The “Jake Peavy thing” has run its course. The tough guy routine is getting old. Get healthy then pitch. I’m sick of the excuses.
On June 25th Jake Peavy was pressed into his first career relief appearance of his career after lefty John Danks left the game early due to a strained oblique. Prior to the appearance, before the game, Peavy went to Ozzie’s and said “you need me, I’ll be available”, according to Ozzie. After the 55 pitch relief appearance Peavy said “I needed to do it for my team. That’s the bottom line. We had to find a way to win the game, and give us a chance to win the series tomorrow.”
The tough-guy Jake was loud and clear. The same questions arise that have there since Peavy came to Chicago, who runs the show Williams, Guillen or Peavy? Prior to that appearance Peavy was shut-down due to a strained groin. So shouldn’t he have been eased in to pitching, not thrust into an unannounced relief appearance?
Now he’s singing a different tune, “Obviously, coming off that was very hard. All of my body, not just my right arm. I was never able to catch up since then. It certainly slowed me down a little bit”, Peavy told MLB.com. He continues to pile on more of the excuses.
Pitching coach Don Cooper disagrees the relief appearance was a issue, “It’s a non-factor for me. The bottom line is Jake is on and off. He’s been the same guy prior to that relief outing and after that relief outing. So, there’s been nothing there that I see of any real substance.”
Has he though? Before the relief appearance (05.11.11/ 06.22.11) Jake was 3-1 with a 4.72 ERA striking out 25 in 34.1 innings. Since that appearance Peavy is 2-6 with a 5.78 ERA striking out 54 in 67 innings. So basically the same, obviously the record is worst but that can be attributed to many factors.
These questions come after Peavy surrendered 6 runs in the first inning against the Twins, in an important series as the Sox attempt an improbable Division comeback. Peavy ended up going 5 innings surrendering just those 6 runs.
Now the plan according to a Mark Gonzales Tweet is to shutdown Peavy if the Sox fall out of contention. Currently Peavy is slated to start next in Minnesota against the Twins on Tuesday.
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