In baseball, there are real-deals, wannabes, and has-beens. But some players fall into a different category, the what-could-have-beens. After nearly a year on the disabled list, Phil Hughes makes his return to a major league mound today. One can't help but wonder what his career would have been like had he not been plagued with injuries. When healthy, he's been very, very good, but his career feels like one long series of rude interruptions. 2014 was without a doubt his best year; he won 16 games with a 3.52 ERA and a thoroughly ridiculous 11.67 K/BB ratio while garnering seven Cy Young award votes. I'm too old and jaded to expect Hughes to return to his 2014 form, I don't think anyone does. But if he can stay healthy and throw 160 innings or so he can still be a significant rotation asset for this team. Tampa sends right-hander Yonny Chirinos to the hill, he's got an ERA of 2.70 and 15 strikeouts, but he got touched for five runs in his last outing after pitching 14.1 scoreless frames over his first three starts. Play ball!
raspberries
I hope DSpan plays this well against the Yankees and BoSox
Almost 40 pitches and it still takes a little help for Hughes to get out of the 1st. No idea how only 2 runs scored. Don't think he's bringing home the CG today.
ESCOBAR!
23 game hit streak for Dozier
Rays with a little hat to go with the giant logo.
Dazzle and Cory low key roasting Kepler for missing his floor on the elevator by being too focused on his phone.
The numbers don't look that bad for Hughes, but in the parts I was able to catch, there were a lot of balls hit hard for outs. I'm not very impressed.
Good job by Pressly to keep it tied.
I could handle the endless airings of the Steve Martin/Martin Short concert ad better if the line they used in it was actually funny.
It'd be funnier if Martin Short's last name was Steve.
Or if Steve's first name was Short.
Might also be more humorous if it didn't sound like he was just reciting it, too
That's what gets me, too. The reading is just so....off. Like, it's a potentially chuckle-worthy line (though, like Jeff says, not really "holy cow, that's hilarious! that's the line we're leading with" funny), but the rote way he says it is just sort of "yep, that's totally a joke"
TB croakers on Baby Jeebus: Not sure he'll make the HOF, but he'll make the Pretty Darn Good list.
Carlos Gomez with the Bo Jackson bat snap over the leg hahhaa.
I know it's still April, but if Pressly can keep pitching well it will be a huge boost to the bullpen.
They'll need it after this series. He's the only reliever to face more than one batter in this series and not allow at least 1 run. Hildenberger struck out the only batter he faced.
Olivaesqe AB there.
At least Morrison found a way to get on base.
A lead!
Kepler defies the laws of physics again.
This just in: Gordo came out of retirement and is now doing play-by-play for TB with an altered voice.
Dazzle says of almost every player "he can run a little bit". I guess it's probably true.
The bullpen hasn't exactly distinguished itself in this series.
Come to think of it, the batters haven't done just a whole lot, either.
Rosario drives me crazy.
*looks for Crainwreck jpgs*
"Nice job by Taylor Rogers"? Dazzle, what game are you watching?
Mallex - 70's street-smart cop wearing a navy blue blazer.
hang em and bang em . 🙁
Crainwreck.jpg
With a heavy dose of Rosarioh-no
Found one.
Uh, let's leave my livelihood out of this - here's what we're looking for:
Apparently, we don't have enough relief pitchers.
Lil Sweet!
I would have preferred a nice rally-killing home run to that double play.
Hildenberger? Might as well, I guess.
Gameday showing pitches 3 and 4 both in and out of the zone. Hawkings we miss you.
OMG bases loaded and Divin' Dozier up.
If we're going to do anything, this needs to be the time.
yes!!!!
Orange Julius!!
Tie game!
Would have preferred a slug-bunt single.
If Reed gives up an 0-2 hit, Dazzle might have a heart attack right there.
Well, it wasn't an 0-2 hit.
Dazzle's had to do it and I haven't, so he has more authority here than I do. Still, I just can't believe that learning to lay down a sacrifice bunt is that difficult a thing for a major league baseball player to do.
It's like me and laundry. If you're really bad at it, they don't ass you to do it very often.
Big DP there!
Neither team has a whole lot left in the bullpen if this goes into extra innings.
Well, that didn't take long.
Oh, well. At least we can look forward to breaking the losing streak in New York.
Not much joy in the minors today, either. Rochester lost, Fort Myers lost, Chattanooga was rained out. Cedar Rapids is ahead in the sixth inning, so at least there's that.
hooray.
Thank goodness it rained where Chattanooga was playing.