With over 40 years as a major league player, manager and broadcaster, Buck Martinez has experienced baseball from all angles. Now in his role as the Toronto Blue Jays play-by-play announcer, Buck is taking your questions in his weekly blog for sportsnet.ca, Ask Buck Martinez.
Donny asks…
Hey Buck, In hockey, much is made about the un-written “code,” especially as it relates to fighters. In baseball, the “code” seems to involve things such as intentionally hitting batters and stuff like bunting for a base hit during a no-hitter, like what happened last week with the Tigers and Indians.
Just wondering: Do you have a problem with a guy bunting for a base-hit during a no-hitter, and is it ever OK to intentionally hit a batter, even in retaliation?
Thanks!
BUCK: Donny, the "code" has changed many times over the years and this generation of player doesn’t seem to have any set of standards in that regard. As for a bunt in the no-hitter, and I imagine you are asking about Erick Aybar’s bunt attempt to lead off the 8th inning of a 3-0 game against Verlander. I have no problem with that at all as the game was still up for grabs, and as you know, the Angels scored two that inning to make it a 3-2 game.
As for hitting a guy in retaliation, every situation is different.
I came up to the big leagues when a pitcher would knock you down because the guy in front of you hit a home run. Now that never made sense to me at all. If a pitcher hit our best guy on purpose, we would either hit the first batter or wait to get their best hitter. That’s was the code at that time.
A lot has changed since then and free agency may have had a lot to do with fewer and fewer beaning incidents. Players move from team to team more often and develop friendships all around the league so no one wants to throw at their buddy.
Another factor is the hitter elbow pads and the umpire warnings on inside pitches making the hitter so comfortable and confident he doesn’t know how to get out of the way of an errant pitch or an intentional beanball. It is a safer game now and the players are the heart and soul of the game, so let’s keep them on the field playing and not on the DL with a broken hand.
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Susie asks…
Hi Buck,
Now that the July 31 deadline has passed, did any teams make moves that changed your opinions of them in terms of their playoff chances? Also, did any trade really surprise you?
BUCK: Susie, the trade deadline was interesting with the Indians picking up the best starter available in Ubaldo Jimenez, the Giants getting the bats they needed with Carlos Beltran and Orlando Cabrera, and the Rangers shoring up their bullpen to complement a very strong rotation.
Here are my take on the moves.
In my mind Texas, did the best job in picking up Mike Adams and Koji Uehara for the stretch drive. Late in the season your bullpen will wear down and the Rangers have such a good offensive team, they will have many leads late in games.
With the addition of two arms they can spread the load around and keep everyone as strong as possible. We just saw Uehara with the Orioles and I thought he was throwing better now than at any point of his career since coming over from Japan.
I also like the Giants getting Beltran since he looks healthy, interested in another free agent contract and he has a good track record against the NL West with a .290 career average with 34 home runs and 135 RBIs in 216 games.
That might be the boost the Giants need to fend off Arizona.
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Gary asks…
Hi Buck, love your work!
Just wondering what you think the realistic expectations are for Dustin McGowan now that it appears more likely he’ll be back up by September?
Is it realsitic to hope he still might become a front of the rotation starter, or should we be happy if he becomes just another guy on the staff?
BUCK: Gary, John Farrell has talked about his ideas for Dustin if he continues to perform as well as he has during his minor league rehab.
Given the multitude of health issues the right-hander has had to deal with, most of the decision-makers with the Jays believe they can protect McGowan more effectively as a starter than a reliever. He has thrown only 15.2 innings, but the reports have been favourable: Good velocity, decent breaking stuff and a reasonable bounce back after the outings.
The reason he may be better suited to work as a starter is the routine is very regimented. The warmup process for a starter is very controlled compared to that for a reliever who has to jump into action very quickly. Starting should also allow Dustin the best opportunity to pitch, rest, throw, rest and start again.
I, like everybody else that has been around McGowan, have my fingers crossed that he will continue to get stronger, stay healthy and pitch in Toronto in September. He has shown more dedication and perseverance than most people can muster. Wish him good luck and keep your fingers crossed.
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Casey asks…
Hey Buck,
Now that Matt Stairs has retired, just wondering what your impressions were of him as player and who you think were some of the best pinch-hitters you’ve ever seen?
BUCK: Casey, Matt Stairs has the major league record for career pinch hit home runs with 23, and will go down as one of the best pinch hitters of all time.
Later in his career when that became his primary role, no one was better. He had the confidence to hit in big situations as he did against the Dodgers in the playoffs in 2008 against Jonathan Broxton hitting a game-winning, pinch-hit, two-run homer.
Over the years I have seen plenty of good pinch hitters and played with one of the best in Toronto, Cliff Johnson.
Cliff, like Matt, didn’t care where or when, he just wanted to hit and the better the pitcher was, the more locked in Cliff was. He had the record for pinch-hit homers at 20 before Matt broke that. Other good pinch hitters over the years that I have respected include Manny Mota, Ed Kranepool had a great average as a pinch hitter, John Vander Wal, Harold Baines, Mark Sweeney and Dave Hansen were all tough in those spots.
As you can see, the best pinch hitters weren’t always good everyday players, but they had a knack for coming off the pine a delivering a clutch hit.
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Matthew asks…
Hi Buck,
I have a question about catchers. Russell Martin seems to have one of the quickest gloves I’ve seen. Pitches that often appear to be off the plate, he was able to bring them back over the plate with a lot of speed.
Can the catcher influence the call from the umpire that much by pulling the ball back over the plate after it’s been caught?
BUCK:Matthew, I know a lot of analysts on television talk about the catchers and how well they "frame the ball," but I don’t like that at all.
To me, when I see a catcher try to snatch the ball back into the strike zone, it sends up a red flag to the umpire that the ball was outside. Too much movement of the glove by the catcher is counterproductive. I like a quiet catcher that lets the ball come to him.
If you set up in the right spot behind the plate and the pitcher hits his spot, there shouldn’t be much movement at all. I know umpires like less movement as the catcher then stays out of his sightlines and gives him a good shot at the strike zone. I know I am in the minority about catchers "framing," but I really think that is way over done.
