Critics swing and miss by slamming Tatis’ slam
KNOW what I’m going to buy you for your birthday? Something we all could use: a standing eight count. You know, enough time to clear your head to determine whether you should continue or stop having your brains scrambled. Monday, the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. committed an unfamiliar sin. With his team up on Texas, 10-3 in the eighth, he hit a grand slam against Juan Nicasio on a 3-0 count.
Among lesser options, he chose to swing. Being an old, white, grumpy, get-off-my-lawn sports columnist, I was supposed to join players and media in being appalled. What seemed a reasonable time for Tatis to be swinging, apparently violated an unwritten code of conduct.
MLB players, managers and media don’t seem to have a problem with The Game’s chronic self-ruin by the absence of proven winning fundamentals — the bunt, hitting the other way to defeat shifts, the removal of home-plate posing that often result in off-the-wall “home run” singles and optional running to first base even in World Series games.
But what Tatis did was inexcusable?
You want appalling? Wednesday on SNY’s Mets-Marlins sloga-thon, the Mets up 1-0 early, New York’s hustling but often self-deluded lefty “slugger”
Brandon Nimmo worked a 2-0 count — against a shift toward first base. That’s right, the shift was on even for a happy-to-hitthe-ball sprayer.
With the third-base side of the infield abandoned, a bunt or a slap in that direction would at least be worth a single. But Nimmo didn’t even give it a shot. He struck out, looking. Now
that’s appalling. But what would surely stoke the incredulity of Gary Cohen,
Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez didn’t provoke a word.
Wednesday night one could choose between Rays-Yankees on YES — 4-2, Rays; 12 total hits, 26 strikeouts nine pitchers in 3:15 — and Mets-Marlins — 5-3, Mets; a total of 20 strikeouts against 10 pitchers in 3:15.
Both games and telecasts had much in common: They were desultory, new-standard homerun-or-strikeouts drags with half-inning breaks dominated by commercials for vulnerable fools in their early 20s to bet on MLB games.
All two-strike pitches were attacked with vicious, damn-the-circumstances swings. Exhibit A: Rays catcher Mike Zunino hit a home run — and struck out in his other three at-bats.
On YES, Michael Kay again emphasized launch angles, exit velocities and home run distances as new baseball essentials.
Kay also lamented the injury to DJ LeMahieu, the best Yankees’ hitter. Currently batting .411, he’s tough to defend as he hits to all fields. But perhaps lost on Kay & Co., he doesn’t register on exit velo, launch angle and HR distance charts. He’s good, but no Gary Sanchez!
Tuesday, the Cubs beat the Cardinals, 6-3; nine pitchers, 26 strikeouts, 13 walks. The 8½-inning game ran 4:09. Thursday’s 10-5, 3:25 Rays win over the Yanks included 12 pitchers. Sanctuary!
But the week’s big story was shame on Fernando Tatis Jr. for doing dirt to The Game.