Cash Wants “Efficient” Run From Starters
June 9th, 2016
Drew “Not Too” Smyly
Remember when the starters were supposed to be a strong point for your Rays?
Well, that prediction has turned out as well as a one-legged card table.
Pick a starter, any starter, and there’s room to quibble. The group entered with a bunch of hype. However, the preseason rainbows and popsicles have given way to something much darker.
Manager Kevin Cash knows his staff can do more. He touched on the topic with Steve Duemig of 620 WDAE-AM on Tuesday:
“We just need to get on a run where we’re a little bit more efficient,” Cash said. “Look, the guys have done some things better here of late. But in a perfect world, you’d like to have those 100-pitch conversations coming in the seventh and eighth inning. … Our pitchers are going to step up. Believe me, we have more confidence in our pitching staff to step up and right this ship for us.”
The Rays gained a series win over the Diamondbacks with a 6-3 victory Wednesday, but Jake Odorizzi had another short outing. That’s not exactly what the doctor ordered. He gave up three runs and five hits in five innings, leaving Erasmo Ramirez, Xavier Cedeno and Alex Colome to bend without breaking. And boy did Colome bend with bases loaded and nobody out in the ninth!
Joe would like to have Cash’s wish granted and see Rays starters last an inning or two longer on a regular basis.
But little suggests this will happen soon.
June 9th, 2016 at 3:23 pm
It seems like it’s always 1 inning that blows the doors off a pitch count, and each pitcher when ahead of a hitter, always throw no doubt pitches either way to high, or clearly in the dirt every time, I’m starting to think its a catching problem, Matt Moore looked fantastic the last time out, but seems to be snake bitten by a bloop single or losing an aggressive hitter to a full count walk, then blowing it by throwing a heater right down the middle AHEAD of a batter, that’s the catcher calling a bad game, really miss RENE RIVERA
June 9th, 2016 at 4:02 pm
As I stated earlier, shake up the staff. Send one of the starters to the bullpen and bring up Blake Snell. Competition makes everyone better. Just look at what Desmond Jennings is doing after being called lazy with 1 step out the door and the other on a banana peel.
June 9th, 2016 at 4:49 pm
Erasmo back to the rotation and one of the other starters to the pen
June 9th, 2016 at 7:19 pm
Agreed Bob. Forgot about Erasmo as a starter. Did pretty good last year. How about Erasmo and Blake Snell as starters and moving Smyly and Moore to the bullpen?
June 10th, 2016 at 1:08 pm
If the starters earn their pay and pitch into the 8th or 9th, it will put joebullpen.com out of business.
Where’s the daily bullpen stat sheet?
Geez, what does the National League teams do when their starters are pulled for pinch hitters early?
Is the Ray’s bullpen overtaxed or overwhelmed?
June 10th, 2016 at 2:55 pm
With the exception of Colome and Erasmo, the bullpen is like an over ripe Avocado. Looked good from the outside, but a gooey mess on the inside.