When a Six-Run Inning Isn't the Pitcher's Fault - Page 3

This new theory of pitching also helps explain some of the great fluke seasons of modern times.  Famous flukes like Greg Hibbard, Dave Fleming, Randy Jones and 1970 NL Rookie of the Year Carl Morton can now explain their flash in the pan as the cost of pitching with an unsustainably low strikeout rate.  Such problems inevitably come back to haunt you (witness the downfall of Carlos Silva).

But there is a time, as I mentioned before, when neither pitching nor defense can explain a pitcher's failure to prevent runs.  This is randomness; by that, I mean that it reflects the inconsistencies of baseball.  A time, for example, when a player does everything right but gets a negative result.  Examples include:  a screaming line drive hit right at a fielder ("atom balls"), a perfect breaking ball on the outside corner that the hitter somehow punches into the hole, any play involving a bad hop or wet grass or Astroturf, "seeing-eye singles," a lazy 320-foot fly ball that lands in the "short porch" for a home run, or the 390-foot can o' corn hit to the deepest part of the ballpark.

We could probably think of a dozen more cases where the skill of the players involved is superseded by bad (or good) luck.  True, it is rare that you'll have a lot of these happen to you in a row.  But if you play 162 games a year, you're going to see some freaky things.  All you can do is hope that the breaks go your way more often than not.

In other words, hope that you're not Jon Lester . . .

 ... back to the game.  It's the top of the 5th inning, and Tampa Bay is leading Boston 2-1.  Still, Jon Lester is doing a pretty good job.  The 5th shouldn't be too difficult.  First up is Akinori Iwamura.  Iwamura takes a 2-1 fastball and grounds it up the middle for a base hit.  Next up, Dioner Navarro punches a single through the hole on the left side, moving Iwamura to second.  Shortstop Julio Lugo gets a glove on it, but just barely.  It's ruled a hit, but could have gone either way.  Still, this is not a huge crisis.  Except for falling behind both hitters, Lester hasn't really done anything wrong.  Both grounders just found holes.

Article Author: Aaron Whitehead

Aaron, 28, lives in southern Kentucky and works at the local community college. He spends his spare time working in the theatre and cheering for the Braves ... against his better judgment.

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