Fire Jeff Datz!

It's over

2006-07-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

You can come out from hiding, base runners.

No, no, don't fret. It's safe. Come on out. Have a look around. Enjoy the view.

That white thing you see over there is home plate.

What's that you say?

Indeed, it does look warm and inviting. And just think: you can go there as often as you want.

Joel Skinner will guide you there safely.

Yes, the rumor you heard is true. Jeff Datz is no longer the third base coach of the Cleveland Indians. No, Jeff Datz wasn't fired--we tried. But he won't be standing not in the third base box flailing his arms at Victor Martinez to stop just as he rounds third. He won't be standing near third base looking like a deer, either. And this, frankly, is good enough.

We are surprised it took Eric Wedge so long to listen to us--100 games is a slow learning curve--but there is no need to harp on this glorious day.

Victory is ours. Victory is ours. It's a wonderful day to be an Indians fan, friends. Victory is ours.

Another baserunning error

2006-07-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

There are a number of unofficial rules that govern how baseball is played. For instance, one never sits next to a pitcher who is throwing a perfect game. Well, yesterday two of those rules came colliding together when, with runners on first and second, Todd Hollandsworth lined a ball deep into the outfield. Ken Griffey Jr. picked up the ball and threw it home in an attempt to prevent an Indians run from scoring. The ball went past the cutoff man, straight to the catcher, who immediately bumbled the ball, dropping it to the ground. Hollandsworth took second, following unofficial rule #1: If the ball isn't cut off, take another base. Aaron Boone, who was on first, stopped at second, following unofficial rule #2: Never make the third out of an inning at third base. I'm not sure which rules supersedes the other, but the result was confused runners, Hollandsworth and Boone, holding an impromptu meeting at second base, at which point they thought it best if Boone tried to make it to third. So Boone took off, only to be thrown out at third base by nearly five feet. Out three, inning over, rally ended.

Mr. Datz, please coach your players. If anything, tell them what to do when they are running the bases. You know, your job. Perhaps you tell Hollandsworth to stop at first. Perhaps you wave Boone to third when the throw isn't cut off. Either would work. Perhaps you do something other than stand there while Hollandsworth and Boone look like lost children. Like lost children, Mr. Datz. Like lost children.

Back at it

2006-06-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Aaron Boone is on second, Grady Sizemore on first. Jason Michaels is at bat and is 2-2 on the night. What happens? No outs. Fourth inning. We aren't sure. It looked like a hybrid between a double steal and a hit and run, very much like what happened on April 12th against the Mariners (see the post Datz From the Past). Either way, it went terribly wrong, as Boone was essentially picked off trying to run to third base.

Mr. Datz, please teach your players how to run the bases. Please. Pretty please. If there is a hit and run tell them not to run before the pitcher throws the ball. If it's a double steal please don't attempt it when 1) it's early in the game, 2) there are no outs, 3) at bat is a player who's hit in 14 of the last 15 games, 4) that player is 2-2 in the game, 5) and he is capable of bunting, 6) and Travis Hafner is on deck.

If it was a double steal attempt, the fault lies with manager Eric Wedge. But given the circumstances, and the fact that Eric Wedge is extremely passive when it comes to base running, it is more likely that whatever it is that happened on the bases was a botched hit and run. Which falls in Mr. Datz's domain.

The Jeff Datz Blunder cost the Indians at least one run. Good work, Mr. Datz.

Unknown powers

2006-06-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Jhonny Peralta was moved out of the third spot of the lineup tonight, dropping all the way to the six hole. We at Fire Jeff Datz didn't realize that we had the power to move Peralta, and now are disappointed that we didn't broach the subject of Peralta's poor hitting sooner. It took Eric Wedge two months before he acted, but we aren't going to harp on his tradiness and instead just celebrate that he finally arrived at the party.

Of course, with a tied game in the sixth inning the Indians had runners on first and second with no outs, and instead of allowing the .230 hitter--Peralta--to attempt to sacrifice bunt the runners into scoring position, Wedge decided to let Peralta swing away...and swing right into a strikeout. That's some learning curve. Mr. Wedge.

Focus attention elsewhere

2006-06-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

Jeff Datz has done a serviceable job recently as the third base coach of the Cleveland Indians. Enough of a serviceable job, in fact, that we have been able to focus our critical eyes on personnel other than Datz. And we have found another bitingly obvious problem standing in the way of countless Indians wins: Jhonny Peralta. In particular, Jhonny Peralta batting third. You know what this means.

Here he is. The rally killer. The indolent assassin. The strikeout machine. The pitcher's best friend and the manager's biggest mistake. The slothful blunder head of the batter's box, Mr. Jhonny Peralta.

Wait, wait wait.

Is it Jhonny Peralta's fault that he is fourth in the American League in strikeouts, with 61, and that he consistently manages to hit into double plays in crucial moments during a ballgame? Is it his fault that his batting average is below .240, that his OBP is below Casey Blake's batting average, and that he's hit only 15 extra base hits this season? Well, yes. He isn't a good hitter. He isn't an average hitter. What is one to expect?

But is it his fault that he bats third in the lineup? Is it his fault that he has the most at-bats with runners in scoring position of any player on the Cleveland Indians?

No, friends, it isn't Jhonny's fault. Don't blame Jhonny. Blame Wedge for keeping him there, with the burdensome weight of so many failed expectations planted firmly on his shoulders, thus preventing him from getting his bat through the hitting area with any speed or accuracy, leaving exposed a hole in his swing the size of David Ortiz. How can he possibly succeed? He isn't meant to bat third. It isn't entirely clear that he's even meant to bat in the majors at all.

Good thing Peralta is such a wiz in the field.

In any event, if the Indians have any chance at competing for a playoff spot that chance is greatly diminished if Jhonny Peralta is batting third every night. So in the interest of Indians playoff baseball, we propose to Eric Wedge that he slide Peralta down in the order, preferably to eighth or ninth, if not entirely out of the lineup, at least until he remembers how to swing a baseball bat again. And we don't think Mr. Wedge should worry about damaging Peralta's fragile ego--his sub-.200 batting average with runners in scoring position is already taking care of that. It's not entirely clear that a bruised ego would cause Mr. Peralta any more problems than he's already experiencing. Is it possible to have a batting average lower than one's weight?

We are going to start chronicling all of the moments when Jhonny Peralta hits into an inning-ending double play, or fails to drive in a run with runners in scoring position, or...you know what? That's probably enough.

Together we can make it through these tough times and with one voice, loud and determined, shout to Eric Wedge PLEASE DON'T BAT JHONNY PERALTA THIRD IN THE LINEUP ANYMORE!

A Datz From the Past

2006-06-01T10:42:00.001-07:00

Let's hop in the way-back machine to revisit one of the earlier Jeff Datz Blunders of the season.

On the night of April 12th the Indians lost to the Seattle Mariners, 9-11, at Jacobs Field. If only for Jeff Datz...

The Indians entered the fourth inning trailing 3-6 and managed to close the gap to 5-6 after Casey Blake singled to score Ben Broussard and advance Ronnie Belliard to third. With Blake on first base Grady Sizemore ripped a Gil Meche pitch down the first base line--an easy double, possibly a triple for the speedy Sizemore. Blake took off for second with thoughts of possibly scoring on the hit; at the least he was going to make it to third. But after Sizemore's hit shot past Richie Sexson it struck umpire Tim McClelland and the ball gently sailed to the Mariners' second baseman, Jose Lopez. At this point Casey Blake is about 25 feet from second base but he's unaware that the ball is actually in Lopez's glove; Blake still assumes the ball is heading into the corner of right field.

And apparently so is Jeff Datz. Instead of signaling to Blake to hold at second base Datz does nothing until after he rounds second and is on his way to third, at which point Lopez tosses the ball across the diamond and easily puts out Casey. The crowed at the game booed Blake, but Blake had no way to knowing that the ball took an unfortunate bounce--the play was behind him. It was Datz's responsibility to communicate to Blake that he needed to stop at second base. Alas, no such timely communication happened.

But let's rewind the way-back machine just a few innings, to get a fuller appreciation of Jeff Datz's skills as a coach.

Seattle scored one run in the first inning and the Indians were in prime position to tie the game in the bottom of the first. With one out, Jason Michaels and Jhonny Peralta managed to get on second and first base, respectively, which brought Travis Hafner to the plate--a wonderful scoring chance considering Hafner was hitting over .400 and had already hit 4 home runs. So what do the Indians do? Put on some sort of hit-and-run, trying to avoid the possible double play. Only the hit-and-run was bumbled.

Standing on the mound, wishing he'd become a florist, Gil Meche checked Michaels at second and looked back toward home. And then turned back to second to check Michaels once more, only Michaels wasn't there. He was on his way to third! Befuddled, Meche turned and threw to second to capture Michaels in a run-down. Michaels, feigning effort, was easily caught in the run-down. Peralta, equally befuddled and unsure what to do, tried to make it to second base...only to be thrown out at second by 10 feet. The Indians put on the hit-and-run to stay out of the double play only to run into a double play before the ball was even pitched.

Jeff Datz likely didn't put on the hit-and-run, but his job is to coach the players on how to run the bases and how to properly put into motion the hit-and-run--and his players failed on both counts. Good times.

Passive Datz

2006-05-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

Almost as old as baseball itself is the adage that one should never make the first or third out of an inning at third base. Grady Sizemore heeded no old sayings, though, when he tried to stretch his double to lead off the game last night into a triple. He was thrown out by a reasonable margin, albeit after two nice throws by the outfielder and short stop. Only if Sizemore could have made it to third standing up should he have attempted to stretch that double into a triple in that situation (leadoff batter, first inning). Sizemore, as he rounded second, was able to see the play and decided that he was going to go for the triple, so the blame doesn't fall entirely on Jeff Datz, but Datz could have made an effort to stop him or could have coached him up earlier in the season on when the appropriate times are to stretch a double into a triple. In the end, this was another base-running error.

Say it ain't so, Luis

2006-05-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Last night Jason Michaels, who was on first base, managed to get caught in a double play after Casey Blake hit a hard fly ball to center field. Micheals moved three quarters of the way to second before the ball was caught, and then hustled back to first base. Only he didn't hustle enough. Michaels arrived back at first base standing, about a half-step late. It was the third out of the inning, and Hafner was on deck.

Whether Michaels should have moved that close to second on a fly ball is questionable, and that he should have run harder back to first in undeniable. But once he pivoted to run back to first base he turned his back on the play and that is when Luis Rivera needed to take over. In particular, Rivera needed to signal to Michaels that he needed to slide, or at least to run harder. Flailing arms would have been appropriate.

So much for thinking that the mistakes on the base paths are solely the result of JDBs. It turns out the Indians can be equally as nonchalant from the other side of the diamond (In his defense, Mr. Rivera has done a servicable job at collecting baserunners' batting gear and barking, "Back!").

Ire raised

2006-05-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Fire Jeff Datz! has raised the ire of a few people who appear very disturbed that such a site could exist. Cleveland sports fans have a well-deserved reputation as being passionate and knowing, opinionated and committed, and we at Fire Jeff Datz! are not surprised that Mr. Datz has his supporters, supporters who are able to approach a well-reasoned (if verbose and grandiose) attack of Mr. Datz's performance as the third base coach for the Cleveland Indians with biting defenses.

Let us take one anonymous participant in the debate and deconstruct his or her argument so that we can, one hopes, flesh out both positions.

He or she writes: "You are a complete asshole and have no clue the benefits of having this guy in Cleveland. First he might be the best judge of talent in the organization. Second he is a workaholic has guided many players through the Indians system. Third he is about as real a person you will find at the major league level."

Is Jeff Datz the best judge of talent in the organization? We do not know. Traditionally the Indians have one of the best farm systems in baseball (and this year is no exception) and as such it is difficult to argue against success. If Jeff Datz is indeed the best judge of talent in the organization, then perhaps his valuable skills could be better put to use if he weren't the third base coach. And if he has been trying to push his way through the system on the merits of his talent-judging ability but has only been able to rise to third base coach, we at Fire Jeff Datz! would be the first in line to sign any petition on his behalf to have him promoted. On the other hand, if Mr. Datz is the best judge of talent and those above him have kept him from succeeding at what he does best, then someone ought to make known the people who have kept Mr. Datz down, for these people might deserve to be fired, too.

Is Jeff Datz a workaholic who has guided many players through the system? We don't know if he's a workaholic, but Mr. Datz has indeed had the chance to guide players through the system. He joined the organization in 1991-92 as a scout, and from 1994-99 was a manager in the minor league system, compiling a 403-383 record during those six seasons. From 1999-02 he was the Field Coordinator, and this season he was promoted to third base coach. He has a long track record of doing (we assume) great things for the organization. Which is why it's a shame to see him at third base, where he is floundering (floundering, of course, relative to his peers; but this much should be obvious). Mr. Datz history with the organization only corroborates the claim that he is the best judge of talent in the organization. Is third base really the best place for a man like Mr. Datz?

Is Mr. Datz as real of person as you'll find at the major league level? We do not know, having never spent considerable amounts of time with Mr. Datz. Mr. Datz, from what we can tell, looks like a good citizen, responsible and gracious. Irrespective of his status as a 'real' person, however, Mr. Datz is unsuited to coach third base, as evidenced by his performance so far.

Coaching third base comes with many responsibilities, primary among them managing the runners on base, which extends all the way from making good decisions on whether to take home on a fly-out to coaching the players on how to move quickly from one base to the next during spring training. Simply put, everything the Indians do on the base paths is in the domain of Jeff Datz, and so far this season--by any objective standard--the Indians have underperformed in this regard.

Jeff Datz is not suited to coach third base--which is not to say that he won't ever be a good third base coach nor is it to say that he has no other highly valuable assets as a person or as a member of the Indians organization. But the place to learn how to coach third base isn't in the major league. No other position in the organization, particularly once one reaches the majors, comes without a training period. Jeff Datz needs extended spring training for third base coaches.

But a few more quick comments from our anonymous poster friend:

"You have a problem with attacking without solid facts..."

We at Fire Jeff Datz! have yet to launch an unsubstantiated attack on Mr. Datz's performance. For the two potential (make note of the word potential) Jeff Datz Blunders there was no ocular proof (unfortunately, the game wasn't on TV, but was broadcast over the radio), but the crack team of experts working diligently to track JDBs has been witness to the only other proclaimed JDB on this site.

"I do not even know about the situations you are talking about..."

We can tell.

"Do yourself a favor asshole and focus on your personal problems leave the tough stuff to the big boys."

Only in a twisted world is coaching third base during a baseball game considered tough stuff left only to the big boys. The thrust of this site is legitimate--Jeff Datz really shouldn't be coaching third base, at least not at this moment given all of the mistakes he's made--but the importance of its content is laughable. He's the third base coach of a third place team with a sub-.500 winning percentage. If coaching third base is where we are sending our big boys (whatever that means--we assume it means, roughly, 'most talented') to tackle what's considered 'tough stuff', then our problems are far bigger than an inept third base coach.

Datzman

2006-05-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Indians game, a 6-5 victory, wasn't on TV today so I don't have visual confimation of anything I'm about to report (if someone who reads this blog was there and can confirm or deny it would be appreciated), but the fact is that the Indians had two runners thrown out at home: Boone, who tried to score from first on a double, and then Broussard, who tried to score from second base on a ground ball single into the outfield.

I didn't hear the radio play-by-play when Boone was thrown out, but the announcers were surprised that Broussard wasn't able to make it home from second on the single, considering that a) the hit was a ground ball into the outfield, not a line drive, so it took longer to get to the left fielder and b) there were two outs in the inning, so Broussard would have been running on contact.

Mike Hegan said that Broussard took a wide turn around third base, which is probably the reason he was thrown out, as far as they could tell. And whose job is it to coach the players on how to run in a square? If you guessed Jeff Datz you'd be correct.

Again, I'm not sure of the circumstances of the Boone out (how many outs, etc.), but Boone is a decent base runner, so while I won't go out on a limb and put the blame on Datz, my gut tells me that Datz played his role.

That said, we at Fire Jeff Datz! are not interested in blindly attributing all of the mistakes the Indians make on the basepaths on Jeff Datz. This isn't a witch hunt and we are not hysterical. So if these two plays were not JDBs then we'll gladly dismiss these misfortunes as breaks that didn't go our way.

Of course, Datz has in no way earned the benefit of the doubt. So, pending confirmation, these are 2 potential Benign Jeff Datz Blunders.

JDB tracker from 5/16: 1 confirmed, 2 pending

Datz!

2006-05-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

In the first game since the Fire Jeff Datz! page was published we were all witnesses to a (thankfully) benign Jeff Datz Blunder, when Sizemore, after Michaels singled to right, wasn't told to hold at second and tried to make it to third from first. But after being waved to third Sizemore fell down trying to pivot back to second base when Datz noticed Sizemore was going to be out by 30 feet at third base.

Talk about a learning curve (How fast can Sizemore run? How long have you had to calibrate the approximate speed at which Sizemore can move, Mr. Datz? Do you need more time?) and a lack of depth perception (Some advice, Datz: If the ball is flying through the air and your runner is just rounding second, tell him to stop. The ball actually isn't 300 yards away. Those big numbers of the green wall are feet.) and being oblivious to one's surrounding (It's rained in Cleveland for the past three days, yesterday's game was rained out, and it's been raining all day. Look down at your feet, Datz, and you'll see that your shoes are wet. So is the field. It's hard to run on a wet field. Remember this.).

So Sizemore was stranded on his knees between second and third as the ball was sailing in from right field, awaiting a rundown in which he'd be tagged out. But the Royals 2B dropped the throw from the outfield, which allowed Sizemore to safely move to third. So the Jeff Datz Blunder caused no harm in the end, but things could have been much worse. Let's pray next time Sizemore doesn't shred his ACL.

JDB tracker since 5/16: 1

You suck at your job, Mr. Datz

2006-05-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here he is. The rally killer. The run assassin. The out machine. The base runner’s worst nightmare and the pitcher's best friend. The bumbling blunder head of the third base box, Mr. Jeff Datz.

Look at him. That smirk--an expression somewhere between a forced smile and a constipated frown. Those glasses--why not go all the way and just wear rec-specs? The voluminous hat placed gently atop a head void of a single intelligent thought concerning how to coach at team from third base. What a physical specimen, that Datz.

He's a monument to mediocrity, standing with his feet firmly entrenched on the throat of any hope the Indians have of successfully navigating the base paths, suffocating the chances of effectively executing the hit-and-run or the sacrifice fly.

He's the man who sends Sizemore home only to see him thrown out by 15 feet at the plate and the man who doesn't tell Sizemore to hold at third on a short fly ball out...only to see him thrown out by 15 feet at the plate. If the Indians have a man on second or third you ought to pray for a home run because that's the only way to safeguard against the Jeff Datz Blunder.

The Jeff Datz Blunder, a term floating somewhere between the Mendoza Line and Lou Gehrig's Disease. He serves these up almost on a nightly basis, and then stands there at third base blankly staring out into the night like a deficient moose dumbstruck by a gigantic rock in the middle of the forest.

What's your favorite Jeff Datz Blunder? There are so many to choose from--and we are only seven weeks into the season! Right now it might take a few minutes of head scratching to compile a top-ten JDB list. But by September 30th we might have enough for a 10-disc Lifetime Greatest Hits collection of JDBs. Just imagine the possibilities.

Travis Hafner tagging at second on a fly out to shallow left field only be be tagged out at third by Manny Ramirez?

Grady Sizemore, Jason Michaels, and Jhonny Peralta being caught in triple play after being picked off when they attempt a hit-and-run with Hafner at the plate and no outs?

Aaron Boone's knees popping off when, after he rounds second and Datz waves him to third, he must suddenly pivot back to second when he notices that the short stop has the ball?

In addition to home runs and walks and strikeouts, why not add a Cleveland-only statistic called datz? Datz will be times when a base runner records an out and it's Jeff Datz's fault. These can count as partial runs for the base runner and partial RBIs for the batter, so when Sizemore is thrown out at home trying to score from second on a bunt down the third base line Sizemore gets .5 runs (or .5 datz) and Travis Hafner gets .75 RBIs (or .75 datz) when the Jhonny Peralta is thrown out attempting to steal home with no outs in the inning.

Datz could also be a verb, as in, "The Indians should have won the game but were datzed three times with runners in scoring position, so they lost 4-3 to the Royals."

In any event, if the Indians have any chance of competing for a playoff spot that chance is greatly diminished if Jeff Datz is the man standing in the third base box every inning. So in the interest of Indians playoff baseball, I propose Mark Shapiro and the rest of the Indians coaching staff unite in their efforts to improve the Indians by firing Jeff Datz.

So I hereby open this forum to all of those looking for an outlet in which to vent your frustration with the monstrocity in the third base box. Consider this a gathering place for support for those tired of banging their heads into the bar each time Jeff Datz screws up.

This will also be an archive of Jeff Datz Blunders. But the effort needed to compile all of the Blunders is too great a task for one man, so I call upon everyone to submit their favorite JDBs.

Together we can make it through these tough times and with one voice, loud and determined, shout to the front office FIRE JEFF DATZ!