So.
This was kind of a conflicting 11th inning. It was impossible to root against the Netherlands. But the whole advantage to having Marmol pitch for the DR instead of in Mesa was to prove himself in situations just like this, game on the line, one run league, the pressure of the world on him.
And, well, Carlos didn’t get lit up, they weren’t the biggest hits he gave up and Holland looked totally overmatched most of the inning. Just not enough of it, and now I wonder how he’ll rebound it. Carlos now has plenty of playoff type ghosts of his own to exorcise:
IP ERA 2007 NLDS 3.0 9.00 2008 NLDS 2.2 6.75 2009 WBC 1.2 5.40
In a year where few positions are really up for grabs in spring training – Fontenot is going to start at 2B, Marshall is going to be the fifth starter, and no one cares who the backup catcher is – maybe the closer battle just opened up for real.
(It’s probably worth keeping in perspective – the problem wasn’t the DR’s pitching. Or even fielding, as bad as it was. You’ve got to score more than 4 runs off Netherlands, or everyone on that team needs to be signed tomorrow.)