Ugh. What a suck-fest. I’m not even going to waste a lot of time recapping this debacle, because it was a mess all around. You’ll notice a severe lack of good things - and really, pretty much anything - in this recap. There’s a good reason for that.
Jeff Niemann was BAD: I mean, really bad. Don’t believe what Joe Maddon wants to say:
“The velocity was inconsistent, but the breaking ball was decent,” Maddon said. “He wasn’t that bad. He wasn’t awful by any means. We made some mistakes and they capitalized. … Overall it was not like he threw the ball badly. Again, I saw the breaking ball when he was behind in the count, I saw some splits. … We put him in a bad position and we paid for it.”
He couldn’t throw strikes, and when he did, he left them right over the middle of the plate. The White Sox centered his pitches and made him pay. Jim Thome connected for one of the longest home runs I can ever remember seeing. All in all, it was an awful performance.
This is why we (myself included) need to be careful before we annoint someone the “next great starter” after just one appearance. I’m not saying that Niemann is going to be this bad every time out from here on it, but I think this is a great example of everything that can go wrong with Niemann.
Jason Bartlett, meet Chuck Knoblauch: So, can we officially say that Jason Bartlett is unable to throw the ball yet? Truly baffling.
Something good, something good… Hm. There’s gotta be something. Oh! Scott Dohmann was really good in 3 innings of relief. We’ve gotten surprisingly good bullpen work from most of those guys this year, and Dohmann is no exception.
Evan Longoria… was on base 2 more times, and drove in a run. His OBP is .429 right now. Me likey.
Now, the REAL news: Scott Kazmir had a great rehab start for Vero Beach on Saturday night, throwing 3 innings of 1-hit ball. The 1-hit was a misplayed double. He struck out three and walked none. He can’t come back soon enough. Man, I’m counting down the days.
Sorry… that I’m such a downer, but this game just really stunk all-around.
April 18th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
A nightmare at the ballpark. It was even worse than you describe. I sure hope this is the nadir for Bartlett; it can’t get much worse. In the first 3 innings he made 3 terrible throws. Only one was called an error, but one eliminated the chance at an almost certain double play and the other was called a hit because the play at first was close. But it was the bad throw that put the man on base. And to top that off, when the Rays had a chance to break on top with the bases loaded and one out, Bartlett hit into a double play. He did the same in the ninth with 0 outs and 2 men on, although by then it was not really meaningful. He also struck out twice.
As for Niemann, I stand somewhere between you and Maddon. He was constantly in trouble because men got on base who should have been out. There were Bartlett’s 3 mistakes which made the first inning a 5 out affair that Niemann navigated beautifully. He then had a brilliant second inning. But later Longoria made a bad throw that put a runner on and led ultimately to the Thome home run with two on.
As a matter of fact, he made a lot of good pitches, got a lot of grounders and wiggled out of trouble not of his making. He changed speeds very well and had good control and command for the first 3 innings. In the 4th he cracked and could not recover, losing control and command. But he had an excellent split finger and his curve and slider were initially effective also. Who knows but that a clean first 3 innings, and maybe a Rays breakthrough in the second, might not have changed his results.
In fact, after the first 3 innings, I was considering writing a diary titled “I think I was wrong”, the theme being that I had insisted Niemann was not ready for the majors at the time he was sent back, but now was less sure. After the 4th & 5th innings, I will hold off on that concession, but still keep it at the ready.
Longoria’s double, by the way, was a thing to behold. Hit into right field, it looked catchable and it seemed to me that Dye thought so too, but the ball kept traveling and suddenly Dye put on a rush but could not get to it. Very impressive, and later Longoria worked the count beautifully to coax the walk. He really looks confident and under control. I also noted that on his single, Upton swung hard until he got 2 strikes, worked it to 3 balls and then cut back on his swing and just hit a hard liner up the middle. Perhaps he is also working to make more contact.
April 19th, 2008 at 12:02 am
There is nothing good about tonight’s game. There is nothing good about this season so far. Damn, and I was excited…
Our leadoff hitter can’t hit
Our “great trade acquistion” can’t field or hit
Nathan Haynes gets at bats and that isn’t good
Our players still don’t know how to work the bases, which I have been complaining about for two years (go find my rant about stealing third with 2 out and a power bat at the plate).
The bottom line is…talent we have…bats we have, pitchers we have…
so at the end of the day you have to blame someone…either we have bad players or we can’t get them coached properly…you decide
April 19th, 2008 at 12:32 am
I think you are too hasty. Iwamura can hit and likely will hit. As a matter of fact, he is walking more and striking out less than last year. Given that it is still so early in the season, we don’t know yet whether that is the trend, but it is promising. Since he hit .285 last year and got on base nearly 36% of the time, I see no reason to be pessimistic about him leading off.
Bartlett is off to a terrible start, but again, his career suggests it is unlikely to continue. As always, early season slumps are magnified in our minds. Were this happening in July or August, it would be scarcely noticeable.
Haynes is getting at bats because of injuries. While he is not likely to produce much, he hasn’t been awful. His hits were instrumental in two wins and tonight he got another hit and turned nicely on a pitch to hit a hard liner to right that was caught. In no way am I suggesting that his being a semi-regular is good, but it is almost certainly temporary and has not been the cause for the Rays’ recent losses.
I agree about the running game which I do not like, not because it is failing, but because I do not think this team is built to score via its speed. I know we have it, but it should be a minor adjunct to the predominant style of offense which ought to be always aiming for the big inning by wearing down pitchers and hitting for power. That is the fundamental skill of this team and precludes risking outs by steals and the like.
I think your formula at the end oversimplifies the issue. We are 17 games into the season and 3 games under .500. It isn’t good, but it isn’t evidence of much either.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:10 am
I’m not much of a Nay-Sayer and maybe expected to much, but they hyped this kid up to the point that we thought we were getting the best SS in BB. So far he can’t catch, covers half the ground they said he would cover and when he gets to the ball he can’t throw it. We new he would be only an average hitter but we were fooled on that to. It’s still early and I should give it more time but I need to vent. We will keep doing it to we get it right, see ya at the game tonight.
April 19th, 2008 at 8:00 am
He has been awful both at the plate and with his throws. But I think he has shown good range. I have yet to see a ball get by him that anyone would have a chance to reach, either in the hole to his right or up the middle. He seems really quick in the field.
I sure empathize with the need to vent. Last night was painful.
April 19th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Well if the cajun god of baseball could turn up the wic some, this might be a non-issue soon