Games » Cleveland Indians
Sep3What went wrong for Chris Getz at shortstop
Lee Judge
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Alcides Escobar has a sprained ankle, so the Royals are taking this chance to look at Chris Getz at shortstop. What I’ve heard is that the Royals would like to see whether Chris could fill the role of utility infielder. If he can do it defensively, Chris’ offensive versatility would be a nice fit.
So how did it go Saturday night?
Chris got three chances at short. He spiked the first ball for an E6, threw the second low so Eric Hosmer helped him out and came so far forward on the third chance, he was making the throw from the second base position anyway.
After the game, I asked Royals manager Ned Yost what adjustment Chris needed to make. “Throw higher,” Yost said. (Ned can be pretty funny when he’s in the mood.) Ned then went on to break it down a little more technically. Chris has plenty of arm. Yost has seen it in practice.
On the first throw, Getz was trying to come over the top. Second basemen throw from a lower arm angle, and Chris has been working on getting his arm fully extended on the throw from short. From the new arm angle, Getz misjudged his release point and buried the throw. Afterward, third-base coach Eddie Rodriguez told Chris he was close enough he could have thrown from his usual lower arm angle.
So on the next chance, Chris dropped down, but this time he was too far away and should have been over the top. On the third chance ,I think he just decided to grab the ball and run it over to first. Anyway, according to Ned, Chris’ problem is not lack of arm strength. It’s learning to select the right arm angle and release point while moving at game speed.
This stuff is not simple.
On the other hand …
In the second inning with runners on first and third, Getz hustled down to second on Alex Gordon’s grounder and made the pivot man get out of the way before throwing. The delay meant Gordo was safe, Salvador Perez scored and the inning did not end on a double play.
Oh, yeah
Luke Hochevar threw great. This is what they’ve been working toward. Hoch kept the ball down (which, according to pitching coach Bob McClure, is the No. 1 factor in a pitcher’s success) worked both sides of the plate (according to Mac, a pitcher who’s down can use more of the plate laterally, a pitcher who’s up needs to hit corners) and threw strikes.
McClure and I spent a lot of time talking the last two days, and he told me he once conducted an informal poll of players. He asked each of them how long he had been in the big leagues before he felt like they got it. Like the player understood what he needed to do at this level. The most common answer was four full seasons.
Which is just about how long Luke Hochevar has been around.
That E3
You’re going to see an error next Eric Hosmer’s name in this game’s box score. Tough scoring. The ball went through the webbing on Hosmer’s glove. Eric spends a lot of time tightening the webbing on his glove (a 96 mph throw from Alcides Escobar will loosen it up pretty fast), but clearly it wasn’t tight enough. After the inning, they went to work on it and got back in shape.
Inside information
Several times, first-base coach Doug Sisson has given me information on how the Royals or the opposing team will play its outfield and what that will mean to the game. I always ask whether it’s OK to write this stuff (it makes it more interesting for the fans if they actually know what the pitcher is trying to do). Doug always says yes.
This isn’t inside information. A hitter can come to the plate, take a look at the defense and have a pretty good idea of how the pitcher plans to attack him. So the hitter, the pitcher and the defense all know what’s going on. The only people left out are the fans.
When a new hitter is announced, watch the defense shift and you will have a better idea of what’s about to happen next. If the outfield shifts to the opposite field and the hitter pulls the ball, the pitcher made a mistake inside. If the outfield shifts and the hitter hits the ball right into the shift, the pitcher did his job.
Frenchy got his 1,000 hit
It was a home run in Detroit, and I asked him whether there was a moment when he thought, “Damn. I might not get that ball back.” It turns out that in exchange for the ball, Frenchy gave a signed bat up to the fan who caught the ball. So, no, he wasn’t worried. “If you’re going to get a thousandth hit, why not make it a homer?” Frenchy told me.
As I’ve noted before, Frenchy is a bit of an optimist.
That stolen base
Francoeur attempted a steal of third (was it in Toronto?) that set off a debate here on the website about Frenchy and the stolen base. I asked Doug Sisson about that play, and he knew exactly what I was talking about. Doug said the numbers were in favor of going (how long the pitcher takes to throw the ball to the plate). It was the right time in the game, and Jeff got a good jump.
What Frenchy didn’t do was get a good lead, not so much in distance, but in motion. Doug said that a runner on second should get a walking lead if he is going to steal. If the pitcher makes him stop, no steal. If the pitcher neglects to do that, take off. Frenchy took off from a dead stop, and that was the difference.
Doug noted that Jeff had been overly aggressive lately and did early, early work with him on the road to clean up the situation.
Esky going other way
I was correct. Alcides Escobar is not hitting the ball the other way as much as he was when he got hot at the plate. (Hey, I got one right!) Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said Esky got frustrated because he was trying to go the other way with the wrong pitches. (Whatever you’re trying to do at the plate, ya gotta get the right pitch to do it with.)
That led to poor results, and Alcides went back to hacking. Now Kevin’s got to get him back to where he was: staying on top of the middle away pitch and driving it to the opposite field.
On the road again
When the team is one the road, my job gets a lot tougher. When watching the game on TV, I can’t see everything I would like, and there are plays where I’m kinda guessing at what is going on. Doug Sisson has been a big supporter of this website, and he has taken an even bigger step in helping me out.
Doug has agreed to let me email questions to him when the team is on the road. When he gets a chance, he will shoot me an answer.
Now that’s taking one for the team.
Hochevar
Gordon
Francoeur
Good game, good post, when I finally found it. The IT guys are slacking off:)
People have questioned Getz's arm at short. Having seen plenty of relays on outfield assists to the plate, he has the arm, just needs to work on release
I assuming by Getz "offensive versatility" you mean the ability to hit singles.
Just kidding. I know he can handle the bat, move the runner over, etc. etc.
I was surprised by two of Yost's decisions yesterday. First, that he left Hochevar in to face the left-hander Fukudome in the eighth. Luke was already at 112 pitches, and it seemed like a good time to bring in Collins to get some "situational lefty" work. Plus, it would have given the crowd a chance to give Luke a well-deserved ovation (I was really disappointed so few people clapped when he went to the dugout at the end of the inning). The second decision was having Holland pitch the ninth. With a four-run lead, I would have thought Yost would have given the ball to somebody (maybe Crow?) who needed to work on some stuff. Fortunately, Holland only threw 14 pitches, so he should be available today. Any thoughts?
By the way, yesterday's game was "Viva Los Royals" night, and Thome celebrated it with a golden sombrero. The K hasn't been very kind to the old-timers this season. Remember when Posada celebrated his 40th birthday by striking out to end the game with the bases loaded and the tying run on third?
Jim: It's better than it was. Last season I didn't post until the morning. We had people putting the numbers in, and they weren't there until 9AM, so there was no point.
This season I offered to put the numbers in myself so the new game could be up to catch the morning traffic.
Of course that means a lot of nights where I'm finishing at 1AM and getting up at 6AM.
I'm not getting paid enough.
Larry: Yeah, everybody says Chris has enough arm. What's interesting to me is that shift to the other side of the bag entails so many technical challenges: changes in footwork, arm angles and release points.
Mike Aviles struggled when he went from short to second and now Chris has got to work on doing the opposite.
Sitting at home you might think it's no big deal to switch sides if you're a middle infielder, but once they begin to break it down for you, the challenge becomes apparent.
Kurt: Don't knock Getzie's versatility: he can get hits whether the ball goes off the handle OR the end of the bat.
I've told Chris repeatedly he could hit .400 if he would just get jammed on every pitch.
But, seriously, folks...with Chris on the bench he gives you some choices: steal a base, get down a bunt, either end of a hit and run or just give you a good situational at-bat.
Blair: I was a bit surprised when Luke came out for the 8th, but I also figure Ned knows more than me about what's actually happening that night.
They may have wanted Luke to go deeper on a night he was throwing loose and easy to set up future games. Maybe they want Luke to think about throwing 120 pitches instead of 100.
Good pitchers not only win games, they go deep and protect the bullpen. If Hoch can throw anything like that on a consistent basis, he can be a big part of the solution to the pitching problems.
And I can see your point about using Holland. Maybe Ned just wanted a low-stress night for everybody: let's not goof around, we've got this one where we want it, no 9th-inning rallies by the opposition.
All this is speculation on my part (if I'd made those moves that probably would've been my motivation), but those are good questions and if I get a chance I'll ask Ned Yost today.
Lee you are right people do not realize all the things involved in playing a position at the major league level. You have to be near perfection on every play. Double clutch and the runner beats you. Move from the left side to right side of the infield and the ball comes off the bat different. Ball slices the opposite direction when a hitter goes the other way. Getz for years has been able to use that little side arm flip to first. Habits are hard to break. Make that type of throw from short and most times Hosmer will look like he's trying to catch a knuckle baller. Give him a little time and I'm convinced he will be fine. I did like Ned's comment. Just throw higher.
Larry: Yeah, make the solution as simple as possible. Ned's right.
The comment about the problem with Hosmer's glove was interesting. I guess equipment failures plague even the pros! Is it possible the reinforce that area, or would that be illegal?
David; He could reinforce it as long as it didn't violate the limitations on gloves in the rulebook.
I think Hos thought just tightening it up would be enough.