Thursday, September 30, 2004

 

Pain

"A lot of people in the bullpen were yelling at him not to catch the ball, " reliever Wayne Franklin said. "But maybe he thought it was going to stay fair. That's just salt on an open wound." (SF Chronicle)

It's not really fair to obsess over the last play of last night's cataclysmic loss to the Padres. It's not really fair to kick Dustan Mohr when he's down, and probably out for months. Yet the play that ended last night's game, and possibly the Giants' postseason hopes, encapsulates so much that is wrong with this team.

So I'm gonna do some kicking.

This was a game the Giants deserved to win for the first nine innings. Clutch relief pitching and stellar defense showed that the team was poised to take full advantage of the Cubs loss. Then overtime rolled around, and everything went astray. In the top of the tenth, Felipe Alou had J.T. Snow bat for Scott Eyre--good move. Then he had Ricky Ledee pinch-hit for Cody Ransom--okay, I can see that, even though Ledee has sucked. So we're replacing the pitcher and the second baseman. And since it's extra innings, I figured J.T. Snow would stay in the game and play first. Maybe Feliz goes to second.

But no--Alou leaves Feliz in at first base, and Snow is out of the game. That's a huge hit on defense, and it killed the Giants in the bottom of the tenth. If Snow is playing first in the bottom of the 10th, you have to figure at least one of those two errors doesn't happen. You have to figure Dustan Mohr won't be in the position of having to make that catch under tremendous pressure.

But he was, and he did. But everyone who was watching the game was screaming at Mohr to let that ball drop foul. Everyone knew it was a bad play to try to catch it. Leave the bullpen mound out of it for a minute. Let's look at the facts:

* Kerry Robinson, the runner at third, is VERY fast.
* Mohr's momentum was taking him at an angle that was parallel to the plate. He would have had to turn and make a throw, costing him a precious split second.
* The throw to Torrealba would have come from the first base line. Yorvit would have had to catch the ball turned away from the runner, then turned to make the tag. Advantage runner.

Catching the ball in foul territory was a VERY low-percentage play. The bullpen, the announcers, the fans at home, all saw it, all yelled at Mohr to let it drop. But he didn't pay attention.

He didn't pay attention.

That is the defining characteristic of Mohr on defense. He's the kind of guy who forgets to flip down his sunglasses when he's fielding a high pop-up in the sun. He's the kind of guy who takes his eye off the ball because he's thinking about making the throw afterward. He's NOT the kind of guy who's thinking ahead and anticipating what play he needs to make if the fly ball is arcing into foul territory. He's NOT the kind of guy who's going to know where that bullpen mound is.

And unfortunately, he paid a very heavy price, and so did the Giants.

Mohr's brain lock--and let's face it, if your bullpen is yelling at you to let it drop and you don't listen, it's a brain lock--is the very symbol of what's wrong with this year's roster. There's a good amount of athletic ability to be had, but big gaps in their awareness, concentration, and mental approach to the game.

Give this team enough innings or enough chances, and they will barf it up. It's only a question of when. This is fine when the Giants have a good lead, but it's the downfall in close games. The Giants are now 18-25 in one-run games. Some of that is luck, of course. "Luck is the residue of design," as Branch Rickey used to say. By not being mentally prepared and ready for these close situations, the Giants have made their own bad luck.

Brian Sabean knows all this, trust me. He's taking notes. This kind of play is not what he was aiming for. Sabean's teams have been marked by athletics and character. Good athletes with epxerience who make smart decisions when the game is on the line. Don't be surprised if he shakes this roster up in a major way in the off-season.

Despite everything, the Giants still control their own destiny. (Maybe that's not such a good thing, considering all the points I've just made.) All they have to do is win their last 4 games to make the playoffs, or at least have a one-game shot at getting in. They don't need any help. It's not too late. Just making the postseason would be a major, major accomplishment for this team. I'd like to see it happen, even though I know they have no chance at winning the World Series. I'd like to see it happen.

Jefferson 7:20 AM

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