Koji Uehara is one of those guys that's really easy to love.
When he's going well, he's always got a huge smile on his face and is the most docile looking, yet incredibly fired up pitcher to come through here in quite some time with his dugout high fives that cause concern for his pitching hand.
But lately, Uehara has not been good. At all. And he knows it.
In Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 3 of the ALCS, Uehara allowed a 3-1 game to get out of hand in the seventh inning with the Rangers bats set to deal with a bullpen that has the Tigers with an unreal 81-0 record now when leading after seven innings.
Uehara gave up an RBI single to Austin Jackson after he relieved Colby Lewis in the sixth inning and then in the seventh allowed a home run to Miguel Cabrera in what was his first appearance in the ALCS after just one appearance in the ALDS, also a failure.
It's safe to say now that Uehara won't be coming into anymore meaningful spots for the Rangers this postseason, and should the Rangers make the World Series he might even be replaced by Mark Lowe, who is starting to get healthy.
"I have to say there's no confidence from the dugout, from Wash," Uehara told ESPNDallas, explaining through a translator how he believes manager Ron Washington must feel after another disappointing outing in Tuesday's 5-2 loss in Game 3. "I have to say that."
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It's been sad to watch Uehara's collapse that has led to a 13.50 ERA in the postseason, but don't count on having to watch it anymore.
