There were some adventures in pitching during the late innings of Game 4. Let's break it down.
Get Out of Jail Free Card
8th inning, Yakees lead 4-3 and Joba 'my fist pump looks so sweet' Chamberlain is brought in to face Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Pedro Feliz. Now there is something very elementary that we need to address with Joba: he is a thrower, not a pitcher. The entire time Joba is on a baseball field (and away from one too) he thinks about the same thing over and over -- how can I strike this guy out and how hard can I throw the ball in doing so? Epic pitching mistake. Your goal as a pitcher is to make your pitch that you think gives you the best shot at getting the hitter out, not to necessarily strike him out.
Into the box steps Werth. Joba gets ahead in the count with a fastball. Throws a 50 foot slider which evens the count. Throws another fastball to get ahead 1-2. 1 strike away from the coveted strikeout, Joba reaches back with total disregard to where Posada has set-up launches an up and in 96mph heater and Werth goes down swinging. 1 out.
Into the box steps Ibanez. Joba doesn't mess around he just blazes the fastball in there. With 2 strikes Joba reaches back with total disregard to where Posada has set-up launches an up and away 96mph heater and Ibanez goes down swinging.
Into the box steps Feliz. Ball one. Next pitch Joba does the Joba thing and throws a fastball right now the middle. Feliz swings through the ball and is blatantly behind on the pitch. Stop. Re-read the sentence regarding the first pitch to Feliz, this will prove very important later in the at-bat. Next pitch, another fastball another strike. We now have a 1-2 count. Joba is 1 strike away from striking out the side, he is Joba Juicing in his pants so hard he can barely stay conscious. Joba now makes a critical mistake: he starts to think. For reasons unknown he shakes off Posada to throw a slider. A slider? Really? The hitter can only pray you throw a slider and speed-up his bat because there is no chance in hell he can touch your fastball. The 1-2 pitch is a slider in the dirt. 2-2 count. OK Joba, you had your fun farting around with the slider now you can throw a fastball by him. 2-2 count and Joba shakes off Posada again and it's obvious what is going through his head -- "when they show me striking out the side on SportsCenter I don't want all my strikeouts to be fastballs, I've got to strike somebody out on a slider." The 2-2 pitch is another slider in the dirt. That brings us to a full count....
3-2 count. Nobody on. Yankees lead 4-3 in the 8th inning of Game 4 of the World Series.
Everyone in the stadium knows what is coming next: a fastball. Why do they know it’s coming next? Because Joba Chamerlain is on the mound. Sure there's the unwritten pitcher's rule that whatever pitch you make on 2-2 you should be able to make on 3-2 -- but this is Joba Chamberlain we're talking about here folks, a thrower not a pitcher. The momentum has completely shifted in this at-bat. Feliz, previously incapable of catching up to Joba's fastball, can now start to 'cheat' in his swing by gearing up early in expectation of the fastball. And Feliz can also gear up for the 3-2 pitch to not only be a fastball, but a fastball right down the dick. In the event Joba throws anything but a fastball remotely close to the plate Feliz swings, misses, and looks god-awful in doing so. However, this is not the case. Joba burns a belt-high, 4-seam fastball on a 3-2 count (if there was ever a text-book definition of a cock-shot this has got to be it). Feliz blatantly starts his swing early, anticipating a fastball. Result? Solo shot to Left Field. Tied game. Pandemonium in Philly.
Next batter up, Papa Beaner, Carlos Ruiz. Joba strikes him out in 4 pitches. The strikeout pitch? Slider. Duh.
Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200
Brad Lidge on the bump. 2 outs in the 9th inning. Full count on Johnny ‘I used to be a caveman’ Damon. All the momentum is on Philly’s side right now. Damon is putting together a tremendous at-bat. He has worked the count full and continues to foul-off pitches. However, what pitches does he continue to foul-off? Fastballs. The same 91-92 mph fastball is fouled-off over and over. This is Brad Lidge we’re talking about here. His go to pitch is a slider. Every chance he gets, he throws a slider. Hell, when he plays catch with his kids all he does is drop wicked 88mph sliders on them. Yet he abandons the pitch, Damon takes the outside fastball and slaps it to left-field. Great at-bat.
Damon is now on first base with Teixeira up. He steals first pitch. The infield is positioned in the ‘pull-shift’ formation, meaning with the left-handed hitting Teixeira up, all infielders are swung around to the right side of the infield. Given this alignment, Pedro Feliz, the Phillies 3rd baseman is covering 2nd on the throw down from the catcher.
Damon successfully steals 2nd and upon getting to 2nd takes off for 3rd base. Pretty stupid huh? Steal 2nd and then purposefully run to 3rd like you’re playing MLB the Show and just want to get out and get the game over with because you don’t give a damn anymore. Well ordinarily you’d be right … except nobody is covering 3rd because Brad Lidge forgot to fucking cover third base.
This mental abomination did not sit well with the baseball gods. Yankees go on to put up 3 in the 9th and take a 3-1 advantage in the series.
The biggest stage for baseball, yet lapses in the smallest details provide the biggest stories.
-Brad
