Thursday, August 14, 2008

I didn't see the play.

"After a leadoff walk to Joe Mauer, Rasner got Justin Morneau to ground to third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who whipped a throw to second.

Canó caught the ball, but he came off the bag and was charged with an error. Girardi absolved Canó, saying the runner would have been safe either way and that Rodriguez should have thrown to first.

'The umpire said he beat the throw, not that I was off the bag,' Canó said."

I'll buy it.

I'll buy that ARod made a rare mental error.

But it still begs the question: Why is the second baseman not on second base?

What is he accomplishing by holding a baseball near second base?

Like he knew the runner was going to beat the throw by a split-second?

Therefore, why bother actually keeping your foot on the base?

I'm just going to gracefully run through the base so my momentum carries me towards the pitcher's mound. If the throw reaches the base at the same time I reach the base, the baserunner may be out. But I'm not going to slow down or anything.

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