FISTER REPLAYS INNING
New guy OK with reversal, calls out himself for runs
Why do I hate review challenges in Major League Baseball? They’re gimmicky. They bring the game to a grinding halt as grumpy umpires huff and puff their way to foul territory to meet the kid holding the gizmo that connects them with Replay Headquarters in New York. And reviews have all but eliminated those fiery, oldtimey manager-umpire brawls, though Red Sox skipper John Farrell had a nice meltdown Saturday night when he went at it with longtime nemesis Bill Miller over a balk call.
Now it’s possible newly acquired Red Sox pitcher Doug Fister has his own reasons for hating replay challenges. Especially after what happened in the second inning of a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels yesterday at Fenway Park. But the veteran right-hander diplomatically chose not to go there, not even a little bit, after giving up three runs in six-plus innings in his Sox debut.
In the second inning, with runners on first and third, one down, the Angels’ Danny Espinosa hit a hard grounder to the right side that Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland deftly scooped up, before firing to second to begin an inning-ending double play.
But . . . wait. Angels manager Mike Scioscia challenged the ruling, the umps got together with the gizmo that connects them to Replay Headquarters and 1 minute, 27 seconds later the call was reversed.
The Angels got a run out of the deal. And then they got two more runs on a double to center field by Kaleb Cowart and a single to right by Juan Graterol.
Fister pitched shutout ball for the rest of his outing, and moving forward he will take a regular turn in the rotation. Considering all the uncertainties with the Sox starters, bringing in a journeyman with 77 career victories makes sense.
But what a way to start your Red Sox tenure: One minute your pumping your first because your infield has just bailed you out big time, and the next minute you’re looking over your shoulder and seeing a yellow “3” being slid into place on the scoreboard in left field.
“It’s definitely a good feeling to get back out here,” Fister said, “but I hold myself to a higher standard than what I had out there, so I’ve got some work to do. The next five days are going to be crucial for me to get back out there.”
Yet despite everything that happened, you know, out there, the new guy didn’t even come close to suggesting or intimating that the reversed call had been some kind of game-changer. There were no winks, no nods, no eye rolls. Replay is part of the arrangement, he pointed out. Life goes on.
“It was a bang-bang play, and (the possibility of a review) is always there,” he said. “Replay has become a big part of the game. They overturned it, and it was the right call to make. Coming back from that, I gotta make a better pitch. Make sure our boys get back in the dugout.”
Fister referred to what happened after the reversal as “the small hiccup,” repeating that, “I gotta drop a better job with that.
“I gotta execute some pitches and make sure that guys don’t do what they did,” he said. “That’s on me. I felt like I had good command of the bottom of the zone and celebrated when I needed to and made some pitches. The boys played hard. We made some great plays back there defensively. You can’t ask for much more.” My two non-pitching takeaways: 1. Reviewing calls was, is and always will be a joke. And this take has zero to do with what happened to Fister. The reversed call was the right call, and Fister then gave up two hits. He’s right: That’s on him. But replay still has to go. It’s a terribly awkward fit for baseball. So the umps will screw up from to time to time. Big deal;
2. It’s amazing how veteran ballplayers can join a new club and feel as though they’ve been buds with their new teammates for 10 years. Fister made several references to “the boys,” and he was sufficiently comfortable as to refer to Farrell as “skip.”
As Rick Porcello continues his quest to get his groove back, as David Price continues his quest to lighten up a little, innings-eater Doug Fister has come along at the right time. And the boys seem happy to have him.