The new system, which allows managers to challenge many types of calls, worked flawlessly as far as Girardi was concerned, and a runner was erased from second base after a 44-second review. “It feels pretty good, actually” Girardi said. Earlier this spring, Girardi tried to challenge a play against the Philadelphia Phillies, but a technical glitch thwarted the appeal.
On March 12, he challenged an out call against Brian Roberts at first base, but the appeal was denied. On Saturday, Girardi got it right, and pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was the beneficiary on his way to his first spring training win for the Yankees, a 5-4 decision over the Minnesota Twins.
On the play, it appeared that catcher Francisco Cervelli’s one-hop throw to Dean Anna was in time to catch Aaron Hicks attempting to steal second. When Girardi saw that Anna was arguing with the second base umpire, Marvin Hudson, Girardi walked methodically to the field to argue. Or, rather, he was half arguing, half stalling while Brett Weber, the Yankees’ baseball operations assistant, watched replays in the clubhouse. Deciding that the call was wrong, Weber radioed Tony Pena, the Yankees’ bench coach. As Girardi began his discussion with Hudson, he positioned himself so he could see into his dugout, as Major League Baseball has requested managers do to speed the process.
As soon as he saw a signal from Pena, Girardi notified the umpires. During the regular season, umpires will be watching at M.L.B. headquarters in New York, but during spring training, they are positioned in trailers at the stadiums.
An on-field umpire was given a headset and informed of the decision from the trailer, and Hicks had to trot back to the dugout. According to the new rule, managers are allowed one challenge. If their appeal is upheld, they get another challenge.
After the seventh inning, challenges are in the hands of the umpires. M.L.B. expects reviews will take an average of two and a half minutes.
That can pose a problem for pitchers, who might need to warm up during the delay. Tanaka, who gave up three runs and five hits in five and two-thirds innings to increase his spring training earned run average to 3.00, threw three warm-up pitches during the brief delay. “It wasn’t long and it wasn’t short,” he said through his interpreter.
“It was O.K.” Larry Rothschild, the Yankees’ pitching coach, said he would wait to see how the system develops before instructing his pitchers how to handle delays.
In the past, when managers engaged in lengthy arguments, Rothschild signaled to his pitchers from the dugout to throw some warm-ups.
But it depends on several factors, including weather and the number of pitches they have already thrown, so there is no set guideline.
Tanaka was not as sharp as he had been in previous outings, but Girardi was pleased that he was able to work through his troubles. Girardi also noted that Tanaka was pitching against a lineup that could be Minnesota’s opening-day nine. Tanaka struck out Joe Mauer but gave up doubles to Brian Dozier and Jason Kubel. “Obviously, I had good innings and I had bad innings,” Tanaka said.
New Source: www.nytimes.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment