Team is someplace bad. Someplace between 1988 and 2005, where tender hopes met with crushing defeats, sparse attendance and little for fans to hang hats on. Loss of Brian Roberts clearly has caught Team off-guard, and maybe wasn't handled right, and has helped gut offense output. Adam Jones looks lost. Last night's "new" lineup scored six runs so Manager has done what he can. Starting rotation has been more than acceptable. But there's just low-grade play and probably low-grade talent at too many key offensive positions right now. Wayward O, long a critic of Luke Scott, tried to find way to like him as player this Spring. It hasn't worked. Blog feels he has no business on Team, his home run last night notwithstanding. It's not personal or anything with Luke, it's just that he doesn't have any real ability to contribute with glove and his bat is just not reliable. Ty Wigginton and Garrett Atkins are OKish but, again, just not inspiring. Scott, Wigginton and Atkins are good enough, however, to help team back away from precipice, hopefully.
It's probably important to note that Tampa Bay Rays, who are beating Team up and down, are very good. They pitch well. They play good D and they hit up and down lineup. Getting swept at home by Toronto, however, is not to be explained away. Team doesn't seem to know how to finish games; you can feel it coming almost every night -- they'll spin a poor running play into a quick inning on offense and parlay same into a pitching meltdown in top of next. Closer Mike Gonzalez, having come back from excused road trip, is all but jobless, which means Team may have reason to doubt his physical ability or just his ability period.
If Team comes back from West Coast / Boston without putting a couple wins together, as Wayward O noted back in February, you might see bigger and bigger shakeups. Players, manager, coaches and front office, Wayward O believes, are standing on edge of precipice. Optimistically, this April debacle will yield to hope later in season, provided pitching continues above expectations. But if losses continue to pile up it's unclear what drastic measures will come by June.![]()
It's probably important to note that Tampa Bay Rays, who are beating Team up and down, are very good. They pitch well. They play good D and they hit up and down lineup. Getting swept at home by Toronto, however, is not to be explained away. Team doesn't seem to know how to finish games; you can feel it coming almost every night -- they'll spin a poor running play into a quick inning on offense and parlay same into a pitching meltdown in top of next. Closer Mike Gonzalez, having come back from excused road trip, is all but jobless, which means Team may have reason to doubt his physical ability or just his ability period.
If Team comes back from West Coast / Boston without putting a couple wins together, as Wayward O noted back in February, you might see bigger and bigger shakeups. Players, manager, coaches and front office, Wayward O believes, are standing on edge of precipice. Optimistically, this April debacle will yield to hope later in season, provided pitching continues above expectations. But if losses continue to pile up it's unclear what drastic measures will come by June.
