TDA Bullpen - Our Writers' Blog

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

At-Bat of the Year Nominee No. 2
Starting the bottom of the seventh inning in tonight's Dodgers-Cubs game, Matt Clement had thrown only 80 pitches. While on the bottom side of a 2-0 score, it was through no fault of Clement's -- the two Dodgers runs both scored on squibs. It's quite a pitcher's duel, with the resurgent Wilson Alvarez throwing goose eggs against Clement. So you know a pitcher's manager like Dusty Baker isn't going to take Clement out before his spot in the order comes up.

Clement is due up first in the top of the eighth, so with an 80-pitch count and with the bottom of the order up it seems exceedingly unlikely Dusty's going to pull him. Clement walks Jason Graboski to start the inning, but never fear, the never-dangerous Alex Cora comes up. Cora's got a career OBP of .304, while Clement has come into the game 5-1 with a 2.29 ERA and is throwing BBs.

The count goes to 2-2, and Clement and catcher Michael Barrett proceed to work Cora down and in. Cora fouls it off. Down and in again. Cora fouls it off. And again. And again. Always on the right side of the plate someplace, Cora fouls it off. And again and again and again. Visit to the mound by Barrett. And again and again and again, still only two balls, and Cora manages 13 fouls and a total of 17 pitches.

What I love about LA fans: they actually noticed (unlike White Sox fans for the Frank Thomas AB I reported on earlier this year), and started laughing and clapping at about the 11th pitch. They got louder and louder, and finally got up on their feet about the 16th pitch. Clement's longest entire inning thus far was only 16 pitches.

Cora, amazingly, homers on the 18th pitch, and the Dodgers go up 4-0.

Clement has run his pitch count up to 103, and shows the utter defeat of the number eight hitter beating him. Clement's yanked out of the game, Dusty has to use a pitcher in the seventh, Kyle Farnsworth, he'd rather use in the eighth, and the entire complexion of the game has been changed.

Vin Scully commented on the telecast it was one of the best at-bats he'd ever seen, and Vin's seen a lot of at-bats.

I haven't seen an at-bat like this from a scrappy middle infielder since Marty Barrett blew out his knee in 1989 on a 17-pitch AB. And on that one, Barrett ended up grounding out, not launching a two-run homer.

What a beautiful game.

posted by The Crank 9:24 PM