Glynn Carrigan posted this comment to Chris’s outstanding post on Jim Hickey:

I believe a comment is in order for both Hickey and Maddon. Please talk with Rodney about him wearing his hat cocked like a gangbanger or a hoodlum instead of a straight on his head like a professional player! Grow up and act like a major league pitcher, not a punk!

I think his comment touches on something every Rays fan has discussed at some point this spring.  What’s the deal with Rodney’s hat?   Here’s the thing.  I absolutely agree with Glynn AND absolutely disagree with Glynn.  I suppose that kind of logic only makes sense in an election year. 

I agree with Glynn because I am decidedly old-school.  I don’t pretend to be a sociologist but, the forced schtick in today’s sporting world wears me out.  I can barely stand more than one NFL game a week anymore because every single tackle leads to some contrived dance or taunt.  Rodney’s hat seems to be right in that mold.  It’s like Rodney is saying “Yeah, I know we are supposed to look uniform but F that.  I am unique.  You’ll look at me because I look different.”  Forget letting your play do the talking.  Do the talking before, during, and after you play so that no one remembers whether you were actually succesful.  That is sports in 2012.

But, on the other hand, Rodney’s hat hits right in the sweet spot of Joe Maddon.  Joe manages performance, not process.  Joe seems to inherently understand that his primary role as a manager is to keep every player in a good mental state to keep their brains from screwing up their game.  In some ways, Joe is like a less attractive Annie Savoy.  And Fernando Rodney is the perfect example of what makes Joe a genius.  In this last two stops, Rodney battled with grizzled-old baseball men over non-baseball related issues.  His personality (and presumably his crooked hat) ruffled the feathers of Jim Leyland and Mike Scioscia leading to ugly public divorces.  None of those scuffs had anything to do with Rodney’s ability.  Rodney just couldn’t live under the strict parenting rules imposed by Leyland and Scioscia who, like Glynn, probably thought Rodney was a punk.

So, I leave the question open.  Is Rodney a punk that needs to fix his hat?  Or, is he just another jewel in Joe’s crown as a the best personality manager ever?

Also, does the answer to this question change if Rodney stops getting guys out?

Last week Mark Simon (Mets fan but not-so-secret Rays admirer) of the Baseball Today podcast had a great interview with Jim Hickey, touching on a number of interesting insights that deserve further review. The full interview can be found here (Hickey interview starts at 27:27).

 On the process of ‘remaking’ someone like Fernando Rodney

 Hickey emphasized that the process really starts with the pro scouting department who identify pitchers with shortcomings that they believe to be relatively easy to fix. Hickey cited the example of Kyle Farnsworth adding a sinker to his arsenal, which led to a career high 50% ground ball rate last season.

 Regarding Rodney, Hickey noted that they really wanted him to get back to throwing his plus-fastball in the strike zone and really focused on this during spring training. On occasion, for example, he would be forced to try and get through an inning only throwing his fastball on the outer edge of the plate. So far of course, this approach has worked apparent miracles for Rodney, with his fastball being located over the plate 67% of the time, compared with four straight years of being below 60% (per Brooks Baseball). Indeed, his previous best effort of 68% was in 2007 while with the Tigers (50.2 IP, 4.26 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 9.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9), not coincidentally his best season of his career (as measured by fWAR).

Hickey noted that Rodney had been open to anything the team suggested in terms of tweaking his positioning on the mound and his use of different pitches – as had been the case for other rejuvenated members of the ‘pen. You wonder if the over-the-top criticism the likes of Farnsworth and Rodney received while playing in big markets helped the Rays, as they become open to any suggestions given their bruised egos and ‘last chance’ mentality.

On David Price’s development

Hickey confirmed that Price’s increased willingness to throw his off speed stuff earlier in the count has been vital in his improved performance over his last four starts. Indeed, since his inefficient 85 pitch, three inning, three earned run outing in Boston, Price has simply gone 29 innings in four starts with a 1.55 ERA and 27:5 strikeout to walk rate (edit: before the loss to the Yankees).

Without wishing to draw a conclusion from a small amount of information, a quick look at the first pitch thrown to each hitter in Price’s best two starts this year (Apr 24 vs LAA and May 4 vs OAK) clearly backup what was evident when watching the games and what Hickey referenced: Price is varying the way he is attacking hitters. In those two starts, hitters saw fastball on the first pitch 59% and 61% of the time, compared with 81% against the Red Sox. Of particular note were the 16 batters who saw a curve on the first pitch (27%) compared to just 111 in all of 2011 (12%).

 The above diagrams illustrate how Price was able to avoid being predictable and keep hitters on the back foot all day in those great starts against    AL West opponents.

 On Jeremy Hellickson’s low strike to walk ratio

 There was much written about Hellickson in the off season with many pegging him as a regression candidate because of a low batting average on balls in play (BABIP) which suggests he was ‘lucky’ during 2011. Research shows that pitchers generally have limited control over where hit balls land and thus over a long enough period, balls put into play should drop in at an approximate league average rate (.300). In reality this is an oversimplification, as you need to at least consider the strength of the Rays defense behind him along with Hellickson’s ability to induce infield fly balls and weak contact, as explained in a great piece by Bill Baer on the Sweetspot blog.

 One of the ways in which Hellickson could combat any such regression from more balls falling into play would be to up his strikeout rate, which has disappointingly hovered around the 5.5 mark in the majors after sitting above 9.0 at every lower level stop. When asked about this point though, Hickey suggested the team were less concerned with strikeout to walk rate and more with simply cutting down on the total walks (wanting them cut in half). With a simple, repeatable, delivery along with a good demeanor on the mound, Hellickson probably should have less free passes and this is something to watch as his sophomore season progresses.

 On the defensive shifts

 It seems everyone is talking about the Rays’ defensive shifts these days. Most of the reaction has been positive though there are of course still some doubters out there (BA mentioned on the broadcast this week that one of the Yankee coaches suggested teams will catch up with Rays sooner rather than later). Hickey was asked about the pitcher’s role in the famed shifts and he was fairly candid in his answers (without going in to specifics, of course). One of the interesting points Hickey made was that the shift isn’t necessarily designed to force a player to hit into its jaws but rather just putting players where the balls are hit more often.  Hence, a pitcher won’t necessarily be forced to pitch a particular way depending on the defensive alignment.

 The pitching staff doesn’t have a huge say in the positioning of the defense, but do have the right to refuse the shift on a given play if they so wish. Needless to say, it’s Price and Shields who will exercise this option the most with the younger guys tending to defer to management’s decision.

 Against the Angels, Hickey felt that Pujols would have had four or five hits against a vanilla defense, but wound up going 1-11 thanks to the defensive maneuvering orchestrated by Maddon and company. Perhaps teams do adjust in the long term but as with many of the Rays ‘extra 2%’ type moves, you feel that Maddon will be onto the next scheme by then. In the mean time, the shift must at least be worth a handful of runs over the course of a season (though I’d like to see someone quantify this).  

 One thing that is always clear when listening to Hickey, or Dave Martinez, or really anyone in the organization is that everyone buys into what the team is trying to do. Everyone has to fit into the team’s style, not necessarily with the same character, but with a willingness to try different things and backup their decisions with data and fact rather than custom and lore. Hickey fits that description perfectly and will hopefully continue to have great success with this talented bunch of pitchers.

Last night was both infuriating and exhilarating.  In fact, that seems to sum up the 2012 Rays.

But last night was quintessential Rays baseball.  Create as many scoring opportunities as possible.  Hold the opposition.  And then finally break through.

Despite all the good that came with last night’s win, there was one play that doesn’t seem to be getting the attention it deserves.  With no one out in the top of the 9th, Sean Rodriguez went first-to-third on Brandon Allen’s flare AND Brandon Allen took second on the throw.

Why does that matter?  I mean, they would have scored on Joyce’s home run from first and second, right?

Maybe.  But I don’t think Joyce gets this fat pitch if the game isn’t tied and the go-ahead run isn’t 90-feet away:

Robertson attacks lefties with pitches that are down-and-away (just ask Carlos Pena).  But, with the go-ahead run on third base, he can’t attack too far down and away because he can’t afford a passed ball.  So, he elevates a pitch and Matt Joyce is a hero.

That is the beauty of Maddon-ball.  Everyone can appreciate the go-ahead three-run bomb.  But, you have to watch the Rays regularly to know that Rodriguez’s aggressiveness on the bases — followed closely by Allen’s aggressiveness on the bases — forced Robertson to load the bases, set up the tying run, and then throw a fat strike to lose the game.

My friend Rob once said "If I ever ran into Gomes in a dark alley, I'd just pretend to be a curveball. Then I'd be safe."

Marc Topkin had a nice feature on Jonny Gomes in yesterday’s Times.

My favorite part wasn’t all the compliments about what a great teammate Gomes was.  Or the stories about the two big fights in 2008.  The best quote came from JP Howell:

He started it — he started the freestyle. Just be free and easy, man, and go play. He was the ‘OG’ of the group, the original guy.

Forget the shifts.  Forget the baserunning.  Forget the safety squeezes.  Forget player development.  Forget the diamonds in the rough.  If there is one thing that sets the 2008-present Rays apart from the rest of baseball, it’s the free-and-easy nature of the clubhouse.  There is no pressure on this young team because they are having too much fun to worry about pressure.  I mean, which other club had a fully-dressed Mariachi band playing live music in their clubhouse Saturday?  Which other club would allow that after a loss?

Major League clubhouses are pretty regimented.  If you lose, there is no music and there is no talking.  If a reporter is around, you whisper to him.  After all, you’re a pro, and a loss is supposed to hurt so much that you cannot stand the noise.  It is a little ridiculous.

I remember thinking that was so stupid.  When the D-Rays were losing 100 games, I couldn’t fathom how moping around every night was going to make everything better.

Looking back on Jonny Gomes, he brought life to a place of death.  He went to team yoga in just his compression shorts.  He created the Rayhawk.  He wrestled after a game.  He kept everyone loose and created the role of clubhouse cruise director (a role now apparently occupied by JP Howell who is in charge of the clubhouse radio).

Gomes is the guy you want with you in a casino.  He’s the guy you want looking over your shoulder, taunting the dealer, while you ride a hot streak and take the house.  His enthusiasm makes you better.

That is Gomes’ legacy in Tampa.  (To a lesser extent, his legacy will also be partially based on the fact that he was The Mrs.’s first favorite Ray.  She still wears her Jonny Gomes girl jersey t-shirt).

Gomes’ fun-loving attitude helped Maddon create a new kind of Major League clubhouse atmosphere.  The Rays are a destination for ballplayers.  Not because of the money they can offer (like the big boys). Not because of the history they have.  But, because of the experience.  They let big leaguers actually, you know, enjoy baseball again.  That doesn’t just lead to a lot of wins.  It also makes them incredibly fun to watch.

Thanks Jonny.

[Note, I know this is old news.  I deserve all the taunting associated with it.  The Longo story just took precedence.]

Yesterday, Godzilla took the field with the Rays extended-spring team (these are minor leaguers that are not good enough for a full-season assignment so they stay in spring training purgatory until they can join a short-season team with this year’s draft class).  He didn’t just get in a little work.  He did everything that the minor leaguers did.  That is a REALLY big deal.  That tells me this is a guy that wants back into the show on his merits, not on his reputation.

Matsui’s presence can only make you wonder what the Rays are up to.  Right?  Why add a left-handed DH type when you already employ Luke Scott, Brandon Allen, Matt Joyce, and Carlos Pena?  Can it just be for insurance? Maybe, but probably not.  I think something else is at play.

I read a blog post a few days ago pointing out that the Rays offense is surging amidst a season in which offense is down around baseball.  I’d link to the post (which I thought Dave Schoenfield wrote over on the big Sweet Spot blog) but I can’t find it.  Assuming I’m not crazy and offense is really down across baseball, then the Matsui signing makes a ton of sense.

If offense is down, there are a lot of contenders that are going to be shopping for a bat.  That is the perfect time to have a surplus of bats on one-year contracts.  Right?  That means Scott, Matsui (and possibly even Pena depending on the deal) are all available for teams outside the AL East to bolster their lineup before the deadline.

Sure, the Rays have a surplus of good pitching, but that isn’t going to bring a lot of return at the trade deadline in a year when everyone seems to be getting good performance from their pitchers.  So, rather than sell the assets the Rays have low, they went out and acquired cheap assets that other teams might overpay for in a month.

That’s genius, right?  I tip my cap to Andrew again.

I went to bed early.  What’d I miss?  Anything interesting?

Yesterday was one of those days that spawns a million posts.  I have a Matsui post in the hopper that is almost done.  I have to write a post on Tim Beckham.  (Brendan was at a Dodgers game and sent me a post too.)  But all that takes a back seat to the Rays new lineup.

No matter what happens, we cannot survive two months in the AL East with Catcher-Johnson-Rodriguez at the bottom of our lineup card every day.  Between now and July 1, we have Boston twice, New York twice, Toronto twice, the (suddenly interesting) Orioles twice, and the Tigers once.  I love Joe’s faith in his guys, but Elliot Johnson just isn’t the solution.

(Incidentally, isn’t this the moment for Tim Beckham?  If he had progressed at even an average pace, don’t you call him up for his offense, let him play shortstop and move Rodriguez’s offense over to third base?  Not only is Beckham not ready, but now he is suspended for 50 games too.  Figures.)

Here’s an idea.  Why not try Ben Zobrist at 3B?  This solves a lot of our problems.

First, it isn’t a difficult defensive transition for Zobrist.  He is a former shortstop and can certainly handle the demands of 3B. In fact, based on all the shifting the Rays do, playing 3B for us is kind of like playing shortstop a lot anyway.  Longo covers an entire side of the infield regularly in our shifts and Zobrist is capable of handling that AND is capable of turning double plays.

Second, it keeps our lineup from using two defense-only infielders at once and and frees Johnson up to serve his role as a platoon partner/situational defender. Johnson becoming a regularly hurts our bench flexibility and, our bench flexibility is one of our huge advantages at the moment.

Third, it puts Matt Joyce in the lineup every day.  I’m not sure that actually “solves” a problem but Joyce is the bat that has the most upside (I honestly have never thought “upside” was a word but, everyone keeps using it so I give up).  Pena, Scott, Zobrist, Jennings, and Upton, are already getting as many at bats as they can handle.  An increase in Joyce at bats might be able to fill some of Longo’s loss. (Also, we finally get to find out if Matt Joyce is an everyday Major Leaguer or not).

If Joyce is the concern with this approach, then you send Will Rhymes back to Durham and call up Brandon Guyer just as soon as he gets off the 7-day DL.  Guyer spends two months as Joyce’s platoon partner in RF and our offense doesn’t lose as much as it does with Johnson in there every night. Simple.

This works, right?  Why isn’t anyone talking about this?  Why are we pretending like we suddenly have positions and we need to cover Longo’s position.

[UPDATE] I just saw this post on Sweet Spot Blog (that you should be reading every day because it is awesome) Crasburn Alley breaking down 3B that are available on the trade market.

Mark Trumbo is an interesting option.  Bill makes the good point that he isn’t a long term solution at 3B because he is a first baseman.  Well, guess what, we don’t need a long-term solution at third.  But we DO need a long-term solution at first.  Right?  Can’t you see adding Trumbo to cover for Longo and then using him in the Pena/Scott 1B/DH platoon the rest of the way until he becomes the every day 1B next summer?  This makes too much sense.

I have three small children so, Sunday nights are generally to peace and quiet in my house (at least until Mad Men starts).  Because of that, I don’t often watch Sunday Night Baseball.

So, last night was my first chance to hear Tito and Orel work a game together.  I have to say, I really enjoyed it.  (I know, I know, to keep my status as a “blogger” I am supposed to complain about everyone on TV.  But I liked them.)

When I was working for the club, I would often earn a little extra cash by sitting in the booth with a visiting TV crew or a national TV crew to feed them notes.  I always enjoyed the experience because, it was interesting to hear the opinions of analysts who don’t see the Rays every night.  Last night was a chance to re-live that a bit.

I noticed three major themes in the analysis:

1) We have the best scouts in baseball;

Last night was a good night to be a Rays’ scout.  It seemed like the broadcast dedicated 80% of the air time to the success of our scouting staff.  It got so crazy, I think Hershiser just started making stuff up to keep the discussion going.  (He said something like ‘the Rays care what kind of person they are getting, and dedicate resources to make sure everyone they acquire is going to be a good person that fits into the Rays’ clubhouse.’  Apparently, Orel hadn’t googled ‘Bush, Matt’ in a while.)

Best I can tell, this is new.  Prior to last night, every national compliment I heard about the Rays focused either on the draft (‘they were lucky to have so many high picks’), the GM (‘Friedman keeps pulling rabbits out of hats’), or player development (‘Joe gets the best out of players others gave up on.’)  But scouting is so important in our game.  And the Rays new crop of scouts deserved some national run.  We have apparently come a long way from Benny Latino leaking information about Toe Nash to Peter Gammons.

2) Joe is so smart he is going to achieve world peace, cure cancer, and, in his spare time, win a few World Series;

Anyone else think Francona and Hershiser have a poster of Joe over their beds?  They obsessed over everything he did.  It was almost uncomfortable.  This was most pronounced when the boys spent 2-3 innings talking about the Rays shifts.  They broke the shift down from the high-home camera a couple of different times and, by the end, were talking themselves into things that may or may not exist.  (at some point, they showed a shift, and concluded, based on the alignment, that ‘Murphy has power to right center in the air but shows no tendency on the ground.  More importantly, this shift is based on Joel Peralta’s changeup.’ I don’t know if the Rays have pitcher-by-pitcher shifts, but I suppose nothing would surprise me at this point.)

3) We have totally freaked out everyone in Boston’s clubhouse.

There were a couple of different moments in the game where Tito gave us a glimpse into the 2011 Boston clubhouse.  It was most pronounced when he was discussing playing the Rays at the Trop.  An experience I think he described as a ‘nightmare.’ There was something about the way Tito talked about the Rays last night – it was off the cuff and unrehearsed – that made me think he had said the exact same things in Coaches meetings last summer.  And if the Red Sox coaches were freaked out to play us, so were (are?) the players.  Honestly, I don’t blame them.

Even the most casual Rays fan knew at the end of 2011 knew the Rays needed to spend some time focused on their catching corps during the winter.  Kelly Shoppach, John Jaso, and their host of understudies were simply underwhelming in all facets of the game in 2011.

Despite this glaring weakness, the winter market was unkind to the Rays and they were only able to add Jose Molina.  While Molina has a big last name, he is a career backup and, we spent all winter trying to convince ourselves to the contrary.  After a month of real baseball, it looks to me like our other offseason “acquisition” will be the actual “solution” at catcher.

Molina was acquired, ostensibly, for his defense.  Catcher “defense” means a lot of things to a lot of people.  To some, it means a good throwing catcher that keeps pitches away from the backstop, like Pudge Rodriguez.  To others, it means an intelligent catcher that manages a pitching staff and calls a good game, like Brad Ausmus.

Gimenez and Molina seem to be on par in the Pudge categories at the moment.  Molina has caught 1 of 5 base stealers and allowed 1 passed ball.  In half as many starts, Gimenez has caught 2 of 5 base stealers (both last night) and not allowed any passed balls.  That is a push.

But, there is a developing body of evidence that suggests that the pitchers like throwing to Gimenez better than they like throwing to Molina.  It was on full display last night.  The always calm Jeremy Hellickson looked much more comfortable than he had in any previous start — all of which were thrown to Molina.

Take a look at the Rays’ pitcher splits by catcher.

Rays pitchers are more than a half-run better with Gimenez in the bucket than they are with Molina in the bucket.  The Rays ERA to Molina spikes to 5.76 if you take out the Shutouts thrown by James Shields and David Price in Boston and versus LA. (Why would you take those out?  Because Shields is in a place in his career where he is going to feel comfortable throwing to anyone.  He’ll shake Molina off and do what he wants.  Price, on the other hand, throws one pitch.  It doesn’t take a genius to call one of his games.  Anyone with an index finger can do it.)

What is Gimenez doing better than Molina?  It looks like he is more aggressive in the strike zone.  (And, haven’t we spent the entire month wondering why the Rays rotation is suddenly nibbling at the edges and getting yanked early in games?)

With Molina in the bucket, the Rays have walked 4 hitters per nine innings and thrown a whopping 6 wild pitches.  With Gimenez, they have walked just 1.3 hitters per nine innings and thrown just two wild pitches.  Moreover, the strikeout-walk ratio achieved by Gimenez’s approach far exceeds the same ratio from Molina.

Finally, Molina leads baseball in mound visits.  The guy is going to lose 20 pounds this summer walking out to mound every 5th pitch.  There is a great Bob Gibson story about McCarver going out for a visit and getting yelled at.  Pitchers generally hate that stuff so, you better have a good reason if you are headed to the mound.  This isn’t Bull Durham.

Seriously though, For whatever reason, he cannot get on the same page with our guys.  That generally isn’t a good sign.

This is a small sample size, obviously.  But neither Gimenez nor Molina can hit.  So, if Gimenez has the staff working the way we want them to work, then I expect he is going to see a lot more time in the bucket.

Up is down.  Black is white.  Night games are day games. The Rays’ offense keeps bailing out their inability to pitch or play defense.

We are truly through the looking glass here, folks.

The Rays offense has now scored 76 runs in 16 games.  The Rays didn’t score their 76th run in 2011 until their 21st game (and they wouldn’t have made it that quickly if the Legend of Sam Fuld didn’t propel them to a 13-run outburst at Fenway Park).  They’ve scored those runs despite using Sean Rodriguez/Reid Brignac AND Jose Molina/Some other C that can’t hit every single night. (Imagine where they’d be if they hadn’t left 112 runners on base in those 16 games…)

At this pace, the Rays will score 769.5 runs in 2012, lambasting their 2011 total of 707.  I know, I know, 16 games is far too early to set a “pace.”  But even if they come back to earth a little, it is VERY likely that the 2012 Rays are going to be an offensive juggernaut when compared to the light-hitting 2012 clubhouse.  (Someone ask Johnny Damon about the DH/1B contribution again).

As unexpected as the offense has been, it isn’t the weirdest thing happening at the big ballpark by the Bay.  Despite the emergence of the Greatest Show on Turf (as a Bucs fan, I hated those Rams teams but, they had a cool nickname that I am stealing, so there), the Rays have a WORSE run differential than they did in 2011.

Last season, the Rays only scored 707 runs (4.36 per game) but they held opponents to 614 runs (3.79 per game).  In 16 games this summer, the Rays have been outscored 78-76.  So, that puts this franchise, that was built on pitching and defense, in the odd posture of being saved by its offense.

What gives?

A lot of things, honestly.  The Rays starting pitchers have been mediocre, at best.  With the exception of James Shields, who just balanced the staff with an impressive scoreless innings streak, the starting pitching has not been aggressive and cannot get deep into games.  Then, they give the ball to a bullpen that has been downright terrible (besides Fernando Rodney).

Part of the reason the pitching has struggled is because the Rays’ vaunted defense is suddenly very porous.  It’s not just the errors, it’s the mental mistakes that occur on a seemingly nightly basis.

I am not yet worried about either the pitching or the defense.  The Rays’ players are talented in that arena and they are likely to come around and put together a good season.  I am also not yet convinced that the Rays can keep up a 4.75 runs per game pace.

But, if they can survive this stretch of poor pitching and defense, they are going to win a lot of games this summer and may just be the team to beat in the American League.

Based on the stories I am reading this morning, the Rays lost last night because Evan Longoria made three errors and for no other reason.  It had nothing to do with the four home runs Toronto hit, nor the four double-plays the Rays hit into, nor the 18 runners the Rays stranded.  Nope.  It was Longo.

Longo’s “errors” bring to mind a different debate for me. We as mainstream fans need to agree how we are going to judge fielding ability because “errors” isn’t working.  I know SABRmetrics can be intimidating.  I still don’t understand a lot of it and haven’t had the time (or perhaps the mathematical ability) to dig in and understand all of the arguments.  But I do admire the efforts to get a better understanding of fielding.

I admire the efforts around fielding because I know how fielding is currently evaluated.  I know that there is no such thing as an “error.”  I sat next to the Official Scorer every night.  The line between error and hit is fuzzy, at best, and the scorer obsesses over it.  I am certain the scorer watched Longo’s first”error” several times after it happened and, again after the game (because I am sure JP Arencibia called the Press Box and asked for a hit there).

Look at the highlights again.  I think, at best, reasonable people can disagree about that first error.  The ball was scalded down the line and, it looks to me like Longo makes a good play to knock it down (with his throwing hand no less) to save a sure-fire double down the line.  Right?  How is that an error?

I could argue against the second error as well.  A Baltimore chop into the hole between short and third creates problems on the best days.  It is a tough play for the shortstop because he has to range so far back behind third (to get a natural hop) that he is not likely to be in a place to throw.  Longo, on the other hand, can only dive towards the mound to try and cut the ball off before the in-between hop. But, if the ball gets down, it is incredibly difficult to even get the ball into your glove (because the in-between hop tend to squirt horizontally) much less do anything productive with it.  So, in my opinion, those runners were going to be safe at first and second anyway.  You could score it a hit or, to the extent you determine Longo may have had a play at first, you can score it a fielder’s choice.  Right?

So that just leaves the wide throw.  That is definitely an error.  But it is unfortunate that it qualifies.  Why?  Is there anyone in the room that doesn’t want Longo making that play?  It is risky.  But he can do it.  Most third basemen aren’t even in that position to throw.  So, looking at the numbers, they appear to be better defensive third basemen because they cannot put themselves in a position to make the play Longo had a chance to make.  That doesn’t make any sense.  Right?

In the end, I don’t think Longo had a very bad game at third base even though the box score says something differently.  I will accept his wild throw because I want him to try and make that play.  The other two plays are hits.  They just are.

Am I crazy?  Maybe I will get one of the guys from DRaysBay to slide over and give us a background on fielding metrics.  Thoughts?