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Adam Jones puts the skids on the Orioles losing streak…Terry Francona helped, too…
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Baltimore Orioles center-fielder and promising prospect Adam Jones smacked a bases-clearing double off of Hideki Okajima to give the Birds a 6-3 win over the Red Sox last night in front of a packed house (ahem) of about 20,000 people at Fenway Park at Camden Yards.
While Jones has struggled at times this season offensively, his numbers with the bases loaded are 3-5 with nine RBIs. Jones is already as solid as any center fielder in the game defensively, and has plenty of speed to steal bases once he learns the ins-and-outs of major league base running. But last night, in the clutch against a solid pitcher, he showed patience as he worked the count and waited for his pitch.
Okajima was struggling mightily in the 8 th, and it’s a wonder that he was not pulled from the game. Several camera shots on MASN showed Francona uncharacteristically staring at the ground in the dugout during that inning and seemingly not paying attention. If I were a coach in that dugout…“Hey, Terry. Sorry to interrupt your Tommy Chong moment, but Okajima is getting his chopsticks handed to him out there. Maybe it’s time we make a change. Whaddya think?”
Jokes aside, Okajima was struggling with his control. The Sox southpaw was inconsistently hitting the strike zone, and when he did, he tended to hang balls over the middle of the dish.
Jeremy Guthrie has got to be the most frustrated pitcher in the world right now. He is pitching marvelously, as his 3.58 ERA, 2:1 strikeout:walk ratio, and .123 WHIP indicate, but his record is an unimpressive 2-6. After throwing a two-run gem against the Sox last night, the dire O’s offense struggled to put runs up for him again and he did not factor into the decision. It’s a shame that Guthrie cannot get any run support. The same thing happened to him last season, and it simply cannot continue.
Look at Manger Dave Trembley! Shades of Earl Weaver (kind of)! Trembley got bounced early in the game last night for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout after a terrible display of umpiring. Trembley has brought a little fire into the clubhouse, something the team has been missing for awhile. How can we forget last summer when he ejected an umpire?
After he got the boot last night, he came storming out of the dugout to confront home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, who was as inconsistent as any umpire I’ve seen recently when it came to the strike zone. Trembley got in his grill and let the spit fly, then proceeded to trace home plate and the batters box lines, indicating that’s where Marquez was calling strikes. After a quick check of the QuestTech machine, it turns out Trembley was right. This was on the heels of a strike ‘em out-throw ‘em out DP, where Marquez called Aubrey Huff out on strikes with a fastball at the ankles. Although Trembley didn't get tossed directly after that play, it was quite obvious he had been heckling Marquez for a good two innings.
Radhames Liz, a promising pitching prospect, gets his first start tonight against the Twins, taking the place of the struggling old-timer Steve Trachsel who was moved to the bullpen. Game time, 8:10.
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