Gameday Thread: Rays at O's, 08/09

by SC on Aug 9, 2005 2:56 PM EDT in News Comment 19 comments

                           
     Scott Kazmir, LH                Erik Bedard, LH
     (6-7, 4.22)                     (5-4, 2.96)

Played golf today. Shot a something or other. Front nine was good, back nine was a different story, which is how the end result is "something or other." Long story short, I ended up stranded far from home and walking miles of lakeside hills in non-walking shoes, carrying golf clubs. I think I might take a thirty-year nap.

Anyway...

Game time is 7:05 on CSN.

Since returning from the DL, Bedard's ERA has gone from 2.08 to 2.96 over four starts. The first two were solid, but the last two have seen him struggle some with his control, and last time out he was positively hammered by the Angels, but I guess that'll happen.

The thing about it is, Bedard had been positively on fire from April 23, after the Tigers beat him up on April 18. So his slip back to being a human being is only natural. Really, Bedard has only had the two bad starts, and other than that has been sensational.

For a 21-year old, Kazmir is having quite a season. His control isn't what it could be, but that will come with time as he learns to pitch, which he is still doing. He handled the O's when Tampa Bay swept at home.

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Surhoff and Ponson to DL; Option Ray

So they brought up DuBose and Rakers, as well as a 1B named Alejandro Freire from AAA Ottawa. DuBose and Rakers are going to be a change of pace, and give some new pitchers a shot to make something happen for us. After a stellar start, Ray was getting battered around a bit and I think some time at AA will help him out... and we know he'll be back in September along with Penn.

Freire, however, is a move I don't understand. He's 31, and basically a career minor leaguer (signed as a minor league free agent in the offseason). His numbers are comparable (even if a little better) than Walter Young's, and yet young (who is 25 years old) stayed down. I really would have thought that with all these roster moves we would have taken the opportunity to try one of our young 1B prospects out in the big leagues, but we seemed to have passed up that opportunity. What is even weirder is that Freire is in the lineup as the DH tonight... he isn't even playing first base. Perhaps there is some higher logic to this, but as of now I've been unable to decifer it.

by therobotian on Aug 9, 2005 6:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No theirs no logic

by Larry Bigbie3 on Aug 9, 2005 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

eh

I really would have thought that with all these roster moves we would have taken the opportunity to try one of our young 1B prospects out in the big leagues

The problem is we don't really have any first base prospects. Young is a marginal prospect and I think qualifies as a DH and little else at this point; Freire is just the easiest to plug in for the time being.

31 is still young enough to have a couple good years and if a guy is capable of that, why not? Not that I'm saying he will or that it's likely or anything, but giving a guy his first crack at the bigs in August when the team is done isn't that big of a deal. I wish Young had gotten the shot, too; maybe they don't trust him defensively (or trust Gibbons enough, or want Gomez playing first base).

AARON RAKERS FREED

Avoid the rhubarb, hurl it whitewash and have 'em wearing the old golden sombrero! Crackerjack, boys, crackerjack!

by SC on Aug 9, 2005 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

wow....

Freire almmost hit a dinger in his 1st ML at-bat

by zknower on Aug 9, 2005 7:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

it's not

his first major league at bat, but it's his first ml at bat this year...

by therobotian on Aug 9, 2005 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

First ML AB

Are you sure it's not his first AB in a major league game? I can't find his name on baseball-reference.com, and I'm pretty sure they've got stats on just about everyone (maybe not, but I don't have access to my Total Baseball right now).

by DurhamO on Aug 9, 2005 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

According to announcers...

...it's his ML debut.

by zknower on Aug 9, 2005 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks...

That's what I thought.

by DurhamO on Aug 9, 2005 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i was under the impression

that he had made it up in other organizations.

by therobotian on Aug 9, 2005 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

WHOA! Crowley ejected

terrible umpiring crew

by zknower on Aug 9, 2005 8:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Bedard has really setlled down....

nice to see him not fazed by 1st inning

by zknower on Aug 9, 2005 8:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What happened with Crowley??

I just got in, looked on Gameday, and here he got ejected. WTF?
Byrnes shot to left....hasta la vista pelota!

"What's my secret for winning? That's easy. Pitching, defense, and three run homers" Earl Weaver

by elktonfan on Aug 9, 2005 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Two bad calls in the game....

Sammy called out looking on a pitch that nearly hit him;
Roberts ruled to have made a catch (which replays showed he did), then overruled by an ump who had no view of the play.

Between innings, Perlozzo and Crowley were jawing, particularly about the Sammy pitch. Apparently the home ump was "looking for a fight" according to Joe Angel, and he walked halfway over to the dugout to engage with them, then immediately tossed Crowley.

by zknower on Aug 9, 2005 9:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Only two?

The umpiring has been pretty bad tonight. I think the Orioles are getting more screwed though there have been some bad strike zone calls against the Rays too. Also, Tejada was pretty clearly safe at first on that double play.

DRays Bays

by Jim Wisinski on Aug 9, 2005 9:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

His ERA is back under 3.0

It spiked up above with the early start. (this is not a jinx)

by drj on Aug 9, 2005 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is now...

...a QUALITY START!

woo-hoo!

by zknower on Aug 9, 2005 9:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well I'll be

Aaron Rakers is up and we're winning? How do I like those apples?

Avoid the rhubarb, hurl it whitewash and have 'em wearing the old golden sombrero! Crackerjack, boys, crackerjack!

by SC on Aug 9, 2005 10:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This game was actually fun to watch...

There was some timely hitting, quality pitching, and a little rhubarb to enjoy.
The bullpen was dominating, the boys played good defense, and the Byrnes-mobile just kept rollin' along..10 straight games as an O and he's hit in all ten.
So we played small ball for the most part and hit a ton of singles..but we still won!
Now, let's get em again tonite and win a series for a change.
I still hold out hope for hitting .500 this year.

"What's my secret for winning? That's easy. Pitching, defense, and three run homers" Earl Weaver

by elktonfan on Aug 10, 2005 8:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs