Games » Toronto Blue Jays
Jun7It was just bad baseball
Lee Judge
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After the game, I asked Royals manager Ned Yost if he thought the desire to help pitcher Vin Mazzaro after his previous bad outing caused some of the players to try to do too much Tuesday night. He said no. “It was just bad baseball.”
So what was Ned talking about?
*In the first inning, the usually reliable catcher Matt Treanor bounced a throw while trying to throw out a runner. The ball skipped into center field. The Blue Jays’ runner, Yunel Escobar, got up and headed for third base, and center fielder Melky Cabrera matched Treanor by overthrowing the base and allowing Escobar to score from first on a stolen-base attempt.
*In the second inning, Jeff Francoeur was about to catch a fly ball to right field when he veered off after seeing Melky approaching at full speed. Frenchy thought Melky was going to take the ball, but he peeled off too soon. It’s the centerfielder’s call, but the corner outfielders have to keep coming until the call is made. Jeff took full responsibility and said what he did was stupid, once again proving he’s a class act … but a class act who made a mental mistake.
*That fly ball turned into a leadoff double, and the next batter laid down a bunt. Mazzaro picked it up and was directed by Treanor to throw to third base. (The catcher makes the call because the pitcher has his head down). The batter was safe.
*Vin went on to give up six runs in five innings. The fact that this outing was a step in the right direction reminds you how bad his last outing was (although he had been pitching well in AAA Omaha).
*Mike Aviles had two high throws. One of the plays was ruled a hit because the runner appeared to beat the throw to first base, but Mike still overthrew everything. He also had a high throw on a feed to Chris Getz, but Chris stayed on the bag and make the catch. After the game, Mike told me there was no mechanical issue involved.
*Even with all this going on, the Royals had pulled to within one run of the Blue Jays when reliever Tim Collins came into the game. I’ve written about Tim’s tendency to walk batters and then power his way out of trouble, but it didn’t work in this game. He lead off the sixth inning by walking Jose Bautista. He then got Adam Lind to hit into a fielder’s choice (so in effect the walk was still on base). He threw a curve to J.P. Arencibia and then followed that with six straight fastballs. Ned Yost thought that was about one fastball too many because it left a dent in the back wall of the Royals bullpen.
OK. So that’s the stuff the Royals did that helped them lose. What did they do to help themselves win?
*Getz made a nifty play to cut down a lead runner, Francoeur made a catch while banging off the outfield wall and Alcides Escobar got an out on a ball hit up the middle that would never have been caught a year ago.
*Frenchy had two hits. So did Eric Hosmer. So did Melky. And so did Alcides.
*Francoer drove in three runs. Getz turned a single into a double by hustling out of the box. Esky stole a base. Even when Francoeur made an out, he drove in a run and moved a runner over.
*Matt Treanor came into the game with a .359 on-base percentage, and it went up after two more walks.
So Ned Yost was right. Overall, it was bad baseball, but it wasn’t all bad.
Hosmer wears it
If you were watching the game Monday night, you saw Eric Hosmer get his game-winning hit, round first base, stop, turn to the dugout and put his hands up over his head. Hos had decided to “wear” it, which is baseball slang for putting up with something, taking responsibility for something. … Heck, it can be used in a variety of ways.
The Royals celebrate game-winners by gathering around the hero and punching him in the ribs. (Hey, I just report this stuff. I can’t explain some of it.) The usual routine is for the victim to curl into a ball and protect himself. Hosmer decided to lift his arms and let his teammates use him as a punching bag.
It’s one of those weird team-building exercises. Maybe you could adopt it at your place of work. Somebody writes a big insurance policy and everyone in the office beats the snot out of him.
A moving story
Someone asked me what the situation was for players who moved between teams, so I asked Royals reliever Greg Holland. Greg said that when you come up to the majors, you get a seven-day paid hotel stay, but after that, you’re on your own. Greg said that when you are sent down to the minors, you get nothing.
Ever wonder why they’re so happy to get to the big leagues? The baseball is harder, but the life is easier.
Hosmer’s mitt
I don’t know how this changes your life, but Eric Hosmer’s black first-baseman’s mitt is about to wear out. If it breaks during a game, I guess you can say you heard it here first. He’s currently breaking in a blue and gray model that will make its debut whenever the black one goes. These guys always have at least three gloves going: the gamer, the old gamer (to be used in an emergency) and a new one that usually is worn during batting practice until it’s ready.
Seitzer’s cubbyhole
If you don’t see hitting coach Kevin Seitzer in the dugout when the Royals are on defense, it probably is because he’s down in his cubbyhole, watching at-bats. If you go down the dugout steps and turn left, there’s an equipment room. Kevn has a laptop and a TV stuck in the back corner. He sits on a stool and watches the at-bats from the previous inning. (He says it gets really hot in there.) The players can’t come in unless Kevin asks them to, but if he spots a pattern he might call somebody in to see how they’re pitching him.
Kevin called in Jeff Francoeur after one unsuccessful plate appearance, showed him the pitch pattern the opposing team was using and Frenchy went back out and got two hits.
Francoeur
Mazzaro
Getz
Hummm - we don't let players see earlier at bats unless Seitz allows them to. The Blue Jays catcher watched his earlier at bats, made a correction, then hit a clinching 2 run bomb. Lee, can you check with the Jays to see if they need permission to take a look at their at bats? Not that there is a right or wrong way, but would be interesting to also see how the Jays players feel if it helps them to look and when they do. Another question is the pitchers "long toss" issue that came up in the draft. Some of the top pitchers told the Royals not to draft them because the Royals do not allow long toss, even though it seems to really help pitchers like Lincecum, and I read that the Texas Rangers seems to have a terrific crop of young pitchers, and the question is whether long toss gives a higher chance to become successful. Our minor league pitchers seem to be getting injured or taking a step back this year denied long toss, and the Rangers minor league pitchers, who were not such big names, are surging ahead. Sad to see Aviles continuing to choke with his throws, and not hitting either.
Seeing Seitzer's name made me think of this question. Do you think he tried to influence the team to draft his son? I think Tampa drafted him.
Vinnie: Seitzer said he stayed out of the draft decision, that was in the Star this morning.
Steve: The video room rule was to keep players from spending all their time in there, absorbed in their own at-bats and not paying attention to the game. Not everyone wants to do this, but one or two were abusing it. Seitzer looks at the video and if he thinks there's something that will help a player, he invites them down.
Bob McClure thinks every pitcher is different and needs to find a routine that works for him. If long-toss helps, then Bob thinks it's OK, but nothing excessive.
When do we beging to question Yost handling of the bullpen...it seems Collins control is shakey at best and refuse to bring in Wood until we are down 3...Yost obviously likes Collins because he seems to give him enough rope to hang himself and the team.
I saw that Mike Montgomery was a loss-toss devotee and the Royals compromised with him, he still throws longer than 120 feet, but not the 300 feet plus of previous days and that other long toss players are dedicated to. A couple of this year's top draft picks informed a few teams, supposedly the Royals among them, that they were not willing to allow their workouts to be changed, so don't draft them.
It was sad to see the lack of fundamentals especially in the first couple of innings last night. Might have been a hangover from the tense, extra-inning game of the night before, but it definitely was a regression. Escobar needs to lay off those outside pitches until they begin to throw him strikes. He is getting himself out much to often. Pulled an inside pitch for his second hit, and it had some authority on it.
Andy: Collins has walked too many people, but he usually gets away with it, according to Jeff Francis, because of his ability to strike people out.
Yost said Arencibia hit over .300 against lefties, but Collins is holding righties to a batting average well under .200. Ned said he was comfortable with that match up. He questioned the pitch slection more than the match-up.
Are Royals games longer than the MLB average or does it just seem that way? I'm usually watching on DVR, and the games seem like they never come in under the three hour mark, often going quite a bit longer, even for a nine-inning game.
Steve: I'm sure someone has measured that, they measure everything else. One of the reasons I like well-pitched (and that's probably the answer) games is they move along quickly. Frank White told a funny story about John Mayberry threatening to kick his own pitcher's ass if the guy didn't start throwing some strikes and get them off the field on a hot day.
The other factor could be the extra-inning games, the Royals are on a record-setting pace.
Lee, no questions as those asked are far better than I usually come up with. Just want to say (as many have already), I really like your column and how you take the time to respond quickly and throuoghly. Thank you, sir.
Dave: Thanks, readers often come up with something that I hadn't though about, so we're all learning something here.