On Wednesday, Shields came in and, while he gave up a hit, pitched a great inning including 2 strikeouts. All of the sudden the emails started flying about how great Shields is, how’s he’s back to his old form, and how misguided I am in my hatred of this hack. Pretty soon Shields had more supporters than ObamaCare (8).
You have to understand something: I don’t hate Shields because he has no talent. He has great stuff. His fastball has great movement. He can really throw the ball, no doubt. It is because of this talent that he’s so putrid. He has the stuff to be a great pitcher, but the 6 inches between his ears causes him to choke almost every time. Of course most of the world can’t pitch as well as Scot; then again, most of the world doesn’t get paid millions and get called “the best setup man in baseball”. He is being judged by his performance on the mound, and when it matters, he usually crumbles.
So after Wednesday’s game, all the Shields’ lovers where as happy as Michael Jackson at a Boy Scout camp-out (what, too soon?) One ardent supporter (aka “moron”) emailed me “I would like to announce that Scot Shields’ ERA is still 0.00!!!”. LOL. Seriously? Then a funny thing happened on the way to the Cy Young presentation – Scot had to pitch again. And that opportunity came Saturday night against the A’s.
This time it was a crucial game situation, unlike Wednesday’s 3 run deficit in the 9th inning. This time it was a 3-3 game in the 8th inning. A groundout, a double, an RBI fielder’s choice, and a blown save. This is typical Shield’s! This is the whole reason for this blog! This is what he does consistently!
Thanks to Matsui for saving the Angel’s sorry butts. He drives in runs better than, well, he probably drives a car.
Look for our new blog, coming soon: BrandonWoodSucks.com.
