The Andrew McCutchen Injury Reignited our Favorite "Hustle" Debate
Last night, the guy Angelo Cataldi didn’t want in free agency hit a grand slam in an 8-2 Padres win over the Phillies. He didn’t want Manny Machado playing in this town because he doesn’t hustle.
Bryce Harper, his preferred acquisition, went 0-4 with a strikeout as he watched said grand slam go over his head in right field, which provided one of the more memorable bits of ironic humor that Philadelphia sports fans have experienced in recent months.
For what it’s worth, both players are slashing below their 2018 numbers, with Harper logging a .243/.355/.477 line with a .832 OPS. Machado is rolling a .251/.340/.423 line with a .763 OPS. Both players have 54 hits, Machado has fewer strikeouts, Harper has more doubles, and I think you could honestly say that each guy has more to give their respective team. It’s not a total wash, but it feels washy enough.
One game of head-to-head competition is utterly useless for comparison’s sake, but it does make me laugh. OF COURSE Machado would burn the Phils after visiting the club over the winter, the famous trip to Citizens Bank Park where Matt Klentak and Gabe Kapler met him at the front door after an electrician named Tom Cudeyro asked him to “do the right thing and sign.” It didn’t matter in the end, because Harper wound up here instead, but it was such a typically Philly story, the blue collar union laborer happening upon a superstar free agent down at the ballpark, when the team should have just allowed Machado to come in the private side door entrance instead.
The second bit of irony is that Cataldi’s generic “lack of hustle” complaint is seemingly to blame for Andrew McCutchen’s injury last night.
Or is it?
McCutchen got caught in a double play situation when Jean Segura failed to get down the first base line after slipping in the batters’ box, resulting in the rundown in which his teammate tweaked a knee. Some Phillies fans were pissed off because they felt like Segura was responsible for the injury and forced McCutchen into a bad situation, but I’m not sure I totally agree. Watching the replay a few times, clearly Segura twists awkwardly in the box, falls to one knee, and then gets up and proceeds down the first base line.
In this video, you can see him fall over initially, then watch the end of the clip where he again bends down and seems to walk back to the dugout a bit gingerly:
Prime Jean Segura not running this one out, double play and McCutchen gets hurt #goodridence #Mariners pic.twitter.com/YQDVw9GsZY
— Mark Giles (@Marquegiles) June 4, 2019
My takeaway was that it was a freak type of thing, a combination sequence with an unfortunate result, and sometimes shit just happens. Give Ian Kinsler credit for making a heads up play, letting that ball drop, and getting the double play. Segura, of course, didn’t help himself by flapping at a 2-0 pitch and torquing himself to one knee in the process. You can assign blame there, for sure.
The WIP morning show, on their usual shit of course, graced us with this poll:
Should the Phillies bench players who don’t hustle?
— WIP Morning Show (@WIPMorningShow) June 4, 2019
You’re not gonna bench Segura because he’s still one of your best players, even through his recent hitting slump (two hits in his last six games). You also don’t have much of a bench at all, with Odubel Herrera on administrative leave and McCutchen now out of the picture. Benching Segura after that incident might be seen as “sending a message” but you’re also cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Plus, Segura missed time with a hamstring injury in April, and anybody who has had any kind of lingering muscle issue will tell you that you’re only risking your health when you try to plant, burst, and sprint in a vapid display of hustle that likely is not going to change the outcome of the play. It is what it is. The same people who think Segura should have sprinted that out also probably think Joel Embiid needs to “get his ass on the blocks” and do 82 games of rim-running as a 7’2″, 250 pound man. Segura lost his balance on a shallow pop fly, got up, ran to first, and then the McCutchen thing happened. It’s not like Segura walked off the field and into the dugout.
So, no, we don’t “bench” players who don’t hustle. Last night Manny Machado failed to hustle on a third inning pop out, then hit a grand slam later in the game. Are we gonna focus more on the the former or the latter? Let’s get our priorities straight, exhibit some critical thinking, and stop falling prey to the emotional knee-jerk outrage machine.