eck's appeal
i watched eckstein’s at-bats closely last night, particularly the strikes thrown early in the count. (if you're just joining us, i've been meditating on card ss's count management --- tuesdy and yest'dy.) he runs the standard singles-hitting-leadoff-guy playbook. when he batted with no one on base (1st, 4th, and 7th) eck had "deep count" at-bats, performing his famous We-Foul-Em™ routine and trying to worm his way on base. got to two strikes on all three at-bats - usually a bad sign - but still reached base two times and worked the count to 3-2 the other time. in the 2d and 5th, hitting with two outs and men on base, he attacked early in the count, putting 0-1 pitches in play both times. in his final at-bat, with runners at 2d and 3d and one out in the 8th, he took the first pitch right down the middle — classic "get me over" fastball — and then never saw another strike and wound up at first with a walk. i’d rather have seen him hack at that first pitch, which had nothing on it and cleaved the fat part of the plate — if nothing else you get a fly ball and another run. i suspect eck would have attacked the next strike had the pitcher obliged him with one . . . .
but why 2d-guess a guy who has just gone 4 for 5 with a walk? as a purely academic exercise — one in no way meant to demean eckstein’s fine performance (nice going david!) — here are a few add’l notes:
* in the top of the first eckstein got ahead 2-0, then took strike one over the outside corner; no complaint, it was a pitcher’s pitch and a wise one to lay off. besides, the pitcher was groping to establish his rhythm; make him throw pitches in that situation.
* in the fifth, with two on and two out, he very clearly was taking all the way on 0-0 — pulled one of those fake square-to-bunt maneuvers, then pulled the bat back and was never ready to swing, which is too bad because the pitch was a fat one. in this instance, no matter; he simply whacked the 0-1 pitch up the middle for an rbi hit.
* in the 7th, with none on and two out, he got ahead 1-0 and again took a get-me-over strike; two outs, i’m thinking take a cut at that thing and see if you can drive it and get yourself into scoring position. he eventually did get a single, then scored on ensuing larry walker double . . . .
why the increasingly unhealthy fixation on david eckstein? i have never disliked him, never thought he was a bad baseball player. i just don’t get him. he’s a shortstop who can’t throw, a leadoff man who doesn’t steal bases and doesn't have particularly impressive obps. it’s said that his full contribution to the team doesn’t show up in the box score, that he does a lot of "little things" (sure, sure; little guy, little things. a natural fit.) he hustles, he scraps, he grits his teeth, and by virtue thereof eckstein makes himself far more valuable than his .700 ops and mediocre (at best) range afield would suggest.
this is a standard myth we tell about certain types of ballplayers, and i’ve always been skeptical of it. we like to tell the same myth about ourselves — ie that effort, tenacity, fearlessness, etc are the main things that separate winners from losers, on the diamond and in the game of life. i never bought that myth either. strip away the myth from david eckstein and you no longer have a player who brings an intangible but significant value-add ("character," for lack of better) to a limited skill set. all you have is the limited skill set.
that’s what i saw in david eckstein when the cardinals signed him — a player who might serve nicely as a part-time player, or as an everyday shortstop batting eighth. but as everyday shortstop and everyday leadoff man? the anchor of the defense and the sparkplug of the offense for a pennant-winning team? mighty big responsibility for a guy who is so average (or worse) in so many respects. yeah, i know he’s got a championship ring and two playoff appearances in four years. i also know that he didn’t get to the majors until age 26, that his glove at short has always been suspect, and that he’s now 30 years old and starting to show signs of slowing down. his run production has faded since his sophomore year, along with his fielding statistics. and since (nothing personal against eckstein) i place little if any value on the "hustle" virtues david brings to the game, i have had concerns about him (like this one) ever since stl signed him.
i still have my concerns, by the way, even tho eckn has looked like a playoff-caliber shortstop through the first six weeks of the year. but i want him to keep doing well and will suffer no shame if he makes all my reservations about him look stupid. mainly, tho, i just want to understand him — how he bears such a sizable load on such a flimsy platform. i look at the guy and i see tony womack without the speed, omar vizquel without the (in his prime) glove; i see a glorified version of bo hart, a player with many limitations and no redeeming areas of excellence. eckstein gets the most out of his ability? that’s a nice story, but i still don’t understand how it makes a .~335 obp (eck’s career mark) a virtue in an aging leadoff man.
i’ll start watching more closely. and i hope eckn shows me.
update: at least one angel fan has bought the myth ex post facto. here's rev halofan in today's post at halos heaven: "After much consideration, it appears that we're most missing Eckstein. . . . . . The offensive anemia continues and it makes me buy all of that sparkplug bullshit they fed us in 2002."
PITCH BY PITCH
david eckstein’s at-bats 5/11/05
AB#1: 1st inn, 0out, 0on
1-0
2-0
2-1 called
2-2 foul
2-2 foul
2-2 foul
3-2
in play F-7
AB#2: 2d inn, 2out, runnr2
0-1 called
in play single
AB#3: 4th inn, 1out, 0on
1-0
1-1 called
1-2 foul
2-2
2-2 foul
3-2
3-2 foul
3-2 foul
3-2 foul
in play single
AB#4: 5th inn, 2out, runnrs1+2
0-1 called
in play single
AB#5: 7th inn, 2out, 0on
1-0
1-1 called
1-2 called
2-2
in play hit
AB#6: 8th inn, 1out, runnrs2+3
0-1 called
1-1
2-1
3-1
walk
but why 2d-guess a guy who has just gone 4 for 5 with a walk? as a purely academic exercise — one in no way meant to demean eckstein’s fine performance (nice going david!) — here are a few add’l notes:
* in the top of the first eckstein got ahead 2-0, then took strike one over the outside corner; no complaint, it was a pitcher’s pitch and a wise one to lay off. besides, the pitcher was groping to establish his rhythm; make him throw pitches in that situation.
* in the fifth, with two on and two out, he very clearly was taking all the way on 0-0 — pulled one of those fake square-to-bunt maneuvers, then pulled the bat back and was never ready to swing, which is too bad because the pitch was a fat one. in this instance, no matter; he simply whacked the 0-1 pitch up the middle for an rbi hit.
* in the 7th, with none on and two out, he got ahead 1-0 and again took a get-me-over strike; two outs, i’m thinking take a cut at that thing and see if you can drive it and get yourself into scoring position. he eventually did get a single, then scored on ensuing larry walker double . . . .
why the increasingly unhealthy fixation on david eckstein? i have never disliked him, never thought he was a bad baseball player. i just don’t get him. he’s a shortstop who can’t throw, a leadoff man who doesn’t steal bases and doesn't have particularly impressive obps. it’s said that his full contribution to the team doesn’t show up in the box score, that he does a lot of "little things" (sure, sure; little guy, little things. a natural fit.) he hustles, he scraps, he grits his teeth, and by virtue thereof eckstein makes himself far more valuable than his .700 ops and mediocre (at best) range afield would suggest.
this is a standard myth we tell about certain types of ballplayers, and i’ve always been skeptical of it. we like to tell the same myth about ourselves — ie that effort, tenacity, fearlessness, etc are the main things that separate winners from losers, on the diamond and in the game of life. i never bought that myth either. strip away the myth from david eckstein and you no longer have a player who brings an intangible but significant value-add ("character," for lack of better) to a limited skill set. all you have is the limited skill set.
that’s what i saw in david eckstein when the cardinals signed him — a player who might serve nicely as a part-time player, or as an everyday shortstop batting eighth. but as everyday shortstop and everyday leadoff man? the anchor of the defense and the sparkplug of the offense for a pennant-winning team? mighty big responsibility for a guy who is so average (or worse) in so many respects. yeah, i know he’s got a championship ring and two playoff appearances in four years. i also know that he didn’t get to the majors until age 26, that his glove at short has always been suspect, and that he’s now 30 years old and starting to show signs of slowing down. his run production has faded since his sophomore year, along with his fielding statistics. and since (nothing personal against eckstein) i place little if any value on the "hustle" virtues david brings to the game, i have had concerns about him (like this one) ever since stl signed him.
i still have my concerns, by the way, even tho eckn has looked like a playoff-caliber shortstop through the first six weeks of the year. but i want him to keep doing well and will suffer no shame if he makes all my reservations about him look stupid. mainly, tho, i just want to understand him — how he bears such a sizable load on such a flimsy platform. i look at the guy and i see tony womack without the speed, omar vizquel without the (in his prime) glove; i see a glorified version of bo hart, a player with many limitations and no redeeming areas of excellence. eckstein gets the most out of his ability? that’s a nice story, but i still don’t understand how it makes a .~335 obp (eck’s career mark) a virtue in an aging leadoff man.
i’ll start watching more closely. and i hope eckn shows me.
update: at least one angel fan has bought the myth ex post facto. here's rev halofan in today's post at halos heaven: "After much consideration, it appears that we're most missing Eckstein. . . . . . The offensive anemia continues and it makes me buy all of that sparkplug bullshit they fed us in 2002."
PITCH BY PITCH
david eckstein’s at-bats 5/11/05
AB#1: 1st inn, 0out, 0on
1-0
2-0
2-1 called
2-2 foul
2-2 foul
2-2 foul
3-2
in play F-7
AB#2: 2d inn, 2out, runnr2
0-1 called
in play single
AB#3: 4th inn, 1out, 0on
1-0
1-1 called
1-2 foul
2-2
2-2 foul
3-2
3-2 foul
3-2 foul
3-2 foul
in play single
AB#4: 5th inn, 2out, runnrs1+2
0-1 called
in play single
AB#5: 7th inn, 2out, 0on
1-0
1-1 called
1-2 called
2-2
in play hit
AB#6: 8th inn, 1out, runnrs2+3
0-1 called
1-1
2-1
3-1
walk
posted by L Boros at 12:50 AM
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