It's a play most big-leaguers have practiced tens of thousands of times.
So, in Rich Hill's case, probably hundreds of thousands of times.
In the fourth inning of the Pirates' eventual 4-3 loss to the Rockies on this Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park, the sport's elder statesman had a Colorado run already on the board, another runner at second base, but also two outs and still a two-run lead. And when Ryan McMahon bounced the softest, straightest squibber his way with the next at-bat, it appeared Hill would duck further damage.
Easily.
As in, not this:
I asked Hill afterward what'd happened on the play, using that exact terminology in knowing a 43-year-old veteran wouldn't need me to specify.
He didn't:
“Yeah, I missed it. It was a terrible play. Just missed it," he'd reply. "That shouldn’t happen here. It cost us the game. Once again, it falls on me. I'm gonna sit on this one for the next five days and get ready for the next one. But the frustration's definitely there with that. Very easy ground ball. I should have been able to execute it and didn’t.”
It's debatable as to whether that did, in fact, cost the Pirates their ninth loss in 10 games -- Robert Stephenson was the one who allowed the Rockies' go-ahead run in the seventh -- but it sure didn't help. The Rockies followed the E1 with consecutive RBI singles from Austin Wynns and Alan Trejo to tie, 3-3.
Hill couldn’t even escape the inning, with Derek Shelton, somewhat surprisingly, emerging from the dugout to take the ball with the pitch count at only 75 and the Rockies having shown precious little solid contact. Shelton explained his decision by pointing to what he felt was a lack of command of Hill's offspeed stuff, saying those pitches "weren't landing well," and he'd be left with a line of 3 2/3 innings, three runs, one earned, four hits, four strikeouts and two walks.
Hill appeared displeased with Shelton at the mound, and Shelton clearly spoke a few words before Hill left, but neither had anything to offer on that subject afterward.
"That's not my decision," was all Hill had.
Well, that plus a general feeling that likely was as empty as his glove.
