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09-12-2006, 10:36 AM
Oh, dear. So, R-Lo was rescued from the bullpen because Kris Benson, who was supposed to start, had strep throat. He had a lead when he left the game, but then rookie Hoey came in in the 7th and all hell broke loose. And Sam left him in longer than alot of people thought he should have, and Fernando Tatis, a natural 3rd baseman, was in left field and misplayed a grounder and that's when the game went to pot.
So, read it and weep.
Six-run 7th lifts Yankees over O's
Lopez is super sub; missed fly hurts 'pen
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Reporter
Originally published September 12, 2006
When he retired his final batter, Orioles emergency starter Rodrigo Lopez sprinted off the mound and into the Orioles' dugout. He shouldn't have been in such a hurry to give the ball to the Orioles' bullpen.
In an unsightly seventh inning that prompted boos from those fans at Camden Yards who actually showed up to cheer for the home team, the Orioles coughed up a three-run lead to the New York Yankees when rookie reliever Jim Hoey melted down, and converted outfielder Fernando Tatis fell down.
Before 21,742 last night at Camden Yards, the Yankees sent 10 batters to the plate in their six-run seventh, dealing the Orioles a wrenching 9-6 loss and forcing manager Sam Perlozzo to answer questions about why he didn't rescue Hoey earlier.
Hoey, a 23-year-old who made his major league debut about 2 1/2 weeks ago and started the season in Single-A, was allowed to face nine batters - four of them got hits, one walked and two more were hit by the time Perlozzo yanked the pitcher, the Orioles' 5-2 lead dissolving into an 8-5 deficit.
"I thought he was throwing the ball as good as I've seen him throw it," Perlozzo said. "He was up to 97 miles an hour. He had a nice slider. They really didn't hit the ball that hard off him. The hardest ball that they hit should have been caught."
Perlozzo was referring to Robinson Cano's liner that twisted and turned and then grounded Tatis, a natural third baseman who was making his second career start in left field. The three-run double gave the Yankees a 7-5 lead.
"I thought he would have caught that ball," said Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora . "It's not like he cannot play there, but why [do] you stick the guy there if he hasn't played there in a long time? He never plays there."
Said Perlozzo: "If he makes that play, we're out of the inning. That pretty much told the story."
Left-hander Brian Burres, also a rookie, was ready in the bullpen when Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone came to the mound for a consulation with Hoey, who had loaded the bases with one out, the Orioles leading by three runs. Perlozzo and Mazzone opted to stay with Hoey, who surrendered a sacrifice fly to Bobby Abreu and an RBI single to Alex Rodriguez that cut the Orioles' lead to 5-4.
Hoey hit Jorge Posada, loading the bases once again. Several Orioles looked toward the dugout as if they were expecting a pitching change. They never got one.
"I was surprised that they stayed with me, but I did have good stuff," Hoey said. "Leo said that when he came to the mound. He said, 'You have really good stuff, go after these guys.' I tried to do it, but they got to me."
Perlozzo said he didn't think it would be a good time to put in Burres, the 25-year-old who had a nosebleed in his major league debut last week.
"It's a little tough to put him in an unknown, put him in a bases-loaded situation against the New York Yankees," Perlozzo said. "We've been pretty consistent all along with our kids, trying to nurse them through and get some experience.
"We had Todd [Williams] sitting out there but he's facing all left-handers. I thought our guy on the mound had the best chance to get them out and he really should have."
In fairness to Hoey and Perlozzo, he should have gotten out of the seventh with the Orioles still leading. But Tatis took a circuitous route to Cano's liner, twisting and turning before falling down as the ball fell to the ground. Bernie Williams then added an RBI single, plating the sixth run off Hoey in the inning. He then was removed.
"It was a tough play," said Tatis, who scored the Orioles' first run when he tripled in the third inning and scored on Cano's errant throw. "It went over my head. There was nothing I could do."
The decisive play also illustrated a quandary that Perlozzo faces nearly every night with so few options on the bench. With towering lefty Randy Johnson on the mound for the Yankees, Perlozzo was forced to play the right-handed Tatis in the outfield because he has no conventional right-handed-hitting outfielders on the bench.
"We're in a situation where we have two infielders playing the outfield," said Perlozzo, referring to Tatis and Brandon Fahey, the normal starter in left field. "You can't put another lefty in there against Randy. That's what we have right now."
Johnson allowed nine hits and five earned runs in six innings, but won anyway, taking his sixth victory in his past seven outings. Chris Gomez , one of the few Orioles to have any success against Johnson, gave the Orioles a 5-2 lead with a sixth-inning double. He is now 7-for-18 against the Yankees' left-hander over the past two seasons.
Rodrigo Lopez , who started only because Kris Benson was scratched after being diagnosed with strep throat, allowed two runs - both in the second inning - five hits and three walks while striking out five in six innings. He out-pitched Johnson (17-10) and was in position to win his 10th game, but instead, was forced to watch the Orioles' implosion from the dugout.
The Orioles (62-81) lost the final three games of the series and are now a season-high 19 games under .500 with the Boston Red Sox in town tonight for the start of a three-game series.
"This is the craziest year," Mora said. "It's unbelievable. I don't know what to say, what can I say? It's one of those years I am never going to forget. But all we can do is we have to keep going, keep playing."
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun
So, read it and weep.
Six-run 7th lifts Yankees over O's
Lopez is super sub; missed fly hurts 'pen
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Reporter
Originally published September 12, 2006
When he retired his final batter, Orioles emergency starter Rodrigo Lopez sprinted off the mound and into the Orioles' dugout. He shouldn't have been in such a hurry to give the ball to the Orioles' bullpen.
In an unsightly seventh inning that prompted boos from those fans at Camden Yards who actually showed up to cheer for the home team, the Orioles coughed up a three-run lead to the New York Yankees when rookie reliever Jim Hoey melted down, and converted outfielder Fernando Tatis fell down.
Before 21,742 last night at Camden Yards, the Yankees sent 10 batters to the plate in their six-run seventh, dealing the Orioles a wrenching 9-6 loss and forcing manager Sam Perlozzo to answer questions about why he didn't rescue Hoey earlier.
Hoey, a 23-year-old who made his major league debut about 2 1/2 weeks ago and started the season in Single-A, was allowed to face nine batters - four of them got hits, one walked and two more were hit by the time Perlozzo yanked the pitcher, the Orioles' 5-2 lead dissolving into an 8-5 deficit.
"I thought he was throwing the ball as good as I've seen him throw it," Perlozzo said. "He was up to 97 miles an hour. He had a nice slider. They really didn't hit the ball that hard off him. The hardest ball that they hit should have been caught."
Perlozzo was referring to Robinson Cano's liner that twisted and turned and then grounded Tatis, a natural third baseman who was making his second career start in left field. The three-run double gave the Yankees a 7-5 lead.
"I thought he would have caught that ball," said Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora . "It's not like he cannot play there, but why [do] you stick the guy there if he hasn't played there in a long time? He never plays there."
Said Perlozzo: "If he makes that play, we're out of the inning. That pretty much told the story."
Left-hander Brian Burres, also a rookie, was ready in the bullpen when Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone came to the mound for a consulation with Hoey, who had loaded the bases with one out, the Orioles leading by three runs. Perlozzo and Mazzone opted to stay with Hoey, who surrendered a sacrifice fly to Bobby Abreu and an RBI single to Alex Rodriguez that cut the Orioles' lead to 5-4.
Hoey hit Jorge Posada, loading the bases once again. Several Orioles looked toward the dugout as if they were expecting a pitching change. They never got one.
"I was surprised that they stayed with me, but I did have good stuff," Hoey said. "Leo said that when he came to the mound. He said, 'You have really good stuff, go after these guys.' I tried to do it, but they got to me."
Perlozzo said he didn't think it would be a good time to put in Burres, the 25-year-old who had a nosebleed in his major league debut last week.
"It's a little tough to put him in an unknown, put him in a bases-loaded situation against the New York Yankees," Perlozzo said. "We've been pretty consistent all along with our kids, trying to nurse them through and get some experience.
"We had Todd [Williams] sitting out there but he's facing all left-handers. I thought our guy on the mound had the best chance to get them out and he really should have."
In fairness to Hoey and Perlozzo, he should have gotten out of the seventh with the Orioles still leading. But Tatis took a circuitous route to Cano's liner, twisting and turning before falling down as the ball fell to the ground. Bernie Williams then added an RBI single, plating the sixth run off Hoey in the inning. He then was removed.
"It was a tough play," said Tatis, who scored the Orioles' first run when he tripled in the third inning and scored on Cano's errant throw. "It went over my head. There was nothing I could do."
The decisive play also illustrated a quandary that Perlozzo faces nearly every night with so few options on the bench. With towering lefty Randy Johnson on the mound for the Yankees, Perlozzo was forced to play the right-handed Tatis in the outfield because he has no conventional right-handed-hitting outfielders on the bench.
"We're in a situation where we have two infielders playing the outfield," said Perlozzo, referring to Tatis and Brandon Fahey, the normal starter in left field. "You can't put another lefty in there against Randy. That's what we have right now."
Johnson allowed nine hits and five earned runs in six innings, but won anyway, taking his sixth victory in his past seven outings. Chris Gomez , one of the few Orioles to have any success against Johnson, gave the Orioles a 5-2 lead with a sixth-inning double. He is now 7-for-18 against the Yankees' left-hander over the past two seasons.
Rodrigo Lopez , who started only because Kris Benson was scratched after being diagnosed with strep throat, allowed two runs - both in the second inning - five hits and three walks while striking out five in six innings. He out-pitched Johnson (17-10) and was in position to win his 10th game, but instead, was forced to watch the Orioles' implosion from the dugout.
The Orioles (62-81) lost the final three games of the series and are now a season-high 19 games under .500 with the Boston Red Sox in town tonight for the start of a three-game series.
"This is the craziest year," Mora said. "It's unbelievable. I don't know what to say, what can I say? It's one of those years I am never going to forget. But all we can do is we have to keep going, keep playing."
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun