OK, so much for the delightful, devil-may-care opening...
We lost last night in an awful eighth, and today's Gammonitic write-ups most blame the bullpen, but that's like blaming measles on the rash. Chris "Cold Play" Martin gave up a single through the over-shift. (Unlike our great sub-.200 sluggers, Jose Batista shortened his swing and accepted the gift of a clutch hit.) Betances gave up a high pop that dropped in, and then a grounder that Headley heroically snared - only to have everything fall apart with Garrett Jones muffed the throw.
It killed us. Headley made a great play - (wherever he is, Graig Nettles smiled) - and threw a Davey Concepcion bouncer from short left field. On natural grass, it's a throwing error. On turf, the first baseman should have it. Jones didn't. And we lost.
OK, what's done is done. We can't throw a hissy fit every time somebody drops a lamb chop. But Garrett Jones looks increasingly irrelevant on this team. He has shown he cannot play the OF, and now his defense at 1B looks equally suspect. He's hitting below .200. Worst of all, there are few scenarios where he can pinch hit, because he'd only replace middle infielders, and frankly, we have no subs for them. It's stems and seeds.
When the Yankees obtained Jones from Atlanta, I ventured onto a Braves fan forum. The writers said the guy can hit, but they were guffawing over any notion that he can field. Now we know. He's a full-time DH - our third, after Beltran and A-Rod.
Don't know where this goes, but if Jose Pirela keeps hitting at the Scranton Rehabilitation Center, Pirela becomes a far more useful piece. And if the season ends with us one game out, drop last night in the memory bin, filed under "When the Caviar Began to Stink."
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1 comment:
I still blame Bullethead Joe for using Martin instead of going straight to Betances. Whole different game then.
But that play by Headley was amazing. He just went up another notch for me.
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