Games » Cleveland Indians
Jul30A note to Matt Treanor
Lee Judge
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Dear Matt:
I’m writing you this note because you sure as heck aren’t going to remember how you almost saved this ballgame … and you almost saved it twice.
Let’s start with the first time you saved a run, back in the fifth inning: Royals starter Felipe Paulino was dealing. He had his good stuff, a fastball with movement and a nasty slider. But the slider was so nasty he was burying it in the dirt.
With your team up by one run and the Indians’ Carlos Santana on second base, Cleveland’s Kosuke Fukudome was at the plate. Felipe buried the slider, and you made a great block. Otherwise, Santana would have advanced to third.
Fukudome flied out to left, and if Santana had been on third, maybe he tags and scores (I don’t know how well Carlos runs. After all, “Black Magic Woman” was a long time ago.) Then with the Indians’ Lonnie Chisenhall at the plate, Paulino buried another slider and you made another great block to save it. So that time Santana definitely would have scored, had he been on third.
You guys went back into the dugout still up 1-0 because you blocked pitches in the dirt.
Then in the sixth inning, with Cleveland’s Matt LaPorta on third, the Indians’ Michael Brantley hit a fly ball to Alex Gordon in left field. The Indians challenged Alex, and for the 20th time this season, a Royals outfielder threw out a runner at the plate. Unfortunately, you got knocked O-U-T out.
The throw brought you into foul territory. Usually, you try to field the ball in fair territory with your left foot on the line. That way the runner has a place to go, the back half of the plate. This time, you ended up slightly straddling the line with your right foot. This didn’t give LaPorta much to work with, plus, you were up the line too far for him to slide.
LaPorta dropped a shoulder, and you tried to do what you told me you do on these plays: “Get small and roll with it.” Unfortunately, LaPorta’s shoulder struck your head, and you got dropped like a bad habit.
I’ve seen the giant bruise on your shin from a foul tip and the welt on your neck from a bad hop, but the most impressive tough-guy thing I’ve seen you do happened on this play. You held onto the ball.
Lights out, nobody home, and you held onto the ball for the out.
Hat’s off, pal. Get well soon.
Lee
And then the other stuff
A quality start was wasted. Paulino threw great, except for allowing two leadoff walks. Felipe had enough stuff to pitch around those mistakes, but the bullpen didn’t. Royals relievers put the leadoff man on twice. One of them scored, and the other might as well have.
With the Royals up 1-0, Royals reliever Tim Collins walked leadoff batter Lonnie Chisenhall to start the eighth inning. Chisenhall did foul off a couple hundred pitches, so Tim threw a lot of strikes, just one too few for the occasion.
Then Aaron Crow came in. There appeared to be some kind of mix-up, and Brayan Pena whiffed on a high pitch for a passed ball. Chisenhall advanced to second. (Weird, though … mix-ups usually happen with a runner on second when the team is using multiple signs. With a runner on first there shouldn’t have been much confusion.)
With two outs (almost out of the jam, but not quite), Brantley singled to right, and Jeff Francoeur made a great throw that beat Chisenhall to the plate by 5 feet. Much like the play in Texas, Brayan never got out in front of the plate, didn’t get a knee down and made a high tag allowing Chisenhall to get a foot in. As I wrote when it happened the first time, you don’t go behind the plate if you can’t handle contact, and I don’t think Pena was avoiding it. This just looks like bad mechanics. Royals manager Ned Yost said Brayan “loses proximity to the plate,” and that can’t happen.
With the score tied at 1 going into the ninth inning, Jeff Francoeur singled and stole second. Mike Moustakas bunted him over. Pena hit a fly ball to left, but it was too shallow to score Frenchy.
Then Chris Getz lofted a single out to right-center field that seemed to hang forever. When it dropped, driving in what looked to be the winning run, I said, “Thank God he didn’t get all of that.” (Chris is much better when he gets jammed, rolls over or hits the ball off the end of the bat, then his speed takes over.)
So to the ninth inning. Joakim Soria is pitching, and everything going according to the game plan, except Joakim couldn’t control his big curve. He hit one of the three people named Cabrera in this game on the foot with one of those curves. Travis Hafner then hit what looked to be a double-play ball to Getz, but Getz had some sort of double clutch.
They had Chris way over to the pull side, so he had a long throw to second anyway and the delay in throwing meant no double play. Hafner was safe on a fielder’s choice, so the inning didn’t end when Fukudome hit a fly ball to left … and you know the rest.
If I was on Twitter, I could have told you
If you’ve been reading this site all season, you probably knew Jeff Francoeur was going to steal second base in the ninth. The last time the Royals played Cleveland, I wrote that Indians pitcher Tony Sipp was slow to the plate. Sipp went over to first to see whether he could get Mike Moustakas to tip his hand at the plate.
Moose showed bunt, which you don’t want to do if you are going to bunt, so maybe it was a decoy. Frenchy stole second, and the Moose bunted him to third, forcing the Indians’ third baseman to field the ball. That’s textbook because there’s nobody left to cover third and the runner comes in unchallenged.
The Royals faced the same situation defensively in the sixth. With a runner on second and nobody out, Moustakas came in on the grass and faced Paulino, which allowed Mike to visually check the runner and the guy at the plate. If the batter bunted toward third, Paulino would have run toward the third-base line. If Felipe could have made the play, Mike would have retreated and covered the bag. Any doubt and Moose would have had to charge and make sure of an out at first. And by the way, none of this happened because the batter ended up hitting a single to centerfield.
Is hitting contagious?
No, bad pitching is. Friday night, the Royals scored 12 runs. Saturday night, they scored two. The hitters don’t all get hot one night and all forget how to hit the next. Cleveland pitcher Carlos Carrasco was bad Friday, and Justin Masterson was good Saturday.
The previous outings
Just a reminder: When pitchers go deep into games, it sets up the bullpen for the next day … and that’s a big deal. Ned could have gone to the pen early in this one (well, early for Paulino: he threw 104 pitches) because of what starters Jeff Francis and Luke Hochevar did in the previous two games. Unfortunately, going to the pen in this one didn’t work out so well in the end.
###Goodbye, Mikey
Mike Aviles was traded to the Red Sox on Saturday. He was unhappy being a utility player here, but it looks as if he’ll be a utility player in Boston. Mike never found a home defensively in Kansas City, and I wonder whether he will find one in Boston. I guess if you’re going to be unhappy, you might as well be unhappy on a first-place team.
Gordon
Treanor
Getz
The forearm shiver LaPorte hit Traynor with seemed a bit excessive to me, especially since it was to the head. Why was there a different reaction to this than throwing at Billy's head? Frank and Ryan seemed to give him a pass on it.
Tough loss tonight Lee. But, another good outing from the starter Paulino. You've said it before yourself and I agree, this team is a big improvement over recent squads. I really like out OF. Solid. Defense and offensively. Gordo, Melk & Frenchy have all stepped up there game. Maier, solid off the bench. Even with tonights meltdown, I'm excited about this club and what the future may hold. Melk & Frenchy may have been brought in as placeholders for Cain, Wil, etc but I think someone forgot to tell them that. Appreciate you Lee. Thanks for a great read daily. Oh as far as the Treanor-LaPorta thing, LaPorta has a right to the plate and if the catcher is blocking it he knows the consequences. Huge kudos to Matt for the catch, block, tag AND hanging on as his squirrel cage was rattled. And Gordo for another assist.
Joel, I thought the shot to the head was excessive, would have gotten an unnecessary roughness penalty in a Chiefs's game, but everything happens so fast during that play that LaPorta may have been trying to hit the arm and knock the ball loose. He looked upset in the dugout, fingering a religious medal, so let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say a prayer for Matt. He got his bell rung hard, I think he lost consciousness, then hit his head again when he fell to the dirt. He's a mensch, held the ball, woke up and looked for a play to make. Our thoughts are with you, Matt Treanor, get well soon.
Guys: I've got a lot of this in tomorrow's notes which haven't been posted yet, but: the Royals didn't consider this a dirty play for two reasons (probably).
Treanor was straddling the line. The usual play is for the catcher to come out in front of the plate and put his left foot on the line. He takes fair territory to receive the throw and gives foul territory to the runner.
The runner slides towards the back half of the plate, the catcher takes the throw out in front, collapses to the back half and tries to ride the runner off the plate, this way there's no direct collision.
This throw pulled Treanor into foul territory, into the runner's usual path. Matt still had his right foot in fair territory and that had him taking most of the plate. LaPorta had nowhere to go.
The other factor is Treanor was up the line (something Pena failed to do). LaPorta was too far away from the plate to slide so he did what runners do in that case, drop a shoulder (they've got to protect themselves, too).
Matt was moving in to make a tag and took it to the head. There may be something else I missed or don't know about, but I'm guessing that's why everyone was OK with the play.
Jim: Matt Treanor, like all catchers, is one tough dude. When you come into the clubhouse you see all the bruises and scrapes that are hidden from public view and catchers have more than most.
Matt has played through a bruise on his shin that runs from ankle to knee. That's why you see the shinguard when he's hitting.)
Taking 95-MPH pitches off the arms, hands and feet is seen as part of their game.
People have complained I overvalue catchers in this system. When you see what blocking pitches in the dirt costs them, I think everybody else undervalues them.
Dave: Glad you're enjoying the site and the current version of the Royals. We get glimpses of what this team might be in the near future. Despite Soria blowing the save, I thought this game was one of those glimpses.
Maybe we'll make it through the trading deadline with this outfield intact.
Lee - I love reading your stuff. You have a way of portraying the player's personalities which I enjoy. I truly appreciate the value you put on the catcher. As Matt Treanor's younger sister, thank you!
Lee- French almost had another outfield assist late in the game but Pena didn't get the tag down in time. Yost was critical of that play in his post game interview. Was that missed execution of fundamentals or does that fact that Traenor got smoked play into that (what appeared to be) hesitancy?
Lee - Has anyone pointed out to you that you write like Posnanski? No offense, maybe I should say he writes like you. Now that I think about it, a better compliment would be that you write about the game the way Vin Scully talks about it. There's a reverence that comes through. Your heartfelt note to Matt Treanor was a thing of beauty. Like Scully said one time, and I'm paraphrasing, you see the game with your heart. I for one hear you loud and clear and I thank you for giving an old Royals fan a new outlook. Nice work. Prayers for Treanor. He did us proud.
And Marlena, tell Matt he has a big fan in Tulsa. I hope he's OK.
Lee,
I was curious what you would say about the Getz double clutch, and I was happy that you did mention it. Last nights game was just one of those hard fought anomalies that happen to good teams and bad. Overall, it was impressive what Paulino, Treanor and the rest did. Too bad it had to be ruined by a blip from Soria, but every Royals fan should give him a few passes after what he has meant the last few years. Everybody has a bad night.
I'm also inclined to give LaPorta a pass on the play. He played hard, which is what he's supposed to do. Immediately after the play, while he was still on his knees near the plate, you could tell by his body language that he was concerned about Treanor.
I also agree with Ron Grant. Keep up the good work.
Marlena: Your brother has become one of my favorites in a short time. Of course, being a former offensive lineman (high school), I'm probably predisposed to like the people in the trenches.
When Matt found out what I was doing (counting things like blocked pitches) he liked the idea that someone was going to pay attention to those kind of details. Every night, good or bad, he's willing to talk and takes responsibility for any mistakes.
I hope he's OK and back soon...and I'm glad to know you're following along.
Reid: I'd tend to give Brayan Pena the benefit of the doubt. Like I said, you don't go into catching if you're afraid of contact.
Until I hear differently, I'm assuming it was bad fundamentals. The ball was there in plenty of time, Brayan never got out in front of the plate or blocked off the runner.
There is concern about Pena's fundamentals. Jason Kendall has talked to me about the need for the catcher to be 'quiet' in the sense that there's not much movement. Everything is calm.
Watch Treanor's video on receiving the ball and you'll see what I mean. The ball is received between the shinguards with as little movement as possible.
Watch Pena and you can see at times he's not quiet back there: too much movement. This is why catching is a defensive position: the catcher is on on over a hundred plays every night, what he does in four plate appearances isn't as important.
Ron: I don't know if I write like Posnanski or he writes like me. I tend to think I can barely write.
When I started this I told the sports editor at the time, Holly Lawton, not to count on great writing, I didn't know how to do that.
But I told her I did know how to tell a story and that's what I'd try to do: write as if I met a reader in a bar and he asked about that night's game.
I try to write like I talk (which explains all the italics and parentheses).
However I'm doing it, I'm glad to know you're enjoying it.
Lee, why wasn't Moose guarding the line on the double?
Gaines: There's just no way you hang out with these guys and talk to them all the time and don't develop some kind of relationship.
Sports writers usually don't admit that, but I'm breaking all the other rules, why not that one?
There are certainly guys that are likeable, funny and intelligent and, like I've said, you end up talking with them a lot.
Chris Getz is definitely on that list. For me, it's not crossing the line to admit a guy is likeable, it's crossing the line when you don't write about their mistakes.
As I've said before, there's nobody more likeable than Jeff Francoeur, but when airmails the cutoff man, I need to ask him about it and then write about it.
Chris's bobble last night might've cost the game. He was over towards first since Hafner pulls so much and it was going to be two long throws to turn a double play, but if he makes the throw cleanly, the Royals have that chance.
Too bad, Getz was going to be one of the heroes of the game for driving in the winning run in the top of the 9th.
Jim: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the site.
Lee, I see you have Getz as the player of the game with 7 points. But I don't see any negative points for the play in the ninth that he didn't make. If he fields and throws the ball cleanly, double play. Not judged an error by official score keeping standards, but still should be a mistake.
Jim (as in Jim Brown, Jim): Good question. He may have been and just didn't get there. He and I talked about this in the past. The Royals tend to guard the lines in the last three innings (and there is a credible argument to be made for not guarding the lines late).
But guarding the lines can mean different things to different people. Some people think guarding the lines means standing right next to them. Others think that's a waste, half your range is in foul territory.
However the Royals define it (and I'll ask when they get back) clearly Mike wasn't close enough to the line to stop the double.
Joel: Until we have a category called "Plays We Wished They'd Made" I don't know how I could score that play involving Getz in the 9th.
It's not an error: Getz got an out and you can't assume the double play (that's the rule).
It's not a mental mistake (making a bad decision that's totally voluntary and could've been avoided).
Getz appeared to bobble the ball either because he didn't catch it cleanly or because he didn't get the grip the first time.
This falls under the same category as a play in Boston: I think it was Melky in center who got too close to the wall, the ball came off it and went over his head and wasn't fielded cleanly. He misjudged the ball's path. Once again, not an error or a mental mistake, but a physical one.
Another play we wished he'd made.
As I've already mentioned, because of Chris's positioning it wasn't going to be an easy DP (two long throws). But even though it didn't fall into any scoring category, the failure to make the play was a turning point and that's why I wrote about it.
Lee,
Your system has points for visual as well as stat criteria. Could I suggest that "play not made" (just as opinion based as mental mistake and great defensive play) be added as negative points.
As for the potential DP, it might have been two long throws. The fact that Hafner was the runner balances out the two long throws part of things. In my opinion a play that should be made by an average 2nd baseman.
Joel: I've had many suggestion from readers for new categories, some of them very good ones. But in the end, I'm the one that has to record the information and enter it into a very complicated system.
Currently, my scoresheet has 1,125 boxes on it and has to be filled out nightly. It's easy to make a mistake and I do so on a fairly regular basis.
So I'm looking for seldom-used categories to eliminate. Last season the Royals never had a runner picked off third so we dropped that category. Next season I'm inclined to add 'holds' and drop some of the complete game categories. (But that might upset a starting pitcher's chances of being one of the points leaders, so I'll have to think about.)
For me 'errors' pretty much covers 'plays not made.' I don't know how often I'd be inclined to disagree with the scorekeeper and say 'that play should've been made' any more than I'd be inclined to disagree with the umpires and say, 'he wasn't out, that's a hit.'
And in any case, even if I had your new category, I wouldn't be inclined to see it your way.
I went back and looked at the play and Getz was not as far over as I'd thought when the play started. The ball was hit close enough to Hosmer that he started to his right and Getz came a long way to get it. Getz ended up by first, he didn't start there. That takes time and Hafner, while slow, was running from the left side.
The bobble made what was aleady going to be a tough double play impossible. Getz's long trip to the ball and subsequent bobble gave the runner on first, Cabrera, who isn't slow, time to get to Escobar.
With Hafner running, a double play might have been possible, but I wouldn't consider it routine.
Lee, how do players tend to react when a player like Aviles is traded? He seemed to be well-liked when I would see him interact in the dugout and when I was watching an Omaha Storm Chasers game I saw the same thing. Just curious how trading a player that seemingly is as well-liked as Aviles is effects the rest of the team?
Darral: It's weird for everybody, but an accepted part of the life. Your best buddy (and Mike and Mitch Maier are tight having played and roomed together for years) is in the next locker, you arrive the next day, the locker is empty and his name has been replaced.
The next time you see him might be when his new team comes to town.
I've noticed ballplayers often don't make a big deal of goodbyes: they face too many of them.
Lee: Thank you for what you do... This is my first time reading. Along with Marlena, my brother is Matthew Treanor. I am an older sister, however. (We are from a large family in case you didn't know.) :) I have to admit, the recent incident regarding the collision of Matthew and LaPorta is how I discovered your site. I enjoy reading and will be back to visit again soon!!! Thanks again for what you do so well... You really portray the game of baseball through your eyes and with your heart!
Michele: It sounds like I can double my page hits if I can just get the entire Treanor family to read the website.
Thanks for checking it out and, as I told your sister, I really enjoy talking to your brother. He's taught me a lot in a short time.
In fact, you might want to check out the catching videos he did for us. (Look at the home page and click on the word 'videos'.) We've got one we'll probably post tomorrow on blocking the plate.
I'll check in with him on Tuesday and post something about his condition the next day.