Vlad has had some stretches occasionally where hits haven't fallen in. But he's the type of hitter that takes one swing to get him locked in seeing the ball again, and he can go crazy. That's a dangerous player, and they have done a good job with him so far.
Brendan, we feel, can be effective against any hitter up there. I felt in that position to try to let Brendan go against Ibanez. Unfortunately, Ibanez got the hit and tied the game.
The hitter can take off, but as a catcher when an umpire calls him out, rings him up with a fist, he is out.