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Jack on why a position player did not pitch last night (and Berardino still somehow shits on the team)
Ugly loss for the Marlins tonight, 14-2 to the Phillies, who have now taken nine of 11 games in this season series.
Poor Brian Sanches. The journeyman reliever got left out there to throw 38 pitches in a six-run Phillies ninth. Sanches finished with 76 pitches in his three innings of work.
When he got back to the dugout, Sanches kicked his glove a few times and later fired it down the runway in understandable frustration. After the game, Sanches sat in silence, ice bag on his right shoulder, staring into his locker and declining comment.
Hey, after three months of solid work, the poor guy had just seen his ERA climb by more than a full run (from 3.02) in a single outing.
“I didn’t want to see Sanches get crucified out there,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.
But it happened just the same.
I asked McKeon if he considered going to a position player to finish out the ninth, and if so who that player might have been.
“I’m not into that,” he said. “It’s embarrassing when you have 13 pitchers on your staff and you have to put an infielder in there. Maybe if it was 18-2 or something.”
McKeon said he and pitching coach Randy St. Claire didn’t even have that conversation over which position player to insert. Saw Jim Leyland use young infielder Don Kelly on the mound the other day for the Tigers — the first time Leyland has done that since returning to the dugout in 2006 — and I’m still wondering who would draw that duty for the Marlins.
Emilio Bonifacio? Bryan Peterson? Greg Dobbs?
Scott Cousins probably would if he weren’t injured. He was a standout lefty pitcher in college.
But now? It’s not so clear.
Somebody might want to figure this out, however, since it might come up again.
“We either play real close games or we get blown out,” McKeon said. “Tonight we got blown out.”
Pretty sure Ross Gload, now a Phillies reserve, was the last Marlins position player to take the mound. He did so May 22, 2009 in a 15-2 home loss to the Rays, tossing a scoreless (two-walk) ninth on just 16 pitches.
That outing came less than a month after Cody Ross mopped up in a 13-2 home loss to the Phillies on April 26, tossing a scoreless ninth inning on just 19 pitches.
Raise your hand if you miss Cody.
By the way, McKeon said he talked on the phone to newly acquired Mike Cameron tonight.
“You ready?” McKeon said to a player he managed more than a decade ago in Cincinnati.
“I want to play,” Cameron said.
“Get over here. You’re in the lineup,” McKeon said.
“Jack, I need some at-bats,” came the answer.
Cameron will be in uniform and on the roster for Wednesday’s series finale, but he will probably be eased into the mix after hitting .149 and getting designated last week in Boston.
“He’s a good defensive outfielder,” McKeon said. “He can still run a little bit. Got some power. Good guy. Real competitor. Good influence in the clubhouse. He’ll give us a veteran presence. Probably be an asset.”
Hmm. Wonder if he can pitch.
Poor Brian Sanches. The journeyman reliever got left out there to throw 38 pitches in a six-run Phillies ninth. Sanches finished with 76 pitches in his three innings of work.
When he got back to the dugout, Sanches kicked his glove a few times and later fired it down the runway in understandable frustration. After the game, Sanches sat in silence, ice bag on his right shoulder, staring into his locker and declining comment.
Hey, after three months of solid work, the poor guy had just seen his ERA climb by more than a full run (from 3.02) in a single outing.
“I didn’t want to see Sanches get crucified out there,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.
But it happened just the same.
I asked McKeon if he considered going to a position player to finish out the ninth, and if so who that player might have been.
“I’m not into that,” he said. “It’s embarrassing when you have 13 pitchers on your staff and you have to put an infielder in there. Maybe if it was 18-2 or something.”
McKeon said he and pitching coach Randy St. Claire didn’t even have that conversation over which position player to insert. Saw Jim Leyland use young infielder Don Kelly on the mound the other day for the Tigers — the first time Leyland has done that since returning to the dugout in 2006 — and I’m still wondering who would draw that duty for the Marlins.
Emilio Bonifacio? Bryan Peterson? Greg Dobbs?
Scott Cousins probably would if he weren’t injured. He was a standout lefty pitcher in college.
But now? It’s not so clear.
Somebody might want to figure this out, however, since it might come up again.
“We either play real close games or we get blown out,” McKeon said. “Tonight we got blown out.”
Pretty sure Ross Gload, now a Phillies reserve, was the last Marlins position player to take the mound. He did so May 22, 2009 in a 15-2 home loss to the Rays, tossing a scoreless (two-walk) ninth on just 16 pitches.
That outing came less than a month after Cody Ross mopped up in a 13-2 home loss to the Phillies on April 26, tossing a scoreless ninth inning on just 19 pitches.
Raise your hand if you miss Cody.
By the way, McKeon said he talked on the phone to newly acquired Mike Cameron tonight.
“You ready?” McKeon said to a player he managed more than a decade ago in Cincinnati.
“I want to play,” Cameron said.
“Get over here. You’re in the lineup,” McKeon said.
“Jack, I need some at-bats,” came the answer.
Cameron will be in uniform and on the roster for Wednesday’s series finale, but he will probably be eased into the mix after hitting .149 and getting designated last week in Boston.
“He’s a good defensive outfielder,” McKeon said. “He can still run a little bit. Got some power. Good guy. Real competitor. Good influence in the clubhouse. He’ll give us a veteran presence. Probably be an asset.”
Hmm. Wonder if he can pitch.
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