Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


4.17.2007  

The Little Things

I love baseball, I really do. Among all sports I love, it's the one that first captured me, and therefore, holds a place of unparalleled, nostalgic wonder deep within my heart. Still more, I love the game for reasons most casual fans won't: the little things. The importance of hitting a cutoff man, the precision and craftsmanship of a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt, or the catcher that knows how to handle and call a game for the nervous rookie pitcher just as well as the crafty veteran. Anyone can watch the right fielder with the howitzer for an arm and tell his buddies, "Did you see that throw?!?!" But it takes a particular sort of care to notice the shortstop cheat a step into the hole behind the the keystone sack just before a ball is hit on its way toward center field, and, because of that step, be there to make what would have been a base hit a 6-3 putout. It takes more than just care to analyze and realize that the reason the shortstop took that step was a calculation based on the hitter's tendencies, the pitcher's tendencies, the count, the situation, and the pitch. That, my friends, is why I love this article, and why I really want to see the Astros play this season. I can watch hitters jack the ball on ESPN all day and all night long, but it's next to impossible to watch a shortstop play defense on that level. Simple as that.

posted by Bolo | 11:40 PM
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