Author Archive: David Laurila

As the team’s hitting coach, Rick Eckstein arguably has the most important job on the Washington Nationals staff. The Nats are in first place in the National League East largely because of their pitching, and they probably need to score more runs to stay there. Only three teams have crossed the plate fewer time than Eckstein’s charges. It isn’t for lack of effort or direction. The 39-year-old Eckstein is well-respected and known as a hard worker, but injuries and a lack of proven veterans are large obstacles to overcome.

Eckstein shared his thoughts on hitting, and several of his hitters, when the Nationals visited Fenway Park earlier this month.

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Rocco Baldelli knows what it’s like to be a promising young hitter. Drafted sixth overall out of a Rhode Island high school, in 2000 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he was viewed as a potential superstar. He reached the big leagues at the age of 21, and despite three solid campaigns was still a work-in-progress when his career was derailed by injuries and illness.

He is now entrusted with helping other young players reach their potential. Still just 30 years old, he is working for the Rays as a special assistant to baseball operations. Baldelli shared his thoughts on the art of hitting — or is it a science? — at the MIT-Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, earlier this year.

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Rocco Baldelli: “As a hitter — a former hitter — I’ve always been enamored of just watching guys and seeing who has success and who doesn’t. I’ve seen guys who look as though they should be able to hit and can’t. I’ve seen guys who struggle early in their careers and then figure out a way to become productive major-league offensive players.

“You look for separators, but it‘s not that simple. You start looking for commons traits in good hitters, and common traits in guys who struggle, and you think you’ve found them. Then you see some of the best hitters in baseball doing things you wouldn’t necessarily expect good hitters to do. To me, the amount of questions is endless. There are so many variables that go into the process of hitting at the highest level.

“Pitchers can reinvent themselves. For instance, say you have a big guy with a good arm and he can spin the ball a little bit. He can progress and change the type of player he is. But hitters and swings seem to be so ingrained. Read the rest of this entry »

Tyler Clippard was the winning pitcher in last year’s All-Star game. That might come as a surprise to casual fans, because the Washington Nationals set-up-man-turned-closer isn’t exactly a household name. He is, however, one of the best relievers in the National League.

Originally a starter in the Yankees system, the 27-year-old Clippard has been quietly lethal since moving into the Nationals bullpen. Since the beginning of the 2009 season, he has allowed 168 hits in 268 innings, and his K/9 over that span has been 10.65.

Clippard talked about the secrets to his success — including his mesmerizing changeup — when the Nationals visited Fenway Park last weekend.

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Clippard on closer mentality and high-leverage usage: “I feel like anybody can do it. There is definitely a mentality there, but I think that a lot of it plays into just being a big-league pitcher. If you’re pitching in important roles out of the bullpen, whether it’s the seventh, eighth or ninth, a lot of it is similar.

“I’m a believer in [having your best reliever pitch in high-leverage situations] but it’s also a tough thing to really pinpoint. The game is always changing and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the next inning. It’s a lot of in-the-moment stuff. Your six, seven and eight hitters could put together better at bats than the two, three, four guys. You never know for sure how to go about it, so maybe it’s better to put guys in roles and let them feel comfortable. That might be the best way to approach it.”

On having been a starter: “In 2009, I was still developing physically, mentally, the whole thing. The starter role kind of got taken away from me that year. It was the year I finally started throwing a little bit harder and developed a cutter. I was still learning

“I feel that I could go back to starting. Read the rest of this entry »

J.J. Hardy receives a lot of accolades for his bat, and rightly so. He hit 30 home runs last season, which tied him with Troy Tulowitzi for the most among big-league shortstops. He also can flash the leather. According to The Fielding Bible, “J.J. Hardy could be the most underrated shortstop in baseball. He makes all the plays that he should and can make the exceptional play on occasion.”

Hardy discussed the ins and outs of playing shortstop when he and his Baltimore Orioles teammates visited Fenway Park last week.

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On The Fielding Bible saying that he gets to more balls to his right than he did when he played for Milwaukee: “I don’t have a reason as to why that might be. It’s not that I worked on it the last couple of years. Maybe I play a little bit farther to the right than I did before, although we don’t really position any differently here. We go over the same scouting reports and I feel that I play guys who are pull [hitters] in the same spots as before.”

On reading the ball off the bat: “I’ve always felt that I read the ball well and get good jumps, because even though the speed isn’t there, I get to a lot of balls. Read the rest of this entry »

Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez have a few notable things in common. The Washington Nationals mound duo have outstanding stuff and rely more on pitching to their strengths than on scouting reports. Each boasts an ERA under 3.00 and is one of the best pitchers in the National League.

They also have their differences. Zimmermann is a reserved right-hander with a four-pitch mix and a relatively low strikeout rate [6.52]. Gonzalez is a fun-loving southpaw with a three-pitch mix and a high strikeout rate [11.02]. The 26-year-old Zimmermann returned to the Nationals rotation after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the 27-year-old Gonzalez arrived via an off-season trade.

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Zimmermannn on his approach: “I look at scouting reports a little bit, but I don’t like to look at them too much. I watch some video, but I don’t get too caught up in what’s in the reports.

“I’m always out there seeing how the hitter’s swing is and making adjustments during the game. I’m seeing things like where his front foot is landing. If he’s late on the fastball, I’m going to throw it again. If he’s on something, I’m probably going to mix it up and throw something else.

“What I throw has a lot to do with how I feel that day — what I feel is going to be working. On any given day, it could be a different pitch that‘s my best pitch. I’m obviously going to come after guys with my fastball, but it could be my curveball or my slider that’s my better pitch that day.”

On his curveball and his slider: “I throw a pretty hard slider. It’s 86 to 88 or 89 [mph]. It’s kind of like a small baby cutter. Read the rest of this entry »

Quintin Berry is off to a fast start. The Detroit Tigers outfielder is hitting .290/.372/.406 in his first 18 games as a big leaguer. He is also stealing bases, which should come as no surprise. The 27-year-old former Phillies prospect was a prolific thief in the minors, swiping at least 40 bags in five of his six full professional seasons. Since donning a Tigers uniform, he has been perfect in all seven attempts.

Berry discussed the art of the stolen base on a recent visit to Fenway Park.

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Berry on stealing bases in the big leagues: “I often wondered whether my speed was going to get me to the big leagues, because it’s always been my best tool. Fortunately it did and I’ve been able to use it a lot since I’ve been here.

“I feel that stealing bases is the same anywhere. The only difference here is that the stakes are higher and the margin of error for mistakes is very small. You have to make sure that you’re being smart about the situation, but I feel good. I feel just as confident here as I did at the lower levels. I know that I can steal bases.”

On preparation: “There is definitely more [data] available here than in the minors. I’m able to see the times a lot better, so I’m getting more reads on pitchers. I’m able to see video on them before games, so I have an idea of what they’re working with. For me, stealing bases is like hitting. Read the rest of this entry »

The Washington Nationals are first in scouting, first in player development and first in the National League East. Mike Rizzo deserves much of the credit. The former scouting director became the Nats’ assistant GM in 2006 and he has been the general manager since 2010. Highly respected as a talent evaluator, Rizzo has helped build one of the most exciting young teams in baseball.

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Rizzo on the impact of the new CBA on the draft: “The strategy and the philosophy are very important. You have to have a clear thought process as to what your end goal is before the draft has started. It takes some creativity and some foresight to really put your master plan in place. The [changes] impacted us. They impacted the strategy we employed in putting together our draft board, and in putting together our top-10-round picks.”

On scouting and player development: “To me, it’s a two-headed monster. It’s never just player development, and it’s never just scouting. The two go hand in hand. It’s a hand-in-glove type of thing, and I think the state of our scouting and player development systems has never been stronger here in Washington.

“Our philosophy is that we take the best player available, at all times. We also take [the type of] players that we’ve had success developing in the past. Read the rest of this entry »

It goes without saying that David Ortiz and Justin Verlander are among the most dominant players of their era. The Red Sox slugger has a career .284/.379/.545 slash line and 391 home runs; the Tigers right-hander has MVP and Cy Young Award trophies on his mantel. Their accomplishments have made them household names to baseball fans throughout the country.

Ortiz and Verlander recently sat down — in separate interviews — to answer the same set of questions about how they approach their respective crafts.

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Is hitting/pitching an art or a science?

David Ortiz: “Hitting is an art. It’s also hard. There are so many things against you. First of all, mentally you have to be 120% positive. You can’t feel like the guy pitching is too great — you can’t overrate him. If I’m facing a guy like Verlander, I tell myself that I’m going to take my chances. A lot of guys think, ‘Oh man, I’m facing Verlander.’ He’s the best pitcher in the game — he’s at least in the top three — but he still has to throw the ball over the plate.”

Justin Verlander: “Pitching is more of an art. There are so many different ways to get the job done. There are so many different pitches and so many different things. When an artist wants to paint a painting, they have all those things in their head that they want to portray on a canvas. It’s the same thing when I’m pitching. I have all these thoughts going through my head about how I want to pitch: which pitch I want to throw here, and why do I want to throw it?”

Can a hitter cover all 17 inches of the plate?

David Ortiz: “If you go up there trying to cover both sides of the plate, you have no chance. Read the rest of this entry »

With or without the new CBA, Rhett Wiseman was going to be a difficult sign. The top high school prospect from New England has a commitment to Vanderbilt, and his academic credentials are every bit as impressive as his tools. As driven as he is on the diamond, he is equally committed to his education.

Scouting directors do their homework. Going into the draft, they knew that Wiseman‘s stance was, ”First round or Vandy.” They were also aware that he wants to play professional baseball. The prep outfielder was signable beyond round one — but only to a point.

In previous years, Wiseman would have been taken on the second day of the draft. The high-upside teenager was viewed as anywhere from a second- to a fourth-round talent, and big money has historically been available in that range. Last year, nine players selected between rounds two and four were individually given $1 million or more in bonuses, and 19 second-round picks received over-slot money.

Thanks in part to the new CBA, Wiseman went to the Chicago Cubs earlier today in the 25th round. Anything is possible, but the chances of him signing now seems remote.

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Dave Martinez is expected to become a big-league manager someday, and he’ll be well prepared when he gets the opportunity. The Tampa Bay Rays bench coach couldn’t ask for a better mentor. Following a 20-year playing career, the 47-year-old Martinez has spent the last five seasons working under Joe Maddon.

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David Laurila: How differently might you look at the game were it not for Joe Maddon?

Dave Martinez: It would certainly be different. The game is changing and what I’ve learned from Joe is that you have to change with the game or you’ll fall behind. Joe is really knowledgeable and does his homework. We [coaches] get a bunch of information from him.

DL: What is your primarily role as the Rays’ bench coach?

DM: I do everything Joe does, except I don’t have to deal with the media and I don’t get credit for anything. I help manage the game the way I see fit. I’m very opinionated and give Joe my opinions. Ultimately, he makes the final decisions, but I do the best I can to manage the games alongside him.

DL; Does he expect you to disagree with him? Read the rest of this entry »