ST. LOUIS -- It is an awful feeling to make three errors in the first two games of the season. However, Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche has been through even worse.
In 2005, LaRoche played in his first game at the Double-A level. He made three errors -- on the first two balls hit his way. "Not fun at all," LaRoche said. "I was booed by my own crowd."
In Monday's season-opener against the St . Louis Cardinals , LaRoche made two fielding blunders. Tuesday, he made another. The errors led to three runs.
"It kind of brings back those memories," LaRoche said. "The feeling I had after that (Double-A) game was kind of like the feeling I had after (Tuesday's) game. It's like, 'Aw, man, really? C'mon.' "
Dropping the ball
Andy LaRoche
career error totals:
Year
Level
Games
Errors
2004
Low-A
65
9
2004
A
62
12
2005
A
63
13
2005
AA
64
8
2006
AA
62
10
2006
AAA
55
5
2007
AAA
73
9
2007
Dodgers
35
3
2008
AA
6
0
2008
AAA
39
6
2008
Dodgers
27
1
2008
Pirates
49
9
LaRoche was benched for Wednesday night's game against the Cardinals . Ramon Vazquez made his first start at third base for the Pirates.
"Just a chance to give Andy a little break and let him relax a bit," manager John Russell said. "We're fortunate that we have someone who can step in and play there and take a little pressure off Andy."
Early yesterday afternoon, LaRoche took extra fielding practice on the field at Busch Stadium. He spent a half-hour working with Russell, infield instructor Perry Hill and two other coaches.
To figure out what's wrong, Hill spent five innings Tuesday night zeroed in on LaRoche.
"He's a good athlete, and he's got good hands," Hill said. "I wondered why he was late in reacting."
Finally, Hill noticed LaRoche was flipping his glove. LaRoche had the open part of his glove facing him instead of turning it out toward plate. When a ball was hit, LaRoche had to rush to flip over his glove, which cost him a split-second of reaction time.
"When those missiles are hit at you, you don't want any extra movement," LaRoche said. "I guess it's just one of those things you don't think about it and you don't even realize you're doing it until somebody points it out."
LaRoche will continue taking the extra fielding work until he eliminates the flip. He wasn't thrilled about getting yesterday off.
"Not at all," LaRoche said. "I never want an off day unless there's something physically wrong."
