÇÒ¶§ ¾î¿¼ö ¾øÀÌ ÁŸÀÚ ¸öÂÊ ¾Æ·¡·Î ²ÉÇôµé¾î°¡±â´Â Çϳª, ´À¸° ¼ÓµµÀÇ ½½¶óÀÌ´õ¸¦ »ç¿ëÇÒ ¼ö ¹Û¿¡ ¾ø°í, Àü¹ÝÀûÀ¸·Î ¿©ÀüÈ÷µµ ±×ÀÇ ÁŸÀÚ »ó´ë´É·ÂÀº ¹®Á¦Á¡À¸·Î ÁöÀûµÇ°í ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù.
So far this year, lefties are batting .317 with an .864 slugging percentage against Masterson, helping to explain why he has seemingly taken a step back in his development. He is still learning. He is still just 24 years old. Current Red Sox officials, in particular, have demonstrated great patience with their young pitchers, from Lester to Masterson and beyond, largely because the strike zone, as small as it seems, takes years to master.
¿ÃÇØ Áö±Ý±îÁö ÁŸÀÚµéÀº ¸¶½ºÅͽ¼À» »ó´ë·Î 0.317, 0.864 SLG¸¦ ±â·ÏÇÏ°í ÀÖ°í, ÀÌ ¼öÄ¡´Â ¸¶½ºÅͽ¼ÀÇ ±â·®Çâ»ó¿¡ Á¦µ¿ÀÌ °É·ÈÀ½À» ¼³¸íÇϴµ¥ ÂüÁ¶°¡ µË´Ï´Ù. ±×´Â ¾ÆÁ÷ ¹è¿ì°í ÀÖ°í ¾ÆÁ÷ 24»ì »ÓÀÌ µÇÁö ¾Ê½À´Ï´Ù. ÇöÀç ·¹µå»è½º ÇÁ·ÐÆ®´Â, ƯÈ÷³ª ¾î¸° Åõ¼öµéÀº ·¹½ºÅͺÎÅÍ ¸¶½ºÅͽ¼ ±×¸®°í ±× ÈÄÀÇ ¼±¼öµé±îÁö ±²ÀåÇÑ ÂüÀ»¼ºÀ» °®°í ÁöÄѺÁ¿Ô½À´Ï´Ù. ¿Ö³Ä¸é ½ºÆ®¶óÀÌÅ©Á¸Àº ÀÛ°Ô º¸À̱â´Â ÇÕ´Ï´Ù¸¸ Åë´ÞÇÏ´Â °Í¿¡´Â ¼ö³âÀÌ °É¸®±â ¶§¹®ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.
After all, most pitchers struggle early in their careers. Even Maddux, who was 8-18 with an ERA over 5.00 in his first two big league seasons.
¾îÂ÷ÇÇ ¸ðµç Åõ¼öµéÀº ÃÊâ±â¿¡´Â °íÀüÀ» ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ¸Å´ö½º Á¶Â÷µµ ù µÎ ½ÃÁðµ¿¾È 8½Â 18Æп¡ 5.00ERA¸¦ ±â·ÏÇß¾ùÁö¿ä.
Together, armed with countless options, the pitcher and catcher of the Red Sox must negotiate their way through the imaginary box hovering over home plate.