AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > June > 03
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Escobar homers on 3-0 pitch — problem with that?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While we listen to the great “Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger” CD and lament the passing of another music giant, we’ll offer a few quick thoughts about last night’s game and some facts and figures about Yunel Escobar, John Smoltz and the split-personality Braves (At home, they rule. On road? Not cool.)
First, let’s make sure I have this straight: Yunel Escobar hits a game-ending, 10th-inning, two-run homer to beat the Marlins and save the Braves and Smoltz from a homestand-opening defeat, and a few folks here on the ol’ Braves/MIB blog decide that it was flat-out wrong for Escobar to hit said homer on a 3-0 pitch?
Oh, my.
Never let it be said that sports fans care about results more than anything else. At least not all sports fans.
Really, that was the issue that demanded the attention of a few of you, more than anything else from last night’s game? I find that astounding, but hey, I’m just a paid observer, not a passionate fan.
For the record, let me say that manager Bobby Cox said after the game that Escobar had the green light to swing there, because Cox considers him to be one of the best “right-field hitters” in the game, and was confident that if Escobar swung, he could put the ball in play to the right side of the field and move Kelly Johnson from second to third base or drive him in.
Of course, Escobar did hit it to right, or at least slightly right of straightaway center. And did hit it over the fence, the first walk-off homer of his career.
And guess what? It came on the one-year anniversary of Escobar’s arrival in the major leagues. Wish I’d know this last night, but I only realized it when I was going through his day-by-day totals just now here at the home office.
Yes, it was June 2, 2007, when Escobar, just up from Richmond, went 2-for-4 with a game-winning RBI double in the eighth inning at sold-out Wrigley Field in Chicago.
But anyway, let’s get back to his swinging at that 3-0 pitch.
I checked on Stats, Inc. this morning to see how many times Escobar has swung at 3-0 pitches this season. He’s had nine 3-0 counts and took the fourth pitch eight times — six times it was ball 4, twice he took strikes.
Last night, for the first time all season, he swung. And hit a two-run homer.
You know what? I like those odds. Perhaps until he proves he can’t handle the responsibility, a smart manager might just let Escobar have the green light in said situations.
Of course, maybe you feel otherwise, that it would have been better for him to have taken that pitch and possibly drawn a walk? Done it for the greater good and all that. Followed “the book.”
Whatever. I’ll respectfully disagree and say that when a guy swings at a 3-0 pitch for the first time in nine such situations, and hit that pitch for a game-winning homer, his aggressiveness works just fine by me.
By the way, seems like there’s been a bit of an increase in Escobar critics among some fans lately, folks who don’t like his swagger or his aggressiveness or whatever.
If he smiled a lot and spoke fluent English, I’m going to guess that perception might be a bit different.
This kid’s a helluva talent, and he’s not a problem whatsoever in the clubhouse, at least not according to everybody I’ve talked to.
And for some idea of how good Escobar has been in his first full season in the majors, I did a quick, cursory comparison to some familiar names.
Granted, Escobar is a bit older (listed as 25, born 11/2/82) than these other guys were in their first full season and/or calendar year in the bigs, but most of them also played one position on an every-day basis and weren’t moved around the infield and used as part-time or platoon players initially.
Anyway, for what it’s worth:
Escobar has hit .316 (169-for-535) with 31 doubles, 1 triple, 10 homers, 53 RBI, 87 runs, 7 stolen bases, a .379 OBP and .434 slugging percentage in 149 games.
Rafael Furcal hit .295 (134-for-455) with 20 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 37 RBI, 87 runs, 40 stolen bases, a .394 OBP and a .382 slugging percentage in 131 games as a rookie in 2000.
Edgar Renteria hit .284 (161-for-567) with 21 doubles, 3 triples, 6 homers, 42 RBI, 81 runs, 21 stolen bases, a .333 OBP and a .363 slugging percentage in 140 games in his first calendar year in the majors with the Marlins, from May 10, 1996 to May 10, 1997
(Actually that’s a year plus one day, just like Escobar’s year plus one day).
Chipper Jones hit .268 (141-for-527) with 23 doubles, 3 triples, 23 homers, 86 RBI, 89 runs, a .355 OBP and a .454 slugging percentage in his first 148 games through the end of the 1995 season.
Hey, like I said, just a cursory glance, not any definitive comparison. I’m in a hurry here.
By the way, Escobar has given the home fans plenty of reason to dig him. He’s hit .341 with five homers and an .856 OPS in 74 career games at Turner Field, including .407 (24-for-59) with 11 RBI in 15 home games since May 3.
And the Miami resident sure seems to enjoy hitting against those Fishes: Escobar has hit .424 (28-for-66) with six doubles, four homers and a whopping 1.176 OPS in 17 games against the Marlins.
Tomorrow night’s Marlins starter is veteran Mark Hendrickson. Escobar is 5-for-6 with a homer against him.
Braves and saves: The Braves rank among NL leaders in most pitching categories this season, but are dead last in the majors in saves (eight) and save opportunities (14).
John Smoltz, who had converted 20-of-20 save opportunities against Florida and never allowed a run against them in 29 relief appearances during his previous stint as a closer, gave up two runs and was tagged with a blown save last night in his first relief appearance in 44 months.
Out of curiosity, I wanted to see where Smoltz stood at this point in the season during his three full seasons (2002-04) as arguably the game’s most dominant closer.
His best start to a season in that role was in 2003, when Smoltz converted 20 of 21 saves through June 2 and posted a 0.92 ERA in 27 appearances, with 38 strikeouts, four walks and no homers allowed in 29-1/3 innings.
Wow. Utterly overwhelming.
Folks, the good news for the Braves out of Smoltz’s appearance last night was that he really did throw hard (95 mph on a couple of pitches when I happened to glance at the scoreboard radar gun) and with very good movement.
Provided his shoulder remains sound enough and the pain can be kept at tolerable levels, he really can give the Braves a big boost at the back end of the bullpen, especially since he can be used reasonably and be given needed rest because the Braves have other options to closer games.
I’ll be curious to see if Smoltz has anything to say about how his shoulder feels today, after his first, real, adrenaline-pumped test in the new role (minor league rehab games aren’t even close to the real thing).
And who knows, maybe next time they’ll be able to finish the Pict-O-Word promotion in time for the crowd to enjoy Smoltz’s entrance to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. (I’m still in a state of disbelief that they allowed that interactive in-game promo thing to continue unabated on the huge video board as Smoltz walked in from the bullpen and every fan in attendance stood to applaud him.)
OK, out of time: Wanted to get into some more home-road stats and Chippers’ recent power outage and such, but I’ve got to get to the ballpark. Anyone got the soon-to-be-released new CD from My Morning Jacket yet? I’m reading great reviews, including four stars from Rolling Stone. For those fans of The Roots, if you haven’t bought their new CD, run, don’t walk, to the store and get it. I seriously think it’s as good as anything they’ve ever done.
”WHO DO YOU LOVE?” by Elias McDaniel (a.k.a. Bo Diddley)
I walk 47 miles of barbed wire,
I use a cobra snake for a necktie,
I got a brand new house on the roadside,
Made from rattlesnake hide,
I got a brand new chimney made on top,
Made out of a human skull,
Now come on take a walk with me, Arlene,
And tell me, who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Tombstone hand and a graveyard mine,
Just 22 and I don’t mind dying.
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
I rode around the town, use a rattlesnake whip,
Take it easy Arlene, don’t give me no lip.
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Night was dark, but the sky was blue,
Down the alley, the ice-wagon flew,
Heard a bump, and somebody screamed,
You should have heard just what I seen.
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Arlene took me by my hand,
And she said ooowee Bo, you know I understand.
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
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