Pushing across a run because of a pitcher’s mistake is a pretty cheap way to win a ballgame, but I’ll certainly take it, especially after the Royals have had the combined rotten luck of Joe Theisman, George Costanza, and anyone who’s ever crossed paths with Liza Minnelli thrown their way this year. Because of that, I’m certainly not going to complain that the Royals scored the eventual game-winning run of yesterday’s game when Steve Kline committed a balk with Emil Brown occupying third base, but I will complain about the balk rule itself and why I think it needs to be changed.
The balk rule encompasses several different scenarios, but as you probably know, the purpose of it is to prevent pitchers from deceiving any players who’ve already reached base safely. In many cases, however, the way in which the rule is enforced totally contradicts that main principle, and what Kline did yesterday was no exception to that. After coming to the set position, it appeared to me that the former Cardinal’s left elbow might have twitched – a movement so unnoticeable, it’s highly likely anyone wouldn’t have even noticed if he or she wasn’t looking for a reason to call a balk. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that neither Brown or fellow baserunner Mark Teahen would tell you they felt deceived by Kline’s slight movement if they were speaking truthfully.
It’s very hard to understand why pitchers are allowed to employ moves meant to deceive baserunners like the “fake-to-third, throw-to-first” pickoff play, but constantly have their hands called when their nostrils flare while standing on the pitching rubber. The balk is an important rule, but the next time it’s called according to the definition will be a rare sight to behold.Mike Sweeney couldn’t be on more of a hot streak right now, as the only real hitter in the Kansas City lineup is holding up his end of the deal with a 1.016 OPS, good for fourth in the league. However, I still can’t help but be concerned with his declining walk rate and plate discipline in general. To illustrate my point, check out Sweeney’s walks per plate appearance and pitches seen per plate appearance since he became a regular in 1999:
Year BB/PA P/PA
1999 .084 3.57
2000 .099 3.64
2001 .101 3.62
2002 .112 3.67
2003 .138 3.74
2004 .073 3.46
2005 .075 3.30
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The decline began in 2003 when Sweeney returned from his month-long absence that was related to a back injury, hitting a very unSweeney-like .260/.325/.379 in August and September. That came after his torrid .321/.440/.540 first half. I’m definitely not any kind of an authority on what statistics are most likely to take a hit after a player resumes everyday work, but I’d assume that while power and batting average would fall into that category, plate discipline would not.
As a result of my thinking, I’m more than a little bit scared that Sweeney’s power has returned this year, but his willingness to take any pitch he can’t smoke into an alleyway hasn’t. Unless you’re Vladimir Guerrero, those skills – pitch recognition and power – go hand-in-hand. To have one, you generally must have the other. I’m afraid Michael isn’t nearly this good, and is due for quite the regression once the hits stop falling in.Isn’t it amazing the many good things that happen to a good reliever’s career once he’s pitching in save situations? Baltimore’s B.J. Ryan has been one of the elite left-handed firemen in the American League for more than three seasons, but only now is he getting any notoriety for his successes because he’s been branded as a “closer.” Some team is sure to overpay him this winter when he becomes a free agent although Ryan probably won’t do anything better this year than he did in 2004.It’s still early, but it appears that Ambiorix Burgos has one intangible that makes pitching in high-leverage situations much less stressful: ice water running through his veins. It takes a pretty cool customer to enter a bases-loaded situation in a tie game with one out and calmly blow away two hitters on strikeouts as he did on Sunday. I’ve always heard that pitching in any Dominican Republic league as Burgos has is some pretty big-time serious stuff, but I had no idea it was so pressure-packed that, as a result, Burgos stays cool on the mound in save situations:
“It's not difficult to be a closer,” he said through clubhouse interpreter Alberto Castillo. “If I closed in the Dominican Republican, I can close anywhere. We get 20,000 fans there and everyone is yelling.”
Ambiorix has the market cornered on confidence, wouldn’t you say?Teahen didn’t do much of anything on offense against the Orioles, but he showed flashes of what he can do. He made two spectacular defensive plays on Friday night and displayed a very sweet swing yesterday. He’s going to be a hell of an all-around player, especially if he continues to work on driving the ball to right field.However, the other non-pitcher who came over with Teahen in the Carlos Beltran trade looks as lost and out-of-place as Jennifer Love Hewitt in a music video. John Buck, supposedly the next Mike Macfarlane, is now hitting a robust .163 with 23 strikeouts in only 80 at-bats. I’d like to blow his lack of production off as just a slump, but he’s been in this slump for more than a month without showing any sign of life. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he’s swinging at balls and taking strikes, he’s also miles out in front of any offspeed pitch while being way behind on 88-mph fastballs. In my opinion, he needs to cut down on both the length and uppercut in his swing if he wants to avoid losing playing time to Alberto Castillo.Remember when the Royals traded this guy to the Pittsburgh Pirates for this prospect? Well, the Pirates decided to cut bait with their acquisition yesterday, giving him his outright release. As a result, Pittsburgh paid that guy roughly $166,000 per game or, breaking it down further, about $43,000 per at-bat. Quite the intelligent use of resources and a Grade-C prospect, Dave Littlefield. Thanks for the generosity.It’s only a matter of time before Justin Huber’s promoted to Omaha. Allard’s third heist of the 2004 season was hitting .356/.481/.574 through Saturday night’s action. As soon as Ken Harvey’s traded to the Devil Rays for Jonny Gomes, Huber will be ready to be a Royal.
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 09, 2005 at 5/09/2005 12:00:00 AM.
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