Running into trouble
Hayden Buckley was a football coach at Waynesburg College - uh, excuse me, Waynesburg University - in the 1970s and early 1980s. Coach Buckley used to have this as his favorite saying:
"Before you can win a game, you have to not lose it."
Coach Buckley would recite that line about 100 times each season to his players, his coaches, the boosters club, the media and anyone who gathered within listening distance at the old Waynesburg Restaurant. There is much truth in that statement, even in baseball.
For example, Gateway's 3-2 victory Saturday night was not a case of the Grizzlies winning the game. It was a case of Washington losing the game. This was simply one the Wild Things gave away with bad baserunning.
They had a runner thrown out at home plate (by the guy who leads the league in outfield assists - why challenge him?). They had four baserunners caught stealing. They had a runner thrown out at second base on a delayed steal to end an inning - with a runner on third and the No. 3 hitter at the plate. They had a basestealer thrown at third base for the first out of an inning. They had a runner picked off first base in the eighth inning with no outs and the score tied 2-2. And the biggest sin of all, they had a runner thrown out at second base, for the first out in the top of the ninth, after making too big of a turn at second after a single.
The worst part of this is, I mentioned in a post June 12 ("Running storyline") that the Wild Things might be able to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a run for the title as the worst baserunning team in baseball. Washington hasn't gotten any better at baserunning over the last two months. The mistakes are mind-boggling. For example:
* Losing by one late in a game at River City this week, Washington had a runner thrown out at third base trying to stretch a double into a triple. It was the third out of the inning. Why try for third? You're already in scoring position. This is basic Baserunning 101.
* My favorite baserunning misadventure was a couple of weeks ago when Washington had a runner thrown out by 15 feet trying to go from first to third on a single to center field. It was the third out of the inning. The eighth inning. And Washington was losing by 8 runs. Was getting to third base that important with two outs and down 8 in the 8th?
If you ranked the Frontier League teams 1 to 12 on baserunning, Washington would have to be at least 10th or 11th. There is something to be said for aggressive baserunning, but the number of potential runs this team gives away each week with overly aggressive or simply bad baserunning is mind-boggling. This is easily the worst baserunning team Washington has fielded.
Good teams, at any level, run the bases well. Championship teams run the bases well. Washington is not running the bases well.
Bad baserunning can be the difference between winning and losing in one-run games. It's one reason the Wild Things are only 10-16 in one-run games. It's also one reason you have to seriously question whether this team is one of the top four in the league. It's also one of several reasons why the Wild Things must win Sunday at Gateway to avoid having the worst six-game road trip in franchise history.
"Before you can win a game, you have to not lose it."
Coach Buckley would recite that line about 100 times each season to his players, his coaches, the boosters club, the media and anyone who gathered within listening distance at the old Waynesburg Restaurant. There is much truth in that statement, even in baseball.
For example, Gateway's 3-2 victory Saturday night was not a case of the Grizzlies winning the game. It was a case of Washington losing the game. This was simply one the Wild Things gave away with bad baserunning.
They had a runner thrown out at home plate (by the guy who leads the league in outfield assists - why challenge him?). They had four baserunners caught stealing. They had a runner thrown out at second base on a delayed steal to end an inning - with a runner on third and the No. 3 hitter at the plate. They had a basestealer thrown at third base for the first out of an inning. They had a runner picked off first base in the eighth inning with no outs and the score tied 2-2. And the biggest sin of all, they had a runner thrown out at second base, for the first out in the top of the ninth, after making too big of a turn at second after a single.
The worst part of this is, I mentioned in a post June 12 ("Running storyline") that the Wild Things might be able to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a run for the title as the worst baserunning team in baseball. Washington hasn't gotten any better at baserunning over the last two months. The mistakes are mind-boggling. For example:
* Losing by one late in a game at River City this week, Washington had a runner thrown out at third base trying to stretch a double into a triple. It was the third out of the inning. Why try for third? You're already in scoring position. This is basic Baserunning 101.
* My favorite baserunning misadventure was a couple of weeks ago when Washington had a runner thrown out by 15 feet trying to go from first to third on a single to center field. It was the third out of the inning. The eighth inning. And Washington was losing by 8 runs. Was getting to third base that important with two outs and down 8 in the 8th?
If you ranked the Frontier League teams 1 to 12 on baserunning, Washington would have to be at least 10th or 11th. There is something to be said for aggressive baserunning, but the number of potential runs this team gives away each week with overly aggressive or simply bad baserunning is mind-boggling. This is easily the worst baserunning team Washington has fielded.
Good teams, at any level, run the bases well. Championship teams run the bases well. Washington is not running the bases well.
Bad baserunning can be the difference between winning and losing in one-run games. It's one reason the Wild Things are only 10-16 in one-run games. It's also one reason you have to seriously question whether this team is one of the top four in the league. It's also one of several reasons why the Wild Things must win Sunday at Gateway to avoid having the worst six-game road trip in franchise history.
posted by Chris Dugan at
8:12 PM
1 Comments:
Just a little added note about the bad baserunning. I turned on the game Sunday in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, the Wild Things had a leadoff triple. One out later, the runner on third gets picked off by the Gateway catcher for the second out. Of course, two pitches later, Chris Sidick singles.
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