Changes to replay rules no sweat for the D-Backs video coordinator
SAN FRANCISCO – Baseball’s effort to shorten the decision time on issuing replay challenges hasn’t been a major change for Diamondbacks video coordinator Allen Campbell, who said he’s always tried to get to an answer as quickly as possible.
“You’re just putting a number on something, but you were already trying to rush,” he said. “Sure, there’s a little bit of pressure to it, but I don’t think it makes it that much more difficult than the pressure already put on ourselves.”
Managers now are supposed to be limited to 30 seconds before having to signal to on-field umpires whether they want to use one of their challenges. Campbell said the replay system teams use now includes a 30-second time that shows up on the screen.
For Campbell, the bigger difference might be in the amount of time New York has to make a decision, which cuts down on the agonizing wait before a ruling is issued.
“I like the fact that New York only gets two minutes now,” he said. “It’s nerve-wracking, there’s no doubt.”
Campbell likes another change that’s gone into effect this year, one that allows a team’s video person to tag a specific camera angle that was used when deciding to challenge.
“You can take the clip that you saw and sort of highlight it and send it over,” Campbell said. “And they’re supposed to see that. It’s supposed to go to the operations center.”
So far, Campbell and manager Torey Lovullo, who ultimately makes the call on whether to challenge, are off to a nice start.
The Diamondbacks are tied with the Washington Nationals for the most successful challenges. They’re the only two clubs that are a perfect 3 for 3 this season.
“I don’t even pay attention to that stuff,” Campbell said. “We talk about so many different plays throughout the day. I mean, I know when we go out and challenge them and I’m excited when we win them, but I can’t tell you what our record is. I hear about it enough from other people. I’m sure someone will let me know.”
Swinging the stick
During his at-bat in the third inning on Tuesday night, Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray hit a monster foul ball into McCovey Cove, a drive that easily had home run distance if it were fair. The power on display there wasn’t a one-off; Ray routinely hits balls out to right field during batting practice.
Ray, who wound up grounding a single to center in that at-bat and eventually scored, is 2 for 4 so far this season. He says he’s feeling more comfortable with his swing than he has in the past, something he credits to taking that side of the game seriously.
“It’s a part of the game, especially for pitchers in the National League, so I feel like the better you are at it the better your whole game is going to be,” he said.
Ray said he’s been working with hitting coach Dave Magadan as well as listening to hitters’ talk and watching them more closely at the plate and during batting practice. He also says it helps having a teammate like pitcher Zack Greinke, who seems obsessed with the offensive side of the game.
“I’m seeing the ball pretty good, so that’s always good,” Ray said. “I think success breeds confidence. I’ve had some pretty good success here early in the year. I feel good about where I’m at. I think that definitely has a lot to do with it.”
Short hops
» Lovullo was asked about the pitch from Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija that drilled Paul Goldschmidt on the backside in the first inning on Tuesday night and whether he thought it was retaliation for the Taijuan Walker pitch that struck the Giants’ Buster Posey in the head on Monday. “Whatever happened, happened,” he said. “They had a reason for it. It’s fine. But that’s their side; that’s their perspective. Our perspective is, we won the game and that was all I cared about yesterday.”
» Right-hander Matt Koch landed on the Triple-A Reno disabled list with what the team is calling right shoulder inflammation. Koch left his start Saturday two batters into the second inning. The team does not consider the injury serious. “Could we push it?” GM Mike Hazen said. “We possibly could have pushed it, but he didn’t feel perfect, and they did a good job of getting him out of there. We’ll take a halfstep back to make sure he is perfect and we’ll get him back out there as soon as we can.”