Rebels Sneak By Tide 8-7
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Mar 21, 2009 8:56 AM EDT
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PrintBrian Walker's Elbow will have more to share with you at the end of this series but, for now, a quick note or two on last night's game.
The opening SEC game in the newly renovated Oxford-University Stadium couldn't have been more dramatic or frustrating. The Rebels won after a passed ball allowed Kyle Henson to cross home plate in the bottom of the 9th. Now, that certainly may be an exciting way to win the game by itself but, when considering the necessity of a walk-off or extra innings situation was due primarily to Scott Bittle being unable to throw strikes, it's not so thrilling.
During the final two innings, The Bittler walked 6 runners, loaded the bases twice, and allowed a 5-3 Rebel lead to turn into a 7-5 deficit. It honestly seemed as if he was physically incapable of throwing strikes for a few moments.
Thankfully, the 9th inning's convergence of hot Rebel bats and sloppy Tide pitching kept Biddle from earning the blown save.
It's hard to tell who we fans should be frustrated over. Has Bittle lost it, or is he trying too hard? And what does it say about Mike Bianco if he's willing to allow his closer to walk five runners in two innings without leaving the mound?
Eh, that's baseball (right?)... At least Bama's closer wasn't worth much of a damn either.
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since he gave up the lead, biddle still "earned" the blown save.
he also gets the win, though i’m not sure we should use the term “earned” for that.
Cashing checks and having sex.
Are you sure?
Perhaps he gets the blown save, but Rory McKean got the win on the box score.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Mar 21, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
wasn't sure about if he got pulled and someone else got the win, but you come in and lose the lead you get a BS.
where do you go for box scores? i only checked sportsline, but it didn’t have them. espn?
Cashing checks and having sex.
What's really confusing...
…is why we only left Morgan in for one out.
I can understand wanting to get “Biddle” (was that a Freudian Slip, Ghost?) in to throw “the thing,” but let’s at least see what Morgan has for one full inning, then bring Scotty in. I think the off-season mistique/hype of Bittle has Rebel nation in a fervor, and perhaps some of that has metastasized onto the team itself. I would like to see him throw middle relief in a mid-week game or two to find his stuff.
Just me?
Freudian Slip?
Attribute my slip-up to me having written a blog post early on a Saturday morning.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Mar 21, 2009 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Bittle needs to find his confidence again… he’s one of those pitchers who does better when the world expects him to fail. And right now, everyone expects him to be perfect. I think there’s still reason to believe that he’ll finish strong this season.
And finally, a Sunday without Aaron Barrett- although it wasn’t much better with Buk.
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