In this week’s edition of Blue Jays Central: Ask the Insiders, the Insiders answered several fan questions including when they felt like they finally belonged in the Majors; what it means to be “seeing the ball really well” and whether managers should really use their closer in the 7th or 8th inning if the game is on the line.
Antony asks: For those that played in the Majors, was there a moment/situation when you thought to yourself “I’ve made it and I belong here?”
Buck Martinez: Antony I played 17 years and never thought I had made it. I was always working harder and harder because I didn’t want to lose my spot on the roster. I was a backup player, and knew they could replace me anytime. That was the motivation to be the best at my position so I always had a job. The Royals won the AL West for the first time, I was the starting catcher headed to the playoffs against the Yankees. I was petrified going to the park for game one concerned that I might not start after all the hard work to get to that point. As you can see, I never felt like I “arrived.”
Pat Tabler: Antony, I really felt that I finally made it to the Big Leagues when I made the Cleveland Indians out of spring training for the first time in 1984. It took three years but I finally felt like I could do the job on a regular basis. I felt I knew the league and that my ability was able to compete. I had some time in 1981, 1982 and just about a whole season in 1983. For the younger player, I think this is a good lesson. Not many players come to the big leagues and succeed right away.
Jack Morris: Probably after my first start in the Majors. When I was called up I pitched out of the bullpen and then I finally got a start and pitched nine innings in a game that went 10 vs. the Texas Rangers in Arlington. I didn’t get a win or a loss, but I went nine and felt like yeah, I can do this.
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Steve asks: Why do teams want to use their “closer” in the ninth inning as opposed to using him earlier vs. your opponent’s best hitters? Does it make sense to use your best pitcher against your opponents best hitters late in a game i.e. 7th, 8th or 9th innings?
Buck Martinez: Steve you are right on the money. The term closer came about when guys like Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Mike Marshall and Bruce Sutter were shutting down games. The starter would run into trouble in a close game, would be taken out in the 6th and Fingers would pitch the 7th , 8th and 9th. Now that’s a save! Today we have “groomed” closers to be one inning pitchers, so the most important inning is the last with the lead. There are games every day with the setup man getting the tougher outs, handing it off to the closer who gets all of the glory. Managers are well aware to the value of a deep bullpen in front of the one inning closer.
Pat Tabler: Steve, great question. I have always thought it was a good idea to use the closer when you are facing the team’s best hitters. If that happens to be in the 8th inning as opposed to the 9th inning, why not? You might have to save the game in the 8th inning! The only problem is if your closer pitches just one inning, he won’t be around to pitch the 9th. Then what? You don’t want an inferior pitcher as your last line of defence. The way to solve the dilemma? Have a dominate setup man for the 8th and your closer for the 9th. Many teams are trying to do this. Just have to find the right pitchers.
Gregg Zaun: The closer is the guy who finishes the game. The stopper is the guy they should use at any time when the game is on the line. The best teams have both. On this year’s Jays, Steve Delabar is the stopper and Casey Janssen is the closer. On the 1996 Yankees team, Mariano Rivera was the stopper and John Wetteland was the closer. On the 1992 World Series winning Blue Jays team, Duane Ward was the stopper and Tom Henke was the closer.
Mike Wilner: It certainly does make sense to use your best reliever in the highest-leverage situation in the game, even if that comes up in an inning other than the 9th.
The problem with actually doing it is twofold: A. There continues to exist a belief among many in the game that outs in the 9th inning are more difficult to get than at any other point in the game, and a manager doesn’t want to lose a game late with a lesser pitcher, having already used his best.
B. Agents. It’s in their best interests to keep the myth of the “closer” alive, since the guy with 40 saves a year will get the big money as opposed to the guy who consistently gets outs in high-leverage situations but with nothing to show for it.
Jamie Campbell: The idea is to try and shorten the game. Often times, the 8th-inning reliever — or “set-up” man — is just as effective as the closer. Think back to the days when the Jays had Duane Ward in the 8th and Tom Henke in the 9th. Going in, all they needed from the starter was six or seven good innings. And it always seems a certainty that the opposing team has the heart of the order due up in the 9th. In that case, best to have the closer ready.
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Mike Payne asks: We hear the comment sometimes, “he is seeing the ball really well,” (right now that would be Adam Lind) but I have not heard the opposite comment about a batter and what exactly does it mean?
Gregg Zaun: “Seeing the ball really well” means that the hitter’s body movement is very quiet and subtle. It’s about keeping your eyes still which then allows you to see better. By moving subtly and slowly instead of abruptly you can see the ball better. If the hitter isn’t seeing the ball well, to get out of it he needs to try to slow everything down and get started early. Ideally, the only thing that should change is the time you start your swing. No matter what though, struggles happen to even the best hitters. They just don’t last as long.
Buck Martinez: Mike, that is a great question and a reminder to the broadcasters that we need to be more descriptive in our explanations. We should have explained what it is like not to see the ball as well as Lind is now. What happens as we have referenced with Lind and Rasmus in the past, hitters can get too much movement at the plate which makes the ball “look” like it’s moving dramatically when in fact it is the hitter’s eyes that are moving, multiplying the movement, creating more problems hitting the ball. When a hitter gets moving too much at the plate it is nearly impossible to track the baseball, determine what the pitch is, or whether it is a strike or a ball. That’s why “quiet hitter’s” are more consistent.
Mike Wilner: It’s a way of illustrating the feeling a hitter gets when things are going really well for him. They say when a hitter is on a hot streak, a pitch looks like a beach ball coming in — very easy to hit. The opposite is true, too, though. When a hitter is going poorly, they say a pitch looks like a golf ball, or even a pill.
Jamie Campbell: Mike, I was in New York on the weekend to watch the Mets and Cubs. In the 7th inning, Lucas Duda tried to drop a bunt with the defence shifted to right field. He failed, was booed, and later admitted he did it because he just wasn’t “seeing the ball” when facing Cubs’ pitcher Scott Feldman. Clearly, Duda has a hard time picking up the spin out of Feldman’s had. A Major League hitter on a roll (like Adam Lind) has everything working, including being able to see the ball well, and there are a number of mechanical reasons for it.
Buck Mitchell asks: For the former players, what was your favourite road stadium to play in? Did you have one that you liked the least?
Buck Martinez: Mitchell, my favourite park all-time was the original Yankee Stadium. When I walked on the field for the first time in 1969, it was the first step on the field that Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Roger Maris played on. I couldn’t believe I was on the same grass. I will always have that as my favourite moment in a ball park.
As for the least favourite, I guess if I had to name a couple it would be the Kingdome in Seattle and Shea Stadium when Yankee Stadium was being renovated. The Kingdome just wasn’t a good baseball stadium. The Seattle fans are fortunate because now they have one of the best ballparks in the game in Safeco Field.
Pat Tabler: I loved to come to Texas and play the Rangers. It’s hot, hot, hot; just the way I like it. The ballpark was great for hitting and the fans were very friendly. It has always been one of my favourite stops in the American League. The ballpark I hated to hit in was the old Metrodome in Minnesota. I just couldn’t pick the ball up there and had an awful time trying to hit. For me it just didn’t feel like you were playing a real game there. On top of that the Twins were a pretty good team then and their pitchers gave me fits!
Jack Morris: My favourite park to pitch in was the old Metrodome in Minnesota, just because of the controlled environment, no wind, and the artificial turf was a lot better. My least favourite would have to be Camden Yards in Baltimore. It was a small ballpark and no foul territory, so more balls stayed in play.
Jake asks: All of you have covered the Blue Jays over several seasons. I’m wondering what you notice as the difference between the Adam Lind of 2013 vs. the Adam Lind of past seasons? Why does it seem like everything has come together (so far) this season?
Gregg Zaun: I’ve always know Adam Lind was a good hitter. The biggest difference is that Lind is getting steady playing time be it vs. righties or lefties. In 2009, Cito Gaston put him in the lineup every day and left him alone. Now in 2013 because injuries he’s been put in the lineup more vs. lefties and he’s getting hot. As a player, it’s an amazing feeling to come to the ballpark and know that the manager has confidence in you no matter who is on the mound that day.
Buck Martinez: Jake I wasn’t with the Jays in 2009 when Lind was the Edgar Martinez award winner as the best DH in the AL but from what Tabby tells me this is the same stroke he had that year. There are a couple of factors that caused him problems the last few years. Going from the DH roll to a position like left or first was a change, then the change may have contributed to his physical problems of dealing with a bad back. To his credit, when he was demoted last year, he had the best possible attitude, went to work, didn’t feel sorry for himself and came back ready to win a job. Right now he is hotter than anybody in baseball, eight three-hit games in his last 19 starts. I expect him to continue down this path and you are going to see him on the Batting Average leader board this week when he gets the required number of plate appearances.
Mike Wilner: Jake, honestly this isn’t that different an Adam Lind than the one we have seen in the recent past. People seem to have built up in their heads that Lind has been an absolute train wreck since his Silver Slugger season of 2009, but it’s just not so.
In 2011, Lind was one of the best hitters in the game for the first half of the season. In fact, he reached his season-high in OPS on June 17th at 1.019. Compare that to this year’s .978 on the same date.
As for last year, Lind was very nearly a .300 hitter after returning from his mid-May demotion to AAA, batting .296 once he got back.
So it’s not that this is so much a new Lind, it’s definitely one we have seen before. The question is, can he keep it going all season? That’s what we haven’t seen since 2009.