So, during my conversation with Pat Gillick yesterday, we discussed Tom Gordon and his disastrous ninth inning Monday, and I posed a question that I raised here on The Blog.Is it possible that, at age 40, Gordon may be through as an effective late-inning reliever?
Gillick's rather candid answer: "He's not the Gordon he was. He's 40 years old. To say that his stuff at 40 is the same as it was at 23, that's not being realistic. But his stuff is still plenty good to pitch in the big leagues. Ability-wise, he has enough stuff to pitch in the big leagues. I mean, look at what he did for us last September. He had what, a 1-something ERA? That's the latest data you've got to go on. Spring training is another thing. Veteran guys use it to get themselves in shape, not as a yardstick for any indication of how they're pitching."
Fair enough. Gordon did have a 1.32 ERA in his last 15 appearances last season. Let's not write off his 2008 just yet.
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Just in case, though, the Phillies have signed 39-year-old reliever Rudy Seanez, pending a physical. He may be in uniform tonight. I'll update you from the Bank later.
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Kevin Noonan thinks Charlie Manuel was a slave to going by "The Book" on Monday. I disagree. J.C. Romero has been a lefty specialist for most of his career, and with five of the Nationals' next six hitters being right-handed, I thought Gordon was the way to go. Your thoughts?
2 comments:
agreed. the philly phaitful can become over dramatic at times (myself included!).
It was one game and it didn't work out. It happens.
Let's hope tonight goes better!
My brother and I commented in the 8th that Manuel should-but-wouldn't leave Romero in, albeit on a short leash. Even if only to pitch to Nick Johnson.
Probably the larger point is that Manuel shouldn't have used Gordon. It seems silly to use the closer in a tie game. Yes, we hope to win in the 9th, but the closer is supposed to close.
But it is only one game. It's too early to draw conclusions.
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