Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Thinking Too Hard

Some batters display it by biting their lip.  For others, it's their jaw going slack.  For others, it's nervously tapping their Pabst Blue Ribbon as they stare at their cards like they were UFO's.

The psychological dimension is so important in Kardball.

Assume It's Indecision ...

As a batter, you don't discard just any card for no particular reason. Naturally, you're inclined to dump the card you think is least likely to produce a hit.  Most people seem to drop their high cards first and hold onto anything below a seven.

So this look of concentration on a batter's face might mean they're assessing which card is of least potential value for the pitch that's coming next ...


Or Another Indecision ...

If a batter is holding an Ace, he realizes he can play it against any pitch.  So this type of hesitation involves assessing which card is the right pitch.  While the batter stares blankly at the nine you just chucked out, he's trying to noodle how many nines have already been played, or if you're likely to have one on your side.

Punish a Batter's Indecision

If you've been pitching even cards, and you detect a little too much mental activity in your batter, he might be sitting on a deuce.  Pitch odd for strike three.

But if you've been pitching odd cards to a lot of hemming and hawing, you should strongly suspect the batter has an ace in the hole.  Pitch whatever card you've got a twin for on defense, and it's an easy out.

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