Games: Detroit Tigers, Aug. 29: Judging the Royals with Lee Judge

Games » Detroit Tigers

Aug29

A new game plan

The last time Bruce Chen faced the Detroit Tigers, he lost. Badly. It was July 7, and Bruce only pitched three-and-a-third innings while giving up six earned runs. Wednesday night, Bruce faced the same team, pitched eight shutouts innings and won. What changed?

The game plan.

Catcher Brayan Pena talked about the need to keep changing pitch patterns when you see division opponents so often. Brayan usually catches Bruce. Before a Chen start, Brayan watches video of Bruce’s previous few starts. Pena wants to remind himself of what worked and what didn’t. Then Brayan watches video of the opposing team. He looks at their last few games against left-handed pitchers. Once again, Pena wants to know what worked and what didn’t.

He begins to form a game plan. How will they approach each Detroit hitter? What will they do the first, second or third time through the order? Brayan then gets together with Jason Kendall and goes over the plan to see whether Jason has any advice. Next, Pena presents the plan to Bruce and pitching coach Dave Eiland. And finally, they present the game plan to the Detroit Tigers at 7:10 p.m.

So what did they do differently?

Chen and Pena used fewer cutters (a fastball held off center so it runs in on right-handed hitters, one of Chen’s main pitches) and more four-seamers (fastballs that stay straight but are easier to locate). They also broke out a 70-mph curve. Bruce usually is in the mid-70s with his curveball. Brayan and Bruce had been working on a slower version and were saving it for the right moment.

The right moment was the first inning. Detroit’s Austin Jackson led off the game with a double. Andy Dirks moved Jackson to third with a groundout to the right side. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder were due up. If Brayan and Bruce were waiting for an emergency, they had one right away.

With a runner on third (and had he scored, it would have been the tying run), Chen struck out Cabrera and Fielder with 70-mph curveballs. Before his swing was complete, Cabrera knew he had been fooled and was going to miss this Bugs Bunny curveball. Miguel shot a look at Chen that seemed to say, “Where did that thing come from?”

There are two ways to you can use velocity to disrupt timing: throw it harder than a hitter can handle or throw it slower. If your top velocity isn’t that high, drop the velocity on your slowest stuff. Suddenly, Bruce had an 18-mph difference in pitch speeds. And you don’t have to throw 70 mph a lot, just enough to make the hitters think about it. The game plan worked.

And five days from now, Brayan and Bruce will need a new one.

Game notes

• After the game, manager Ned Yost was asked why he didn’t let Chen come out for the ninth inning. Ned said he didn’t even consider it. Bruce had done his job and got the game to the closer. Dirks, Cabrera and Fielder were due up for Detroit.

Ned said that if Bruce had gone out for the ninth and a runner had gotten on base, then he would have had to go get Chen because Yost was not going to let him face the potential winning run and lose the game. So why even go down that road?

• Ned also pointed out that the Royals bullpen was pretty good.

• And here are a couple of reasons Ned didn’t use. Bruce was at 100 pitches and was about to go through the heart of the Detroit order for the fourth time. As you can see from the first part of this column, varying looks is important. Having a tired pitcher try to figure out a fourth way to dance through the Detroit lineup with no room for error would have been asking for trouble.

• And speaking of trouble, in the ninth inning with a runner on, Miguel Cabrera sliced a line drive into the left-center gap, and Jarrod Dyson made a game-saving catch. After the game, Jarrod was asked whether diving for the ball was a big gamble. He said no. He was pretty confident he would have knocked the ball down and held Cabrera to a single if he hadn’t made the catch.

• I asked Mike Moustakas about his collision with Prince Fielder at first base and told him I was relieved that both of them were OK. Moose said, “Well, you knew he was going to be OK.”

Moose bounced off of Fielder, started to go down, grabbed onto Prince and pulled him down on top of him. They got up laughing, so no harm, no foul. And I wouldn’t expect any payback in Thursday’s game … but it’s pretty rare to see a Moose hit a Prince.

• The game-winning RBI came on an Eric Hosmer jam shot that landed behind the mound and scored Moustakas from third. It’s Aug. 29, and the Royals aren’t going to the playoffs, but Hosmer slid head-first for the bag. Some might criticize the technique, but you hope everyone can appreciate the effort.

• Greg Holland got the save, but it wasn’t easy. With two outs, he had the tying run on second, the winning run on first and Jhonny Peralta at the plate in a 2-2 count. At that point, Pena walked to the mound and talked to Holland. After the game, I asked Brayan what was said. Brayan told Greg he wasn’t going to give a sign, but if they were going to get beat, they were going to get beat with Holland’s best pitch. Greg wound up and threw a 98-mph fastball, perfectly located. Strike three. Game over.

Gio makes an adjustment

I asked Johnny Giavotella whether he was starting to get more aggressive on good pitches early in the count, and he said yes. In Triple-A, Johnny could afford to take a pitch to get comfortable. Here he can’t. Without video, minor-league hitters often want to see a pitch come out of the opposing pitcher’s hand before taking a hack. What does this guy have? How does his breaking pitch move? Does his fastball run in on you or stay straight?

If you’re a hitter and you haven’t seen video on a pitcher, the only way to know what he has is to face him. In the big leagues, you don’t have the luxury of giving away a hittable pitch. Let a guy who knows what he’s doing get strike one on you, and you’re in trouble.

So Johnny is learning to be ready on that first hittable pitch. And if he starts hitting it, pitchers will not be able to groove a fastball on him to get ahead. They will have to pitch finer or start throwing secondary pitches to start at-bats. Now the pitcher has a chance of falling behind, and Gio will be in the driver’s seat.

When they say it’s a game of adjustments, they aren’t kidding.

Comments

Brian Courington
8 months, 3 weeks ago

I was watching mlb network last night and they showed Holland pitching the 9th and were saying how he was tipping his pitches by holding the ball out of the back of his glove and it would be easy for a runner on second base to see his grip on the ball and signal to the batter what pitch was coming. Doesn’t sound good, but don’t want to change something that is working.
Terry Payne
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Greg Holland - please drop your Jonathan Broxton impression from your act. It’s not going over well.

While I admire Hos’ effort on his dive into first, I don’t think it helps a player get there any faster. It looks flashier, yes, but there is greater potential for injury, for one thing. Of course, he didn’t have to worry about having to tackle Prince Fielder, so there is THAT to recommend it.

Any thought, anyone, about diving or sliding into first vs. continuing upright?
Jeff Frost
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Terry- two nights doesn’t make a Broxton! Greg is almost always ahead in the count. I still feel confident everytime Greg has the ball. I NEVER felt confident in the 9th with Broxton. It felt a lot like the 9th-inning adventures with Jack last year. The four years prior to that when Jack was lights out, that is how I feel with Holland! This is definitely a step-up from JB.
Joel Kallem
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Terry, I think there have been studies which show that running through the base is faster than diving at the bag. However, players are conditioned to slide into (other) bases because of a need to not overrun them, and in the heat of battle their instincts may take over.
Terry Payne
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Joel - good point re: instincts. That, plus the invention of SportsCenter.

The Royals have played very well vs contending Tigers. Let’s hope they don’t let down vs lesser competition (Twins, esp), as is their tendencey.

PS - what happened to Twins franchise? They used to be in it year after year.

Jeff - hope you’re right re: Holland. Perhaps my nerves still haven’t recovered since the Broxton roller coaster rides.
Joel Kallem
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Terry, injuries and a depleted farm system have ham strung the Twins. The twins provide a good model for small market teams, and show the importance of building a strong farm system with a continual flow of talent to the majors. This is what DM has been trying to develop, and his success at this will determine if the Royals will become the Twins of yore or the Twins of today.
Daniel Wesley
8 months, 3 weeks ago

The Twins are the poster child of the “Stars and Scrubs” model. When Mauer and Morneau are both playing at an elite level, you can surround them with replacement level talent and win 90 games. When they’re ineffective, you’re knocking on the door to 100 losses.

I for one hope that Dayton does not follow the Minnesota blueprint.
Terry Payne
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Daniel - I agree with your assessment of Mauer and Morneau, but the Twins were also solid defensively, as a team, and executed fundamentals at a consistently excellent level.

It seems to me the biggest thing that happened to them was Morneau’s concussion.

I believe GMDM is on the right track with his plan, but adding a quality FA here and there wouldn’t hurt either, Mr. Glass.
Blair Bieser
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Did Dyson make a mental mistake in the top of the 7th when Cabrera advanced to third on Fielder’s fly ball? It looked like Dyson assumed Cabrera was staying put, so he didn’t get behind the ball and catch it with some momentum going forward. When Cabrera saw this, he tagged up and easily made it to third. This was really important because it meant the Royals had to play the infield in against Young.
Daniel Wesley
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Blair, I thought the same thing. Dyson looked very lackadaisical and Cabrera caught him napping.
Jeff Frost
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Rumor has it that Minnesota let it slip that Mauer is on waivers! That would have a HUGE ripple affect on the Minnesota boy being traded! If it happens, which I’m sure every contender is blocking, please let it be to the NL!

One of my biggest fears of having a BIG catcher- Salvy, is how much more prone they are to injury. Look at Mauer breaking down, and Bench’s shortened career compared to a Pudge Rodriguez.
Terry Payne
8 months, 3 weeks ago

I’m sure mgmt is smart enough to not grind Salvy into the dirt, but if he keeps hitting like he has been, they’re also going to want his bat in there as much as possible. But that would obviously only be at DH, as far as I can tell, which would take ABs away from Billy, which won’t happen.

I also think mgmt is being very smart with testing Wil Myers’ versatility at different positions, including CF, RF and 3B. Didn’t he start out as a catcher? Have they abandoned the possibility of him playing there?
Daniel Wesley
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Terry, Wil hasn’t played catcher since the first half of the 2010 season at Wilmington. It’s too early to say for sure, but I think that ship has sailed.
Brendan Woodbury
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Terry -

If Myers had already mastered one defensive position, I’d be OK with the Royals trying him at other positions. However, the scouting reports on his outfield defense say the tools are there but the skill is not (yet). And the explanation of versatility doesn’t make any sense if he can’t play any of the positions well. So I can’t understand at all why they keep moving him around.
Joel Kallem
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Brendan, they are trying to find a position he can play where he isn’t blocked by other players like Hos and Moose.
Brendan Woodbury
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Joel -

I don’t understand. He was playing a position where he isn’t blocked (RF). Then they started trying him at positions where he is blocked (CF/3B). What problem are these moves to CF or 3B intended to solve?
Terry Payne
8 months, 3 weeks ago

I think it’s smart to try him at different positions so that a) they can find where he’s most comfortable, and b) if he can play several positions, he’s more valuable to the team and the team has a better chance to keep his supposed power bat in the lineup.
Brendan Woodbury
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Terry -

I don’t understand how moving him around lets him get more comfortable at any position or lets him master any one position, much less several.

Obviously, if this was an optimal strategy, it would be used on other top prospects, but can anyone think of a top prospect who wasn’t blocked (and Myers certainly isn’t blocked at RF) being moved around in order to create “versatility?”

I don’t generally buy that the standard complaint that Moore is so fond of Francoeur that he won’t let Myers displace him at RF, but it’s hard to understand jerking Myers all over the field through any other prism.
Terry Payne
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Brendan - I get what you’re saying, but I’m sticking with my versatility theory because they may be convinced they’ll have to trade SOMEbody to get a good pitcher and they may not know who they’ll have to trade.

Heck, it could be Myers.
Daniel Wesley
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Whoa… “supposed” power bat? Really?
Thayne Griffin
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Man…Moose turns the DP better than any 3B in the game. It’s a thing of beauty.

And it seems like lately we’ve had more fight/scrappiness in games. Keeping games close and then coming back/not letting it get away. Wish this was there at the start of the season. I just hope it is not a result of the pressure being off since the season is “over”..
Terry Payne
8 months, 3 weeks ago

There’s a huge difference b/t AAA pitching & AAA ball parks & the majors. He has yet to prove he can hit big time pitching, plus I’m not letting myself fall for another wunderkind Royals power hitting prospect. I mean, how many guys have hit 30 plus hrs for the team in it’s history. Plus, the team record is a paltry 36, set nearly 30 years ago.
Lee Judge
8 months, 3 weeks ago

I’ve been down on the field and just made it back up. Dyson felt something in his arm last night after making a throw, didn’t want to come out of the game (lucky he was there in the 9th), but today they’re giving him the day off to be safe.

He can still run the pases if needed—don’t know about swinging the bat.

But that may explain the lack of a throw on Cabrera advancing.

Judging the Royals