Monday, March 6, 2017

Aaron Judge is already facing the dreaded scourge of the Yankees: the defensive overshift

Yesterday, bottom of the 4th, two-out, runners on first and third, and here comes the leviathan, Aaron Judge, big as Paul Bunyan. Moments earlier, Matt Holliday doubled, and magical forest nymph Chris Carter legged out an infield hit. I ejaculate from the couch to assume a Level III Offensive Juju Attack Position: Legs wide, knees bent, hands free, balls hanging - eyeing the TV like a cobra facing a mongoose. It could have been the regular season: That's how badly I wanted it.

Judge takes two balls, then starts fouling off pitches. He scavenges a 10-pitch walk - displaying the guile of Bill Belichick over a span of time in which the lords of baseball - under their new rules - could have intentionally walked 10 batters. He succeeded. Victory. But that's not the story here. What concerns me is the Pirates' strategy.

They went into a full-scale defensive over-shift on Judge: Three fielders on the left side... and then did something weird: They pitched him outside. Pitch after pitch - trying to paint the outside corner.

WTF? You position your defense to the left side, then pitch him to hit to the right? They left a hole at 2B the size of North Carolina. All Judge needed to do was tap a bouncer past the pitcher, and it would roll to the outfield - an easy single and an RBI. The YES announcers noted this. Everybody in the park saw it. Ball after ball - thrown to the outside of the plate, daring Judge to slap at it.

He didn't take the dare. And don't get me wrong here: Judge battled and worked a tough walk - a quality at bat. But I wonder what the Pirates were thinking, and here is my best guess: They figure he's a dead pull hitter who cannot put the ball to right field, and if they pitch him away, he'll just hit grounders to short. 

Well, yesterday, they were wrong. Judge won the battle. His walk filled the bases, and a run scored on a wild pitch. It looked as though he was trying to hit to right - but he couldn't keep it in play. And after watching that one AB, it's more clear than ever that Judge's success or failure this year will strictly be mental - not a matter of his vast physical attributes. He has power to hit homers to any part of any park. But if he doesn't use the whole field - and hit balls where they are pitched - it'll be a long, hard year. 

5 comments:

JM said...

Let's just hope that the balls he hits to all fields are not the ones mentioned in your first paragraph. That would be seriously painful.

Anonymous said...

RIGHT ON..... HE MUST BE ABLE TO TAKE OUTSIDE PITCHES THE OTHER WAY, WHICH I DO REMEMBER SEEING HIM DOING IN THE PAST...... I SAW THE AT BAT WHEN HE WALKED, AND I WAS HAPPY HE DIDN'T TAKE THE BAIT, BUT WE NEED TO SEE HIM LINE A BASE HIT TO RIGHT FIELD AT SOME POINT THIS SPRING.

Alphonso said...

Derek must take him to dinner, and give him his lecture on "hitting the ball where it is pitched." Derek was a master of hitting to the opposite field.

Tex refused to try and it cost him his numbers. That fat catcher from Atlanta would never yield and hit into more DP's than panda bear.

Duque is right on. If he can't stick his bat out and dribble a single to RF, through a wide open infield, he'll hit .211.

Derek....take him to dinner. Even if it is Hooters, Aaron needs to hear it from his idol.

Anonymous said...

HAHAHAHA... (FAT CATCHER)!

Isiyku Abdulahi said...


I really want the world to know about this great man who brought back happiness into my life again after my husband left me and the kids 3 years ago for another women online when i contacted Dr Believe he cast a love spell for me within 48 hours my ex husband start calling me and begging for forgiveness for everything that have happened between us. I was so happy to have my family back together with love again here is the email of Dr Believe via believelovespelltemple@gmail.com a man with the great powers you can also call him or add him on Whats-app: +2348156148821
God bless you
I am very grateful for your help in my marriage.