Slowey loses no-hitter...to Gardy. Fair or Foul?
All right gents...where do we land on this? As a baseball fan, it was disappointing to see Slowey get pulled. But as a Twins fan, I have to confess that I think it was the right call. We need Slow-ride to pitch well down the stretch, and he had just missed a start with elbow tendonitis. The crowd booed lustily when Rauch gave up the double to Coco Crisp...but I don't think most folks realized that Slowey had thrown 106 pitches already and was coming off a sore elbow.
I got to see both the Saturday and Sunday games...so nice. A few other thoughts:
1) The A's announcers gushed about the park. Granted, they are looking for a new one out here, so they probably had ulterior motives, but they couldn't get over how many people were out on the streets downtown, and what a great atmosphere it created. I haven't heard much from the "anti-publicly funded stadium" contingent lately...now that all the bars and restaurants downtown are packed a guaranteed 81 nights per year.
2) Cuddy is worthless. I know we've belabored this point on this blog, and he's done an admirable job filling in at 1st base (and 3rd), but his offense is brutal. With men on base I watched him strike out horribly, hit 2 infield dribblers, pop out and "almost" hit a double down the line. I really hope he wakes up again in Sept.
3) This lineup just seems to have more confidence and bounce in its step when O-dog is in there. That said, he made two horrendous baserunning errors yesterday. Hard to figure...
4) Casilla has been playing SS. I had no idea...he actually looks pretty good, despite a throwing error yesterday. He actually saved a run on Saturday with a great diving catch.
5) Thank goodness for Jim Thome. He hasn't been mid-90s era Thome, but he hit another clutch bomb for us yesterday. For some reason, I have confidence when he's at the plate.
6) Our bullpen will be nice and rested, should we need them this week vs. Chicago. Speaking of which, how about the Tigers taking 2-of-3 and helping us build a nice little 3-game cushion?!?
5 Comments:
Other than the "just let the guy go for it" arguement everthing points to Gardy making the smart decision. It was 1-0 when he told Slowey he was done. Having just missed a start and being at 106 pitches made it a no brainer.
Would love to put the Sox away this week. One game is one WGN not sure which one though.
August 16, 2010 at 2:30 PM
1. Yea, Detroit. Thanks.
2. Casilla should be starting for this team somewhere next year. Pick one of Hudson or Hardy to keep, we probably can't afford both, and slot Alexi in the other spot.
3. Absolutely the right decision re: Slowey yesterday. I wouldn't have been livid had Gardy left him in (unless it complicated the injury), but it was the smart thing to pull him. A. the elbow issue and the fact he just missed his last start. B. the history of a sort of fragile arm generally. C. the fact he almost certainly would have had to have exceeded his career high in pitches thrown to finish the game. D. he apparently was wild enough and looked labored enough toward the end that the chances of finishing the no-no were pretty slim, even after 7 innings.
4. The team's now at 2nd in the AL in OPS and third in runs scored to go with the 5th lowest team ERA in the league. Pretty solid, except the Yankees are ahead of us in both, and the Rays and Rangers are neck and neck with us in both, so it doesn't really mean much.
All that matters, I guess, is getting/staying ahead of both Texas and Chicago in the win column.
August 16, 2010 at 2:37 PM
MCA - yes, I forgot to mention that Slowey had walked and beaned guys in the top of the 7th, so there was a decent chance the A's would have rocked him in the 8th. With the game at 1-0, getting the win was more important, and he did look gassed.
August 16, 2010 at 3:00 PM
What up from Germany, yo. Haven't seen the games but DTK and I did manage to follow Slowey's performance via GameCast. ESPN.com started following him at the end of 6 on their front page (albeit on the panel on the side, like most games.) We wanted him to go for it and be left in and didn't really get what happened (we thought Slowey gave up a run in the 7th before Rauch went in.) Upon further review from across an ocean: right move. I cite MCA post item #3A "the elbow issue and the fact he just missed his last start." Says it all. During that Rays start Slowey looked great thru 7, he pitched quickly and looked confident. In the 8th it was a leadoff home run and then all sorts of shenanigans that he ended loading the bases and the Rays came back big (but not big enough.) Same situation here. He obviously was feeling something after that last start, does he need to grow a pair and man up? Yeah, sometimes as he's kind of a baby, but in that game Gardy can do what he wants. Would you want to fuck up this rotation right now? No longer 'Shaky at best' but not quite 'great guns'.
As for other items -
Cuddy is worthless but Morneau ain't coming back and we need to say a pray for Cuddy's dimples to start swinging a bat.
Casillas theory: he went from future 2nd baseman to goofing around with "best friend" Carlos Gomez and his playing time drop to zero. He then watched them jettsion Gomez and bring in O-Dawg, I think he's perked up.
Jim Thome - I love your weirdly large head and your home run hitting meat paws.
Bring on the Sox. How crushing was their last loss? Yikes.
August 17, 2010 at 11:10 AM
I am increasingly frustrated by gardy's overmanaging of our pitching staff, but on this one, I think he made the right call. I like that he came out and just put it out there -- he threw 106 pitches and in order to finish he'd be at a MINIMUM of 120, if they gitup and just basically swung at the first pitch. There was no way he was going to finish.
Plus, seeing as every other week it seems like some fuckjob steps off the bus from Pawtuckkett and throws a no hitter, it's just not what it used to be. If it was a perfect game, maybe i'd see destroying a man's career, but for now, let's try to keep him in the rotation.
August 17, 2010 at 11:37 AM
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