Ramon Ortiz pinch running
I'm listening to the Nationals/Marlins game. Marlins lead it 2-1 in the 5th. The Nationals just brought in pitcher Ramon Ortiz… to pinch run for Matt LeCroy! I suppose it's because I've had my attention primarily on the AL for the past several years, but it seems odd to have a pitcher come in to pinch run.
As it turns out, Ortiz was just called out at home plate. He failed to slide and was tagged out. He's been used four times this year to pinch run and has been called out on two of those occassions on the base pads. Ramon's fast, but he needs to learn how to become a better base runner if Frank can reliably call on him in this capacity.