Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Baseball traditionalists, who may be a dying breed, would much rather watch a game dominated by pitching and defense than watch today’s home run derby contests that are represented to be major league baseball games.  A well-played defensive game consists of beautiful choreography; the players move to the ball and to other positions relative to the ball according to rules that are well-defined and much-practiced.  The movements that implement the rules must be practiced so often that the defenders recognize situations and move to their respective places without thinking.  If the rules are executed properly, all of the defenders will be in motion when the ball is put into play, and no player, including the pitcher, will be a mere spectator, no matter where the ball is hit.  This article examines the rules used for various defensive situations.Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
I often have thought that the easiest job in the United States of America must be coaching or managing a baseball team.  That must be so because everyone who has seen a game thinks the job is easy.  In this age of information, excessive analysis, computer simulations and fantasy leagues, people who do not know that baseball players also must play defense are front office wannabes just waiting to be discovered.  There is no shortage of armchair “experts” who are willing to tell the real experts how to do their jobs.  Why should I be different?Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

Fans attend University of Texas home baseball games at Disch-Falk Field in Austin just across the interstate highway adjacent to the school’s campus.  Long-time followers of UT baseball recognize the two names as legendary coaches on the Forty Acres.  William J. (“Uncle Billy”) Disch coached the Longhorns to 21 Southwest Conference championships from 1911-39, with a record of 465 wins and 115 losses as a college coach.  Bibb Falk, his successor, continued UT’s winning tradition by leading the school to 20 more SWC championships from 1940-67 and back-to-back national championships in 1949-50.  Falk accomplished much more in baseball than becoming a successful college coach, however, and even many loyal orangebloods do not know his impressive history in the game.  Not merely a championship coach and one of the best players of his era, Falk was one of the most unique personalities ever to appear on the sports landscape in the State of Texas.Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
“Hit the cutoff man!”  That cry, which may be a demand or a plea depending on the circumstances, can be heard at every game. One of the most easily overlooked aspects of a winning baseball team is the team’s ability to hit the cutoff man, to make strong and accurate relay throws to the correct base, to make good decisions whether to cut off throws, and to make good decisions on what to do with the ball after cutting off the throw. Teams that stress fundamentals will spend a considerable amount of time drilling on balls hit in the gaps and down the lines, and they will work every day on infielders’ cutoff positions for throws from outfielders.  Casual fans often cheer loudly for a throw that carries in the air from an outfielder to home or third, but the knowing fan recognizes that the impressive-looking throw missed a cutoff man and most likely allowed trailing runners to advance a base.  Hitting the cutoff man consistently is one of the little things that winning teams do.  This article examines the rules and positioning for infielders and outfielders to execute the cutoff play.Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Many fans and commentators believe there is no longer a place in baseball for baserunning as an offensive weapon.  As more and more teams pack their lineups with bulked-up sluggers, the conventional wisdom seems to be that baserunning skills no longer are needed and that aggressive baserunning is too risky and too low percentage in this era of the home run.  Taking the extra base when the opportunity arises, however, can enable a team to score on plays other than hits.  Intelligent baserunning can help a team compensate for a lack of speed and can complement a strong hitting team rather than detract from it.  Unfortunately, the 2001 Astros apparently do not believe this.Read More

Pitchers who can throw a fastball 90 mph or better are a dime a dozen in professional baseball. In addition, it is not unusual to find strong high school baseball programs with several pitchers whose fastballs register 85-90 mph on the radar gun. Accomplished hitters, from high school through the major leagues, can hit the fastball, and it is rare for a pitcher in professional baseball to overpower good hitters repeatedly with mere velocity. A great fastball is not enough for a pitcher to win consistently at the professional level. So, what sets the consistent winners apart from the other pitchers who have the talent to play major league baseball but lack that extra something that vaults them into the ranks of the elite? What is that “extra something?” With very few exceptions, the extra something is an additional pitch or pitches that complement the fastball and that, more often than not, certain pitchers throw better or more effectively than most other pitchers throw the same pitch. The purpose of this article is to examine the extra something that specific pitches can add which will help set a pitcher apart from his peers.Read More