Cracks in the Pavement
It's tempting to be unreasonably optimistic after every victory and unreasonably pessimistic after every defeat.
Still...
There are a lot of small reasons to be concerned after this loss.
There is one large reason not to be concerned.
The large reason first: The Lugnuts were tired today. It was a long busride back from Bowling Green and the team was just going through the motions out there. Let's see how things go when the squad has a chance to sleep in their own beds for a full night.
Now the small notes of concern:
Ryan Tepera isn't right and neither is Casey Beck.
A winning team needs strong pitching. The Lugnuts aren't getting strong pitching, at least not from the whole staff. Egan Smith has had two poor outings in a row, as has Tepera, as has Matt Fields. I'm not sold on Ryan Shopshire turning the corner.
That leaves Dave Sever (a consistent 6 innings/3 runs sort of guy) and the bullpen.
Who's good in the bullpen right now?
Nestor Molina.
Maybe Aaron Loup.
Brian Slover half the time.
Matt Wright most of the time.
Not Casey Beck right now.
Not Steve Turnbull right now.
The offense is carrying this team. That can't last, not if this team wants to keep on winning. They're going to need to win some games 2-1, not 10-9. They're going to need Turnbull and Beck and Slover, and they're going to need Tepera and Fields and Shopshire.
Still...
There are a lot of small reasons to be concerned after this loss.
There is one large reason not to be concerned.
The large reason first: The Lugnuts were tired today. It was a long busride back from Bowling Green and the team was just going through the motions out there. Let's see how things go when the squad has a chance to sleep in their own beds for a full night.
Now the small notes of concern:
Ryan Tepera isn't right and neither is Casey Beck.
A winning team needs strong pitching. The Lugnuts aren't getting strong pitching, at least not from the whole staff. Egan Smith has had two poor outings in a row, as has Tepera, as has Matt Fields. I'm not sold on Ryan Shopshire turning the corner.
That leaves Dave Sever (a consistent 6 innings/3 runs sort of guy) and the bullpen.
Who's good in the bullpen right now?
Nestor Molina.
Maybe Aaron Loup.
Brian Slover half the time.
Matt Wright most of the time.
Not Casey Beck right now.
Not Steve Turnbull right now.
The offense is carrying this team. That can't last, not if this team wants to keep on winning. They're going to need to win some games 2-1, not 10-9. They're going to need Turnbull and Beck and Slover, and they're going to need Tepera and Fields and Shopshire.
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