Bidding Rob Scahill Adieu

As Wikipedia would have you know when you Google his name, “Rob Scahill is an American professional baseball player for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.” That single, matter-of-a-fact sentence is packed with unintentional comedy given recent events. But it is true…for now…

Scahill. Image: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Many people, myself in particular, shouted for now-Sky Sox outfielder Charlie Blackmon to get his shot with the big league Rockies. He did and played only marginally well, leaving himself subject to a demotion when manager Walt Weiss decided the team needed an extra relief pitcher for a tough stretch of games starting last week. That is the moment when American professional baseball player Rob Scahill arrived on the scene.

In 7 appearances in 2013 Scahill has allowed 8 earned runs; granted all of those came in two disastrous outings. Perhaps things got so bad on those nights that we forget to give Scahill credit for his other 5 solid outings, including 2.1 clean innings against the San Francisco Giants and 3 innings of shutout baseball in Cincinnati. Perhaps that is what happens when your two failed efforts contribute to a disappointing loss against the Astros and a nearly devastating home loss to the San Diego Padres, respectively. Before Nolan Arenado bailed out the Rockies with a 9th inning home run last night, Scahill got booed off the field and might have found himself in the cross-hairs of Twitter vitriol had the team lost after blowing a big lead.

Is it fair that I want Scahill out of here based on two appearances this season? He has enjoyed reasonable success and was solid in his 2012 cameo. When he’s right it would seem that he is a solid fit for the type of pitcher the Rockies want out of the bullpen. He is sturdy, can go multiple innings, and works with relative efficiency (no word yet on his ability to hit for himself in late-inning plate appearances). He also has an appropriately unique name for a bullpen guy and he wears a quirky number (62). There are at least some signs that he has staying power in that role. Then again…

For me the memories of this season are too fresh. Part of the Rockies’ success is the fact that Weiss can trust a number of relievers to enter tough situations and succeed. If they do not completely clamp things down, they minimize the damage. That is true of Edgmer Escalona, Josh Outman, and even Adam Ottavino who had some early struggles of his own. It is also true of Wilton Lopez…oops, scratch that one. But that brings up another relevant point: can this bullpen afford to carry Lopez and Scahill when both run a high risk of letting the game get out of hand? Throw Manuel “don’t call me Manny” Corpas in the mix and you have a volatile group out there.

Fair or not, last night was enough for me to know that  I’ve seen enough of Rob Scahill for now.