Games » San Diego Padres
Jun27Learning to let the other guy lose
Lee Judge
None
In the world of golf, a “grinder” is a guy who isn’t spectacular, but he is steady … and he’s steady all day long.
Here’s how the grinder beats you (according to a John Feinstein book I was reading): You go out to play the grinder knowing you’re a much better golfer. On the first hole, the grinder shoots par and you shoot par. On the second hole, he shoots par and you shoot par. Third hole, same thing.
At some point, you decide this has gone on long enough (remember, you know you’re better) and you decide to go over the water. As Mr. Feinstein put it: if you could make it over the water, you’d do it all the time. So now you get wet and you’re a stroke down. To make up for this embarrassment, you decide to go through the trees. Mr. Feinstein once again: if you could make it through the trees, you’d do it all the time. Now you’re two strokes down. Bad decision follows bad decision and you walk off the course a loser, nine strokes behind this average golfer.
So what does this have to do with last night’s game?
Consistent winners learn to let the other guy lose. A generation raised on ESPN highlights and sports movies that end with Robert Redford circling the bases while lights explode, has a screwed up idea of how you win. If you have to come up with some miracle shot at the buzzer, you’re in trouble. Winners grind away. They throw strikes and let you get yourself out. They run the bases aggressively and let you throw the ball away. They refuse to swing at bad pitches and let you paint yourself in a corner.
When Eric Hosmer decided to make a throw over to third to get an advancing runner in the in the fourth inning, it was like a golfer deciding to go through the trees: it was a risky and unnecessary move that cost the team.
Hosmer is a very bright kid and he’s going to be a winner — as soon as he learns to let the other guy lose.
Opposite field
Before the Royals left for this road trip I asked Eric if he was hitting the ball to left field on purpose (he had a couple hits go that way Sunday) and he said yes. Hitting the ball the other way fixes a lot of problems. First, it makes you wait longer. That means you swing at better pitches because you’ve got a better idea of where they’re going to end up.
Hos has been getting himself out by chasing bad pitches (the ‘let the guy get himself out’ concept) and going opposite field should help with that. It also improves a hitter’s mechanics: you keep your front side closed longer. Eric hit a bomb to left in this game, but it got swallowed by Petco. On another field, that shot would’ve been out.
Keep watching to see if he sticks with this approach. If he pulls the ball, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s abandoned it. In fact, the idea is to look for a pitch away and then adjust to pitches in. (You can’t do the opposite.) But you should see some balls to left on a semi-regular basis.
Here’s one
Y’know when you see Alcides Escobar go out on the grass, stop a ball backhand, turn and fire a laser beam across the infield? Y’know what’s really impressive about that play? Eric Hosmer. (Apparently I’m doing the “All Hosmer All The Time” game notes.)
It occurred to me that Esky must really be bringing it when he lets that ball go. So I asked Alcides if he’d ever been on a gun and he said no. I asked Hos how hard he thought Alcides was throwing at his best: “I don’t know, 96?”
So think of that: when Hosmer scoops one out of the dirt, he’s handling a major-league fastball … and he’s not wearing catcher’s gear.
Finally, some non-Hosmer game notes
Disappointing game last night, but don’t miss the fact that the Royals pitchers gave up two legit runs over nine innings. Also, in more pitcher-related news, pay attention to the pitcher’s spot in the order: it decides a lot.
In the first two trips through the order, the Royals did a good job of clearing the pitcher’s spot. That means they don’t make the final out in the 8-hole and have an almost sure out to lead off the next inning. Although, making it to the 9-hole in the 6th, cost Jeff Francis some innings on the mound.
The Royals had the tying run on third and it was getting late, so Ned Yost sent Billy Butler up to pinch hit in Jeff’s spot. That Butler AB shows the problem with Billy: almost anybody else (present company excluded) turns the ball he hit up the middle, into an infield single and the tying run scores.
Billy can really hit, but that’s about all he can do.
A beautiful sight
One of the prettiest things a hitter can ever see is a fielder running away from the ball he just hit. In the third inning, Chris Getz pulled off one of the best hit and runs you’ll ever see. Here’s what made it so special: the middle infielders signal each other on every pitch with a runner on first. (You can watch for this when you’re at the park: they’ll shield their mouths with their gloves and say ‘you’…open mouth…or ‘me’…closed mouth…to decide who’s covering the bag if the runner takes off.)
So Melky Cabrera breaks and the short stop covered. That’s because the pitcher was throwing a curveball and the defense figured the left-handed Getz would be out in front and pull it to the second baseman, who was staying home.
Either short broke too soon, and Chris saw it, or Chris was smart enough to figure out that if the pitch was a curve, the hole at short would be open. Either way, he waited and served a routine grounder right through the hole that the shortstop was running away from…a beautiful sight.
Read the comments
Here’s the way I work: I watch the game and score it, both in a baseball scorebook and using Ron Polk’s system. While that happens, I take notes. If the team’s here I then go down to the clubhouse and talk to the players about certain plays and their view of them. When they’re on the road, I go back to material I haven’t used yet.
I put the numbers into the electronic grid and look at my notes, thinking about what I should use from that game (and I always have more notes than I can use … thank you, Jesus). So I finish writing up my notes and send them in to the web editors for any corrections or editing and then posting.
I usually don’t get to bed until 1:30 and then get up around 6 a.m. and, yes, that’s not nearly enough sleep. (Is it normal to hallucinate when you’re not on drugs?) Anyway, sometime the next morning I usually think of something I should have included. Or one of you will ask a very good question about something they saw in the previous night’s game.
So read the comments. That’s where I put the stuff I forgot or additional material that was prompted by a reader. There’s some pretty good stuff in there and it’s often not mine.
Pena
Hosmer
Gordon
I do think you covered the most critical aspects of last night's game. But... why in the world was Dyson pinch hitting in the 9th? Betemit and Maier were on the bench. You could always pinch run with Dyson. He was completely overmatched out there.
We're burying two decent major league position players on the bench. Meanwhile we believe our well-below average starting pitching cast of characters warrants seeing 6 of them on a regular basis. Is it going to be 7 when SOS comes back?
I know we're playing for next year and beyond, but the handling of the roster in the here and now gives me no confidence that it will be handled any better when the talent arrives.
Matt: Yeah, I'm not too sure about this six-man roster stuff...and I expected to see Mitch or Betemit come out of the the dugout, not Dyson.
When you get to ask why on some of these moves, Ned usually has some numbers you didn't know, but that move surprised me.
Mr. Judge, I understand that some miscues by the Royals led to their one run loss last night. However, I've been told one run losses are usually as much the manager's fault as the players'. That being said, there were a couple of decisions made by Ned in the ninth inning that I feel would have given us a better chance to tie the game and thought maybe you can shed some light on why he ended up making the decisions he made. First, I was curious why Dyson was sent up to pinch hit in the pitcher's spot instead of using Betemit or Maier who have been swinging the bat well. The only reason I can think of would be to save an extra guy in case we tied the game and went into extras because if one of those two guys were to get a hit, we would obviously want Dyson to pinch run for them, but usually it's better to tie the game before thinking about what you are going to do after you tie it ("Don't count your chickens before they hatch"). Secondly, Heath Bell, the Padres closer, started both Escobar and Dyson with 0-1 counts and threw a curveball in the dirt to both of them on the second pitch early in the ninth. With Cabrera on first as the tying run and an 0-1 count on Getz, I thought for sure Cabrera would be, or at least should be running. He didn't and Bell threw another curveball in the dirt which would have made it an easy steal for Melky. As fate would have it, Getz singled up the middle later in the at bat which would have plated Melky and tied the game. Those were just a couple of things that I noticed despite the errors and wild pitch that could have pulled out a win for us and further earned my trust in the belief that managers have a large part in one run wins and losses. Maybe you can give me a second opinion on why those decisions were made.
I've always been told that managers are just as much at fault for one run losses as the players, and despite the errors which led to a run and the wild pitch that led to a run, I think we still had a decent chance of tying the game last night in the ninth if a couple different decisions were made in the ninth by Ned. The first decision I saw that could have been different was the one you just answered about Dyson pinch hitting rather than someone who has been swinging it better. Secondly, Heath Bell, the Padres closer started both Escobar and Dyson off 0-1 to begin the ninth and threw both of them curveballs in the dirt on the second pitch. With Cabrera representing the tying run on first and an 0-1 count on Getz, I was sure Melky would be, or at least should be on the move. He obviously did not go, and Bell ended up throwing another curveball in the dirt which would have made it an easy steal for Melky. Then, as fate would have it, Getz lined a single up the middle which would have given Melky a decent chance to score the tying run depending on the throw home. I was just curious if you could shed some light on why Melky didn't go when there was a good chance at an 0-1 off speed pitch.
watching the game last night, I have a question about the play at the plate. I think the Royals made a great relay, and Pena did an excellent job blocking the plate. However, watching it on dvr over and over again, it appears that Pena never actually tagged the runner. They collided shoulder to shoulder with the glove in Pena's chest, and then Pena immediately pulled the ball out of the glove to show he had it. Is there a rule that with collisions, any contact with the body counts, not just the glove and ball? I would hate to think that a 1st baseman could just stick out his leg and trip a runner and the runner would be out if he had the ball in his glove.
Joe: Excellent observation and just the kind of thing I'd be asking about if they were here in town.
I thought Melky would take off at some point myself, but if he doesn't run that usually means the math is against him making it. I don't know about the Padres closer's time to home plate and that often dictates whether they'll run.
Having said that, there were a few decisions in the 9th inning that I'd like to hear more about. Maybe there are match-up numbers I'm unaware of there was some other factor that dictated what was going on.
PJ: You might be right about that tag. I've often seen umpires call a runner out just because the ball beat the runner, even though the tag was never applied.
I don't know if that's an umpire rule of thumb, or they anticipate the call, which is a good way to get it wrong.
In last night's play, Pena received the ball and was holding it in front of him when they collided. I never saw a definitive angle, but the umpire was positioned behind Pena,if I recall correctly.
So he sees the ball beat the runner, they collide and Pena comes up holding the ball. From his angle, the home plate umpire has no evidence that Pena didn't make the tag.
The fact that the Padres didn't argue is also a clue. If the umpire got it definitvely wrong, you'd think they'd be out of the dugout asking him to get help.
PJ: I was thinking the same thing.
Lee-Thanks, I was thinking something along those lines, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on some rule of baseball.
Once Pena got to third on that "risky" tag, why didn't we save Butler and hit Maier? Frank and Ryan always talk about getting the runner to third so a wild pitch, error, or infield hit can score them. With Billy, I'm sure he can hit 30% of the time, but it figures that a little more speed would have tied the game.
Lee, Loved the beginning. I played on a very talented team in an area high school summer league and we had that "better team" attitude many times. We used to throw the ball all over the diamond b/c we knew if the throw was good they would be out. Only, like Hosmer last night, the throw would not be good and it would hurt us. Our coach even came up with a motto after seeing it happen one too many times. He would say, "the ball was more important then the out." And while we all laughed about it we remembered the saying the next time we tried to make the extra play, the extra throw and it helped us improve in enough time to where mental mistakes weren't killing us. Sorry for the long msg but I thought I would share that little nugget and my coaches saying.
Darral: No problem, the 'grinder' concept is an important one and it takes a while to figure out how to use it.
I took over a men's amateur team that had a lot of talent: most of the guy's had played in college and a few played professionally. Getting them to slow down and make 'the routine play and the play routine' (another good saying) took a while.
Guys were rushing throws and when I asked them to slow down, they'd say, but I won't get the runner if I slow down.
I'd point out that their throw hit the snack bar and the runner was still six steps from the bag when they did it.
Once we got the idea of playing clean baseball and letting the other team do the crazy stuff, we took off as a team.
We'd play neck and neck with someone for 7 2/3s and they'd pick up a bunt and sail the throw into center and one of my guys would say, "There it is."
The moment where we would take over the game had just arrived. But we're all brainwashed into thinking we've got to make great plays to win.
Think about it: why is a play great? Because it's hard and most of the time, you can't pull it off.
(Wow, you thought your message was long.)
The first time I was introduced to this philosophy it was by Tom Poquette. He said great plays were for the times everything was so screwed up, you had no choice, but to attempt one.
Other than that, just make the routine one and the odds we'll be on your side.
Vinnie: Without talking to Ned, I'm assuming he felt like it was getting a little late and he wanted his best pinch hitter at the plate with a chance to tie the game.
Unfortunately, the rules don't allow Billy to hit and Mitch to run to first or we'd have seen the game tied up.
When we were in St. Louis, Ned told me NL rules mean he may pinch hit as early as the 5th for the pitcher. Billy's his best option and he wants to use him in a spot where they either pitch to Billy or, if they choose to work around him, another good hitter that's on deck.
Look for Butler to be used in the 9-hole (most of the time), with Melky offering protection in the leadoff spot.
I wanted to go back to an earlier point concerning the moves Ned made in the 9th inning: I thought the pinch hitter would be Maier, not Dyson, my son thought it would be Betemit, not Dyson.
Questioning the manager's moves is part of the fun of baseball. Thinking along with the game and what's called for next, is a pleasure reserved for the fans that are actually paying attention (and you guys are paying attention).
To be fair to Ned (and every other manager), I've never walked up after a game, asked, "Why didn't you pinch hit Mitch?" and have a manager hit himself in the forehead and say "Geez, I forgot all about Mitch!"
These are very bright baseball guys. That doesn't mean they never screw up or, even after you hear the explanation, you still can't disagree, but they usually have some pretty solid reasoning behind their moves.
I just don't know what the hell they are when they're on the road. (Clearly, the Star needs to start paying travel expenses.)
Wish they would pay travel expenses for you Lee. This is the most valuable thing they produce each day in the sports section. As for Butler, nobody was more frustrated than I was that he was thrown out at first, but he was the right choice at the time. No guarantee that Mitch will get a hit - better odds with Billy.
Joel: I think you're right, you go with Billy in that spot. That AB makes his numbers even more remarkable: he's not getting ANY cheap hits. Chris Getz might hit even better when he hits it off the handle or end of the barrel. Billy's got to smoke it to have a chance.
And thanks for the compliment. This site is slowly turning into what I hoped it could be all along: a look at 'inside baseball' and even further 'a look at inside Royals baseball.'
There's no way I could do this if I had to cover everything or everybody, but being free to concentrate on the smallest details of one club is giving us all insight we couldn't achieve otherwise.
Am I the only one that keyed in on Moustakis chasing that breaking ball in the dirt with 2 on? That was a terrible at bat and I'm wondering if Mike is up here prematurely.
Moustakas has only played in 15 games. Ask most professionals and they'll tell you they need to see about 50 games to know what guy is bringing to the table.
Lee, I agree on Moose. You can tell he has the talent - and he's just going through what every new callup goes through early on. The team is not going to contend this year, so leave him here and let him make all his adjustments under the watchful eye of Seitzer.
As for pinch hitting Butler over a faster runner like Mitch - I agree with you that Butler was probably the right choice. BUT - I hope Butler uses the upcoming offseason to hire a speed coach (and possibly a strength and conditioning coach) to improve his physical conditioning and slightly improve his foot speed. No way a ML baseball player should have been out on the ball he hit up the middle.