Late-inning clutch hitting at root of Jays' slide
Monday, April 28, 2008 | 10:13 PM ET
As the old baseball proverb says, “the more you win early, the less you have to win late.”
Where would the Jays be if they had not got off to a good start? A win is a win and now that the Jays are 11-15 and in last place in the American League East. They have to be thinking about getting back on the winning track.
How did they slide so quickly? It’s easy to get to the root of it, late-inning clutch hitting, or the lack there of.
The numbers don’t lie and it’s disappointing to see that they are last in the American League with runners in scoring position with a .215 batting average. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (whatever happened to just simply the California Angels) are leading the way with a .309 batting average with RISP. So it’s not surprising that they are leading the West.
Short-term fix not good enough
Just yesterday manager John Gibbons decided it was time to do something to change the Jays’ fortune by DRAMTICALLY shaking up the lineup. But this is only a short-term fix unless they get to the root of the problem, which is not hitting to opposite field and driving in clutch runs.
Hitting the ball the other way helps you see the ball longer and is easier to get your hits sacrifice flies and stay away from the roll-overs with the infield in. The other night against Kansas City Royals, the Jays did a good job getting on base and an even better job getting the guy over to third base with less than two outs, but that is where the runner was stranded. The Royals’ pitcher was looking to get a ground ball out and the Jays hitters were trying to pull the ball, and that is why they are not getting the job done.
Some Uncle Jesse advice
I’m not going to get on the negative bandwagon and bash the Jays’ offence, but I will talk about what they need to do to fix the problem. I was a batting coach once - and NO I do not want the Toronto batting coach’s job (I love what I do, thank you) - and I’m not trying to undermine his job, but I do want to lend some Uncle Jesse advice. After all, it can’t hurt.
Now back to what I was saying, in K.C. the other night, the Jays had a couple of situations in back-to-back innings where they stranded runners on third. They need to remember that opposite field is where the money is and it’s where you get your tough hits, especially late in the game and with the game on the line.
Go back to the beginning of the season and you can see that the Jays hitters were doing just that. Getting away from that game plan is the reason they are in this funk. However, time is still on their side, so come on guys let’s get back in the groove, be smart at the plate, and get the job done.
Brush back baloney
**What is with all these brush back pitches lately? Oh yeah, they are breaking balls that just got away from the pitcher. Right. Come on now, how many of you really believe that?
It’s a new tactic used by a lot of pitchers now so that they don’t get a warning or get ejected and have to pay a stiff fine. So now they hide behind the breaking ball, especially the slider because it’s a hard breaking ball. That way, when they give an interview later, they just can say, “that was a breaking ball that got away from me.” Got away from you at someone’s head? And then the same pitcher goes back to mound and paints the corners with pinpoint accuracy.
They are not fooling me.
Study, study, study
**Some of the younger players haven’t watched the game of baseball like we did growing up. We would study the game and learn how to play it like our heroes (mine being Ernie Banks). It surprises me how the younger generation only know the game of baseball from a video game!
One of my son’s friends is playing baseball on a college scholarship and is a very good player, but told me at the dinner table one night that he doesn’t watch live baseball games. I was shocked because his goal is to play Major League Baseball! We talked about how the game of baseball is different at the Major League level from college or high school. Well, he has come back to let me know he now watches games on a regular basis and has learned a lot. He is now a student of the game.
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Inside Baseball with Jesse Barfield »
About the Author
Jesse Barfield returns to the booth with the Rogers Blue Jays Baseball
on CBC broadcast team for the 2008 season as an analyst, after making
his debut with the program in 2007.
Barfield, a favourite with Canadian baseball fans, was selected by the
Blue Jays in the ninth round of the 1977 amateur draft, debuted with the
club in 1981 and helped the franchise reach the playoffs for the first
time in 1985.
A two-time Gold Glove winner with a cannon for an arm, Barfield led American
League outfielders in assists for three straight seasons (1985
– 87). Barfield was selected to the American League All-Star Team in
1986, a season in which he blasted 40 home runs to lead the majors while
driving in 108 runs. He was traded to the New York Yankees in 1989,
where he completed his playing career.
In 1,428 career games, Barfield was a .256 hitter with 241 home runs and 716 RBIs.
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