It was brief but boy was it packed with meaning.
David Aardsma started off with David Murphy and looked like the closing ace that everyone else saw in 2009, running him to a 1-2 count and then blowing another fastball right by Murphy despite it coming in the same place as the prior two pitches. It wasn't a dominating strikeout like the kind Felix can engineer when he mixes up his pitches, but it's the sort of intimidating strikeout when you can throw the same pitch three straight times and the hitter can do nothing with it.
Time for Elvis Andrus to step up. Andrus fouled off three pitches and worked a 2-2 count before sending a centered, belt-high fastball to deeeeeep right center. It was providence that it was hit to a little outcropping in the outfield wall, allowing Franklin Gutierrez a few more needed feet to keep the ball in the yard. What can be said about that catch? Gutierrez has been on fire with his glove (and his bat) this year and just watching this guy patrol the field makes me feel secure in my faith in his UZR this season. David Aardsma may make us nervous, but Franklin Gutierrez makes me hopeful.
While trying to catch our breath over Guti's play, Aardsma faced Julio Borbon and quickly had him at 1-2. A ball and four fouls later, Aardsma got a foul tip into Rob Johnson's glove on the ninth pitch and the inning, and game, was over. Two swinging strikeouts and one fly ball to the wall. David Aardsma in three batters.
GIFs (caution, they're big files):
6 recs | 151 comments
Awesome.
BrettJMiller - April 10, 2010
Remarkable.
Just remarkable. I love that man.
drblacknwhite - April 10, 2010
Beautiful.
Eyeball Kid - April 10, 2010
We're so lucky.
M'sFanatic - April 10, 2010
At first I thought it would've been a double
But I think, upon further review, that it could have bounced on the wall and went over for a home run.
Amazing either way. Taking gracefulness to a whole new level.
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
Guti puts the Ultimate in Ultimate Zone Rating
ralphie81 - April 10, 2010
Rec'd
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
Please do not make a comment that's just "rec'd"
That’s the same as “+1” or “this” and neither are allowed. If you like the post, rec it. If you have some reason behind rec’ing it you would like to share, feel free, but a comment that’s just “rec’d” is redundant.
Matthew - April 10, 2010
K Sorry about that, I'll keep that in mind.
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
Can we have this apply to "Rec'd for truth" too?
Mariner John - April 10, 2010
Guti puts the Mate in Ultimate Zone Rating.
abender20 - April 10, 2010
Guti puts the boner in Ultimate Zbone Rating
Eyebrows - April 10, 2010
Bonerating.
Eyebrows - April 10, 2010
Penultimate Zbone Raping
OlSalty - April 10, 2010
Wait I meant Penistimate Zbone Raping
He is not second best.
OlSalty - April 10, 2010
It's not rape.
It’s surprise sex.
HawkedUp - April 11, 2010
Jesus Christ
That might be the best catch he’s ever made. That ball was easily I dunno, at least 80 feet to his left on a line?
Anything that makes Ichiro freak out is special.
OlSalty - April 10, 2010
Still thought the one vs Minnesota where he robbed Kubel of a 3-run homer by
sailing over the wall and pulling it back, on the backhand was the best.
This was pretty sick though, especially given how this first week has gone.
Rudy4three - April 10, 2010
Watching it again that might've been more difficult because it was over his head
But he covered way more ground in less time with this one.
OlSalty - April 10, 2010
There was a great quote after the game
Where Drayer had been talking to Ichiro about how he sometimes jokes that he talks the ball into his glove, and she asked him if Guti had done that on the catch. Ichi said something like “No, he just gets there. He doesn’t need to talk to the ball”
seattlecougar - April 10, 2010
That is just ridiculous.
He’s runs at full speed and times his jump just right to make that catch. Unbelievable.
ThundaPC - April 10, 2010
He'll be a MVP some day.
Jackle Mackle - April 10, 2010
I don't know about that because the people who vote will never recognize defense enough
to properly evaluate Guti. However, if he can take another step forward with the bat, he should start getting the same love that Matt Kemp gets in regards to young stud center fielders
Rudy4three - April 10, 2010
It seems to me like sabermetrics has taken a more mainstream acceptance.
I watch ESPN and Sportscenter quite a bit, and they have been injecting quite a lot of more “advanced” stats into their baseball coverage lately, things like UZR, OPS, WAR, etc. Sure some of the anchors laugh at it, but they’re retards anyway.
With the increased acceptance of “advanced” baseball statistics comes the increased focus on defense. People are finally realizing just how important defense really is, especially in CF.
Of course, to win a MVP Guti will have to hit, and hit really well. But I think that he could eek out a MVP in a year where he wOBAs something like .380-.390 and plays defense out of his mind like 2009. Too optimistic about the BBWAA writers changing their minds about “advanced” statistics? Maybe. But then again, I never thought I’d see WAR on Sportscenter, so who knows.
Jackle Mackle - April 10, 2010
If he wOBAs .385, he's a slam dunk MVP
seattlebruin - April 11, 2010
No matter who is voting
seattlebruin - April 11, 2010
With the current voters
he’ll probably need 110 RBIs to add enough “traditional” shine to his resume of awesome.
Sukafish - April 11, 2010 via mobile
Gutierrez redefines reality ;P
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
I didn't appreciate how
damn far he ran before making that catch until watching that first .gif. Absolutely awesome.
Astrobiology - April 10, 2010
Aardsma is so lucky he got traded to the Mariners.
I mean, he’s a pitcher who gives up a lot of deep fly balls, and happens to pitch in front of the best outfield defense in the game, in one of the most pitcher friendly stadiums in the game. I wonder how his career would look right now had he been traded elsewhere or stayed in Boston.
Griffin Cooper - April 10, 2010
I doubt he'd be in the majors if he hadn't been traded.
abender20 - April 10, 2010
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Gutierrez.
M'sFanatic - April 10, 2010
Don't thank Mr. Gutierrez
Just Mrs. Gutierrez, as I am starting to believe that Franklin was born of a Virgin…
Andrew E - April 10, 2010
To me the fact that Ichiro is so far away from that ball
is the most telling thing about how awesome Guti is. That ball was in the zone between CF and RF so you might think they would be at least similar distances away from the ball. Guti has that Mike Cameron-esque ability to just know where the ball is going from the sound off the bat.
marinerdan - April 10, 2010
I don't think it was between CF and RF
I think it was already fully into RF territory. It was impossible for Ichiro to make, since he would’ve had to run backwards and make some sort of hypothetical flying basket catch.
It was definitely not in CF, unless you consider CF to be 80% of the outfield.
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
With Guti, CF is 100% of the outfield.
I Lick Squirrels - April 10, 2010
Actually it's kinda still on the borders of CF
Looked at Gameday. Either the Gameday dimensions are wrong, or the catch wasn’t as far away from his original position as I thought it was.
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
Keep in mind that Gutz was shifted for Andrus to left center
Corco - April 10, 2010
Overlooked in Gutierrez's awesomeness is the fact that Aardsma gave up yet another warning track fly ball.
thehemogoblin - April 10, 2010
Actually, discussed right above this
^
I think this is pretty much what Wak is going on about, real numbers and all that – "We have three guys who between them catch literally everything hit x ft high, so of course I’m ok with having Captain Deepfly closing.
miracle_max - April 10, 2010
I can't run the live-updating comments without my computer trying to explode, so I didn't see it.
I got up in the middle of my comment to compose myself.
thehemogoblin - April 10, 2010
Thank you for the .gifs, Matthew. Really spectacular.
royalcurve - April 10, 2010
You're welcome!
Matthew - April 10, 2010
I like the zoomed in one the best!
It’s been added to my favorites!
SeaKoala - April 11, 2010
And that picture is pretty awesome too.
Slow Country - April 10, 2010
Just seeing the catch for the first time as I heard it on radio
and it is every bit as spectacular as Dave made it sound. If there was one clip of Niehaus’ I would show people that have no clue who he is it might be that call. Gave me chills and goosebumps and made me freak out all at the same time. We are lucky people to have Guti in center and Niehaus to call his amazing catches. Can we just give Guti a lifetime contract now?
Zwakamatsu - April 10, 2010
First part was hyperbole I guess because The Double would clearly be the choice but still.
Zwakamatsu - April 10, 2010
Just listened to Dave's call
Gameday Audio failed on me in the 8th innings, I had to follow all of this on gameday. The call was great, I freaked out all over again.
E-Lizz - April 10, 2010
Even though he's in the twilight of his career
he’s still the best.
Zwakamatsu - April 10, 2010
I don't have the bandwidth to use gameday or mlb.tv radio.
Does anyone know where I can listen to the call?
Decatur - April 10, 2010
I second this.
Does anybody know where we can find a clip of Dave’s call?
Matt Erickson - April 11, 2010
Corco linked to it below.
http://www.davidjcorcoran.com/gutz.wma
harkening - April 11, 2010
Thank you!
SeaKoala - April 11, 2010
Good Gravy
That may be the greatest catch I’ve ever seen. Gutz really came out of nowhere for that.
Corco - April 10, 2010
The crazy thing is I don't even know if that's the greatest catch I've seen Gutierrez make.
If that ball is a home run then this one gets the cap tip, but the catch in Minnesota last year in the opening series might be better.
Zwakamatsu - April 10, 2010
I dunno, I saw Griffey's spiderman catch
But yeah, that was awesome.
rbr07 - April 11, 2010
Rob Johnson, really?
Makes me wanna puke.
Ef the yankees - April 10, 2010
Rob Johnson called the pitch that Guti was able to catch!
cERA rocks.
Jackle Mackle - April 10, 2010
Eh..
I really don’t think so.
Ef the yankees - April 10, 2010
Since Rob Johnson can't catch a baseball
He might have terrible hand-eye coordination. I wonder if he frequently misses high fives in the dugout.
E-Lizz - April 10, 2010
I think he is just a chicken.
He is afraid of getting his face blown whenever pitchers throw a pitch in the dirt
Ef the yankees - April 10, 2010
I love Guti so freaking much.
Ichiro’s reaction made this catch even better.
E-Lizz - April 10, 2010
The video's up on mlb.com
Watched it like 20 times already… man he’s awesome
_Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
Oh, and best part about the clip
Was the reaction of the fans up over right field.
“Omfg did that just happen? DAM IT!” xD Love it…
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
The best part
is that in the “Just the catch” clip, half of the fans have their hands up in celebration, yet none of them are moving. It is downright eerie to watch.
That is how fast Franklin Gutierrez is.
Jeremariner - April 10, 2010
That is weird. Its like he's in front of a green screen or something. Creepy.
E-Lizz - April 10, 2010
That's because his catch was as fake as the moon landings!!
If you watch it at half speed you can easily see the fishing wires moving him AND he outruns his shadow. Clearly these indict a choreographed, previously filmed stage setting that fox, mlb, etc switched to after Elvis Andrus hit the ball.
Don’t even get me started on Ichiro’s area 51 or Felix pitching from the grassy knoll.
John Edwards - April 11, 2010
*indicate
John Edwards - April 12, 2010
The best part is the guy in the green pointing the ball into DTFT's glove
Lower left in the stands… middle in the gif.
Robert Lintott - April 11, 2010
I like the guy in white next to said guy in green who has his hands up.
Only to put them behind his head in disappointment.
Hopefulmsfan - April 11, 2010
Just watched the "Felix Strong Start" video. A third of those had Rob Johnson dropping a pitch. Yar.
JAH - April 10, 2010
Link here:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=7368967
Eyebrows - April 10, 2010
Our center fielder is better AND more attractive in a sexual way than yours.
DrunkAmerican - April 10, 2010
And is ours and you can't have him.
Zwakamatsu - April 10, 2010
I would hate to see Guti playing for another team.
Ef the yankees - April 10, 2010
Here is the question,
Who would jump higher, MJ, or Death to flying things?
Ef the yankees - April 10, 2010
Michael Jackson's dead
so Guti.
Eyeball Kid - April 10, 2010
I am implying Michael Jordan.
Well, I know it’s a close call
Ef the yankees - April 10, 2010
I love how he like punches Ichiro with his glove.
Coach Owens - April 10, 2010
Where can I hear Niehaus' call of the catch?
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
MLB,TV has archived audio-you can fast forward to the 9th inning if you want.
wazzu93 - April 10, 2010
Do you need to be a subscriber?
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
Yes.
At least, I think so. I am, so I can’t tell.
Llewdor - April 10, 2010
Whoops, not sure since I'm a subscriber.
wazzu93 - April 10, 2010
Aww... :( thx anyway :P Can anyone sorta write out what he said? (so I can get a bit of an idea)
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
Please refrain from chatspeak
Matthew - April 10, 2010
Well
“Swung on, fly ball hit to deep right center field, back on the ball is…MAKING THE LEAP OUT THERE AND THE CATCH, FRANKLIN GUTIERREZ! DEATH! DEATH TO FLYING THINGS! AS HE MAKES THE LEAP, UP AGAINST THE WALL, AT THE 377 SIGN, AND TAKES AWAY, A TYING HOME RUN! MY, OH MY!”
Griffin Cooper - April 10, 2010
I thought it was the 407
DrunkAmerican - April 10, 2010
Not according to Dave Niehaus
Griffin Cooper - April 10, 2010
Oh it probably was the section number.
DrunkAmerican - April 10, 2010
Don't believe Niehaus
He is clearly losing it. He gets about 5 to 10 calls wrong every game. “He swings and misses on a Change” and the gun says 93mph.
Andrew E - April 10, 2010
Except it was the 377
Corco - April 10, 2010
I'm not saying it was'nt 377
Just saying he gets a lot of calls mixed up. He reminds me of my grandma who recentley has been calling me Anthony even know she knows my name is Andrew…
Andrew E - April 10, 2010
But shes still your grandma
and likewise Niehaus is still the voice
KarateManChan37 - April 10, 2010
That's not the point
DrunkAmerican - April 10, 2010
Oh, I think it is.
We on LL have an unspoken rule to not discuss problems with Dave Niehaus, since he has earned the right to have all of the problems he wants.
CapSea - April 10, 2010
That and senile Dave is still ten times better than Rizzs.
BrianL - April 10, 2010
100 times better than Sims
I don’t know why but that guy bugs me.
Andrew E - April 10, 2010
Dave Sims is wonderful.
BrianL - April 10, 2010
You are pretty much alone on that opinion here
Because Dave Sims is fucking awesome and you should love him
Griffin Cooper - April 10, 2010
When you say things like...
“Thats why you Mariner fans……” He does’nt seem like he considers himself part of this team. I don’t like that about him. If he said that once I would be fine with it. I’ve heard him say it far more than once though…
Andrew E - April 11, 2010
Dave Sims seems to genuinely enjoy himself in the booth.
I like that in him. Add to that, he isn’t a blatant homer but can really get into a call when something good happens.
I’d take him over most broadcasters out there and I’d definitely take him over Rizzs.
BrianL - April 11, 2010
I think what makes me want to NOT hear Sims is his passion for the Mariners.
Sometimes you hear him during games when we are losing you can hear him going ho-hum but I guess that grows with time.
KarateManChan37 - April 11, 2010
Although I hate to hear him say it because we're losing when he does,
I like his delivery of “oh brother” when something bad goes down.
Two Rs and Two Ls - April 11, 2010
Dave Sims is fucking awesome
BrettJMiller - April 11, 2010
I suppose as my grandmother's grandson I don't really want to hear people talk about how she's losing it
and the same thing would apply to Niehaus. We all know it, no reason to talk about it.
Corco - April 10, 2010
I maintain that while Dave may not handle the play action as well as he used to
he still handles the large amounts of time between pitches and at bats better than the majority of broadcasters in baseball. As long as he’s willing and capable of telling stories and painting pictures with words, I’m more than happy to sit by and listen.
BrianL - April 10, 2010
Exactly
Niehaus is a large part of why I still enjoy listening to baseball on the radio- he is like a grandparent- chock full of old stories and vivid imagery. He’s still a ton of fun to listen to.
As much as I may like Hawk Harrelson’s TV style and random cliches, there’s nobody better at making baseball sound majestic and sacred like Niehaus does.
Corco - April 10, 2010
WOW. I never said anything bad about him.
And NO, I don’t mind hearing about my grandma. I love her and the fact that she’s “losing it”. A lot of my friends think she drinks when shes never had a drop. As far as Dave, I would’nt want anyone else calling a game other than Dave and I did not know it was some sort of unwritten rule not to talk about him. Sorry…
Andrew E - April 10, 2010
Thanks!
Allen Wu - April 11, 2010
Here
Not such great audio and it’s WMA, but it gets the job done
http://www.davidjcorcoran.com/gutz.wma
Corco - April 10, 2010
Goosebumps
Thanks Corco.
KarateManChan37 - April 10, 2010
He's NOT Corco!
Stop calling him Corco!
zeeehjee - April 10, 2010
I'm Corco
Corco - April 10, 2010
Fine. The man who is not formally known as "Coroco"
KarateManChan37 - April 11, 2010
Thanks Corco!
Allen Wu - April 11, 2010
I think that catch even gave Ichiro a hard-on.
Bicycle Rider - April 10, 2010
That catch gave thousands of people a hard-on!
Andrew E - April 10, 2010
I still have one...
Andrew E - April 10, 2010
Call your doctor if you experience an erection lasting longer than 4 hours.
harkening - April 11, 2010
Viva Frankie
KarateManChan37 - April 11, 2010
Or call Guti.
Hopefulmsfan - April 11, 2010
Baseball can't give you a hard-on.
That’s just science.
DrunkAmerican - April 10, 2010
Watching it over and over again
That catch was definitely more impressive than I had initially thought. The way Gutierrez covered so much ground and made a catch mid-leap…the timing of that play is simply astounding.
JLC - April 10, 2010
He just makes it look so damn effortless.
Eyeball Kid - April 10, 2010
Especially the grab itself. He goes up and grabs it down in an instant
It happens so fast, most fans misjudge the difficulty of it. Some players make easy plays with huge over dramatic dives and showy grabs, and most fans go “omfg he looked awesome”.
Allen Wu - April 10, 2010
See:
Jeter, Derek
I Lick Squirrels - April 10, 2010
I hated that play in 2003 where Jeter dove into the stands.
He caught the ball almost 5 full strides from the seats. There were all sorts of things he could do, but he chose to dive into the seats to show us all how hard he plays.
Llewdor - April 10, 2010
I really love that play.
SeaKoala - April 11, 2010
Only Jeter play actually worth noting
Was when he flipped the throw to get Giambi out at the plate back in the 2001 ALDS. Not a catch, but probably best play I’ve ever seen. So heads up.
E-Lizz - April 11, 2010
The only reason he made that play was because he was out of position.
Aaron Campeau - April 11, 2010
Describes Ichiro exactly.
Zwakamatsu - April 11, 2010
I mean he gets misjudged, not that he is over dramatic.
Zwakamatsu - April 11, 2010
Wow
wow wow
tootthekazoo - April 10, 2010
I liked Aardsma's quote..
“I thought it was long gone, but if it’s in our hemisphere, Franklin can catch it”
Rudy4three - April 10, 2010
Am I the only that feels sorry for Rob Johnson?
I mean the guy is doing his best. I get that he is a mediocre catcher all-around and that he doesn’t contribute that much. But, does he really deserve all the hate considering Jack Zduriencik and Don Wakamatsu are the ones who are putting him on the field?
M'sFanatic - April 10, 2010
I fail to see how he's a mediocre catcher all-around.
He can’t hit (or hasn’t shown he can hit) and he can’t catch the baseball.
He’s a good game caller, solid thrower, and seem to have a good repore with the pitchers which is good, but I really can’t get over the amount of balls he lets bounce out of his mitt. He was god awful today in that area.
Catchers usually don’t hit a ton but he’s still seems to be behind in that area, and I don’t care how well you call a game, you can’t consistently drop pitches and let pitches get away the way he does and be considered a good defender.
Rudy4three - April 10, 2010
Wak calls the game, you can see Rob looking in the dugout and sometimes see Wak sending pitch signs.
w00tah - April 11, 2010
True.
This actually bugged me a lot last year when people were giving Kenji crap for “calling a bad game” and not handling the pitchers. It’s clear that Kenji looked frequently toward the dugout to get instructions on the game plan or pitch sequence.
It makes me wonder what would happen if Wak decided to stop micromanaging for a few games; who would be a better catcher then?
harkening - April 11, 2010
Waks just wiggling his fingers to remind Rob Johnson how hands work.
Kermit. - April 11, 2010
It isn't his fault necessarily that he's getting playing time, and I don't think any of us would turn down a major league paycheck if offered to us, no matter how bad we suck
And I think to a point we are angry at the management for making the decisions that allow bad players like Rob Johnson to have the opportunity to lose us games. But when it really comes down to it, these are major league baseball players getting paid millions of dollars, and they shouldn’t be consistently fucking up the easiest part of the game. Also, the concept of a catcher who can’t actually catch the ball is just all to ironic and ridiculous.
Griffin Cooper - April 10, 2010
Too*
Griffin Cooper - April 10, 2010
Rob Johnson's mother changed her last name to Moore and moved to Texas
Aaron Campeau - April 11, 2010
Neihaus!
“DEATH, DEATH TO FLYING THINGS!”
Decatur - April 10, 2010
Great Call,
I like how he said it, it was almost like a speech the way he paused.
WestCoastBias. - April 10, 2010
It was like almost like Theoden's pep talk before the big battle in the Return of The King
DEAAAATTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 minute-ish in in this video.
And Gutz’ catch of course on mlb.com’s highlights, in case anyone didn’t see it
Decatur - April 11, 2010
Number 5 on Sports Center Top 10.
Really? Only number 5? If he dove it would’ve been number 1. But then again, Friday’s catch wasn’t even in the Top 10.
Hopefulmsfan - April 11, 2010
Number 2 Web Gem
The number 1 was a dive….
Snuffleupagus - April 11, 2010
Of course it was. Sigh...
Coach Owens - April 11, 2010
I don't get BBTN.
Dives are so boring and ugly and a demonstration of a lack of range. And usually completely unnecessary.
harkening - April 11, 2010
To be fair to that play
It was basically a do or die play. Two outs, bottom 9, bases loaded, one run lead. Either Harris makes the catch and the Nats win, or the ball drops and they almost certainly lose.
DTFT’s catch was more difficult, and almost as “important,” but I can see the logic.
Oh, and it was an East Coast game, so…
Sportszilla - April 11, 2010
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