Hungry For the Next Ace, Teams Find Rookie Pitchers To Be All Over the Plate

Coming into Pittsburgh, the Cincinnati Reds' rookie, Justin Lehr, had a 2.42 ERA. He had pitched four good starts, including a nine-inning shut-out, which was why Cincinnati was hoping for a win from him.

But his inexperience showed against the Pirates. He was tapped for three runs in the first inning and one in the second. He pitched well for two more innings before the Pirates scored two more in the fifth, knocking him out. Forget about the six runs that were scored against Reds' relievers. A score of 6-2 is as much of a win as one of 12-2.

The Pittsburgh Pirates ran the same gauntlet by putting up TWO inexperienced pitchers over the weekend. One of them, Charlie Morton, did fine on Friday in a 5-2 win, perhaps motivated to redeem himself after his role in the 17-2 drubbing administered by the Chicago Cubs earlier in the week.

Perhaps much the same dynamic was at work for the Reds' Homer Bailey during his seven-inning, one-run outing on Sunday. He is an advanced "rookie" with experience spanning three years, an indifferent record, and a 7.43 ERA (before Sunday's game) who needed to show what he could do if he were to have a future on the Reds' staff.

On the other hand, Kevin Hart continues to struggle, despite his fine record as a Chicago Cub. But in Pittsburgh, he is pitching like a fish out of water, which perhaps he is.

One thing that may have earlier helped Hart, who apparently has major raw talent, is that the Cubs are a predominantly pitching team. There, Hart was surrounded by some of the National League's best starters, the likes of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, and Ted Lilly.

All but Lilly are right handers. If there is such a thing as osmosis, Hart would have been a major beneficiary.

On the other hand, Hart is basically on his own in Pittsburgh. That's because the Pirates have no senior right handers. Not Charlie Morton. Not Ross Ohlendorf. Not even Ian Snell, who's gone. And even the lefties, Zach Duke and Paul Maholm, are not all that senior.

On Saturday, however, the Boston Red Sox's 23-year-old rookie Junichi Tazawa threw a stellar six innings of shut-out ball against the New York Yankees. In all but the third inning, he allowed two men aboard but managed to pitch out of trouble with no damage, earning the Red Sox's only victory that weekend.

But natural selection may have been at work. Tazawa came from Japan, which is to say that it was even harder for him to make the Majors than it is for an American.