Games » Cleveland Indians
Aug2What a difference a year makes
Lee Judge
The Kansas City Star
What a difference a year makes. One year ago Royals fans might not have been too excited about having Alcides Escobar at the plate with two outs in the 11th inning and the winning run on third. This year, Esky is one of the bright spots. His RBI single allowed the Royals to sweep a series against the Indians and he did it against everyone’s favorite closer, Chris Perez.
Game notes
In the first inning Shin-Soo Choo singled and stole second. Chris Getz came out in front of the bag to take Brayan Pena’s throw. Chris took that position because Pena’s throws sometime tail to the right and this throw was no exception. Chris had to do some fancy footwork to get around the runner, catch the ball and keep it on the infield. That paid off when Shoo was thrown out stealing third and Asdrubal Cabrera followed that with a single. A simple thing like keeping the ball on the infield probably saved a run. (Mike Moustakas straddled the bag when he received Pena’s throw at third and the significance of that will be discussed shortly.)
Corey Kluber was making his first start in the big leagues (although he made three relief appearances last year). His first pitch was a 92 m.p.h. fastball, and Alex Gordon hit it more than 400 feet. The feeding frenzy was on: after Gordon’s shot, Kluber gave up a single, a single, a walk, a home run, a triple, a single and six runs before the inning was over. He started the inning with an ERA of 0.00 and walked off the mound with an ERA of 81.00.
This is the big leagues and there’s no mercy. The numbers a hitter puts up against a rookie help even things out when the same hitter has to face Justin Verlander. If some kid is getting knocked around the park, every hitter wants in. But give Kluber credit: he made an adjustment between innings (more breaking pitches and cutters, according to Eric Hosmer) and followed the first inning disaster with three and a third scoreless innings. (And got that ERA down to 12.46.)
Amazingly enough, Bruce Chen came out of the game before Kluber. Ned Yost said Bruce just isn’t throwing the ball well right now and needs to pick it up. After Chen didn’t make it out of the third, long reliever Everett Teaford came in and got the final out. Teaford made one big mistake of his own: with a runner on first and an 0-2 count on Carlos Santana, Teaford hung a curveball. Santana homered and the game was tied.
Teaford told me he was trying to be quick to the plate, used a slide step, his front side got out too early, his arm was late and the pitch stayed up. The same story we’ve seen before: a runner affecting the pitch delivered to the plate
In the fourth inning, Brent Lillibridge signaled Kluber to attempt a pickoff at second base. The sign is an open hand. The middle infielder will break and hold out his hand, signaling that he wants the ball. You can see it in the stands, but the runner can’t — it’s happening behind him
Dyson eventually stole third and Gordon — on first at the time — broke for second. The Indians went for the trail runner and the choice was a wise one. The trail runner often gets a worse break because he has to make sure the lead runner is really going. Alex got a bad jump, said he should have shut it down, but didn’t. Gordon got trapped between bases and Dyson then became the target of the defense when he tried to score. The steal of third was fine, it was continuing to second after getting a bad jump that messed up the play.
A thousand swings in three days
After years in the in the big leagues, Jeff Francoeur is trying to change his swing. How hard is that? After all the swings a hitter takes to get here, how hard is it to change that muscle memory? According to Francoeur, it’s very hard. He’s been taking BP and extra BP, every day since Ned Yost sat him down. When the Royals are in the field on defense, Frenchy sometimes slips down to the batting cage behind the dugout to take another 14 or 15 hacks, just to keep the feel of the new swing.
Thursday, I watched Jeff take batting practice in the last round, the round reserved for non-starters. The guys in the lineup that night hit early, then go up to the clubhouse and the AC. The bench players have to stay on the field, waiting in the heat for their turn to hit.
Jeff took round after round on the field until batting practice ended. He then walked off the field directly to the indoor cage where Kevin Seitzer was waiting. Seitzer immediately started throwing Jeff more pitches and Jeff immediately resumed swinging the bat. Batting practice, followed by extra batting practice.
Jeff told he’d probably taken a thousand swings in the last three days. As I climbed the stairs, heading for the press box and passing the indoor cage, I could hear Jeff’s bat and the sharp crack of a ball being struck.
Crack — a thousand and one. Crack — a thousand and two. Crack — a thousand and three. A swing being rebuilt one pitch at a time.
Eddie’s video
If you haven’t watched the video in which Eddie Rodriguez explains how to make tag on a runner, do so. We need the page hits and it’s well worth your time. Eddie explains the correct technique: straddling the bag while receiving the throw and then dropping the glove down for the tag. Straddling the bag helps the infielder know where he is and control two sides of the bag — the infielder’s feet block the runner from tagging the sides of the bag and force the play to the front of the bag. And that’s where the glove will be.
Eddie expressed some frustration with players who want to come out in front of the bag, make the catch and then reach back to the runner for the tag. Some players do it because the catcher’s throws tend to sail to one side and they need to be able to move with the throw. Other players like it because it avoids contact with the runner.
And that brings us to the subject of respect.
Players earn a reputation with their teammates in a variety of ways: the numbers they put up, their public and private behavior and in some small ways that the public may not notice, but jump out at ballplayers. Teammates are well aware of who straddles a bag and is willing to mix it up with the runner and who comes out in front to avoid contact. (Be aware that coming out in front isn’t always a bad sign — there are reasons to do it as Thursday’s game demonstrated.)
Here are a few things you can watch for if you want to know who has the respect of his teammates:
The double play pivot: there are times that it’s OK to move across the bag laterally or step backwards and use the bag for protection by keeping it between yourself and the runner. But there are also times the pivot man has to bite the bullet and step toward the runner. The move is called a pirouette step and it begins by striding toward the runner with your left foot, hopping over him as he arrives and landing on the other side on your right foot. A pivot man that steps into a runner risks taking a hit and his teammates appreciate it.
Breaking up the double play: It’s not the first time I’ve mentioned this, but does the runner jog toward the pivot man and veer out of the base path or does the runner do everything he can to get to second and break up the play?
Plays at the plate: will the catcher straddle the line, block the entire plate and take a hit? Will the runner drop a shoulder and blow up the catcher if he thinks it necessary?
Getting hit by a pitch (my favorite). Will the hitter turn and take a knock for the good of the team? And how does he act after he does it? If he spends too much time nursing his wound, the histrionics aren’t appreciated.
The wall: does an outfielder pull up short when he approaches the wall or will he risk banging into one to make a catch?
The dugout and camera bays: same thing, do the infielders shy away from the railing and crowds or will they go in after a ball?
Grounders: does the player run out routine grounders just in case someone bobbles the ball?
Does the player show disgust by flipping the bat when he doesn’t like the way he hit the ball?
All these clues can be seen from the stands. Watch for them and you’ll get a better idea of who these guys are and what their teammates may think of them.
Hosmer
Escobar
Gordon
Blair Bieser
10 months, 2 weeks agoIn the July 20th game against the Twins, Butler grounded into a double play with Escobar on first, and when they got back to the dugout, Butler and Escobar got into such a heated argument that Betancourt had to separate them. I posted a comment about it, and some people thought maybe Escobar wanted Butler to take a few pitches to give him a chance to steal. But I thought it could have been that Escobar was mad because he went in hard into second to try to break up the double play and he didn’t think Butler hustled down to first. That certainly would have ticked me off.
Jeff Frost
10 months, 2 weeks agoWOW Blair, no disrespect, but it is August 3rd! Good win last night. Think Ned is finally doing what he wants a little more instead of what DM wants. Examples: 1) Going with a quicker lineup. 2) Sitting Frenchy. 3) Sitting Yuni.
Also- he is pulling starters that are ineffective instead of giving them a chance to get a win- ala Chen. He also was all over Chen in last night’s postgame conference. He even got on Gordon,saying he IS a 20 homer man. I also like that he is being a LOT more aggressive running. I think he feels that he may have managed before what the GM wants, but has taken the approach of Art Howe in Moneyball- I will play the players you give me how I want.
Good win Royals!
Brian Grant
10 months, 2 weeks agoI expect both Yuni and Frenchy to play tonight against the lefty, so I’m not quit ready to declare Yost cured yet. He definitely managed to win last night, and I give him a lot of credit for the play of Escobar this year.
Last night was two really bad teams trying to lose…..and Cleveland found a way to get it done. Just bad baseball. Two teams with no pitchers and very little hitting. Cleveland seems to be in an even worse position than the Royals. I’m worried that in 3 or 4 years, Eric Hosmer will be our version of Casey Kotchman. I hope I’m wrong and this is just a sophomore slump.
Joel Kallem
10 months, 2 weeks agoThe sophomore slump is a well-recognized phenomena in baseball, and some really good players have gone through it. I’m going to believe Hos is in this category rather than this being a permanent condition. He continues to hit the ball hard, even on his outs, and this gives hope for the future.
Blair Bieser
10 months, 2 weeks agoThe reason I brought up the July 20th game was because Judge was talking about how players earn (or lose) the respect of their teammates. I’ve been watching Butler and other players to see if they run hard to first on groundouts, and it does seem like Butler is a little below average in the hustle department. Although to be fair, Butler’s so slow that it may take a much more highly trained eye than mine to tell when he’s at top speed and when he’s not.
Jeff Frost
10 months, 2 weeks agoNow that is funny! He isn’t Country Breakfast for nothing!
Actually, Billy has smiled more this year than any year I can remember! I think his teammates respect him for his professionalism! He is big in the community- no pun intended, and is really the face of the Royals right now. Maybe Esky is still hurting a little about his All-star snub, which he should have had!
Sam Miles
10 months, 2 weeks agoJeff -
I believe that Art Howe wanted to play his guy(s) and so Beane trades them, in that instance. Not sure that Dyson and Getz are his guys, but they’re upgrades over what we’ve been getting. To say that Yost has been wanting to sit Frenchy, though…that I’m not buying. He’s as drunk on the Kool-Aid as Moore.
As for the baserunning, Carlos Samtama has been helpful with that, I think. We were agressive early this year and were putrid. Pick those spots…
Jim Fetterolf
10 months, 2 weeks agoI’ld suggest that one reason we aren’t seeing quite as much of Yuni now is the trade deadline is passed and the team was trying to showcase him and Frenchy a little for a possible move. With the deadline past, now Ned Yost can put his best line-up on the field, which is Getz at 2nd and the suddenly hot Dyson in the OF.
As for Master Chen, mentioned a few weeks back that he looks tired, so should be probably be DL’ed for a sore arm for a month. I haven’t changed my opinion on that.
Brendan Woodbury
10 months, 2 weeks agoI know it’s a popular theory among the lemmings who can’t think for themselves (I don’t really mean that — I was just trying to see what it’s like to write like Jim F), but I don’t understand why the non-waiver trade deadline would affect Yuni or Francoeur. Both of those guys will clear waivers easily, probably by week’s end, so they can still be traded at any time. The Tuesday deadline only affects good, affordable players.
Terry Payne
10 months, 2 weeks agoMoneyball was a MOVIE, remember.
I’m concerned re: Chen. Either the league is figuring him out, or he’s lost his mojo.
I’d leave Gordon alone, power-wise, until someone else rises and claims the leadoff spot. I don’t see that happening within the current roster, with possible exception of Dyson. But Dyson is only recently hot, and only recently showing base stealing potential. I suspect he is slow to learn pitchers and their basic pickoff moves. Thankfully, Doug Sisson is the 1b coach and can help him, but it’s still Dyson’s legs that have to move.
And if Alex WANTS the leadoff spot, and that’s where he seems to sparkle, let him have it! Goodness knows we’d rather have him shine there, rather than try to jerk the ball, pull off, and hit routine grounders. When you have a team with little power, anyway, baserunners and more baserunners are the key. Cut down on strikeouts and move those baserunners, aggressively.
Sam Miles
10 months, 2 weeks agoBrendan -
The July 31 deadline affects Yuni and Francouer in that contenders with needs at those positions are apt to fill them prior to the deadline, rather than waiting.
It doesn’t close the market on the two - if there ever was one - but the chances of them being dealt now are likely slimmer than they were prior to the deadline.
Brendan Woodbury
10 months, 2 weeks agoContenders are likely to fill positions prior to the July 31 deadline precisely because that deadline affects good players. But deals for crummy (or too-expensive) players still occur once players pass through waivers in the first week of August.
I don’t think the non-waiver trade deadline affects the small likelihood that Francoeur or Yuni are dealt except insofar as they would be included as a salary dump in a package with a good player like Mijares or Broxton.
Jim Wilson
10 months, 2 weeks agoBrendan, thanks for the smile. I think you and Jim F. are both right (in Jim F.’s case partially). The deadline shouldn’t matter but I thnk the Royals were delusional enough with respect to Yuni to think it did. Why else would Yuni play against a tough right hander the last game before the deadline and then sit the first three games after the deadline? To our collective chagrin, when healthy, Yuni hasn’t sat three games in a row all season regardless of the handedness of the pitcher. However, I’m hoping even the Royals recognized that Frenchy was a lost cause (he didn’t play in that last game before the deadline). Besides the obvious sucking, the burden of next year’s contract makes him an immovable object regardless of any deadline.
Jim Fetterolf
10 months, 2 weeks agoAt this point, Frenchy and Yuni will only be of interest in case someone gets hurt and another team needs a body in a hurry, not unlike the Quintero situation or Matt Treanor last year.
Jim Wilson
10 months, 2 weeks agoYuni, maybe. With Frenchy’s contract — no way. We’d have to eat next year’s salary to move him and I would be truly amazed if Moore would (could?) agree to that.
Ben Weddle
10 months, 2 weeks agoNot to beat a dead horse, but did anyone else catch Rex’s admonition of Hosmer, saying he needed to “shorten his swing?” Then, following Hosmer’s 415 foot blast, had to be some of the most comically rewarding color commentary I’ve ever heard. With each replay of the full out sweeping arc of his bat, Rex would stammer and piece together some gibberish desperately trying to convince the viewers that Hosmer’s swing was indeed “shorter through the zone.” Listening to Hudler comment on baseball reminds me of my having to complete algebraic equations on the chalkboard in front of the class. I didn’t know what I was talking about either. It would have been nice to be paid for it though.
Terry Payne
10 months, 2 weeks agoHos’ swing needs less adjustment than Hos’ pick of pitches to swing at. Hopefully, he has learned from this season of disappointment.
I remain very optomistic re: this team, long term. Solid up the middle, good all ‘round defense.
@ Christmas, ask Santa 4 pitching
Lee Judge
10 months, 2 weeks agoFrancoeur appears to be in the lineup tonight, hitting sixth. Watch the barrel of his bat when his front foot hits down to see if he still has it “wrapped” too far behind his head.
You can also watch other hitters to get a point of comparison.
If he’s wrapped, Jeff will be late on the fastball and then early on off-speed when starts sooner to catch up the heater.
Jay Hall
10 months, 2 weeks agoFrancoeur and Betancourt should both probably only play twice a week the rest of the way.
Betancourt is not part of the future, so nothing is gained by putting him out there at all, either this year or next. Might as well see if Getz can play every day and stay healthy.
As for Francoeur, he will probably be on the roster next year, but it’s a bit much to suggest that he should or will play. He should play sparingly the rest of this year and be strictly a backup next year, if he is even with the Royals at that point.
Jim Fetterolf
10 months, 2 weeks agoGetz is also starting tonight with Yuni at 3rd giving Moose a break. Frenchy, over the rest of his time with the Royals, will either earn the bench or steady playing time. Just a matter of making the adjustments, like players have to do.
Terry Payne
10 months, 2 weeks agoThe outcome of Frenchy’s “wrap” predicts the Royals outfield for the next 3 years
Sam Miles
10 months, 2 weeks agoI’ll be watching for the wrap, but Francouer has regressed so harshly that he’d need to get back to hitting like he did last season to make up for his defense in right, according to Baseball Reference. Even if he did, he’d be right around replacement level.
Surely fixing the wrap would help - I don’t doubt that Seitzer knows what he’s doing - but I can’t imagine we’ll see 2011 Frenchy again.
Jim Fetterolf
10 months, 2 weeks agoWe didn’t imagine we would see 2011 Frenchy in 2011, either.
I noticed that Hosmer is second to Frenchy in bad defense and Moose is a full win above Escobar.
Jim Fetterolf
10 months, 2 weeks agoTook a quick look at Grit defensive points and Frenchy is at 36, Alex 64, Hoz at 98, Moose 99, and Esky at 134.
Won’t quibble on Frenchy being weak, pointed out last September he looked to have lost a step, but the rest seem reasonable and preferable to geographical systems.
Jim Wilson
10 months, 2 weeks agoJim F., in the stats you cite Moose is being compared to others at 3B, not to Esky. And Moose is playing a very good 3B. Your grit numbers mean nothing to me (other than the comparison of Frenchy vs. Alex) without knowing what number of points are good for a particular position. Comparing Alex’s defense to Esky’s is apples and oranges. I would guess that if you kept these points similarly for all teams, the shortstop on the vast majority of teams would be at the top. More chances, more points.
Jeff Frost
10 months, 2 weeks agoI think baseball sometimes can be too much by the book instead of what’s working. We have just swept the Indians with the same lineup! I like the lineup over the last three games! The only exception is maybe it is good for Moose to get a game off.
I’m looking forward to the “new” Frenchy. Guessing it will be much ado about nothing. You can’t switch his long, guessing swing with 1,000 cuts in the cage and on the T. My guess is maybe a 1-4 with a end of the bat single to right.
Great guy, not in the future. It is what it is. I hope Myers gets the look in 28 days!
Jim Wilson
10 months, 2 weeks agoSorry, actually Moose is being compared to a theoretical replacement level 3B but, in any event, not to Esky.
Unless you play Yuni, ML shortstops generally are pretty good fielders. And, of course they are important. I don’t need Polk points to tell me that. The worst thing about all of this is that I gave the grids a bunch of clicks trying to find Yuni’s points from last year. Lee, please reduce the number of clicks by about 10 when you are considering whether to keep the Polk points for next year. :)
Brendan Woodbury
10 months, 2 weeks agoJim W -
Excellent point. The systems that Jim F doesn’t like make comparisons between different teams’ players at the same position. It’s a concept with a long history in baseball, manifested in, among other things, Gold Gloves.
Polk Points purport to compare the same team’s players at different positions. I suppose such a thing is at last theoretically possible, but I’ve never seen it done well, because of the wildly different number of opportunities and types of defensive skills required.
Even if you love Polk Points (and we all know Jim F does), they aren’t trying to do the same thing as just about any respected defensive system. Defenders with more balls hit to them will have more Polk Points regardless of how good they actually are.
Brendan Woodbury
10 months, 2 weeks agoAlso, people who think the Royals’ defense is good should think about a couple of statistics:
The Royals rank 29th in MLB in percentage of balls in play that get converted into outs.
Some of that might be Kauffman’s huge outfield, but the Royals rank 30th (by a significant margin) in MLB in percentage of ground balls that get converted into outs.
It’s possible that Royals pitchers are allowing harder hit balls than other teams, but it’s still seems unlikely that a truly good defensive team would rate this badly.
Jim Wilson
10 months, 2 weeks agoYuni and Geo at 2B has to be a big part of that.
Jim Fetterolf
10 months, 2 weeks agoJW, Grit is a zero based system, not an above theorhetorical replacement players.
“Defenders with more balls hit to them will have more Polk Points regardless of how good they actually are.”
True, and more balls means more impact on a game as there is more opportunity to make outstanding plays or errors. That’s why left field was where the Yankees put Yogi Berra after Elston Howard took over. The Royals tried Billy in left.
“Comparing Alex’s defense to Esky’s is apples and oranges.”
It would be if the end result wasn’t “WAR”, wins above replacement. As I recall, the buckets and bins and pie slices are factored for position.
“just about any respected defensive system.”
I’ve seen the discussions. “Respected defensive systems” may be an oxymoron. My phrase, “zero point” even popped up in one I looked at.
“Polk Points purport to compare the same team’s players at different positions.”
No. Grit just rates players. I used it to give an idea of the ranges of points and found it rather nicely reflected what my eyeballs see as far as defensive value of players. Of the five I mentioned, I think most of us would select Esky first for a defensive team and Francoeur last. Hosmer’s value is obvious as we see how he makes Escobar and Moustakas much better. Gordon is good, but I imagine Cane and Dyson could play it about as well.
Jim Wilson
10 months, 2 weeks agoJim F, I wasn’t referring to grit. You missed the point or at least are pretending to. You did the same with Brendan’s point. You DID do a great job of turning the conversation into a confusing pile of drivel. Your specialty.
Jim Wilson
10 months, 2 weeks agoBe nice! I apologize for being more direct. But extreme passive-aggressive behavior is not any more appropriate than name calling or personal attacks.
William Wolfe
10 months, 2 weeks agoI think it’s amazing how every one of Jim’s points actually support the criticisms that he was trying to refute re: the Polk points system.