Oh-God-no.
Even when Alexi Ogando is going well — yes, there have been stretches — you can watch the catcher set up, and then watch the location of the pitch, and the difference.
You see all the moving parts in his mechanics, and the lack of movement on his fastball, either of which alone isn’t a great thing.
If you’re like me, you can’t even watch Ogando pitch these days (this was my tweet as he entered the 2-2 game in the eighth last night) (so I didn’t get to see the 0-2 pitch that was apparently middle-middle to .069-hitting Caleb Joseph and rifled to right center for a run-scoring double), and now my head’s in another place altogether.
I suggested last night that when Neftali Feliz and Tanner Scheppers are ready to return — which could be a matter of days in both cases — I’d prefer a turn of events that led to a disabled list stint (and eventual rehab assignment) for the 30-year-old over an option of Shawn Tolleson, who has been more reliable.
But now I think, if I’m reading summaries of the CBA right, that you don’t need the disabled list to get Ogando into a less pressured environment to work things out. I’m pretty sure a player can’t decline an optional assignment until he has five years of big league service (the “Veteran’s Consent” rule), and Ogando (who does have options left) is still short of four years.
Granted, Ron Washington and Mike Maddux are in a tough spot near the back of the bullpen, and I was happy to see Jason Frasor deployed last night even though the Orioles were ahead at the time, 2-1, but Ogando just isn’t executing at all, and Wash and Maddux will apparently continue to assign him big eighth-inning spots if he’s around.
Option Ogando to Round Rock, and give him as much low-intensity time with Express pitching coach Brad Holman as he needs. Let Frasor have the eighth and give Feliz and/or Scheppers the big sixth/seventh-inning matchups as they try to refind their big league rhythms.
If I’m wrong about the state of the Veteran’s Consent rule under the current CBA, then I go back to the DL thing.
Not that it’s all about me, but I’d like to watch the eighth inning again.