Post by rog on Jun 30, 2019 4:28:54 GMT -5
We've talked here about how Brandon Belt bunts at the wrong time, and yesterday I came across an article in Fan Graphs where the author was as appalled as I have been. Earlier this season Belt became the second player in 10 years to bunt on 3-0. You work all game to try to get the pitcher behind 3-0 so you can look for that one pitch you can hit, and then you ... bunt?
Tonight he bunted with the count 2-0 (which is dumb) and with two outs (which might be even dumber). I've been a booster of Brandon over the years and feel he is the must underrated of the current Giants, but there are things about the game he doesn't understand.
And while he apparently isn't having his best season defensively in 2019, he once again made a nice play on the push bunt by Zack Greinke. This time Joe Panik did what he was supposed to do, and the Giants got an out at first base.
Last time on the similar bunt by Chris Taylor, Donovan Solano was playing second base. Donovan was late covering first base, and the Giants got no one despite the fine play by Belt. The Taylor bunt came with runners on first and third, and not only was Donovan late in covering first, Brandon Crawford inexplicably broke toward third so that no one was covering second base either. I was surprised that no one else mentioned the play, and shocked that no one has commented even after the play was brought up.
I did learn one thing about defending the play tonight: The second baseman must get to first base for the throw if necessary, but he must break in and on an angle to first until he sees the first baseman is able to get to the push bunt. If the ball gets by the first baseman, the only guy with a chance becomes the second baseman. And of course the pitcher must do as he is taught and move to cover first base on any ball hit to the right side.
The pitcher also has to be in position to field the bunt himself should it go near the mound. But he needs to break quickly toward first base once he realizes the first or second basemen are likely to field the ball. The Giants announcers called the play indefensible, but while it's tough to defend and requires quick and accurate actions, it's not indefensible unless the bunter gets the ball past both the pitcher and first baseman and still bunts it softly enough that the second baseman can't get to it in time.
Teams spend hours in spring training having the pitcher cover first base, but they need to pay particular attention to this push bunt play. It's not indefensible, but if the Giants had a right-handed first baseman, the ball would have been bunted for a hit on both occasions. This time the fine play by Belt and the proper execution by Panik at least got the out at first base.
Speaking of Greinke, that guy's an ATHLETE. Did you check out his batting averages? And he could easily have added another hit with what was a fine bunt. And while he couldn't make the play on Belt's foolish bunt, he gave it quite an effort and might have had a shot at first base if he had been able to complete the exchange cleanly. It would have taken a great play to retire Belt, but Zack came close to pulling it off. The announcers mentioned that Zack had been drafted as a shortstop.
We've got Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player now, and while I'm not sure how much Brendan McKay will hit in the majors this season, he certainly adds a nice pinch hitting option. And while as a hitter he's been badly rushed by his great pitching development, he might eventually hit and play first base or DH. Are we getting into an age of the two-way player?
Tonight he bunted with the count 2-0 (which is dumb) and with two outs (which might be even dumber). I've been a booster of Brandon over the years and feel he is the must underrated of the current Giants, but there are things about the game he doesn't understand.
And while he apparently isn't having his best season defensively in 2019, he once again made a nice play on the push bunt by Zack Greinke. This time Joe Panik did what he was supposed to do, and the Giants got an out at first base.
Last time on the similar bunt by Chris Taylor, Donovan Solano was playing second base. Donovan was late covering first base, and the Giants got no one despite the fine play by Belt. The Taylor bunt came with runners on first and third, and not only was Donovan late in covering first, Brandon Crawford inexplicably broke toward third so that no one was covering second base either. I was surprised that no one else mentioned the play, and shocked that no one has commented even after the play was brought up.
I did learn one thing about defending the play tonight: The second baseman must get to first base for the throw if necessary, but he must break in and on an angle to first until he sees the first baseman is able to get to the push bunt. If the ball gets by the first baseman, the only guy with a chance becomes the second baseman. And of course the pitcher must do as he is taught and move to cover first base on any ball hit to the right side.
The pitcher also has to be in position to field the bunt himself should it go near the mound. But he needs to break quickly toward first base once he realizes the first or second basemen are likely to field the ball. The Giants announcers called the play indefensible, but while it's tough to defend and requires quick and accurate actions, it's not indefensible unless the bunter gets the ball past both the pitcher and first baseman and still bunts it softly enough that the second baseman can't get to it in time.
Teams spend hours in spring training having the pitcher cover first base, but they need to pay particular attention to this push bunt play. It's not indefensible, but if the Giants had a right-handed first baseman, the ball would have been bunted for a hit on both occasions. This time the fine play by Belt and the proper execution by Panik at least got the out at first base.
Speaking of Greinke, that guy's an ATHLETE. Did you check out his batting averages? And he could easily have added another hit with what was a fine bunt. And while he couldn't make the play on Belt's foolish bunt, he gave it quite an effort and might have had a shot at first base if he had been able to complete the exchange cleanly. It would have taken a great play to retire Belt, but Zack came close to pulling it off. The announcers mentioned that Zack had been drafted as a shortstop.
We've got Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player now, and while I'm not sure how much Brendan McKay will hit in the majors this season, he certainly adds a nice pinch hitting option. And while as a hitter he's been badly rushed by his great pitching development, he might eventually hit and play first base or DH. Are we getting into an age of the two-way player?