PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Monday, May 26, 1997

Bobby Witt takes first defeat as Rangers lose ugly, 13-5

By Gerry Fraley

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DETROIT - The signs were unmistakable. Players quietly sitting at their lockers. The post-game food spread still covered.

The Rangers had been taken to the woodshed for a verbal spanking from manager Johnny Oates.

The Rangers played raggedly in a 13-5 loss to Detroit on Sunday. That bothered Oates far more than Bobby Witt losing for the first time in eight decisions with his worst performance of the season.

"It wasn't a very pretty performance all the way around," Oates said.

Nothing eats at Oates more than ragged play. He would not leave Tiger Stadium - or even let his players get to the showers - without addressing the four-error, lousy-pitches, too-many-strikeouts performance.

Oates declined to discuss what message he delivered in the clubhouse after the loss, which gave the three-game series to Detroit. Players indicated the sermon was simple.

This type of play will not be tolerated.

"A game like this can be a wake-up call," said third baseman Dean Palmer, who had one of two errors in the five-run eighth inning. "It wasn't a very pretty game for us. This should make everyone bear down."

Said left fielder Warren Newson: "We should have never come in here and lost two of three to those guys, not with the team we have. We didn't play to our ability. Sometimes when you get your butt kicked, it's a turnaround. I hope it is for us."

Count the ways the Rangers tested Oates' patience:

- The Rangers gave Witt a three-run lead before his first pitch. The offense stopped after that and had its second nine-strikeout performance of the series.

Witt slipped back to his former self and lost control of his delivery by hurrying every pitch. He gave up the lead in the fourth and did not finish the fifth. The Tigers had four extra-base hits against Witt, but his worst moment came on a single.

Raul Casanova tied the score at 3 with a one-out triple in the fourth. Witt tried a 0-2 slider to No. 9 hitter Jody Reed. The pitch was high and fat, and Reed singled.

"I can't pitch like that," Witt said. "Things didn't go well, but the streak is over with. I'll see what happens next time."

Said Oates: "He appeared to be getting frustrated because for the first time this year he couldn't make the ball do what he wanted to."

- Witt left trailing, 5-4. The bullpen turned a winnable game into a rout by allowing seven runs.

Lefthanders Eric Gunderson and Ed Vosberg were the prime offenders because neither could retire Bob Higginson, a left-handed hitter, when necessary.

Higginson put the Tigers ahead, 6-4, with a run-scoring single against Vosberg in the fifth. Higginson hit a grand slam against Gunderson in the eighth.

"Today, they did," Oates said when asked about his left-handed relievers having difficulty with left-handed hitters. "We know which ones are and which ones aren't."

For the season, left-handed batters are hitting .429 for 14 at-bats against Vosberg. In his last six appearances, Gunderson has allowed five runs in 7 innings and an opponents batting average of .308 for 26 at-bats.

- The Rangers had not made more than two errors in a game this season. They had a pair of two-error innings in this game.

In the sixth, catcher Henry Mercedes threw into the outfield on a stolen base, and Newson allowed an extra run to score when he could not field Travis Fryman's single. The events of the eighth were worse.

Palmer and second baseman Domingo Cedeno each flubbed potential double-play grounders. All the extra outs allowed Higginson to bat with the bases loaded. He took away the Rangers' last chance to win.

"You're going to make physical errors, but it's got to get better than that,' Oates said. "We've got to catch the ball. We can't give away outs at this level. That's too tough to overcome."

The players listened and dressed. When the Rangers departed, the food had been barely been touched. This type of game turns a team's stomach into knots.

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/

Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: