Ross Detwiler has to stay and pitch/develop in the big leagues.
Bet you didn't think that's where I was going here. We'll get to that other nonsense soon.
Detwiler showed me plenty of stuff tonight, and I don't mean stuff like what he throws. I mean stuff as in sack, stones, the olives you need and that some of the Nats' other pitchers (coughCabreracough) don't seem to have.
I think he has what it takes to be successful, albeit with a very small sample size, and I see no reason why he shouldn't continue to learn at the highest level.
Sure, he'll get lit now and then. Let him learn from it, as long as it doesn't become chronically ugly (like say, Cabrera). Let him learn that the pitch that he could slip past some AA dude will get hit into next week in the majors.
Six innings with one run and one hit - and WE ALL KNOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NO RUNS AND NO HITS. Yes, his walks put him in a major jam. But he pitched his way out of it. He was clear. HOW DO YOU LEAVE SECOND BASE UNCOVERED?
His most impressive inning tonight was the third. Yes, the very third where he walked the bases loaded - including walking a pitcher who was batting for the first time in the majors. That'll rattle many pitchers. We've seen one this year (coughCabreracough) who never could get it back once things went awry. All Detwiler did was come back and strike out an excellent hitter in Jones.
Then he induced that weak ass grounder from another excellent hitter in Markakis. Zimmerman slides over, picks it up, sets to throw to seco *** oh, wait. NO ONE IS THERE. Run scores.
Seriously, how does that happen? I love Willie Harris, I've made no secret of that. I'm glad he's on the team. BUT DOES HE NOT COVER SECOND? Don't give me any jib-jab about not playing any second base this year. He's played it before. He's played baseball before. EVERYONE knows he has to cover second in that situation. Again, love you Willie, but damnation on a stick. COVER SECOND BASE.
The good news is it only took us two hours and five minutes to get home. Our best time yet. Less time for my wife to listen to me go ARRRGGGHHHHH and stuff. The anti-Manny callers were out in force. One said lack of fundamentals is related to the lack of leadership. He also mentioned some stats I didn't know - that Huff pretty much owns Villone (like .500 in his career), lefty-lefty thing be danged. Maybe I heard that wrong?
Did I miss a memo or something? Has Bard taken over for Nieves? Great catch by Maxwell in the first. Loved that. Loved Detwiler. Not much else to say. Were those some excessively weak whiffs in the ninth or what?
That's 1-11 with me in the house this year.
My wife asked a good question. Should Detwiler have gone another inning? I was OK with him coming out then, assuring a very positive night. We saw what happened with Stammen the other night. But maybe she has a point.
4 comments:
Mike: Wow, your record (1-11) is worse than mine (1-9)! Maybe you & I should submit a joint proposal to the Nats for them to pay us to stay away.
I agree with your assessment of Detwiler. I have been to both of his starts and have been very impressed. As you indicate, he seems to have a strong make up that he doesn't get rattled when things go wrong. I see the same thing in Z-mann. I think we should just go with a Lannan-Martis-Zmann-Detwiler-Stammen for the rest of the year and let the kids develop.
Maxwell's play was the play of the year.
Willie Harris should see plenty of bench time for that mental lapse. Of course, that would require the manager to have the hudspeth to hold a player accountable for mistakes.
Lastly, I looked up the Huff v. Villone stats when I got home. In 9 previous ABs, Huff had a 1.556 OPS against Villone. Not the world's largest sample size, but IMO big enough that Manny should've looked for a better option. Speaking of Villone, he sure has a knack so far of dancing around allowing his ERA to be touched up. Last Sat, louds the bases against Phils with no outs and then the rains come--he was probably looking at at least 3 runs there. Last night, he gives up a triple to Huff, but the run goes to Tavarez.
Glad to see the nay-sayers about Detwiler are finally beginning to come around. The rotation you named should be the one the Nats keep in place, and is definitely the one for the future. These kids belong in the bigs!
Neither Olsen or Cabrera should start another game this year. If we're going to lose, let's at least allow some of our future SPs get some experience at the big league level.
I don't think you need to worry about Cabrera (fingers crossed).
Olsen will probably be out at least another three weeks. Then it is rehab assignment, then maybe some time in the pen - suddenly we're at the all-star break.
I suspect he'll start again, just because someone figures to get hurt. I hope not but it is not realistic to expect it won't.
Otherwise, pen and spot starts for Olsen. And I still don't understand why Cabrera is still around. Isn't it a one-year deal? By the time he's "converted" to a reliever, he'll be someone else's problem.
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