Jose Bautista had a legendary game. Bautista hit a triple, a double and a homer and went three for three with two walks and four runs scored. The Blue Jays' best player certainly helped win the game for the Blue Jays. Those last two walks cost him the cycle as all he needed was a single. But it was that first walk and his luck that followed that cost the Bay Rays the game and turned things around for the Blue Jays.
The Toronto crowd was on their feet when Bautista came up in the eighth inning. Not only was the hometown crowd hoping Bautista would do something about the 4-3 deficit that Blue Jays faced, but they knew he just needed a single. But as @TaoofStieb said on Twitter, they would have gladly traded the single for a patented JoBau homer. They got neither. Joel Peralta came in to pitch the eighth for the Bay Rays and he'd been very effective so far this season. He pitches almost exactly like a pudgier Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets' closer.
Peralta didn't want anything to do with Bautista and walked him. The crowd booed lustily. Adam Lind came up next and appeared to have like a ninety pitch at bat. Peralta got behind and then Lind fouled pitch after pitch. Finally, Peralta got Lind to ground hard to first baseman, Dan Johnson. There are two things you need to know about Dan Johnson. The first of which is that in part time duty, he has batted under .200 for three straight seasons and is currently batting .121. The second is that, though his numbers aren't bad over at first defensively, he's never played there full time. Johnson fielded the ball close to first and stepped on the bag and then threw to second to try to get Bautista. Johnson had plenty of time, but the ball sailed a little bit and ended up hitting Bautista in the back. JoBau was safe.
The announcers in the game went on and on about how Johnson should have gone to second right away and not stepped on first to begin the play. The Fan doesn't agree with that at all. Johnson was two feet from the bag when he caught the grounder. Big league first basemen have been making that play for a hundred years. All Johnson had to do was throw the ball on the shortstop side of second and Bautista would have been out by a mile. Johnson didn't and Bautista was safe. For those of you wondering, Bautista was not out of the base line while running to second. It was simply a bad throw from Johnson.
So now the tying run was on second with only one out in a one run game. There should have been two outs with nobody on base. What happened next proved that this was Bautista's day and cost the Bay Rays the game. JoBau was trying to get a good lead so he could score on a single. The Bay Rays knew that and Sean Rodriguez sneaked in behind Bautista, opened his glove to give the signal and Peralta whirled and delivered a perfect pickoff throw. Bautista was a dead duck except Sean Rodriguez failed to catch the ball. It hit the webbing of his glove and bounced a few feet behind him. Seriously, Bautista would have been dead in the water, hung out to dry or any other cliche you feel like coming up with. But there he was still on second twice after he should have been out.
Edwin Encarnacion was up next and hit the ball over Zobrist's head in right field. It appeared that Zobrist had broken in first before trying to retreat to catch the ball. He couldn't catch up to it. Perhaps if Fuld had been back there, it would have been an out (#LegendofSamFuld). but the double scored the charmed Jose Bautista and that tied the game at four. The Blue Jays eventually won the game when John McDonald, who was only in the game because Nix was injured earlier in the game, hit a walk-off homer scoring Woodward, who was running for Juan Rivera, who finally got a hit while batting .089. Talk about an unwieldy sentence that described an improbable event!
But the game turned on those two plays on Bautista at second. No errors are recorded in the score book. You never assume a double play, so Dan Johnson didn't receive an error for hitting Bautista in the back. And Sean Rodriguez didn't get an error for dropping that pickoff throw. Zobrist didn't get an error for breaking in on a ball over his head and yet all of those things were plays the Bay Rays could have made to make the outcome turn out differently than they did. But that's the way it goes in baseball sometimes.
One other note about this game. Felipe Lopez, who has worn out his welcome in several cities before making his way to Tampa, went 0-5 in the game with two strikeouts. But it was his last at bat that will be his last for the Bay Rays. We are talking about a tie game here that both teams wanted to win. In the top of the eleventh inning, Lopez hit a routine grounder to second and loafed toward first. It turns out that McDonald booted the ball. But Lopez didn't hustle and that gave McDonald time to recover and throw him out. Joe Maddon pulled Lopez from the game after that. Look for Lopez on the waiver wire today.
Showing posts with label Ben Zobrist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben Zobrist. Show all posts
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Does Flexibility like Prado and Zobrist Really Help?
Peter Gammons wrote an article over at MLB.com that basically says that players that are flexible should be rewarded for their flexibility and that this flexibility should be trained in the minor leagues. The article just doesn't sit right. The obvious examples used were Martin Prado of the Braves, Ben Zobrist of the Bay Rays as well as several other members of the Bay Rays' team. The Fan is fully cognizant that this writer isn't great at coming up with answers. But perhaps there is some value in raising the question for others to answer. Does flexibility really help a team and a player?
Let's take a guy like Martin Prado. The value in Prado's flexibility is not that he can field so many positions. His value lies in the fact that he is a productive hitter. Prado hasn't scored that well in defensive metrics for any of the multiple positions he has played. Baseball-reference.com gave Prado a -0.8 dWAR in 2010. That's not a good score at all. So would Prado's value be the same if he just played one position instead of five? That question will be answered this year if Chipper Jones stays healthy and Prado remains in left field.
Another example Gammons uses is Ben Zobrist. Zobrist played seven different positions in 2010. His defensive metrics were only on the positive side for fielding in right field and first base. All his other positions ended up in negative defensive statistics. And Zobrist did not have near the same kind of offensive season in 2010 that he did in 2009. And so the question has to be asked if Zobrist would be more valuable in one place than in seven?
The Bay Rays as a rule get high marks for their flexibility. But you have to notice that their most valuable players last year stayed in one position: Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria. Both were among the best with the glove in the league for their positions and both were near the top of the league in WAR. All those guys they have that move around so much didn't fare nearly as well.
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about practice. The Fan can't recall the number, but the theories say that you have to take a certain amount of reps at any given task to master it. Can you do that when you are playing 40 games at second, 30 games at third, 20 games at first and the rest of the time in the outfield? And after a while, does all the concentration it takes to play all those positions take away some of the edge when batting? The Fan doesn't know, but again, poses the questions. It just doesn't sit right though.
Reid Brignac is a brilliant shortstop. If you leave him alone at short for 155 games, he's going to come close to leading the league in defensive metrics. Does playing the flexibility card and sitting Brignac in certain situations (against lefties for one) help the team or hurt it? You end up with fifty games with a lessor fielder at short (such as Rodriguez or whomever). Brignac will never learn how to hit against lefties without the reps and so you might not get as much value from him due to the flexibility carte blanche that is given Joe Maddon. It seems to this observer that the most value Brignac can bring is to put him at short every game and take your chances.
It will be interesting to see where this trend goes. The players obviously don't like it. Bill Hall went to Houston because he was tired of playing all over the field. Sean Rodriguez of the Bay Rays has said he wants to play just one position. And who can blame them? There is something to be said for the comfort of staying in one place and getting the reps there every day.
The Fan has raised the questions. Make of it what you will. Hopefully someone with analytic chops will take hold of them and give us an intelligent answer that the Fan can't. The gut--that faultiest of all organs--says that it hurts a team and a player more than it helps them. What say you?
Let's take a guy like Martin Prado. The value in Prado's flexibility is not that he can field so many positions. His value lies in the fact that he is a productive hitter. Prado hasn't scored that well in defensive metrics for any of the multiple positions he has played. Baseball-reference.com gave Prado a -0.8 dWAR in 2010. That's not a good score at all. So would Prado's value be the same if he just played one position instead of five? That question will be answered this year if Chipper Jones stays healthy and Prado remains in left field.
Another example Gammons uses is Ben Zobrist. Zobrist played seven different positions in 2010. His defensive metrics were only on the positive side for fielding in right field and first base. All his other positions ended up in negative defensive statistics. And Zobrist did not have near the same kind of offensive season in 2010 that he did in 2009. And so the question has to be asked if Zobrist would be more valuable in one place than in seven?
The Bay Rays as a rule get high marks for their flexibility. But you have to notice that their most valuable players last year stayed in one position: Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria. Both were among the best with the glove in the league for their positions and both were near the top of the league in WAR. All those guys they have that move around so much didn't fare nearly as well.
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about practice. The Fan can't recall the number, but the theories say that you have to take a certain amount of reps at any given task to master it. Can you do that when you are playing 40 games at second, 30 games at third, 20 games at first and the rest of the time in the outfield? And after a while, does all the concentration it takes to play all those positions take away some of the edge when batting? The Fan doesn't know, but again, poses the questions. It just doesn't sit right though.
Reid Brignac is a brilliant shortstop. If you leave him alone at short for 155 games, he's going to come close to leading the league in defensive metrics. Does playing the flexibility card and sitting Brignac in certain situations (against lefties for one) help the team or hurt it? You end up with fifty games with a lessor fielder at short (such as Rodriguez or whomever). Brignac will never learn how to hit against lefties without the reps and so you might not get as much value from him due to the flexibility carte blanche that is given Joe Maddon. It seems to this observer that the most value Brignac can bring is to put him at short every game and take your chances.
It will be interesting to see where this trend goes. The players obviously don't like it. Bill Hall went to Houston because he was tired of playing all over the field. Sean Rodriguez of the Bay Rays has said he wants to play just one position. And who can blame them? There is something to be said for the comfort of staying in one place and getting the reps there every day.
The Fan has raised the questions. Make of it what you will. Hopefully someone with analytic chops will take hold of them and give us an intelligent answer that the Fan can't. The gut--that faultiest of all organs--says that it hurts a team and a player more than it helps them. What say you?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Whether the Tampa Bay Rays Wither or Weather
Quick: Name the Tampa Bay Rays' general manager. [[tapping foot]] Times up. His name is Andrew Friedman and it is a mystery why he is so little known. We all know Ken Williams, Brian Cashman, Theo (who doesn't even need a last name) and now we know Alderson. But the best of the bunch in the last three years has been Andrew Friedman who has transformed the Bay Rays from a perennial punchline to a powerhouse. Now Friedman has his work cut out for him. 2010 was in many ways, the last hurrah for the particular bunch that made them successful. As Peter Gammons points out, eleven of the twenty-five players on the Rays' roster last year are free agents, including the entire bullpen. Crawford won't be back. Pena shouldn't be back. And so it will be one of the most fascinating stories of this off season as to what the Bay Rays can and will do to keep their competitive edge.
The good news is that there is still a good core of young talent. Longoria is already the best third baseman in the league. Wait...and then what? The Fan just came up short in his thinking because there really isn't a superstar on the team besides Longoria. B. J. Upton has been nothing but frustrating in his recent few years for the Bay Rays. Bartlett went from being one of the best shortstops in the league two years ago to being one of the worst last year. Zobrist went from god-like in 2009 to league average in 2010. Jaso is serviceable and has great baseball instincts. Matt Joyce showed flashes of brilliance and could be in the superstar category soon. Sean Rodrigeuz was just okay. But the team didn't have a DH worth writing about and again, Crawford and Pena are gone.
Wait, there is another superstar! His name is David Price and he really blossomed last year. But what of the rest of the rotation? Garza is a puzzle. He either throws no-hitters or gets lit up like a Christmas tree. Shields did not have a good year. Niemann was good and then he wasn't. Wade Davis wasn't good and then he was. But the feeling here is that the Bay Rays' rotation will be just fine. The Fan sees it as: 1. Price, 2. Daves, 3. Garza, 4. Hellickson and 5. Niemann. That could be a fantastic rotation. So that is the least of the Rays' worries.
The bullpen, as mentioned are ALL free agents. The Bay Rays can probably afford to sign three or four of them. And then what? Soriano will probably move on and he was so solid for them as a closer last year. It was the first time ever that the Bay Rays had a lock on the ninth inning. It seems difficult for them to revert back to their closing history of 2009 and before. But, if building a bullpen is as easy as a lot of smart people think it is, no need to worry. Friedman will think of something. Perhaps the Nefti Feliz clone, Alex Colombe, could be the closer.
The thing about the Bay Rays is that they are fantastic at drafting players. Need another pitcher? Hellickson came up last year and pitching brilliantly in four starts. The Bay Rays messed him up a bit by putting him in the bullpen after that, but hopefully, there won't be a long term problem with that. Need another pitcher? How about Matt Moore or Alex Torres or...the list is endless.
Look for the Bay Rays to give Desmond Jennings a chance to be an every day outfielder. Jennings, to quote a scout, is "toolsy." He's a center fielder by trade, but with Upton, he may have to move to left or vice versa. Zobrist should play right and the Rays have to hope that he becomes what he was two years ago again. Upton needs to find himself. The Fan still believes he will, but time is running out. If Jennings, Upton and Zobrist man the outfield, two of the three at least should have good seasons.
If the Fan was the GM--and thank goodness, that will never happen--Bartlett would be traded for prospects or another part player. Reid Brignac is a better fielder and can be a 15 homer guy in time. Rodriguez should build on his rookie season. He shows flashes of being really good, but if that doesn't work out, they can always put Zobrist there and find an outfielder. Zobrist could also play first or rotate there with someone else.
John Jaso really impressed last year. His patience at the plate and his base running presence (not steals though) found him in the lead off spot last year. Shoppach wasn't much of a back up and of course, Dioner Navarro walked out on the team after being left off the post season roster. That probably seals his fate with this team. Bottom line, the Rays could use another decent catcher. The nice thing about needing a catcher is that you can get a pretty good one for just a few mil and change. Buck would be a nice addition that wouldn't break the bank.
And man, do the Bay Rays need a DH or what? Holy cow, that position has been a stinker for them. If they could get one of the big bruisers on the market for $5 or $6 million, they should certainly do that. Perhaps even Magglio Ordonez would be a good option if he is healthy. Anything has to be an improvement. Anything!
The Bay Rays have their work cut out of them. Crawford was one of the best players in the league. Guys like that are hard to replace. A lot has to go right for this team to be as good moving forward. Can they find bullpen help? Can more young players step up and do as well as those that have in the past? Can Garza and Niemann find some consistency and put a solid year together? But again, Friedman is one of the best and there is no way you can count them out. The scary part for this team is that depending on how their young players do, they could finish anywhere from first to fourth.
The good news is that there is still a good core of young talent. Longoria is already the best third baseman in the league. Wait...and then what? The Fan just came up short in his thinking because there really isn't a superstar on the team besides Longoria. B. J. Upton has been nothing but frustrating in his recent few years for the Bay Rays. Bartlett went from being one of the best shortstops in the league two years ago to being one of the worst last year. Zobrist went from god-like in 2009 to league average in 2010. Jaso is serviceable and has great baseball instincts. Matt Joyce showed flashes of brilliance and could be in the superstar category soon. Sean Rodrigeuz was just okay. But the team didn't have a DH worth writing about and again, Crawford and Pena are gone.
Wait, there is another superstar! His name is David Price and he really blossomed last year. But what of the rest of the rotation? Garza is a puzzle. He either throws no-hitters or gets lit up like a Christmas tree. Shields did not have a good year. Niemann was good and then he wasn't. Wade Davis wasn't good and then he was. But the feeling here is that the Bay Rays' rotation will be just fine. The Fan sees it as: 1. Price, 2. Daves, 3. Garza, 4. Hellickson and 5. Niemann. That could be a fantastic rotation. So that is the least of the Rays' worries.
The bullpen, as mentioned are ALL free agents. The Bay Rays can probably afford to sign three or four of them. And then what? Soriano will probably move on and he was so solid for them as a closer last year. It was the first time ever that the Bay Rays had a lock on the ninth inning. It seems difficult for them to revert back to their closing history of 2009 and before. But, if building a bullpen is as easy as a lot of smart people think it is, no need to worry. Friedman will think of something. Perhaps the Nefti Feliz clone, Alex Colombe, could be the closer.
The thing about the Bay Rays is that they are fantastic at drafting players. Need another pitcher? Hellickson came up last year and pitching brilliantly in four starts. The Bay Rays messed him up a bit by putting him in the bullpen after that, but hopefully, there won't be a long term problem with that. Need another pitcher? How about Matt Moore or Alex Torres or...the list is endless.
Look for the Bay Rays to give Desmond Jennings a chance to be an every day outfielder. Jennings, to quote a scout, is "toolsy." He's a center fielder by trade, but with Upton, he may have to move to left or vice versa. Zobrist should play right and the Rays have to hope that he becomes what he was two years ago again. Upton needs to find himself. The Fan still believes he will, but time is running out. If Jennings, Upton and Zobrist man the outfield, two of the three at least should have good seasons.
If the Fan was the GM--and thank goodness, that will never happen--Bartlett would be traded for prospects or another part player. Reid Brignac is a better fielder and can be a 15 homer guy in time. Rodriguez should build on his rookie season. He shows flashes of being really good, but if that doesn't work out, they can always put Zobrist there and find an outfielder. Zobrist could also play first or rotate there with someone else.
John Jaso really impressed last year. His patience at the plate and his base running presence (not steals though) found him in the lead off spot last year. Shoppach wasn't much of a back up and of course, Dioner Navarro walked out on the team after being left off the post season roster. That probably seals his fate with this team. Bottom line, the Rays could use another decent catcher. The nice thing about needing a catcher is that you can get a pretty good one for just a few mil and change. Buck would be a nice addition that wouldn't break the bank.
And man, do the Bay Rays need a DH or what? Holy cow, that position has been a stinker for them. If they could get one of the big bruisers on the market for $5 or $6 million, they should certainly do that. Perhaps even Magglio Ordonez would be a good option if he is healthy. Anything has to be an improvement. Anything!
The Bay Rays have their work cut out of them. Crawford was one of the best players in the league. Guys like that are hard to replace. A lot has to go right for this team to be as good moving forward. Can they find bullpen help? Can more young players step up and do as well as those that have in the past? Can Garza and Niemann find some consistency and put a solid year together? But again, Friedman is one of the best and there is no way you can count them out. The scary part for this team is that depending on how their young players do, they could finish anywhere from first to fourth.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
AL East - The Best Division for Second Base Men
The American League East is already considered to have three of the best teams in baseball with the Yankees, the Red Sox and the Bay Rays. And each team has talent all over the field. Each team has at least one or two advantages at a position over the other. But one position seems to be a draw: Second base. In fact, the AL East probably has the best division in baseball for guys who play second: Cano, Pedroia, Hill, Zobrist, Roberts. Wow. That's a lot of talent this side of Chase Utley. Let's take a look at each of them.
Robinson Cano:
Age - 28
Lifetime Batting Average - .306
Lifetime OPS+ - 113
RF/9 - 5.04
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .982
2009 RTOT - 9.5
2009 OPS+ - 129
Comments: Cano really improved last year in his concentration and fielding. He's quick on the double play and he hasn't yet put it all together at the plate. He hit .322 last year and many feel he should win a batting title. This could be the year. He needs to walk more. But won't.
Dustin Pedroia:
Age - 27
Lifetime Batting Average - .307
Lifetime OPS+ - 111
RF/9 - 4.73
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .990
2009 RTOT - 9.8
2009 OPS+ - 111
Comments: Plays all out all the time. Hardly ever makes an error. One of the hardest swingers per pound in the game.
Aaron Hill:
Age - 28
Lifetime Batting Average - .285
Lifetime OPS+ - 102
RF/9 - 5.09
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .988
2009 RTOT - 9.6
2009 OPS+ - 117
Comments: A bit of a late bloomer, but boy did he bloom. With 72 extra base hits, Hill came out of nowhere to ring up 36 homers. And the way he is hitting this spring, it wasn't a fluke.
Brian Roberts:
Age - 33
Lifetime Batting Average - .284
Lifetime OPS+ - 105
RF/9 - 4.77
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .987
2009 RTOT - -14.2
2009 OPS+ - 111
Comments: On the downward slope of his career, or at least he should be. Lifetime OPS+ suffers in comparison due to late blooming. But he has averaged an OPS+ of 115 over the last five years. Range has dwindled. Good fielding percentage but rated far behind the others in the fielding category.
Ben Zobrist:
Age - 28
Lifetime Batting Average - .260
Lifetime OPS - 109
RF/9 - 4.64 (at second) He's played a lot of positions.
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .990
2009 RTOT - 5.8
2009 OPS+ - 146
Comments: Easily had the best year at the plate of the group. Was in the top ten in OPS/SLG/OBP. More versatile than the others in that he can play other positions but second seems to be where he fields the best. The Fan was surprised at his age. He will be 29 in May.
Here are their projected WARP (wins over replacement player) for 2010 according to PECOTA from Baseball Prospectus:
Cano - 4.8
Pedroia - 5.9
Hill - 4.0
Roberts - 3.3
Zobrist - 4.0
So, according to Baseball Prospectus, the value goes by rank: Pedroia, Cano, Hill/Zobrist, Roberts. Sounds about right. Though Hill and Zobrist certainly can finish higher than their projections.
Roberts has had a great five year run and has been a perennial All Star. Due to his fielding, he might be a tad overrated. But he's a solid player and if he is the poorest of the AL East at his position, that's a pretty strong division. Zobrist faded a bit in the second half last year but he had never played in so many games. But it's hard to argue with his final results. Pedroia was the AL MVP and followed it up with a good season. He will be good for quite some time yet. Cano is getting better and better and we haven't seen the best of him. And Aaron Hill has become the star of his team and is no slouch compared to the other four.
The AL East has a lot of riches in talent, but no more so than at second base.
Robinson Cano:
Age - 28
Lifetime Batting Average - .306
Lifetime OPS+ - 113
RF/9 - 5.04
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .982
2009 RTOT - 9.5
2009 OPS+ - 129
Comments: Cano really improved last year in his concentration and fielding. He's quick on the double play and he hasn't yet put it all together at the plate. He hit .322 last year and many feel he should win a batting title. This could be the year. He needs to walk more. But won't.
Dustin Pedroia:
Age - 27
Lifetime Batting Average - .307
Lifetime OPS+ - 111
RF/9 - 4.73
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .990
2009 RTOT - 9.8
2009 OPS+ - 111
Comments: Plays all out all the time. Hardly ever makes an error. One of the hardest swingers per pound in the game.
Aaron Hill:
Age - 28
Lifetime Batting Average - .285
Lifetime OPS+ - 102
RF/9 - 5.09
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .988
2009 RTOT - 9.6
2009 OPS+ - 117
Comments: A bit of a late bloomer, but boy did he bloom. With 72 extra base hits, Hill came out of nowhere to ring up 36 homers. And the way he is hitting this spring, it wasn't a fluke.
Brian Roberts:
Age - 33
Lifetime Batting Average - .284
Lifetime OPS+ - 105
RF/9 - 4.77
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .987
2009 RTOT - -14.2
2009 OPS+ - 111
Comments: On the downward slope of his career, or at least he should be. Lifetime OPS+ suffers in comparison due to late blooming. But he has averaged an OPS+ of 115 over the last five years. Range has dwindled. Good fielding percentage but rated far behind the others in the fielding category.
Ben Zobrist:
Age - 28
Lifetime Batting Average - .260
Lifetime OPS - 109
RF/9 - 4.64 (at second) He's played a lot of positions.
Lifetime Fielding Perc. - .990
2009 RTOT - 5.8
2009 OPS+ - 146
Comments: Easily had the best year at the plate of the group. Was in the top ten in OPS/SLG/OBP. More versatile than the others in that he can play other positions but second seems to be where he fields the best. The Fan was surprised at his age. He will be 29 in May.
Here are their projected WARP (wins over replacement player) for 2010 according to PECOTA from Baseball Prospectus:
Cano - 4.8
Pedroia - 5.9
Hill - 4.0
Roberts - 3.3
Zobrist - 4.0
So, according to Baseball Prospectus, the value goes by rank: Pedroia, Cano, Hill/Zobrist, Roberts. Sounds about right. Though Hill and Zobrist certainly can finish higher than their projections.
Roberts has had a great five year run and has been a perennial All Star. Due to his fielding, he might be a tad overrated. But he's a solid player and if he is the poorest of the AL East at his position, that's a pretty strong division. Zobrist faded a bit in the second half last year but he had never played in so many games. But it's hard to argue with his final results. Pedroia was the AL MVP and followed it up with a good season. He will be good for quite some time yet. Cano is getting better and better and we haven't seen the best of him. And Aaron Hill has become the star of his team and is no slouch compared to the other four.
The AL East has a lot of riches in talent, but no more so than at second base.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
What Hustle Will Do
As someone affected by the current economy, this writer is appalled by the lack of hustle the lucky few who play in the major leagues display on a nightly basis. A few posts ago here in the FanDome, the topic was Craig Monroe, a fringe player in the majors who hustled his way out of a job in MLB due to his lack of hustle. After watching the Bay Rays play the Phillies tonight, both sides of the hustling spectrum came into full view.
First, let's consider the situation the current American League Champions find themselves in. Currently six games out of first, the Bay Rays have three teams in front of them: The Red Sox, the Yankees and the Blue Jays. All three are strong teams. At this point, if they have any chance for the wildcard and the playoffs, every game matters. So one would think a sense of urgency would permeate the team. The game tonight did not show the urgency except for a young guy named Ben Zobrist.
The game with the Phillies was close. Pat Burrell put the Bay Rays ahead 2-0 with a homer against his former mates. Garza and Blanton were terrific the entire game. The Phillies drew within a run with a homer of their own. While all this was going on, Carl Crawford hit a line drive that looked like an atom ball. As such, Crawford just jogged toward first, probably thinking he was going to be out. But the outfielder misjudged the ball and it went over his head. Only then did Crawford start busting it and decided to try to leg it into a triple. He was thrown out. If he had hustled right away, he would have been there easily. To make matters worse, the next batter doubled but did not score.
Later, B. J. Upton came up and hit a flare to short right field. The replay shows Upton jogging out of the batters box and nonchalantly trotted toward first. The first basemen and the second baseman ran to get the ball but both came up short and when neither could make the catch, they both overran the ball forcing the right fielder to have to come in and pick it up. Upton didn't run until the ball dropped and fortunately made it to second. But if he busted it from the beginning, he could have been at third. He should have been at third.
Crawford then singled to shallow left and Upton had to hold at third. If he has hustled, he would have scored on the single. Aybar was up next and hit a shallow fly to left the Matt Stairs caught on the run and easily threw Upton out at the plate for a double play. So if you are keeping score, that's two opportunities in a tight game blown by lack of hustle.
But that's where Ben Zobrist comes in. Pena got hit by a pitch moving Crawford to second. Zobrist then worked a walk loading the bases. Burrell is next and was ahead 2-0 in the count. Everything was in his favor but Burrell blew it and grounded to short on an inside pitch. Zobrist busted as hard as he could toward second and when Rollins flipped to Utley, they both expected it to be the last out of the inning. But Zobrist running as hard as he could, beat the throw. Safe! The run scored making it 3-1 but he also prolonged the inning. A single and a double followed and broke the game open to 7-1.
Zobrist, who has turned out to be one of the biggest pleasant surprises of 2009, gets it. He takes nothing for granted and works hard on every play. Crawford (which is a bit surprising) and Upton don't get it. They played the game like a part of the entitlement generation and cost their team two runs.
To a displaced worker now trying his darnedest to make his new company work, Zobrist is a hero.
First, let's consider the situation the current American League Champions find themselves in. Currently six games out of first, the Bay Rays have three teams in front of them: The Red Sox, the Yankees and the Blue Jays. All three are strong teams. At this point, if they have any chance for the wildcard and the playoffs, every game matters. So one would think a sense of urgency would permeate the team. The game tonight did not show the urgency except for a young guy named Ben Zobrist.
The game with the Phillies was close. Pat Burrell put the Bay Rays ahead 2-0 with a homer against his former mates. Garza and Blanton were terrific the entire game. The Phillies drew within a run with a homer of their own. While all this was going on, Carl Crawford hit a line drive that looked like an atom ball. As such, Crawford just jogged toward first, probably thinking he was going to be out. But the outfielder misjudged the ball and it went over his head. Only then did Crawford start busting it and decided to try to leg it into a triple. He was thrown out. If he had hustled right away, he would have been there easily. To make matters worse, the next batter doubled but did not score.
Later, B. J. Upton came up and hit a flare to short right field. The replay shows Upton jogging out of the batters box and nonchalantly trotted toward first. The first basemen and the second baseman ran to get the ball but both came up short and when neither could make the catch, they both overran the ball forcing the right fielder to have to come in and pick it up. Upton didn't run until the ball dropped and fortunately made it to second. But if he busted it from the beginning, he could have been at third. He should have been at third.
Crawford then singled to shallow left and Upton had to hold at third. If he has hustled, he would have scored on the single. Aybar was up next and hit a shallow fly to left the Matt Stairs caught on the run and easily threw Upton out at the plate for a double play. So if you are keeping score, that's two opportunities in a tight game blown by lack of hustle.
But that's where Ben Zobrist comes in. Pena got hit by a pitch moving Crawford to second. Zobrist then worked a walk loading the bases. Burrell is next and was ahead 2-0 in the count. Everything was in his favor but Burrell blew it and grounded to short on an inside pitch. Zobrist busted as hard as he could toward second and when Rollins flipped to Utley, they both expected it to be the last out of the inning. But Zobrist running as hard as he could, beat the throw. Safe! The run scored making it 3-1 but he also prolonged the inning. A single and a double followed and broke the game open to 7-1.
Zobrist, who has turned out to be one of the biggest pleasant surprises of 2009, gets it. He takes nothing for granted and works hard on every play. Crawford (which is a bit surprising) and Upton don't get it. They played the game like a part of the entitlement generation and cost their team two runs.
To a displaced worker now trying his darnedest to make his new company work, Zobrist is a hero.
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