Comments on: White Sox 9, RAYS 2: White Socked

By: Hazleton Jason

Hazleton Jason — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:54:43 +0000

Well if the cajun god of baseball could turn up the wic some, this might be a non-issue soon

By: bobr

bobr — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:00:42 +0000

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.

By: CharlieRay

CharlieRay — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:10:18 +0000

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.

By: bobr

bobr — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:32:31 +0000

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.

By: WT

WT — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:02:47 +0000

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

By: bobr

bobr — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:54:21 +0000

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.