Damon's Dash
Just because it was successful doesn't mean it was smart.
Everyone I heard was gushing about Damon's steal of second in the ninth inning last night followed by his mad dash to third when he realized that no one was covering the base (The Phillies had a shift on for the pull-hitting lefty Mark Texeira so their third baseman was covering second).
I think it was a pretty dumb play. Damon would have scored from second on almost any hit to the outfield (and, as it turned out, A-Rod hit a double that might have even scored him from FIRST!). So, getting to third with two outs did not add that much but the risk that he took was immense (especially with A-Rod and Posada the next two batters). As I saw the replay, he didn't miss geting tagged out by very much (at the beginning of the dash; once he got some distance, he was clear of the third baseman).
Can you imagine how the fans and the press would be howling if he had gotten tagged out?
But all's well that ends well for the Yankees. When you are destined to win, whacky plays like this one seem to all work out in your favor. Just don't call it smart baseball.
Just because it was successful doesn't mean it was smart.
Everyone I heard was gushing about Damon's steal of second in the ninth inning last night followed by his mad dash to third when he realized that no one was covering the base (The Phillies had a shift on for the pull-hitting lefty Mark Texeira so their third baseman was covering second).
I think it was a pretty dumb play. Damon would have scored from second on almost any hit to the outfield (and, as it turned out, A-Rod hit a double that might have even scored him from FIRST!). So, getting to third with two outs did not add that much but the risk that he took was immense (especially with A-Rod and Posada the next two batters). As I saw the replay, he didn't miss geting tagged out by very much (at the beginning of the dash; once he got some distance, he was clear of the third baseman).
Can you imagine how the fans and the press would be howling if he had gotten tagged out?
But all's well that ends well for the Yankees. When you are destined to win, whacky plays like this one seem to all work out in your favor. Just don't call it smart baseball.
Labels: Sports
posted by MoChassid @ 12:57 PM
7 Comments:
At 2:04 PM,
Yehuda said…
you are wrong on this one, he knew exactly where he was and how far the 3rd baseman was. He said himself, had it been Chone Figgins, he would not have made the dash. He also took notice of how Feliz caught the ball. He only made the dash because he was 100% certain he was making it. It was not a risk.
also, in this situation, being on 3rd was a big advantage over being on 2nd, as it forced Lidge to be more cautious with his slider, as Damon would score on a wild pitch.
As it turns out, Arod ended up getting 2 fastballs - no sliders.
At 2:10 PM,
MoChassid said…
I understand the point about the slider. If Damon was thinking about that at the time of the play he's a lot smarter than I thought.
Nothing is ever 100% and if you look at the replay, Feliz did not miss by much.
I stand by my position.
At 3:22 PM,
Anonymous said…
Big Bro here:
The Yankees have pulled this off before (I believe Derek Jeter has done it a couple of times.) While I believe Damon had thought about taking third when he stole second, I can't believe he was "Tim McCarver" and figured this would force Lidge to throw fastballs to avoid the possibility that there could be a wild pitch or passed ball.
But...if Damon would have been tagged out, the NY media would have eaten him for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
At 4:28 PM,
ThePeoplesChamp said…
If you look at the play closely, the throw was to the second base side, so the SS had all his wait going away from Damon. It wasnt a close play. You always take third when given the chance because you can score on an error or a wild pitch.
As for the slider issue, Lidge stopped throwing it already when Damon hit it twice hard after laying off it twice, so I think Lidge was going away from it anyway.
It was a great heads up play by Damon and paid off.
At 4:29 PM,
MoChassid said…
The play might have made some sense with one out. With two outs, it was a huge risk for very little return. The fact that he made it is beside the point.
At 4:34 PM,
MoChassid said…
TPC
I respectfully disagree. You don't always take third when given a chance unless yiou are 100% positive you will make it. You "Never make the first or third out at third base" is one piece of conventional baseball wisdom that is actually true.
(the funny part is, everyone is making such a big deal about the play and the play had absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the game. It was just very cool to watch. Dumb, but cool).
At 4:51 PM,
ThePeoplesChamp said…
Mo,
You are 100% correct, it's why I said "when given the chance". i should have said "when you are 100% sure". Damon was 100% sure, that's why it's a good play.
Either way, time to finish off these clowns tonight,
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