Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

[fugazi]

What the hell was going on there?

For those that don't know (i just learned myself)...Ichiro is flying down the 3B line on a suicide and Byrnes pulls the bat back...Ichiro tagged out...then Byrnes takes fastball down the middle for strike 3...

I mean, was he tanking on purpose? Do you think he missed the sign and thoguht it was a safety squeeze?

The whole thing is

here's a clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFlA5Pi8iEI

It looks like 1) he isn't comfortable bunting and 2) that was an awfully hard pitch to bunt, especially as it seems Byrnes is starting well off the plate.

Hard to argue then that he did it on purpose, which was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the article (which contains other oddities). "Why else pull back?", I thought.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/1...lategame-gaffe
link lifted from todays transactions thread.

[kehlis]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

Byrnes had been downright bad this year but he is a gamer. I doubt he tanked it on purpose.

I think he just had a lapse of judgement at a really bad time.


I don't think he missed the sign or anything because as a batter he would see the runner coming down the line, I just think he (for lack of a better term) ****ed up...

[Scottdau]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

I think he had a brain fart. And what I mean is he forgot the runner was running because it was a bad pitch to bunt, he lost focus of the runner when he was thinking in his mind that you can't hit that ball, but then thought again oh **** I have a runner coming I have to hit, so that is why he pulled back then try to hit it again. It happens.

[WazzuRC]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

Well he was DFA on Monday so it's safe to say he may not be with the M's anymore.

[rsox]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

Well he was DFA on Monday so it's safe to say he may not be with the M's anymore.

He was outright released not DFA so he is no longer with the Mariners. I don't doubt that someone will give him a shot though.
Perhaps maybe even his original team the A's. Lots of left handed bats in the A's OF and with Cliff Lee back and Erik Bedard coming, along with Ryan Rowland-Smith/Jason Vargas/Joe Saunders/Scott Kazmir/C.J. Wilson/Matt Harrison the A's will see a lot of LH pitching in their own division this year.

[pietasterp]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

His recent behavior has been a bit weird, though, even for him...I mean, he's an eccentric (read: crazy) dude, but he hasn't normally been surly or moody like he was in Seattle. Is it all the rain? Maybe he's got some off-the-field issues we aren't hearing about...

[Blzer]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

He brain-farted. To him it was almost forgettable that he had to do absolutely everything that he could to try and get the bat on that ball in fair territory.

My question is who calls a squeeze play in a situation like that? Terrible call by Wakamatsu.

[WazzuRC]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

He brain-farted. To him it was almost forgettable that he had to do absolutely everything that he could to try and get the bat on that ball in fair territory.

My question is who calls a squeeze play in a situation like that? Terrible call by Wakamatsu.

If you've seen the M's offense this year, they need to do anything they can to score a run.

[Blzer]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

If you've seen the M's offense this year, they need to do anything they can to score a run.

It's not a good situation, though. He was down in the count, meaning the pitcher probably won't be grooving a fastball in the zone. The bases were loaded, so not only would a squeeze mean he needs to beat the throw because it's a force play, but if the other runners decided to trail behind and Byrnes pops it up, that's a potential triple play (EDIT: okay, there was one out, so a double play in any case). Granted, they had Ichiro on the base paths... but they have two more chances to knock in a run and still had that chance of Byrnes fisting one over the shallow infield.

A squeeze is normally put on when there is no force at home and you already have the lead. It's to provide insurance, not take a lead. You see the repercussions of a failed squeeze attempt in this situation, and it puts you in the red. When you're ahead, it's not a big deal. The situation simply didn't call for a squeeze is all.


Pretty off-topic, I was once called to squeeze where, it wasn't that I brain-farted, but I was more concerned for my own safety. Here's the situation: I'm a switch-hitter, and the lefty that was in the game came out when I came up to bat to switch me to the left side (I'm actually a better left-handed hitter, so cool beans). The relief guy has a tendency to be hot-headed, which isn't so cool I guess. My coach asks me to squeeze, and on the first pitch I attempt to at a pretty far outside pitch, and it just goes foul down the third base line. My coach gets aggravated and asks me to do it again, but I suppose the relief pitcher didn't think too highly of me doing that to him. So he had it in his mind that if I was to squeeze again, he was going to go right at me. So there I square up, you hear the third baseman yell "SQUEEZE!" which triggers the pitcher to go right at my freakin' nuts. I shoot straight up in the air and just avoid the pitch between my legs and belly flop to the ground, and the runner scores on a wild pitch.

Basically, I couldn't even think about bunting at that point, that was going right where I couldn't afford trying to lay one down for my personal sake. I also quickly thought in my head that the catcher wasn't going to be able to catch it anyway, so I thought better of it and leaped before I lost my ability to have children (or a working mandible if I bunted it up to my face). Oh, and I struck out in the at-bat. I still remember taking a called third strike at my shins and I went, "Shins, Blue. Come on." I won't forget that one heh.

Good stuff.

[ryan36]

Re: Byrnes and the Suicide Squeeze

I love the suicide squeeze as a coach. But when "bunt strikes" is so-often ingrained in player's head 5,000 times, compared to the 3 as a coach, I've seen many kids make Byrne's mistake.

Also on a hit and run, as kids learn it, it's very often these kids forget to swing at everything. It's hard for anyone to override years of training because you put on a sign.

That, and Byrnes just sucks