Back to basics

   I am going to come back to my bread-and-butter - baseball.  I just turned off the Yankees-Dodgers game in favor of Discovery: Health (Hoarding:  Buried Alive, Ch. 279 on DirecTV).  Disturbing watching this guy walk around his house knee deep in clothes, garbage, books, and magazines.

   What is even more disturbing is the way Andy Pettitte is fielding his position (or should I say not fielding it).  He has only one error tonight, but should have two (they gave one to Robinson Cano).

   The inning started with a double to right field by Reed Johnson and Kershaw coming up.  Sac bunt.  Pettitte threw it down the left field line, allowing Johnson to score.  The announcers were saying it's the catchers call and A-Rod gestured to go to first base as well, but the ball wound up in left field.  Man on 1st, 1 run in.  Furcal bunt single.  1st and 2nd, 0 out.  Belliard sac bunt to Pettitte, who threw wide of Cano covering first.  Kershaw scored, Furcal to third, Belliard to second.  Sac fly from Ethier scored Furcal, allowed Belliard to go to third.  IBB to Manny-wood, Casey Blake struck out, Loney walked, Martin grounded out to third. 

   3 Runs.  2 Hits.  2 Errors.

   What Pettitte didn't execute is what we like to call in the baseball world PFP's.  Pitcher's Fielding Practice.  Something that is done day after day after day in spring training, in college baseball, and in high school baseball.  The reaction of pitchers after day three or four in a row is usually to roll their eyes, their necks, or just put their heads down.  Truth is, it is something that can win and lose games and add or shave points off the ERA.  So far tonight, it's biting the Yankees in the ass.

   Pettitte had only 29 errors in 15+ year career.  Pretty solid.  Six errors is his season high, in 2003 with the Yankees, when he won 21 games.  Might have been 22 or 23 if he made a few less errors.  Regardless, 29 errors in 15 years is excellent (.954 FLD%).  Greg Maddux, perhaps the best fielding pitcher there ever was, had a .970 FLD% (53 errors) in his 23-year career.

   When it boils down to it, a successful pitcher can repeat his delivery, throw to spots, and can field his position.  Throwing 96-99 MPH helps, but those guys are rare.  PFP's, everyone is on the same level as far as they go.  It's what you do once you get the ball that seperates the winners from the losers.

   Pettitte (.954 FLD%) has a career 238-137 record.  Maddux (.971 FLD%) was 355-227.  Both can field their position.  Both are successful (Maddux was).  Whitey Ford (.961 FLD%) was 236-106.  Bob Gibson (.949) was 251-174. 

   Chuck Finley (.907 FLD%) could have had more wins (200) and a lower ERA (3.85) if he could only field his position.  Randy Johnson (.904 FLD%) would have been less of a pitcher if he hadn't thrown 100 MPH in his prime - he made 5+ errors in a season in 11 of his 22 years on the mound.  Maybe that was his problem, leaving the mound.  When he was bringing the funk, he was nasty.  When he tried to field his position, he was awful.

   Anyway, non-baseball people can probably give two shits about this post, but it resonates with me.  I considered myself an excellent fielding pitcher when I played.  It's something you need to take pride in.  It saves your team, your pitch count, and your ERA.

   Here's a link to a great article on PFP's published on MLB.com earlier this year:  PFP.  Give it a glance, and if you happen to know someone who knows someone who's kid pitches, tell him to take a look.

   Help a young pitcher out, hit him some ground balls.  Trust me.