The Debut For Heath Bell Went Horribly Wrong

I’m sure Heath Bell is wishing last night’s game against St. Louis has a “re-do” button. In 1/3 of an inning pitched, Heath allowed four hits, three runs, two home runs, and a walk. But hey, Bell did record a strikeout at least! Bell, who has been known for his antics and character over the years is now known for his ERA that is flirting with close to 82.00.

Jon Jay was able to celebrate after his moon-shot off of Heath Bell in the 7th inning last night at Chase Field.

I was just enjoying another D’backs game last night. It was 3-1 entering the 7th inning. That’s not so bad, right? Diamondbacks fans were excited to Heath Bell get his debut in sedona red but that only lasted until he delivered the first pitch of the inning, which Pete Kozma hit out of the ballpark. I’m pretty sure the girl sitting 800-feet away from home plate was not expecting to get clunked in the forehead with a home run ball, but sure enough, the center-cut fastball was hammered. Heath Bell retired only one of the six batters he faced in his Arizona debut. Okay, so now it’s 4-1 Cardinals. Still not so bad. Bell walked the next batter then gave up a home run to Jon Jay that eventually landed somewhere near Flagstaff. At that point, I’m beginning to yell profanities at the TV. After a laser double from Matt Carpenter and a single from Allen Craig, Gibby had seen enough and he went to retrieve Bell. There was also a strikeout of Matt Holliday mixed in there but who really cares? When asked about Bell’s outing, Gibby had this to say:

"” He didn’t locate at all. He didn’t execute his pitches very well tonight, and if you don’t execute against this club, they are very good.”"

I was skeptical of the acquiring of Heath Bell from day one because it came about 14 seconds after the D’backs re-signed J.J. Putz. The weird part about the outing was that Bells’ pitches didn’t really lack velocity or movement. The only problem was that the ball appeared the size of a small SUV as it got close to the plate for Cardinals hitters to feast on. A lot of people were claiming that Heath Bells’ poor outing was due to a miserable year in South Florida last season. I’m sorry, but we can’t keep blaming things on the Miami Marlins! Heath Bell is a professional athlete and if last year is still looming large in his mind, than that is a problem in itself. My conclusion is that Heath Bell is just not the same pitcher he was in 2009-2011, where he recorded three straight years of 40+ saves. Bell has a different role on this team and that role is not to give up two bombs in a matter of minutes. The only positive thing to take away from the appearance for Bell was that his sideburns were groomed pretty nicely, but that’s about it….

I know it was only the first showing for Heath but there was a lot to prove for him and he certainly gave his non-supporters some ammunition after last night. Don’t let this post fool you, I like Heath Bell, but something needs to be figured out sooner rather than later. As Diamondbacks fans, the last thing we need is more inconsistency from the bullpen.

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