THE HANGING CURVEBALL

And I was thinking, “Hey, this is a great analogy for what I’m trying to say.”
So here is how I would describe it. Pedro Martinez has a main plan (which
is like a trader’s trading plan); that plan is to do everything possible to
win. It includes mastering his pitches, knowing the opposition, and staying
healthy by eating right, resting, and working out. He has worked hard to develop his pitch selection arsenal, his pinpoint control, and his ability
to throw from different arm angles and speeds. These are all things that
were done prior to his pitching on any given day. Part of his main (trading)
plan is to know when he is getting tired and when to come out of a
game. His main plan doesn’t change often, but he will be constantly reevaluating
it to make sure it is working and for ways to improve it. For example,
in recent years he’s added a cut fastball to his regular fastball and
his speed has dropped from the low 90s to the mid to upper 80s, though
he can reach back and still throw a little faster when needed. Once he
is happy with his main plan it pretty much stays the same until the next
evaluation.
However, each individual game and situation brings something new to
the plate, and Pedro has different game plans he will use depending on
the situation. As part of the game plan he will study opposing batters to
learn what does or doesn’t work. He will have an overall game plan for
the game as well as adjustable plans for each batter. He doesn’t just rely
on throwing a fastball for strikes. He knows there are times he can rest
his arm and try to get groundball outs instead. Some items in this game
plan could be, if the curve is working, keep throwing it. If Barry Bonds is
swinging at pitches in the dirt, keep throwing them there. If another batter
is not going for them then throw it closer to the strike zone for him. If
the count is 0–2 throw a changeup or a curve, unless Jeter is batting and
keeps hitting those. If his fastball up and inside is not working, throw it
low and away. If so and so hitter has been hitting curves away lately, pitch
him inside. When something is not working, he figures out what it is and
fixes it. A lot of this mental work is done between innings and with the help
of a coach, not in between pitches, when his emotions could get the best
of him.
With injuries and age slowing down his fastball in the last few years,
Pedro relies more on control these days and he is able to adjust in a game.
What makes him an outstanding pitcher is his ability to adjust. Similarly, a
trader needs to review his game plan and adjust his positions all the time.
The best pitchers will do this, while the poor ones keep throwing hanging
curves and never learn to adjust. They get sent back to minors and then
end up selling used cars a couple of years later.
Sorry to those readers who haven’t a clue what I just wrote. I’m sure
someone in France is saying, “Merde, what eez zeez ‘hanging curve?’ Zeelly
Americaans wizz zeer zeelly games. Now futbol—zat eez a game.”
So to clarify, a hanging curve is a bad pitch that often leads to a home
run. A curveball is a pitch that is slower then a fastball and is supposed
to curve away from the batter, making it hard to hit. However, a hanging
curveball fails to curve and just hangs like a big fat grapefruit, making it
quite easy to hit. A pitcher who does this often will not be a pro very long.