Games » Boston Red Sox
Aug21A bad finish, but a quality start
Lee Judge
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Maybe someday soon we won’t have to sit around, talk about a loss and look for the silver lining, but today ain’t that day.
At least there actually is a silver lining: Danny Duffy’s quality start on Sunday. Six innings pitched, two earned runs. Before the game — and when I say before the game, I mean the day before the game —(it’s a tradition in baseball that no one talks to the starter on game day unless he talks to you first), I asked Danny what adjustments he was going to make before he took the mound against the Red Sox on Sunday.
Danny said he planned to add and subtract a bit more on his fastball. He wanted to avoid throwing as hard as he could on every pitch and instead run one fastball up at 92 mph and the next one at 96. That was what he did, and you could see the results.
Most of the damage came on two pitches: a 78 mph curve to Jason Varitek and a 94 mph fastball to Darnell McDonald. Varitek tripled, driving in Jed Lowrie, McDonald homered, driving in Darnell McDonald.
I was sitting with Jeff Montgomery when Varitek tripled, and I asked Monty if the 1-2 curve to Varitek was a mistake. Jason had swung through one fastball for strike one and had taken another fastball for strike two. Should Danny have stayed with the heat? Monty said he thought the curve was OK pitch selection, but the pitch execution wasn’t what it should have been. Danny hung the pitch, and Jason whacked it.
So yet another Royals loss, but Danny Duffy took a step forward in this game, using another weapon in his arsenal: the ability to add and subtract on his fastball. So maybe next season we will not only see quality starts, but some quality finishes.
An outstanding defensive play that was easy to miss
When a defender makes a diving stop or spectacular throw, everybody cheers. Let a defender run a good route in the outfield, and it usually goes unnoticed. In the fourth inning Darnell McDonald hit what looked to be a double in left-center gap. Center fielder Melky Cabrera ran a good route and turned it into a single.
Here’s how to spot a good route. The ball looks like extra bases, but the outfielder runs hard and gets deeper than the ball. He then turns back toward the infield and catches the ball with momentum headed toward the base he has to throw to.
If the outfielder is lazy, he will go laterally to the ball (the shortest, easiest route) and field the ball moving away from the infield. When the runner sees a player’s number (his back), he can advance. When a runner sees the team name on an outfielder’s jersey (his front), he has to think twice.
Melky ran hard and limited a double to a single. I thought it was worth noting.
Positioning third
Nobody out. Runner on second. Where should the third baseman stand? Well, it depends on what you think the other team wants to do. Teams have signs that tell the hitter to move the runner over and signs that tell the hitter to attempt to drive the runner in.
If you think the hitter will attempt to drive the run in himself, the third baseman is positioned to play against swinging away. If you think the hitter will try to move the runner over, the third baseman has to come in for the bunt. If the hitter is going to move the runner over by swinging away, he’s going to hit the ball to the right side so the third baseman can play in.
So here’s the rule of thumb for the next time you see this situation: If it’s a good hitter, the third baseman might want to play back, but if the run’s important and the hitter is a bottom-of-the-order type, the third baseman needs to be in.
Who’s out there?
Hey, all we need is a couple of starting pitchers. Let’s go get one! OK, that’s easy to say, but who’s out there? According to Robert Ford of 610 Radio, not much of anybody. Robert is much more informed than I am on these issues, and he says he looked into it and there won’t be much pitching on the market in 2012. He also says the next season looks a bit better. But it’s good to remember it’s not as simple as us spending someone else’s money. There needs to be someone to spend it on.
September call-ups
Check the minor-league standings when you think about September call-ups. If a minor-league affiliate is in contention for the playoffs, key players may not come up to the big-league club. It’s bad for the fans in those towns for the team to jerk away the best players at just the wrong moment. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but sometimes it is a factor in who gets called up in September.
Hosmer and the short hop
First baseman Eric Hosmer uses a fairly dramatic swipe of the mitt to pick up short hops. I’ve seen it taught differently, but Hos was making it work. So if ain’t broke, etc. But lately he’s had a couple of balls get away from him, and the big swipe has knocked the balls quite a ways away from him.
I asked Royals infield coach Eddie Rodriguez if there was any plan to modify Eric’s approach. Eddie said the problem was Hosmer’s head, not his mitt. As Eddie explained it, when Eric’s head stays down, the swipe is smaller. When Eric’s head comes up, the swipe gets big.
Just something to watch for in the future.
The unreadable autograph
Jeff Francoeur was signing a couple of boxes of baseballs, and I took a look at what he was doing and immediately started making fun of him. “Dude, that’s not an autograph.”
“Sure it is,” Frenchy said. “Big ‘J.’ Big “F.’ Little squiggles. No. 21.”
“How long had you been a pro ballplayer before you changed your signature?” I asked.
“When I signed my first four baseballs, and it took five minutes.” I had never thought of the time factor before. Players are asked to sign 10 dozen balls at the beginning of spring training to be used for charity, and that’s just the beginning. I asked Frenchy how many baseballs he signs in a year, and he said he had no idea. But next year we should count. Mike Moustakas talked about autograph sessions where he would be asked to sign items and the sessions would go on for hours.
Jeff said that when he would walk out of the stadium after a game, 40 kids would want an autograph, and he needed to come up with something that could be reproduced quickly. When so many people want an autograph, there’s pressure on the players to provide one in a short amount of time.
So if you can’t read that autograph, it’s kinda our fault.
Red Sox coach Tim Bogar's thoughts on Royals
Red Sox third-base coach Tim Bogar shares his thoughts on the future of the Royals with The Star's Lee Judge. 8/19/11 (Video by John Sleezer/The Kansas City Star)
Perez
Duffy
Hosmer
I've seen Hosmer sign stuff before games, and I've noticed when he keeps his head down, the fan gets something fairly legible. But if his head comes up, you can barely make out the E and the H. Seems to be a pattern.
I'm curious why players usually sign baseballs inside one of the horseshoes. I've heard dealers prefer the signature to be across the sweet spot. Is it easier to sign a baseball inside a horseshoe, or are the players trying to defeat the dealers?
By the way, after batting practice on Thursday, Pedroia stopped in front of the dugout to sign stuff. He said to the crowd, "OK, one thing at a time." Immediately, two baseballs flew at him. He picked them both up, signed them, and tossed them back to the fans. Then he started pointing to a fan, catching the fan's item, signing it, and tossing it back. As he was looking down to sign the third or fourth item, somebody threw a baseball that almost hit him in the head. He quit signing and went in the clubhouse.
Blair: The reason I wrote that piece was to point out the pressure that we're putting on these guys to produce signatures as fast as possible and then we get upset when they're not readable.
It's very common to see boxes of baseballs in their lockers, stacked up high. This is stuff the team wants signed and when the ballplayer has a few minutes he'll grab a pen and get to work.
Until Francoeur mentioned it, I'd never thought of having 40 people waiting on an autograph and trying to get through them as efficiently as possible.
And good question about the horseshoe vs. sweet spot signature, I'll try to remember to ask it when they get back.
Ballplayers will go far out of their way for kids and servicemen, but have no patience for dealers who are trying to make money out of what should be a personal moment.
The Pedroia story illustrates the problem of too many people wanting the same thing and not being very polite about how they ask for it. That will turn a ballplayers off, just as you saw with Dustin.
Check in Wednesday morning for Tuesday night's game notes.
I thought I'd be smart and get autographs of our future stars before they hit KC. I bought 2 8x10's each of Montgomery, Duffy, Hosmer and Moose. I sent them through the mail to the Storm Chasers. Duffy signed both, Moose signed one and kept one, and nothing from Hosmer or Montgomery. As much mail as these guys are getting now, it's nothing like it will be in a few years. If you want their autograps, I'd say now is the time to get them.
Enjoyed your talk with Tim Bogar, And I'm glad to know other people slip up and call it Royals Stadium too! Are you friends with opposing players and coaches or do you just seek out certain people to talk to?
Ever discuss pitching mounds? Do the grounds crew guys tailor the mound for the starter? Is the mound in the bullpen the same as the other one? Can they make the visiting teams mound in the pen a lot different than the main one?
Lee, with the All Star game coming, maybe you can find out why this is done--the tickets come in what they call a strip. You get tickets for the Futures game, the celebrity softball game, the home run derby and the All Star game. I can't tell you what a bad idea that is. Well, yes I can! There are a lot of baseball fans in this area and I think they all should get a chance to see some action at the K. Why do the same folks get to see it all, while the rest of us see none of it? There will be season ticket holders who won't get ASG tickets. They should be entitled to the next best thing--tickets to the home run derby. Can you find out why MLB wants to make 40,000 fans happy rather than 120,000?
Gene:
A.) You're right, the players get stacks of mail. I see them go through it once in a while, doing what they can to deal with all the requests. And it will get worse for the young players as they establish themselves.
B.) I rarely go in to the visitng clubhouse. The guys over there don't know me and I wouldn't be able to have the same level of conversation that I can have with a Royals player. This website is devoted to giving fans an inside look at the Royals and I'd probably only be able to provide a very surface look at another team. Tim Bogar and I have known each other for 20 years, so our relationship allowed him to answer in greater depth than if I was a stranger with a microphone.
C.) Good question about the mound and I'll ask Trevor Vance, the head groundskeeper. Trevor has told me that in the past teams might make sure the visiting mound was nothing like the game mound, just to make the other pitchers uncomfortable. He also said they don't do that here, but I've never asked if the mound is the same for each starter. I'll ask that and post an answer.
D.) Your All-Star ticket question is also a good one, but goes beyond my pay-grade. I'll ask the people I know in the Royals front office, but it sounds like that decision was made higher up the chain of command. I'll find out what I can.
Gene: Emailed Trevor Vance, he responded: the mound's the same every night.