Stay Vigilant

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Just a note and a reminder that Mr. Vigilant is ever present and on the job.  Look, I'll admit that perhaps a little of the Skipper has worn off on me.  But that doens't make me a bad person.  It just makes me more aware of the pitfalls that my team can face and make me better able to handle those pitfalls.

Let's talk about Ryan Franklin.  What an unbelievable story and what a remarkable guy.  Franklin has grabbed hold of the closers' role and dominated.  But before we forget about the 9th inning the reast of the way, let's stay vigilant.

You cannot win a world series without a dominant closer.   And don't try me with the '01 Diamondbacks.  If Randy Johnson doesn't step up in game seven to close it's over for Arizona.

Anyway, last night was a little alarming for me.  I have started to count on Franklin in the 9th as automatic "lights out".  It was clear that he did not have command of his fastball.  Just a hiccup?  Or is this a late season trend?

Did you know that in three of his last five outings Ryan threw 23 or more pitches?  That is an alarming number.  In two of those three he threw 30 and 33 pitches!  Also, in his last five innings pitched Franklin has walked five versus just four strikeouts.  That worse than bassackwards it's atrocious.  Will he bounce right back?  Probably.  Hope so.  Well, we'll see.

Stay vigilant.  Now it's on to October and let's win there.