hold2dibber
04-04-2002, 07:53 AM
A very frustrating first series, but I have, thus far, maintained my composure and not thrown any furniture around the house or startled my family with screaming, profanity laced tirades. In fact, I'm pretty enthusiastic despite the two games we gave away. A few observations based on the first series:
(1) There are a lot of positives to take from this series - we easily could have won 3 and while there is certainly reason to worry about the bullpen, it will be better than it has shown so far. It is the job of JM (and, to a lesser extent, the leaders on the team like Frank, Lofton and Manos) to make sure the team doesn't get down on itself after the 2 heart breaking losses and instead builds on the positives.
(2) I know that Sierra's shot to Clayton in the 9th was a tough chance, but when you're paying a guy $4.5 mm for his defense, he has to come up with that ball (if he does, it's a double play and we win).
(3) The weakness of the bullpen again illustrates, to me at least, KW's failure in the Guerrier/Marte deal. It seems impossible to me that he could not have turned Guerrier (and perhaps another B level prospect) into a solid, reliable middle reliver, instead of a "maybe" with a good arm.
(4) Every year, Foulke has a couple spells where he doesn't seem quite right, but he always comes out of it. He'll bounce back shortly (and note no. 2 - he could have/should have had a save last night).
(5) This is a good team. After watching the first three games, no matter the results and despite some weaknesses, I am convinced of that fact. They have speed, they have some serious lumber, they have starting pitchers who should be able to keep them in the game day in and day out, they play hard and they play with enthusiasm. They will be in contention all year and certainly have reason to believe they can win the AL Central.
(1) There are a lot of positives to take from this series - we easily could have won 3 and while there is certainly reason to worry about the bullpen, it will be better than it has shown so far. It is the job of JM (and, to a lesser extent, the leaders on the team like Frank, Lofton and Manos) to make sure the team doesn't get down on itself after the 2 heart breaking losses and instead builds on the positives.
(2) I know that Sierra's shot to Clayton in the 9th was a tough chance, but when you're paying a guy $4.5 mm for his defense, he has to come up with that ball (if he does, it's a double play and we win).
(3) The weakness of the bullpen again illustrates, to me at least, KW's failure in the Guerrier/Marte deal. It seems impossible to me that he could not have turned Guerrier (and perhaps another B level prospect) into a solid, reliable middle reliver, instead of a "maybe" with a good arm.
(4) Every year, Foulke has a couple spells where he doesn't seem quite right, but he always comes out of it. He'll bounce back shortly (and note no. 2 - he could have/should have had a save last night).
(5) This is a good team. After watching the first three games, no matter the results and despite some weaknesses, I am convinced of that fact. They have speed, they have some serious lumber, they have starting pitchers who should be able to keep them in the game day in and day out, they play hard and they play with enthusiasm. They will be in contention all year and certainly have reason to believe they can win the AL Central.