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Now it can be told Truth about meeting reveals Piniella's genius
Remember that highly unusual meeting between Mariners manager Lou Piniella and Mike Cameron in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the White Sox? Cameron was on first base when Piniella called a timeout, walked over to his player and whispered something in his ear. Several other players remarked afterward that they hadn't seen anything like that since Little League. Neither Piniella nor Cameron would divulge what they talked about. Two pitches later, though, Cameron stole second base, a huge play in the come-from-behind Mariners win that eliminated Chicago. Piniella is one of the sharpest managers in the game This is what Piniella told Cameron: He had noticed that when the White Sox called for a pitchout, the catcher shifted to the outside part of the plate in anticipation of the pitch. If no pitchout was called, the catcher set up in the middle of the plate or on the inside corner. So Piniella told Cameron, "If you see the catcher set up outside, don't go. If he's not, go ahead." Here is what happened next: Cameron watched the White Sox catcher set up on the outside corner before the next pitch. Indeed, Chicago pitched out. Cameron didn't run. Before the subsequent pitch, Cameron saw the catcher move back behind the middle of the plate. He took off. Chicago didn't pitch out. Cameron stole the base. The Mariners went on to win the game. The anecdote is more evidence of Piniella's baseball savvy. He has one of the sharpest minds in the game and still is one of baseball's best at teaching the art of hitting. When Piniella developed more patience with his pitchers and learned to curb his famous temper, he moved into the upper echelon of managers.. For all of those reasons, Piniella will become the hottest manager on the free-agent market this winter. Despite all the noise San Francisco manager Dusty Baker's unsettled contract status generated this summer, an AL management source predicts Piniella will get a richer deal than the one Baker wound up receiving (more than $2 million for two years) to stay with the Giants. Piniella would appear to be a good fit in Cincinnati, especially given his history with Ken Griffey Jr. and his friendship with former teammate Ken Griffey Sr. The Year-After EffectI told you so. There are few times when I can say that with any confidence. But way back in April, I sent out warnings that Omar Daal, Orlando Hernandez, Kevin Millwood and Sidney Ponson would have down years. Why? Pitchers who take on a significant increase in workload from one year to the next are in danger of feeling the effects of being pushed the following year. Call it the Year-After Effect. The younger the pitcher, often the more pronounced the effect. Most pitching coaches prefer to staircase the workload on young pitchers by no more than about 25 innings per year. Daal, Hernandez, Millwood and Ponson all showed classic signs of being in trouble this season, especially because all but Ponson had their workloads extended into October with postseason play in 1999. Hernandez wound up throwing 38 more innings in 1999 than he did in 2000, Daal threw 56 more innings, Ponson logged 70 more innings and Millwood threw an alarming 78 1/3 more innings. So what happened? All of them won fewer games, lost more games and had a worse ERA. All but Ponson, who actually had a somewhat similar season, also had fewer strikeouts and allowed more hits per nine innings. Here is a comparison of the Breakout Year (1999) and Year After (2000) for each of the pitchers:
The good news is that Daal, Hernandez, Millwood and Ponson suffered no significant arm injuries during their Year After. Having each broken through a "wall" in their pitching development, they all should be fine in 2001. Who's Next? That begs this question: Which pitchers are at risk next season to suffer from the Year-After Effect? Here are some candidates, i.e. the pitchers who experienced the greatest increase in workload last season while also hitting reaching a professional high in innings pitched.
Of that group, Abbott gets a bit of a pass because of his age. Leiber, who led the National League in innings with 251, should be old enough to bear such an increase, but still bears watching. That leaves three guys who go on the endangered list for next season: Dempster, Lopez and Suzuki. A Final Thought on ClemensIf the Mets say Roger Clemens didn't throw the shattered bat at Mike Piazza in Game 2 of the World Series, and if the Mets say Clemens should not have been ejected from the game, then why are so many amateur psychologists and commissioner wannabes known as sportswriters charging with certainty that Clemens threw the weapon at Piazza? Here's Mets GM Steve Phillips, the same guy who didn't blanche at saying Mike James hit Mike Bordick intentionally with a pitch in the NLCS: "No, I don't think there was enough there to eject him. I didn't understand it, that's it. It didn't make any sense.'' Here's catcher Todd Pratt, one of the most vocal Mets, "I don't think he was throwing it at him, but it came very close. Competition brings out the best and worst of people . . . Give him credit. He pitched a great game." Listen, the Mets can't stand the guy and have been angling since July to exact payback on him for hitting Piazza with a pitch. If they truly thought Clemens tried to hit Piazza with a bat, don't you think they'd be outraged? Of course. So why are sportswriters more outraged than the Mets? Some of them have gone back over the tape and tried lip-reading Clemens. Some have taken his various postgame comments and taken to parsing his words, thinking you can explain his intentions and state of mind at that very moment by his usual rambling monologues four hours later. Please. Stop it. I don't ordinarily prefer to use Yankees owner George Steinbrenner as a voice of reason, but I can't help but recall something he said after Game 2 about this Zapruder-like analysis: "A lot of guys have worn jock straps in their life, and a lot of them haven't. They don't understand." This was pure heat-of-the-moment stuff by a guy who's as wired for games as any baseball player I've seen. The guy was snarling and spitting and talking to himself out there on the mound in the first inning. Does that excuse what he did? Absolutely not. Shame on Clemens for not exhibiting more control over those white-hot emotions. Piazza or anybody else could have been hurt by his actions. He has to have a mute button at that moment. (And forget about relying on Clemens' "explanations" of what happened. The guy never has been confused with Winston Churchill.) Guys snap often on the baseball field. Paul O'Neill's vicious helmet-throwing fits are accidents waiting to happen. Jay Payton charged the mound in Game 5 of the NLCS, a lopsided game, even though Dave Veres wasn't throwing at him. Neither player was ejected. We want our athletes to play with intensity, especially in the most important games. (Don't Mets fans wish Timo Perez, Payton and Todd Zeile did so on the bases in Game 1?) That's why umpires (and anybody who has worn a jock strap) allow players that one burst of emotional reaction in the heat of competition. If the player then makes a choice to inflame the situation, the umpire can run the player. That's why there is a huge difference between throwing the bat and throwing the bat at Piazza. To charge Clemens with intentionally trying to hit Piazza with a sharp-edged hunk of wood is to crawl inside his head and read malicious, even criminal thoughts. Not even the Mets, who hate the guy, did that. But that didn't stop some sportswriters.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his mailbag.
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