FanGraphs: Why Does John Hirschbeck Hate Left-Handers?

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Interesting article on the umpire of last nights game. Points to how Blanton excelled last night and why Hamilton did even worse than he normally does: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/why-does-john-hirschbeck-hate-left-handers

 

To boil it down the home plate umpire, Mr. Hirschbeck, expands the strike zone significantly when left-handed hitters are at the plate. Seattle had a left-handed heavy lineup in against Blanton and he exploited that weakness. They also exploited Hamilton even moreso than usual.