August 31, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for August 30

by Larry Granillo

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There was some controversy in Tuesday's Yankees/Red Sox game when John Lackey appeared to hit Francisco Cervelli on purpose. In the previous at-bat, Cervelli had hit a home run and, upon touching home plate, slapped his hands emphatically. Lackey thought Cervelli was showing him up, while Cervelli just thought he was showing excitement. The plunking caused the benches to clear (including the stupidest thing in all of baseball, the bullpens running in together from 300 feet away), but nothing happened except a lot of posturing.

Now, I am of the opinion that it is perfectly acceptable for a player to show excitement after a big hit. I firmly believe that players can celebrate and show excitement without also showing up his opponents. That said, I don't think Cervelli's celebration was all that wise. The way he did it - bending down and slapping his hands together right as he stepped on the plate - probably wasn't meant to rile up the other team, but it could easily be construed that way. If he had waited to celebrate until after he had taken a few steps to the dugout, there wouldn't have been a problem. Instead, it almost looked like he was doing it in Saltalamacchia's face, which is never a smart thing. Cervelli probably didn't deserve the plunking, though.

How about we get to the trots?!

Home Run of the Day: Mike Trout #2, Los Angeles Angels - 21.84 seconds [video]
Mike Trout turned 20 this month. He has played in 21 games as a big leaguer. He hit two home runs Tuesday night (the ninth youngest player in history to do so). The kid is pretty darn good.

Slowest Trot: Ryan Howard #2, Philadelphia Phillies - 25.39 seconds [video]
One of two home runs for the big first baseman. His first trot was a more appealing 23.95 seconds, but this slower time isn't all that bad. Bad enough for Slowest Trot, but nothing to write home about.

Quickest Trot: Orlando Hudson, San Diego Padres - 17.5 seconds [video]
I'm beginning to enjoy these trots from Orlando Hudson. They always come in in the 17-second range, and the MLB.com highlights seem to have no qualms calling Hudson "O-Dog". Can't have a much better combination than that.

All of Today's Trots

Ryan Howard #2......25.39   Justin Upton........22.01
Laynce Nix..........24.33*  Mike Trout #2.......21.84
Miguel Montero......24.03   Jose Altuve.........21.8
Ryan Howard #1......23.95   Carl Crawford.......21.71
Matt Wieters........23.25   Andre Ethier........21.68*
Carlos Santana......23.04   Raul Ibanez.........21.31
Mike Stanton........22.86   Brett Lawrie........20.76
Andrew McCutchen....22.69   Francisco Cervelli..20.46
Ramon Santiago......22.61   Mike Trout #1.......20.21
Alfonso Soriano.....22.54   Hunter Pence........20.15
Ryan Zimmerman......22.4    Kyle Blanks.........20
Jason Kubel.........22.39   Dexter Fowler.......19.36
Danny Espinosa......22.28   Josh Hamilton.......18.8
Jack Hannahan.......22.26   Alejandro De Aza....18.75
Michael Morse.......22.03   Orlando Hudson......17.5