After a disappointing performance by Robert Stephenson on August 20, Delino DeShields, called his young pitcher out in a public and personal way. Some people were big fans of the public humiliation, others weren’t.
Fast forward twelve days and two Stephenson starts and writers are rushing to announce that DeShields statement “worked” because Stephenson has thrown two “gems” or pick your synonym for gem.
That would make for a happy narrative. If it were accurate.
Set aside the small sample size of two games. Forget that just about any start would feel worlds better than what Stephenson offered on August 20.