Wearing out a well-trod path to the mound
ByFor a World Series game, last night’s three-hour and 25-minute affair isn’t a long one. We’ve seen nine-inning playoff games stretch well past the four-hour mark. It wasn’t though for a lack of trying on the part of CC Sabathia and Jorge Posada. As many noticed, the two had enough conversations on the mound to last a lifetime.
Landon Evanson at Bugs and Cranks summed up his feelings:
For f*** sake, how many times does Posada need to head out there for a heart-to-heart? I mean, trips to the bump on 0-2 counts with two outs and nobody on? What could possibly be shared at that moment? Seriously, is it too much to ask that Posada and the likes of C.C. Sabathia or any of New York’s hurlers get on the same page?
I understand you have to get the signs and the sequences down but the Bombers battery does realize that they can talk in the dugout, right? I mean, that’s still allowed in the World Series, isn’t it? Or have the Yankees done away with that like the whole facial hair thing?
You get the point. Except for Yankee fans placing their hopes, fears and low blood pressure on every pitch, most baseball fans — and especially those sporting red in Citizens Bank Park — just wanted CC Sabathia to throw the ball. Of course, it’s never really that simple, and today, Buster Olney offered up a reason in his blog post dissecting the game.
“Sunday night,” Olney writes, “Jorge Posada went with multiple pitch signs even when there were not any runners on base — and the reason, one longtime talent evaluator said, is that there has long been a concern among visiting teams that the Phillies steal signs from their bullpen and relay them to the hitter.”
In the prior paragraph in his post, Olney notes that the Phillies are concerned with the Yanks’ hitters as well. Apparently, Carlos Ruiz believes that A-Rod peeks back for a hint at pitch location — something every good hitter does — and has tried to shift late to receive the pitch.
Meanwhile, Olney wasn’t the only person noting the sequences behind the plate. In a rare moment of good analysis, Tim McCarver and Joe Buck noted that both teams’ batteries seemed to be going with a series of signs with no one on base instead of just one sign with location. Clearly, someone or everyone is trying to gain an edge.
Some baseball fans might object. Are the Phillies trying to cheat? Are the Yankees trying to disrupt the Phillies’ hitters’ rhythms at the plate? Is A-Rod trying to gain an edge? It’s all part of the game within the game as the league’s top two teams fight it out for the crown. Keep an eye tonight on A.J. Burnett and Jose Molina. The two of them love to chat, and if Olney’s analysis is right, we should see a lot of conversations and fewer signs from Molina.
Tonight, though, won’t be the end of this sign-stealing brouhaha. Between A-Rod’s getting plunked and the Sabathia/Posada conversations, sparks will fly when these teams play during Spring Training next year. For now, winning the World Series is what matters, but baseball players never forget.
A-Rod’s actually getting tips from Rollins in exchange for tipoffs to Rollins. Duh.
jeter’s got an edge.
but seriously, i hope they hit utley during spring training. hard. a) he is good and kils us. b) arod gets hit 4 times in 2 games? c)id say hit rollins cause he talks the most smack but you should hit someone good from the other team
http://www.hiyoooo.com
if you click on carson’s face repeatedly, the harmony is actually quite beautiful.
I agree.
(It’s Ed McMahon, though. But, your general point is correct. It’s quite enjoyable and soothing in an odd way.)
Oops. Excuse me, this was all before my time.
(debates about whether or not to drop the Paul-Begala-Meghan-McCain French Revolution historical bitchslap; decides to be nice instead)
It’s all good. Happens to the best of us.
not as soothing as Shepherd on http://www.derekjeter.com so good…
Just Utley? Add Howard, Victorino and Werth please.
Landon Evanson sounds pissed that Joe Mauer didn’t take more trips to the mound himself… maybe if he had they’d still be playing games at the Metrodome right now.
maybe if he had they’d still be playing games at the Metrodome right now.
nawwwww just messin wit ya
http://buuurn.com/
http://theusualgeeks.com/thread-77.html
Michelle Obama terrorist style, baby!
Michelle Obama
terroristterriost style, baby!They’ve already won and they’re looking to repeat
You know if it was another catcher he would be praised for walking his pitcher through a WS start against an ‘AL-type lineup’ on 3 days rest.
A bit off topic, but really Molina is starting? Sad face.
If Burnett needs Molina to do what he did on Thursday, so be it. Just win. That’s what I say.
I’ll agree with you on just win, that’s for sure. I thought AJ pitched pretty well to Posada against the Angels, but I’m not calling the shots. Time, as it tends to do, will tell.
not to mention the pick off at 1st which was a huge momentum play that Jorge never would have been able to make.
fair point, but we’ve got Posada, Matsui and Melky out of the lineup against the horse-man Cliff Lee
i dont disagree the lineup would be better with jorge in it, but it makes no difference if jorge knocks in a run and aj gives up 2 more than he would have otherwise. im not a big believer in the designated cathers, but molina for the most part does a very good job of helping work AJ out of trouble. It does hurt that for 2/3rd’s of the game we are only going to have 2/3rd’s of a lineup but we will just have to play a little small ball at the bottom.
don’t think Ryan Howard steals tonight. Squeeze that ball Jorge!!!!
The Fox Hi Def “crotch cam” certainly isn’t helping matters.
I was going to note that too. That’s definitely very true. But the Fox feed is about 7-10 seconds delayed. So players can’t use that to relay information to hitters.
Nick Swisher can. He’s seven seconds in the future, and in the past, simultaneously, at all times.
To me, anything that happens between the lines is part of the game; except of course what Chan-Ho cheater did by spitting on the ball.
And while we’re on the topic, did anyone else notice the black stuff on the bill of Blanton’s cap, and how he kept touching it between his thumb and index finger?
I indeed did.
certainly looked like pine tar for grip.
is there a video of this somewhere? i did not
How’s the weather in southern California?
But you gotta love how a word won’t be said about it..
Yeah Chan Ho was pretty discreet about it huh?
I noticed that Posada & CC chatted a bunch, but I can’t say it bothered me at all, nor would it really bother me if Ruiz & Blanton were talking a bunch.
Speeding up regular season games sure, but the playoffs/WS everything goes.
Say there’s 20 pitcher-catcher meetings a game between each team. And they’re 30 seconds each, that’s 10 minutes added to the time of game. To save time say they limit each team to only 5 meetings per game, so you save 5 minutes, so we’re going to make a huge change just to save 5 minutes?
And if the pitcher/catcher arent on the same page thats probably going to lead to more hits/run, leading to longer games.
Maybe I really love baseball and some other people just don’t enjoy it as much, but I’ve never really felt like the game was too long.
Same here. The longer the better. You get more for your money that way.
The longer the better. You get more for your money that way.
That’s what the ladies always say about me, friendo.
How much do you usually charge them??
I’m like Harvard: I used to give merit-based scholarships, but now it’s all about need. I don’t want a financial hardship to prevent any woman from receiving the sweet loving she needs. If you can’t afford it, you don’t have to pay.
That being said, if you do have some money, this shit ain’t free. Let’s leave it at that.
You must love giving scholarships to true athletes.
I give because I love.
its not the dollar cost, its the intrinsic value of the services deliver…how much value they get is WAAAAY more important that what they actually pay.
but it isnt cheaper, or more free…you paid for those innings–they just take longer.
tonight, i want SEVEN INNINGS of free baseball, capped off with a CC sabathia pinch hit double, with jose molina scoring from second!!!
i actually think the sheer number of throw overs which seems much higher than before and the cat and mouse even when they dont throw over is slowing the game down much more than the meetings.
In Game 3 of ALCS Pettitte had 19 pick off attempts. How long does that take? 15-20 seconds? So he took up 6 minutes of the game, and that was an extremely high number of throws over.
Or, he doesnt throw over, they steal off of him, score on a single and the inning is extended- taking up time as well.
If the game ends 5 minutes sooner how is that going to change your life?
Playoff, World Series, extra inning, and close games against bitter rivals (See Red Sox and Mets), are never too long. The only sporting event that is more exciting is Stanley Cup sudden death hockey because, except for game related breaks icing, goaltender hanging onto the puck etc there are no breaks in the action. The Minnesota game (With Arod’s tying and Teixeira’s game winning homers is a particular standout).
What the #$%& is hockey?
hockey is a girls game that’s a lot like lacrosse–pony tails, short skirts, athletic legs.
I know you don’t like hockey, but it is an awesome sport The final minute of Game 7 between my Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings was as good as sports can get (It even beat my Steelers over Arizona). Tonight I want to see another HOCKEY term, put into play: HAT TRICK: The Januz Hat Trick: First The Steelers, then the Penguins, finally, the YANKEES.
What probably slowed the game down the most was players lobbying balls and strike calls all night/making reactions at called strikes.
In 2016, it will be fun to watch the investigators from Cold Case figure out how the Phillies died in the World Series this year.
http://www.raysindex.com/wp-co.....Face1.jpeg
I will enjoy the musical flashbacks. Hopefully it will involve more of Alicia Keys and her purple boots.
why wait…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiryjGi6wZQ
Cornbread… ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.
BTW, the official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjsXo9l6I8 … tres boring. Alicia’s jumpsuit is nice, though, but overall, meh.
I actually like the video (It makes the song work better, plus Alicia is hot). I will still stick with Sinatra’s “New York, New York”, and Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” (The ultimate New York song).
Figures.
I don’t understand what all the fuss is about with the pitcher/catcher meet-ups. I feel much more secure when that happens because it shows me that they pitcher and the catcher are working really hard to do the best they can in tight situations and it shows some strategy to try and throw off the rhythm/momentum/mojo of the other team by getting in their heads a little bit more. I would much rather they meet-up, get on the same page and throw a good pitch then have cross-ups, mishaps or bad pitches. I don’t feel like baseball games are too long unless they involve the Yankees and the Red Sox and even those are engrossing. I don’t think we need to pander to all of the fans of clock-sports because they have no patience and can’t wait to get to their precious and numerous commercial breaks. Let the teams do what they need to do to get on the same page…that is all.
Agreed. If you’re concerned about saving 10-20 minutes of the game then pick a new sport.
Agreed. They can talk all they want if it means making pitches and not being crossed-up. Stop the hate, people!
(Meanwhile, Lidge stands on the mound gazing longingly at his catchers before breaking into song: http://tinyurl.com/yhss45h )
i really think that several of the meetings were ‘theatre’ to break up the hitters timing and get in their head…
i’ve been reading the bob gibson/reggie jackson book — and gibson talks about how mccarver (yes, THAT mccarver!) had signs to pretend to shake him off. reggie talked about several games where he pretended to argue with the 3rd base coach about a sign to throw off the pitchers rhythm…
all pretty funny stuff!
“i really think that several of the meetings were ‘theatre’ to break up the hitters timing and get in their head…”
Someone in one of the post game said the same thing I forgot who. It’s a way to slow down the game so the offense doesn’t get into rhythm .
Being diehard Yankees fans, I’m sure we all get this regardless of the topic/issue. IT is always “it’s okay for you to do it, but not okay when we do it.”, the media/public/other fans will take whatever it is and bitch/whine/moan/cry. Let them cry.