 | Sox must hope that the problem isn’t catching |
There is no team as woeful at throwing out runners as the Red Sox.
We know this is a multifaceted issue, that it’s not as simple as the catcher being unable to throw anybody out, though that’s part of it.
Through Friday, the Sox had thrown out 2 of 39 attempted base stealers.
Not that other teams are faring great in this department.
The Yankees, for instance, through Thursday had thrown out 1 of 14 and they have a decent won-lost record. The Diamondbacks were 3 for 18, the Tigers 4 for 17, the Marlins 5 for 18, the Phillies 3 for 13, the Pirates 1 for 12.
There were no teams that had more caught-stealings than steals, and only the Twins were even with six apiece.
“It’s a baseball problem,’’ said former Blue Jays manager Buck Martinez, also a former catcher. “You’re not going to see teams with three or four 40-home run guys anymore, so teams are looking for ways to manufacture runs.
“The Red Sox’ numbers pop out, but everybody is having trouble with it.’’
When scouts sit at Fenway Park, the easiest jotting they have to put in their reports is: When you get on base against the Red Sox, you run. You don’t have to be a trained scout to know that. As a scout put it to me, “You run until they prove they can throw you out.’’
Are teams picking on the Sox? Maybe so, but if the Sox pitch the way they’re supposed to, this won’t be as big an issue. The Sox allowed a league-high 151 steals last season and made the playoffs.
“I think when you’re losing, you start looking at everything,’’ said Brewers manager Ken Macha. “We had a talk with our pitchers at the beginning of the year, that they have to be quicker to the plate. If you can be 1.2 seconds to the plate, that really helps. That means a lower leg kick.
“Now, the problem with that is that you can mess with pitchers’ mechanics, so there’s a fine line there and it depends how you want to approach it.
“Bad mechanics can lead to a two-run homer. You don’t want that, either.’’
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2010/04/25/sox_must_hope_that_the_problem_isnt_catching/
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