Short Hops: New stadium can't save Nats from embarrassment
Question is, which of those guys will be around in, oh, 2013 when, at their current pace, the Reds will sit down to write their fans again?
Riding CC
Milwaukee manager Ned Yost was answering some tough questions after allowing ace CC Sabathia to go the distance and throw 130 pitches in Monday's 9-3 romp over Houston.
He was accused of abusing Sabathia in some quarters, the conspiracy theorists' point being, the lefty is eligible for free agency this winter and there's a good chance Milwaukee won't be able to afford him, so what do the Brewers care if they use him to excess?
It's a valid question on the surface -- for Sabathia or any apparent "rental" player. And though the obvious and smart thing for Yost to do would have been to pull him after seven or eight innings with such a big lead, that the Brewers are recklessly throwing caution to the wind, consequences be damned, doesn't hold water.
First of all, the Brewers are quite aware that five weeks stand between them and their first postseason berth since 1982. Sabathia is as big a key as anything toward getting through these five weeks. If the Brewers are going to intentionally roll the dice, they're going to do it when the finish line is a lot closer than it is now.
Second, the biggest thing Yost took away from last season, when his inexperienced team collapsed in the final weeks, was that he needs to trust his starters more. I know this for a fact, because ... he told me while we were sitting in the visiting manager's office in San Diego's Petco Park last week (and just a few days before Sabathia's 130-pitch start).
"That's one of the biggest things," Yost said. "I think I sat and reviewed things all winter long. I reviewed our performance, I reviewed what I could do better."
And what he came up with was that he needed to "give quality starters a little more leeway instead of calling on relievers when the starter still has gas in the tank."
The result is that, as the Brewers storm toward the stretch run leading the NL wild-card race (by 2 1/2 games over St. Louis at midweek) and chasing the Cubs (whom they trailed by five games), Milwaukee's bullpen should be exceedingly fresh. Stretch runs often are decided by bullpens, and the Brewers at midweek had thrown the fewest innings in the NL (353 1/3).
"It hasn't always worked out, but it has been beneficial," Yost said. "Teams are complaining that their bullpens are overworked, and ours is grossly underworked."
The flip side, of course, is that the Brewers' rotation at midweek had pitched more innings (792 2/3) than any other NL club (and ranked second in the majors to the Angels' 794 2/3).
That said, I think it still would be smart for Yost to begin looking for ways to give his sensational midseason acquisition a rest here and there. One way he plans to is to take advantage of built-in off days in Milwaukee's schedule: He plans to stay with a five-man rotation through season's end, meaning Sabathia will pitch on five days' rest, instead of four, probably at least three times over these next five weeks.
Sabathia has been nothing short of sensational, but the numbers don't lie, and colleague Danny Knobler looked them up the other day: The 130-pitch outing was a career high for Sabathia. And he's now thrown 120 or more pitches three times in nine starts for the Brewers.
He had only three of those 120-plus outings over his past 3 1/2 seasons in Cleveland.
They're going everywhere, man
And so it began on Thursday evening: Minnesota's 14-game, 15-day trip to Anaheim, Seattle, Oakland and Toronto that is foisted upon them partly because of the Republican National Convention, which will be held in the Twin Cities the first week of September.
The Twins, who trailed the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central by one game entering Thursday's trip opener, were 46-23 in the Metrodome and 26-31 on the road.
"I call this a vacation to California, a sightseeing trip," manager Ron Gardenhire was saying in the Angel Stadium visiting manager's office Thursday afternoon. "We're going to three great cities (in the West) and we're getting them all in one trip.
"The toughest part will be going to Toronto, adding that. The time of year is difficult, because you'd like to mix in some games at home. But three cities in one trip here, that's pretty good."
Collusion? What collusion?
Outgoing Giants owner Peter Magowan, on the accusations that Barry Bonds is being blackballed by the major leagues this season: "That's so much bulls---. People have to decide what they want for their own reasons. I can't speak for other teams. I know the guy can still hit. Frankly, nobody's called me up and said, 'Should we sign Barry Bonds?'"
