NORTH PORT, FL-- It's unlikely the Red Sox will forget their introduction to the new MLB pitch clock.
The Red Sox and Atlanta Braves were tied 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Braves had the bases loaded, two out, and a full count on infielder Cal Conley.
Red Sox reliever Robert Kwiatkowski was ready to deliver the payoff pitch, but Conley didn't step into the box and get ready in the requisite amount of time, so home plate umpire Jason Viscoonti called a clock violation on Conley, who was assessed a strike, ending the game in a tie.
And that was that.
It was a bizarre ending to the game, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora could sense it was coming.
"We were talking about it,'' said Cora. "We were looking at the clock (winding down) and we were like, 'Ooh, something's going to happen here. We'll take the point.''
The Sox and Braves played nine innings in 2:39, and the game would have been far shorter had the Braves not rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth, forcing a pitching change and extending the half inning to almost 20 minutes.
Before the surprising ending, the game featured a few other violations. Red Sox infielder Matthew Lugo got a strike called on him for not being in the box and directing his attention to the pitcher by the requisite time of eight seconds remaining. Raimel Tapia was assessed a similar violation, after making his request for time too late.
"It's a learning process,'' offered Cora.
Veteran reliever Richard Bleier said he was a bit obsessed with the pitch clock in his appearance, but figures that will recede as everyone gets adjusted.
"I think that was the biggest thing I was thinking about today,'' he said, "to see how it's going to be. It's something I've obviously never had to deal with before and it's something that we're all going to have to figure out. It wasn't that bad at all. I'd like to go back and look at the video and see when I was making pitches and how much time I actually had. I felt like I was really trying to work quicker and I don't think it affected my pitches at all, so that was good.''
Bleier said he was very much aware of the clock prior to every pitch. At CoolToday Park, there was one clock visible in center field, and two others on the low walls near the on-deck circles.
"I wanted to make sure that I was within the time allotted,'' said Bleier. "But I was looking at it, yeah. As you come set, if it's 10 (seconds remaining) you know you can do your normal thing and you'll be fine. I noticed one time I was at three (seconds remaining as I came set), and I was like, 'OK, I've got to make a pitch.' It was fine. It was different, no doubt. I think it's different for everyone, though. We all have to go through it.
"I was aware of it for my whole outing. I think I was probably well within the time on every pitch. I don't think there was a time when I was (down to) one second. So, that's good. I think it's easier to slow down than speed up. I think I was trying to get it and go and make an effort to be quick and now I can control the pace from there. That's the way I wanted to approach the adjustment that I needed to make with the time.''
From a hitter's perspective, Christian Arroyo termed his indoctrination Saturday as "weird.''
"It's going to be one of those things where I think today probably rushed me at the plate,'' Arroyo said. "But you get used to it. It's the rule. It is what it is. I'm a guy where if I take a swing and I feel like I did something wrong, I like to kind of recollect myself before I get back in and you can't really do that anymore. It's going to require a new way to get (set).''
Arroyo said it will take some time to find the right rhythm in the box. A few times Saturday, he was ready and facing the pitchers 11 seconds remaining, which then resulted in him waiting a while before the pitch was delivered.
"You get stagnant,'' he said. "Maybe I'm going to have to go into a little rocking motion or something. I'm going to have to figure something out. It's not going to be anything crazy. It's just a little minor adjustment. It's nothing serious, but you do feel the difference.''
When Arroyo wasn't in the batter's box, but was instead in the field or in the dugout, he could feel the pace of the game had quickened.
"Very much so,'' said Arroyo. "I could really feel it from behind the pitcher (in the infield). You could really see that he was catching it, looking for the sign and he's going. Especially in spring training, you're used to slowing the game down. You know you're not going to play the full nine, so you're trying to relax, trying to let the ball come to you and get your timing back. But this was like the opposite. I felt like I had no timing and it felt like I was playing in front of 75,000 in Game 7 of the World Series. Your heartbeat is racing a little bit, then you slow down.
"It's going to be different. But I'm looking forward to it. But like I said, it feels quick.''
"You just have to get used to it,'' concluded Cora. "It's just getting used to it. You've got plenty of time. Actually, we felt that the pitchers were rushing and they were making pitches at 10 seconds, nine seconds, instead of taking their time. There's no rush. I think the whole purpose is to speed up the game. It was good.''
Added Bleier: "I think with anything new, there's always pushback. But inevitably, it just becomes a part of the game. There's obviously going to be a learning curve and for spring training, it's fine. I don't think the product will suffer.''
