Dear Lord, can we please get some relief? And I am not talking about the Detroit Tigers bullpen. I am describing the weather conditions that come nearly every April and surely didn’t miss the 2013 go-around. In fact, they have come to the dance and decided to stay for the after-party.
Two key relievers, one being the Toronto Blue Jays Steve Delabar and Detroit’s Brayan Villarreal both had might struggles yesterday, both walking several men to start their appearances, and both which skipper Jim Leyland believes was due to the weather.
In regards to the conditions as well as Villarreal’s performance last year, “His numbers are pretty good up here, so we know he’s a lot better than that. He had a tough day. He had a bad time. Those things happen. But the key is, you obviously give a guy a break when there are conditions like that. That happens. Their guy, [Steve] Delabar, came in and couldn’t throw strikes at first.”
In 2012, the young reliever posted a 3-5 record with a 2.63 ERA in 50 games. He pitched 54.2 innings, striking out 66 while giving up just 38 hits. His control is something that has always been horrid though, so he needs to cut down significantly on the hits allowed and/or learn a tad more control or 2013 won’t be so kind.
