Fifth starter’s spot remains somewhat fluid

James McDonald is scheduled for now to be the guy again on Thursday night against the Pods. But we asked Joe Torre this morning about McDonald’s tendency to lose focus. Joe mentioned that it seems to happen a lot against the opposing team’s pitcher after McDonald has pretty much mowed through the rest of the lineup.
“The thing that was a little baffling for me was that he got (No. 8 hitter Yorvit) Torrealba out on two pitches, and then he walks to the pitcher,” Torre said of McDonald’s third-inning letdown last night. “Then he walks the leadoff hitter, and all of a sudden, you are holding on, and losing focus is the only way you can really describe it. … The different thing about this league as opposed to the American League is that you get to face the pitcher. But you have to continue to pitch. you can’t concern yourself with just throwing strikes (to the pitcher), because (when you do that), you aren’t letting it go the same way. And then, when you try to get it back, a certain panic sets in.”
As I mentioned last night, Joe does like the thought of having McDonald in the bullpen. Jeff Weaver pitched decently for ABQ last night, and Eric Milton is pitching for ABQ today after throwing six shutout innings in his previous start. And keep in mind, Milton’s contract allows him to leave and become a free agent at any time, and he told club officials when he agreed to begin the season at ABQ that he would go for about a month and see what happened.
“We have no plan yet,” Torre said. “Until we get a plan, (McDonald) will still be (the fifth starter). I have no anticipation of changing that, but if something does change, obviously, that will change. We haven’t really talked a lot about any changes right now. I think we’ll wait until Cory (Wade) comes back and see where we are, because he certainly will help our bullpen.”