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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

AZ Republic: Defense squanders Johnson’s debut

Two errors and a handful of other miscues allowed the San Francisco Giants to score five unearned runs en route to a 5-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on a chilly and windy night at AT&T Park.

[Randy] Johnson allowed three unearned runs in five innings, looking a lot like he did in his first start off of back surgery last year. At times, he looked like the Johnson of old. Other times, he looked like a pitcher still trying to find his form.
...
Johnson showed flashes of dominance. A slider in the first inning nearly hit the back foot of a swinging Aaron Rowand. He froze Rich Aurilia on an inside fastball for strike three and struck out Dan Ortmeier and Brian Bocock on high fastballs.

At times, however, his location was spotty, his stuff inconsistent and his velocity just passable, as he worked in the 89-92 mph range. But if last season is any indication, this just might be the beginning for Johnson as he works into shape.

Still, he was effective and likely would have pitched deeper had the defense been better.

Watching that game… that defense - ewwwhh.  Physical errors and poor decisions by several people not named Hudson. 
Late in the game, Mark Reynolds did do a scary Ryan Freel kamikaze dive over a railing with a seven-foot drop in an attempt to snag a foul pop.  The first few seconds, it appeared a priest would have to be called in to administer last rites, but Reynolds was able to get up.

NTNgod Posted: April 15, 2008 at 05:46 AM | 10 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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   1. Rich Posted: April 15, 2008 at 06:00 AM (#2744427)
He probably thought that he had left bad defense behind when the Yankees traded him.
   2. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: April 15, 2008 at 11:54 AM (#2744477)
If it's an emergency, and someone's dying and there's no priest around or anything like that, are you allowed to give someone last rites even if you aren't Catholic? I had a dream about that last night, and I wasn't sure what to do.
   3. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L) Posted: April 15, 2008 at 12:56 PM (#2744540)
What a disappointing game. Drew could've been the hero, ended up the goat. He almost made an amazing over the shoulder catch on a flare that went in and then out of his glove, allowing 2 runs to score. Then he booted the easiest DP ball you'll ever have to field as a shortstop... Reynolds was a mess on the field, thank god he didn't get seriously hurt trying to play Jeter in his head... Qualls failed to cover first base on what could've been a double play... Upton still having a tough time judging fly balls to RF, ending up with awkward breaks on them... RJ missing with his fastball all night long, but also getting ridiculously squeezed by the umpire... All in all, about the unclutchest performance you can have
   4. shoewizard Posted: April 15, 2008 at 02:36 PM (#2744635)
In the first couple of innings, RJ was just afraid to come in with his fastball, because he knew he didn't really have one. He wasn't just missing....he missed all of his fastballs high and outside. But by the 3rd inning he said screw it, and started to come in with the fastball more, and that helped set up the slider better, which was good all night. Big picture: VERY encouraging. I didn't expect him to be even this good first time out, and as Nick says in the article, it took him a few starts to get rolling last year. It's all about health of course, but when healthy, RJ will be just fine this year, and sometimes dominating.

The defense by Reynolds, Drew and Upton has been poor all season. Drew is starting to resemble a traffic cone. He only has the one error, but his range is diminishing by the hour. If this organization had a strong shortstop prospect coming up, I'd start pushing for Drew to be moved to second base next year.

In 2006 Drew's RZR of .812 would have been 3rd from last in the NL if qualified
In 2007, his .777 mark was 2nd from last
His 2008 mark of .700 is dead last.

And Reynolds defense at 3rd has the wonderful combination of no range at all, AND lots of errors to go with it. (4 so far) He has been saved at least 3 or 4 times by Jackson and Burke from having even more throwing errors. He does not react well on the liners down towards third...his reaction time is just slow.

Left side infield defense is going to be a continuing weak spot for the d backs all year. It's almost to the point where in close games with a lead, I think they should bring in both Ojeda and Burke to play SS-3b
   5. BeanoCook Posted: April 15, 2008 at 02:41 PM (#2744643)
In 2007, I watched Unit beat Boston, just one start before he re-injured his back. He was spotting a 97 MPH fastball with movement on the corner, mixing in his still incredible slider to put away hitters. It was tied with the best stuff I had ever seen from him. Amazing that was just before he got hurt and at age 43.
   6. shoewizard Posted: April 15, 2008 at 02:49 PM (#2744650)
I was at that game. It was a lot of fun. Rj and Dice K locked in a 6 inning "duel". box
   7. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L) Posted: April 15, 2008 at 03:03 PM (#2744662)
Good thing Boras is Drew's agent then. No worries about the Dbacks giving him a Jeteresque contract
   8. Crispix Attacks Posted: April 15, 2008 at 03:06 PM (#2744671)
Defense squanders Johnson's debut

Sounds like my prom night.
   9. aleskel Posted: April 15, 2008 at 03:17 PM (#2744693)
just watching the highlights, its struck me that Johnson wasn't using his lower body at ALL - it looked like he barely bent his back leg all through his motion. And when I saw he was hitting 93 MPH ... well, I thought, this has arm injury written all over it.
   10. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L) Posted: April 15, 2008 at 03:26 PM (#2744710)
it was a cold night and there's a chance johnson couldn't warm up well.
overall, it seemed like it was a miserable game time for baseball
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