In fact, now that I think about it, an entire crew of umps calling a tight zone would definitely help the Rays hitters the way many of them come to the plate more than they would help us.
Three of the four balls to Moreland could easily have been called strikes and really this entire crew has an odd perspective on home plate. Don't think I have seen so many guys on one MLB crew calling such a tight zone.
Take Pedey, X and Mookie out of this batting order and they look helpless. They should be better than that but with two guys in diapers, basically they are not.
I have no clue why we think nunny is a 2nd baseman of any sort. What....he showed up with a 2nd base mitt in his bag and we thought that was enough. He can barely stand up out there at the position.
That was only a matter of time. Only dif between Nunny and a port-o-potty at 2nd base is that Nunny is a port-o-potty with a glove hanging off the handle.
We have at least two starters that now rely on high FB's as their K pitch that probably should be trying harder to just keep the barrel of the bat off the ball and let them hit it somewhere to a fielder. Porcello used to rely on the Sinker but now tries to get outs on high heat. Pomeranz now tries to get outs on high heat. Eddie definitely tries too hard to K people though he is starting to do better at that last couple of starts.
Of late the entire staff has thrown crap for location no matter what they are throwing up there.
Plus the Rays hitters are hitting mistake pitches so well you have to think they are prepared for the types of mistakes a particular starter is likely to make and are just waiting on that pitch to show up and BANG.....SEE YA'
Cash has taken Cora to school early in the season. His lineups have been solid. He has had to schedule a bullpen game out of every 4-5 and he has pulled it off so far.
Cookies from LH starters to RH hitters from RH starters to LH hitters.....starting rotation wheels have come off. Almost all of them with a runner or more on. This has been ugly.
We need Pedey back badly. Nunny is a guy capable of giving Devers a day or two off at 3rd. We would do just as well as put a port-o-potty at 2nd and hope the hit baseball bangs into the thing and ricochets over to 1st.
I think my first post of this actual season noted how much both Beni and Holt had "filled out" this off season. But you could the case that Beni would fill out as he got older anyway and that Holt needed some added bulk. He has been far too frail early in his career. Not sure if it was a factor in his hammy. Mookie looks as soiid as ever and Mookie has.........a hammy I think.
Maybe they need more pre-game flexibility and stretching and more liquids during the games themselves.