Most of Henley’s mistakes are with two outs so you have to take into consideration who is on deck when that bad send actually happened. Obviously if the pitcher or Gomes is in the on deck circle i too would be telling my runner before the pitch, “you better get a good jump because i’m not gonna stop you”!!!
I coached third-base for several years and here are some of the key factors you must know before sending a runner;
1) the score.
2) how many outs there are.
3) who is in the on-deck circle and beyond.
4) knowing the arm strength of your opponents outfielders.
5) not getting any key players hurt on close plays at the plate.
6) knowing your runners don’t normally get good jumps on low line-drives through the infield with less than two outs. They would have to freeze and see the ball through first.
7) knowing your runners should get a good jump on ground-balls through the right side of the infield regardless of how many outs there are.
9) wet conditions.
I’m sure I missed a few.
You are correct, that was a bad send by the Reds 3B Coach last night getting Votto thrown out by a mile with just one out while hitting in the meat of their lineup.
For me, unless we are down by several runs, I could careless if Henley gets one of our runners thrown out at the plate when there are two outs and Gomes or the pitcher are in the on-deck circle. It would certainly be worth the risk. If he does get thrown out, blame it on the runner for not getting a good jump with two outs.
Coaching 3B is a thankless job and there is so much more to it than simply STOP or GO.
Really, with 2 outs, even if it is Soto or Rendon at the plate, don't you send the runner if there's a a bit less than a 50/50 chance of him being safe? I mean, Soto and Rendon are very productive in that situation relative to other hitters, but very productive is probably in the .350 - .400 range.
