CHICAGO — A few hours after news broke that revered pitching coach Ray Miller had passed away earlier this week, it felt appropriate to chat with Jim Leyland about how much the sport has changed since they shared a dugout 25 years ago.
Leyland, likely to the surprise of no one, was more than willing to share some unfiltered thoughts on the topic.
One of the biggest things that rankles Leyland involved managers having quick hooks with pitchers. For one small example of what we’re talking about, no current team’s starting staff averages six or more innings per outing. Seventeen teams did that in Leyland’s final season as Pirates manager.
Leyland also doesn’t want to come off as critical of another team’s strategy. It’s just not how he would do things.
“Every organization has the right to do whatever they think is best,” Leyland said. “That’s their business; it’s none of mine. I just have my own philosophy. But I know one thing, starting pitchers are not supposed to be out of the game after five innings, losing or winning 4-3, and everybody is saying they did a great job, that they kept their team in the game.
“Five innings for a starting pitcher? That ain’t worth a [crap]. I’m sorry. Your best bullpen is a seven-inning starter. … To me, five innings and you leave tied, 3-3, with 100 pitches, that’s supposed to be a good job? I don’t think that’s a good job.”
Leyland also sort of shakes his head with the current obsession over four-seam fastballs up in the zone and basically ignoring the long-held belief that pitchers should work low and keep the ball on the ground.
There’s nothing wrong with pitching up in the zone, Leyland said. The same for four-seam fastballs. But pitching should be about more than that.
“I don’t know about old school,” Leyland said. “I’m from the school that believes a double play is a pitcher’s best friend.”
Which is why he said he’s enjoyed watching how the San Francisco Giants have done things this season: by embracing the ground ball and some increased sinker usage, something that many believe is taboo in today’s game.
The Giants, as of Thursday morning, were leading the National League West while boasting a pitching staff that has five guys who throw sinkers at least 23.1% of the time.
They’re just 18th in strikeout rate at 23.8% while ranking first in ground-ball rate (50.3%), tied for sixth in ERA (3.36) and third in batting average against (.212). San Francisco has basically turned back the clock and functioned as a group that dares the other team to put the ball in play.
“Sinkers have kind of been a no-no for some people because they want the velocity, the high spin rate and four-seam fastballs,” Leyland said. “I think we contradict ourselves a lot.
“The Giants are doing it with a bunch of guys who are keeping the ball on the ground better than anyone in baseball right now.”
Leyland’s blood also starts to boil when he watches MLB games drag. He doesn’t necessarily have a problem with time of game. Sometimes baseball requires that. It’s more the pace of play that bothers the legendary manager, with way too much wasted time between pitches and at-bats.
“As soon as that ball is hit, the next hitter should be walking to home plate,” Leyland said. “He shouldn’t be standing over there pounding the on-deck circle to get the donut off, waiting for his walkup music. If you want to have walkup music, OK, have it the first time, then drop it for the rest of the game.”
“People don’t want, between at-bats, waiting for a couple minutes for a hitter to get in the box to hit,” Leyland said. “They want to see action.”
Like all of this stuff, it’s simply Leyland’s opinion. He’s not trying to offend anyone playing or managing in today’s game, and he’s certainly not trying to tell anyone what to do.
At the same time, perhaps Miller’s passing should be a reminder that pitching — and baseball in general — doesn’t have to be so complicated. After all, Miller’s famous phrase was, “Work fast. Change speeds. Throw strikes.”
It’s a piece of advice that might actually work better now than it did back when Miller was coaching.
“There’s a lot of truth to that,” Leyland said. “If we were doing that today, I think the pitching would probably be better.”
Three up
• The results were great, but what I liked the most about Mitch Keller’s start in San Diego this past Tuesday was how he pitched. Took some off. Controlled the fastball. Would much rather have 94 mph and purposeful than 95-96 mph and wild. Should be repeatable for his next start, too. The same for paring down his breaking ball usage, sticking with what works.
• How fun has it been to track minor league stuff? Four games a night. Plenty of Pirates prospects doing cool things. It’s crazy — and probably important — to remember that Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales and Roansy Contreras were all acquired during Ben Cherington’s tenure. Suppose it’s possible that he could have an inkling of what he’s doing.
• Have really liked what I’ve seen and heard out of Travis Swaggerty, who looks and sounds like someone focused on earning a major league job. I don’t think the Pirates should rush this, because it’s important to get it right, but things might finally be starting to click for their 2018 first-round pick. Would be really, really big if Swaggerty panned out.
Three down
• The Pirates are getting absolutely nothing out of Todd Frazier, who was 1 for 27 as of Saturday morning. Zero chance he survives Ke’Bryan Hayes’ return, assuming this lack of production continues. But I wonder if they won’t do something before that. If anybody at Class AAA Indianapolis looks even remotely ready, the Pirates have enough versatile players to make it work.
• Have heard nothing indicating the Pirates will reach the 85% threshold that would ease restrictions. Also isn’t much optimism they’ll ever get there. The Pirates continue to push the vaccine, but barring something big, it doesn’t sound like they’ll have enough takers. Still can’t wrap my mind around not getting it. Feel bad for the 75% that just want to get back to normal.
• The outfield is such a mess aside from Bryan Reynolds, who has been outstanding. Ka’ai Tom looks like the Mark McGwire of walks and the Jose Canseco of the outfield. Polanco … won’t even go too far there. It honestly might not be the dumbest idea to try Adam Frazier in left, although I worry about needing to showcase him for a trade.
On deck
• It turns out that the Reds, who clobbered the Pirates earlier this season, weren’t going to hit a billion home runs. But they do have 43, which is second to Atlanta (45) in the NL and puts them on pace to set the franchise record. Cincinnati also had the highest slugging percentage (.426).
• Reds pitching (4.72 ERA, 25th in MLB) has been unusually weak. Especially problematic with pitching has been the bullpen. That group has a 5.59 ERA, which is 29th. Somewhere, Amir Garrett is upset.
• The Giants, who arrive here this next weekend, have the oldest lineup in baseball, led by Buster Posey and Evan Longoria and probably a lot of Biofreeze. Their pitchers would make Ray Searage proud. The group works low in the zone and prioritizes ground balls. They also get soft contact, with very good average exit velocities (88.5 mph, 10th MLB) and barrel percentage (6.5, 2nd MLB)
Numerology
+31: The Giants visit for four games, and their run differential (best in NL) is 61 runs better than the Pirates (-30, last in NL). Speaking of run differential, the Marlins (+25) are the only team in the NL East with a positive run differential. Only recently did they vacate last place.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: May 7, 2021, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: May 7, 2021, 11:07 a.m.
