Quote:
Originally Posted by Weitz
Isn't it better for Dickey to pitch in an open air stadium like Texas? My baseball friend told me that playing outside is a big bonus for the knuckleball.
I know Dickey has struggled on the road however.
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The weather can either help or hurt the knuckleball. Pitching into the wind typically creates a lot of movement (this was usually the case in the Mets' stadium). Pitching with the wind really makes the knuckleball ineffective by limiting it's movement.
Texas is known to have a pretty consistent wind stream that just carries balls for homers due to the design of the stadium. That is good news to Dickey's knuckleball as he would be pitching against that wind. I'm sure that played a role in Stroman starting game 2 over Dickey. If the Jays were going to playing in a stadium that has reverse winds, I'm sure they would be well aware of that data and would re-organize their rotation correspondingly to keep Dickey away from a bad situation.