For Giants hitters, the objective is clear: get Stephen Strasburg up in the zone.
Pitching is a game of deception. The ball comes out of the hand looking like one pitch, acting like another. The hitters are detectives, trying to spot the lie.
Strasburg lives down in the zone with his fastball. He's getting strikes with a lethally powerful pitch, but he's also creating a diversion. He wants to start his changeup and curveball in the same location and then, like a magician, make the ball disappear.
As hitters, it's crucial to get Stras up in the zone for two reasons: one, because his elevated fastball flattens out somewhat and two, because we sniff out his biggest untruth earlier. As the ball's proximity to our eyes increases, we recognize the rotation on it sooner or the change in speed more accurately. He can still spin a lie, but we are less likely to buy his story.
Today's outcome will be directly related to how well Strasburg deceives Giants hitters. And you thought he was a straight shooter. Psfttt.
