(#116)
Saw a lefty-lefty match up where the hitter fought off pitch after pitch until he got one he could handle and hit a clutch 2 out, 2 run double.
Question: How does a team respond in game 2 of a doubleheader when they took a whipping in game 1? Answer: They are two separate games. Hit the reset button and compete like a big boy. With a split, you leave there the same way you got there. All games are won, not by just showing up, or by just wanting to, but by hitting, fielding, throwing, running, bunting, and pitching. The process produces wins.
There is a fine art to playing doubleheaders. It is a learned behavior. The game is played pitch by pitch. One pitch at a time. Competing on each pitch. Evaluating and adjusting between pitches. Always expecting success on each pitch. Just have to get one more run than the other team. The universal rule of baseball.
Saw a really, really nice baseball facility. It can’t help but be distracting to the visiting team. We are playing catch-up. Plans are in motion. It’s 2022. The 21st century. It’s time to make decisions and take action.
Saw a starting pitcher who the other team and fans, ours and theirs, did not expect to start. A TBD. He promptly struck out the side in the first and subtracted 9 of the 21 outs we needed. He competed well, was composed, was not scared or intimidated in any way. The starter got 9 outs, the lefty reliever got 4, the sidewinder got 2, and the closer got the last 6. 9+4+2+6=21. Do the math.
In that band box of a field, it is always good to see the flag blowing in; briskly.
To compete for post-season play, you sweep when you can, split when you have to, and avoid getting swept at all costs.
I think the other team was more devastated by losing the second game than we were by losing the first game.
The sidewinder came in in the 5th to get a double play ball. He did. That’s his job. 5-3 DP to end the bottom of the fifth. About 4 pitches to make it happen. Every piece of the puzzle counts.
Ace right-hander came out of the bullpen in the bottom of the six with a mission to get six outs and secure the win. He had great stuff and competed well. I love to see those guys who will do what it takes to help their team win.
I felt like he got a little too hyped up, had too much adrenaline to start the seventh and walked the first two hitters. Take a breath and slow it all down a little bit. You need adrenaline and emotion (energy in motion) on every pitch, but more like controlled adrenaline. Throttle it up or down as needed.
The home plate umpire was reluctant to make a called third strike several times in the bottom of the seventh. Our pitcher kept his composure and worked to overcome it. If the ump reviews the video, he will see that these were strikes.
I always made it a point not to argue balls and strikes on every pitch; only the ones I thought were really strikes or really balls. Trust me.
If you throw a pitch that the umpire misses, get the next pitch close. Many times, he knows he missed it and is begging for another chance. Lots of times the pitcher misses out of the zone badly after the missed call and all is forgotten.
In a 5-4 game with 2 outs in the bottom of the seventh, a 3-2 slider was radioed in from the coach to the catcher, who relayed it to the pitcher, who did not flinch and got a game winning backwards K. It was a pitch that the hitter was not expecting and one that made it easy for the umpire to ring him up.
The pitch calling sequence appeared to be influenced by the batter moving up and back in the box. Awesome gamesmanship. If we were just flashing signals in or calling numbers this probably couldn’t happen. The radio and headset is a great way for coach and catcher to communicate and perhaps change a pitch decision at the last second.
Saw an effective pitching game plan in game 2. The starter was effective for 3+ innings, subtracting three outs, ace lefty comes in to finish the fourth. He got one out in the fifth and walked a couple. The side-armer came in to get a double play ball. He did. The ace comes on for a two inning save. Mission accomplished. Well done.
I always said if I had four great slider guys that nobody could hit, I’d pitch them all every game.
Back in the 80’s my starting pitcher (future big leaguer) would pitch 6 innings and the game two starter would pitch the seventh, if needed and then start game 2. If the game two starter needed 7th inning help, the game one starter (future big leaguer) would come back after a couple of hours and finish it. I had one pitcher (future big leaguer) who pitched both games of a doubleheader once. They were five inning games. He pitched two shutouts, picked up two wins and struck out 24. It was effortless. I had another pitcher (future big leaguer) who started 17 games in the ’95 season, completed 15, won 13 and broke at least 5 aluminum bats during the season. My starters would pitch on Tuesdays and Saturdays, not just once a week. My have times changed.
Of all the great fastballs I saw in these games, the pitch that secured the win was the 3-2 slider with 2 outs in the seventh. (PS- with the tying run on second and the winning run at the plate with a hitter hunting a fastball). You’ve got to have confidence to call it, to throw it, and to catch it.
We used to always try to stay down in the zone to get more ground balls. But all of the upper cutters and launch angle guys have made that harder. Now pitching high fastballs seems to be the thing to do at least a part of the repertoire. No fastballs over the plate at the belt, but at the top of the strike zone. But they have to chase it and the umpire has to call it if they don’t.
I believe that the guy that will consistently pitch inside will have the biggest edge. Hitter’s don’t like it and can’t get the barrel to it. But it is a rare to see. I don’t think the pitchers want to because the hitters are crowding the plate and might get hit.
Preparing for post-season play is the sum total of all of the experiences of playing 40+ games in the regular season. Get a little better every day, work on your weaknesses, add some things to your game, and try to be playing your best when tournament time comes.
You can’t win it if you ain’t in it. But if you are, you can. Somebody does it every year.
Until Volume 9.
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 