Posts belonging to Category Daniel “Dee” Clark

Following a thrilling opening series between the Yankees and Red Sox earlier this week, umpire crew chief for the series, Joe West, blasted the two organizations for playing a little sluggishly, even making the suggestion that there perhaps is a positive correlation between ability and rate of play.  While everyone realizes that this was simply a case of an elderly, grumpy, obese man not wanting to stand up for an extra hour given his strenuous 3-hour work days, what I don’t understand is why anyone even cares.  Let’s be real.  Is there any more easily replaceable job in the game?  We are talking about an umpire here.

This scenario harkens back to the 90’s when umpires first began to deal with MLB’s attempts to standardize the game’s officiating.  When Questec provided a realistic and reasonable measurement of an umpire’s ability to accurately gauge balls and strikes, and slow-motion video replay allowed the same level of evaluation with outs and safes, the game began to look a little differently.  The on-base revolution throughout the sport was only possible once umpires were forced to call a more standardized strike zone.  Well, a lot of umpires got upset and quit.  Even West helped organize a mass resignation in response to bargaining disputes with MLB late in the decade.

I guess I just don’t understand a Major League umpire’s complaint about anything.  I realize that umpires must pass examinations over the rules as well as practical examinations, but it’s not like these tests are the MCAT, or even the GRE for that matter.  I’m not saying I know every single word of the rulebook, but what I am saying is that absolutely everyone could if they really tried to.  Furthermore, these guys get to watch the game from the best seat in the house: the field itself.  Come on now.  That is so sweet.  Complaining about a 3 ½ -hr game?  Every other fan there, and umpires are really just interactive fans, is ecstatic about just being at the field and watching a little more of the game…especially when it’s Yanks/Sox in the first series of the season.  I think there is a small country’s worth of folks who would wait in line to do Joe West’s job voluntarily.

In a telephone conversation with Griff the other night, I was stunned when he told me that his C-Teamers missed a whopping 19 signals in double-dip.  Immediately I wondered why Griff was giving his hitters 19 signals over two games in the first place.  I considered that we were talking about young players developing in a system, and obviously a necessity for that development is knowledge of the club’s signals.  Still, this scenario reopened an internal debate that I have had since I first realized how foolish any and all hit-and-runs are.  Are signals from base coaches a necessary component of the game, or are they simply another piece of the game’s antiquity?

Last summer, I coached third with basically three signals and no indicators.  Two of the signals were green-light-types, and the other was the take sign which was simply me raising my index finger.  Everyone in the stadium knew when we were bunting because I basically yelled to the hitter to bunt.  We bunted very, very sparingly.  Our runners knew who had the green to go and who didn’t, so I basically did not give signs across the diamond.  Guys who could drag knew when to drag because I told them when good times were.  Obviously we did not have an hit-and-run sign because forcing a hitter to swing at whatever the pitcher throws is a bad way to prevent outs.

Was our offense in any way lacking because we did not have sophisticated signals?  Was it inhibited by the fact that we had no secret strategies for run creation?  First, what is each offensive player’s objective at the plate?  To get on base.  No player needs to be reminded of this by a coach.  What about sacrifice bunting?  This is 2010.  How about stealing bases?  Utilizing a simple green light allows the player the freedom to gauge his own chances while ensuring that he does so in a reasonable situation.  What good can come from sophisticated signals?  I guess there are times when a delayed steal or get-picked sign could be advantageous.  Answer me this, though: would yelling across the diamond at a runner to get picked change the outcome?  Probably not.  More importantly, does the limited frequency of plays such as these justify using practice time for them?  Of course not.

Signs can’t possibly hurt.  The problem, however, arises when players forget what the real goal is because they are too busy hitting-and-running or leaving early.  Hitters are there to reach base.  Runners are there to touch home.  OBP is the primary predictor we know of for run creation.  Hitters hopefully don’t need a signal for getting on base.  Varying from this default setting, therefore, is likely only to reduce run production.  By that line of reasoning elaborate signals should only be given when trying to score fewer times.

NL West: Dodgers, Giants, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Padres
NL Central: Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Reds, Astros, Pirates
NL East: Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Mets, Nationals
NL Wild Card: Marlins
NL Pennant: Phillies over Dodgers
NLCS MVP: Chase Utley

AL West: Rangers, Mariners, Angels, Athletics
AL Central: Twins, Tigers, White Sox, Indians, Royals
AL East: Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays
AL Wild Card: Rays
AL Pennant: Rays over Yankees
ALCS MVP: James Shields

World Series: Rays in 7…on the road.  Carl Crawford is the MVP.

AL ROY: Wade Davis
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez

NL ROY: Jason Heyward
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
NL MVP: Albert Pujols

Sox/Yanks.  CC/Beckett.  On paper the matchup is just another game.  One of the 162 everyone signed up for.  Still, the first one means more.  I personally can’t wait, and my eyes will be glued to my TV from the first pitch until the last.  This Opening Day is a little different for me, though.

This is the first season in which I will be enjoying the game as nothing more than a fan and friend of the game and the people in it.  Prior to this season I was still somehow involved in the game, as either a player or a coach.  The thought of what the game means to me now – and what I should mean to it – are quite prominent in my self-reflection nowadays.  Truthfully, I don’t think I have ever cared as much about the game itself.  One thing about being personally removed from the competition inside the gates is that I have no personal ties to any particular team.  Sure, I still root heavily for all of my friends still playing at college as well as all the kids I coached in either high school or club ball, but my fix can no longer be satisfied by anything that I can actually do on the field.  I think that is the primary reason that Arlo and I started this blog.  He is in the same boat I am and has the same love and longing for the game that I do.

My guess is that like me, he sees the game as much more than just a game and much more than just a thing to do.  I still feel as though I have some kind of responsibility to the game, much the same way a player grabs an extra lift in August or takes a few extra cuts in the cage after an 0-for day.  Baseball is a part of my life, and I feel as though I owe it something.  Maybe that something is simply paying the ticket price to watch a high school game or playing in a fantasy league with old friends, or anything really.  The responsibility we all have is simply to care.  Deep down I feel as though the game in many ways brought me my opportunity in dental school, many of my closest friends, and greatly improved my relationship with my father, among countless other things.  It never asked for anything in return except that I care.  I’m endlessly fortunate to have the game.  We all are.

So let’s all tune in Sunday with hope for the season ahead.  Even if you can’t stand either team, realize that their roles in the game are unique.  These two organizations drive the baseball economy, and everyone benefits from them as a consequence.  Personally, I am rooting for the Sox all season because of the one-day contract they gave Nomar so that he could retire in the uniform he was meant to.  Nomar was my favorite player growing up, and as a fan, that gesture meant an awful lot to me.  Unfortunately, I have never and likely will never meet Nomar, but the game taught me to care about and believe in something bigger than any of us.  It’s nice when the people actually in it show us how much they appreciate our love and admiration for our heroes.  Thanks, baseball.

It was announced a couple of days ago that Phil Hughes had won the battle with Joba Chamberlain for the fifth rotation spot in the Bronx.  It would have been tough to imagine this competition four years ago when Phil Hughes and Matt Garza were fighting for Minor League Pitcher of the Year awards and Joba was a fresh face in professional baseball after a good – not great – collegiate career at Nebraska.  Nevertheless, Joba quickly ascended through the Yanks farm system occasionally touching triple digits with his fastball while using multiple 70-grade breaker variations.  While he was a tad high effort, most scouts within the organization seemed to think he could retain those numbers through 100 pitches.  Unless Joba was hiding an injury last summer, I think it’s time those thoughts were laid to rest.  His fastball very rarely reached the mid-90’s on any consistent level and his breaking stuff was flat and easily detectable.  Nothing changed this spring, and now he finds himself back in the bullpen looking at 60 innings this season.  Hughes was absolutely electric during the second half of 2009 and was impressive enough this spring to secure a place in one of the top 3 rotations in baseball.  I expect New York to be fairly conservative with his usage this season, especially through the break, primarily because Hughes has never even approached 200 IP’s in a season.  No big deal with the Yanks pen.  With the addition of Chamberlain, the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings should be real yawners for the Yankee defense.  Chamberlain, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera all have huge strikeout stuff that should lock down many tight W’s for the defending champs.  Honestly, and I hate saying this sort of thing in March – especially given that the Sox and Rays are the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the league – but the Yanks should run away with it all this season in even more casual fashion than in 2009.  They may be old, but they did get younger in the offseason, and I tend to think that exceptional athletes in the Jeter, Rodriguez, and Rivera mold age very gracefully.  Girardi must realize that these players will need days off more frequently than their younger teammates, but he knows that.  I like Brian Cashman, but he is making that division more predictable than any fan outside NYC wants.