Friday, May 17, 2013

5-16 game



When Brett Gardner is up with 1st and 2nd nobody out in a very close game, you should be bunting 95% of the time.  In this case Girardi should not have invoked the 5% rule as it was idiocy.  The fact Gardner struck out is not proof it was a bad move; it was simply an awful decision.

Pettitte and Stewart went out with injuries, hopefully they are not too long term…at least for Pettitte.

Fast forward to the 8th inning with the tying run in scoring position and Ichiro up with 1st base opened, they were so unconcerned about Ichiro, even with Romine on deck; they went after him and struck him out.  The issue then was Romine led off the 9th and after have a 3-0 count he took the “give me” 3-0 strike but it looked like a ball to me.  He should have taken another pitch at this point but instead swung at the 3-1 pitch that was low but possibly a strike and weakly (corrected to say soft liner) short hop to 2nd.  Gardner had a 3-1 count on him and he tried to bunt.  Kay, incorrectly, said that shows a sign of a guy with little confidence (Gardner did stink up to this point) trying to bunt.  I think it was a smart move as he figured he would get a good pitch and the 3rd baseman was deep and if he could get on he could run all day on Montero and if it was a ball, he could take the walk.  He ended up fouling it off but then lined a clean single through the left side to get on base.  Nix was now up.  Think about how truly sad it is that Romine and Nix were up in crucial 9th inning AB’s against a righty closer!  Anyway, Nix gets ahead of the count while Gardner steals 2nd and 3rd and swings at ball 4 on a 3-1 count!  That swing might have cost us the game because with Cano up and an open base, Cano didn’t see a single good pitch (credit the pitcher) and he grounded out to end the game.  It was a fun AB too watch, but with a guy throwing 97-98 and an open base, it was a tough AB for Cano as walking him intentionally wouldn't have been a crazy move.  Cano needed a little more discipline, but the pitcher made a lot of quality close strikes.

Tough loss as we had chances.  Seattle has some guys throwing hard but they all have some wrinkles too.

9 comments:

  1. Wrong analysis on several points---The 2-1 pitch that Romine swung at and hit on one hop to second was hit sharply on the barrel of the bat. Your attempt to make your point to the reader that his swinging at that pitch was ill-advised need not go further and make up a falsehood that the ball was hit weakly. It wasn't.
    Second point--regarding Cano's at-bat in the 9th--pick an option--the pitcher was either making quality pitches (what in hell does quality close strikes mean?--never heard that one before) or Cano needed to have more discipline. Rarely, if ever, both are not true. Not so here, as well.

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  2. 3-1 pitch to Romine

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  3. You should watch the ball Romine hit again as it was a soft liner and he did not get it off the meat of the bat. Maybe weakly makes it seem like a dribbler which it was not, but it was a soft short hopper. It certainly was not a rocket. The pitch was a little low and away and my point was to discuss that on a 3-1 count (not 2-1 as you said) he should have been more patient in a leadoff role against a pitcher who is facing his first batter of the day. It is not like he is a monster HR hitter who is taking a shot at tying the game. As for Cano, quality close strikes are pitches that are just off the plate (close to a strike). You could also call them quality balls but instead I said close strikes because a term I used to use was making pitches close to the strike zone. So on pitches that were just off the plate (another way to term it) he could have shown more discipline; I don't see anything wrong with either of those comments; but feel free to fire away with your opinion.

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  4. 2-1, 3-1...did you see my correction? It's just above you reply and entered about one minute after my first comment. That might have been a little more kind of you rather than calling me out. We can agree to disagree on just how solid Romine hit the ball. I watched the game last night and saw the replay on YES this morning. I see the ball, maybe low, definitely not outside, and Romine getting the good part of the bat on it. I see it getting to the second baseman in the time frame consistent with a hard hit ball. An at-em ball. Unlucky.
    On the other point regarding Cano--of course you don't question your judgment. Not surprised there. It's easy for you to criticize Cano in that at bat for not being disciplined enough to suit you, and swinging at what you self-admittedly ( I think) term quality pitches or quality close strikes. Against a closer getting it up there at 97-98, as you've reported. What that tells me is that you've never played the game. Other than on the video screen, if you want to count that. You are funny.

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  5. Just watched the Romine bat again. Looks like you need to correct Michael Kay one more time. When Romine hits the ball, Kay says "hit sharply." But you know better, right? You probably had better seats than Kay did

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  6. Choochoo, you have a lot to learn my friend. Kay makes the wrong call 80% of the time so if you are using Kay as your barometer you will be getting wrong information; Kay has no feel of a ball off the bat. As for Cano, I said he could have used more discipline but then followed it up crediting the pitcher by making quality pitches. Cano is an amazing talent but if he has one flaw it is he sometimes goes up there swinging at anything and isn't as disciplined as others, just far more talented. I will ignore the not playing the game comment

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  7. 80% of the time? Maybe a little stretch there? I have a lot to learn? Here's what I know, having played baseball myself throughout college and then amateur baseball until age 27 and having had 3 relatives play professionally, one of whom pitched for the Yankees---I KNOW a hard hit ball when I see it as opposed to a weak hit ball. I KNOW first hand just how hard it is to hit one on the nose from a pitcher getting it up there at anything 90+. I know just how little time you have to judge the pitch and pull the trigger. I also know a video baseball player, and nothing else, when I come across one.
    One final note on Cano--his major flaws are that he does not go to his left as well as he should, and he also does not often hustle out of the box when he puts the ball in play. I am grateful that he doesn't have the plate discipline equal to say, for example, Gardner. Cano would really suck then. Just a wild guess. You love Gardner, don't you?

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  8. Do you have anything to add to the discussion?

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  9. >>(choo choo) What that tells me is that you've never played the game. Other than on the video screen, if you want to count that. You are funny.<<

    So are you, considering that Steve played 4 years of Division 1 college baseball, and was voted first team All-Conference once. Your insight is truly awe-inspiring.

    Nobody's trumpeted Cano's natural talent as a player more than Steve. And, last post-season aside, Cano's numbers are awesome. But they could be better. And everybody knows it. Steve's not the only one who talks about Cano needing to be patient more. Girardi, Kevin Long, the local media, almost everyone does.

    Hell, Cano's numbers from last year would have been better if he simply hadn't paused to admire several hits that he thought were home runs, but were not. And he hasn't learned--he is still admiring his shots this year. In general, his hustle out of the box is strictly on a whether he feels like it or not basis.

    With the natural talents and wrist strength that Cano possesses, he has a chance to be the best 2nd baseman ever to play the game. But he's not going to get there unless he does a lot of growing up as a player. Yeah, he's great, but he could be better. And if you don't see that, well, I have to question how much baseball you yourself played.

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