Maybe it's because my Dad was a high school coach, but the fundamentals of the game of baseball were instilled in me at an early age. "Swing level," or "eyes on the ball," or "use two hands on pop flies" were common phrases I heard when learning the game.
After watching one of the stupidest, most idiotic sports bloopers shows recently—oh, wait, it was the Cubs game Sunday afternoon—I remembered just how important fundamentals are in winning a ball game.
Now, I might take some heat for this, but I'll go with it anyway. On Sunday afternoon, the Cubs are beating Pittsburgh 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. Two outs, Carlos Marmol on the hill, when the 'should be' third out is popped to deep left field. Alfonso Soriano drifts back, seemingly gets an eye on the ball, and d'oh, loses it in the sun and duffs it off his glove. E7, Pittsburgh ties it, extra innings, and eventually it's a 6-5 loss for the Cubs.
Now I know most of the time, players catch the ball with just the glove hand and the sun is not a factor. But what happened to blocking the sun with your glove and squeezing with two hands upon catching the ball? Are these not fundamentals, the very basics of fielding?
It just blows my mind that a professional baseball player, one who makes millions being the best at what he does, still won't block the sun with his glove and use two hands to catch the ball.
Some might say, "Well, he had his shades flipped down!" And I'll say back, "Well, put a hat and sunglasses and try to stare at the sun and catch a baseball!"
Some might also say, "Give the guy a break, everyone makes errors!" And again I'll reply, "Errors happen when players forget the fundamentals!"
It just bothers that when I watch highlights on TV and I see these fundamental errors still happening at the professional level. Soriano isn't alone; I'll give him a break. Even the best defensive player makes errors, but dropping flyballs shouldn't be among them.
I'm not talking line drives or dropping a ball after sprawling out attempting to make a fantastic play; I'm talking about the fundamentals that we all practiced in Little League or in the backyard with our dads. Fortunately for Soriano, he usually seems to outhit his mistakes on the field, but not today.
Maybe I'm just a classic Cubs fan that dies with my team, but c'mon, guys. Let's get back to basics. It's the end of May. And oh yeah, this is Major League Baseball.
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4 months ago
Yeah, it gets frustrating when you consider that these are fundamentals that are taught since early little league. But baseball is a game of repetition, and ballplayers always need reinforcement. At least we as Cubs fans see a lot less poor play now than we did under Dusty. Soriano simply is a disaster waiting to happen in left field, as we saw again today.
4 months ago
I watched Seattle play the Yankees today, and Ichiro, who gets praised all the time for his hustle and his fundamentals, stood there and watched a little dribbler roll fair without moving from the batter's box. He trotted out to the outfield like nothing had happened the next inning. As a former coach myself, the only way kids learn and perform the fundamentals is because I made them. If my player did that, their butt would be glued to the bench the rest of the game. They knew that - so they made sure to use two hands, or run out every ball, or back up the base.
Professional managers just don't have the gumption to force their players to do the little things that can really make a difference.
4 months ago
That moment will live in Piniella's mind forever and will no doubt be a factor when he considers defensive replacements late in ball games the rest of the year. Lou now knows he can't trust Soriano out there with the game on the line, regardless of what is bat brings to the lineup.
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