Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Looking Beyond the Boxscore
The Twins home opener against the A's was on WFTC last night, which meant Jen and I were able to watch the game. After nearly four years of paying $12/month for basic cable, but getting all the channels free (even HBO in Denver), the freeloading train has come to a halt. This means no FSN, which means I won't be watching many Twins games on television this year. That's not a huge blow to me, since 1) It frees me up to do other things with my time; and 2) What I really enjoy about following the Twins is tracking stats, reading commentary (online & print), and going through the season-long ritual of being a baseball fan. Baseball is also fun to listen to on the radio (although Gladden drives me nuts at times), and the Web makes it so much easier to follow games these days.
Having said that, there are so many important game details that don't show up in the boxscore. Sportsline keeps pitch-by-pitch logs, which are nice, but they still don't go into enough detail to get a feel for the game. Were the singles line shots, bloopers, or grounders that Tony Fatista didn't get to? Was a pitcher particularly wild, or was the ump's strike zone just really tight? Mainstream media coverage doesn't really go into any of this either- they usually just provide recaps of the major plays of the game.
There were a few plays last night that didn't show up in the boxscore, but were very important.
*Joe Mauer made two great baserunning decisions. He was on first base with one out in the 3rd, and Rondell White hit a blooper into center that Mark Kotsay was charging. Mauer made a perfect read on the ball, and motored around second, into third. Kotsay didn't quite get to the ball on time, so Mauer was easily safe. With two outs in the fourth, Mauer hit a line drive to right center that wasn't hit hard enough to get to the wall, but was placed in between two outfielders. Mauer again read it perfectly, and sprinted around first, sliding in safe at second. Watching him bat and run the bases, you can tell he has a great feel for the game- incredible instincts.
*Luis Castillo looked pretty good in the field, showing good range. He had a couple nice diving stops. Castillo also showed off some of his patience at the plate. He took the first pitch in all four of his at bats, the hlighted was an at bat where he took two strikes, followed by four straight balls.
*Juan Castro made one nice play in the field, but also went 0-4. Meanwhile, Jason Bartlett is leading the AAA Rochester Red Wings in most offensive categories (including a .924 OPS).
*Joe Nathan is throwing absolute heat- close to 100 MPH. The save category is definitely overrated, but it's sure fun to watch a good closer come out and blow the ball by batters.
Having said that, there are so many important game details that don't show up in the boxscore. Sportsline keeps pitch-by-pitch logs, which are nice, but they still don't go into enough detail to get a feel for the game. Were the singles line shots, bloopers, or grounders that Tony Fatista didn't get to? Was a pitcher particularly wild, or was the ump's strike zone just really tight? Mainstream media coverage doesn't really go into any of this either- they usually just provide recaps of the major plays of the game.
There were a few plays last night that didn't show up in the boxscore, but were very important.
*Joe Mauer made two great baserunning decisions. He was on first base with one out in the 3rd, and Rondell White hit a blooper into center that Mark Kotsay was charging. Mauer made a perfect read on the ball, and motored around second, into third. Kotsay didn't quite get to the ball on time, so Mauer was easily safe. With two outs in the fourth, Mauer hit a line drive to right center that wasn't hit hard enough to get to the wall, but was placed in between two outfielders. Mauer again read it perfectly, and sprinted around first, sliding in safe at second. Watching him bat and run the bases, you can tell he has a great feel for the game- incredible instincts.
*Luis Castillo looked pretty good in the field, showing good range. He had a couple nice diving stops. Castillo also showed off some of his patience at the plate. He took the first pitch in all four of his at bats, the hlighted was an at bat where he took two strikes, followed by four straight balls.
*Juan Castro made one nice play in the field, but also went 0-4. Meanwhile, Jason Bartlett is leading the AAA Rochester Red Wings in most offensive categories (including a .924 OPS).
*Joe Nathan is throwing absolute heat- close to 100 MPH. The save category is definitely overrated, but it's sure fun to watch a good closer come out and blow the ball by batters.
