Avoid the Big Inning

I have learned again - and more than ever here in the playoffs - that the team that avoids giving up the big inning wins most of the time.

You can give up a run, maybe two - but getting an easy out when the opportunity presents itself is statistically the way to go. Avoid the inning that puts your team into a major hole. The error or poor choice that prolongs an inning beyond just giving up a run or two seems to bite teams more in the pressure games of the playoffs than even the regular season games...

Would like to see what the Bill James stats guys have in support of this concept...or others observations.

 

get the out!

I have always believed baseball was a game of "out accumulation", not run production. By that I mean if you get every out when the opportunity to do so presents itself, good things will happen and the victory will usually be yours. In a 7 inning game, we need 21 outs to win. So many outs are squandered:

• runner on third seduces a fielder into trying to pick him off instead of just getting the easy unassisted out on a routine ground ball (saw that last week)
• infielder "sits" on a routine ground ball instead of properly charging it and the speedy runner forces a rushed throw...runner is safe either way and maybe standing on second base
• Outfielder glides to the high fly ball and doesn't quite get there as the ball tails away (very costly for Providence's playoff opponent last year)
• Catcher fails to catch strike three when the ball isn't in the dirt...runner safe at first.
• Routine ground ball plays are not recorded as outs when the fielder unnecessarily throws off the wrong foot and across his body. That low percentage throw is needed in some cases, but only when time does not permit the high percentage set and sharp throw. When the throw sails wide and winds up down the right field line somewhere, the style points aren't worth much.
• Infielders allowing the pitcher or catcher to attempt tough catches with awkward stances of high popups in the infield when they should call them off...ball deflects and batter has new life
• I'm sure there are many other examples

Not getting the out when the opportunity is there eats up pitching and ultimately a price is usually paid.

 

One place that i have seen consistently with High Schoolers is defending the bunt. Instead of taking the out that is 'given' to them, they try to make a difficult throw to get a lead runner...or the base isn't covered in time.

We had a simple approach:

Apply pressure with baserunning and the bunt. Defend the bunt. Make the routine plays and don't turn singles into 'doubles'.

At the end of the day, it comes down to preparation. The good team know exactly where they are going with the baseball well before the pitch is thrown. They know this because they have practiced it time and time again.

 

Big innings

are rarely accomplished without some serious help from the opposition.
Walks , errors , mental mistakes - coupled with some base hits thrown in. It takes alot of hits to score runs when you dont walk people , make the routine play and play smart fundemental baseball.

Its not the spectacular plays that usually win games. Its making the routine plays on a routine basis.

The closer the teams are in ability the more important the "little things" become.

Bunt Defense
Bunt Offense
1st and 3rd Defense
1st and 3rd Offense
Cut plays
Holding runners
Baserunning
Simply throwing strikes
Simply catching and blocking pitches
Making the routine plays on a routine basis
Having quality at bats

If does not take a team full of studs to accomplish any of this. It only takes a team of players dedicated to being fundementally sound in these areas. You can win a ton of games over teams more talented and demolish the teams as talented or less talented by beating them in these areas of the game.

I bet you the teams that win these areas of the games this weekend will win state titles. Everyone gets caught up in who has who and what this guy can do and that guy can do. It will come down as always to which team executes in the games these areas of play better.

Everyone wants to stay out of the big inning. In order to do that dont walk people , make the routine play on a routine basis and hit your cut off. They will run out of hits before they have a big inning unless you give it to them.

 

Really good info in this thread---good job guys

 

Now You Tell Us!


Where was this thread when the Buckeyes needed it?

 

Took a look at Ardrey Kell's 35 games his season. In 245 innings, nine times they gave up more than two runs. In eight of the nine, there was at least one error, not to mention any walks, WP, PB, poor choices, etc.

Ten other innings they allowed two runs. They made an error in four of the 10.

The remainning 225 innings were pretty clean baseball.

There are not many innings where a team has five or six hits or more to create a big inning without any help.

 

Pretty basic...

to the knowledgeable BB person! Look at every line score every game every level and the team that puts up the BIGGEST inning in any given game wins a whopping 90%! So as the thread says YUPPERS! Even if you put up one run per 7 or 9 innings per say the other teema odds are stand a better chance to win if they put up multiples!