{"id":22665,"date":"2017-02-21T05:13:26","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T05:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=22665"},"modified":"2017-02-21T05:13:54","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T05:13:54","slug":"yankees-pitchers-get-reacquainted-balls-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/yankees-pitchers-get-reacquainted-balls-play.html","title":{"rendered":"Yankees Pitchers Get Reacquainted With Balls in Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tYankees Pitchers Get Reacquainted With Balls in Play<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>
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\n\tYankees Pitchers Get Reacquainted With Balls in Play:-<\/strong> The indelible image of last year’s opening day was that of Dellin Betances fielding a slow roller along the first-base line and lofting a rainbowlike throw over the head of first baseman Mark Teixeira, allowing the go-ahead run to race home for the Houston Astros.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe throw not only marked a disheartening start to the season, it was also a harbinger for Yankees pitchers, who committed 19 errors, the second-worst mark in the American League and the most in Joe Girardi’s nine seasons as manager.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSo it came as little surprise on Monday, when the pitchers worked on their fielding drills, that there was noticeably more intensity during the workouts.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe leisurely pace of spring training seemed to have given way to spring football, with rapid-fire repetitions, sprints to cover first base, bullet throws to the bags and attendant exhortations from coaches.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“It has been a focus of ours because we were not good, and that’s something we are focusing on in spring training, trying to clean up some things,” said Girardi, who stood between two adjacent infields, his head toggling back and forth to watch the drills.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGirardi made his point during a meeting with pitchers last week, informing them of the number of errors and letting them know the drills would be different this year: shorter in duration but greater in intensity, which he hoped would replicate game conditions. To do that, the pitchers went through their drills with the entire infield on Monday.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“We wanted to have everybody out there so that it feels more like a game instead of just going through the motions,” said Joe Espada, who coaches the infielders. “We’re also not afraid of telling somebody to do it again if they make a mistake, instead of moving on to the next guy and ignoring a problem.”<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf there was an encouraging sign for the Yankees, it came in watching Betances pounce off the mound to field a bunt down the third-base line, and then whirl and confidently fire a strike to third base.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother was seeing Aroldis Chapman run at full speed to cover first on a ground ball to the right side. Last year, Chapman failed to back up home plate in a loss to Baltimore, and then, after his trade to the Chicago Cubs, he failed to cover first base during Game 5 of the World Series, which the Cubs nevertheless hung on to win.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBetances spent part of his winter workout focusing on improving his fielding. Several times a week, he added agility drills to his workout regimen, with the intent of moving his 6-foot-8, 265-pound frame more nimbly around the field and also improving his pickoff move. (Base runners were 21 for 21 in stolen-base attempts against Betances last season — a figure that was used against him in arbitration.) He also has spent time since the new year doing fielding drills to improve his throwing.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“I just felt like I needed to get myself better,” said Betances, who committed two critical errors in September — launching a soft toss over the catcher’s head in a loss to the Dodgers and fumbling a bunt during a win in Toronto.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHe added: “This is the stuff you’re supposed to be good at, so most of your time, you try to work on pitches. That’s what we get paid for, but if you need help in a certain area like that, you need to take it on yourself to work on it. I never worked on it before in the off-season. There are people that don’t work on it, but they’re good at it. I just know I don’t want to give away free bases.”<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Betances’ problems may have been the most visible, they were far from the only ones. C. C. Sabathia led the Yankees with four errors, and 12 pitchers committed at least one error. Luis Severino committed two, in the same game, dropping throws to first. That was the same gaffe committed by Ben Heller, whose mistake might have been attributed to nerves: It came in his major league debut.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“You can take as many reps as you want, but nothing prepares you for the heat of the game,” said Chad Green, who committed no errors in 140 \u2153 innings between the Yankees and Class AAA Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGreen, who has committed two errors in his four years of professional baseball, credited his glove work to playing third base and first base in high school.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“In spring training, it’s easy to say, ‘Let’s get it done’ and move on to the next thing,” Green said. “But you can win and lose games on these kinds of plays. It seems simple, if you have the right footwork and make the throw, like it should be an easy out.”<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Yankees, with an increasingly young, untested team, would like to have more of them.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSource:- https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/02\/20\/sports\/baseball\/yankees-pitchers-spring-training.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports&action=click&contentCollection=sports&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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