Games » Detroit Tigers
Aug7One of the best throws you'll ever see
Lee Judge
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Seventh inning. One out. The Royals lead the Tigers 4-3. The tying run, Jhonny Peralta is standing on first. Detroit’s Alex Avila hits a ball into right field toward the line. It’s the perfect time for Peralta to go first to third. If Peralta can get to third with only one out, he can score without a hit.
Jeff Francoeur, the Royals’ right fielder, is moving to his left to field the ball, so the throw should not be strong. Gene Lamont, the Tigers’ third-base coach, waves Peralta around second and despite everything he has going against him, Frenchy throws a strike from somewhere around Blue Springs. He hits third basesman Mike Moustakas’ glove on the fly like a pitcher painting the outside corner. Peralta is out.
I heard some Tigers fans boo either Peralta, Lamont or both, but they were wrong. Lamont was right to wave Peralta on to third. After the game, I asked Frenchy what he thought: “Would you run on you?”
“He had to,” Frenchy said of Peralta. “I was moving sideways. But when it left my hand, I knew it was a good one. Sometimes they’re off-line or you didn’t get all of it and you know you’ve got no shot right away. This one was perfect.”
So throwing a baseball perfectly is like getting all of one as a hitter? Everything comes together at the right time?
“Exactly.”
Frenchy leads all active major-leaguers in career outfield assists. He has had 12 more this year, and he told me he thought this throw might have been his best ever. I hope you got to see it.
Third-base coaches and middle relievers
Neither gets interviewed much unless something goes wrong. Reporters talk to the starter and the closer. The guys in the middle often get ignored. Royals middle reliever Louis Coleman said that was just fine with him. Louis said he could stand a long-major league career of being ignored, but he still thanked me when I stopped by to say congratulations. (I’m trying to start a trend.)
Royals starter Bruce Chen was throwing well Sunday, but then a hurricane arrived. He gave up three straight hits in between the hotdog wrappers, small animals and compact cars flying by, and a rain delay stopped the game for a while. When play resumed, Coleman came out of the pen, he gave up a double, which forced Bruce’s last base runner in. Louis then got the game back under control and handed it off to Greg Holland in the eighth.
So appreciate the starters and the closers, but don’t forget those guys in the middle … or the third-base coach.
Speaking of Holland
Royals manager Ned Yost said the bullpen is pretty much mix-and-match until you get to closer Joakim Soria. Ned said he’s been going to Holland because he’s got the hot hand.
Mitch’s day
Mitch Maier got a start in center field and asked where he was hitting in the order. It turned out he was hitting sixth. I asked him before the game whether that would make a difference. Mitch said he didn’t think so. Unless the Tigers decided to work around him to get to a right-hander (but Brayan Pena was hitting behind him), Detroit would stick with its game plan.
“They know how they want to get me out,” Mitch said.
When I asked how the Tigers wanted to get him out, Mitch predicted that Max Scherzer, the Detroit starter, would start him away, maybe soft and then if he got ahead, come in hard to finish Mitch off.
“So if you know how Scherzer is going to pitch you, it’s not some big secret,” I said. “It’s all about execution. Can he hit his spots low and away and his spots inside? And if he misses those spots, can you execute and hit his mistakes?”
“Lee, this game is all about execution.”
So I paid attention and wrote down every pitch.
First at-bat:
1.) Changeup, low and away for a strike. 2.) Changeup, down for a ball. 3.) Fastball, inside for a ball. 4.) Fastball, inside for a ball. (Scherzer is following the pattern, but missing his spots.) 5.) Fastball, in the zone, fouled back. (After the game, Mitch said this was the mistake pitch he had been waiting for, and he missed it.) 6.) Fastball up. Mitch swings through it. Strike three.
Second at-bat:
1.) Fastball away for a strike. 2.) Fastball away for a ball. 3.) Changeup for a ball. 4.) Hittable fastball, triple.
So everybody knew what everybody was trying to do. It was just a matter of who would be successful. Then the rain delay came. Scherzer was out of the game, and I never got to see a third at-bat … but I’ll pay attention next time.
The inside move
Saturday night Eric Hosmer got picked off second, so guess who was working on his leads at 11:30 the next morning? (It wasn’t me.) Hos and Royals first-base coach Doug Sisson were going over the situation. When they came off the field, I asked Sis what he and Hosmer had been fixing.
It turns out Eric has been drawing too much attention to himself at second base and Sisson wanted to clean that up. Justin Verlander, the Tigers’ starter on Saturday, has a 1.6-second delivery time to home, which is slow. There was one out and the thinking was steal third so Hos could score without the benefit of one of the very few hits Verlander was expected to give up. Eric broke too soon. Verlander picked his left foot up and spun back toward second. Hos was toast.
If the pitcher is right-handed, the key for the runner on second is the pitcher’s chin. The runner can break when it turns toward the plate, but the runner better know whether the pitcher ever looks back twice. And if he looks back more than once, what is the maximum number of looks the pitcher will use?
Sisson’s point was that Hosmer had drawn attention to himself with a lot of jumping around at second and caught Verlander’s attention. Doug said Eric would be better off putting the pitcher to sleep (“These are not the droids you’re looking for.”) and then using a walking lead before breaking for third.
So that’s why I couldn’t steal bases. It wasn’t being slow … I wasn’t sneaky enough.
Johnny Giavotella
Giavotella’s major-league debut could not be going any better unless he heals the sick or turns water into wine. He doubled and homered in this game, and so far he has made all the defensive plays except a short-hop throw by Brayan Pena on a stolen base.
Before Sunday’s game, Ned Yost projected Giavotella as a No. 2 hitter with the ability to hit the ball the other way (which helps if the leadoff man is standing on first base and keeping the hole open on the right side or standing on second base and needs to be moved to third.) Ned called Johnny’s speed “average” with the ability to steal a base “situationally.” That means if the pitcher is slow enough getting the ball home, Giavotella can run.
I’ve said you have to watch Chris Getz over time to appreciate his strengths. The reverse may be true for Giavotella. If there are holes in his game (and everybody has them), it will take time to see them … especially if he keeps playing like this.
Chen
Giavotella
Soria
You're absolutely right, Lee. That was one of the best throws you'll ever see. As perfect as Bo Jackson nailing Harold Reynolds at the plate. Roberto Clemente would have been proud.
I found it surprising that when they called up Giavotella, they didn't send Getz down to Omaha. Though I also admit I have no idea what his option situation is; I wouldn't expose him to waivers yet, either. But we are again in a situation where we really have no other option at shortstop than Escobar. Getz doesn't really have the arm strength for the position. The bottom line is that by carrying so many pitchers on our 25-man roster, we have to have versatile bench players. Mitch fits that profile for the 4th outfielder, but we really need a guy who can play second and short on the bench. Alex could cover a corner infield spot in a pinch, moving Mitch to left, but we would be in a world of hurt if Escobar had to miss any time at all. Roster construction has baffled me most of the season, and roughly everyday since Moustakas was called up and Aviles sent down.
The other thing I find frustrating is the usage of Soria being limited to exactly one inning. Friday night was a perfect example - he came in and went through the Tigers in eight pitches in the ninth, but was out for the tenth. Obviously, we don't know what would have happened in the tenth if he'd stayed in. He could have given up the same run that Crow did. Soria has not been as dominant this season as in prior campaigns, but he is still the guy I want on the mound with the game on the line. Not once this season, except for his hiatus out of the closer role, has he gotten more than three outs. With all the extra inning games we have played, we should be getting more out of him in the highest leverage situations.
Right now, 16 games below .500, this stuff doesn't much matter. Would things look tremendously different if we were 10 or 12 below? Probably not. But I am liking this team more and more every day, but these are things that will become bigger as we become more competitive.
Congrats to Gordon for setting the club record for assists and Frenchie for his key throw. The Royals defense has been strong for the last stretch of games and it has enabled them to keep games close and winable. Hope our starting pitching continues to give us a chance to get to the bullpen with the game on the line.
Congrats to Alex for setting the team mark for assists and Frenchie for his superb throw at a key time. Our defense has been outstanding for a good stretch lately, and we have been in a position to win close games late. Considering the youth of the team, they are doing a great job of keeping their heads in the game.
Congratulations to Alex Gordon on his record assist. But let's not forget about the other two Royals who were in on the play. Escobar made a nice quick catch and throw, but what was especially nice was Johnny Giavotella's difficult snag of a short-hop, short relay throw from Escobar. It's tougher than it looks to snag a short hop throw like that while attempting to make a sweep tag of a sliding runner, especially when its a short throw, as there is not much time to anticipate the angle of the hop. I am really liking this Giovoltella kid.
Guys: So much happened in this game I never got to Gordo's record-breaking assist. I did note Escobar's help on the play with points for outstanding defensive play. Giavotella wound up the play with a nice catch and tag. (One of the few criticisms I heard of Johnny over the weekend was a certain stiffness with his hands, but that's pretty picky considering the weekend he had.)
And I completely whiffed on Gordo's ejection. I asked Alex what happened and he said he flips his bat to the bat boy when he walks, he thought the pitch was ball four (should've waited for the call) and began to go down to first and flip the bat.
When he heard strike three he hesitated and held on to the bat too long and that gave the bat the extra height that made the umpire mad.
After the game Ned said the umpire could've given Alex and 'equipment violation' instead of ejecting him. (Apparently there's a rule that calls for a fine for throwing bats or helmets that falls short of ejection...who knew?)
That's what Yost was arguing about. Gordo's ejection forced Melky back on the field with his gimpy ankle and of course two ball were hit to him. The last one a long run to end the game.
Curtis: You're right about the backup role on the infield. We haven't had a true utility guy there for a lot of the season. I don't know Getz's contract status either and I'll leave that debate for others who are more qualified.
As for Soria's appearance: Ned Yost said that Joakim would've come out for the 10th, but he'd thrown 21 pitches the night before.
I'm assuming that some of the managing moves that are made now during development (not pinch hitting for guys who are scuffling for instance), will be different once the team is competing. There were a lot of nights Wilson Betemit never came to the plate in close ball games.
I'd hope that would change when every game is important. Let the guys develop in the first six innings, go for the win in the last three.
Have you talked to Crow lately? Does he feel that Yost has lost a little confidence in him? How does this affect his head and game?
Phil: No, I haven't talked to Aaron lately, but you're right, I should when he gets back.
Yost said Crow hadn't been sharp lately and that he'd never considered the 8th inning set-up as Crow's role. Ned said the 8th had always been mix and match and he was going with Holland's hot hand right now.
I don't know how it affect Aaron and I don't know how Ned thinks about it, but the best thing Crow can do is pitch well when given the chance.
Getz has options, so can be sent down, but I think the idea was that Navarro needs to play everyday for a month and get some reps in at 2nd, his most logical full-time future position as Escobar and Moose are likely fixtures at SS and 3rd, and Navarro has the least experience at 2nd.
Gio has started hot, got a homer in his second game, but hasn't yet been given 2nd for next year, so Royals are looking at having three players compete for the position next spring. I assume that Getz can play SS as well as Betemit did and Gordon can back up 3rd, and Navarro is a phone call away. I think it was Earl weaver who said that his back-up SS was in AAA.
I sat behind a fan Friday night who was also irritated by Soria only pitching the 9th, and was trying to convince his wife as well. I simply chimed in based on reading this blog all year. Soria's job is to give the Royals a chance to win in the 9th, either by save or by holding the tie until the bottom of the inning. Once we get to extra innings the save goes away and we now have our reliable closer continuing the hold. It's already been stated that Soria pitched 21 pitches the night before, he pitched well on Friday, but by throwing only 8 pitches, he was still available on Saturday. Pitching the 10th may have forced him to sit on Saturday. We ended up not needing him, but he was fresh for the save on Sunday. Anyway, I figured Yost was protecting the next game while being successful in getting Friday's game to the bottom of the 9th still tied. I also thought Crow was a strong option to go a couple of innings, but that didn't happen either.
here's a link to the video of that throw http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?contentid=17779065&topicid=8877722&c_id=kc
Lee, here's a take on the Gordon ejection that I never heard Frank or Ryan mention. They kept talking about the ump feeling that Gordan "showed him up", which is fine, but what about the umps who show-up the batters on a regular basis. Especially with the called-3rd-strike-punch-out. While I love the variety of ways they do it, I think the ump owes it to the batter to either call strike-3 or ball-4 as quickly as possible when the count is 3-2. In my opinion, by letting even a little time pass, and letting Alex start walking without making the "strike-3" call, that umpire is showing up the hitter. If I'm the hitter or his manager, then I'm going to call out the ump for showing up my guy! Make the call! Don't be so concerned with the delayed, emphatic "punch-out". Sorry, blue, but we didn't come to watch you.
And as far as Frenchy's throw is concerned, I say its one of the best I've ever seen also, right there with Bo throwing out Harold Reynolds. But, here's the little subtelty I notice with both of those great throws... If you ever see a hi-light of Bo throwing out Reynolds, watch Bob Boone - as the throw comes in, he just stands there and never gives anything away. Suddenly the ball's in his glove and Reynolds never knew what hit him. Looks like Moustakis did the same thing yesterday; just stood there and didn't give the runner any hint that the ball was on the way or on line. Moose waited until the last possible split-second, made the catch and the tag, perfect!
Jim: Thanks for the update on the Getz situation. I've been assuming second is Giavotella's to lose, but nobody who would know has told me that.
Sean: Throwing Soria in a tie game at home gives the Royals two innings to get the job done (assuming Soria doesn't give up the lead). The bottom of the 9th and, whatever the opposition does in the next half inning, the bottom of the 10th.
I always assume Ned Yost knows more than I do about the state of his bullpen. He had a plan that night based on what Soria had done the night before.
Crow pitched well enough in the beginning of the season to make some fans think he should be the closer (although he hasn't been that sharp lately).
If Soria had thrown the 10th it sounds like he definitely wouldn't have been available the next day and he came in pretty handy on Sunday.
Fans sometimes wonder why you can't just keep riding the same horse, but I thought Soria did his job: got the team to the bottom of the 9th tied and provided the Royals two chances to win the game.
After Soria did his job, I thought it was time for someone else to do theirs.
P.S. How'd the fan take you chiming in?
Jeremy: Thanks for the link.
John: A couple of good observations: I never thought of the umps having no problems with going all Naked Gun with their punch out calls, but not wanting a player to make them look bad.
And Moose did a great job with the deke and tag. Jason Kendall does that at the plate and asked him why. He said that if a guy slows up even a little, it's an advantage.
Lee, this inspires the need for a best throw ever list. I'd especially like to know how this year's group, which is doing so well compares to Bo. I mean, is it possible to compare? I only actually remember only one throw Bo made when I was actually at the game, but I do not remember who it was against. He caught a fly against the visitors bullpen and gunned out some guy on one hop. I just remember the guy didn't even slide or anything - just sort of stood there dumb founded that the ball beat him by so much.
Frank: I've only got dim memories of Bo's throws (the one you mentioned may have been Harold Reynolds in the Kingdome), but I think his arm might have been stronger while these guys have better technique.
The fan listened and then quit complaining. Not because I was right, but more because he now didn't have a better reason for me to be wrong. I wasn't rude; just informative. :) I've learned so much from reading this blog. Thanks for all the time you put into it!
Sean: Thanks a lot and the truth is, I've learned a lot from doing it. If I went back to managing a team I think I'd be better than I was from being exposed to the best coaches and players in the world.