Escobar homers on 3-0 pitch -- problem with that?

Tag : Promotion Sunglass
Escobar homers on 3-0 pitch — problem with that?
By David O'Brien | Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 02:38 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While we listen to the great “Bo Diddley Is AGunslinger” CD and lament the passing of another music giant,we’ll offer a few quick thoughts about last night’sgame and some facts and figures about Yunel Escobar, John Smoltzand the split-personality Braves (At home, they rule. On road? Notcool.)
First, let’s make sure I have this straight: Yunel Escobarhits a game-ending, 10th-inning, two-run homer to beat the Marlinsand save the Braves and Smoltz from a homestand-opening defeat, anda few folks here on the ol’ Braves/MIB blog decide that itwas 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 thananything else. At least not all sports fans.
Really, that was the issue that demanded the attention of a few ofyou, more than anything else from last night’s game? I findthat astounding, but hey, I’m just a paid observer, not apassionate fan.
For the record, let me say that manager Bobby Cox said after thegame that Escobar had the green light to swing there, because Coxconsiders him to be one of the best “right-fieldhitters” in the game, and was confident that if Escobarswung, he could put the ball in play to the right side of the fieldand move Kelly Johnson from second to third base or drive him in.
Of course, Escobar did hit it to right, or at least slightly rightof straightaway center. And did hit it over the fence, the firstwalk-off homer of his career.
And guess what? It came on the one-year anniversary ofEscobar’s arrival in the major leagues. Wish I’d knowthis last night, but I only realized it when I was going throughhis day-by-day totals just now here at the home office.
Yes, it was June 2, 2007, when Escobar, just up from Richmond, went2-for-4 with a game-winning RBI double in the eighth inning atsold-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 Escobarhas swung at 3-0 pitches this season. He’s had nine 3-0counts and took the fourth pitch eight times — six times itwas ball 4, twice he took strikes.
Last night, for the first time all season, he swung. And hit atwo-run homer.
You know what? I like those odds. Perhaps until he proves hecan’t handle the responsibility, a smart manager might justlet Escobar have the green light in said situations.
Of course, maybe you feel otherwise, that it would have been betterfor him to have taken that pitch and possibly drawn a walk? Done itfor the greater good and all that. Followed “the book.”
Whatever. I’ll respectfully disagree and say that when a guyswings at a 3-0 pitch for the first time in nine such situations,and hit that pitch for a game-winning homer, his aggressivenessworks just fine by me.
By the way, seems like there’s been a bit of an increase inEscobar critics among some fans lately, folks who don’t likehis swagger or his aggressiveness or whatever.
If he smiled a lot and spoke fluent English, I’m going toguess that perception might be a bit different.
This kid’s a helluva talent, and he’s not a problemwhatsoever in the clubhouse, at least not according to everybodyI’ve talked to.
And for some idea of how good Escobar has been in his first fullseason in the majors, I did a quick, cursory comparison to somefamiliar names.
Granted, Escobar is a bit older (listed as 25, born 11/2/82) thanthese other guys were in their first full season and/or calendaryear in the bigs, but most of them also played one position on anevery-day basis and weren’t moved around the infield and usedas 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 sluggingpercentage in 149 games.
Rafael Furcal hit .295 (134-for-455) with 20 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 37RBI, 87 runs, 40 stolen bases, a .394 OBP and a .382 sluggingpercentage in 131 games as a rookie in 2000.
Edgar Renteria hit .284 (161-for-567) with 21 doubles, 3 triples, 6 homers, 42RBI, 81 runs, 21 stolen bases, a .333 OBP and a .363 sluggingpercentage in 140 games in his first calendar year in the majorswith the Marlins, from May 10, 1996 to May 10, 1997
(Actually that’s a year plus one day, just likeEscobar’s year plus one day).
Chipper Jones hit .268 (141-for-527) with 23 doubles, 3 triples, 23 homers, 86RBI, 89 runs, a .355 OBP and a .454 slugging percentage in hisfirst 148 games through the end of the 1995 season.
Hey, like I said, just a cursory glance, not any definitivecomparison. I’m in a hurry here.
By the way, Escobar has given the home fans plenty of reason to dighim. He’s hit .341 with five homers and an .856 OPS in 74career games at Turner Field, including .407 (24-for-59) with 11RBI in 15 home games since May 3.
And the Miami resident sure seems to enjoy hitting against thoseFishes: Escobar has hit .424 (28-for-66) with six doubles, fourhomers 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 thisseason, but are dead last in the majors in saves (eight) and saveopportunities (14).
John Smoltz, who had converted 20-of-20 save opportunities againstFlorida and never allowed a run against them in 29 reliefappearances during his previous stint as a closer, gave up two runsand was tagged with a blown save last night in his first reliefappearance in 44 months.
Out of curiosity, I wanted to see where Smoltz stood at this pointin the season during his three full seasons (2002-04) as arguablythe game’s most dominant closer.
His best start to a season in that role was in 2003, when Smoltzconverted 20 of 21 saves through June 2 and posted a 0.92 ERA in 27appearances, with 38 strikeouts, four walks and no homers allowedin 29-1/3 innings.
Wow. Utterly overwhelming.
Folks, the good news for the Braves out of Smoltz’sappearance last night was that he really did throw hard (95 mph ona couple of pitches when I happened to glance at the scoreboardradar gun) and with very good movement.
Provided his shoulder remains sound enough and the pain can be keptat tolerable levels, he really can give the Braves a big boost atthe back end of the bullpen, especially since he can be usedreasonably and be given needed rest because the Braves have otheroptions to closer games.
I’ll be curious to see if Smoltz has anything to say abouthow his shoulder feels today, after his first, real,adrenaline-pumped test in the new role (minor league rehab gamesaren’t even close to the real thing).
And who knows, maybe next time they’ll be able to finish thePict-O-Word promotion in time for the crowd to enjoy Smoltz’sentrance to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. (I’m still in a state of disbelief that they allowed thatinteractive in-game promo thing to continue unabated on the hugevideo board as Smoltz walked in from the bullpen and every fan inattendance 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 theballpark. Anyone got the soon-to-be-released new CD from My Morning Jacke t yet? I’m reading great reviews, including four stars fromRolling 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 asanything they’ve ever done.
”WHO DO YOU LOVE?” by Elias McDaniel (a.k.a. BoDiddley)
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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