RMJ 49 April 4

FRIDAY, APRIL 4 ● Houston, vs St. Louis

My vision started blurring about two years ago. I got some bifocals so I could see my scorecard and the scoreboard with clarity. I seldom used the glasses, except when I was broadcasting or watching a movie or a play.

I also have high-frequency hearing loss in both ears. I tried hearing aids, but they were more trouble than they were worth. It was like listening to a radio station that is not fully tuned in, then turning up the volume.

For the past two years, I have witnessed the world with blurred vision and wandered through the community of man asking people to repeat themselves. The first three games of the season came to me in soft focus.

When I finally decided that I wasn’t going to find my old glasses, I went to get some new ones. This time I brought Judy with me, because she didn’t like my last selection.

Ashley came to the game, and Judy watched on TV. Both commented favorably on my new specs. They may look good, but looking through them was startling. Everything looked so crisp that it was slightly disturbing.

 

Cardinals broadcaster and former third-baseman Mike Shannon came by my office and visited for half an hour. He was clearly amused by my attempt to change hats.

“You got a good team,” he said. “You’ll be fine. Hell, it ain’t rocket science.”

The game was a nail-biter: a 3-2, 11-inning victory. Tony La Russa did a lot of maneuvering, and so did I.

Tony’s coup came in the sixth inning when we loaded the bases with no outs. Lance Painter was summoned from the bullpen, and he retired Luis González on a short fly ball. Bill Spiers was due, but I thought Sean Berry would be a better choice. When Berry came up to pinch-hit, La Russa went back to the mound and brought righthander Russ Batchelor into the game. Berry got a couple of good swings, then bounced into a double play.

After that, it became a battle of the bullpens. Both teams had chances but couldn’t score, and we went into extra innings for the first time this season. I was especially proud of our guys, because they pitched through several errors without yielding a run.

In the eighth, I brought Ramón Garcia into a 2-2 game, despite the fact that Wagner was also ready.  Vern did a doubletake on that decision. The Cardinals had two righthanded hitters due, and I wanted Garcia to get into a game. It was a gutsy move, but it did not pay off.

Brian Jordan got a broken-bat hit to lead off the inning. With Garcia on the mound, he could steal second, so I went to Wagner and it worked out, but I sure hated to take Garcia out after a broken-bat hit. He probably feels that I don’t have much confidence in him. I do think he can pitch well-enough to help us, but this was an end-game assignment and we have him ticketed for long relief and spot-starting.

I ended up using both of my closers, and all other relief pitchers except Tom Martin. In the meantime, La Russa was expending bench players and saving Dennis Eckersley, hoping Eck would get a chance at the save.

We each used 18 of 21 available players, and we won on a bases-loaded hit by Bagwell in the 11th. I was relieved to get the hard-fought victory, but I was a little disturbed at the same time: Sean Berry is obviously not moving well. I fear the groin pull is more serious than we first thought.

And Pat Listach’s fielding problems continued. He really looked shaky, and I know we’re not going anywhere in the long run without better play on the left side of the infield.

 

Another concern with Listach is the nature of his hitting. Though he has been getting some hits, they have all been soft liners and choppers. The outfielders have taken to playing him so shallow that it would be hard for him to drive in a runner from second. As a result, several pitchers have wisely pitched around Biggio to get to Pat. If they don’t get him out, they are in trouble, because Bagwell is next. But they have been getting him out most of the time.

Jeff Bagwell makes a good leadoff man in the next inning, with his .450 on-base average, but that’s not exactly what we have in mind for him this year.

I find myself in about the same mood I was in after a week of spring-training games. We were winning, but I was concerned that we could not keep winning without better fielding. So far, our pitching has been good enough to overcome our defensive problems. But we can’t expect them to hold the line all year without better support. 

 

Another thing that bothered me today was our lack of running. The Cardinals had two pitchers who were so slow to the plate that it was an open invitation to steal.  The Cardinals’ catcher, Tom Lampkin, is only an average thrower. But when the game got into the seventh inning, we shut down their running game.

I continued to reinforce the green light, and Cubby passed it along. But the runners were afraid of getting caught. I am going to have to tell them before the game tonight that they will not be exiled to a distant bush league if they fail.

 

Both teams were tight tonight; I could feel it. In this sense, it was different from the Braves series, where both teams seemed to play with poise and confidence.

Cubby and I are going to look at the dirt cutouts around home plate and the bases. The players are saying that the dirt is so soft that they can’t get a quick start. I don’t know if this is just an excuse for not running, or a good reason not to run. We’ll find out.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that the cutouts are a problem in the Dome — especially for the home team. The seams between the turf and dirt are often uneven, and the dirt comes up in clumps.  As a result, our corner infielders play in close, to avoid bad hops. This gives them more confidence, but it limits their range. Visiting teams are not aware of the problem, so they play back and have more range.

This is what our players should do — bad hops or not. But it’s hard to make them play back. They just keep creeping in.

           

I got my VCR/TV today. It is packed in a crate that we will take on the road. After each game, I will watch it again from the centerfield camera angle. I imagine some of the coaches will join me. We should be able to pick up some information about how they are working our hitters and how we can work theirs. If we are lucky, we may pick up a sign or something in a pitcher’s delivery that will tell us what he is going to throw ahead of time. 

I am going to go to the park early tomorrow and see how long it takes to watch a game using fast-forward to zoom through the commercials.

El Sid is pitching for us tomorrow, and our bullpen is pretty-well spent. On the other side, Eckersley is ready, willing, and able. Looks like another stiff challenge in the offing.