Don't be deceived by Clarke Schmidt's dismal line score yesterday; I was there, and the box score numbers lie

Obviously, being a big-time blogger means getting
close-up access to the players. Here's Clarke Schmidt.

Yesterday's box score on the somewhat-ballyhooed Yank starter, Clarke Schmidt, won't champion his cause for a rotation spot: He pitched two innings, surrendered four hits and three runs. Had I not been there, I'd today be listing prospective apartments in muddy Moosic. In fact, Schmidt was undercut by a sluggish defense that, without improvements, could be a bigger problem than a weak No. 5.

Let's redo the first inning, bit by bit, because - frankly - Schmidt deserved better.

The first Oriole batter, Austin Hays, fans on three pitches - bing-bing-bing - but catcher Kyle Higashioka muffs strike three (in the dirt), the ball rolls to the backstop, and Higgy looks constipated, trying to chase it. Hays easily beats the throw. So, from the git-go, Schmidt is in a hole.

On the next pitch, Hays charges for second. Higgy's throw sails over everybody's head, so far that Tommy Milone - our CF - snags it on a bounce and holds the runner at second. Put a star next to Milone's name. But WTF, Higgy? He's supposed to be our defensive catcher.  

Next man - somebody named Anthony Santander - grounds out to Luke Voit at first. If not for the stolen base, this might have been a DP, erasing the first mistake. (By the way, Luke seems to have slimmed down; he's avoiding carbs.)

Next, Chris Davis - yes, he's still around - whacks a hard single to center, scoring the run. This was Schmidt's screw-up, surrendering a single to a guy who hasn't hit his weight since Trump took office. (This is not hyperbole, either. He literally hasn't hit more than .221.)

Next batter hits a slow roller to SS. Gleyber Torres charges, but the runner beats the throw. Not an E-6, but it goes down as a "Didi-woulda-got'm." Bad sign. Two men on, one run in, only one out. 

Next man, who cares what his name is?, hits a lazy pop fly to right. LeMahieu chases. Luke chases. The RF, Trey Amburgey chases. It lands just inside the foul line. Another run scores, and aside from Davis, nobody has even hit the ball hard.

That changes when a kid named Pedro Severino lashes a ball to deep right-center. Milone chases it down, a one-handed snag, but the runner on third scores. 

The final batter grounds out to LeMahieu at 2B.

Three runs in. None should have happened.

In the second, Schmidt rips through Baltimore on five pitches. A fly out, a three-pitch K, and a ground out. 

In the third, he walks the lead-off batter, Davis, and is pulled.

Frankly, I dunno what to make of Schmidt's outing. He had chances to pitch out of a jam, and he failed. But defense let him down, and the O's didn't touch him. 

Other quick observations:

Milone not only looked Paul Blair-like in CF, but he belted a low rocket that left the park before the RF could turn around, and before wind could blow it back. He went 3-for-3. I wonder if the Yankees will keep a defensive SS (Kyle Holder?) or CF (Milone or Zack Granite?) If the latter, Milone sure helped his chances yesterday.

Chris Gittens, the DH/1B who homered in an early exhibition games, looked over-matched. He went 0-3, with a K, and his small sample average fell below .200. He needs the apartment listings for Moosic.

Finally, Albert Abreu looked solid in relief of Schmidt. He got a DP grounder and a strikeout, then tore through the O's in the next inning, (though they got a single.) Abreu's time in the prospect spotlight came two years ago, when he was everybody's favorite fire-baller. He's been a disappointment ever since. Who knows, this might be his year?