Well, I am getting a late start tonight. I am really not sure how to describe this game. I am not sure I have ever seen a pitching performance like the one put on by Noah Lowry today........at any level. Noah started the game off by giving up 5 walks in a row.....not to mention 2 wild pitches (both wild pitches sailed to the backstop giving Eliezer Alfonzo zero chance to put a glove on the ball) during those 5 batters. He wasn't just wild........he was UNBELIEVABLY wild. He threw only 3 strikes......thats right THREE strikes total to those first 5 batters. The 6th batter hit a SAC fly to LF on an 0-1 count and got credit for a RBI. After 5 walks in a row....I have no idea why he swung on an 0-1 count........but lucky for Noah....he did. Noah then walked the next batter on 4 pitches. The next batter hit another SAC fly to LF...this time on a 1-1 count. Lowry then walked yet another batter.......this time taking a much more sane 7 pitches to do so. Noah got the 3rd out of the inning (on the 10th batter) when the batter inexplicably swung at a first pitch and flied out to CF.
In the first inning, Noah gave up 4 runs on NO HITS, 7 walks and 2 wild pitches. He threw exactly 40 pitches....only 10 of them strikes. So I am figuring......he got out of it with only 4 runs scored........and even though it took some help from some impatient Rangers batters........he was able to finish the inning and would be able to rationalize that he did much better against the last 5 batters of the inning. No way did it EVER enter my mind that Bruce Bochy would bring him out to pitch in the 2nd inning. After all.....Lowry had tied the highest pitch count of any Giants pitcher this spring (in only 1 inning) and at least Lowry could finish his day on a semi-positive note. No one in their right mind would trot him out there again and allow him to completely go into the dumper. But that's exactly what Bochy did.
I was shocked when Noah trotted out of the dugout for the top half of the 2nd inning. He responded to his manager's confidence by walking the lead off batter on 4 pitches. Then on a pick off attempt, Noah threw the ball 10-15 feet over Travis Ishikawa's head at 1B allowing the runner to advance to 2B. Noah made the error a moot point when he walked the next batter on 5 pitches. Finally, Noah's day was mercifully over. So......by trotting Noah back out there.........a game where he was just very bad but at least got out of the inning was turned into a complete disaster.
The final total........1+ innings pitched, 4 runs, 12 batters faced, no hits, NINE walks, 2 wild pitches and an error. Noah threw a total of 49 pitches.....only 11 of them for strikes. Just unbelievable. I saw no sign of any injury and actually I thought he might be throwing a little harder than last year......he just couldn't find the plate to save his life. And most of the balls were WAY off target. It couldn't be blamed on the umpire......as a matter of fact 2 of the 3 strikes Noah threw to the first 5 batters were questionable and could have easily been called balls.
This is only Spring Training so the actual results don't bother me at all. BUT.......the severity of the problem does bother me. I can't see any reason why a Major League pitcher would have such a melt down. If he is not injured (and from all reports he is not) this can only be a mental problem........and especially after trotting him back out there for 2 more walks and an error on 9 pitches in the 2nd inning......it could be very hard to recover from. I am sure Noah will be thinking about this outing long and hard until his next start. Hopefully, he can put it behind him.......but it is going to be VERY tough to do so.
14 comments:
He'll do better on his next start. I was hoping you'd write some stuff about Lowry but was hoping after hearing about his day, you'd had another bad back day, lol (just kidding).
This better not be a sign as to what he is going to be like. Then again, it IS just spring training.
Thats what I said after his last start....when he "only" had 3 walks and 1 wild pitch in 1.1 innings.
It's official!
NOAH DOES NOT WANT TO BE TRADED!!!
and will do ANYTHING in his power to make other teams hate him
Hopefully not, but do you think the same thing that happened to Rick Ankiel is happening to Lowry?
Rick Ankiel was the first person who came to mind. But it's too early to go there yet. But when you see a complete loss of control like that.......something as bad as I have ever seen.......it does make you think.
Wow, what a nightmare outing for Lowry. Hopefully he can put this behind him and straighten things out.
would it REALLY be so bad if Lowry went the Ankiel route and decided to just juice up till he could be a formidable addition to our putrid offense?
He's being clever - he thinks he figured out how he needs to start pitching in order to draw a 126 million salary... :)
Bochy and the morning papers were talking about how dry it was and that he couldn't get a grip on the ball. But then, other pitchers, Correia and Valdez for example, didn't seem to have any trouble at all.
Irrespective, I don't think it is a mental problem.
Regarding the question of whether Noah is becoming another Rick Ankiel, I'll take it!
Ankiel is now a power hitting outfielder.
Noah, what do you say?
It was announced this morning that Noah has tendinitis in his wrist. That would explain a lot.
It's tendinitis.
According to SFGiants.com:
"In fact, Lowry resisted Righetti's offer to leave Monday's game after the first inning and throw in the bullpen to try to fix his pitching mechanics. Besides, Lowry pointed out that throwing in the bullpen doesn't bother him physically, but pitching at "game speed" does. Admitting to reporters that he was "stubborn," Lowry insisted on returning for the second inning. He was removed after walking the first two hitters he faced."
I hope he gets back to usual quickly - he's not an elite starter like Matt and Tim, but he does generally keep us in the game.
Loving your coverage, giantfan9! Keep it going!
Rigetti's OFFER to leave the game? Who is running this team?
By the way....I am suspicious of the tendinitis claim. If it is not serious enough to miss more than a "few days" he wouldn't have been nearly as horrible as he was. Plus....it went from he couldn't grip the ball because it is unusually dry in Arizona (By the way....it's not. They are coming off their wettest winter in years) to he couldn't grip the ball because of tendinitis. It may be on the up and up......but it is VERY suspicious to me.
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