RAYS 5, White Sox 0: Blink and you missed it
By Scott Caruso | April 19th, 2008 | Posted in Game Recap
Tremendous. There’s no other word to describe Andy Sonnanstine’s performance tonight. His back was against the wall and he needed to deliver a great performance to get the fans off of his back, and that’s exactly what he came out with. It’s probably the best I’ve seen a Rays pitcher look in the past 2 seasons, and it gave the Rays a much-needed win against the White Sox.
Sonny-side Up: I’m not overstating it when I say that Andy had no-hit stuff tonight. He scattered a trio of hits - one of them a bunt and one of them a bloop - with but one single being the only hard-hit ball of the night. He used his fastball as a perfect compliment to his breaking stuff, and his breaking stuff was FILTHY. He painted the corners like an artist, and he kept the White Sox hitters off-balance all night.
Pretty much everything bad that he did against the Yankees last time out was the complete opposite this time around. He was absolutely brilliant and proved exactly why we all thought he was destined to be a quality starting pitcher for this team.
Not only that, but he worked quickly. It kept the defense on its toes and it stopped the White Sox hitters from getting into a rhythm. The game time of 2 hours and 2 minutes was, in fact, a Tropicana Field record. A truly virtuoso performance by Sonny that got me off of the couch and applauding after it was over.
Now, he needs to do it again. I’m not talking about a 3-hit shutout - that’s unrealistic to expect every time out. But he needs to use the same kind of approach he used tonight every time out and stick to it. Staying with the fastball will be key; even when his other stuff isn’t great, if he’s spotting his fastball effectively, he’ll still be able to keep the opposition on its heels.
Good Approach Leads to Good Results: The Rays kept it simple tonight. They swung at strikes and took the balls. They tried to hit Buerhle’s off-speed stuff back through the box or to the opposite field. They knew Buerhle wouldn’t walk too many, so they weren’t sitting around waiting for the walk - they simply made him pitch and swung and what he would give them. A very nice job all-around by the offense.
Jonny B. Goode: Another nice night for Jonny Gomes. He hustled out a triple, scored a pair of runs, and turned a bonehead play into a opening that the Rays used to score 3 runs. Yeah, it was really dumb of his to get picked off an inning after Carl Crawford was, but he capitalized on the White Sox inability to correctly execute a rundown, and the rest of the lineup made them pay.
B.J. Upton… is locked in right now. He’s hitting everything hard and looks to have kicked that early-season slump that saw him hit a ton of ground balls back to the mound.
B.J. Upton… needs an anchor strapped to his leg. He’s GOT to stop making these bonehead baserunning plays. He got thrown out being overzealous around third base… AGAIN. I could live with it the first time it happened a week ago - but not again. How in the world does he let that happen to him AGAIN?
Hins-key Single: Eric Hinske looked lost at the plate in his other at-bats, but the first time up - when he delivered the RBI single to score Gomes - he did a great job of just trying to make contact and send the ball the other way. A great piece of hitting that got the Rays started.
Evan Longoria, Double Play Machine: No, I’m not all of a sudden down on him, but Mark Buehrle sure made Evan look like a rookie tonight. He got him to hit a trio of ground balls to the third baseman tonight, slinging that cut-fastball in on his hands and getting him to roll over. The veteran simply outclassed the rookie.
J-Bart… will be getting tomorrow off, as they said a bunch of times during the broadcast. Apparently they are attributing his throwing problems to a bit of a “dead arm” that he’s going through. Okay, I’ll buy that. But if it keeps happening, that excuse won’t fly for long. He made it through tonight rather uneventfully.
Aki… turns a double-play as well as any second baseman I’ve ever seen. If he played in New York or Boston, he’d be a Gold Glove candidate for sure.
Toby Hall… is still bad at baseball. I’m glad he’s not on our team anymore. I know he was a gamer and all, but he’s simply not very good.
Riggans hurt too? This is one I hadn’t heard, but apparently Shawn Riggans might be dealing with a tight hamstring, too. He still played, but Joe Magrane alluded to this during the game.
Dioner Navarro… is lighting it up at Vero Beach and, according to the guys on the broadcast, might be back for the Orlando series. If I’m not mistaken, he’s eligible to come off of the DL on Monday.
I still… can’t figure out what the Rays are going to do with Dan Johnson. With Hinske and Gomes both hitting, they simply don’t need him. I wonder if the waiver claim was made early in the process, back before FriedCo. knew that Hinske and Gomer were going to be playing so well? I wouldn’t be surprised to see his tenure with the Rays be very short-lived.
Tags: White Sox
April 20th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Sonny was pretty freaking good last night huh? We honestly have 6, possibly 7 major league SP when they all get healthy- How can we even think about putting Sonny in the bullpen after a night like that? I still think it will be the right decision, but sure makes you think two maybe three times about it… He was absolutely amazing. BJ Upton needs one of those ankle bracelets that go off when he is too far from the base he should be at… The baserunning gaffes have got to go…
All in all, the Rays HAD to have a night like that, and boy was it refreshing…
Time to go win the series today!!!!! Go RAYS! =)
April 20th, 2008 at 10:43 am
One game proves nothing, but I think it does illustrate the kind of pitcher Sonnanstine is and why I still think it makes more sense to keep him in a rotation, whether here or in Durham, until there is simply no room for him there. What I see in Sonnanstine are the following traits:
1. He is durable.
2. He is efficient.
3. He has a large repertoire of pitches, but no one big “out” pitch.
4. He can adapt between and within games.
5. He is prone to the home run ball and when not precise is very hittable.
For all those reasons, it seems to me he is more suited to start than relieve. There is no absolute rule that a reliever should not be efficient or have lots of pitches, but ordinarily we consider those to be more important traits for starters. And his weaknesses, gopheritis and hittability, probably would make him more erratic in the bullpen while they are less fatal for a starter, especially one who does not put men on via walks.
We also tend to think of relievers as pitchers who have a special pitch and who basically comes in throwing his best stuff to get the outs, while starters are expected to do more thinking as the game progresses, figuring out what works best that day. Again that seems to be Andy’s special talent. Before yesterday’s game, there were stories about Sonnanstine reviewing tapes, working out his game plan and making adjustments. That is the style of starters more than relievers, although I am sure relievers come into a game with a plan of attack depending on the batter and situation.
April 20th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I’m with you, bob… I’ve never thought that Sonny would be better served to be in the bullpen than the rotation. Though I wonder where his place in this rotation is 4 or 5 years down the line, I think he is better served to be starting games, just like you do. He gives up way too many home runs to be considered a solid relief pitcher, IMO.