Flames: Motorin’ Davis worth price for flight

The art of the stolen base is more than just speed. How fast a player gets from Point A to Point B is often overstated. It's a cerebral exercise steeped in awareness, foresight, timing and precision. Dozens of elements are observed, analyzed and processed before a burglar makes his break.


Toronto's Rajai Davis(notes) has it down to a science.
At 30-years-old, an age when many prolific base-stealers are slowly grinding to a halt, the Jays drag racer continues to be an annoying nuisance to pitcher/catcher batteries across the AL. After missing two weeks with a sprained ankle, Davis put the league back on notice. In a three game series in the Bronx, the speedster easily pick-pocketed Russell Martin(notes), who threw out a respectable 38.5 percent of runners a season ago, swiping five bases in six opportunities.
Similar speed exhibitions should be expected.
North of the border a significant shift in methodology has occurred. Last season, hitting coach Dwayne Murphy powered up the offense by encouraging players to attack favorable pitches earlier in counts, which resulted in one of the most unpredictable long-ball campaigns in big league history, Jose Bautista's(notes) MLB-best 54 homers. A year later, first-year manager John Farrell has taken a similar approach to the basepaths.
The pressing skipper apparently isn't a man who has time to beat around the bush. He's the type of individual who's always rooted for the hare, prefers drinking beer from a bong and, in his days as a bachelor, probably attempted to attract the opposite sex with audacious pick-up lines (e.g. "Nice shoes, want to..."). Employing aggressive tactics is imprinted on his DNA.
So far, Farrell's breakneck personality has rubbed off on his team, and heightened tension in opponent clubhouses. Don't expect the flighty Jays to slam the brakes anytime soon.
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