Rockies Notebook: Bud Black remarks on defensive analysis and Bettis' return

DENVER – Before each game at Coors Field, manager Bud Black addresses the media in the Rockies first base dugout. The focus typically pertains to the daily goings-on of Colorado, but can oftentimes touch on varied topics around the sport.

Here’s a taste of what some of that discussion is focused upon:

Chad Bettis has changed the grip on his fastball to in order to reduce the rubbing on the area of his persisting blister.

-Black mentioned that Bettis had been working on this during his minor league rehab starts. The repetitions have made Bettis feel comfortable with this new grip.

Bettis is starting against Pirates starter Jameson Taillon. Both men have battled back against testicular cancer and now they face off against one another tonight at Coors Field.

-“I think it’s a pretty cool life story that’s happening on the baseball field. It’s a highlighted story in this particular game. It’s cool where we can talk about this on a different level than just the game itself.”

What the catching situation like now that Murphy has been optioned to Albuquerque and only Chris Iannetta and Tony Wolters remain?

-Black said playing time will be split and not very unlike the situation at the beginning of the season.

-“We’ll look at matchups. Day games after a night game. With Tony, I want his left-handed bat against Archer tomorrow.”

Iannetta said he suddenly felt really good at the plate last night.

-It was a hard-fought at bat against a real good pitcher in Joe Musgrove.

-“Those sorts of things can get a guy going. Catchers got it a little rough on the offensive side. But man, did they catch great in July.”

What does Murphy need to do before he gets back?

-“There’s a number of things that need to get done on both the offensive side and defensive side.”

-Ultimately, Murphy will need to cut down on his strikeouts, in particular, his walk-to-strikeout ratio. Adjustments can be made to swing. A few improvements need to be made on the defensive side as well. He already offers a lot, but will need to work on a few things.

Coors Field double-standard: hitters get knocked for playing here and pitchers don’t often get enough credit.

-Black mentioned this bias as being something for those writing about it and make such points. Part of this bias can be unfair.

-“If a pitcher is doing well in a hitter’s park, that should not go unnoticed.”

Does the coaching staff use defensive metrics?

-“I do, to a certain extent. But I would like to think that after all the years we’ve been in the game – me included, our coaching staff, people who make evaluations – what we see in Spring Training, what we see in practice, what we see in games, that maybe you can’t see from television.”

-“I still think that is the best judge of defense. I’m not going to deny that some of the advanced metrics and technology come into play. We should use technology. Like a lot of information, I think there’s a blend that can be used to formulate an opinion. That’s how I use a lot of these advanced metrics and statistics and evaluations that come from outside the human eye.”

When looking at the emerging science of defensive metrics, is there anything that isn’t measured that needs to be?

-“The television or computer cannot see what pitch is being thrown and see how an infielder might instinctively know how to lean… when you know a certain pitch is coming and you know the type of pitcher that’s on the mound and his velocity, his breaking ball, and over years you know that the hitter’s going to swing a certain way – be out in front or be behind – you can get in your defensive position and gradually move a direction and that helps.”
-“The instincts that a defensive player, an infielder, has from years of playing, that a certain pitch or certain hitter is probably going to hit the ball here. So, I’m going to cheat a little bit when the ball’s in the air so my momentum and my first step is going that way. That helps you make a play.”

Do the potential roster additions in Albuquerque have you excited for September baseball?

-“We have some talent that can help us win. You’ve got to be traditional in how you make your September move, but there are some guys in the minors that can truly help us with the roster when it expands. From a speed standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, power off the bench to potentially some arms that can help us. To answer the question: yes, I’m excited.”

Dante Bichette is being celebrated at the game tonight.

-Black described a home run that was hit to centerfield on a changeup by Bichette when Black pitched with Cleveland. One of the longest home runs he’d ever given up. The ball landed in an area of Cleveland Stadium known as the Dawg Pound 500 feet away.

-After the pregame scrum, the exact game was uncovered: September 23, 1989. Cleveland won 4-3 in game one of a doubleheader. Black pitched 8.1 innings and lifted his record to 12-11 with the win. The game was saved by Doug Jones, current pitching coach of the Grand Junction Rockies.