Pitching Staff Mauled in Game 2
A frustrated Paul Maholm didn't make it past the fourth inning for the second time in as many starts and the Brewers went on to maul Pirate pitching for 15 hits and 10 runs to win game 2 of this series.
This game started off exactly the same way Maholm's April 29th game started off with plays not made by our middle infielders.
First Weeks hit a grounder through the box for a single to leadoff off the game, then Hardy hit a groundball that went right under Wilson's glove into left, Fielder K'd for the first out after Tracy started screaming at home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether's poor calls, and then Hall hit a grounder through the box that Wilson grabbed and tossed to Sanchez for the force, but Sanchez couldn't get enough arm on the ball and Hall was called safe.
It should have been at least the third out.
Up came Estrada and he hit a grounder to Wilson but he didn't even attempt to make a play on it and Weeks scored from third.
Like April 29th when Wilson made an error on Encarnancion's leadoff grounder hit to him in the third (it was ruled a hit but was clearly an error as Wilson had the ball in his glove), it gave the Reds four outs in the inning and they scored one run off it.
But that was just the start.
In the 4th, Maholm got Conine to hit a grounder to Sanchez that went right under his glove and Maholm started to lose it. On the very next pitch, Maholm threw it in the dirt in disgust, Doumit couldn't handle it as it skipped away, and Conine broke for second. Doumit grabbed the ball and threw to second in plenty of time to nail Conine but Sanchez dropped the ball.
Maholm walked the next two batters, Encarnancion tripled scoring three, Harang hit a single to score him, and then Freel hit a sharp grounder to Wilson but he lallygagged his throw to Sanchez and they couldn't turn the double play. Phillips then hit a liner into center and Freel scored - all the way from first. Five runs scored in the six outs allowed inning and Maholm never returned.
Maholm came back to the mound in the second inning Friday and had a 1-2-3 inning. In the third, he left a heater up in the zone and Hardy went yard on him. And in the fourth his middle infield collapsed around him.
Hall hit a leadoff grounder that went right under Sanchez's glove into right field and Maholm clearly lost it. He then walked Graffanino, Vargas's sac bunt moved the runners along, and then Maholm walked Weeks on four straight pitches seemingly on his own, perhaps thinking he would setup a double play opportunity.
With the bases loaded, Maholm K'd Hardy for the second out but if you remember the grounder under Sanchez's glove, it should have been the end of the inning if the ball was gloved. Instead, Fielder came to the plate with the bases juiced.
Remember me mentioning Tracy was all over Meriwether in the first inning? On a 2-1 pitch, Maholm threw a hook that swept across the plate and Meriwether called it a ball. It was a very good pitch. Maholm looked to the dugout for some help but nothing was said. Then for some reason, Maholm threw the exact same pitch on 3-1 and Meriwether didn't buy it again and Fielder walked to score a run.
Maholm then started to say something to Meriwether who immediately shot back a response to the young pitcher and Tracy shot out of the dugout like he was on fire with his hook.
Perhaps a hook that had Indianapolis written on it.
Maholm had every right to be upset about the poor defense he has received from Wilson dating back well into 2006, and now Sanchez this year. Far too many ground balls that were glovable have gone for hits under their gloves.
But Maholm has no excuse whatsoever for all the walks and his poor presence on the mound in front of, and to, teammates and officials. No excuse.. none.
If I'm Tracy or Dave Littlefield, I spank the young man right now with a stint in Indy and hope he comes back with better focus because he certainly hasn't learned from his mistakes and his outbursts are getting more and more vocal and exaggerated. He also seems to be changing game management at will.
He needs a break from Pittsburgh.
Now that doesn't mean I'm excusing Sanchez and Wilson's poor performances. Hardly. Perhaps when Maholm pitches again Castillo should be at second base because his range is far superior to Sanchez's, as is his arm. We can't continue to give four and five out innings to the opposition. That doesn't make sense.
Also, don't forget Maholm is pitching behind Gorzelanny and when two southpaws pitch back-to-back with nearly identical release points, MLB hitters aren't fooled even though Maholm hides the ball better. And throwing three southpaws in a row is a cardinal sin in baseball and Tracy is going to attempt that with Duke taking the mound Saturday night.
It's unfortunate Tracy didn't move Duke to Friday night who would have benefited from Meriwether's strike zone, and Maholm to Saturday night who would have benefited from Alfonso Marquez's zone. Instead, we are criss-crossed so you can expect some major run output again Saturday night.
Tip your hat to the Brewers defense who played well Friday night. They made the plays - we didn't. Vargas was very hittable but balls we put in play were hit right at someone. Credit the Brewers advance scouting for that.
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Chris Duffy had the night off and I was surprised to see Nate McLouth in center instead of Xavier Nady which would have allowed Ryan Doumit to play right. I have to believe that is because Nady isn't 100% yet or you can believe Doumit would have been in the game against Vargas the way he is seeing the ball right now.
After all the running Nady did Friday night, we might see Doumit in right Saturday since Suppan's splits are horrific against left hand hitters. Just a guess.
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Adam LaRoche was back on the field after his day off and he attacked the zone in the first inning resulting in a single. After that at bat it was more of the same-old from LaRoche. Hopefully he continues to attack.
"...then Hardy hit a groundball that went right under Wilson's glove into left."This ball was at least seven feet away from Wilson. Maybe ten.
"...but Sanchez couldn't get enough arm on the ball and Hall was called safe."
Maz might have turned this double play. Maybe.
"Up came Estrada and he hit a grounder to Wilson but he didn't even attempt to make a play on it and Weeks scored from third."
I would have liked to see a dive from Wilson on this ball. But it would have taken a tremendous play to get an out. This was not a "grounder to Wilson," it was a grounder up the middle.
"Hall hit a leadoff grounder that went right under Sanchez's glove into right field."
With better range, Freddy could have gotten to this ball. But it did not go "right under Sanchez's glove." It was a foot or two out of his reach when he dove for it. Also, it was Corey Hart that hit this ball, not Hall.
I don't feel like going back to look at the game from the 29th. I would assume it is just more of the same. I understand that you think our middle infield is poor defensively, and itt's fine that you think that. But don't create imaginary plays to help prove what you believe.
Matt
http://tilnextyear.blogspot.com
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amen
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"With better range, Freddy could have gotten to this ball. But it did not go "right under Sanchez's glove." It was a foot or two out of his reach when he dove for it. Also, it was Corey Hart that hit this ball, not Hall."
yeah - Hart.. Hardy.. heck they all sound the same. hehe
As for the ball not going under his glove, that's pookie. Here's the replay:
http://buccoblog.com/media/2007/37.wmv
" would have liked to see a dive from Wilson on this ball. But it would have taken a tremendous play to get an out. This was not a "grounder to Wilson," it was a grounder up the middle."
Pookie - look at it again and watch the line Duffy takes to the ball and where he grabs it.
http://buccoblog.com/media/14.wmv
I can put up 10+ balls under both their gloves in Maholm's last 2 games. How many do you want to see?
"But don't create imaginary plays to help prove what you believe."
LoL.. I don't have to our middle D is so poor.
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Freddie has got to stop throwing himself at groundballs in expecatation of blocking them with his body.
How many dp's have we missed this year with him not turning the play? Did we think he could pick up the requisite skills needed when he missed nearly all of Spring Training?
Right now he is not playing well defensively, and that video showed it.
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I agree that Sanchez has been mediocre at best at second this year. But so far I have seen a ball that Freddy dove for and could not reach along with a ball that Wilson would have been two feet short of had he dove. How does that support your claim that there have been 10+ balls go under their gloves in the last two starts by Maholm? Show me one or two from last night's game and I will concede.
Matt
http://tilnextyear.blogspot.com
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"But so far I have seen a ball that Freddy dove for and could not reach"
BINGO - you're catching on quickly. How many have you seen this year "he could not reach" that went shooting into right field? A ton.
And those are from last night's game.
Look to be fair, Maholm is a 2:1 GB/FB guy.. I realize our middle D is going to take a hit when he's on the mound.. especially the left side. That's understandable.
And some are going to make it thru. The one Wilson didn't even make an attempt on is a good example. If you watch the field video you'll see he was actually shifting a bit to his right when the ball was hit. Ok.. that happens.
But if this team is going to have to survive on pitching and D, it HAS to start up the middle with groundball pitchers on the mound. Sanchez at second is unacceptable with 1.3:1 and up GB/FB pitcher's on the mound. He gives up too many outs.
And Wilson plays gold glove caliber D for just about every pitcher except Maholm. This isn't new.. I've been talking about it since mid-2006. For whatever reason it's happening, Wilson simply does not glove Maholm's balls in play like he does other pitchers.
And the two of them together are horrific turning DP's. We've lost way too many out there too.
If you want to look at more video, just do a search on middle infielders here and you'll pull up a ton. Plus, I have a highlight reel I'm working on that shows an unbelievable amount of these plays. Off the chart numbers.
Along with Duke and Maholm's reactions much like Brian Boehringer's and Joe Hernandez's to Wilson.
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Ok, but I'm not arguing that our middle infielders are playing good defense. I'm just saying that the balls you claim are going "under their gloves" are usually several feet out of their reach.
Matt
http://tilnextyear.blogspot.com
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but they aren't - that's the point. I have a video system that allows me x-slo mo and I can easily see the balls path and where the fielder's glove is on most plays. I mean, it's obvious.
Look at it another way -- of all qualified MLB pitchers, the Pirates have 2 of the top 20 with the poorest DER behind them.. Maholm and Duke. Ironically, their FIP-ERA's are in the top 10 of those 20 showing that they are pitching a lot better than they are getting help behind them.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/thtstats/main/index.php?view=pitching&linesToDisplay=50&orderBy=der&direction=ASC&qual_filter=1&season_filter%5B%5D=2007&league_filter%5B%5D=All&team_filter%5B%5D=All&Submit=Submit
Here is another snapshot - of the top 20 highest GB pitchers in the game (qualified), Maholm's DER is .050 lower than the other's median. Plus, his net DP rate (+/- league average DP's based on opportunities) is in negative numbers from the median of the group (he has +1.17 but the median for the group is 1.33).
http://baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=216679
That's now visual confirmation I suggested that we have a problem and statistical facts suggesting the D isn't getting it done using similar type GB:FB ratio pitchers across MLB as well as median netDP rates.
That picture isn't perfect by any means. But I also have the good fortune to have advanced video gear and a scout sitting beside me for many games.
The balls are reachable in most cases.. they are not being gloved.. for whatever reason.
Go ask Boehringer why. ;)
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Again, I'm not arguing that our defense has been good.
What kind of video system are you using that shows that Hardy's groundball went right under Wilson's glove into left? The slow-motion feature that I used to watch it is not all that advanced, but it still clearly shows the ball being about seven to ten feet from Wilson as it passes him.
Matt
http://tilnextyear.blogspot.com
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hehe - it's not the type of video system. Since your '10 feet from Wilson' was originally a play I said he didn't even attempt a play on but could have, we'll just have to agree to disagree. ;)
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