Tigers prez: Baez benching was ‘turning point’
Detroit Tigers president Scott Harris said the positive way Javier Baez responded to being removed from a game last month has helped contribute to his team’s improved play since.
Baez, in the second season of a six-year, $140 million contract, was removed from a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 13 by manager A.J. Hinch after losing track of how many outs there were and running into a double play.
The infielder has since responded by hitting his first three home runs of the season during a stretch where he’s batting .321 to raise his average to .256. In turn the Tigers have gone 14-11 in those 25 games after starting the season 3-8.
“My takeaway from that whole benching incident was that A.J. did a great job of making a tough decision in a really high-pressure moment. But he did an even better job of messaging it,” Harris said in an interview with MLB Network on Wednesday. “It wasn’t just about Javy. We wanted to get to a place where we were playing clean, more competitive baseball in this organization. And that was a real turning point for our season.
“Since then, we’ve been playing a very aggressive brand of baseball, we’ve been pounding the zone, and we’ve been trying to get into better counts on both sides of the ball. And A.J. has done a great job of picking his spots and getting players ready to come through in high-leverage moments. I think Javy is one of the leaders on the team. He sets the tone for the entire team. And it’s been really fun to watch him respond to that moment.”
Harris credited Baez for focusing on pitches he can “really drive” and setting the tone for the rest of the hitters.
Baez hit .238 with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs in 144 games for the Tigers last season, his first with the franchise. He was removed from the game against the Blue Jays when he broke for third and rounded the base on a liner to center and was easily doubled up for the third out. That came after he didn’t run hard out of the batter’s box, apparently thinking he had homered on a ball that hit the left-field wall instead.
Baez said after that game, which the Tigers won 3-1, that he respected Hinch’s decision and acknowledged he needed to show respect for the game of baseball.
Entering Thursday’s games, the Tigers (17-19) are in second place in the American League Central standings, 2½ games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins.
PASASDENA, Calif. — Nico Iamaleava threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more on Saturday as UCLA notched its first win of the season in stunning fashion, knocking off No. 7 Penn State 42-37 at the Rose Bowl.
The Nittany Lions, who lost to Oregon at home last week for their first loss of the season, have suddenly dropped two straight, and could fall out of the Associated Press Top 25 after a sluggish performance that saw the Bruins (1-4) take a 27-7 lead before holding off the visitors.
Penn State (3-2) allowed more than 400 yards to a team that hadn’t held a lead all season, and is being led by interim coach Tim Skipper after DeShaun Foster was fired Sept. 14.
“It feels great. That is a valiant team and our coaches, we stuck together. Everyone counted us out, we just needed to keep going to work,” Skipper said on the CBS game broadcast. “Every single play counted today. That is a top-notch Penn State team. We kept our minds right and just continued to execute.”
The Bruins became the first 0-4 team to defeat a top-10 team since 1985, when UTEP knocked off BYU.
“Ballers always ball out,” Skipper said of Iamaleava. “He shows up every single week. I’m glad he’s on my team, I will say that.”
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David Hale
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The stands at Kenan Stadium were nearly empty long before halftime, and the fervor that surrounded the hiring of Bill Belichick at North Carolina has, in the span of just five games, devolved into exasperation and frustration after the Tar Heels looked awful yet again in a 38-10 loss to Clemson.
UNC trailed 28-3 after the first quarter, giving up 14 points on Clemson’s first four plays. The Heels are now 0-3 against Power 4 teams, having been outscored by a combined total of 120-33.
Despite the struggles, Belichick shrugged off a need for structural changes so soon into his tenure.
“The main thing we need to do is to keep doing what we’re doing but do them better,” Belichick said. “Fundamentally we’re not doing the wrong things, we’re just not doing them well enough.”
Belichick chalked up Saturday’s defeat to self-inflicted wounds at “two or three critical times” and noted that execution and coaching are to blame.
“It’s a lack of concentration,” he said, “and part of that is coaching, too, so I’ll take my share of the responsibility.”
Saturday’s implosion comes just days after a letter from GM Mike Lombardi to donors was released publicly, in which Lombardi calls this a “rebuilding” campaign for the Tar Heels and explains in detail about a dearth of talent on this year’s team due to exits from past recruiting classes.
After the loss to Clemson, Belichick downplayed the branding of a rebuild, but when asked directly what he’s telling recruits about the status of the program, he appeared to acknowledge a long-term approach.
“We’re honest with them, honest that we’re building, and if you want to be a part of a program that’s being built, then we’re here for you,” Belichick said.
That’s not the notion UNC’s players seemed to embrace after a 2-3 start.
Quarterback Max Johnson, who got his first start Saturday in place of injured Gio Lopez, said he feels UNC has enough talent, and receiver Jordan Shipp strongly pushed back against the notion this program was in need of a rebuild.
“I’m not here to rebuild, I’m here to win football games,” Shipp said. “That’s why I’m here. Whatever they’re doing with the donors, that has nothing to do with me. I’m here to win football games and that’s what 100% of my focus is on.”
Belichick said he won’t make changes in personnel based on a long-term vision of the program, despite the poor results early on.
“The guys who deserve to play are going to play,” he said. “I’m not going to base it on how old they are or whatever. Guys that play the best deserve to play. We’ll see how that goes. My expectations are to come in and have a good week this week and get ready for Cal.”
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