(Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press)
Seattle — When James McCann was catching and calling pitches for the Tigers, one of his bedrock beliefs was, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
If he thought hitters were sitting on breaking balls, for example, he’d call for fastballs until he was sure the hitters had adjusted.
That philosophy, like all pitch-calling philosophies, didn’t always work.
Bobby Wilson was calling pitches for rookie lefty Tyler Alexander on Saturday, and it was clear the Mariners were expecting off-speed pitches in two-strike counts. The evidence was the four Mariners hitters who were called out on strikes on fastballs in the first three innings.