|
Life Without Yoder
It's
not a question of whether we'll be playing without Seth Yoder for
the summer (expected return: August 19th). We won't. The question
is how well we'll be playing as we wave goodbye to our ace for two
and a half months.
We
are on top of the league with a 12-3 record, but we've been notorious
for winning low-scoring games thanks to our pitching success and
hitting lack of. I'm expectedly leading the team offensively, but
my numbers are below average (like Carmichael, thanks to a couple
games in atrocious conditions). Even moreso, Eric Christensen has
been the second-most successful hitter, hitting .254. As most who
have seen Eric play, this isn't something you'd expect from a 12-3
team. The reason we're where we are is obviously our pitching, but
with Seth leaving, it's apparent that we won't be able to ride it
forever.
Our
liability from the mound (Christensen) has so far been phenominal,
posting a 2.80 ERA (team-worst) with much-improved accuracy and
the occasional glimpse of (gasp) velocity. I've been...well...relatively
struggling, but sit with a reasonable 2.23 ERA. Both Seth and Deatrick
have pitched above expectations. Deatrick's been not only sporting
impressive Horsemen-like accuracy, but he's gung-ho about pitching,
seemingly willing to go every inning if allowed. And Seth himself
has been near-unhittable, sporting a 0.57 ERA (second to the truly-unhittable
Carmichael) and only allowing one homerun in 15 IP. He gave up 20
HRs in 46+ IP last season. The reason is his splitter, which is
working (or should I say, WAS working) like a dream, inducing numerous
groundballs if not strikeouts. It's his third season, and Seth now
knows he's one of the top 3 pitchers in the league.
His
absense will hurt us. Some might not agree, noting that he's only
hitting .222 (12-54) and has been striking out more frequently than
ever (2.08 AB/K). However, he's been on the way up, hitting .269
in his last 26 ABs, 20 of which came during a heavy downpour, the
same time Scott Carmichael went 2-26. He is just starting to learn
that he's way too patient and way too selective at the plate for
his own good. Hey, it works great in baseball, but our strike zone
doesn't allow you to sit and wait for your pitch when guys are throwing
strikes no more than two inches off the ground. He's figuring that
out, and it's a shame that the timing couldn't really be worse.
But with our team, it's not about numbers, it's about results, and
the results are pretty clear.
He's
been our ace. His arm is strong and reliable and he's gotten us
out of many jams in our many close, low-scoring, one-run games.
Thanks to this, we're 12-3 and in the driver's seat while he leaves.
He should be back for our final six games (possibly nine) as we
strive for the post-season. We discussed this before the season:
while he's here we had to jump out of the gate and get way above
.500. We did that. Seth did his job. Now it's our team's job to
holt the fort long enough and well enough that we're still in the
hunt when he returns. It's me, a rookie, and Eric Christensen.
It
shouldn't be a problem.
"I
expect Joey to carry the team, the way a good captain would and
the way he's done all his career," says Seth. "Even after
a loss, as long as the team keeps its head up, we'll be in fine
shape when I return."
We're
men enough to admit that we indeed might struggle and drop a few
games here and there. After all, our ace is leaving, and according
to Christensen, who should have a master's degree on the subject,
"our pitching is going to see a drop." And like an echo,
Deatrick points out the same thing.
"Without
him (Seth), our ERA will probably be heading upwards. We're going
to miss his arm for sure." But I must reiderate, and I'm sure
my teammates have my back on this: we'll be okay.
Eric
is still (and let's face it, probably always will be) a fundamental
nightmare, but he's getting the job done. His pitching, as mentioned
before, has been impressive, even though it's clear that at any
minute, he could give up ten runs in an inning. He's grooving strikes
though, which makes the team happy, and he's throwing harder than
ever. From the plate, he's a mistake hitter, displaying some ugly
cuts if you paint the corners. However, leave one up and over the
plate, there's a chance he's going to murder it, and he's definitely
showing the effects of regular play. He's getting into a rhythm
with the bat. When he gets out, he's hitting the ball hard, and
he's getting hits when his team needs it. He wasn't doing this last
season at all. Hell, he's never done this in his career. Before
the season started, we as a team picked up Deatrick (another pitcher)
to make up for what we assumed would be another 6.00-8.00 season
from the mound for Eric. However, he's been doing more than enough
and is one of the main reasons we're 12-3 right now.
Deatrick's
hitting has been slow out of the gate, but he's also catching on,
picking up experience in pressure sitautions that inevitably help
when you're getting "regular ABs" in "regular games."
His two-homer game at the last game proves that as he was on the
heels of the big doubleheader against the Holy Whites. And his pitching
is going strong. He's making the occasional mistake to hitters he's
never seen before, but he's learning. On top of everything else,
he wants to pitch, requesting situations where he'll garner the
most IP possible. He's not backing away from anyone.
Our
lineup isn't exactly going to scare anyone away from the field.
We know that, but we don't care. Bring your game, we'll bring ours,
and we'll try to come out on top of another damn 2-1 classic. Are
we being presumptuous assuming we'll be in the playoffs? The way
the league's going, with all other teams struggling week in and
week out to even field two players, then no, I don't think we are.
The
thing we're most worried of is the simple fact that Mr. Yoder will
not be there. We're a team, and we play best when all four guys
are there. And we have the most fun when all four are there, which
is really what it's all about (ISN'T IT?!).
"Without
Seth on the black top, there's gonna be a definite loss of sunshine,
if you know what I mean," stated Eric. But
please...don't cry for us, because we'll still kick your ass end
enjoy doing it. That's another thing Seth has taught the team. Then
he'll return, and we'll enjoy it even more.
See
you in the playoffs.
|
