Smells Like Eggs
I didn't catch a stinkin' pitch of tonight's game because MLB.tv licks a salty nut. When I went to log in, it froze, and when I went to reload, it wouldn't let me log in, because I had 'logged in too many times'. Great. I hope Bud Selig chokes on one of his beloved Giles' Custard Stand hotdogs. Or perhaps he contracts HepB from some tainted relish.
As far as I can glean, it was just one of those games. It's been a while since we've laid an egg. We were due. Mike O'Connor finally had a disaster start, allowing more than three earned runs for the first time in his career. That's gonna happen. He does, though, win his first Lame Duck! Mike Stanton 'relieved' again, and pissed jet fuel all over the little tiny flame, turning a small deficit into an insurmountable pit of flames that'd even scare away Evil Knievel -- See, I'm hip!
The offense, as has been their wont, did little. Sure, they knocked out some hits, but they lacked the big, sustained efforts needed to score runs when you're not hitting homers.
Notes on Notes:
--John Patterson had been penciled in for Saturday versus the Yankees, but they decided that he needs one more rehab start. He'll start, instead, for Potomac, putting him on track for, most likely, the Orioles series. Patterson, it seems, needs to work on his curve. With the flexor strain he was suffering, the curve (and the slider) are going to be the pitches that are going to be the biggest challenge for him.
--Frank Robinson says that Marlon Byrd needs to completely overhaul his swing, but that that's not really possible during the season. Perhaps he just sucks? 2003 is starting to look like a fluke.
--Daryle Ward has the flu, and was unavailable yesterday. Not that we needed him.
--Pedro Astacio's New Orleans rehab assignment has been put on hold. He's still having problems with his forearm strain. See you in three months, Pedro.
--The Nats signed their first ten draft picks. Well, not the first ten picks, but, umm... well, don't get excited. Memo to Sean Black: SIGN DAMMIT!!!111!!!1!11 Seton Hall blows!!1!11!!1
As far as I can glean, it was just one of those games. It's been a while since we've laid an egg. We were due. Mike O'Connor finally had a disaster start, allowing more than three earned runs for the first time in his career. That's gonna happen. He does, though, win his first Lame Duck! Mike Stanton 'relieved' again, and pissed jet fuel all over the little tiny flame, turning a small deficit into an insurmountable pit of flames that'd even scare away Evil Knievel -- See, I'm hip!
The offense, as has been their wont, did little. Sure, they knocked out some hits, but they lacked the big, sustained efforts needed to score runs when you're not hitting homers.
--John Patterson had been penciled in for Saturday versus the Yankees, but they decided that he needs one more rehab start. He'll start, instead, for Potomac, putting him on track for, most likely, the Orioles series. Patterson, it seems, needs to work on his curve. With the flexor strain he was suffering, the curve (and the slider) are going to be the pitches that are going to be the biggest challenge for him.
--Frank Robinson says that Marlon Byrd needs to completely overhaul his swing, but that that's not really possible during the season. Perhaps he just sucks? 2003 is starting to look like a fluke.
--Daryle Ward has the flu, and was unavailable yesterday. Not that we needed him.
--Pedro Astacio's New Orleans rehab assignment has been put on hold. He's still having problems with his forearm strain. See you in three months, Pedro.
--The Nats signed their first ten draft picks. Well, not the first ten picks, but, umm... well, don't get excited. Memo to Sean Black: SIGN DAMMIT!!!111!!!1!11 Seton Hall blows!!1!11!!1
posted by Chris Needham at
10:58 PM
15 Comments:
I think it's time for Mike Stanton to be tossed on the scrap heap. Every once in awhile he keeps us in a game, but these occasions are getting increasingly rare.
Don't you think we could replace him, with better results, with your average lefty waiver-wire dweller?
By
Brandon, at 6/14/2006 9:33 AM
It's "sycophant".
Glass houses no more.
By
Anonymous, at 6/14/2006 9:55 AM
If I had a choice I'd pick starting over the Orioles versus starting against the Yankees too.
By
Harper, at 6/14/2006 9:57 AM
I was at the game with my brother. I thought O'Connor wasn't doing too badly, but I turned to my brother and said "We should yank O'Connor after he gets to 78 pitches."
Lo and behold, things started to collapse at around that time. The control was already slipping. Frank let him twist in the wind, and the game ran away.
OK, no problem. Everybody has a garbage start every now and again. Besides, we have a pretty good young leftie in the bullpen. Surely Billy Bray would trot out, show us a few innings' worth of fine work, and give us a chance.
But no. Mike Stanton saunters out there to twist the knife in our hearts. He deserved the Lame Duck, not O'Connor, I think.
Me & my bro would have left early, but we finally did get the chance to see Bray, who didn't do too badly...but it was too late.
Memo to Frank: Play Bray.
By
Anonymous, at 6/14/2006 10:58 AM
He played Bray! That it was in a blowout loss.... well... it's a start, at least!
By
Chris Needham, at 6/14/2006 11:06 AM
He did play Bray, but too little and too late. For the time I saw him last night, Bray was once again in decent form. I'm with brandon kriner's comment--time to put Stanton on the scrap heap
By
Anonymous, at 6/14/2006 11:10 AM
Oh, I agree about Bray...
Stanton, I'm not sure. He's still moderately useful in the right role. He's passable against lefties (and lefties only)
But what happens is that he'll have an inning like that one against Philly two weeks ago where he just smokes through three lefties and Frank thinks that he's turned the corner, and that it's Mike Stanton from 1995.
Bowden needs to limit Frank's options. The only way he'll put Bray in the right role is if he's the only choice. To that end, Trade Stanton. Some team'll pay for him (whether in cash, or 32-year old A-Ballers).
By
Chris Needham, at 6/14/2006 11:14 AM
Mike Stanton must have
Pictures of Frank blowing goats
Get him off our team!
Sorry, hadn't seen a haiku in a while.
By
Senor Beavis, at 6/14/2006 12:08 PM
Ah, yes, the haiku! It's been a while!
Boos echo through stands
Stanton climbs off mound; he failed
Ghosts of J. Eischen
By
Chris Needham, at 6/14/2006 12:12 PM
Yes, Frank did put Bray in -- after the game was out of reach, and for only one inning.
That way he could throw Majewski out there as well. After all, Gary so needs the work.
Frank had Stanton in the lineup so that he would have to be pinch-hit for the next inning, thus he had to go the whole inning.
By
Anonymous, at 6/14/2006 12:22 PM
But managing in the NL is HARD! There's just so much to keep track of during games. When's Frank supposed to mentally work on his swing if he can't do it mid-game?
By
Chris Needham, at 6/14/2006 12:24 PM
Maybe they yanked Astacio out of the rehab assignment to give more MLB time to Bray/Hill? They are certainly more promising.
Plausible deniability and all that rot.
By
Bote Man, at 6/14/2006 12:36 PM
Oh, and that headline should read Smells like a Hefty bag of scrambled eggs left out in the Sun for two weeks.
By
Bote Man, at 6/14/2006 12:38 PM
Well, he wouldn't have consented to it if he wasn't really injured. He's nearing his limit on the number of days that he can spend in the minor on a rehab assignment, too.
By
Chris Needham, at 6/14/2006 12:39 PM
I've seen lots of calls for Bray in the comments of this and other blogs. Maybe people haven't been paying attention, but Bray has appeared in more games than not recently.
I think Frank is wise to keep him from getting worn out and to keep him from getting overexposed on the mound to the point where he's getting rocked and loses confidence. Confidence is the key to a young pitcher's success sometimes.
By
Brandon, at 6/14/2006 3:18 PM
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