Good win to help halt the momentum a bit. If they get a good effort out of Kelvim tomorrow, scratch out a few runs, then maybe all of the sudden a three game losing streak turns into a two game winning streak. There were some good signs tonight. Timely hitting (Josh Paul?), fantastic relief yet again, some struggles from Byrd, but another quality start. They picked up a run in the ninth despite a blunder from Vlad. The last few games, they wouldn't have had a baserunner to screw up, so even the screw up was a good sign. The infield single by Kennedy was lucky, but clutch. Those are the types of things that have to happen for a team to turn things around. Very nice play by Cabrera to end the game, with a good strong throw (blog foreshadowing). It's got to be nice to know, as an infielder, that there's a vacuum at first who's going to suck up almost any mistake you toss his way.
That brings up a question, and I'd love to hear any responses. Consider it an informal poll, as unscientific as it can be at a site which has seen all of five commenters to this point (and that includes me). Orlando had to range to his right to make that play, get up and fire it to first to get the final out. Does Eckstein make that play, and if so, does he make it look easier, and why? Superior positioning? Quicker lateral movement? I'm not sure he makes the throw if he starts it from the same position. I guess the question is, does he end up in the same position as Cabrera, or does he field it in position to throw? I don't have anything negative to say about Cabrera's defense so far (or McPherson's for that matter). I just wonder, 33 games into the season, what people think about the comparison of Cabrera and Eckstein defensively now that we've had a chance to see a fair amount of him (admittedly, I hadn't seen that much of him until last year's playoffs)? Keep in mind that I was watching the game on the computer (see post below), so I didn't have the chance to rewind and watch that play a couple of times.
Pitching matchup favors the Angels tomorrow (Escobar vs. Lee). The good news is, Kelvim is used to the Angels never scoring any runs, so it shouldn't rattle him. Day game, which sucks. That means I have to keep minimizing the screen when people walk by my desk. That's really gonna suck in the new building, where there will be less privacy. They're probably going to expect me to actually work and stuff over there.
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4 comments:
I've been thinking about whether or not Eckstein would have made that play ... and my answer is I just don't know. Eck's and Cabrera's styles of play are so different -- Eck's all fundamentals, Cabrera is more flash -- that I have a lot of trouble imagining one inhabiting the other's space.
-BHW
I say Eck makes the play. I don't think he botches the throw, which Cabrera did, making it look closer than it should have been.
I think Cabrera threw it down to get off a hard throw. The other option is to rainbow it, or throw one that days in front of Erstad, and becomes a tougher pick.
I think Eckstein gets to the ball, but if he's still moving towards left when he does it, he probably doesn't make the throw on time.
I think the only plays that Cabrera will make that Eckstein won't are the plays where he has to go deep and make a strong throw.
Eck makes the play. He gets in front of it and doesn't need to make as strong a throw (since he can't).
Overall, I think Eck and OC are even on defense, but Ecksteins superior OBP is missed.
Eck has outplayed both his replacement and the guy he's replacing in St Louis, at a fraction of their contracts.
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