April 04, 2008
Advancing to Third
Jimmy Rollins helped set up the winning run for the Phillies yesterday by going from first to third on a sacrifice.
"I told him, 'I don't know if I've seen that more than five times,' " said Geoff Jenkins, who went 3 for 5 with one RBI. "You have to have the speed first. You have to have instincts. And you have to have guts. If you get thrown out at third there, you're the goat. You have to know you can make it."
No one covered third for the Nationals, as the catcher Flores stopped running halfway down the line. Bobby Abreu did the same thing on a ground out by Giambi. The shift was on, no one covered third, and Abreu didn't stop rounding second. The Yankees left him on base, but it's good to see players watching for these situations and taking advantage of the misplays.
My favorite example of that kind of baserunning came from Chase Utley--I think it was last season, though it may have been the year before. Utley went from 2nd to home on either a bunt, or a little chopper/swunt in front of the plate. It was outstanding. Harry Kalas went crazy for it.