One rule in baseball is that you have to have a short memory. That can both be good and bad. If you lay an egg in a game you kind of just have to move on. However the same goes for if you have a great game. In any sport the most important game is the next one, so as soon as the final out is made tomorrow's game becomes the game of consequence. My point is that we can't spend too much time talking about how good or bad one pitcher was in a game. However fans and experts alike all agreed that Chris Tillman needed to have a good outing last night against the Mariners. And go figure, he did...
One thing I try to be in all walks of life is fair. In some senses, I see myself as a person who in some ways has the deck stacked against him. (My father would argue that chip on your shoulder attitude is what puts people in a bigger hole.) So I try to be as fair as I can to others. The reason that I'm briging that up is because Tillman (and Brad Bergesen) has turned in some lackluster performances this season. However in pointing that out, I've always made the point that both Tillman and Bergesen have shown a knack for digging deep and "finding themselves" when they needed to do so. Last night was one of those times for Tillman. His outing wasn't perfect, however he showed a knack to be able to get out of trouble when it found him. Some people are under the impression that a pitcher's no good if he gets into trouble. Remember folks, there's more than meets-the-eye when it comes to pitching. The mark of a great pitcher is not one never gets in trouble. It's one that can fight his way out of it. I'm not prepared to call Chris Tillman great as of yet, however he showed some character in battling back last night. In the third inning with one run home and with RISP, Tillman got Miguel Olivo to ground out. Later on in the sixth inning (again with RISP), Tillman struck out Adam Kennedy. Both plays ended the respective innings and got Tillman out of trouble.
The question at hand though is whether or not Tillman is still in trouble. The same could also be said for Brad Bergesen, who was again skipped in the rotation this week with a day off. (That was not done as a result of poor play, however with a long extra-inning game on Tuesday the Orioles wanted Bergesen to potentially be available to come out of the pen if needed.) Brian Matusz is expected to join the Orioles within 1-2 weeks, and Justin Duchscherer would be available after May 30th. So do both Tillman and Bergesen go? At this point that seems like the cleanest scenario out there. However I've said on numerous occasions that I felt both pitchers might benefit from being in the bullpen on a regular basis. The issue isn't whether or not the "stuff" is there, because I feel that it is. It's a matter of it being there consistently. It seems that we never know when the real Chris Tillman will be able to stand up and play. One week he'll have an outing like he did last night, and the next he'll turn in an effort similar to that in Kansas City last week when he gave up eight runs over ten hits.
Tillman's issue has been location and velocity; not a good combo for a starter. I did notice that his velocity was up a bit last night, as he was hitting 90 and above on the gun more frequently. His location was most certainly there. Tillman's changeup seems to be his best pitch, and he seems to do better with the offspeed pitches moreso than fastballs. It's just a matter of consistently being able to do that as opposed to leaving people guessing which version of him will show up.
Whether or not Tillman saved his job as a starter with last night's game is something that only Buck Showalter and Mark Connor truly know. It was very telling in the sixth inning last night when Tillman ran into some trouble and Showalter and Connor barely even flinched in the dugout. That (not moving to get someone ready behind Tillman) was their way of communicating to Tillman that this was make or break time. Last night, Tillman's response was make. That's what it needs to be consistently if he wants to stay at this level. I was impressed with Chris Tillman last night, and I hope that I can continue to be impressed with him because if that's the case he'll be staying in the big leagues with the O's.
Written by:
