by John Scanlan
Jason Schmidt did not look like a major league pitcher last night. Yes, he “won” the game, but he topped out at 86 MPH and was consistently 83-84.
Aside from the balls that hit the wall, he gave up several hard hit balls that were fortunate to find gloves.
It’s still a great story though. Granted, it’s tough to pull for someone who has only started 7 times despite making $47 million, but good on Schmidt for continuing to try and come back. He could have just sat back and collected his money, but he busted his hump to try and contribute.
That being said, there’s no way the Dodgers should even consider relying upon him or be fooled into thinking that he’s back. He’s not the Dodgers 5th best starter. Guys like Jeff Weaver and James Macdonald are better than Schmidt at this point. The Reds offense is the most inept product out of Cincinnati since Herb Tarlek, so they shouldn’t be used as a barometer for Schmidt’s ability at this point.
Russell Martin has had an encouraging month of July, posting a line of .362/.444/.426/.870. He’s probably better suited for the #2 hole, where he hit last night and got on base all 4 times he was up. However, that’s where Orlando Hudson has been hitting and hitting well, so he’ll have to figure it out wherever he’s hitting in the lineup.
If the Twins fall a game short in the AL Central this year, they can look back at last night’s game. The Twins were up by 10 runs on the A’s, only to lose 14-13. The game ended with Michael Cuddyer tagged out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch. Cuddyer was clearly safe. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire didn’t make excuses though. While pointing out that Cuddyer was safe, he also recognized that the Twins shouldn’t have even been in that position in the first place and refused to blame the umpires for the loss.
Quick update on Rosemead High’s Henry Barrera, who is pitching in the Kansas City organization: He’s been out since June 12th with an elbow injury and has only thrown 3 2/3 innings this year. He was put on the Royals 40-man roster this winter, so they will be patient with him.
Another local product, San Gabriel’s John Grabow, will certainly be traded by the Pirates before next Friday’s trade deadline. He’s having a decent year for Pittsburgh and has posted 9 straight scoreless appearances, but he becomes a free agent next year and Pittsburgh doesn’t have the luxury of paying millions for a set-up man. Some of the possible destinations include the Dodgers, Angels, Phillies, Red Sox and Rockies, all playoff caliber teams in need of relief help.
Quick Scans is living on the air in the Midvalley every Monday-Thursdays at midvalleysports.com
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