Why it's about more than stuff

For all those who look at finesse pitchers like Kenny Rogers and Mike Maroth and scoff, games like Tuesday are a reminder why great pitching is about more than just what you throw, but how you use what you have. Like he has in a lot of outings, Seth McClung had an impressive stuff, including a mid-90s fastball and some good movement. What he didn’t seem to have was a way to command or use it.

Rogers, on the other hand, was at his best. He might’ve hit into the 90s on a couple radar readings, but that was being generous. What he had was a very good changeup, his usual good command, and a 41-year-old mind to figure out how to make it all work. He never gave the Devil Rays a clean shot at a powerful hit, and he fell a strikeout short of his first game with double-digit K’s since 1999.

Of course, Rogers would love to have McClung’s stuff. But while McClung is 2-9, Rogers is 9-3.

Odd note #1 on Rogers: The last time he had nine strikeouts in a game was April 17, 2003, when he was pitching for the Minnesota Twins. His opponent? Yup, the Detroit Tigers, who managed no runs on seven hits in eight innings off of him. He struck out Carlos Pena three times, Bobby Higginson twice, and four others once, including current teammate Ramon Santiago. Omar Infante went 2-for-3 off of him with a double.

Odd note #2: I came home from the ballpark and flipped around the stations on TV trying to see what was on. I found that old Kevin Costner movie, "For Love of the Game," where he plays an aging pitcher for the Detroit Tigers who throws a perfect game in his last game. Billy Chapel, his character, was a 40-year-old with an aching arm when he hung it up. Rogers is 41.