Games » St. Louis Cardinals
May20A turning point
Lee Judge
None
When you’re around the people who have been around the game, you hear one message a lot: not so fast. Don’t be too quick to build someone up ( a radio guy called Eric Hosmer a superstar after two games, which is crazy; we all know it takes at least three) and don’t be too quick to tear someone down (Alex Gordon took a couple years to figure things out).
Star reporter Bob Dutton warned me that the 2011 Royals might not be as bad as everyone was thinking and then warned me that assuming they’re a playoff team might be premature. Having said all that, I realized the other night that the Royals have turned at least some kind of corner. I no longer wonder how they’re going to lose a game, I now wonder how they’re going to win it.
And the way you win a game like this is good pitching. Ned Yost said an interesting thing after this win: the way you beat good pitching is with good pitching. If a guy’s dealing, there might not be that much you can do about it offensively. You need your own pitcher to throw well to keep you in the game while you wait for the other guy to make a mistake or tire.
And that’s what Jeff Francis did. He gave up no runs in 7 2/3, he walked two, one intentionally and he threw four innings using 11 pitches or less. When Chris Carpenter finally faltered, Francis made sure the Royals were close enough to make it count.
Soria squeezed
Joakim Soria has had a few hiccups lately and when he came in the 9th for the save and went 2-0, the crowd got restless. If it soothes your mind, according to the MLB.com strike zone, he was getting squeezed.
Alex Gordon almost made a great catch in the same inning, climbing the wall in left for a foul ball. Alex told me he’d been waiting to do that all year and then, as Alex said, he got “Bartmaned.” A kid actually stuck his glove into Gordon’s glove and stole the ball from Alex. The kid was oblivious to what he did and was promptly congratulated by a Cardinal fan, who yelled at Gordon and told Alex he wasn’t going to make the catch anyway. Soria still got the save, so Alex thought the whole thing was pretty funny.
Two mistakes
Eric Hosmer got doubled off first on a flare to right. When a base runner can’t tell if the ball will be caught, it’s better to have the ball drop and be forced than go too far and make two outs, which Eric admitted after the game.
The second base-running mistake didn’t hurt anything, but it was still the wrong move. Butler was on first and Betemit hit a ball in the left center gap. Billy stopped halfway and waited to see if the catch would be made. On a ball like that, the runner can go all the way to, or past, the bag. If the ball is caught by a fielder going deep and sideways, the runner has plenty of time to get back to first. If the ball is down a fast runner might score.
The magic word
Jeff Francoeur has only been thrown out of two games in his life and the umpire that did the throwing, Angel Hernandez, was at first base last night. I found out what Jeff said to get run both times: one was a pretty run-of-the-mill profanity, but the other one was incredibly inventive. I literally had never heard those two words used together before. (And no, if you email me I won’t tell you what they were. But give Frenchy credit for being creative.) Anyway, apparently the real “magic word” is “you.” A player can say, “that call was @#$%&*!”, but can’t say, “you are @#$%&!”
Good to know. I wonder if it works that way with editors.
Why Hosmer didn’t steal against the Rangers
Thursday night’s game, first and third, infield in, a hit wins it. The Rangers weren’t holding Hosmer, so why not steal second and eliminate the double play? I asked Eric and he said because the infield was in there was no chance for them to turn two. The contact play was on and any throw was going home. So the Royals did not want to line into a double play. They didn’t want Francoeur taking a pitch to let Eric steal (if he got what he wanted, they wanted Jeff swinging) so Hosmer stayed where he was.
Did Aviles celebrate too soon?
When Mike Aviles tied the game up in the 9th with a base hit in the same game, did he start to celebrate too soon? “Absolutely” was Mike’s answer when asked. He said there are two shortstops in the American League who keep that ball on the infield and they were both in this game. Aviles stopped fist pumping and started motoring when Elvis Andrus surprised him by keeping the ball on the infield. He also said Andrus had no play at first and it was a good decision to eat the ball. With a runner on third a wild throw would’ve ended the game.
Don’t forget Hochevar
A reader pointed out that the in the excitement of Thursday’s night’s finish, how well Luke Hochevar pitched kinda got lost. Couldn’t agree more, hell of an outing.
No first movement
Doug Sisson, who reads this site regularly (hi, Doug!) says I’ve got it wrong: the Royals do not go on first movement with a lefty on the mound. First movement is a roll of the dice when you can’t read a lefthander’s move. You go and hope you guessed right. Sisson says they always have a key when they go. They might read it wrong and get thrown out, but it’s not guesswork. And if they go, even when a pitcher’s got a good record of holding runners, it’s because they have a reason to believe they can beat those odds.
Back to normal
I was informed in the clubhouse that ever since comedian Daniel Tosh took a punch from boxer Manny Pacquiao, my street cred is back to zero. I’m not even going to contemplate what it would take to top that stunt. I believe I’ll live without the street cred, but with whatever brain cells I have left over from the 70s.
Francis
Escobar
Soria
Escobar continues to come up with at least one gem per game. In my opinion, he is worth the trade for Grienke straight up, let alone considering what else we gained in the deal. He obviously wants to be a part of this team, and will play every game of the year, not every fifth game.
I agree with Joel. I think we could be looking at Escobar highlights for years.
I've said it so often I hesitated to say it again last night: don't just look at his offense.
If he's taking hits away from the other team that's as good as getting hits for the Royals.
Love the column. It's become my go-to site every morning, and has given my dad and I something to e-mail back and forth about daily.
Enough with the flattery...I was expecting a mental error on Betemit last night. He should have let that bunt roll to at least the bag. That this was moving and looked like it was going to fall off the grass and roll foul when he picked it up. The runner couldn't have advanced past first base, fair or foul. I think he deserves a knock for that one. It cost us a baserunner in a scoreless game (at the time).
Thanks for the explanation about Hosmer stealing the other night. It is yet another example of them having thought through a scenario I hadn't.
I agree with Mike about Betemit's play. I am not sure it would have gone foul; in fact, if forced to guess, I think it would have stayed fair. But there was no cost to letting it roll and seeing what would happen.
I think my emotions this season have roughly mirrored Dutton's. I didn't think the team was hopeless, and yet at the same time, I never really bought into us a legit playoff contenders this year. And I haven't been calling for many-year contracts for players based on their performance in 20 or so games. There have been more nights of being pleased than displeased, and I think we could well finish with our best record since 2003, if not 1994, and have started to integrate the bounty of the minors into the team.
It is a good time to be a Royals fan.
I'd like thoughts on Melky coming halfway down the line on Francoeur's liner at the end of the game on Thursday.
True it probably looked like a hit off the bat but if it held up and was caught (which it almost was) then no way Melky scores. However, as fast as the cf was moving in and considering that he was shallow to begin with I suppose there is a chance he could have been thrown out if the cf had kept his feet and Melky was still 90 feet away.
I personally see this as a blunder; it was much more likely the cf would make a diving catch than be able to throw Melky out at home if he had tagged up. Can you hear the comments if the cf had caught the ball in a face plant and M was unable to score?
I'm hesitant to be as critical of the players as some others. Having tried to play a little earlier in life, I found out it is a lot easier to make snap decisions after the play is over than while it is going on. Looking at alternatives is okay, but let's not "dump" on the players when they occasionally screw up particularly in a bang-bang situation.
I agree with Joel, if you've played it gives you a kinder perspective, but there are still things that have to be done right no matter what level of game you're in.
And I want to compliment you guys for spotting a couple of moments worth looking at: the consensus in the press box was the Betemit ball was rolling true and wasn't going foul, but I think Mike makes a fair point when he said Wilson had nothing to lose by letting it roll.
I've gotten a little slower on handing out mental mistakes because so often last year I had to take them back after talking to the people involved: they knew something I didn't.
And I didn't even see Melky's lead down the line in that game...good for you Matt for spotting that.
(And I really can use the help. I can't see everything at once and there are always limits to being at the game or watching on TV...so if you see something I missed, bring it up.)
The rule of thumb for a runner on third: if you can't score on a catch there's no point in tagging up. Take a lead and make sure you score on ball that's down.
Thinking back on that play it seems likely that Melky was playing it that way.
Either way, I'll ask Doug Sisson (who's been very open with me whether he's telling me about something good or bad) about the Melky play.
Good job watching the game, guys. I've really noticed the quality of the questions this season and how closely you seem to be watching.
Way to go.
"Anyway, apparently the real “magic word” is “you.” A player can say, “that call was @#$%&*!”, but can’t say, “you are @#$%&!” "
I thought we all learned this from Bul Durham?
Yeah, we all SHOULD'VE learned that from Bull Durham. Do you think the younger players have seent that movie?