GaryMrMets
06-04-2004, 02:16 AM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/8824791.htm
Posted on Thu, Jun. 03, 2004
Not too much pop in the clutch
By PAUL HAGEN
hagenp@phillynews.com
Old joke: What happened to the auto worker who fell into the assembly line?
He came through in the clutch.
As anybody who's been following the Citizens Bank Park soap opera this season already knows, that's something Phillies haven't been able to do with any regularity this season. And that's hardly a laughing matter for a team that continues to sputter offensively.
The Phillies had only one hit in six at-bats with runners in scoring position during last night's 5-3 loss to the Mets in 10 innings.
The futility was highlighted in the bottom of the 10th. Ricky Ledee leads the majors with eight pinch-hits. But with runners on first and second and one out, he struck out against Mets closer Braden Looper.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Jim Thome was at the plate. A single would have tied the game, a double probably would have won it.
Instead, he grounded out to shortstop as the Phillies lost their third straight and for the seventh time in their last 11 games. In those 11 games, they're 13-for-95 (.137) with runners in scoring position.
For the season, they're batting .214 with runners in scoring position. And that average is dragged down by some of the big names in the lineup. Thome. Jimmy Rollins (.139). Mike Lieberthal (.096). Placido Polanco (.000).
That has led to some predictable sirens of concern everywhere, from the manager's office to the talk-radio stations and all the ZIP codes in between.
The Phillies don't have enough clutch hitters. That's obvious.
Or is it?
One school of thought in baseball, merchandised most aggressively by Athletics general manager Billy Beane, is that it is a myth that some hitters are better than others with runners on base or late in close games.
According to this theory, each batter will get a certain amount of hits during the course of a season. Whether they come with runners in scoring position, whether they come early in a blowout or late in a tie game, is all a matter of chance. "Bleeping luck," Beane calls it. The key is to get as many runners on base as possible; if there are enough, over time, the percentages dictate that runs will follow.
This would be an easy out for the Phillies. They could write it all off as just not getting the breaks so far this season. For the most part, however, they reject that explanation.
"It's real," hitting coach Greg Gross testified. "There are some guys who, for whatever reason, always seem to be successful at it. The thing you see is better concentration. There are guys who just have a knack for having better at-bats with runners in scoring position."
Thome, for example. He's such a feared hitter, he occasionally makes other managers go against the book when he comes up with the game on the line. Tony La Russa did it when the Phillies played the Cardinals on May 4. With two outs in the ninth, up by a run and Phillies runners on first and second, he had Thome walked intentionally to move the winning run into scoring position.
But Thome is 6-for-46 (.130) with runners in scoring position. And here's where the discussion gets complicated.
Gross pointed out Thome broke his right middle finger in spring training, jammed his left thumb early in the season and recently missed five games with a sprained ligament in his right index finger.
Except for this: Even with those injuries, he's hitting .304 overall and an amazing .436 (34-for-78) with eight of his 12 home runs with nobody on base.
"I think it may vary from year to year," Thome said. "It's like a home-run hitter. There might be some years when you're hitting the ball out in front and driving it into the gap for a double. The next year, you might get a little more lift and the ball goes out.
"Besides, maybe you come up in the first inning with a couple guys on base and you don't get the job done. But later in the game, you hit two solo home runs. That doesn't mean you haven't been productive. So who's to say what's a clutch hit?"
Or take Lieberthal. He's been almost invisible with runners in scoring position. Not a clutch hitter? Last year he hit .319 in those situations.
Gross noted Thome still seems to walk from the on-deck circle to the plate a little more quickly with runners on or with a chance to decide the game. And the big first baseman didn't deny he approaches those at-bats differently.
"I feel like, 'Man, this is what it's all about.' You go through your whole day getting ready for this moment," Thome said. "Sometimes you're going to be proud. Sometimes you're going to be distressed. But you have to talk yourself into wanting to be in that situation. That's what's fun."
Centerfielder Doug Glanville absolutely believes there's such a thing as a clutch hitter.
"Some people respond better in pressure situations," he said. "I don't know whether it's adrenaline or whatever. But some people have a different response. Of course, the converse then is, do people also choke? But I see it. It's just like in life. Some people handle stress better than others.
"I don't believe in luck. If you're consistent, more often than not, you'll come through. It's when you're inconsistent that your numbers can fluctuate."
If that's true, that coming through when it counts the most is a talent and not the blind toss of a dart at the board, it's an area in which the Phillies must improve if they hope to compete this season.
And that's no joke.
Posted on Thu, Jun. 03, 2004
Not too much pop in the clutch
By PAUL HAGEN
hagenp@phillynews.com
Old joke: What happened to the auto worker who fell into the assembly line?
He came through in the clutch.
As anybody who's been following the Citizens Bank Park soap opera this season already knows, that's something Phillies haven't been able to do with any regularity this season. And that's hardly a laughing matter for a team that continues to sputter offensively.
The Phillies had only one hit in six at-bats with runners in scoring position during last night's 5-3 loss to the Mets in 10 innings.
The futility was highlighted in the bottom of the 10th. Ricky Ledee leads the majors with eight pinch-hits. But with runners on first and second and one out, he struck out against Mets closer Braden Looper.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Jim Thome was at the plate. A single would have tied the game, a double probably would have won it.
Instead, he grounded out to shortstop as the Phillies lost their third straight and for the seventh time in their last 11 games. In those 11 games, they're 13-for-95 (.137) with runners in scoring position.
For the season, they're batting .214 with runners in scoring position. And that average is dragged down by some of the big names in the lineup. Thome. Jimmy Rollins (.139). Mike Lieberthal (.096). Placido Polanco (.000).
That has led to some predictable sirens of concern everywhere, from the manager's office to the talk-radio stations and all the ZIP codes in between.
The Phillies don't have enough clutch hitters. That's obvious.
Or is it?
One school of thought in baseball, merchandised most aggressively by Athletics general manager Billy Beane, is that it is a myth that some hitters are better than others with runners on base or late in close games.
According to this theory, each batter will get a certain amount of hits during the course of a season. Whether they come with runners in scoring position, whether they come early in a blowout or late in a tie game, is all a matter of chance. "Bleeping luck," Beane calls it. The key is to get as many runners on base as possible; if there are enough, over time, the percentages dictate that runs will follow.
This would be an easy out for the Phillies. They could write it all off as just not getting the breaks so far this season. For the most part, however, they reject that explanation.
"It's real," hitting coach Greg Gross testified. "There are some guys who, for whatever reason, always seem to be successful at it. The thing you see is better concentration. There are guys who just have a knack for having better at-bats with runners in scoring position."
Thome, for example. He's such a feared hitter, he occasionally makes other managers go against the book when he comes up with the game on the line. Tony La Russa did it when the Phillies played the Cardinals on May 4. With two outs in the ninth, up by a run and Phillies runners on first and second, he had Thome walked intentionally to move the winning run into scoring position.
But Thome is 6-for-46 (.130) with runners in scoring position. And here's where the discussion gets complicated.
Gross pointed out Thome broke his right middle finger in spring training, jammed his left thumb early in the season and recently missed five games with a sprained ligament in his right index finger.
Except for this: Even with those injuries, he's hitting .304 overall and an amazing .436 (34-for-78) with eight of his 12 home runs with nobody on base.
"I think it may vary from year to year," Thome said. "It's like a home-run hitter. There might be some years when you're hitting the ball out in front and driving it into the gap for a double. The next year, you might get a little more lift and the ball goes out.
"Besides, maybe you come up in the first inning with a couple guys on base and you don't get the job done. But later in the game, you hit two solo home runs. That doesn't mean you haven't been productive. So who's to say what's a clutch hit?"
Or take Lieberthal. He's been almost invisible with runners in scoring position. Not a clutch hitter? Last year he hit .319 in those situations.
Gross noted Thome still seems to walk from the on-deck circle to the plate a little more quickly with runners on or with a chance to decide the game. And the big first baseman didn't deny he approaches those at-bats differently.
"I feel like, 'Man, this is what it's all about.' You go through your whole day getting ready for this moment," Thome said. "Sometimes you're going to be proud. Sometimes you're going to be distressed. But you have to talk yourself into wanting to be in that situation. That's what's fun."
Centerfielder Doug Glanville absolutely believes there's such a thing as a clutch hitter.
"Some people respond better in pressure situations," he said. "I don't know whether it's adrenaline or whatever. But some people have a different response. Of course, the converse then is, do people also choke? But I see it. It's just like in life. Some people handle stress better than others.
"I don't believe in luck. If you're consistent, more often than not, you'll come through. It's when you're inconsistent that your numbers can fluctuate."
If that's true, that coming through when it counts the most is a talent and not the blind toss of a dart at the board, it's an area in which the Phillies must improve if they hope to compete this season.
And that's no joke.