Batista (0-0, 1 SV) vs Loewen (0-0)
=== Adam Loewen vs M's Batters ===
The Orioles like LHP Adam Loewen so much that they collected two of him (+Tony Butler). At 23, Butler hopes to be:
A) 6'5"
B) 230#
C) In the majors
H) Possessor of a MySpace page that looks roughly like a 12-year-old homeschooler's (that's a good thing)
E) (Still) owner of a plus lefty fastball
F) (Still) owner of a crackling hook
G) (Before his 24th birthday) to be able to throw a strike at least once in a while
H) None of the above
Loewen is in the AL, so Dr. D is well aware of his bonus-baby status. (Do they still call them that?) He's talented, of course. But when you walk 26 hitters against 22 K's, they'd better be hitting 3 homers per 63 innings on you. Wait, they are…
You see the Morrow-age of this situation. The difference is, D-O-V predicts that given a rotation slot, Morrow would cease fire on the Eddie Gaedel-ish walk rates. Loewen hasn't, at all.
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Is he on the verge of a bustout? Perhaps not just yet, per RotoTimes:
(MAR 28) Adam Loewen had a great performance on Monday for the Orioles as he allowed only one run and two hits in five innings despite entering the game with a 12.27 ERA this spring. The Orioles still are planning on Loewen being a part of their starting rotation, but after struggling so mightily this spring, this outing may be the one that actually earns him that spot.
So Loewen, despite being a #4 overall and the O's version of Brandon Morrow or Jeff Clement, and despite having been in the majors for parts of the last two years, almost didn't make the club again.
Loewen's wildness does not help us in THIS game IF he comes out in rhythm. So that's the D-O-V crunch: check the strike counter in the first inning, and Loewen's balance and drive, and whether he's throwing strikes. If he is, he's a plus starter today.
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Loewen faced the M's once, and left with a pretty good black eye bloody nose:
| OPPOSING HITTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Jose Vidro | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | 1.000 | 1.667 |
| Jose Lopez | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | .667 | 1.333 |
| Miguel Cairo | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .667 | .500 | 1.167 |
| Yuniesky Betancourt | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Kenji Johjima | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Raul Ibanez | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Adrian Beltre | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .500 | .000 | .500 |
| Richie Sexson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 26 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .346 | .414 | .385 | .798 |
In roto terms? Dr. D would have resisted temptation. 17th round in an AL only draft, just for the sleeper potential.
/truncated
April 5th, 2008 at 4:13 pm Quote
Ichiro takes the first 4 pitches … gets to 3-1, and then swings at a pitch borderline high.
This is a tendency of his for a while, that he really would prefer a base hit to a walk. And book is to take him up the ladder on 3-1.
When the P’s know that you are trying to avoid a walk, you’re not going to get a pitch on 3-1.
April 5th, 2008 at 4:15 pm Quote
Still, 6 pitches to Ichiro … 5 to Lopez … 6 to Raul…
The James Differential (17:17 eye ratio for the hitters, vs 16:28 for the pitchers) is clearly visible in this first week. And it is a GREAT indicator of a tough offense for ‘08.
April 5th, 2008 at 4:22 pm Quote
He swung 3-0 later in the game last night and did the exact same thing and popped it up.
I guess it’s easy to get Ichiro out if you miss the first 3 pitches. New strategy?
April 5th, 2008 at 4:38 pm Quote
Annoying… but I can’t really second-guess Ichiro on anything. Who knows what he sees from the batter’s box?
April 5th, 2008 at 5:10 pm Quote
Agreed Fett. He’s the grandmaster here.
Gotta wonder though, if his emotional zeal for hits has him expanding the zone to the point to where it costs him, though.
April 5th, 2008 at 5:12 pm Quote
.
Now here’s an interesting question.
Morse hit one deep into the SS hole, Fahey tried to go to 2B, way late. Ump signals safe. That’s a hit for Morse, right?
Then Beltre overslides the bag and is called out. Morse is credited with an out, rather than a hit.
Hey, if you run around 1B on a single and get tagged out trying to get back, that’s a hit, right? How could Morse’s play not be a hit and then Beltre caught off 2B?
April 5th, 2008 at 5:25 pm Quote
My son pointed out, M’s also up 2-1 early last night on a 2-run homer. Didn’t go so well from there :shudder:
Batista working his tail off trying not to give RH a fastball… brings the slider up for a danger strike on 3-2… nice 2-hopper to Yuni but boom, the errors poke Batista in the eye.
Batista the pro comes back intelligently, getting Adam Jones on two sliders. Go baby … 1-and-2 to the banjo hitter Fahey… struck! him! out!
Pro job by Miggy.
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Already adding a lot of interest to the game, though, guessing what Mac will do in the 6th and 7th :- )
April 5th, 2008 at 5:26 pm Quote
Good point.. bad call by the ump though.. Beltre overslid, but wasnt tagged, until he got his foot back on the bag.. unless just making bodily contact with the defender counts as being tagged, that was a bad call..
But we got a break on Roberts stealing 3rd and getting called out incorrectly..
Anyway, M’s offense looks lifeless so far.. and Yuni just booted a ball, followed by Raul airmailing a throw to the screen..
Geez, not a pretty brand of baseball so far this season
April 5th, 2008 at 5:29 pm Quote
.
They could change the scoring later… Yup, technically the guy didn’t tag Beltre with his foot off the bag. GREAT pernt: cancels the Roberts steal.
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Betancourt is still winding the back shoulder and blistering the pitches through the holes. Not saying he’s going to BABIP .500 but I like the muscle load!
April 5th, 2008 at 5:37 pm Quote
Is there a delete post button on this site.. i would like to remove my “Lopez shouldn’t be hitting 2nd” rant from a few days ago
April 5th, 2008 at 5:39 pm Quote
Wow… Richie just looks awful up there. That’s 3 Ks on the day already. Could he strike out 5 times?
Lopez and Yuni are looking faaantastic, though. Great to see.
April 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm Quote
JLo’s seriously attacking pitches this year, in the way I remember seeing during his tour with the Rainiers. Keep the coaches away from the lad this season and we might could see a ‘breakout’ season from our man at the keystone.
And yeah, Richie’s not inspiring much confidence these days. I really hope that whatever the plan, it gets executed quickly regarding 1B.
Yuck, Batista melting down here
April 5th, 2008 at 5:53 pm Quote
Batista gets up around 80 pitches and…. walks 3 straight guys. Obviously way gassed. Then the game-losing (?) hit on a screamer to CF.
I’d like to know an SP’s ERA when going 2 days after appearing in live relief. The insistence on bringing Batista right back to start, costs dearly.
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Corcoran (???) warming in the pen. Not feeling too good about your 8-9-10 pitchers eh Mac? Got to go get the Rainier ahead of them?
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D-O-V not pleased >:- { with the squandering of a lot of excellent player efforts in the first week. Bedard, Felix, Silva, Lopez, Betancourt, Beltre, Vidro, etc etc …. and you’re looking at getting 2-3 out of it. Against bad teams.
April 5th, 2008 at 5:57 pm Quote
Yea, i felt the move to Batista closing the other night, was a rash move.. poorly thought out.. kinda desperate..
It’s hard to expect Miguel to come back out a few days later and throw 100 pitches..
April 5th, 2008 at 5:58 pm Quote
#10 LOL, I’ll nuke it… wish we had that functionality… where’s it at?
Truth be told, I doubt the #2 slot is the key here. I think not having the big kid scowling at you from over your shoulder is what is the key here. That and natural pitch recognition.
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Down 5-4. Feel pretty lucky the damage is contained that much?
If Batista comes out for the 6th, Mac’s D-O-V “warn meter” goes to 60%.
April 5th, 2008 at 6:02 pm Quote
In regards to that 2 hole situation.. i did it with the thought process that McLaren viewed Jose much the way Hargrove did.. i then read his comment on opening day about how wonderful a person he thinks Jose is, and how supportive he is of Jose, and realized McLaren wasnt gonna be calling him out like Hargrove did..
Anyway, we better not see Corcoran in the 6th inning.. it should be Green or RRS.. time to put up a couple innings of zeroes and get some momentum back here..
Terrible AB by Vidro right there, weak fly out, with 1st and 2nd, nobody out
April 5th, 2008 at 6:38 pm Quote
Wow, Mac really is going with Corcoran here. That’s… interesting.
The game is NOT out of reach, why not bring in someone better for such a high leverage situation?
April 5th, 2008 at 7:41 pm Quote
Bedard down.
Inflammation in the hip.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:09 pm Quote
They are hoping to just push him two days. Medication, rest and warm tampa weather. Fingers crossed.
April 5th, 2008 at 8:18 pm Quote
Bedard will get these small little injuries throughout the yr… he always has.. hopefully he can make his start on Tuesday
April 5th, 2008 at 10:02 pm Quote
Yup.
Pedro, 2000-2004, you were never quite sure whether he was going to start 25 games or 35 games.
Some aces are like Italian-red Maseratis … very powerful but always in the shop for a little maintenance…
April 6th, 2008 at 8:41 am Quote
Big question…how do we fix the bullpen?
Without Putz, these guys are all having serious confidence problems…not trusting their stuff, not sure of their roles…O’Flaherty and Green have been especially scary the last couple of times out.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:31 am Quote
Bullpen is fixed with a new manager, but that ain’t gonna happen. Yet. Who was it that called Maclaren’s managing style “shrill” the other day on here? Doc? In any case, that’s the word that just keeps ringing through my head, incessantly, watching him go through his pitching staff.
Shrill. Even when appearing “decisive”, it seems like he’s reactionary out there. If Maclaren was a firefighter, he’d have the equipment, but be driving around the block, unable to find a hydrant.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:03 am Quote
SABRMatt wrote:
Mac needs to designate a closer. Period. His anxiety over the situation is palpable and from his comments, he feels that it’s because the pitchers aren’t comfortable. Whether it’s true or not, if he believes it then he has to accept the responsibility for fixing the darn problem. He doesn’t get paid to throw up his hands and say “I don’t know what to do; we’re hosed”. Pick a guy, make him your closer, express your utmost confidence in him and get on with it. This visible and public hand wringing isn’t helping anything.
April 6th, 2008 at 5:41 pm Quote
There is ONE guy who is not freaking. And it’s Miguel Batista. Make him the closer…make him throw 2 innings every time he comes in. Call back your other bullets and CALL UP RA DICKEY!!!
April 7th, 2008 at 12:32 am Quote
To quote Tigger, you just can’t argue with a word like “palpable.”
I’d have Batista closing and I would also have Jon Huber working with Mark Lowe and EOF in setup. If I see one more random head-path from Sean Green I’m going to develop an inner-ear problem.
April 7th, 2008 at 1:47 am Quote
“Shrillness” is the polar opposite of everything that you train so hard towards in aikido.
The most dedicated aikidoka at Kannagara Tsubaki at Granite Falls will go out and kneel in rivers of glacier water, just to practice and condition their centered non-shrillness in the face of extreme stimulus…
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You would be amazed what happens in a boxing match, a chess game, a flame war :- ) or a marital argument, if you stay TEA-PARTY CALM — eyes and ears OPEN, brain in MATHEMATICAL MODE … while others are getting emotional and irrational…
O-Sensei built an entire martial art on this. He held the red flag out to the bull … draw a big attack commitment, slide to the side, and it’s all over…
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Must re-emphasize that I don’t know what MacLaren’s state-of-mind is.
But looking in from the outside, the decisions certainly bear the earmarks of hecticness to me…
April 7th, 2008 at 1:50 am Quote
.
Sunday, MacLaren’s pitching switches did NOT look shrill to me. The switch over to EOF and then Lowe looked mathematical and well-considered.
Taken as a single game, there was nothing to complain about.
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But you know what?
Lou Piniella would certainly have left Felix in. Because, stepping back one pace from the IN-GAME tactics, Lou would have (correctly) judged that IT WAS TIME FOR A WIN.
Lou would have wanted that win, and he would have (correctly) left Felix in for the 9th in this case.
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My $0.02 from the peanut gallery is that while the in-game switches on Sunday were a step back toward calm decisiveness…. the lack of global view still reflects an inner disorientation.
Snatch the pebble grasshopper,
Dr D
April 7th, 2008 at 6:35 am Quote
All indications from Felix were that he wasn’t comfortable staying in for the 9th, something I wouldn’t push given a) last year and b) that he had hitherto been in a workout pattern for a start the next day.
April 7th, 2008 at 4:09 pm Quote
The thing with Felix is that because they thought he was going to get an extra day of rest they pushed his throw day back a day. He essentially was pitching on short rest even though he was on a regular schedule.