I must confess...
...I didn't feel real good about that bases-loaded matchup between Paul Shuey and Alex Rodriguez. I feared the ball was going to land in the bullpen. I just wasn't sure which bullpen. But Shuey got the double play and was chest-bumping players in the dugout.
The radar shows a major storm is heading this way. But I don't see the groundscrew scrambling to get in position behind the tarp, and I trust them.
Or maybe they're just real calm under pressure.
Tonight's attendance: 40,737.
Daniel Cabrera's line: 6 1/3 innings, six hits, four runs, two walks, two strikeouts. He threw 95 pitches, 55 for strikes.
Without having the chance to ask, I'll assume there was a missed sign when Kevin Millar was thrown out at second. I can't imagine he was running on his own. And he glanced toward the plate halfway to the bag.
Comments
Wow!!! What a fun game to watch!!!!
Posted by: ncbeth | June 28, 2007 9:16 PM
How bad is the rain for us out of towners? Do the four runs in the bottom of the seventh count or do the Orioles need one more out?
Posted by: ron | June 28, 2007 9:32 PM
Roch, do you find it puzzling that the Orioles haven't started negotiating with Wieters yet? Just once, I would love for the front office to be aggressive. Prove everyone wrong and get it done in a speedy fashion. Is that too much to ask? Are we attributing the slow pace to MacPhail's recent hire? If so, that's understandable, but let's get going here, fellas.
Posted by: Julie | June 28, 2007 9:46 PM
Disregard my previous comment!!!!!
Posted by: ncbeth | June 28, 2007 9:57 PM
chris ray warming with none out in the eighth, and only chris ray?? too much faith in parrish. and then, after the first batter walks, certainly you must get up someone else. ray pitching 2 innings??? maybe....
Posted by: brother country | June 28, 2007 9:59 PM
I can see it now....NY goes ahead and the game is called because of rain....................
Posted by: ncbeth | June 28, 2007 10:03 PM
oops....didn't know the new rule.............sorry
Posted by: ncbeth | June 28, 2007 10:05 PM
I'd like to see Daniel Cabrera work on developing his two-seam fastball even more. That's by far his best pitch--devastating, nearly unhittable when he's got it working. It's really tough for anyone to get good wood on the ball when it's coming up to the plate at 94-96 mph, with a late break of a couple of inches. That's nasty!
If he could just tweak it up a notch more, he could pretty much shut down the rest of his arsenal and be a Mario Rivera-type one-pitch specialist. Up until the last couple of years Rivera's been lights out as a closer, despite the opposition knowing what he's going to throw. It just doesn't matter, he's been the good, that dominant. Cabrera could do the same.
I know there are going to be naysayers to that comment and I imagine quite a few. I can understand some of the objections., principal among them being that Daniel needs more than one pitch to be a quality starter.
I agree with that point, of course, because it's absolutely correct, but who says he must be used as a starter? We're used to seeing him there, but maybe that isn't where he's best suited. Wait, hear me out on this....
There is another reason, besides the dominance of the pitch, why I think he should stick almost exclusively to the two-seamer: control. So far this year there is no indication that Cabrera's turned the corner when it comes to solving his wildness. If Leo can't help him on this, then I don't know if he can be helped.
One way to improve his control, at least in theory, is a radical one and that is to go to one pitch. Less for him to think about, fewer grips and fewer subtle differences in his delivery to deal with. In other words, simplify what he's doing on the mound as much as possible, so he goes out there with only one thing in mind: DOMINATE.
I don't believe he's never going to be a Jeremy Guthrie or Eric Bedard when it comes to the finer points of pitching, when it comes to setting up hitters for the next pitch.
But if he could master the two-seamer the way Rivera's mastered the cut fastball, be could be a Hall of Fame closer. After all, no lineup would want to face THAT sort of pitch coming at them again and again in the ninth.
Posted by: Ken Francis | June 28, 2007 10:08 PM
A few of the guys on this team really get on my nerves. Parrish is one of them. His manner on the mound, the clueless looking facial expressions, the way he continually cups the glove against his side. And the way he walks the first two guys he sees on 9 pitches.
I'm sure the whole new front office scenario is what is delaying the Weiters signing. Trying to be positive here.
Another Boras client, Matt LaPorta, Florida Gators, 7th pick by the Brewers, was signed, sealed and delivered a week ago. 2 mil bonus.
Piece of cake.
Let's see...Brewers.com/shirts/hats...search.
Posted by: daytona boy | June 28, 2007 10:32 PM