Dunlap: Sometimes Maximum Effort Is Taking It Too Far
Please don't take this as a column advocating "loafing" --- such a great Pittsburgh word, that "loafing" --- because that's far from what these words are.
Instead, it's one advocating and sponsoring common sense.
This is a column promoting a look at the big picture.
And here's the big picture: The Pirates are a pretty damn good baseball team right now. Actually, they have been for a few seasons. That said --- and there have been some drumbeaters in the past week or so about this --- does this baseball team really need to leg out, with all their might, every single routine ground ball they hit?
The answer from this vantage is "no."
One big "no."
The way I see it, these 162 games are a marathon, far from a sprint.
In recent days, catcher Francisco Cervelli (who has the highest on-base percentage on the team and has caught 46 games) has come under a bit of criticism from a corner of the Internet for not legging out each ground ball he hits to his maximum capacity.
You can't be serious, right?
The same guy who gets blasted time and again by foul balls. The same guy who slides and dives to prevent runs and extra bases being taken while he's catching.
The same injury-prone guy who crouches countless times over the progression of a game and season.
You want him to go wide-open down to first on every ball he hits on the infield, even the ones that are sure to be outs?
Spare me, just spare me.
There has always been the case made that Pedro Alvarez doesn't hustle enough (for some reason, I don't know) and that pitchers owe the paying customers that sprint down to first base when they happen to make contact with a ball even when a sure, routine out is certain to follow.
Again, spare me.
Earlier this week in the Pirates clubhouse, I stood just a few feet from manager Clint Hurdle as he outlined to some media members the approach being taken with standout center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who has been hobbled by an unsteady knee this season.
Hurdle went over how each player (not just McCutchen) has, quite literally, every step counted during the course of their day and how that data is collected then crunched in order to arrive at a conclusion as to how rest can be infused so they can perform at an optimal level.
For me, running all out to first base is a perfect microcosm for this.
The days of the all-out sprint when someone hits a rope on the ground at an infielder or a can-of-corn in the outfield should be over, as such an at-bat is overwhelmingly likely to meet a predicted ending: An easy out.
That said, I hear and see the cries from those in the fanbase who want ballplayers to hustle --- with all their capacity --- down to first on each ball in play.
Let me let you in on something: Just because you were the guy who went all-out when you played PONY League in Brighton Heights or Burgettstown or Bunola, doesn't mean that's what is best for the Bucs.
Or that they owe you as much.
Or that it's wise for them to give max effort on each and every grounder that's hit hard at someone on the infield.
I challenge you to do something over the course of a summer: Count the amount of times guys who didn't go all that hard to first would have been safe had they busted it down the line. To me, being out by three steps isn't any different than being out by six. There are no degrees of being out --- an out is an out.
Sure, there could be a handful of plays (maybe) where someone going hard might capitalize on a slight, or even big, miscue by a fielder on what should have been a routine play.
But from these eyes, those plays are few and far between.
Also from these eyes, the energy saved by not giving max effort on those sure outs pays dividends with fresher legs for a longer period of time --- both in the throes of a single game and throughout the season.
So scream it as loud as you like, shout it from Mt. Washington if you must. But for me, when guys don't go hard on what's a sure out, it isn't lazy. Conversely, it is a very smart play; one designed at trying to win a marathon of baseball season, not a sprint of a single (probably already-decided) play.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
