Archive for 1. May 2008

Bob McCrory

1. May 2008 by Crys.

We lost yesterday’s game largely due to the pitching of a young rookie, Bob McCrory, who the Orioles brought up in exchange for Aquino. First, let me express gratitude that Aquino has left our bullpen. Now let’s talk about the game. McCrory had a rough outing, quickly loading the bases. Sarfate, known to give up his own share of walks, was brought in to get us out of the jam McCrory created. In the end, Tampa Bay scored five runs that inning and the Orioles were unable to recover from Tampa’s seven run lead.

McCrory, in his very first major league outing, had a rough time of it. I’ve seen some criticism around the Internet that Trembley threw McCrory into a situation where the Orioles were already behind. Consider this. Our young, green pitchers have to get used to playing in the majors. They have to get used to facing tough situations. They have to learn to not let their emotions get the better of them and to have confidence in their abilities. Watch Sarfate on the mound. You can visibly see him sighing and talking to himself in intense situations. Maybe he’s just a sigher and a little crazy. I don’t know. But it looks like he’s trying to compose himself. Only experience will give these guys the comfort of knowing that when they get in a tight situation, they have been there before and made it through the other side. McCrory said that he wasn’t a victim of nerves. I’m not convinced. At any rate, the next time he gets to pitch, he may think, “I can only do better than last time, so there’s nothing to sweat about.” Or maybe he’ll be scared out of his mind. But either way, he’ll only get better with practice.

So, should Trembley have waited for a different game for McCrory? No. It’s early in the season. He has to get used to the pressure and there’s no better time than now to give him that opportunity, to let him develop physically and emotionally.

And that’s the difference with the Orioles this year. When we lose a game, it doesn’t hurt the way it did last year. There’s no sense of hopelessness like we may never see another win again ever. It’s just one game. We know, or maybe I should say, I know that we have a bright future and many more wins ahead in 2008. Yes, I do realize it’s only April and anything could happen. We could have injuries. Lots of catastrophic things could ruin the great start we’ve had.

Or, we could get stronger and stronger with a team of players who are happy to be in the majors, interested in working as a team, interested in doing everything they can to get better, with the help of a manager who is serious about winning and seems to know something about how to work with people.

Yes, anything can happen.

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