Game 17

by Geoff Young on Apr 19, 2003

I usually take the weekends off, but it’s 3:26 AM and sleep isn’t happening, so here I am. Lucky you.

Game 17: 4/18/03

Colorado 12, San Diego 1 (ESPN)

The Good

  • Two more walks for Ramon Vazquez. That’s 16 now in 16 games, for a .417 OBP.
  • Although he had only a single to show for it, Xavier Nady made solid contact all three times he batted. He’s now hitting .277/.347/.446, which might not be too far off his true level at this stage in his career. Actually, if he ends up with numbers like that this year, I’ll be happy. Especially if he keeps walking every 11 at-bats.
  • Shane Victorino notched his first big-league RBI in the ninth to break up the shutout. We’re reaching here folks, but it’s worth noting that he made (reasonably) solid contact from the left side for the sac fly.

The Bad

  • Sean Burroughs continues to struggle. He’s down to .175/.283/.250 and generally not having good at-bats right now.
  • Wiki Gonzalez. It doesn’t show up in the box score, but I sure would feel better if he wouldn’t drop so many pitches. I’m not talking about passed balls, just simply receiving the pitch. It doesn’t inspire confidence.

The Ugly

  • Can we panic now? Something needs to be done with Oliver Perez, be it send him to the minors or the bullpen. We are now experiencing the downside of promoting a guy too quickly. He came up last year with just four starts above Class A under his belt and had some success at the big-league level. Expectations were raised and, predictably, Perez hasn’t been able to live up to them. He’s a work in progress, and he’d probably be better served honing his craft at Mobile or Portland, where he can concentrate more on mechanics and pitch selection than on outcomes.

    The problem with Perez’ early promotion last year is that now if you send him to, say, Portland, it’s a demotion. The kid’s confidence is already shot–the expression on his face after the homer to center by Chris Stynes is not something you want to see from your pitcher. It’s not Perez’ fault; he simply isn’t ready for this level. In hindsight, there probably isn’t much worse that could’ve happened than for him to have success against big-league hitters last year. It gave a false sense that Perez was further along in his development than he actually was.

    I don’t mean to sound overly negative. I saw Perez pitch several times at Elsinore when he was there and he impressed the heck out of me before anyone was really talking about him. I think he’s got a real promising future as a mid-rotation type starter if he’s handled right. But I feel bad for him because he’s a 21-year-old kid who is in way over his head. He deserves a chance to succeed, and I’m not sure if the best way for him to do that is by remaining in San Diego right now.

    Coors Field is partially to blame for last night’s effort, to be sure. But this is getting ugly:

    Date   IP   H  ER  HR  BB  SO  PIT
----------------------------------
4/2   4.0   4   5   0   6   4   88
4/7   5.0   5   4   3   2   4   90
4/13  4.1   4   1   1   7   5  100
4/18  4.2  11   8   2   3   5  108

    Here’s a startling comparison for you:

               IP   H  ER  HR BB  SO
--------------------------------
Perez    18.0  24  18  6  18  18
bullpen  15.0  13   8  3   7  13

    Top is Perez’ YTD totals. Bottom is numbers put up by the bullpen in games he’s started. That seems like more work than you want out of your relievers to me. I wonder how effective those guys are in days following a Perez start?

    Date   IP   H  ER  HR  BB  SO
-----------------------------
4/3   4.0   1   0   0   2   5
4/8   3.0   1   1   1   0   1
4/14  ** off day **
4/19  ???

    Okay, so my theory doesn’t look so good there. But I still think that kind of bullpen usage will take it’s toll over the course of a season. We’ll see.

    Meantime, it’s time to move on to other things. Here’s hoping Perez can get back on track.

Other Things

As promised, here we are. It’s 4:18 and I’m starting to get tired. You think you have trouble staying awake through my blog!

The other day on my way to work, I stop by my usual place for coffee. It’s nothing exceptional, but the coffee is good and the people are friendly. And it’s a kind of comfort before I go off to spend the day doing less comforting things.

So I stop at this coffee shop and on the way out, a car pulls into the parking lot. One of those wannabe sports cars that makes middle-aged men who can’t afford or handle a real sports car feel a little better about themselves. Anyway, this car pulls into the lot and what is blaring out the windows? That’s right, Lobo’s "I’d Love You to Want Me."

There is so much wrong with this, I hardly know where to begin. First off, get a real sports car. Or, do like the rest of us and get something more practical. There’s no shame in owning a Saturn.

Seriously, just get over it already.

Second, who likes that song? I like to think of myself as having a pretty open mind when it comes to music, but what value did Lobo bring to the world when they created that song? Granted, it’s not "Seasons in the Sun" or anything by Air Supply but that’s hardly something about which to brag.

Finally, even if for some reason you do like that song, why in the heck are you blasting it in your wannabe sports car stereo at 7:30 in the morning? It doesn’t help anything. No, really. I can understand blasting music in the morning. I don’t do it much these days but there was a time when I needed a little Metallica or some such to get me going. But Lobo? What, do you need to get pumped up for that big stroll through the flowers? Do you feel the urge to shout out to the world, "I need a nap!" What gives?

The worst part is he had a kid who was old enough to know that what he was experiencing wasn’t right. That’s gonna be some expensive therapy. Dude, go buy a minivan and listen to some Jethro Tull.

It’s 4:41, and this blog is starting to go places it probably ought not go. Back to bed for me. Catch ya later…

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