When Brian Butterfield looks at an infield, he sees beyond the bases.
FORT MYERS, Fla. � When Brian Butterfield looks at an infield, he sees beyond the bases.
Monday at JetBlue Park was Shift Day, as the Red Sox didn�t send a single infielder from big-league camp to Bradenton for the team�s afternoon game with the Pirates. Instead, they all stayed home, along with Butterfield, to begin implementing the defensive shifts that Boston will employ with greater frequency this season.
If you�ve paid attention to the Blue Jays over the past few years, the shift won�t be totally foreign. Boston�s version will be a bit more complex than Toronto�s because, at this point, its infielders aren�t quite as versatile as the Jays� Brett Lawrie. With nobody on base, Dustin Pedroia will play the role of the �rover,� positioned on the outfield grass in shallow right field, pulled toward the first-base line. Will Middlebrooks will move from third over to the opposite side of the second-base bag.
In double-play situations, Pedroia and Middlebrooks will flip spots, with Middlebrooks staying on the infield dirt closer to first base. The Red Sox don�t want their third baseman having to turn two at the bag.
Defensive shifts have taken on a greater prominence in the game of late, with managers such as Farrell, Tampa Bay�s Joe Maddon and Milwaukee�s Ron Roenicke using them more and more. The advantages of shifting are simple, in Butterfield�s view: Play your infielders where the batter hits it most often.
That approach worked in Toronto. According to stats tracked by Baseball Info Solutions (BIS), the Blue Jays saved 12 runs last season just by shifting � tops in the majors. Further, major-league teams shifted more than twice as often in 2012 as they did in 2011.
BIS endorses overshifting � that means three infielders on the same side � against left-handers who pull 80 percent of their grounders and righties who pull 85. Butterfield said that�s just part of Boston�s calculations: The team will also factor in the hitter�s recent performance and its own pitcher�s strengths, among other things.
�The whole thing should be a spectrum. It shouldn�t be yes or no, you shift him or you don�t,� BIS�s Ben Jedlovec said. �Each hitter has different intricacies in where his ground balls tend to end up. � There�s a variety of levels of shifting, and that�s how it should be.
At the same time, there are cons to the system. Implementing it takes time, and it puts defenders in unfamiliar situations. It also requires a lot of quick thinking from the infielders. When the shift is on with a runner on base, the shortstop has to remember to cover third on a hit. The pitcher has to hustle over to third on a steal in case the ball gets away. Middlebrooks will serve as a cutoff man to third base. The responsibilities are different.
Most of the battle is waged in spring � not only teaching players all the new responsibilities, but also simply getting them on board with the plan.