OT: Joel Zumaya is dumb
Now don't get me wrong, I love Zumaya. But wow...what an idiot he pitches like. Seriously, let's just throw 49 fastballs in a row. Then when major league hitters tattoo that pitch, let's not start mixing curves of changeups in. Let's just continue throwing 100 mph, even if they KNOW it's coming. Hey, genius. If you throw the same pitch EVERY FREAKING TIME...it's going to get hit hard.
End Rant.
Does any team in MLB have a greater disparity in quality between its starting and relief pitching than the Tigers? The collapses are getting predictable.
I doubt it. Usually the only reason they lose games is because of their relief pitching. They need like Mariano Rivera, K Rod, or Johnathon Paplebon. But i doubt their teams would be willing to give them up.
The team on the other side of town from the Sox would like a word with you. They have exactly one guy pitching well out of their pen, the rest (Gregg, Marmol and Heilman) have not been all that good. Marmol's not striking out nearly as many guys this year and he's got nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Cubs fans already hate Heilman as much as Mets fans did. And Gregg has not ingratiated himself either, as he either blows a save or turns it into a nailbiter pretty much every time.
In any event, the Sox were owed a game after the horseshit call at the plate on Tuesday night in the 9th, so it was awfully nice of Zumaya to provide it.
neither team is owed a game because of those final two. Each bullpen provided the other team a chance but then won later. I'm happy overall, as we took three of five from you guys and sit comfortably in first place for now.
Bullpens blowing the game happens to everyone though. Hell, the D-Rays pen blew an 8 run lead going to the bottom of the 8th against the Tribe a few weeks ago.
The ump just plain blew the call at the plate on Tuesday. The game is over and a Sox win if he makes the correct call, plain and simple. Sox should be 3.5 back instead of 5.5 back.
Starting pitching for both teams was good the last two games. Jackson was inefficient but he got himself out of his jams.
Sox are kinda hosed anyways, with Quentin gone for at least another month. Hard to expect them to contend with their best hitter out minimum 2.5 months by the time he comes back, particularly now that Konerko's thumb is acting up again (which was what caused his rotten 2008 while he tried to play through it). The starting pitchers are going to have to be ridiculous to keep the team in the race.
play at the plate. I guess that makes up for not getting a fan interference call on your fan yesterday. I guess they just don't call interference in that town ;)
Was anyone else surprised by Nate's give up? I wasn't.
I actually was. Considering that they moved him to middle relief/set up, I thought that was a great move and that he would take to it.
Seriously - the Tigers need to trade someone for some relief/set-up help.
His breaking ball was excellent earlier, but he stopped throwing it. And now he sucks.
Especially after that awesome comeback; Floyd was lights out and then of course Jenks always pitches well against us. Oh well, we won the series, next!
He really needs to learn how to throw an offspeed pitch. That error at first base on the bunt was terrible.
I wouldn't just blame Zumaya. I'd blame the catcher and manager as well. Those guys allowed him to throw the same damn pitch. Although, if I could throw a 100 mph fastball I'd probably throw it every pitch as well.
Its kinda like how I had the "fastest" slapshot on my peewee team and thats the only shot I would shoot in practice for like 2 months. I ended up hitting 2 coaches, injuring my goalie while he wasn't looking, and missing the net an awful lot. I learned to take some other shots, lets hope Zumaya learns to throw some offspeed stuff. I was better off for it, lets hope the Tigers will be too.
I really don't understand what happened to Zoom's curve. He used to throw it quite often, if only as a changeup. Still, I didn't once see him throw it today, and I only once saw him throw it the other day. The curve is what sets up the fast ball.
Real MEN only throw fastballs. That curve stuff is for sissies and softball players. Good for Joel!
now if only the colors on the helmet were reversed, maize background, w/ blue stripes.
come on now...
a guy that gets injured lifting boxes and playing Guitar Hero is certainly not dumb.
The guitar hero I'll give you. But hurting yourself by frantically moving your parents out of their house because their neighborhood is burning down is a little more forgivable. Knowing now how these wildfires work out here, I would probably be carrying more than I was capable of as well. Injured shoulder > all of your personal belongings en fuego.
good point.
Point!
Squirrel!
Do you really believe that is how Zoom obliterated his shoulder???
The rumor was that he wrecked out on his dirtbike.
Well, I really don't have any way to know which is true, but I didn't hear that rumor. I do know where his family lives and that there were terrible wild fires that week he got injured. I can't confirm nor deny the rumor, but it's a solid coincidence if you're story is correct.
Hurting your shoulder in the way he did just doesn't seem like something you could do while moving stuff. If he'd messed up his back moving, no one would have questioned it. I mean, I've moved stuff, including stuff way too heavy for me to be moving, plenty of times, and the only things you tend to hurt are your back, your hands/fingers (smashing them between some large furniture piece and a doorway) or your feet (dropping something).
It might've made sense if he had torn a tendon in his shoulder lifting something heavy, but, that wasn't what happened. He had actual structural damage to the shoulder itself. It just doesn't make sense.
Just think about it for a monent. Zumaya said that he dropped a box that he was lifting and it fell on his right shoulder. How in the hell do you drop something on your freaking shoulder, and, how in the hell would it be heavy enough to injure your shoulder in such a way that reconstructive surgery would be needed? That explanation made no sense whatsoever.
Let's not forget that this is the same kid who while rehabbing his shoulder was caught with a camera phone doing keg stands at a party. Maturity definitely isn't a word that should be used to describe Zoom.
Many think the moving excuse was cover for something else and not actually what happened.
Sorta like Jeff Kent claiming he injured himself while washing his truck.
I've heard that most of his injury stories are like this. I heard the day that he was warming up a couple seasons ago and the tendon in his finger ruptured, he had been in a bar fight earlier in the week.