A leadoff walk followed by a stolen base - it's what Phillies fans have been dreaming of for decades.
Revere eventually gets greedy and is caught stealing at third - an atrocity we will discuss in a moment - but first, let's analyze Revere's jumps.
Believe it or not, Revere successfully steals second base on this pitch. Jacob Turner reaches the apex of his leg kick and Revere has yet to get out his stance. He hasn't moved a muscle.
Another image from the top of the leg kick, you can see just how far Revere has to go and how much time he's wasted.
For reference, this is Jacoby Ellsbury getting his 5th steal against the Phillies on May 30th. At the top of Stutes' leg kick, Ellsbury explodes out of his stance and swings his torso towards second base. This is a world-class sprinter who knows how to get out of the blocks (82.6% career SB%). Revere just has world-class speed (79.3% career SB%).
Turner is well on his way to plate, yet Revere's feet are in the same place they were when the pitcher began his motion. Comparing the first few images, you can argue that first baseman Casey Kotchman (a big fella who isn't running) moves further than Revere.
I've already mentioned that Revere is safe on the play, mostly due to his incredible speed and a fortunate pitch that handcuffed the catcher.
I'm always fascinated by Revere's slides. Last night, it was a head first doozy into second base to break up a double play that lead to an interference call and the wrath of Philadelphia being bestowed upon umpire Bob Davidson. Who slides head first to break up a double play?
This particular slide requires Revere to power through the second baseman's left leg all while having his head pointed to right field and presumably his eyes closed. Completely blind, he must slide through a human being who's intently trying to not let him do that. Luckily for Revere, this second baseman is a Marlin. Dietrich allows Revere to knock his leg back and the throw comes late - safe!
The bad jump and the power slide through a bag-blocking fielder work out for Revere. This time...
It's tough to see exactly what Revere is doing on this play, but I can assure you that he attempts to steal third. He currently has not moved even though Turner is at the height of his leg kick. We've seen this before.
Should the runner wait to make sure the pitcher doesn't do a slow-move before running? In the first inning, with a 2-0 count on the batter and 0 outs, he should only steal if he has knowledge on this pitcher. He has to know tendencies and Turner's look pattern to make this attempt. He has to know Turner never slow-moves. To be thrown out here is the type of deed that gets Twitter all in a tizzy.
As the ball leaves Turner's hand, Revere hasn't gotten very far. I can't stress enough how bad of a decision it is to steal third here. This is a move to make when there is 1 out and the bottom of the order up, so a fly ball can score the runner. Not with 0 outs. Not in this situation. When Revere gets thrown out, both Chris Wheeler and the Marlins' announcer chastise the decision.
This time, the bad jump costs Revere. The ball easily beats him to the bag and it takes a nice outside slide to make it a bang-bang play.
Video of the third base steal attempt can be found here.
On a cold October night against a playoff team with a more courageous second baseman and a better catcher, I don't have confidence in Ben Revere to steal a base. He's one of the fastest players in the league. He's the fastest Phillie in a very long time. Yet I'd rather see Rollins on the move. I've seen Revere slide off the bag multiple times, get terrible jumps, and make too many poor decisions to say he's the guy I want to jump-start the offense with a stolen base. I don't know what Davy Lopes taught to get this team of above-average runners to lead the league in SB%, but Revere needs some of that magic, and it's on Rollins, a leader and a product of that system, to teach Revere how to be better.
Rollins? A leader? Playoffs? I know... crazy talk.
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