#1
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In the issue with Michael Phelps on the cover. Titled "The problem With Perfection..." it looks at Humber on the day of the perfect game and the aftermath.
Story spoke with those who know him (as well as Humber) and what emerges is a pitcher who set his personal standards so high that when he couldn't reach them it messed up his mind and self confidence. Quotes Humber as saying that after the perfect game, "I've got to prove that the perfect game was not a fluke." Story says that later in the season when he was getting bombed he worked even harder to try to get out of the slump, instead it drove him deeper and deeper into it. Humber says he told Don Cooper, "I don't know what I'm doing out there..." He went with the slider so much after the perfect game that Humber says he thinks that's the reason he got the strained right elbow. Story said that on the final day he went around the clubhouse saying his goodbyes figuring his days with the Sox were over. After the Astros picked him up, the G.M. Jeff Luhnow told him "the team believed he could be a rock in the rotation..." Sounds like the worst thing that could happen to him was pitching a perfect game. He wasn't ready mentally to deal with it. Maybe the mental issues are the reason he's bounced around to so many teams despite being a first round pick. Lip |
#2
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Garland was a good example of that, as was Kip Wells. I always thought Baldwin underperformed though I never say him as a Cy Young candidate. Currently, I think Floyd (wasn't he another top 10 pick?) has never developed into the pitcher he can be. He's shows stretches of domination and stretches of bad. I feel bad for Phil. The only thing stopping him from being a dominant pitcher is all upstairs for him. You can see it in his eyes late in the season. The confidence was gone. Bob |
#3
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__________________
![]() 2020....2020.....2020....2020....2020..... |
#4
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#5
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Kind of odd that 3/5ths of the Astros rotation next year could be former Sox pitchers/prospects Harrell, Humber and Ely, and they got all three for just one mid-level prospect. |
#6
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Prior to 2010 Humber had pitched a total of 51.1 innings in the majors in 5 years, then in 2011 he pitched 163 innings and in 2012 pitched 102 innings.
Humber can point to the perfect game as a reason for his problems, but I'm guessing it has more to do with his lack of experience and general inconsistency that has plagued his entire career. The perfect game was a lighting strike. |
#7
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I think the effects of a perfect game or no-no also can be physical. I mean it's a guaranteed complete game and guys often extend to 125+ pitches to get it done where if they were winning 5-0 having given up a single hit they might be pulled around 100. Plus obviously the mental strain of throwing a once in a lifetime game can lead to a guy putting a lot extra on late inning pitches and stress the system even more.
I mean a guy with a 10-0 lead having given up a hit or two is throwing get me over fastballs late in the game just to finish a complete game, but with a major achievement on the line, they are still letting it fly late with a high pitch count. I've felt this way for a while. It's more obvious for older pitchers I think. I remember when Buehrle threw his perfect game and then came back and started the next game with like 5.2 innings of perfection. Then suddenly he hit the wall and the next 4-5 games (IIRC) he struggled. I thought it was the stress from all those tough pitches.
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Riding shotgun on the Sox bandwagon since before there was an Internet... |
#8
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Let's call it what it is: A Fluke.
His stuff is below average. |
#9
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Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but I think his stuff is above average. His command is what is below average. I hope Humber does well in Houston.
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#10
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Nothing special IMO. Pitchers with his stuff get hit hard, especially in the AL. Hope he does well, will agree on that. Seemed like a very nice guy in that clubhouse. |
#11
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One of the bigger flukes in baseball (or at least pitching) history, too.
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Ridiculousness across all sports: (1) "You have no valid opinion because you never played the game." (2) "Stats are irrelevant. This guy just doesn't know how to win." |
#12
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I guess Coop couldn't fix him.
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#13
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__________________
![]() Go Sox!!! |
#14
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Having the ability to do something and having the physical and mental makeup and discipline to do it over and over again are separate qualities. |
#15
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How many MLB games have been played now? And there's only 20 something perfect games in that time? Really, every perfect game is a fluke.
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#9 2015 Obligatory Attendance/Record Tracker 1-2 LAST GAME: May 22 - Sox 3, Twins 2 NEXT GAME: June 8 - Sox vs. Astros |
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