azdad1978
Championship!!!!
No. 2 starter gives up 6 runs in 1st inning
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 1, 2005 12:00 AM
Russ Ortiz knows you're going to be talking about him around the water cooler today at the office. You might rip him on the local sports talk radio circuit. Or curse him while you're sitting in traffic.
After you peek at the box score from Thursday night's 10-9 loss to the Boston Red Sox, you might want to do all three.
It wasn't pretty.
When your starting pitcher can't make it out of the first inning before getting the mercy hook from the manager, he's in for even a tougher day the following morning. It comes with the territory in baseball.
Unless, of course, you're Russ Ortiz and you've managed to convince yourself that one game, no matter how horrendous it happens to be, is still just one game. And an exhibition game, for that matter.
Then again, it also happened to Ortiz in his Arizona debut at Bank One Ballpark. In front of a crowd of 34,550. Against the reigning world champions. (Well, at least half of the world champions, as Boston chose to keep the brunt of its 'A' lineup in Florida for a split-squad game there.)
"Yeah, it stinks," Ortiz said after allowing six runs on four hits - each of them a solid smash - and walking four straight batters before being lifted with one out by manager Bob Melvin.
"But it's one game, just like any game during the season. It doesn't make or break anything."
Not unless you're worried about the walks, and Ortiz, the Diamondbacks' No. 2 starter, who has led the National League in freebies twice before, had 112 last season. Or the fastballs he keeps leaving over the plate when he falls behind in the count.
"A lot of people will talk about it and say, 'Hey, it's his last start before the real season' and stuff like that, but I don't think anything like that is going to happen," said Ortiz, who makes his first official start Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs.
"I mean, I hope not. But if it does during the season, it's one game, you know?
"You get over it."
Having Troy Glaus on your side doesn't hurt. The Diamondbacks' new third baseman hit his fifth and sixth home runs of spring training after Arizona fell behind 6-0 and helped his team draw even by the third inning.
Glaus hit both shots off Boston starter Bronson Arroyo, a two-run blast to left in the first and a three-run rocket in the third to raise his spring training batting average to .426 (23 for 54) with 29 RBIs - the most in the majors.
"Tremendous power," Ortiz said, finally forcing a smile. "It's exciting knowing he's going to be on our team."
It'll be nicer still if Ortiz never has another meltdown like Thursday.
He had a point, though, when he said reporters rarely go to a hitter after an 0-for-4 outing and pick their game apart.
"You're not going to ask that stuff to hitters because you know they're going to get their at-bats," he said.
"Same thing with me. I'm going to get 34 or maybe more starts, so that one (bad outing) doesn't make a big difference."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0401dbacks0401.html
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 1, 2005 12:00 AM
Russ Ortiz knows you're going to be talking about him around the water cooler today at the office. You might rip him on the local sports talk radio circuit. Or curse him while you're sitting in traffic.
After you peek at the box score from Thursday night's 10-9 loss to the Boston Red Sox, you might want to do all three.
It wasn't pretty.
When your starting pitcher can't make it out of the first inning before getting the mercy hook from the manager, he's in for even a tougher day the following morning. It comes with the territory in baseball.
Unless, of course, you're Russ Ortiz and you've managed to convince yourself that one game, no matter how horrendous it happens to be, is still just one game. And an exhibition game, for that matter.
Then again, it also happened to Ortiz in his Arizona debut at Bank One Ballpark. In front of a crowd of 34,550. Against the reigning world champions. (Well, at least half of the world champions, as Boston chose to keep the brunt of its 'A' lineup in Florida for a split-squad game there.)
"Yeah, it stinks," Ortiz said after allowing six runs on four hits - each of them a solid smash - and walking four straight batters before being lifted with one out by manager Bob Melvin.
"But it's one game, just like any game during the season. It doesn't make or break anything."
Not unless you're worried about the walks, and Ortiz, the Diamondbacks' No. 2 starter, who has led the National League in freebies twice before, had 112 last season. Or the fastballs he keeps leaving over the plate when he falls behind in the count.
"A lot of people will talk about it and say, 'Hey, it's his last start before the real season' and stuff like that, but I don't think anything like that is going to happen," said Ortiz, who makes his first official start Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs.
"I mean, I hope not. But if it does during the season, it's one game, you know?
"You get over it."
Having Troy Glaus on your side doesn't hurt. The Diamondbacks' new third baseman hit his fifth and sixth home runs of spring training after Arizona fell behind 6-0 and helped his team draw even by the third inning.
Glaus hit both shots off Boston starter Bronson Arroyo, a two-run blast to left in the first and a three-run rocket in the third to raise his spring training batting average to .426 (23 for 54) with 29 RBIs - the most in the majors.
"Tremendous power," Ortiz said, finally forcing a smile. "It's exciting knowing he's going to be on our team."
It'll be nicer still if Ortiz never has another meltdown like Thursday.
He had a point, though, when he said reporters rarely go to a hitter after an 0-for-4 outing and pick their game apart.
"You're not going to ask that stuff to hitters because you know they're going to get their at-bats," he said.
"Same thing with me. I'm going to get 34 or maybe more starts, so that one (bad outing) doesn't make a big difference."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0401dbacks0401.html
