What, You Expected Him to Get Batters Out?
May 23, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Personalities
You may have missed it in the all the hoopla surrounding, oh, pretty much anything else going on in the world, but right-hander Colby Lewis got the start Tuesday evening for Oakland. Lewis hadn’t made a big-league start since 2004, when he still wore a Texas Rangers uniform.
The previous year, Lewis’ only full season in the big leagues, he went 10-9 in 26 starts with a 7.30 ERA. He finished in the top 10 in walks allowed (and just missed the top 10 in earned runs allowed) despite throwing only 127 innings.
On Tuesday, against the American League’s worst offense (White Sox), Lewis coughed up 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings. He faced 23 batters and recorded 10 outs, striking out none.
Welcome back, kiddo.
Let me be clear: This is not Lewis’ fault. He’s pretty clearly demonstrated in the past that he isn’t a big-league pitcher. His numbers at Triple-A Sacramento (2.31 ERA, 8.35 K/9, .203 BAA) have been solid, but still.
Maybe the A’s thought he could be the pitching equivalent of Jack Cust? Sometimes there is no lightning, only bottle…
