(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
My mother always tells me, there are three sides to every argument, "Her side, your side and the truth."
After spending much of yesterday reading about my friend Jason Grilli and his departure from the Colorado Rockies, it appears that Rockies fans are singing "Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you," while Rangers fans are singing joys of "Hallelujah."
A blog post on the Texas Rangers Blog entitled "More on Jason Grilli from a Rockies Perspective" by Blogger Richard Durrett contains comments from bitter Colorado Rockie fans who refer to Grilli as "Gas Can" for his perceived habit to implode when entering a tight situation at home. Other posts were ready to chase him out of town.
As one reads on, the rants by Rockies fans seem to be the result of looking for another scape goat as a result of the Rockies 28-32 start, which finds them 11.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and in Fourth place.
Prior to firing manager Clint Hurdle the team found themselves at 19-27, before going 1-5 in the first six games under new manager Jim Tracy.
The team has since ripped off eight straight wins under Tracy pointing to the theory that Hurdle was more to blame then their whipping boy Grilli.
How quickly they forget.
Grilli went 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 51 appearances last season after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers.
Grilli who was the fourth overall draft pick by the San Fransisco Giants in 1997, started 2009 in much the same fashion going 0-1 with a 1.08 ERA for the month of April, while being called on to pitch in 11 of the Rockies first 20 games.
In a case of "what have you done for me lately," Grilli faced growing criticism following a terrible month of May, when he went 0-0 with a 9.90 ERA in 10 appearances before being traded Tuesday to the Rangers for cash considerations.
Durrett's blog goes on to quote Andrew Fisher (Poseidon's Fist) on the unofficial Rockie fans site "Purple Cow" who thinks that Grilli will rebound in Texas under the steadying hand of pitching mentors Nolan Ryan and Mike Maddux.
"Man you guys just keep swooping up our players - Pedro Strop, Joe Koshansky, now Grilli. Grilli throws a fastball that averages about 94 mph around two-thirds of the time and a 85-ish mph slider about one-third of the time."
"He'll mix in a change every once in a while, but he's really a two-pitch pitcher. He was a phenomenal pick-up from Detroit last season, developing into a solid 7th-inning reliever. We were really counting on him to do the same this season, especially when Taylor Buchholz hit the DL."
Fisher went on to add, "I really think it's a confidence issue with Grilli. He normally has solid control but walked at least one guy in each of his last five appearances".
"I've always liked Grilli, and I didn't agree with the decision to let him go, as I'm sure he would have rebounded. He most assuredly deserves a spot in a big league bullpen, and he could definitely bounce back with a change of scenery to be the go-to-guy in the 7th".
Sign up now to receive our Colorado Rockies newsletter. All the best articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web delivered to your inbox twice a week.
2 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete