RAFA vs SCOTT

[lll]

although its still 4 balls for rafael and zero for scott the table doesnt look as strong for rafael as it did awhile ago to me
i just remember thinking as i watched this game that the more balls that came back to the foot end of the table was giving scott a chance to steal a game
ultimately thats what happened
ghost since you were there
what did /do you think???

 

[bstroud]

If Rafael couldn't will from the pic in #38 he should get a job.

In this position WHY would he care about the ball near Scotts' pocket.
It banks in his pocket if he even needs it.

This is a good situation to just block out Scotts' pocket and just shoot balls in.

Bill S.

 

[lll]

If Rafael couldn't will from the pic in #38 he should get a job.

In this position WHY would he care about the ball near Scotts' pocket.
It banks in his pocket if he even needs it.

This is a good situation to just block out Scotts' pocket and just shoot balls in.

Bill S.

bill my thoughts at the time were also he should be out
and when he missed i said to myself ok ere comes scott

my point to all of this if there were less balls in play a missed ball may not have been so costly in the long run

 

[tylerdurden]

although its still 4 balls for rafael and zero for scott the table doesnt look as strong for rafael as it did awhile ago to me
i just remember thinking as i watched this game that the more balls that came back to the foot end of the table was giving scott a chance to steal a game
ultimately thats what happened
ghost since you were there
what did /do you think???

I'm not ghost, but rafa did good. He got the winning shot, and just focused on that billiard and it obviously distracted him. You deserve to lose if you make a mental error like that... that is a ball you need to be cinching. He has 4, and there are 4 there. That was his only error as far as i'm concerned. I say this cus i have lost too many games being up 4 to zip by playing too conservative.

 

[lll]

I'm not ghost, but rafa did good. He got the winning shot, and just focused on that billiard and it obviously distracted him. You deserve to lose if you make a mental error like that... that is a ball you need to be cinching. He has 4, and there are 4 there. That was his only error as far as i'm concerned. I say this cus i have lost too many games being up 4 to zip by playing too conservative.

im not ghost either
but at 4-0 the way the table was rafael was supposed to win.
he should have been out from the 13 ball you are correct

i guess my gut feeling that putting balls in play against scott was a bad idea and then rafael lost sort of confirmed my opinion

rafael isnt going to "grind" out a match and he is as much a threat with balls in play
AND hes WAY better than me
so i guess who am i to second guess him

 

[Frank Almanza]

If Rafael couldn't will from the pic in #38 he should get a job.

In this position WHY would he care about the ball near Scotts' pocket.
It banks in his pocket if he even needs it.

This is a good situation to just block out Scotts' pocket and just shoot balls in.

Bill S.

I totally agree. Why mess with that ball? And like you day it was bankable.

 

[lll]

anyone else want to comment on rafaels shot selection/strategy???

 

[Scrzbill]

Shot selection

Shot selection

anyone else want to comment on rafaels shot selection/strategy???

Rafael does not play one pocket according to anyone else's idea of one pocket. He plays very aggressively. I saw him shoot a safety........once....... in 2003.:lol When he played Sylva, in the same tournament, he played an exceptionally aggressive shot needing both balls to win and lost the first game. The match with him went to five games and at the beginning of game five, Rafael shot another unnecessary aggressive shot that cost him the match.:frus
Watching him play over the years has made me look at shots differently. He will shoot two ways a lot. It has help me recognize them a little quicker. Rafael doesn't play good tournament one pocket. He is more of a gambler one pocket player, knowing his constant style of very aggressive shot making ability win bring him the cash in the long game. He will shoot at a red flag. In tournament play against top players that doesn't bring home the dough. For the local tournaments he plays in the area, (Sac, SF, SJ) that style is good enough to get him to the top in most matches. He may lose to Palmer, Amar, JR Hendy, once but rarely twice. He left for Louisville about a week ago. Look for him at your local room.

Oh yeah, the Ghost in the background? You notice he only looks like he is watching the action. He was scoping out JR Hendy, waiting for him to eat, get
tired, exhausted, sleepy, so he could match up when JR was weak. It will be different at the DCC when JR is rested.

 

[One Pocket Ghost]

If the angle was natural for Rafael to make the 13 and take out the ball by Scott's pocket, then it would have been ok - but it wasn't...so as was said in the last few posts, Rafael should have ignored that ball and just run the three or four simple balls - very bad choice by Rafael.

- Ghost

ghost since you were there
what did /do you think???

I remember now when I was there watching and saw Rafael miss that shot....myself and everybody around me were shocked...and I remember wondering to myself whether it was possible that he just out and out dogged the shot.

 

[androd]

anyone else want to comment on rafaels shot selection/strategy???

Oops, he missed it.
He didn't mean to.
Rod.

 

[wincardona]

anyone else want to comment on rafaels shot selection/strategy???

I agree that Martinez is an overly aggressive player, but in this game I couldn't find fault in any of his choices.:sorry Really when you look at this game objectively the only mistake Martinez made is when he missed the 13 ball, other then that he played a solid game and made good choices. As far as Martinez playing more cue ball than 13 ball we'll never know, but we do know that his usual mindset is to block out all balls other than the ball he's shooting, that's usually how aggressive players think, imo. If I had to guess I would guess that he didn't bare down on the shot, and stretching may had a little to do with it as well.

Billy I.

 

[lll]

thanks guys

 

[tylerdurden]

....and stretching may had a little to do with it as well.

Billy I.

Grady's old..... "just grunt and hit it into the rail" syndrome.

 

[Fast Lenny]

Grady's old..... "just grunt and hit it into the rail" syndrome.

We are all headed in that direction, some just faster than others.

 

[bstroud]

I just don't understand that philosophy.

What has age got to do with it.

If you want to win you must force yourself to do so. Just like when you were younger. Nothing is easy.

If you are going to give up before you play? Why play?

Bill S.