{"id":953,"date":"2010-09-11T09:57:24","date_gmt":"2010-09-11T14:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=953"},"modified":"2010-09-11T09:57:24","modified_gmt":"2010-09-11T14:57:24","slug":"why-rockies-chris-nelsons-steal-of-home-was-more-than-a-nick-masset-blunder-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/953","title":{"rendered":"Why Rockies Chris Nelson’s steal of home was more than a Nick Masset blunder (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I have always considered the stealing of home to be one the most exciting plays in baseball.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s because I grew up watching \u201cThe Sandlot,\u201d and had Benny \u201cThe Jet\u201d Rodriguez embedded into my memory at an impressionable age, but there\u2019s just something about the accomplishment that makes you rise out of your seat on the couch with anticipation, just as if you were in a seat at the park.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of those plays that happens so unpredictably fast, that it’s over before anyone knew it even began.<\/p>\n

Yet, when Colorado Rockies<\/strong> rookie Chris Nelson<\/strong> stole home<\/strong> in the eighth inning of Thursday\u2019s victory against the Cincinnati<\/strong> Reds<\/strong>, I found myself seated, and more than anything, confused about what had just happened.\u00a0 A rookie, stealing home\u2014the 1st<\/sup> of his career, nonetheless\u2014in a tie game, in the heart of a pennant race.\u00a0 Excweese me? Bacon Powder?<\/p>\n

But now, days later and after watching far too many replays, I can\u2019t help but believe that Nick Masset<\/strong> set himself up failure.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, Chris Nelson caught Nick Masset sleeping; it was honestly like a board game in which Nelson was 2 or 3 moves ahead of Masset, testing him a little more with each.\u00a0 That\u2019s why when the Rockies\u2019 dugout called for a suicide squeeze with runners on the corners and Miguel Olivo at the plate with a 1-1 count, Nelson had the balls to swipe home.<\/p>\n

[hdplay id=18 ]<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Once I made up my mind I was going, I was going,” Nelson said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While this statement may be disconcerting to those who have not played before, to me it simply describes the mentality of a confident baseball player.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re going to attempt a steal of home in the eighth inning of a tied game, at a point in the season in which every game is more important than the one preceding it, you better be confident.<\/p>\n

Everyone watching the game could sense the momentum shifting in the Rockies favor after Troy<\/strong> Tulowitzki<\/strong> hit a bomb to leadoff the eighth.\u00a0 It was palpable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it was Masset that gave Nelson that extra boost in confidence by displaying a sense of vulnerability that indicated he was playing not to lose, rather than aggressively trying to bury the Rockies.\u00a0 Both the call of the suicide squeeze and Nelson\u2019s decision to break early were intended to do exactly what they did: capitalize on the game\u2019s shifting momentum and ultimately allow Masset to beat himself.<\/p>\n

It sounds crazy, but even if Nelson had been tagged out at the plate, I still would have approved of Jim Tracy\u2019s call for the squeeze in that particular situation.\u00a0 Tracy could tell that the wheels were falling off for Masset, and then applied the pressure at the perfect time.\u00a0 Even more impressive was the fact that Nelson recognized the same weakness in Masset, and then consciously improved upon his manager’s strategy.\u00a0 He made a veteran decision\u2014and no, I don\u2019t just mean that only a veteran ballplayer would be forgiven if they were tagged out at home\u2014that reflected awareness beyond his years.<\/p>\n

It was the type of play that unifies and ultimately inspires a ball club. And if the Rockies end up reaching the postseason, Nelson\u2019s steal of home will undoubtedly be recognized as a major reason.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have always considered the stealing of home to be one the most exciting plays in baseball.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s because I grew up watching \u201cThe Sandlot,\u201d and had Benny \u201cThe Jet\u201d Rodriguez embedded into my memory at an impressionable age, but there\u2019s just something about the accomplishment that makes you rise out of your seat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,6,11,13,10,14,775],"tags":[790,639,428,743,215,388,438,791,117,121,794,792,793,177,770],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=953"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":959,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions\/959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}