Background: Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba has had a difficult time throwing out baserunners all season. Arizona, with some swift, young players such as Chris Young, is expected to challenge Torrealba every chance it gets. Although Torrealba is not known for his throwing arm, it’s not all his fault that opposing baserunners pad their stats against him. The Rockies’ starting pitchers do not always do a good job of holding runners. Rockies Game 2 starter Ubaldo Jimenez, for instance, is known for not being able to keep runners honest. If the Diamondbacks start running against him, don’t put all the blame on Torrealba.
To help their catcher out with a runner on first and threatening to steal, pitchers will often go to a “slide step” in order to hurry their delivery home. Arizona’s Game 2 starter, Doug Davis, has been timed at 1.43 seconds for a normal delivery to home, but cuts it to 1.30 when using a slide step.
Bottom line: Whichever team does the best job of controlling the running game has a leg up on this series.
