I’ll be honest with you -- I wasn’t planning on writing this article. I had a lead to investigate. Do Cardinals pitchers get too cute after 0-2 counts, wasting pitches while letting batters back into at-bats? The queries were half-done, the mildly funny jokes and pop-culture-you-probably-don’t-care-about references haphazardly chosen. Then fate intervened — both in the form of me getting sidetracked mid-project and with yet another effective Dakota Hudson start. 0-2 counts can wait — let’s talk Hudson.
In flummoxing the Giants on Thursday, Hudson produced a microcosm of his season. He struck out only two in six innings while also walking a pair.