That's right kids, Mike Maroth has lost his 20th game (sports.espn.go.com). Bonderman might get two more starts... think he'll lose 20? He could use the experience more than the not-really stain of having 20 in the L column, and you know he's not gonna be held out the whole year.
I heard today on the Dan Patrick show that Bonderman was pulled out of the rotation due to some sort of innings limit.
Taken from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Accusations have surfaced about Julian Tavarez doctoring the baseball with a foreign substance that he hides on the bill of his cap.
''It's ridiculous,'' Tavarez said. ''They checked my hat last year, too, and never found anything. They're just trying to get inside my head. But I won't let them.'' Just to demonstrate that no one was getting inside his head, Tavarez decided to ramble on for another hour or two and provide a quote of the year possibility. ''Some people like skinny women. I like fat women. Some people like young women. I like older women. Some people like poor women. I like rich women,'' Tavarez said. ''Some people like clean hats. I like my dirty hat.'' My Blog (thecobicity.blogspot.com)
I think it's balls to pull Bonderman because of some pre-season innings cap. I don't think he'll wind up with 20 losses because the team is obviously concerned with saddling him with that distinction. Once he gets 19, I wouldn't be surprised if he were done for the year.
As for Maroth, congratulations to the man....if you're going to be epically bad, you might as well be historically bad. Look at it this way...if Kingman hadn't lost 20, how many people would remember him? Probably the same number of people who are going to remember Omar Daal twenty years from now. People will now always remember Mike Maroth, but odds are the Tigers will drop 121 so history will always provide him with a justification for his milestone.
Look on the bright side for Maroth. He was bad enough to lose 20 games, but good enough not to get pulled from the rotaiton. Remember, his ERA is better than that of Jeff Weaver...
"If this cruel, loudmouth extremist is the cream of the Democratic crop, next November's going to make the 1984 election look like a squeaker." --House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) on Howard Dean
Thread ahead: Cards done..... any good free agent pitchers gonna be available next season? Next thread: batting .400 and switching leagues Previous thread: Boston Chokers