johnnyd381

If you look at Waechter's starts with the Rays, one of two things usually happened 1) He stayed focused, kept the ball low in the strike zone (and kept the ball in the park) and had a pretty good game only to let the bullpen blow up or 2) He would go through the line-up 1-2 times, lose his focus and let the ball get up in the strike zone and get knocked around a little bit. It is hard to say how he would handle being a starter because he is throwing the ball much harder than he was the last few seasons with the rays because his shoulder is healthy, and he was pitching in the American League. I know some of you don't think that matters, but having to face David Ortiz instead of a pitcher does make a difference. I'd say it is a toss up. He isn't a bad option to have in the pen for long relief or even to make a spot start for a double header or something. And I don't think he is a bad option for a 4-5 pitcher either.

I missed the game last night. What was the situation when Waechter came on in the 5th. I know there were 2 on and 2 out, but that's it. I also know he walked one. Did he come in and get one of his K's? As far as his .71 ERA goes, I still am on the it should be 0.00 bandwagon!!!! :notworthy

Is Waechter really any much better than Nolasco? Answer: No. Remember...we (a good % of us) were once calling for Nolasco to be in the rotation, when he was in the pen. Last I checked, Nolasco was also awesome when he was in Waechter's role. Fact is, whether it's Waechter, Nolasco, Miller, Badenhop, our starting pitching is going to be a problem this year (at least maybe till a guy like Mitre comes back, for example). Waechter has never been a good starter...he'd still be with TB, if he would've been. I know you said that you still think Waechter should be in the rotation, but as far as the Rays letting him go, it goes beyond that. Doug signed with the Marlins as a free agent. He pitched in '06 with a torn shoulder and then was released. He resigned in '07 and rehabed in the minors and actually pitched real well, but the Rays didn't bother to look at him any further. At 27 yrs old, I think we got a steal on him this winter signing him to a minor league deal. When he was pitching in '06, he wasn't hitting 90 with his fastball. Now he is back up to the mid 90's and keeping the ball low in the strike zone - which was always his problem. So I think he should at least get a few starts to see if he has the potential to be a long term fix to our rotation issues. If not, we have discovered he is very successful in long relief.

Give Jeremy a break on the flyball. He's only 24. I had no problem with Porter sending him. It took a perfect play to throw him out and even so it was pretty close. It's not like in '05 under Jeff Cox (?) when we frequently had guys thrown out by 10 feet. Seriously.........There are a couple thousand High School kids that could have made that catch. The fact that he is 24 makes it worse.

Anyone else pissed off that the 7th run became earned off Hermida's ERROR... poor Waechter... he deserved to keep his ERA at 0.00 that was clearly an error not a triple. I guess the rule is if it doesn't touch the glove it's not an error.. or something, I have no clue. It did hit the wall so that could've affected the decision. It's not so much a rule as it is a judgment call. But usually if the guy doesn't touch it, they won't give him the error, no matter how bad of a read the fielder got. Doug will get over it. He is probably more pissed he left that pitch up in the zone than Hermida spiked himself and looked like an idiot :blink: . As far as the official stats go, Hermida should man up an go to the official scorer and have them change it to an error. He looked like Canseco taking one off his head for a home run. I would be embarassed for my pitcher that he gave up an earned run on that. I guess he will at least make all the blooper highlights for the season though!!

A lot of baserunners is maybe 1.50 or so per inning. Miller allows 2.21 per inning. There's a difference there. To allow 11 baserunners and allow only one earned run means he did an excellent job of spreading out the baserunners over the 5 innings. Awesome. He still belongs in AA. And who do you suggest take his place in the rotation that is as ML ready? Why don't you give Waechter a spot start - he has starting experience and you never know what may come of it. He last started in Tampa with a dead shoulder. Who knows what he can do with a healthy one? You then send Miller down to get some innings or send him to the Pen to work through some stuff.

problem is, if we send down miller, who becomes our no5 starter? aint much point in promoting volstad for miller cos he may have the same problems give miller 1 more start and maybe he figures things out Isn't that why we signed players like Waechter? So we have some guys with big league experience until we know these guys are ready. I don't think you can determine if a AA pitcher is ready from a few innings in Spring Training when the good hitters are working on mechanics or going the other way, not caring about getting hits or their average.

I don't see the point in sending him down to AA. From what I've seen of the minors, you can't really see what a pitcher is worth until they get some innings in at the AAA level where the batters are more patient at the plate are working on getting deeper into their at bats. I grew up in Tampa and know a couple of the pitchers that went through the Rays organization and are no longer with them and from what I gather from them, all you need to do at the AA level to be successful is to either blow it by the hitters or throw it in the dirt. Batters at that level are swinging at everthing trying to prove something and make their way up to the show. That being said, I think anyone we bring up from below AAA is not going to stay with the team for any length of time. There are very few pitchers that can come up that quickly and be successful.

I think keeping a "5th starter" on the roster is necessary to start the season - even if they aren't needed right away. With pitchers still on pitch counts until May or so, you will need more long relief - especially if someone has a rough outing. With that being said, I don't think it would hurt to even keep someone who otherwise would end up in AAA on the roster for a while for this purpose such as a Bandenhop or a Waechter.

Waechter actually isn't a bad pick up for a minor league contract. At one point he led the league in leaving the game with a lead and getting a no decision. Although it was in A ball, he looked good at the end of last season with his rehab. He should do well in a pitcher friendly stadium and away from being in his home town and the distractions that go with that.