Game 81: Stagnant offense and Porcello's failures a sign of things to come?

We all saw the game. There is no need for a player-by-player offensive breakdown when there was no offense to speak of until a meaningless home run by Inge (who should be an All Star) in the 9th. Nick Blackburn has been hot lately and we caught him on maybe his best day and our worst day. That is baseball and it sucks, especially because we had a chance to take this series. And, while it is important to not overreact, what fun would it be if we didn't?

-This is what I wrote after Porcello's last start and I feel the same way. The kid needs a rest.

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-Well, I feared this start was going to come for Porcello. I am by no means suggesting that I expect Porcello to continue to have a 4.1 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 5 ER stat line. But, I do expect his ERA to continue to rise into the 4's, and it is time for Leyland to get him some rest. We have a favorable schedule coming up with some off days and the All Star break worked in, and I think it will be extremely beneficial for the young guy to skip a start or two over this stretch. Considering how he has pitched recently, I think it is the best thing for our team both in the short term and long term. All of his peripheral numbers suggest that he is basically a 4.5 ERA-type pitcher this season. Sit him for a start, let him clear his head and rest that golden arm before the second half of the season, and let's see if he can turn those numbers around into his favor. His month of April was rough, and he turned it around with a 1.50 ERA for the month of May. Similarly, he can turn this poor end in the month of June to a good month of July.

This start did nothing to calm my fears. It is frustrating watching Porcello pitch because he has the talent and "stuff" to dominate but he is only 20. He is probably not ready yet for this workload. That home run he allowed to Morneau directly impacted the rest of that inning. When he is 30, that won't happen. As a 20 year old, it most certainly will. I say skip his next start and let him get rested over the All Star break and hopefully he will return to his month of May form. But, in his given role as the #3 starter, there is not another pitcher that I am more concerned about. It is going to be very interesting to see how he does in the second half of this season as the standings get tighter and the games get bigger.

-What can you say about the offense today? Pathetic is probably a good word. Again, it happens. We need another bat and Dombroski will land one before the trading deadline. Until then, I see no reason why Clete Thomas is not up here in place of Don Kelly or Josh Anderson. It is time for some new blood up here and Thomas brings a superior bat and glove than these two. We cannot keep having "mail-in" games like these and batting Don Kelly at the #4 spot is just ridiculous.

-Other than that, there is not much else to say. I'm concerned about Porcello and have been for awhile. We need another bat and it is time to see what Clete Thomas has got after his stay in Toledo. We are up 2 games in the division at the halfway point of the season and it is basically a three team race between us, Chicago and Minnesota. The last 10 games of this season we will be playing against those teams. Basically, that will define our season. Until then, we need to stay in the race and hopefully build on our lead before that pivotal stretch run.

-First things first, though. It is time to face the Royals in a 3 game series. Take 2 and I'll be happy. Tomorrow night, Galragga gets the party started against Gil Meche.