Burnout Official
June 21st, 2016
This is as much of a surprise as the sun rising in the morning: Erasmo Ramirez is fatigued.
Who didn’t see this coming? Manager Kevin Cash rode Ramirez so hard early this season that the reliever earned the nickname “Everyday.” Ramirez performed well, but there was always a concern that the good times would end if the right-hander were driven into the ground harder than a railroad spike.
Now Ramirez is running on fumes. Cash has no one to blame but himself.
Ramirez allowed three runs and three hits in 2/3 of an inning during a 7-4 loss to the Indians yesterday. Joe can’t say this is much of a shock. Still, it’s terrifying that Ramirez has started to break down in June instead of, say, August.
For a bullpen already strained, there doesn’t appear to be relief in sight. Brad Boxberger remains on the shelf. Alex Colome is solid in the ninth inning, but building the bridge to him gets harder without a healthy-and-effective Ramirez at the Rays’ disposal.
Joe hopes Ramirez regains his old form. But it would be wise to give him a breather for a while.
This is a mess, and Cash’s bungling of the bullpen is the culprit.
June 21st, 2016 at 1:54 pm
” Alex Colome is solid in the ninth”
“Gas Can” Colome is more like it. Everytime I see him pitch, he gives up 2 hits and a walk to load the bases. Then it wriggles out of it miraculously. Wow!!
That’s solid????
Joebullpen.com must have season’s tickets along the right field line right next to the Ray’s bullpen or maybe they let you wear a uniform with a glove and protect the bullpen catcher’s backsides.
I’ve seen you there.
June 21st, 2016 at 4:43 pm
Good teams we lose, bad teams we beat. One of the things I took away from attending Sunday’s game against San Francisco were all the foul balls that were hit. Always looking back to see where they landed. Why do I bring this up ? We had 12 strikeouts (All swinging 3rd strikes) It seemed that the Giants were hitting most of the foul balls. This is the mark of a great team. Fouling off close pitches not only keeps you alive at the bat, but demoralizes the pitcher. A frustrated pitcher will groove one.
My suggestion to the Rays is to instruct each batter with 2 strikes to CHOKE UP on the bat ! It’s called bat control. Unless it’s a three & two count, a major league pitcher isn’t going to give you anything down the middle where you can crush it. I’d also like to see the Rays bring back the “Bottle Bat” (Looks like an upside down beer bottle) to their players. (Especially their minor league teams). A thicker bat gives you more control and has worked well in the past. See Nellie Fox’s Hall of Fame career. You are not going to hit 40 HRs with it, but you’ll make a lot more contact; even if its a foul ball.