our boy joba...no bugs this time...
2.1 innings pitched...12 batters faced...62 pitches thrown...1 hit allowed...2 runs scored...and with 30 of those pitches not being strikes, it's a wonder he didn't walk more than 4.
he did strike out 3, though.
(but that balk in the second inning kinda blemished that seeming roll he could have been on...had he, in fact, been on a roll...which he, clearly, was not on, nor would he be on, anytime in the forseeable future. in fact...even if there had been a roll provided for joba to get on, he probably would sought a way to butter it and ingest it...am i right or am i right?)
joba. no bugs. yeah. the jolly little messiah...and *poof* before the disbelieving eyes of zillions of fans and foes...(and bakers of rolls)... we witness the pixie dust blowing off joba like a city worker sandblastin' a graffiti'd wall at the mayor's office...
...more or less...
look. i have no problem with joba giving away 2 runs. i don't. honestly, i don't even mind it when moose, or pettitte, or wang, or any of them other spin-the-wheel-rookie-rotation-flavor-of-the-month-why-is-he-wearin-that-number?-guys does it.
2 runs. so what...
it's not the 2 runs joba allowed by the 3rd inning that bother me.
it's the 6 runs in the 7th inning that pisses me the hell off. that's all. the 6 runs in the 7th. yeah. i have an issue with the 6 runs allowed in the 7th...
...to the smarmy likes of these losers...
stairs and rios? why them? we hate them!
i think MLB should fine and sanction any major league pitcher who allows more than 5 runs in any inning beyond the 6th. i think they should be forced to have those tear drop tattoos put on their faces, like them prison gang dudes...you know the ones...those dudes who have a teardrop for like every gang member who they know who's died...or is it every person they've murdered? yeah, whatever. that teardrop shit is something you see, but you don't question.
(you also don't question their big letters tattoo'd across their backs, their choice in music, low riders, nor weapons.)
but my point. yeah. i say it is high time for mlb to force them pitchers who allow 5 runs beyond the 6th to have some accountability for their actions. and i'm talkin accountability the whole world (and opposing teams) can SEE.
those tear drop tattoos. i think it's fair. they put warning labels on consumer goods and buildings and all that...why not relief pitchers? just a thought.
now. as per joba and our bullpen and our rotation and all the lack of hitting....
whatamigonnasay? it's june? we'll still make it? jeter and cano are gonna come around and when posada returns everything will be alright?
nah.
joba's first start reminded me of another dismal starter...long ago and far away. may 23, 1995, to be exact. this fellow went out and pitched 89 pitches in 3.1 innings. he allowed 8 hits, 5 runs (all earned), and walked 3. the yankees went on to lose that game, with a score of 10-0.
that pitcher's future would be discussed the following year, during spring training, along with the future of a 21-year-old rookie shortstop, who was also bumbling his way into the majors. turns out the mariners had a shortstop they were willing to trade for the ill-fated pitcher, and steinbrenner saw this as an opportunity to part with both of these players.
it took more than two hours to convince steinbrenner not to do it.
that pitcher...who's first major league start against the anaheim angels on may 23, 1995, mariano rivera would stay and became a hall of famer.
and so would the 21-year-old shortstop prospect, whose name was derek jeter.
"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." - Chuck Swindoll
