Prince Loses Patience During Postseason Slump

Prince Fielder is a big dude, but it's still shocking that Miguel Cabrera's tag team partner has failed to slug his weight during the 2012 playoffs. Fielder enters tonight's elimination game batting just .188/.250/.250 in 52 plate appearances, with his homer off Oakland's A.J. Griffin in Game 4 of the ALDS being his only extra-base hit. Why? His plate discipline has all but disappeared.

Prince has swung at pitches thrown from his eyes to his ankles during the playoffs. Check out his swing rate by pitch location during the regular season, and then during the postseason:

Regular season

Postseason

Fielder has chased 40% of pitches thrown outside of the strike zone this October, compared to 25.9% during the regular season. He's 1-for-21 when he connects on a pitch thrown outside of the zone. Giants pitchers have taken note, throwing him an in-zone offering just 33% of the time during the World Series (Fielder got an in-zone pitch about 40% of the time during both the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs). The Tigers are likely cooked no matter what Fielder does from here on out. But it would be a big help if he stopped making it so easy to get him out.  

What Went Wrong For Verlander in Game 1?

Justin Verlander was Bob Gibson-esque during his first three starts of the 2012 postseason, surrendering only two runs and posting a 25-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 24.1 innings pitched. Last night, however, the Giants jumped the 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP for five runs and chased him after just four frames. What went wrong for the best pitcher on the planet in Game 1 of the World Series? Here's a quick rundown:

• Verlander fell behind hitters often, throwing a first-pitch strike to nine of the 19 batters that he faced (47.4%). During the regular season, Verlander's 61.1% first-pitch strike rate was comfortably above the 59.8% average for American League starting pitchers.
• He also caught too much of the plate. Verlander threw 29 of his 98 pitches (29.6%) to the horizontal middle of the strike zone, well north of his 19.9% average during the regular season.

Verlander's pitch location from Game 1 of the World Series

• San Francisco went 4-for-4 when Verlander left a pitch over the middle of the plate, with Pablo Sandoval, Marco Scutaro, Buster Posey and Barry Zito (!) recording hits. Verlander's two-strike offering to Zito, a career .097 hitter, must have had Jim Leyland reaching for his Marlboros:

Where not to throw a two-strike pitch to Barry Zito

Sandoval Hacks His Way Into History

Babe Ruth. Reggie Jackson. Albert Pujols. And now, Pablo Sandoval. The Panda joined those legendary sluggers last night by hitting three home runs in a World Series game, hacking the Giants to an 8-3 win over the Tigers in Game 1.

Sandoval punched two 95 MPH fastballs from Justin Verlander over the fence, chasing an 0-2 pitch high out of the strike zone in the first inning for a 421 foot center field shot and then going the opposite way in the third frame when the reigning AL Cy Young and MVP tried to hit the outside corner. In the fifth, Sandoval clubbed an Al Alburquerque slider 435 feet to center.

  Location of Sandoval's HR in Game 1

Sandoval has now gone deep six times during the postseason, and four of those shots have come on pitches thrown outside of the strike zone. The Panda has long been a free swinger, chasing the third-highest rate of pitches (41.7%) during the regular season. But he has expanded his already Bay-sized zone in October, chasing half of pitches thrown off the plate. That is, by far, the highest mark among hitters with at least 30 plate appearances during the playoffs:

       Highest Chase Rate in 2012 Playoffs

Batter	Chase Pct.
Pablo Sandoval	50.0%
Robinson Cano	41.5%
Derek Jeter	40.3%
Prince Fielder	40.2%
Angel Pagan	40.0%
Miguel Cabrera	37.0%
Matt Holliday	36.8%
Delmon Young	36.7%
Curtis Granderson	35.0%

Sandoval's three homers last night came on two of the game's toughest pitches. Verlander limited batters to a .389 fastball slugging percentage during the regular season, sixth-lowest among AL starting pitchers. Alburquerque held hitters to a .094 slugging percentage on his slider, fifth-lowest among AL relievers.

If Sandoval goes deep twice more during the World Series, he will tie Barry Bonds, Nelson Cruz and Carlos Beltran for the most homers ever hit during a single postseason. Pitchers beware: ball or strike, Sandoval's coming up swinging.