Games » Tampa Bay Rays
Jul22The play that probably changed the game
Lee Judge
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Top of the first, two doubles, two walks, one run already in, bases loaded, one out and Luke Hochevar has a mess on his hands. One more hit and he’s likely down by three before the Royals even come to the plate. Hoch gets B.J. Upton to hit a fly ball to right which, most of the time, would score another run and the inning would still not be over.
Jeff Francoeur moves into right center and holds his hand up to let Melky Cabrera know he’s got this one. Frenchy lines up slightly behind where the ball is going to land, that way he’ll be moving forward when he catches the ball. The ball is caught over the throwing shoulder because that closes you up and gets you closer to the correct throwing position.
Frenchy one hops home plate (the Royals want their outfielders to one hop their throws which keeps the throws low), Matt Treanor moves up the line and makes the catch and the tag before Ben Zobrist crosses home plate.
It’s always dangerous to say this is the play that changed the game —, too many things happen to say one play made the difference — but Francoeur’s throw and Treanor’s tag sent the Royals into the dugout on a high, happy that they’d only given up one run and avoided disaster. (The Royals outfielders have now thrown 19 runners out at the plate and Jeff Francoeur leads all active outfielders with 92 assists. The guy in 2nd place has 69. You’d think the word would get around and people would quit challenging the Royals outfield.)
The 6th inning
After the first inning near-meltdown, Hochevar cruised for four innings. Going into the 6th he had a 5-1 lead, but then struggled to throw strikes. He threw Ben Zobrist three balls before working the count full and getting a fly ball out, walked Casey Kotchman on four pitches and then threw two straight balls to Evan Longoria. Matt Treanor then visited the mound. I asked Matt what was said during the visit and Treanor said he was just trying to get Luke back in the zone.
Well, it worked. On the next pitch Longoria hit a bomb. Hochevar then went 2-0 on Matt Joyce and gave up another home run. After the game Luke said he made two bad pitches while behind in the count. A pitch that you can get away with 0-0 will get smoked 2-0 because the hitter has a good idea of what’s coming.
A couple other cool plays
Jeff Francoeur hits what appears to be a sure out to left. It’s a very routine looking fly ball to left fielder Sam Fuld, who has no idea where the ball is. Neither does center fielder B.J. Upton. (After the game Alex Gordon told me that at a certain time of night, it’s easy to lose the ball and the outfielders can’t look away for a second.) What’s cool about the play is Francoeur never stopped running hard. You hit hundreds of fly balls and pop flies and run them out in the hopes that one day someone will drop one.
Frenchy’s diligence was rewarded when Mike Moustakas hit a deep fly ball to right center and Upton and right fielder Matt Joyce miscommunicated and another ball fell in. If Frenchy doesn’t run hard, he doesn’t get a double, he doesn’t score on Mike’s dropped ball and the Rays tie the game up in the 6th.
The other cool play is just one of those little things that are so easy to miss if you’re not paying very close attention. Matt Treanor is on second and Chris Getz is on first in the 7th inning. Alex Gordon hits a fly ball to center field. Treanor, not the fastest guy on the team, tags up and so does Getz. When Treanor breaks for third, Getz breaks for second. This puts B.J. Upton in a bind. If he goes for Treanor at third (not a sure thing), Getz moves into second and two runs are in scoring position. Getz’s move forces the ball to be cut and ensures Matt making it safely to third. Chris scrambled back to first once he forced the cutoff.
Drilling Fuld
There was wide-spread speculation in the media (OK, I heard Robert Ford talk about it on the radio) that Rays left fielder, Sam Fuld, was hit by Luke Hochevar for injuring Alcides Escobar with a takeout slide at second. Chris Getz said he watched the replay and thought the play was clean. He said Fuld did not come in with his spikes high and went directly to the bag. Esky’s foot just got caught in a bad position.
The idea for the pivot man is to have no weight on the leg that gets taken out. They let the leg get knocked back and hop over the runner. Getz gave Esky a backhand feed on a double play ball and there wasn’t much steam on the throw. That made Esky hang at the bag to field it and meant he wasn’t ready to deal with the runner when Fuld arrived.
News on Moose
Mike Moustakas had a solid RBI single to break an zero-for-20-something slump. He also hit two more balls hard enough to be hits, but hit them right at people. After the game Moose told me he felt better and thought he was getting closer to breaking out.
A reader asked about Mike sometimes double-pumping at third before letting the ball go. Moose had a very logical explanation: if the ball is smoked, he’s waiting for Eric Hosmer to get to first, thus the double pumping. If the ball is hit weakly, Hos has time to get over and Moose lets it go right away.
Why Moose didn’t tag the base runner
In the 10th inning of Wednesday’s game with the White Sox there were two outs and a runner on second. The ball was hit to Mike Moustakas at third. The runner took off for third, Moose caught the ball and threw to first.
He’s right there, why not tag the runner?
Tagging the runner is an amateur’s move. We would want to tag the runner because it seems easier than throwing the ball to first. Pros don’t want to tag the runner because some goofy things can happen: the runner stops and gets in a rundown, knocks the ball out of your glove or somehow eludes the tag.
The sure bet is throwing the ball to first. At the major league level, that should be a routine play. Of course sometimes it doesn’t turn out to be a routine play, but it’s still a better bet than tagging the runner.
Especially with Eric Hosmer at first.
Climbing the walls
If you saw yesterday’s pregame show with Joel Goldberg and Jeff Montgomery, you know I went out to left field with Alex Gordon to talk about climbing the wall. We took a brief tour of the left field corner and then went to the bull pen fence to see if I could get my glove high enough to rob a home run from someone. Alex went up the fence like cheetah, I had all the grace of three-toed sloth…and an elderly three-toed sloth at that. (If I’m going to keep doing this stuff I really need to get in shape and have my left knee rebuilt.)
I do these videos for several reasons:
I won’t lie, they’re fun. It’s a blast to be out there with the players, trying to do what they do.
The videos are informative. I can’t do what they can do and seeing a somewhat normal human being next to these athletes gives the viewer some contrast. When I told Mitch Maier the plan to see if I could get my glove above the fence, he said I wouldn’t be able to do it. I said, “Mitch, if I could do it, why would they pay you guys so much?” Mitch conceded I had a point, and I did get my glove above the fence, but so briefly. I could never have caught a ball at the same time.
We’ll post the video as soon as we edit it to make me look better than I actually was.
Cabrera
Butler
Francoeur
Two things: I sent the wrong document in very late last night so it's my fault that there wasn't a story here first thing this morning.
And we do know that the Tampa Bay team is the 'Rays' not the 'Devil Rays'. The names are built into the system and probably won't be changed until we can get an IT guy to fix it.
And another thing: (Gee, I can build up my page hits just by commenting on my own mistakes) Ned Yost had a different take on the Fuld slide that hurt Escobar.
Ned thought Fuld did come in with his spikes too high and went beyond what was necessary to break up the play.
No surprise: Six people can watch a traffic accident and come up with six versions of what happened.
Lee, just wanted to say what an awesome job you do! Your ability to be extremely informative, insightful, humorous, and self-effacing all at the same time is just tremendous, and greatly appreciated! Keep up the outstanding work!
If Hoch did hit fuld on purpose, why wait in the count? Our pitchers are way to soft. We need to hit batters after back to back HRs, and stuff that happened last night.
Not really topic related, but listening to the games (from St Louis)I can't help but appreciate Frank White and the late Splitt. What class acts. There are many ex players for teams doing commentating but few classy ones. Smooth at second...smooth in the booth.
Lee, make that seven people watching the traffic accident. Escobar's leg was behind the bag, Fuld's cleats were above the bag and didn't make contact with the bag as he slid over it. If his foot hits the bag, Esky doesn't get spiked. Hoch needed to drill Fuld and did.
Jim: OK, eight. I thought his foot was still on the bag, Fuld hit his ankle and the foot couldn't give. My first thought was hyperextended knee.
I saw the replay, but maybe I need to see it again.
In any case, the guy who matters (Yost) saw it your way...apparently. Nobody is ever going to admit drilling a guy on purpose.
Vinnie: IF Hoch hit Fuld on purpose (and like I said, nobody would admit that) he might need the cover of not doing it on the first pitch to avoid a fine.
And, by the way, I think Royals pitchers have hit someone something like six times since the All-Star break, so if they were being soft that no longer appears to be the case.
Although Fuld is the first guy where people think it might've been intentional.
Ken: Thank you, I've got a lot to be self-effacing about. The insight really comes from the players and coaches who have been willing to share their expertise. I just bring it to the website.
George: I totally agree with you about Splitt and Frank.
I have also been informed that cheetahs don't climb...and neither do 58-year-old cartoonists.
Whether it was Yosts' call or Hochever's to plunk Fuld,I and most the fan base appreciate that. For so many years we have watched this team get pushed around and accept it. It's pretty obvious this team is playing with an attitude, Just the kind of attitude we need to have to dig out of the basement and get back to the top. Good stuff as always Lee, and Great job Royals. Looking forward to tonight, and not only because it's ladies night at the K!
Don't you think the Royals must find out if we have a major league second baseman at Omaha before the season is over?
Lee, As I see more and more of Hochevar, I wonder if he might be better suited in the closer role. It seems like he often rolls through the first few innings and then struggles to get through the middle innings. Any talk of that around the team?
Lee, do you think your Man-Crush on Getz and Frenchy can effect your analysis? To me it seems like they can do no wrong in your eyes and that something as routine as tagging up at first to enduce a throw is better than anything Butler has done all year. Just an observation.
Gary: I don't know what the Royals plans are regarding second base.
Mike: I couldn't say whether Hochevar is more suited to a closer's role. Last night he had trouble in the 1st inning, then had trouble again in the 6th.
In a recent start he sailed through the first three or so, blew up and then pitched well again.
I think inconsistency is the issue, which is usually not a desirable trait in a closer.
Kurt: I don't have a man-crush on Getz or Francoeur, it's a manager's crush. I loved to manage versatile, smart ball players: they give you so many options.
As for tagging up at first being routine: the act of tagging up is routine, the reasoning behind protecting a slower runner trying to advance is not. That's very smart baseball.
I wouldn't agree they can do no wrong in my eyes either: Francoeur has several mental mistakes listed in his point totals and almost all of them went unnnoticed by fans.
In the posting above I pointed out Getz's throw was what hung Alcides Escobar out to dry last night.
In the player evaluations that ran in the paper and were posted on this site the Sunday after the All-Star break, I listed the weaknesses of both players.
As for Butler: I think he's a terrific hitter with a terrific eye. I think he hits the ball as hard as anyone, but hits it low and has a hard time clearing the fences at Kauffman. But Billy is a largely one dimensional player that helps the team at the plate and virtually no place else.
Brandon: I've been married 27 years, Ladies Night at the K does me no good whatsoever.
"better than anything Butler has done all year."
The stats suggest that Billy walks a lot when followed by Aviles or Betemit, but doesn't do much else at a high level, not hitting many homers, scoring many runs, driving in many runs. Compared to Gordon, Melky, and Frenchy or even Hosmer, he is a below average hitter considering his position in this batting order. And then if you add in speed and defense, his value seriously tanks. Billy used to be a star on very bad teams, now he's a six-hole hitter surrounded by good, productive ball players. That may be why Ned Yost suggested he'ld rather Billy be a .270/20/100 guy. We saw that possibility last night when Butler used an uppercut swing and smacked a ball 406 feet into the cheap seats. If Billy decides that hitting homers and driving in runs is more important than a .290 BA and .375 OBP he could be a star once again and an important part of the team. That and get a personal trainer to lose fifteen pounds to improve his speed and quickness like Melky did in the off-season.
Jim: Yeah, I was a little surprised that Ned went public with his opinion on Billy's approach.
Another thought came to me about Billy vs. Getz/Francoeur: the Polk system is terrific at making you pay attention to a player's pattern of play. It's not perfect, but it gives you a sense of what an Escobar brings to the game compared to a Butler.
While watching a game, I'm not only scoring it twice (regular scorebook and Polk system), but I'm also looking for moments that will probably go unnoticed and are in some way important.
When I go into the clubhouse and fifteen people are interviewing Hochevar I figure he's covered and look for something else to write about.
What struck me about the Francoeur play last night was how many players will belatedly jog out a routine fly ball, just going through the motions. I thought it noteworthy that Frenchy didn't do that and got an extra base and run for his team.
Same with Getz and the fly ball to center that advanced Treanor: in fact it wasn't routine to tag on that fly ball. It was to center and too close to second for a runner on first to advance...unless the throw went to third. A lot of runners go halfway and then jog back. Getz ran back, tagged, sprinted halfway and then sprinted back, sliding into first. All to make sure Treanor got to third. That does not happen routinely.
I think what's upsetting to some people is that I'm trying to recognize small things that are taken for granted and give the players who do those things credit.
And that leads me to some different conclusions about a player's worth.
Lee, your information is useful, both for us chubby old fans and for little-league ball players wanting to learn the game. Useful information is good, by definition. I appreciate what you offer and am trying to integrate it into the Pop Tart view of the gamer, which puts me in a no-man's land, but I think also puts me step ahead of the competition in the world of both hot-stove and the blogosphere.
In the case of Billy, whom I do like and appreciate for his contributions over the years, a fairly deep look at both old and new stats tends to support what the eyeballs see. I hope Billy takes Yost's advice and adjusts himself into the player that the team needs rather than putting his ego above the needs of the team. He's young and decisions aren't always easy for a 25 year old. Ask Frenchy and Melky about their brilliant decisions to pack on weight last year:) Thanks, jf
Lee, you're right on about Getz's tagging up at first not being a routine play. I don't think he did it to ensure that Traenor make it to third, however. Getzy would have gone to second to put another runner in scoring position if the throw would have gone to third. Upton's throw instead went to second base, not the cut-off man, unless the cut-off man was standing near second base. Also, Getzy's flip to Escy was to the inside of the bag when it should have gone to the outside of the bag. You're right - the toss left Escy in harm's way. Also, Billy's pitch selection has been suspect lately. Maybe he's pressing a bit, causing him to be a little over anxious...should be interesting seeing you climb the wall.
Robert: Seeing me climb the wall is not as interesting as I try to make it sound. I hit it and barely elevated off the ground.
As for Getz's tag: he said he went back to the bag intending to go to second if the throw went to third, but was aware his tag might force a cut...and you're right, the throw did come into the second base area, but not directly to the bag. So Getz's move probably put the pressure on Upton, not the cutoff man. (Now I can't recall who took the throw).
And Billy might be expanding the zone at times in an effort to come through. That can be a good or bad idea based on who's hitting behind you.
Jim: As always, thanks for your reasonable approach to this stuff. I really don't think there is one right way to view the game and if there was, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be the one providing it.
As much as possible, I'm trying to bring you the professionals' view of their sport and I think we can all learn something from that.
E - Judge... wrong document.
I think that there is not enough said about the job Yost is doing with these young players. I think he's great.