Some observations from the Orioles' 9-6 loss to the Boston Red Sox last night
1. Manager Buck Showalter made it clear following Tuesday's win in the series opener over Boston that he stretched relievers Jim Johnson and Koji Uehara a little to make sure that they secured the victory. He even brought up the fact that Jon Lester was pitching for the Red Sox the following night. The implication was clearly that the Orioles had to cement a victory because you obviously can't count on beating Lester. That loomed large last night. Wanting to stay away from Johnson, Uehara and Michael Gonzalez, Showalter tried to get some big outs from Mark Hendrickson and Alfredo Simon and they couldn't hold a two-run lead.
2. One of the things that Jake Arrieta should focus on heading into next season is improving his tempo. He kind of put a choke hold on last night's game with how slow he was working. It's something that has been discussed with him. Working that slow puts his defense on its heels and it lulls the rest of the team to sleep. His pace in his last two starts have been painful.
3. This is just my opinion and not based on anything that I have heard, but I really wonder if the team could shut down Simon early this season. He's obviously had his struggles of late, giving up homers in five of his past eight outings. Simon obviously worked his butt off to come back from Tommy John surgery in less than a year and he should be applauded for that. He also pitched very well for a long stretch, helping to stabilize a decimated bullpen. His velocity also doesn't indicate that he is tired as he was popping 97 miles an hour on the stadium radar gun last night. But his location has been very bad and it's pretty obvious that he's not getting the late movement on his pitches that he was earlier in the year. It probably wouldn't be the worst thing to shut him down a little early and give somebody else an opportunity, like a Dennis Sarfate.
4. Center fielder Adam Jones wasn't available for comment after the game, but I'd be surprised if he plays in tonight's series finale. Jones was removed in the seventh inning last night because of recurring upper back soreness from getting hit by a Gavin Floyd fastball more than a week ago. While it was believed that Jones aggravated the injury by slamming into the center-field wall while making a catch, Showalter actually said that it was on a swing during his strikeout in the fifth inning. Corey Patterson is also a little banged up, so it wouldn't be shocking to see Nolan Reimold in left field tonight, perhaps with Felix Pie moving to center.
5. Showalter appears fond of taking the occasional jab at the Red Sox and Yankees, two of the heavyweights in the American League East. He brought up the Yankees a couple of weeks ago, pointing out the leeway they get with umpires to make a point on the night the normally mild-mannered Nick Markakis was ejected. Last night, he mentioned the amount of questioning of home plate umpire Tom Hallion's calls that the Red Sox were doing. Asked about Arrieta's tempo, Showalter said, "His tempo is something we’ve got to get better with, too. Of course, Boston dictates that a lot, as much as they step out of the box and they talk to the umpire a lot about calls.”
A Baltimore native, 
Comments
its nice. this site has perfect knowledge of Sports.
Posted by: Sports Academy UK | September 2, 2010 6:59 AM
I heard that MASN fired Rob Dibble for commenting on air that Strasburg needs to tough it out before he knew the severity of his injury.....Another BUSHLEAGUE move by MASN. Dibs was much more entertaining & knowledgeable than the snor fest of Thorn & Flanny. How dare someone criticize the talent !
...............................................................................................
Jeff Z's reply: From what I have read elsewhere, it was the Nationals who pushed to get Dibble fired, not MASN. But maybe you know something that I don't because I haven't followed that situation closely.
Posted by: Cereal Blogger | September 2, 2010 9:08 AM
I dont see Henderickson or Simon being with the Orioles next year.
Posted by: Ken B. | September 2, 2010 9:19 AM
Good on Showalter. He's absolutely correct by the way. The garbage red sox and yankees constantly feel like they are entitled to halt the game, question calls, etc. They operate with no humility whatsoever. It's about time we have someone here who calls them out. These teams have been operating like they own the AL East for a decade now. Time for some new blood to take over. Standing up to this lame whiny crap is the first step.
Posted by: Groundskeeper | September 2, 2010 9:25 AM
Jeff, all 5 of your points are astute and well thought out IMO. We really needed to win the first game of this series due to our record against Lester and I think we needed to see how we would fare against the Bosox with our "second tier" of relievers. When Jake gets more experience and confidence I think his pace will speed up, but for now it does appear he is overthinking and consequently taking too much time in between pitches. I think we should shut down Simon. He has, in a way, been a pleasant surprise and has over-achieved to a degree and he did come back from TJ surgery pretty early. My son's brother-in-law does those TJ surgeries and recently told me in no uncertain terms that it does take a year to recuperate. I said to him "you mean plus or minus a little bit from a year?" and he said "no, it does take at least a year". Simon came back in what, nine months? Excellent idea to shut him down and get a better luck at some other guys Sarfate or troy Patton to determine if they are part of the bullpen puzzle in the future. Great column, Jeff, keep doing what you're doing.
Posted by: bill the lifer o's fan | September 2, 2010 9:39 AM
Calling the Sox and Yanks out on their BS = long over due.
Posted by: OBoy | September 2, 2010 9:58 AM
buck rocks. i really love everything he does with the team. and on top of it all, i love that he has the [guts] to speak his mind about the yankees and red sox. love it. buck rocks.
Posted by: pop fisher | September 2, 2010 10:44 AM
all the ump needs to do is tell the player what he tells the Oriole players: get back in the box, I'll call the game. But when these guys get some crazy reputations as some kind of strike zone gurus and feel the need to yap at the ump all night about every single borderline pitch, well it's the umps fault.
It's a circular thing---If I yap at the ump, he'll give me some calls, then I'll get a rep as a guy that really knows the strikezone, then I can take a lot of time and a lot of pitches cause I'll get some calls because...
Baseball's attemp to quicken up the game depends on the hitters, pitchers, and the umpires enforcing the rules- stay the hell in the box and do what you're up here to do-HIT!
Posted by: jim66 | September 2, 2010 11:11 AM
Buck is right about the sox and yanks getting the calls. I really believe that the inconsistencies of the plate umpire at the start of a game plays a major role in the eventual outcome of many games. Especially when you're dealing with young pitchers. Regarding Dibble, like you said, I heard the Nationals canned him not MASN. I just wish he could do the Os games now. He speaks his mind and the times he was matched up with Palmer were some of the best games. Can Thorne and replace him with Dibble. While we're at it, give Brady a one way ticket out of the MASN studios and welcome aboard Boddicker and McDonald to full-time gigs.
Posted by: Big Al | September 2, 2010 12:22 PM
"From what I have read elsewhere, it was the Nationals who pushed to get Dibble fired"
You're right, Jeff, at least that's what Ben Gossling posted today on his blog. Apparently the decisions about game broadcasters are made by the team, not by the network.
Personally I say good riddance. Dibble was just awful in the booth.
Posted by: jeffChill | September 2, 2010 12:56 PM
Hey Jeff.. Good stuff as usual. Do you see Arrieta moving to a closer's role as many predict???
...............................................................................................
Jeff Z's reply: No, I see Arrieta as a starter. Just my opinion.
Posted by: steveinboston | September 2, 2010 1:15 PM
Jeff - Regarding the Red Sox hitters taking time between pitches to be talk to the plate umpire, I think the Orioles should instruct their pitchers and catchers to use that time to settle on a pitch and as soon as the hitter steps back into the box and the ump resumes play, the pitcher should immediately throw the ball, giving the hitter just a shade less time to get comfortable.
I can't help but think that would work to the O's advantage more often than not and maybe make Boston players a little less likely to resort to that trick as much. Sure, the hitter could try to get time called again, but if I'm not mistaken it's discretionary on the part of the umpire whether he sees fit to call it.
Posted by: Ken Francis | September 2, 2010 1:24 PM
Jeff,
What's up with David Hernandez. Is it still his ankle injury or are they really using that as an excuse to ease up on him? Like Simon he seemed to be losing some of his early pop and movement (he actually was losing velocity as well) and a very solid year was sliding quickly. I would have no problem if the O's were giving him some rest, but was wondering if it was something more. Seems like he's been out a while for a sprained ankle.
...............................................................................................
Jeff Z's reply: Hernandez will start a rehab assignment for Double-A Bowie this weekend. He'll probably be activated next week.
Posted by: Jeff | September 2, 2010 4:08 PM
Jeff
I know that Simon has been ineffective of late but early on he was lights out.since
he was in the starting rotation in the beginning of last yr why not give him a start
or two this season? His injury last yr. is the sole reason he is not a starter this yr .
...............................................................................................
Jeff Z's reply: You can't just ask a guy who has been pitching one or two innings at a time all season to start and get deep in a game. IF you were going to do that, that would happen in spring training.
Posted by: art gamzon | September 2, 2010 4:22 PM