Games » Detroit Tigers
Aug31Why it's better to lose early than late
Lee Judge
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It looked as if the Tigers set an ambush for Nate Adcock, and it almost backfired. The Tigers went to the plate swinging early, probably convinced that Nate was going to come well into the zone in an effort to get ahead. They did nick him for a couple of runs, but his pitch count was so low, the Royals got 5 1/3 innings out Adcock in this emergency start. That meant Detroit did not get into a tired bullpen as early as they hoped, but when they eventually did, the game turned around.
Tim Collins threw well (no walks, three strikeouts), but Blake Wood coughed up the lead.
I don’t know about anybody on the Royals, but I’d much rather get beat early than late. If you’re never in the game you just trot out the clichés: “Well, ya gotta tip your cap” or “It just wasn’t our day” and move on.
Getting beat late is much more depressing. It means that, even if things are going well the next day, you don’t feel comfortable. And teams that are looking for a reason to lose often find one.
The bullpen has been awfully good this season. This is what it feels like when they aren’t.
Some game stuff
• Billy Butler got thrown out at third trying to advance on a ball that dropped in. Hosmer’s single hung up, Billy couldn’t leave second right away and then made a late charge for third and was thrown out. That violates the ‘never make the first or third out at third’ rule of base running. There are exceptions (Doug Sisson has explained some of them to me), but this didn’t appear to be one.
• Eric Hosmer has hit 14 home runs. 10 of them either tied the game or gave the Royals a lead. So there are home runs and there are home runs. There are also players who specialize in the meaningless home run: down by seven in the 9th and they hit a solo-shot. People who look at the numbers without asking when those numbers were put up and what they meant are missing (as Chris Getz so eloquently put it) the “heartbeat of the game.”
• A lot of players did not graduate from college, Chris did not graduate from two colleges, so you can see how he comes up with this stuff.
The downside of the successful bunt or steal
We’ve talked a lot about the hidden benefits of the bunt and the steal (I still don’t think I’ve got some of you convinced), but this game provided a look at one of the drawbacks: you open a base. When Chris Getz got a two-out hit in the ninth inning, I was pretty sure he’d steal.
If I remember my delivery times correctly, Tiger closer Jose Valverde is slow to the plate. Like 1.7 slow. That means Getz has time to stop off at a Starbucks on his way down to second. In Tuesday’s game, Getz was going to have a very difficult time stealing because reliever Joaquin Benoit is a 1.2. (They have all this timed out, y’know. People aren’t running because they have a ‘good feeling.’)
OK, so two outs, down by one in the ninth, pitcher with a slow delivery time to the plate, base stealer on first: hit the after-burners, right? Get a man in scoring position and be one hit away instead of two. But opening up a base allows the opposition to work around a hitter. It gives them some room to work with.
After Chris stole second the Tigers worked around pinch-hitter Brayan Pena (in the game after Salvador Perez had to leave after a collision at the plate) and went after Alcides Escobar. Brayan was up on the left side, Esky would be up on the right (and has been scuffling), Valverde’s right handed, so an easy choice to make.
When you’re watching a game and you’re thinking about a steal or a bunt, remember to ask yourself who is on-deck or available off the bench, because the guy at the plate may not get to swing the bat.
Getzie’s future
Chris and I were walking out to the Little K to do a video on turning double plays and we started talking about his future. I asked if he’d consider becoming a utility player. Chris said no one had asked him to, but thought he could if it was required. He said he doesn’t have an arm like Esky’s, but the one he does have is good enough to make most of the plays he’d have to deal with.
As I wrote before, surprisingly, he said it was his feet he’d have to work on. Shortstops have less time and less room for error than second basemen, so the footwork has to be more precise.
If Getz did become a utility player he’d seem to have a lot going for him: solid defender, a base stealer, a guy who can get down a bunt, execute a hit and run or just give you an at-bat appropriate to the situation. And he’s pretty good with runners in scoring position, too.
Treanor’s gone
Matt’s back with the Texas Rangers and I’m sorry to see him go. When you’re writing about baseball you develop go-to-guys in the clubhouse: guys you can always go to when you wanted to have a conversation about something that happened in the game.
When Matt figured out what I was doing (trying to write about the details of the game) he was on-board. Like most catchers, Matt thinks a great deal of what they do goes unnoticed or unappreciated. Treanor was always up front about making mistakes and had a sly sense of humor that made every encounter enjoyable. (If you saw him walking around with a hockey helmet on after he got knocked out, you know what I mean.)
I hope he does well in Texas.
Moose’s slump
Mike Moustakas and I can now talk hitting again. I told him I wasn’t going to talk to him about it anymore after watching him patiently answer questions about his slump night after night. It’s kind of like asking someone how they feel about the death of a loved one and then showing up every night to remind them that their loved one is still dead. (Chris Getz told me a story about Gordon Beckham agreeing to do a call-in radio show in Chicago, then going into a slump and having to constantly be reminded of his slump every time he did the radio show.)
So, I said, enough, I’m not going to add to that and told Mike I’d talk to him about it once he started hitting again. Mike’s slump ended earlier than statistics would indicate, he started making some hard outs before he started getting hits, and even then I still wouldn’t talk to him.
When you start to come out of a slump, you feel like it’s really fragile. The nightmare might be over, but you don’t want to talk about it and jinx yourself. So I said, “We’re still not talking. Just go get some.”
Moose knew exactly what I meant, laughed, fist-bumped me and walked off. But after a 14-game hitting streak and getting his average up a bit, I guess it’s safe to talk hitting with Moose again.
What a thrill for him, huh?
Hosmer
Adcock
Cabrera
I don't feel like there is a problem with stealing second and leaving a base open. I'd rather have the tying run in scoring position and a lesser batter up, than the tying run on first (especially if that runner on second has speed). Pena would have really needed to rock the ball to score Getz from first, but he could have scored on a single by Esky.
Also, I am baffled by Giavotella being taken out in late innings for defense. It seems to contradict what Yost did earlier in the season with Esky. And I would argue that Getz is not a huge upgrade at 2nd and that Betemit was a huge upgrade over Esky at the beginning of the year.
Kurt: I think Getz was right to steal the base, I'm just pointing out that it gives the opposition the option to work around at least one hitter.
That needs to be part of the decision-making process: do you still want to steal the base if they're going to walk someone? In this case, I agree with you, the answer is still yes.
As for Getz replacing Gio for defensive purposes: Johnny made three outstanding plays today, so it could logically be asked why he needs to be replaced defensively.
Unfortunately, when Johnny has a problem it's often on a seemingly routine play, something Chris virtually never does.
There are players known for making the difficult play and then screwing up the routine one. I don't know if the Royals believe that of Giavotella, but I'd assume they think Chris is the steadier player.
Yost said he didn't want to pinch hit for Esky early in the year because he wasn't going to want to pinch hit for him when the Royals are eventually playing important games.
There are managers who really dislike pinch-hitting for their shortstops. Short stop is the second-most important defensive player on the field (after the catcher) and taking Alcides out of the game in the 8th on the road means you'll need two innings from a backup.
You may not agree with him, but I think Ned doesn't belive he has a better option at short, but does believe he has a better option at second.
If so, that's why he's handling Giavotella differently than Escobar.
You are exactly right Lee (in my humble opinion). Taking Esky out downgraded the defense significantly. Taking Gio out (for Getz)actually improves the defense without giving much away in offense (at least right now). Different situations with different solutions.
I think Getz stealing second is like the bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. Steal second and you have the chance of the catcher throwing the ball away and you get third too. This gets better when the catcher has to hurry because of a slow to the plate pitcher. I listen to a lot of the away games on XM radio. You always get the home team announcers. There is a big difference in the knowledge that these people have of the visiting teams. The Tigers radio announcers are some of the best at knowing about their opponents. Some of these people can't even pronounce the players names. Always interesting to get an outside opinion of our team.
I think the reason Yost kept giving Eky and Moose high leverage chances was that he believed that the experience would improve their skills. I don't think experience will make Gio's hands softer, his arms longer, his legs faster, or his feet more agile.
Lee: I know you lost one of your answer guys when they traded Trenor today but I was listening to Kevin Kennedy on XM and he claims he can determine what pitch is going to be thrown by watching some catchers. He say they will tip pitches by their setup. He said it is easier to steal pitches from catcher than from pitcher. Not just in and out but also by how high they lift their seat or how low they go. Since then I have watched Perez and do not see him setting up any different on pitches. other than in and out. If you get a chance ask one of your catching buddies about this.
So I'm biased, but one thing I noticed from watching the game yesterday... I can barely watch a game that doesn't have Lefebvre or Frank as announcers. There was a pitch on the other side of the plate that Avila had to reach for and Brayan would have had to stretch to even tip it - and the announcers were talking about how that was "just off the corner". Again, maybe it's just me, but I think we have two top notch announcers.
Joel: The other thing about bringing Getz in for Giavotella: Ned does it when it looks like Gio's had his last at-bat, so it shouldn't hurt the Royals offensively.
Several times now it hasn't worked out that way and Chris has gone to the plate, but he's given the team a good at-bat (I recall two hits and a lineout). That probably means Yost is not reluctant to switch out second basemen at the end of a game.
Larry: I agree, listening to other announcers talk about the team is interesting. That's why we made the video of Tim Bogar talking about the Royals: he'd said all those things to me privately and I thought fans would be interested in the perspective of an outsider.
And interesting point about the way a catcher sets up. Of course that information would have to be relayed to the hitter by a base runner or a coach since the hitter's concentrating on the pitcher.
That's why you see some catchers move at the last moment. But I could also see that being a distraction for the pitcher.
I'll ask around and see what people have to say about it.
Jim: An interesting situtation: guys who can make a great play and flub a routine one.
Russ Morman was telling me about a scouting report that said a guy was capable of the great play and struggled with the routine one. Russ said most of the plays are routine. That's the one you have to make.
That's always been part of my appreciation of Chris Getz which probably mystifies some people: you get the outs you're supposed to get. That's a very desirable attribute in baseball.
That may seem like no big deal if you haven't played or managed, but when Johnny takes a routine grounder and throws high to Hosmer, it makes Ned think the team might be better off with Chris at second down the stretch.
Tyler: I agree about the announcers. I'm biased also, they're both nice guys and both welcomed me early on when I began showing up out at the stadium.
(In fact, Frank was one of the first guys who encouraged me in what I was doing. I know the Polk system I'm using drives some metrics people nuts, but Frank took a look at it and wondered why we were just going to give that information away. He thought the patterns the system was going to record would be very interesting and offer valuable insight into players.)
Together, I think Frank and Ryan make a good team. Ryan's not afraid to give Frank a hard time and Frank's got an amazing amount of baseball information stored in his head. Both have a good sense of humor.
Neither of them is afraid to point out a mistake by the Royals. I've told Frank one of the drawbacks of actually being at the game is not getting to hear his analysis.
I know a lot of people like to jump on their hometown announcers, but I think people here in Kansas City are lucky to have those two.
When it comes to announcers, we already have one in the HOF, (Denny Mathews) and Ryan and Frank are a VERY strong combo. I seldom listen to Frank call a game without thinking, "I didn't know that!"
Ben: Yeah, I do the same thing almost every night. One night he said he paid attention to who wore rubber cleats and who wore metal spikes so he'd know how long he could hang in on the double play.
Who knew?
One of the pleasures of doing this job is sitting in the dugout with Frank before a game when he's in a mood to tell stories.
We do have great announcers. As you pointed out Lee, if the Royals screw up they do not hesitate to point it out. Too many announcers out there are either such home town announcers you can't stand to listen to them or have no real knowledge of the game or worse both.