Games » Chicago White Sox
Jul11Lee Judge
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Well, you don’t have to worry about the White Sox getting some big free agent, clearly they’re spending all their money on fireworks. What was it, like nineteen home runs? It all became a blur after awhile. Anthony Lerew got the spot start when Zack Greinke was scratched because of a ‘tweaked’ shoulder. If the All-Star game needs someone to throw Home Run Derby, they’ve got a candidate.
The temptation is to covet what the White Sox have: power hitting and instant runs. Maybe if you play in Comiskey and have the payroll, but the Royals play in Kauffman and don’t. The idea is to build a team that gives you an advantage in your stadium and Kauffman’s built for speed, not power.
To me, this series didn’t demonstrate the need for power; it demonstrated the difficulty of making a run at the playoffs with four bottom-of-the-rotation-type starters.
Callaspo’s mental mistake…
In the 2nd inning, with one down, Billy Butler on third and Alberto Callaspo on second, Mike Aviles hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Butler tagged and scored. Unfortunately, Alberto also tried to tag and advance to third.
That’s the wrong play. With one down, the runner on second goes halfway on a fly ball to the outfield. If the play isn’t made, he can score. If the ball’s caught, the runner is still in scoring position with two outs. The White Sox ran the defense correctly, saw Callaspo trying to advance and got him out easily.
Outstanding Defensive Plays…
Three more for Yuniesky Betancourt. Give that cat no time to think and he’s a hell of a shortstop. (He still does odd stuff on the field and doesn’t make some plays you’d think he should, but there seem to be less of those and more of the spectacular ones.)
Jason Kendall blocked another pitch with a runner on third (like it made a difference) and Mike Aviles turned in a nice play at second (although both he and Butler didn’t dive for ground balls that looked possible to knock down…when you’re on the right side of the infield you can knock down balls and still have a chance for an out because of the short throws).
Kendall also got points for throwing out a runner and seems to have solved the problem of his throws tailing off to the right. It had to do with Jason’s back foot being over-rotated to the right.
How the heck do you suppose they ever figured that out? On the other hand, plenty of people who watch me have pointed out my politics are over-rotated to the left.
More on Guillen…
OK, Jose Guillen was healthy enough to hit a single and a home run, but looked hobbled as he ran. Maybe the wrap on his leg was too tight. Zack Greinke missed this start because he ‘tweaked’ his shoulder. The team’s top three pitchers have now missed starts due to physical problems.
I say that because nobody’s ever ‘hurt’ or ‘injured’ anymore. They ‘tweak’ things, experience ‘discomfort’ or have some ‘tightness.’ I once stood at the back of a press conference while a manager denied a player was injured over and over again, insisting he was ‘day to day’. The press conference ended, the manager walked up to me, laughed and said, “He’s hurt.”
I asked why he’d denied it to the press (at that point I wasn’t the press, I was a cartoonist) and he said why give his opponents information that could be helpful? If the opposition thought the player was available, they had to account for him.
Backhand when you can…
Billy Butler made a backhand pick on a throw in the dirt and it reminded me of a lesson on playing first from Russ Morman: play short hops to the backhand side whenever possible. That way your palm is facing the ground and the ball will tend to bounce up and stick. If you play it to whatever the hell side the side that isn’t your backhand side is (forehand?) your palm is facing the sky and the ball will tend to pop up and out.
I love those little details that make the professional player professional.
The All-Star break…
I’m looking forward to it also. I’m not sure if I’ll write anything this week, but I will be working on a piece that breaks down what Ron Polk’s system and watching every game has taught me so far.
Look for it in the paper and on this website next weekend.
Guillen
Betancourt
Podsednik
I'm curious as to why Yost left Lerew in after an 0-2 HR (where the hell was that pitch thrown?), another HR, Single, walk, HR,HR ? At some point doesn't the manager see the game slipping away ? And everything with 2 outs !!
Right there with you and I should've commented on it in the notes. The break's coming up so everyone's available.
Like I said, better an inning too soon...
Lee, is it possible that Yuniesky is one point away from being the 3rd most valuable player on the team at the break? Is that more a tangent of the importance of his defensive position?
Interesting, huh? Part of what I'm discovering as we go along is why Ron Polk set this system up the way he did: what he values as a coach.
I'm going to do a more complete breakdown this week on the points and what they mean, but off the top of my head I'd guess you're right. Defense up the middle is important and the system reflects that.
Total the positive and negative points on defense and Betancourt leads the team with a +72 (if I did the math right). Kendall is second with a +69.
This only makes sense: they handle the ball more than anyone (and also have the most errors because of that) and can score plus points in a variety of ways. Throwing out runners, turning double plays, etc.)
By contrast, Butler is a +9, Callaspo +38, Aviles +42, Podsednik +16, Maier +24, DeJesus +36 and Guillen is a -2.
Ron Polk was trying to measure what a player contributes on both sides of the ball and Betancourt is ahead of Guillen because Guillen doesn't do anything for you defensively.
Another interesting number is errors vs. outstanding plays (haven't done the math on that yet), but I've always figured if a guy made two great plays and then made an error, you were one out ahead.
This system gives you a chance to measure the below average against the above average. I'd be the first to say this is very subjective and there are plays that could be argued either way, but I also don't think it's way off.
The players I talked to were most interested in the profiles that would emerge as the season went on.
I think that's starting to happen.
It is too bad the Royals sputtered heading into the break. They were on a nice roll and playing good baseball. I hope they can get back to that after the break. Your comment regarding our pitching is right on...when your staff is full of "bottom-of-the-rotation" type pitchers it is hard to stop the bleeding particularly against a team that is hot like the White Sox. Do you think the Royals will trade DeJesus and Guillen? I have always been told that if you can hit a coach will find a place for you to play...Guillen is a true example of this statement. There are only a few players who can make it in on defense alone. I see this played out every day on my son's 15 year old team...which is a shame.
I've got no clue about possible trades. That's just not something I cover. As for Guillen (and a whole lot of other ballplayers) his positives need to be balanced with his negatives.
He's on pace to reach 100 RBIs, but as I pointed out in the previous posting (and by the way, I had the math slightly wrong on a couple of those numbers...I printed out the information and some of it got cut off) he doesn't do anything for you on defense.
Another player with lesser offensive numbers may actually help a team more when his defense is figured into the mix.
I think what is nice about this system (and I know it is not perfect) is it can help you evaluate these areas and try to make an informative decision based on the numbers.
Yeah, the more I use it the more I like it. No system of evaluation is perfect, but this one tries to get at both sides of the ball and some inside baseball stuff you don't normally see.
So did you put the system to work last night or did you decide to take a much needed 3 day vacation? I didn't get to see the entire game, but I assume Giradi didn't have anyone left on his bench who could pinch run for Ortiz? Why didn't he pinch hit A-rod in the 9th? Wouldn't you want to give yourself the best chance to tie the game and then worry about juggling players and positions? The Dodgers' reliever proved how difficult it is to come off the mound and make a solid throw to first...although 8 feet over the first baseman's head is a bit extreme...rolling it would have been more effective! But Scott Rolen's base running really came through for the National League...the little things that change the outcome of a game.
Not only did I take a break from the system, I slept through the last three innings. I'd gone out to hit fungoes and throw bp to a teammate and the KC heat wiped me out.
I wondered about not running for Ortiz, though.
And, yeah, I did see that throw from the pitcher. They get used to 60' 6" and can't find the release point from any place else.
You're right, in a close game it's always the small stuff.
You are certainly deserving of the break. Enjoy today and I hope the KC heat is taking a break as well...