Frustrated Bauer knows he must execute

Trevor Bauer has found success at every stop in his
baseball career.

He went 34-8 in three seasons at UCLA — including 13-2
his final year — and posted a 2.36 ERA. He struck out 460
batters in 373.1 innings pitched, and was so good the
Diamondbacks selected him with the third overall pick in
the 2011 MLB Draft.

As a professional, the right-hander started 23 minor
league games at three different levels in the D-backs’
system, winning 12 games and having an ERA of just 3.03.
He struck out 159 batters in 118.2 innings of work, and
seemed destined for stardom in the majors.

Then his first two starts happened.

Bauer has lasted a combined 7.1 innings in two starts,
allowing nine runs — eight earned — along with 11 hits
and seven walks. Sure, he’s struck out seven, but he
hasn’t been good enough. He hasn’t been good at all.

Just don’t expect him to change how he does things.

“When I execute my pitches and I execute my game plan I’ll
be effective no matter who I’m facing,” Bauer said
Thursday. “I didn’t execute last time. That’s what happens
when you don’t execute, you get beat.”

Ain’t that the truth.

Bauer has shown flashes of the talent that makes people
think he’ll be an elite pitcher, but has struggled with
his command. That has been an issue at every stop in his
career, though major league hitters have been making him
pay for it.

Continued struggles, D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said,
will not be tolerated.

“If he keeps getting his tail beat, he’s going to change,”
the skipper said.

And if nothing improves, Bauer’s stay with the team will
be brief.

“If he continues to have bad results, he will change,”
Gibson added. “If not, he won’t be here. He’s no different
than anybody else.”

No one wants to see Bauer get sent down, though most
understand that a D-backs team fighting to make the
playoffs cannot afford to watch any pitcher struggle every
fifth day, no matter how talented or highly-touted a
prospect he may be.

And to his credit, Bauer understands, and is as unhappy
with how things have gone as everyone else.

“The whole experience on the field has been very
frustrating,” he said.

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