PITTSBURGH — The double play the Cardinals didn’t turn in Wednesday’s game that potentially cost them Wednesday’s game was not only a topic of conversation in message boards around Caridnals eNation and in my inbox but also in the clubhouse.
Aaron Miles said he approached some pitchers about the play.
Anthony Reyes and both middle infielders also chatted briefly about it.
And, of course, the pens and lens crowd had to ask. Again.
In the eighth inning of a 4-4 tie, righthander Reyes came in to face the Pirates and hold the knotted score. The first batter he faced, Ryan Doumit, singled to center field. The next batter, 20-RBI man Xavier Nady, scorched a grounder back to the mound. Reyes turned to his left and fired toward second base. His throw was more to Adam Kennedy behind the base than it was to Aaron Miles, who was running to the base. Kennedy turned and fired to first, but the botched double play put the eventually winning run at second base.
Doumit scored and the Cardinals lost, 7-4. Read all about it.
It’s fascinating that the double play that wasn’t stirred such … um … colorful discussion. Fascinating and fantastic. Nothing better than picking apart one play for all of its nuances — but not to assign blame (because there is plenty of blame to go around in any loss, in any game), rather to understand how. That was the question I took into the clubhouse. Make sure I didn’t miss any that should have been asked in the post-game scrums and to better understand how a play could go awry and how that play could/should be viewed.
That one play prompted a load of emails and comments that suggest some vocal viewers and readers saw something different. They saw Reyes throw to the base, where an infielder should have been. Some were compelling, citing replays from the night’s telecast or rules taught to readers in their baseball-play experience. Others saw a conspiracy that of blame that, um, scores points for creativity, if not reality.
The throw was fine, the fielder was off, went the best arguments.
“No,” said manager Tony La Russa this afternoon, a day after calling the play a missed 1-6-3 double play. “He’s got to know who he’s throwing to in that situation.”
Reyes said as much. Other day-after descriptions confirmed it.
According to Kennedy, the Cardinals were playing Nady ”straight up”, if anything Kennedy was shaded toward the bag. But that doesn’t change the assignments on a double play. Kennedy said he rarely covers the base in such situations, no matter the defensive placement. That’s why he raced to backup the play. That’s his role. Miles said before the batter came up they talked about assignments and reiterated that in the event of a groundball back to the pitcher he was the turn.
La Russa said the idea isn’t to throw to the base and “hope an infielder gets there” but to hit the target infielder. In this case, that meant a throw to Miles — “so that he gets the ball before or as he gets to the base and is going in the right direction,” the manager said.
“I don’t know if he picked up the second baseman or who he picked up,” La Russa said. ”He knows ths shortstop is covering and just misfired.”
“I turned a little too quick,” Reyes said. “Kennedy was the first guy I saw.”
The throw was right-on to the wrong guy.
Miles said he noticed Reyes was fixed on Kennedy and that the throw was going to the second baseman. He said he veered from his path to the bag slightly, but then went back. “I was calling for the ball just in case we still had the chance,” he said. Kennedy said that throw was right to him and Miles didn’t have a shot at catching it. So, he fired to first for the 1-4-3 groundball.
“Kennedy made a great play just to get the one out,” La Russa said.
Still, the play prompted further conversation.
“I went and asked a couple pitchers about that situation and they said sometimes they get three, four pitches into an at-bat and things get going so fast that it’s not a thought,” Miles said.
I asked Mike Shannon about how he called it on the radio, and he said he called it on the throw not the coverage. Video replays of the event shown to the team’s broadcasters showed any number of interesting angles and views, some showing where Miles arrive at the base after the throw and as Kennedy improvised.
The remedy, La Russa and others said, is to check. Baseball 101 stuff. The pitcher can turn and check on who he’s throwing to; the infielders can call out who the target it. Etc. Etc. Any number of things that often happen but didn’t in the eighth.
Still, there was a chance to win after that double play.
“Things got mixed up,” Kennedy said. “That’s going to happen. It’s going to happen again. We’ve still got to a chance in that game. We could have put some good at-bats together.”
Discuss.
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These are the types of things that can happen to an inexperienced team, and seem to stand out in this little rough patch that the team is experiencing. It will be interesting to see if these miscues become more or less frequent. Hopefully the recent slide will prompt some people to step up and take leadership on the little things that make a difference.
On a side note, I have listened to many people expound on how much better OBP is compared to batting average, and I think that there is some truth to this. Watching this Cardinals team early in the season, it is nice to see them be patient at the plate, but being able to put the ball in play effectively certainly is neccasry as well. It takes a lot of not very productive outs to strand 14 runners every night.
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Derrick- great job following up on this. It’s always interesting hearing what the manager and players have to say. {Vocal viewer} concedes that it is at least possible that Reyes threw too soon, or to the wrong guy, and that I’m taking my frustrations with Brendan Ryan not playing (and the team subsequently losing) out on Miles.
I definitely agree with TLR that Kennedy did a great job at least getting one out there.
Diver- I did actually say the words “cost us the game” yesterday, which was a bit harsh. If the double play is turned, we’re definitely in a better position to win the game, but it’s no sure thing.
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I think it’s a good baseball lesson for everyone. Kudos on the report.
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At least Reyes threw it to somebody.
The last Cardinals game I went to before I left St Louis nine years ago featured an awful seventh inning for the Cardinals. After two out and nobody on (I may be misremembering these details but the rest is good), the Dodgers hit back-to-back singles to bring up pitcher Kevin Brown, who walked on four pitches. The next batter hit a weak ground ball to third. Third baseman Shawon Dunston charged in, fielded the ball, and threw to third. No one was covering; the umpire called the ball fair. Seven runs scored in that inning.
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1999/B05140SLN1999.htm
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Interesting discussion. And some nice reporting. My sense in watching the TV broadcast is those guys (McLaughlin and Hrabosky) put the misplay on the infielders for not being on the bag. And they thought it normally would have been Kennedy’s place to cover the bag, since Nady bats righthanded. (They did note that he often hits the ball to the right side and so Miles and Kennedy might have chosen to flip their roles for that reason; they further noted that the two infielders hash that out ahead of time and the pitcher should know also.) All in all, their analysis did not hold up against what you heard in the clubhouse from the players and LaRussa: It was Miles’ play all the way; Reyes needed to get the ball to him, not simply over the bag.
I thought the throw looked rushed and pretty high, difficult for either infielder to catch and then complete the DP.
I don’t think anyone is saying this play in itself won or lost the game, emc. Reyes still had a chance to pitch out of the situation and did not. In the first inning, Miles stung the ball with runners on second and third but it carried to the center fielder. That ball drops in and it’s 6-0. Duncan hit into a DP in the second inning when Snell looked in serious trouble. And on and on and on. Tons of plays affect the outcome of a baseball game. But it was an interesting play to analyze and thanks to the P-D article this morning and this post I know a little more about what is supposed to happen on that ball hit back to the pitcher. And maybe the TV guys do, too.
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You’re right. There is plenty of blame to go around for every loss. This was just one of a few chances the Redbirds let go in this game. This play did’nt ultimatley decide the outcome of the game.
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Just let it go. Its one game. If they had put some decent at -bats togeher-like Kenedy said-then this would’nt be such a big deal. Right, DG?
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