Erik Boland: Yankees aren't worried about George Lombard Jr.'s error streak
Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. makes a fielding error during the eighth inning against the Astros at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
What to make of rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. and the six-straight-games-with-an-error streak he brought into Friday night’s game against the Red Sox?
Not a thing, according to one rival scout assigned to the Yankees.
“Zero concern. Zero concern,” the American League talent evaluator said, emphasizing the second “zero” a bit in responding. “He’s just too talented, he’s too good, he’s too focused. I just think he’s going to learn from it. I would not have any concerns.”
The scout added: “In three years, if not sooner, he’ll be a Gold Glove there. He’s just too athletic, too talented. This is actually a good learning experience for him.”
The Yankees, of course, agree across the board. They see no reason for concern when it comes to Lombard and the ignominious streak he ended on Friday night in a 1-0 victory over the Red Sox.
Before this recent stretch of erratic play in the field that to a degree has carried over to the plate, Lombard had aced every section of his big-league test after making his debut at this level on Aug. 4.
Comfort in the field? Check.
Comfort at the plate? Check.
Comfort navigating the clubhouse? Check.
The last week-plus is nothing more than a young player, still very much in the super-early part of his career, experiencing the inevitable ups and downs of trying to find his way at this level.
“Obviously, six games in a row, I get it, you never want that,” Aaron Boone said before Friday night’s game. “But I really trust in the kid and the person and the talent. He’ll get through this. It’s a bump.”
He added, “There’s been some plays where he has probably attacked a little bit differently or they’ve [grounders] been kind of in-between plays where he’s attacked a little bit [incorrectly]. But I do feel like his work and his fundamentals will serve him well and kind of pull him through [this].”
Boone occasionally keeps an eye on some of his players’ postgame interviews — especially those who are struggling or who contributed significantly to a loss — wanting to see how a given player is handling adversity in public.
Boone liked what he heard in watching Lombard talk to the media after Thursday night’s loss to the Astros, game No. 6 in a row with an error.
“Even just listening to him last night in his postgame and our little touch points with him [as coaches], he’s more [ticked] off about it than he is like a deer in the headlights about it,” Boone said. “I think he’s an outstanding defender, and I think that will prove itself here over time.”
Lombard has been struggling at the plate, too. He is 5-for-30 in his last eight games, dropping his batting average, as high as .318 on Aug. 19, to .257.
Lombard’s streak of six straight games with an error tied a franchise record last “accomplished” by second baseman Chick Fewster, a member of the 1921 Yankees. The last shortstop in franchise history to make an error in six straight games was Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cleveland shortstop Mark Lewis, who committed an error in seven straight games in 1992, was the last MLB player to reach six.
“It’s something I’m trying to figure out,” Lombard told reporters Thursday. “Obviously, it’s not acceptable. It can’t happen at this level. If you make your pitchers have to get extra outs, it just makes it way harder on us, and other teams are going to capitalize. It’s something we’re definitely going to have to clean up.”
The AL scout, who has been assigned to the Yankees and their minor-league system for well over a decade and who can be particularly harsh in his assessments of their players, invoked the name of Derek Jeter.
“You see how easy he moves on the field, and he throws accurately off balance,” the scout said of Lombard. “I’m not comparing him to Jeter, but he reminds me of Jeter defensively . . . He’ll be fine.”
After watching Lombard closely after each error, the scout said he didn’t observe a player suddenly gun-shy in the field.
“You see that all the time with some young guys. They make a few errors and you can almost see it on their faces: ‘Please don’t hit it at me,’ ” the scout said. “Haven’t seen that with him [Lombard] at all. Seems like he wants the next one.”
Said Lombard, “My main focus is, turn the page and want the next ball hit to you and make the next play.”
Yet another box checked.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
