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What Berti Did

Edgy MD Aug 26 2020 09:02 AM

What Berti did last night, every player in the league is invited to do every game. There's just some sort of unspoken gentleman's agreement that it not be done. But (a) being in his last option year trying to get established, (b) playing during a spectator-less season, (c) playing for an ignored franchise even in a normal season, (d) having speed as his primary calling card, and (e) playing in the ass-end of a miserable slog of a double-header, he found himself not giving a fuck. In such moments, taboos are broken and cultures change. Let's hope so. Either will get a lot more steals of home, or we'll get a lot more defenses forced to play honestly.

kcmets Aug 26 2020 09:15 AM Re: What Berti Did

Well, let's not go building a statue (the kids would probably tear it down anyway) for him 'taking what they give ya.'

Johnny Lunchbucket Aug 26 2020 09:25 AM Re: What Berti Did

Smart play by Berti. Always disgraceful to be outhustled. But this is really about What Ali Sanchez Did, which gave Berti the opportunity.

Edgy MD Aug 26 2020 10:50 AM Re: What Berti Did

Yeah, it is, but my experience, what Sanchez did and what Davis did is happening all the time, and people are just letting it happen. With contemporary defensive positioning, steals of home and (moreso) bunt hits and RBI are all but there for the taking copious amounts of times per game. Berti said fuck it and did it. How many times yesterday did the Mets have a runner on third and the nearest defender closer to second than third? If you take what you're given, the game gets a lot easier.

Frayed Knot Aug 26 2020 12:07 PM Re: What Berti Did

I don't think there's any kind of 'gentlemen's agreement' against that type of play. To me it's more that baseball has, over the years, slowly morphed from a game where the ball was always assumed to be in play unless specifically stated otherwise to one where just the opposite is now considered to be the norm. -- Think back to Muffy's "steal" of 3rd base on a walk in that series against the Dodgers. Once 'Ball 4' was called, 3B-man Justin Turner, who was in short RF as part of a shift, just started casually strolling, head down the entire way, back towards the general direction of his regular position -- remember also that this was during a freakin' playoff game - as if he had all the time in the world to get there because, well because of course he did, the last play was over and now nothing would or could! happen until the next pitch was thrown. Now I'm not implying that Turner actually thought those specific thoughts but he certainly acted as if the game was in a holding pattern and would be until his pitcher opted to dictate otherwise. Murph meanwhile, alertly saw what was happening and, for maybe the one and only time in his life, made a clever base-running move. Gary, you may recall, once described Murph as running as if under the impression he was invisible. -- That very same week over in the AL playoffs [TEX v TOR], Ranger 2Bman Rougned Odor scampered home when Russell Martin's return throw to the mound dinged off Shin-Soo Choo's bat and into foul territory. Yet, even as he was streaking home, the HP ump was waiving off the play as if not only is the time between batters automatically deemed to be dead-time but now nothing is allowed to occur even in the time between pitches! The umps got together and, after much discussion, eventually allowed the run to count. But it's telling that, even from the arbiters of the game, the very first reaction was that Odor could NOT advance because the game was on pause. Choo, btw, had his back to Martin the entire time so there was no implication that he intentionally interrupted the throw and Odor, to his credit, kept running despite the HP ump's initial call otherwise the whole thing could have really turned into a mess. Now this particular play last night was a bit different. Sanchez actually looked towards Berti at 3rd but then made a lazy throw as if his glance alone was sufficient to negate any hi-jinx -- a habit born of the above mindset most likely -- and then Familia made an awful return throw. Good for Berti, bad on Mets. My overall point here is that I don't think players are reluctant to try oddball tricks like these because they don't want to upset the other side but rather because it rarely occurs to them to do so. If quizzed on it most would probably come to the conclusion plays like these are in fact allowed but that certainly wouldn't be their first thought and some of them would probably have to stew on it a bit and maybe check with one or more of their coaches before coming up with an answer. Now in addition to how more mundane this attitude makes the game of baseball think about the message it sends to fans; if time between batters and even between pitches is dead time where nothing CAN happen, well then that's just another excuse to use that thumb to switch to, and maybe not back from, something else on their TV/Phone/Game console. And you tell me that TV ratings are down? ... huh!

batmagadanleadoff Aug 26 2020 12:23 PM Re: What Berti Did

Edgy MD wrote: How many times yesterday did the Mets have a runner on third and the nearest defender closer to second than third? If you take what you're given, the game gets a lot easier. When I was a kid, and I'm talking elementary school, junior high school age, and we'd play some version of nine on nine baseball, usually softball or punchball, there would, from time to time, be some kid playing second base who wasn't too baseball savvy, even accounting for his youth. And so he'd play the field by standing directly on second base instead of covering the hole between first base and second base -- obviously believing that a second baseman stands on the base as the name of the position might imply. I would always exploit that lack of knowledge by hitting a grounder through the undefended hole for an easy single. I'm right-handed and became a pretty good opposite field hitter as I grew and I'm sure that this tactic helped me.

Edgy MD Aug 26 2020 12:38 PM Re: What Berti Did

Well, by "unspoken gentleman's agreement," I don't mean to imply that a guy will get drilled if he makes another choice, only that, like you write, certain things are taken for granted, and a player feels OK with that, observing that everybody else on the other team seems to take it for granted too. My team is going to bunt against the shift and steal home when the thirdbaseman is way out of position ... all day long. Or at least until the other team gets the picture, which I imagine won't take much more than an inning. if Luis Rojas or some other manager builds his team around the willingness to first take what they are given, well, I'll happily be his poolboy. The Mets could start by liberating this Berti character from the Marlins.

MFS62 Aug 26 2020 01:11 PM Re: What Berti Did

It used to be called heads up baseball, or just plain hustling and is now, sadly, the exception. As noted in another thread, a broadcaster should never assume the microphone is off. Baseball players should never assume the ball is dead. It was the kind of play that would make Gene Mauch glad. Later

Benjamin Grimm Aug 26 2020 01:32 PM Re: What Berti Did

This thread title reminds me of an episode of the Flintstones, where Wilma pissed Betty off by repeatedly saying, "After what Barney did..." (Three honorary Schaefer points to whoever call tell us what it was that Barney did, because I can't remember.)