Sam McDowell

And that's the funny part of baseball, of course.

Now, there are some things that Lucas Ursae does have within his control that he's not done well.

He's not throwing first pitch strikes at the same rate.

And then guys are swinging at first pitches, too.

And it seems to me like they're sitting on pitches and just, like, spitting on the off-speed stuff and swinging at fastball.

So, like, you think, okay, you just... Like, when he gets behind in counts, he's struggling this year.

I mean, his... That's what was so encouraging yesterday.

So when he gets behind 1-0 in the count, he's given up a 4-10 on base percentage this year.

4-10 on base percentage when he's behind 1-0.

Bad for a closer.

Bad for anybody.

A year ago, it was 3-10 when he got behind 1-0.

He's not coming from behind in counts.

I think because he's seen some guys swing at the fastball more, his four-seamers getting hit harder than it did a year ago.

I think when he falls behind, he's sort of searching for answers.

Like, okay, my fastball's been hit more.

You don't typically throw backwards.

I mean, his slider's more of a wipeout pitch than it is throw for strike.

He certainly can throw for strike.

It's a good slider.