As D-backs adjust to ABS, Moreno finds new edge behind plate

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Diamondbacks are continuing to refine their strategy when it comes to the new ABS challenge system and as Gabriel Moreno has discovered, it changes the way a catcher sees the game.

"I always looked at the hitter before, but now I look to see how tall he is," Moreno said. "I want to know now if I call a fastball up how high can I put my glove up."

There is already a lot on a catcher's plate. He has to call the game, so he studies opposing hitters' tendencies. He has to slow down the running game, frame pitches and now he also has to pay attention to where breaking balls cross the plate so he knows whether to challenge a call.

"Usually it's just framing the ball, but now I have to see where the ball crosses the zone so I can be sure if I challenge," Moreno said.

And being sure is manager Torey Lovullo's top criteria when it comes to challenging calls.

"That you’ve got to be very careful with some of your challenges," Lovullo said of what he's learned so far. "We’re going to try to define a certain distance that we will allow you to challenge. If it’s two balls off [the plate] as a hitter, challenge it early. If it’s close and you’re in that range, you’ve got to be really careful. It’s accurate. It’s very, very accurate. It’s something that you’ve got to continue to figure out, because I don’t want to be blowing through challenges and be left unable to use one late and just not know how to function with it."

Not that Moreno needs even more responsibility, but Lovullo has found that catchers are the ones that he trusts the most to challenge. For now, he is not allowing pitchers to challenge calls and hitters must not only be sure, but make sure it's an important situation.

"The catchers have been very strong," Lovullo said. "The hitters, we’ve got to be super smart about when we do it. Hitters don’t know. Hitters want to know, but they don’t know. The ball is moving at a very high velocity, sometimes you can get tricked by it. "

A hitter using a challenge in the second inning with two outs and no one on base will likely not go over well, because for Lovullo, it's more about winning innings than an at-bat.

So if it's a big situation with runners in scoring position and a chance to break a game open, than hitters have more leeway. One of the dangers is that a pitcher or hitter reacts emotionally and requests a challenge without thinking it through.

"So we’re really trying to slow that process down," Lovullo said. "We’ve got to balance emotions and understand the emotion of the moment and not let it get away from us and get too deep into the self. We want to make sure it’s a team aspect."

Moreno already had respect for the job that umpires do behind the plate, but as he is tasked with his new responsibilities, he feels even stronger about the job that they do.

"Those calls right on the line are hard for umpires," Moreno said. "And they're hard for me, too, because it's hard to know for sure. If it's not on the corner, it's easy to tell and I think at first that's what we're going to focus on with challenges. Last game [home plate umpire] Jim [Reynolds] he called me out on a backdoor cutter and I thought maybe it was a ball, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't challenge. When I went out to catch, he said it probably was a ball and I said, 'I thought so, too, but it was close.' And then you realize how tough a job it is for them."