I mentioned that in Friday night’s victory over Arizona, third baseman Chase Headley committed two errors but was charged with only one. The U-T’s Tim Sullivan informs us that official scorer Bill Zavestoski later reversed course.
According to Sullivan, Padres media relations manager Bret Picciolo, manager Bud Black, and pitching coach Darren Balsley all spoke with Zavestoski about his initial ruling. End result: Give Headley one more error and starter Jon Garland three fewer earned runs.
Another U-T article, by Bill Center, quotes Black as saying of Garland, “Jon is a little more deliberate than a lot of pitchers.” Center notes that “Garland’s slow pace could have played a role in the two errors committed by Headley Friday night.”
With Zavestoski’s scoring change, Padres pitchers have now allowed 10 unearned runs so far in 2010. Of those, seven have come on Garland’s watch.
I have a feeling we’re going to see this a lot behind Garland. I would prefer he keep his ERA down by getting actual outs, which would help the team more than having the official scorer penalize infielders for taking a nap between pitches (maybe MLB could use that time to sell more television advertising), but whatever.
The image of a cabal of Padres heavies leaning on this stat jockey seems like a scene from the Sopranos.
“You will make the change if you know what’s good for you…”
Ha ha; that’s funny Michael. I like it. Naturally, they’re wearing their brown friar frocks and carrying bats!