Two walks, a beaned batter, four extra base hits - and it took a DP to get them out of the inning. Ouch.
> Ryan Doumit was yanked from the game in the seventh inning. The team says he either had a case of the flu or suffered from dehydration in the muggy Milwaukee night. We'll see tomorrow how serious it is.
> The Bucs optioned Romulo Sanchez back to Indy. They still have another move to make. We think that it's going to be a pitcher, maybe Jason Davis or less likely, Craig Hansen, though Nyjer Morgan's status may hinge on Nate McLouth's health.
EDIT - wrong again. TJ Beam got the bus ticket, and Jay Davis is going to the bullpen. The suits said Beam and Sanchez will be back in September. We thought they'd give Davis a start or two at Indy, but with only ten games to go, the Tribe will probably just trot out Mike Thompson a couple of more times.
> John Russell explained to Nick Zaccardi of MLB.com that holding Gorzo for tomorrow was mostly to give Jeff Karstens a blow. Karstens will be pushed back two days to start the series opener against the Cubs.
"His workload this year has been a lot more than last year," Russell said. "We're monitoring him, giving him a couple extra days here and there. It's just to make sure he's strong and he feels good."
Karstens' start on Monday pushes Ian Snell to Tuesday and puts Jason Davis' status in the air. Paul Maholm will still start Sunday.
If you're confused now, just wait until September, when they try to find starts for six or seven pitchers.
> Jordan Bastian of MLB.com talked to Joey Bats about his new gig with the Blue Jays:
Jose Bautista felt a sense of relief when he learned that the Pirates had traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays. An organizational change was precisely what the third baseman had hoped for after losing his job in Pittsburgh earlier this month.A pretty straightforward response to his situation, we think.
Declining to delve into specifics, Bautista said his relationship had soured with Pittsburgh manager John Russell.
"For some reason, it just wasn't a good fit for me," Bautista said. "Me and the manager and maybe the people that kept a direct relationship in the front office with him just couldn't see eye to eye on a couple things. It's just how the ball rolls sometimes."
Bautista said that joining the Jays, who entered Friday seven games back of the top slot in the American League Wild Card standings, is a welcome change of pace.
"I'm glad to be on a winning team," Bautista said. "It's been up and down for the last five years and I've never been on a winning team. So, it's going to be a great atmosphere for me to be in and, hopefully, I can contribute to keep getting more wins and closer to that playoff spot."
Bautista will keep third base warm with Marco Scutaro until Scott Rolen comes off the DL, and is expected to see some work in the OF. He bounced out as a PH in his first Toronto plate appearance tonight.
On the minor league front: Indy rode a strong performance from RHP Daniel McCutchen (6-8, 3.94 ERA) to a 3-2 win tonight. McCutchen went seven innings, giving up four hits and two runs while striking out seven. He pounded the plate, with 62 of his 85 pitches being strikes.
His overall 2008 WHIP is a pretty good 1.17, but he's given up 18 HR's in 107-1/3 innings of work. We know strike throwers are prone to surrendering the long ball, but that's something he has to cut down a bit to be successful in the bigs.
To compare, Zach Duke leads the Pirates in HR's given up, with 19 in 151-1/3 innings (and no, we're not going near Gorzo's stats!)
CF Andrew McCutchen (.280) had two hits, including a double, and scored. The big blow was delivered by veteran RF Jorges Cortes (.167), who hit his first homer, a two run shot.
> Altoona blew a 4-3 ninth inning lead to lose 5-4 in ten innings. CF Jose Tabata (.274) went 3-4 with a double, RBI, and run. Jim Negrych (.325) had two hits and an RBI.
> Lynchburg won 2-1 behind LHP Anthony Watson (7-12, 3.67 ERA), who went 7 innings and gave up 2 hits, an unearned run, one walk and striking out six. 1B Kent Sakamota (.258) had two hits, including a double.
The Hillcats manufactured a run in the eighth for the win. SS Brian Friday (.292) led off with a double, moved to third on a bunt, and scored on a sac fly.
> Hickory took advantage of five Lexington errors to take home a 7-5 win. The Crawdads committed two of their own, allowing 4 unearned runs, to keep it close.
DH Keanon Simon (.241) went 2-4 with his third HR and a walk, scoring once and plating a pair. RF Albert Laboy (.244) hit his 5th homer and had 2 RBI and runs scored. C Aeden McQueary (.208) added a pair of hits.
> State College gave up runs in the ninth and tenth innings to drop a tough 2-1 decision. 3B (.301) Jeremy Farrell had three of the Spikes six hits.
RHP Yoffri Martinez (2-4, 3.62 ERA) took the loss for the second consecutive night, giving up two singles and a sac fly in the tenth. The tying run in the ninth scored on a two out error by LF Matt Payne. It's the Spikes second straight loss thanks to a last inning outfield misadventure.
> Bradenton lost, 7-3. SS Andury Acevedo (.227) had two hits, an RBI and run. 1B Alex Vargas (.272) had two hits and a walk.
Surely it's time to cut bait with Zach Duke, the more so because of the arms we got in the Nady trade. Surely there's at least one pitcher from among the likes of Ohlendorf, McCutchen, Lincoln, Moskos, Barthmeier, etc., who can do at least as "well" as Duke has done this season. Yes, it's good that he's taken his turn every time through the rotation this season, but he's been SO bad now for SO long that I think we need to step out in faith that a better solution is out there.
ReplyDeleteWill, what they're gonna do in September is still anyone's guess - maybe a six man rotation, maybe just a spot/skipped start or two.
ReplyDeleteThey'll have the Zachster, Maholm, Gorzo, Snell, Karstens, and Ohlendorf for sure in September, and Barthmaier's on the 40-man, so he's an outside possibility, too.
I think they'll watch Maholm's innings closely, and have a four man corp of Snell, Gorzo, Karstens and Ohlendorf with a mix and match after that. What they'll do with the extra arm or two is the $64,000 question.