In the preview to this game, I made a point of voicing my displeasure for Tyler Chatwood and his incessant nibbling at the corners. After this game, I have to say… well, I have to say nothing because Chatwood stepped is game to correct his flaws and now the cat’s got my tongue.
It wasn’t that I ever gave up on Chatwood, in fact, quite the opposite. I’ve been actively rooting for the kid since he got called up. All the sabermetricians have been harping on him for his poor peripherals, but I’ve been patiently waiting for him to turn those stats around (and he is, by the way) enough to get them to change their tune. But his previous start was such a step in the wrong direction that my faith in Tyler had begun to waiver, well, waiver no more.
A bounce back start for Chatwood was never out of the question, especially since he has had a habit of alternating good and bad starts, but for him to come out and carve up Baltimore for seven innings by striking out five batters and issuing no walks was more than I could hope for. But that wasn’t what impressed me the most. 86 pitches. That’s all he needed and it exemplifies what a step forward he took.
There was no nibbling, there was no wasting pitches. It was just attack, attack, attack from the first pitch to the last.
Now instead of trying not to lose my faith in Chatwood, I’m going to have to do my best to not get too excited, at least not until he shows this same aggressiveness in his next two or three outings.
Game Notes
- Not to bury the lead, but, um, MIKE TROUT HIT A HOMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK, overreacting over. Seeing Trouty go yard was terrific and sign that he is not overmatched in the bigs (though that Worrell kid might be). Then to see Mike in left and Speedy Petey in center at the same time, I couldn’t help but fantasize about seeing that combo catching every flyball in the world together for the next fifteen years. I still think they should send Trout to Triple-A in the next week, but I’m even more excited about 2012 than I was before.
- Hey, somebody woke up Maicer Izturis finally. Not that I didn’t enjoy all of his 0-fors this month, but his hold on the leadoff spot was starting to get pretty tenuous, or at least it would have if somebody other than Mike Scioscia was managing the team.
- Reason #1,455,354 why Bobby Wilson should start over Jeff Mathis: Wilson took two walks today. On top of never hitting, Mathis almost never walks either, making him even more of an offensive black hole. Now, Wilson is hardly the second-coming of Bobby Abreu, but he already has two two-walk games this year and six total walks in just 39 at-bats, whereas Mathis has 11 walks in 169 at-bats. Please, Sosh, give us more Bobby.
Halo Hero
That’s my boy!