After no walk off games all year the Jays are involved in back-to-back ones. Unfortunately on the wrong end of both and they came w/2 outs on singles to Vernon Wells scoring a runner from 2nd. What a series of events for Vernon in the past 2 games. 1st he gets robbed by Pedroia of the go-ahead RBI on Tue, then he bobbles the ball failing to throw out Ortiz, he gets a 2nd chance on Wed and throws out Lowrie, but this one comes w/1 out so what do you know he gets another hit to him but this time cannot throw out Ramirez. A throw on the money from Vernon does not beat Manny to the plate but it allows Barajas to attempt to block the plate which may have been enough to get him.
On Tue. it was Pedroia robbing Wells in the 9th, on Wed it was Moss robbing Rios in the 8th. The Jays cannot even get a bounce to go there way. I realize Scutaro was thinking of scoring on the Rios fly ball, but w/nobody out he has to be close enough to the bag where he can tag and move to 3rd, even if it means he only gets to 3rd should the ball drop in b/c if that’s the case you still have 1st and 3rd none out. If Scutaro is at 3rd w/1 out that changes the AB’s of Eckstein and Rolen.
Although it is a small sample, the Jays added an 0 for 4 to their RISP #’s. They are bound to start getting some hits, there is just no way this continues.
I thought for a while that Lind couldn’t buy a hit as he got robbed again his 1st time up by Pedroia but he finally got one through in the 8th. He is due to get a few bloop hits now.
Whether or not Papelbon balked on the pickoff, I couldn’t tell but I don’t think McDonald was out anyway. Even after seeing the replay once I got back to my hotel I still think he was safe. Youkilis tagged him above the elbow and I think the hand was already on the bag. Even the Overbay slow roller in the 9th to end the inning it looked like Overbay beat it out. And once again it was Ortiz getting the favourable ball call on the 1-0 pitch in the 7th. All this just adds to my theory of the umpire bias at Fenway.
Matsuzaka pitched well but I believe he is very beatable. He is not very efficient w/his pitches and he really seems like a different pitcher w/runners on base. It looks like he is really fighting his command when working from the stretch.
Interesting to see Delcarmen come into face one hitter, a LH but I have to assume Francona liked Delcarmen vs. Lind more than Okajima vs. Stewart. I think once Lind is hitting, he wouldn’t take that matchup but b/c Lind was slumping he went with it, even though Stewart isn’t exactly on a roll either.
I agreed w/pulling McGowan when Gibbons did, but I start the 9th w/Carlson to face Ortiz, then use Frasor for Ramirez, Lowell and if necessary go to Downs for Moss and the 2 switch hitters, Varitek and Crisp. If they insist on carrying 7 relievers, then why not use them and play the matchups. There is no reason to have a lefty facing Ramirez in the 9th unless 1st base is open and you are intentionally walking him. Of course that would require Gibbons to actually use Frasor in an important role something he continually refuses to do.
On to the game stats: For the same reason Inge did not get an advance when his SF also moved the runner from 2nd to 3rd, Rios does not get a non-advance when his SF did not move Scutaro to 3rd. Remember, I’m only counting AB’s.
NAdv: Lowell
P-NAdv: Downs (2)
WG: Rolen (1), Pedroia, Moss
ME(r): Scutaro (2)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Day 32 – Clapping
There is a running track around the lake beside my hotel so I decided to take a walk around it. It is about 3.5 miles. I also did some walking around the town, I’m surprised at how quiet the area seemed given its proximity to Boston.
For Wed’s game I am sitting in the upper half of the 1st level and they have these big poles (that support the upper decks) that block the view of some seats. Luckily my seat was about 1 or 2 seats over so the pole didn’t block anything significant from me. It is something to beware when getting seats at Fenway, the only problem is unless you are really familiar w/the stadium you won’t know exactly which seats are on the bad angles that get blocked by the pole. Just another one of the design flaws of Fenway Park.
So apparently I have an annoying clap, at least according to the fan beside me. My response was that I had to do something to make up for the fact I was outnumbered.
As I got back to the train station after having supper I ran into a huge crowd of people wearing green. It was b/c the train station is connected to the Boston Garden and the Celtics playoff game had just ended. So the train was a little fuller this night.
The train I would take left at 12:10 am. I have to say I’m surprised at the lack of trains leaving Boston at night, especially when the Red Sox are at home. The penultimate train leaves at 10:35, and on most nights, depending on how long the game goes, it is almost impossible to get to the train station on time w/o leaving the game early. The problem is by the time you are out of the stadium the subway is always packed, and some of the subway cars only go part way along the green line so you may have to get off one and get on another or wait for one that goes all the way. Of course, since I was in no rush to get back to my hotel, plus the fact that I always have supper after the game, that’s exactly what I did. I just found a place to eat around Fenway and by the time I was done eating it had mostly cleared up. There were still a lot of fans that hung around the area after the game as there were several restaurants, bars etc. so there were always a number of people heading down to the subway. Even w/taking time to eat though I still found that I had time to put in before the train.
For Wed’s game I am sitting in the upper half of the 1st level and they have these big poles (that support the upper decks) that block the view of some seats. Luckily my seat was about 1 or 2 seats over so the pole didn’t block anything significant from me. It is something to beware when getting seats at Fenway, the only problem is unless you are really familiar w/the stadium you won’t know exactly which seats are on the bad angles that get blocked by the pole. Just another one of the design flaws of Fenway Park.
So apparently I have an annoying clap, at least according to the fan beside me. My response was that I had to do something to make up for the fact I was outnumbered.
As I got back to the train station after having supper I ran into a huge crowd of people wearing green. It was b/c the train station is connected to the Boston Garden and the Celtics playoff game had just ended. So the train was a little fuller this night.
The train I would take left at 12:10 am. I have to say I’m surprised at the lack of trains leaving Boston at night, especially when the Red Sox are at home. The penultimate train leaves at 10:35, and on most nights, depending on how long the game goes, it is almost impossible to get to the train station on time w/o leaving the game early. The problem is by the time you are out of the stadium the subway is always packed, and some of the subway cars only go part way along the green line so you may have to get off one and get on another or wait for one that goes all the way. Of course, since I was in no rush to get back to my hotel, plus the fact that I always have supper after the game, that’s exactly what I did. I just found a place to eat around Fenway and by the time I was done eating it had mostly cleared up. There were still a lot of fans that hung around the area after the game as there were several restaurants, bars etc. so there were always a number of people heading down to the subway. Even w/taking time to eat though I still found that I had time to put in before the train.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Game 27 – Umpire Bias
The Jays are up to their old tricks hitting vs. lefties or should I say not hitting. I have no clue why TOR is struggling so much vs. LH starters. I realize Glaus killed LH’s last yr but he was not the only one on the Jays, and even if you throw in Thomas who hit LH’s well, at least from June on, there should not be this much of a drop off.
Well at least this time you cannot blame the Jays hitting w/RISP as they went 0 for 1 but the one was Wells getting robbed of a hit. I really thought that hit by Wells was going through and would setup Doc to finish the 1-0 win. The problem was it didn’t and Wells could not repay the favour when he bobbled the Youkilis hit giving him no shot at throwing out Ortiz.
If you are the Red Sox you have to send Ortiz w/2 outs but if Vernon comes up w/that ball cleanly and makes a halfway decent throw Ortiz is out. That is the 2nd straight game that Vernon has bobbled a ball as he was charged w/an error on Sun. allowing DeJesus an extra base. The difference is the Sun. error cost them nothing, this bobble cost them a shot at extra innings.
This is why W-L records for pitchers do not mean much. That is the 4th straight CG for Halladay and the last 3 have all been losses. In this game Halladay looked great as the only runner to reach 2nd before the 9th was Yorkilis after his steal in the 2nd.
Now I hate to blame the umpires for games, b/c they are not really at fault and 95% of the time they are correct with their calls, but I think they squeezed Halladay in the 9th vs. Ortiz. At least one of those pitches, the 1-0 pitch, certainly looked like a strike. Even though I was on the 1st base side, you can often tell from the catcher’s glove movement as well as both pitcher and catcher reaction. And the 1st pitch to Youkilis where they appealed the check swing, I had a perfect vantage point and he definitely went around, even the Sox fans beside me agreed. Either one of those calls makes a big difference in the pitches Halladay uses to follow. Now I don’t think this is just me, but the umpires are almost afraid to make calls against the Yankees and Red Sox, especially in their ballparks. Bad calls against the Jays don’t seem to happen nearly as much at any other ballparks.
Talk about a groundball fest, of the 53 recorded outs, 31 were by groundball compared to 8 in the air with 14 K’s. The groundballs were distributed as follows: 7 to 3B, 12 to SS, 7 to 2B, 2 to 1B, 1 to P, and 2 on the backend of DP’s.
And now for some stats:
WG: Lowell, Pedroia
DE: Wells (1)
Well at least this time you cannot blame the Jays hitting w/RISP as they went 0 for 1 but the one was Wells getting robbed of a hit. I really thought that hit by Wells was going through and would setup Doc to finish the 1-0 win. The problem was it didn’t and Wells could not repay the favour when he bobbled the Youkilis hit giving him no shot at throwing out Ortiz.
If you are the Red Sox you have to send Ortiz w/2 outs but if Vernon comes up w/that ball cleanly and makes a halfway decent throw Ortiz is out. That is the 2nd straight game that Vernon has bobbled a ball as he was charged w/an error on Sun. allowing DeJesus an extra base. The difference is the Sun. error cost them nothing, this bobble cost them a shot at extra innings.
This is why W-L records for pitchers do not mean much. That is the 4th straight CG for Halladay and the last 3 have all been losses. In this game Halladay looked great as the only runner to reach 2nd before the 9th was Yorkilis after his steal in the 2nd.
Now I hate to blame the umpires for games, b/c they are not really at fault and 95% of the time they are correct with their calls, but I think they squeezed Halladay in the 9th vs. Ortiz. At least one of those pitches, the 1-0 pitch, certainly looked like a strike. Even though I was on the 1st base side, you can often tell from the catcher’s glove movement as well as both pitcher and catcher reaction. And the 1st pitch to Youkilis where they appealed the check swing, I had a perfect vantage point and he definitely went around, even the Sox fans beside me agreed. Either one of those calls makes a big difference in the pitches Halladay uses to follow. Now I don’t think this is just me, but the umpires are almost afraid to make calls against the Yankees and Red Sox, especially in their ballparks. Bad calls against the Jays don’t seem to happen nearly as much at any other ballparks.
Talk about a groundball fest, of the 53 recorded outs, 31 were by groundball compared to 8 in the air with 14 K’s. The groundballs were distributed as follows: 7 to 3B, 12 to SS, 7 to 2B, 2 to 1B, 1 to P, and 2 on the backend of DP’s.
And now for some stats:
WG: Lowell, Pedroia
DE: Wells (1)
Day 31 – Fenway Charm
Made my way from KC to BOS, w/a stop over in CLE. I’m staying in Wakefield which is a town north of BOS, but I’m only 1 mile from a train stop which takes about 25-30 mins to get into downtown. My hotel is right beside a lake, and my room was on the lakeside so I had a nice view out my room.
After getting checked in, it was off to find my way to Fenway Park. The best way I can describe it is, it has its charm. Not really the nicest looking, and the concourse feels like you are walking around a dungeon, but when you get out to the field there is a special feeling about it. One of the 1st things I realized was just how close the Green Monster really is. You look where the infield dirt ends and see how little green space there is between it and the wall. Having now seen a number of ballparks in person, you really notice the difference.
After getting checked in, it was off to find my way to Fenway Park. The best way I can describe it is, it has its charm. Not really the nicest looking, and the concourse feels like you are walking around a dungeon, but when you get out to the field there is a special feeling about it. One of the 1st things I realized was just how close the Green Monster really is. You look where the infield dirt ends and see how little green space there is between it and the wall. Having now seen a number of ballparks in person, you really notice the difference.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Day 30 – It Pays to Research
For the 1st time in 21 days , the Jays are off. Since I will have 2 more trips to BOS later in the yr and this is my only trip to KC, plus its cheaper to stay in KC I am not flying until tomorrow.
I headed up to the Negro League Museum. It took me 3 separate buses to get there. The only problem was I did not do enough research as the museum is open everyday but Monday (why Monday?). So instead I just ended up walking around that area for awhile and then started the trip back to my hotel. At one of the bus transfer points downtown I instead took some time to walk around there before catching a bus to my hotel to try and get a regular amount of rest before my flight.
I headed up to the Negro League Museum. It took me 3 separate buses to get there. The only problem was I did not do enough research as the museum is open everyday but Monday (why Monday?). So instead I just ended up walking around that area for awhile and then started the trip back to my hotel. At one of the bus transfer points downtown I instead took some time to walk around there before catching a bus to my hotel to try and get a regular amount of rest before my flight.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Game 26 – 11 Man Staff
More of the same from the Jays hitting wise as they go just 1 for 7 w/RISP. However this game they actually got some extra base hits and managed to put up enough runs to win, thankfully ending the losing streak at 6.
I’ve been on Pevey a couple times now for sends/no sends but very heads up on his part sending Rios once he saw Guillen throw it into 2nd. Not sure if Guillen was worried about Rolen trying for 2nd or just assumed Rios wouldn’t be able to score.
I was surprised to see Meche left in to face Rios in the 7th. Meche was up to 118 pitches and more importantly Rios was already 3 for 3 against him. However, it worked out as this time Meche got Rios to fly out.
Loved to see Gibbons use the hit and run w/Wells. He was in an 0 for 15 slump so why not force him to swing and just try to make contact rather than him trying to do too much. It is too bad the Jays could not capitalize on the 1st and 3rd none out though. I don’t like the straight steal by Wells after though. I realize the offence is struggling but I’d rather give them 2 chances to hit a fly ball and get the SF or 3 chances to get the hit to score at least 1.
Much better start from Litsch as he finally made it through 7 innings. If he can more often than not even give them 6 innings than maybe the Jays will finally do the right thing and go to an 11 man pitching staff. The Jays certainly have the other 4 starters who are capable of giving them innings and even w/the 20 straight days w/games the bullpen isn’t really overworked. Of course they really need to keep 3 RH’s so that basically means either Tallet or Carlson has to go, but neither of them deserves to be sent down. The next option is trade but for what. A reliever himself isn’t going to get a starting position player and I like the makeup of the Jays bench especially if they add the extra guy and I think Coats fits the bill of what they need but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t do better than him via a trade. So unless they package a couple relievers or put one w/someone else the only other option is trade for younger players.
I was a little confused and worried when Gibbons brought in Ryan to pitch the 8th. I thought he might try to have him pitch 2 innings. I’m glad to see he didn’t use him in the 9th, so that means the reason he must have used him in the 8th was in case the Royals took the lead against a different reliever than there would be no 9th for Ryan to pitch. And with the day off on Mon. clearly they wanted to make sure Ryan got some game action in now. I think we may see more of this until everyone feels Ryan is fully recovered. They need to make sure he never sits too long w/o throwing even if that means using him in different situations.
I was surprised to see Carlson the one coming out for the 9th. However a lefty made sense w/the LH’s due up for KC but I expected Downs. This is one of those aspects though that you often don’t know as a fan, that Downs was actually a little sore and unavailable. With the save I think Carlson is definitely quickly making his way into Gibby’s good graces similar to what Wolfe did last yr.
And now for the stats:
ME(f): Guillen, Pena Jr., Gload
I’ve been on Pevey a couple times now for sends/no sends but very heads up on his part sending Rios once he saw Guillen throw it into 2nd. Not sure if Guillen was worried about Rolen trying for 2nd or just assumed Rios wouldn’t be able to score.
I was surprised to see Meche left in to face Rios in the 7th. Meche was up to 118 pitches and more importantly Rios was already 3 for 3 against him. However, it worked out as this time Meche got Rios to fly out.
Loved to see Gibbons use the hit and run w/Wells. He was in an 0 for 15 slump so why not force him to swing and just try to make contact rather than him trying to do too much. It is too bad the Jays could not capitalize on the 1st and 3rd none out though. I don’t like the straight steal by Wells after though. I realize the offence is struggling but I’d rather give them 2 chances to hit a fly ball and get the SF or 3 chances to get the hit to score at least 1.
Much better start from Litsch as he finally made it through 7 innings. If he can more often than not even give them 6 innings than maybe the Jays will finally do the right thing and go to an 11 man pitching staff. The Jays certainly have the other 4 starters who are capable of giving them innings and even w/the 20 straight days w/games the bullpen isn’t really overworked. Of course they really need to keep 3 RH’s so that basically means either Tallet or Carlson has to go, but neither of them deserves to be sent down. The next option is trade but for what. A reliever himself isn’t going to get a starting position player and I like the makeup of the Jays bench especially if they add the extra guy and I think Coats fits the bill of what they need but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t do better than him via a trade. So unless they package a couple relievers or put one w/someone else the only other option is trade for younger players.
I was a little confused and worried when Gibbons brought in Ryan to pitch the 8th. I thought he might try to have him pitch 2 innings. I’m glad to see he didn’t use him in the 9th, so that means the reason he must have used him in the 8th was in case the Royals took the lead against a different reliever than there would be no 9th for Ryan to pitch. And with the day off on Mon. clearly they wanted to make sure Ryan got some game action in now. I think we may see more of this until everyone feels Ryan is fully recovered. They need to make sure he never sits too long w/o throwing even if that means using him in different situations.
I was surprised to see Carlson the one coming out for the 9th. However a lefty made sense w/the LH’s due up for KC but I expected Downs. This is one of those aspects though that you often don’t know as a fan, that Downs was actually a little sore and unavailable. With the save I think Carlson is definitely quickly making his way into Gibby’s good graces similar to what Wolfe did last yr.
And now for the stats:
ME(f): Guillen, Pena Jr., Gload
Day 29 – Black Snake Moan
Afternoon game so it is a little warmer at game time w/the sun shining off and on, there are some clouds in the sky.
After the game decided to just head back to the hotel and watch a movie. I watched Black Snake Moan. It was pretty good, very much a character piece. There was some good dialogue and it was well acted.
After the game decided to just head back to the hotel and watch a movie. I watched Black Snake Moan. It was pretty good, very much a character piece. There was some good dialogue and it was well acted.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Game 25 – Baseball IQ
When the team goes 1 for 14 w/RISP you cannot expect to win many games, especially when the only hit does not even drive in a run. Although the lone hit did setup the Jays only run w/the help of an error. Once again the Jays could not capitalize and put up a crooked # as Wells hit into a DP. I think to some degree Lind’s groundout w/the bases loaded sums up the Jays hitting recently w/RISP; Even when they hit it hard they cannot find a hole.
One of the things Rolen brings w/him to the team is a high baseball IQ. His steal of 3rd base was a prime example as he stole the base easily. Rolen only has avg speed but he is very smart on the basepaths.
The game did not start out well for Marcum as he seemed to struggle w/his command issuing 3 BB’s in the 1st 3 innings and throwing 1st pitch balls to 8 of the 1st 12 hitters. Marcum eventually settled in and retired 11 of the last 12 he face, unfortunately the one was a solo HR to Guillen, representing the difference in the game.
I was surprised to see Pena moving on contact from 3rd in the 3rd inning. Usually when the infield is in and you have a runner at 3rd w/less than 2 outs and no other runner on base you wait for the ball to go through b/c if it is hit at an infielder then more than likely he is dead out and you no longer have anyone in scoring position. If instead there is a man at 2nd also then you will often go on contact b/c even if the lead runner is thrown out at home you still have a runner at 3rd. Finally if the situation is 1st and 3rd it can go either way since at the very least the trail runner will move into scoring position and could end up at 3rd if the lead runner gets into a rundown.
Something I don’t like is managers giving a quick hook to a reliever b/c he had a rough outing the previous time out. After Nunez blew the lead on Fri, Hillman brings him right back out to pitch the 8th, which I like. If the guy is going to be your setup man you want him right back out there after a bad outing. But then after putting runners at 1st and 3rd w/1 out he gets pulled, not b/c Hillman wanted a lefty, just another RH. Now I know you don’t want to lose the game but I think you need to show more confidence especially w/a young player on a team not expecting to contend.
For the game stats:
Adv: Hill (2), Butler
P-Adv: Marcum (2), Hochevar
Adv+: Eckstein (1)
P-Adv+: Hochevar
WG: Pena Jr.
One of the things Rolen brings w/him to the team is a high baseball IQ. His steal of 3rd base was a prime example as he stole the base easily. Rolen only has avg speed but he is very smart on the basepaths.
The game did not start out well for Marcum as he seemed to struggle w/his command issuing 3 BB’s in the 1st 3 innings and throwing 1st pitch balls to 8 of the 1st 12 hitters. Marcum eventually settled in and retired 11 of the last 12 he face, unfortunately the one was a solo HR to Guillen, representing the difference in the game.
I was surprised to see Pena moving on contact from 3rd in the 3rd inning. Usually when the infield is in and you have a runner at 3rd w/less than 2 outs and no other runner on base you wait for the ball to go through b/c if it is hit at an infielder then more than likely he is dead out and you no longer have anyone in scoring position. If instead there is a man at 2nd also then you will often go on contact b/c even if the lead runner is thrown out at home you still have a runner at 3rd. Finally if the situation is 1st and 3rd it can go either way since at the very least the trail runner will move into scoring position and could end up at 3rd if the lead runner gets into a rundown.
Something I don’t like is managers giving a quick hook to a reliever b/c he had a rough outing the previous time out. After Nunez blew the lead on Fri, Hillman brings him right back out to pitch the 8th, which I like. If the guy is going to be your setup man you want him right back out there after a bad outing. But then after putting runners at 1st and 3rd w/1 out he gets pulled, not b/c Hillman wanted a lefty, just another RH. Now I know you don’t want to lose the game but I think you need to show more confidence especially w/a young player on a team not expecting to contend.
For the game stats:
Adv: Hill (2), Butler
P-Adv: Marcum (2), Hochevar
Adv+: Eckstein (1)
P-Adv+: Hochevar
WG: Pena Jr.
Day 28 – Independence
Game is at night so I took the day to just walk around Independence. Nothing really exciting but it looks like KC is just starting to expand that far as there were several new developments around and there was a lot of work being done in one area that already had a # of businesses.
The stadium actually looked like it was close to capacity. There are no OF seats in fair territory other than like 2 sections that creep past the foul pole so I would guess capacity is only about 35,000. Nonetheless given the struggles of this franchise the last several years I was a little surprised at the turnout for an April game and it was not the nicest of evenings for baseball temperature wise.
The stadium actually looked like it was close to capacity. There are no OF seats in fair territory other than like 2 sections that creep past the foul pole so I would guess capacity is only about 35,000. Nonetheless given the struggles of this franchise the last several years I was a little surprised at the turnout for an April game and it was not the nicest of evenings for baseball temperature wise.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Game 24 – Defensive Replacement
I have yet to really comment on this but until this game it hadn’t really cost the Jays. Why is John McDonald not playing defence late in the game when the Jays are ahead? Gibbons had no problem using Coats defensively for Stewart/Stairs earlier in the yr, and we have seen him use it often when Johnson and Cat shared LF duties. I have mentioned before that I think McDonald should be starting at least every 5th game when Halladay pitches, but he should also be used defensively late in games when ahead, he is the best defensive SS in the game, what other purpose does he serve for this team. Was there some sort of deal made between J.P. and Eckstein when he signed about net getting replaced for defence? Is Eckstein really the type of person that would take it personally if he got pulled, based on the way he plays the game I wouldn’t think so. Now I can’t see a major leaguer ever doing this but if Eckstein really wants to see this team win then other than continuing to hustle on the field he can suck up his pride and tell the manager he understands if he gets taken out late in a game.
I have heard a few Jays fans and media commenting on Vernon looking a little tentative in the field and there have been a ball or 2 that Vernon has not read off the bat like he usually does. Well there were 2 plays in this game that Vernon did not even attempt a throw. First the Gload 2B in the 5th which I don’t think he had much of a shot but he decided to just hold on, then on the DeJesus 1B in the 7th he made no attempt to throw out Buck at the plate and allowed Pena to scamper into 3rd. And not to mention Vernon failed to cleanly field a hit allowing an extra base to Callaspo. Vernon’s defence will definitely be worth keeping an eye on going forward.
Not often you see 2 balks in one game, at least they came w/2 outs and did not cost Burnett. He pitched well and if not for the 2 errors by Eckstein could have got the win. I have no problem w/Gibbons leaving Burnett in as long as he did. They weren’t exactly pounding him as the 2 hits in the 7th and 2 in the 8th were all grounders that got through.
I would have liked to have seen a RH come in to face Buck and Pena then go back to a lefty for the top of the order should it extend that long, but I think the reason Gibbons didn’t is b/c he is not ready to use Camp in that situation and he doesn’t trust Frasor so the only RH left is Accardo who he was probably saving for the 9th since B.J. had thrown yesterday and therefore would be unavailable.
You would think pitchers would learn not to stick their free hand out to try and field a groundball given the importance of keeping their hand in good shape. Then again you would think they would be careful about not doing such things as slamming car doors on their hand either.
Can’t entirely blame the offence this game as Greinke is showing the promise he had a few yrs ago before personal problems set him back. He should be the ace of the that staff for yrs to come and could compete for the Cy Young once he has the team around him to build the win total.
Game Stats:
Adv+: Buck
P-Adv+: Burnett (1)
WG: Burnett (1)
ME(f): Rios (1)
I have heard a few Jays fans and media commenting on Vernon looking a little tentative in the field and there have been a ball or 2 that Vernon has not read off the bat like he usually does. Well there were 2 plays in this game that Vernon did not even attempt a throw. First the Gload 2B in the 5th which I don’t think he had much of a shot but he decided to just hold on, then on the DeJesus 1B in the 7th he made no attempt to throw out Buck at the plate and allowed Pena to scamper into 3rd. And not to mention Vernon failed to cleanly field a hit allowing an extra base to Callaspo. Vernon’s defence will definitely be worth keeping an eye on going forward.
Not often you see 2 balks in one game, at least they came w/2 outs and did not cost Burnett. He pitched well and if not for the 2 errors by Eckstein could have got the win. I have no problem w/Gibbons leaving Burnett in as long as he did. They weren’t exactly pounding him as the 2 hits in the 7th and 2 in the 8th were all grounders that got through.
I would have liked to have seen a RH come in to face Buck and Pena then go back to a lefty for the top of the order should it extend that long, but I think the reason Gibbons didn’t is b/c he is not ready to use Camp in that situation and he doesn’t trust Frasor so the only RH left is Accardo who he was probably saving for the 9th since B.J. had thrown yesterday and therefore would be unavailable.
You would think pitchers would learn not to stick their free hand out to try and field a groundball given the importance of keeping their hand in good shape. Then again you would think they would be careful about not doing such things as slamming car doors on their hand either.
Can’t entirely blame the offence this game as Greinke is showing the promise he had a few yrs ago before personal problems set him back. He should be the ace of the that staff for yrs to come and could compete for the Cy Young once he has the team around him to build the win total.
Game Stats:
Adv+: Buck
P-Adv+: Burnett (1)
WG: Burnett (1)
ME(f): Rios (1)
Day 27 – Waterfalls
I managed to get a direct flight to Kansas City a little later in the morning so it wasn’t too early of a wakeup after the night game on Thur. Got out to my hotel in Independence which is just east of KC but I was only a couple miles from where the stadium is located, within walking distance gladly.
Kauffman Stadium is actually a really nice stadium. I love the waterfalls they have in the OF. The only problem was they are doing renovations to the stadium and so there was lots of construction equipment when walking around the stadium and you could see it beyond the OF walls from inside the stadium which didn’t make for the nicest backdrop.
Kauffman Stadium is actually a really nice stadium. I love the waterfalls they have in the OF. The only problem was they are doing renovations to the stadium and so there was lots of construction equipment when walking around the stadium and you could see it beyond the OF walls from inside the stadium which didn’t make for the nicest backdrop.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Game 23 – Quick Trigger
Once again not much offence to speak of for the Jays. They threatened in the 9th getting the 1st two guys on against Percival but for the 3rd straight day Percival picked up the save. I don’t get the bunt in the 3rd inning by Eckstein. After 3 straight hits to start the inning producing 1 run, why give the pitcher an out. It is only the 3rd inning and you are playing on the road. You might have the pitcher on the ropes and get put together a big inning something the Jays have been lacking. If not for the mental lapses by the Rays defenders in not covering home plate after the bunt the Jays may have only scored 1, as it is they only got 2.
The Jays threatened again in the 4th loading the bases w/2 outs thanks to 2 walks by Sonnanstine but couldn’t come up w/the 2 out hit. Time and time again the Jays are failing to capitalize on early opportunities to open the game up.
I was surprised to see Rios get ejected by McClelland of all people. You would think the veteran ump wouldn’t be so quick with the trigger, something some ump’s need to learn, the fans are there to watch the players not them. The manager is a different story, and I think most umps know when the manager wants to get tossed. Of course Rios probably needs to control what he does w/bat and helmet after he strikes out, as he often shows his frustration by breaking his bat after a strikeout.
McGowan looked so good through the 1st two, and even the 3rd it was really just the leadoff walk that hurt him, as he got a ground ball from Bartlett but it found a hole up the middle. Then things just fell apart in the 4th and 5th as he walked 5 batters. The bullpen once again came in early and held things close but the Jays couldn’t come back.
And for the stats: Inglett is definitely looking shaky in the OF.
Adv: Zaun (3)
P-Adv: Percival
NAdv: Hinske
P-NAdv: Carlson (1)
ME(r): Pena
ME(f): Inglett (2), Pena
Day 26 – Mini Golf
So much for the happiest place on earth as the Jays get swept. I can’t believe all the sweeps the Jays have been involved in already, that is 5 out of 8 series resulting in sweeps. Really puts a downer on my Disney experience.
One of the things we always had to do on our summer vacations was find a mini golf course to stop at. Although I have never enjoyed golf, I do enjoy mini golf. I guess it is the challenge of finding the correct angle to bank your shot around the obstacles. I actually enjoy planning the shot more than actually taking it. Of course if I could execute better maybe the playing part would be more fun. Anyways there just happened to be a mini golf course a few blocks away from my hotel so I decided to go play. They had 2-18 hole courses so I decided to challenge myself one course vs. the other (you gotta make it interesting when you are by yourself). This also worked out well in that I could jump from course to course and hole to hole to avoid getting caught up behind anyone. I just kept track of everything on my scorecard so I know which holes I had yet to play.
As I said before I don’t want to spend a lot of money on non-baseball related activities so rather than go to one specific attraction I just rode the Disney Shuttle Bus that takes you to all the different areas of Disney World. That way I still got to get around and see at least part of the areas.
One of the things we always had to do on our summer vacations was find a mini golf course to stop at. Although I have never enjoyed golf, I do enjoy mini golf. I guess it is the challenge of finding the correct angle to bank your shot around the obstacles. I actually enjoy planning the shot more than actually taking it. Of course if I could execute better maybe the playing part would be more fun. Anyways there just happened to be a mini golf course a few blocks away from my hotel so I decided to go play. They had 2-18 hole courses so I decided to challenge myself one course vs. the other (you gotta make it interesting when you are by yourself). This also worked out well in that I could jump from course to course and hole to hole to avoid getting caught up behind anyone. I just kept track of everything on my scorecard so I know which holes I had yet to play.
As I said before I don’t want to spend a lot of money on non-baseball related activities so rather than go to one specific attraction I just rode the Disney Shuttle Bus that takes you to all the different areas of Disney World. That way I still got to get around and see at least part of the areas.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Game 22 – Complete Games
Yet another CG for Doc (although only 8 IP’s) and he has now lost 2 of the 3 CG’s he has thrown. I’m a little surprised he came out for the 8th but he had thrown less than 100 pitches to that point even though he was coming off back-to-back CG’s he did have 5 days off and will have 5 days off before his next start. Don’t really know what happened in the 6th other than 3 of the 5 hits were just groundballs that found holes. Other than the 6th, Doc only faced 2 over the minimum.
It is too bad only Matt Stairs could provide any offence. They were unable to capitalize on any of the 4 walks issued by Hammel including Hammel walking the 9 hitter to leadoff an inning. They also could not score when Inglett (the 9 hitter) leadoff w/a single in the 5th and even stole 2 bases.
Good to see Gibbons get Diaz in there, better to not wait too long before getting the player in there for his major league debut. It is not too often you see 3 catchers all in the starting lineup. Diaz certainly seems to follow the pattern of many of the players from the Caribbean where you don’t walk your way off the island, you hit as he put the 1st ball in play each of his 1st 2 AB’s.
One thing I can’t stand is managers allowing a pitcher to go out and warmup at the start of the inning and then pull him before the 1st batter, allowing extra time for the reliever to warm up in the bullpen. For all the efforts by MLB to speed up the game they have yet to address this situation.
Now for the stats:
Adv+: Bartlett
P-Adv+: Halladay (1)
NAdv: Eckstein (1)
P-NAdv: Hammel
It is too bad only Matt Stairs could provide any offence. They were unable to capitalize on any of the 4 walks issued by Hammel including Hammel walking the 9 hitter to leadoff an inning. They also could not score when Inglett (the 9 hitter) leadoff w/a single in the 5th and even stole 2 bases.
Good to see Gibbons get Diaz in there, better to not wait too long before getting the player in there for his major league debut. It is not too often you see 3 catchers all in the starting lineup. Diaz certainly seems to follow the pattern of many of the players from the Caribbean where you don’t walk your way off the island, you hit as he put the 1st ball in play each of his 1st 2 AB’s.
One thing I can’t stand is managers allowing a pitcher to go out and warmup at the start of the inning and then pull him before the 1st batter, allowing extra time for the reliever to warm up in the bullpen. For all the efforts by MLB to speed up the game they have yet to address this situation.
Now for the stats:
Adv+: Bartlett
P-Adv+: Halladay (1)
NAdv: Eckstein (1)
P-NAdv: Hammel
Day 25 – Tourist Trap
Decided I would just do some exploring today rather than hit up some of the attraction sites, I want to avoid spending too much money beyond what I’ve already committed. As I found out this whole area is just one big tourist area, hotels, restaurants, and gift shops lining the whole road. I checked out some of the gift shops for the sake of it. It is amazing all the little trinkets they sell. There is never a lack of selection if you are looking to take something home.
The other thing I noticed is everywhere is advertising that they sell tickets to all the attractions. I did not look into the price difference but you have to wonder how much variation you could find.
I decided that I would walk to the ballpark take in some scenery, it is about 4 miles, took me about an hr to get there. One of the nice things when I’m on the road, time isn’t as much of an issue.
I took a walk around the complex before the game and there has got to be at least 12 ballfields, plus there are batting cages, a small tennis stadium w/additional courts around it, and lacrosse fields.
After the game I went to the restaurant they have across from the stadium. They have an interesting way of ordering your food. They have cash registers at the entrance where you place your order. They then give you an electronic card that you take to any table. Each table has a card reader where you put your card in one slot to send the order to the kitchen, then you put the card in another slot to let them know what table you are at.
The other thing I noticed is everywhere is advertising that they sell tickets to all the attractions. I did not look into the price difference but you have to wonder how much variation you could find.
I decided that I would walk to the ballpark take in some scenery, it is about 4 miles, took me about an hr to get there. One of the nice things when I’m on the road, time isn’t as much of an issue.
I took a walk around the complex before the game and there has got to be at least 12 ballfields, plus there are batting cages, a small tennis stadium w/additional courts around it, and lacrosse fields.
After the game I went to the restaurant they have across from the stadium. They have an interesting way of ordering your food. They have cash registers at the entrance where you place your order. They then give you an electronic card that you take to any table. Each table has a card reader where you put your card in one slot to send the order to the kitchen, then you put the card in another slot to let them know what table you are at.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Game 21 – 2-out Stealing
Well, Hinske giveth and he taketh away. 1st the misplay defensively in the 2nd leads to 2 TOR runs, but then Hinske comes back and ends up w/3 hits (2B, 3B, HR), 2 RBI’s, and 3 runs scored to lead the Rays over the Jays.
Not a good start from Litsch, they need to get more innings out of him. One of the keys to him succeeding is throwing strikes and working ahead. Thru the 1st 3 innings while giving up 2 runs he had only thrown 2 1st pitch balls, one led to a double the other a strikeout. In the 4th he threw 1st pitch balls to 4 of the 6 hitters he faced w/all 4 reaching base, as part of a 3 run 4th for TB, and it could have been worse if not for Carlson.
Speaking of Carlson he continues to impress getting the Jays out of a 1st and 3rd 1 out in the 4th and then striking out the 3-4-5 hitters in the 5th (2 of which are RH). Sure he gave up a HR but that is one bad pitch as he gave the Jays a valuable 2.1 IP to help save the bullpen from being over used.
The Rays fans certainly do not have a high opinion of Camp. I can’t blame them given the struggles he had for them, but he gave the Jays another good outing. And how about Scott Downs getting all 4 outs he recorded via the strikeout.
All the work by the bullpen and all the Jays got back was the solo HR by Wells. After the HR the final 12 hitters were retired in order.
In most cases I don’t mind seeing a player try to steal w/2 outs since it is unlikely you will get 2 2-out hits but if the player is going to steal they should do it early in the count or if the hitter is behind. Once the hitter gets a couple of balls on him you better be able to guarantee the steal b/c the hitter may end up walking pushing you to 2nd anyways. That is why I did not like Scutaro’s attempt in the 2nd w/Eckstein at the plate. Eckstein is great at fouling off 2 strike pitches and easily could have drawn the walk moving Scutaro into scoring position for Hill.
On with the stats: In the case of an error, I will credit the player as if the error was not made. Therefore Zaun’s groundball to Hinske in the 2nd will go down as an Advance not an Advance+ even though Zaun did not get out.
Adv: Zaun (2)
P-Adv: Shields
ME(f): Inglett (1)
Not a good start from Litsch, they need to get more innings out of him. One of the keys to him succeeding is throwing strikes and working ahead. Thru the 1st 3 innings while giving up 2 runs he had only thrown 2 1st pitch balls, one led to a double the other a strikeout. In the 4th he threw 1st pitch balls to 4 of the 6 hitters he faced w/all 4 reaching base, as part of a 3 run 4th for TB, and it could have been worse if not for Carlson.
Speaking of Carlson he continues to impress getting the Jays out of a 1st and 3rd 1 out in the 4th and then striking out the 3-4-5 hitters in the 5th (2 of which are RH). Sure he gave up a HR but that is one bad pitch as he gave the Jays a valuable 2.1 IP to help save the bullpen from being over used.
The Rays fans certainly do not have a high opinion of Camp. I can’t blame them given the struggles he had for them, but he gave the Jays another good outing. And how about Scott Downs getting all 4 outs he recorded via the strikeout.
All the work by the bullpen and all the Jays got back was the solo HR by Wells. After the HR the final 12 hitters were retired in order.
In most cases I don’t mind seeing a player try to steal w/2 outs since it is unlikely you will get 2 2-out hits but if the player is going to steal they should do it early in the count or if the hitter is behind. Once the hitter gets a couple of balls on him you better be able to guarantee the steal b/c the hitter may end up walking pushing you to 2nd anyways. That is why I did not like Scutaro’s attempt in the 2nd w/Eckstein at the plate. Eckstein is great at fouling off 2 strike pitches and easily could have drawn the walk moving Scutaro into scoring position for Hill.
On with the stats: In the case of an error, I will credit the player as if the error was not made. Therefore Zaun’s groundball to Hinske in the 2nd will go down as an Advance not an Advance+ even though Zaun did not get out.
Adv: Zaun (2)
P-Adv: Shields
ME(f): Inglett (1)
Day 24 – Overbooked
The greyhound bus got into Buffalo early in the morning, too early for the public buses to be running so I had to put in some time at the bus depot. My flight was connecting through Charlotte, only problem once I arrived in Charlotte was they were overbooked for the flight to Orlando (by about 25 people, apparently they switched to a smaller plane). So I decided to take them up on their offer looking for volunteers to take a later flight in exchange for a future free flight.
When it was all said and done I arrived in Orlando around 4 instead of the original 1. After checking into my hotel it was off to Disney World. The stadium they are playing at is in the Disney Wide World of Sports area and is home to the Atlanta Braves for spring training. Stadium is nothing special, although I have no comparison to other Spring Training stadiums, the max capacity is less than 10,000 and that includes the people that are just sitting on the grass hill down the LF line.
When it was all said and done I arrived in Orlando around 4 instead of the original 1. After checking into my hotel it was off to Disney World. The stadium they are playing at is in the Disney Wide World of Sports area and is home to the Atlanta Braves for spring training. Stadium is nothing special, although I have no comparison to other Spring Training stadiums, the max capacity is less than 10,000 and that includes the people that are just sitting on the grass hill down the LF line.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Game 20 – Sleepwalking
The Jays almost seemed to be sleepwalking through this game. Their struggles to score runs continues. Twice they loaded the bases, first in the 3rd w/2 outs (although they got a runner to 3rd w/1 out) and then in the 4th w/1 out and they could not even push across a single run. This is feeling all too familiar. On the bright side Zaun hit his 1st HR of the season.
First rough start of the season for Marcum, and it was really only 1 bad inning. The 2 errors certainly did not help, although just 1 unearned run scored, but it was the walks that hurt. Marcum walked Cabrera on 4 pitches to start the frame, yes its Cabrera and he can take you deep but you hate to put the leadoff man on base, especially if he doesn’t have to work for it. Then the walk to Thomas w/2 outs and a man on 3rd bringing up Pudge. Even though Thomas is LH, and Pudge is RH and certainly is no longer the hitter he once was, but I’d rather see Marcum going after Thomas w/the great changeup of his that works well vs. LH hitters, plus Pudge was swinging a hot bat in the series (6 for 13 up to that point, he finished the series 9 for 17).
Game Stats Scoring Clarification: Should a player come to bat w/runners at 2nd and 3rd none out and hits a SF w/the runner from 2nd also advancing to 3rd, I am not counting that as any kind of advance. My idea behind the advance is to keep track of those AB’s that either move or don’t move the runner, therefore since a SF does not count as an AB, I don’t count it as an advance. The same goes for a player drawing a walk/HBP w/runners at 1st and 2nd none out. Yes, he advanced the runner but no official AB.
Adv+: Renteria, Raburn
P-Adv+: Marcum 2 (2)
First rough start of the season for Marcum, and it was really only 1 bad inning. The 2 errors certainly did not help, although just 1 unearned run scored, but it was the walks that hurt. Marcum walked Cabrera on 4 pitches to start the frame, yes its Cabrera and he can take you deep but you hate to put the leadoff man on base, especially if he doesn’t have to work for it. Then the walk to Thomas w/2 outs and a man on 3rd bringing up Pudge. Even though Thomas is LH, and Pudge is RH and certainly is no longer the hitter he once was, but I’d rather see Marcum going after Thomas w/the great changeup of his that works well vs. LH hitters, plus Pudge was swinging a hot bat in the series (6 for 13 up to that point, he finished the series 9 for 17).
Game Stats Scoring Clarification: Should a player come to bat w/runners at 2nd and 3rd none out and hits a SF w/the runner from 2nd also advancing to 3rd, I am not counting that as any kind of advance. My idea behind the advance is to keep track of those AB’s that either move or don’t move the runner, therefore since a SF does not count as an AB, I don’t count it as an advance. The same goes for a player drawing a walk/HBP w/runners at 1st and 2nd none out. Yes, he advanced the runner but no official AB.
Adv+: Renteria, Raburn
P-Adv+: Marcum 2 (2)
Day 23 – Time or Money?
Just worked the morning before heading to the ballpark for the afternoon game on getaway day. Then it was home to get packed and ready to leave. I am flying out of Buffalo so that means I need to take the late night greyhound to Buffalo. The reason I am flying out of Buffalo instead of Toronto is b/c often there are cheaper flights out of Buffalo even if you include the bus cost to Buffalo, as long as you are willing to spend the extra time getting to Buffalo.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Game 19 – Finding the Curveball
Well, the Jays finally beat a LH starter. It only took Eckstein of all people to take Robertson deep to put up enough runs and the bullpen made it stick. Not a good showing for Vernon though as he had 3 k’s, all against Robertson.
Until A.J. finds his curveball he is going to have more outings like this. He continually jumped ahead of hitters but then could not finish them off b/c his curveball wasn’t even coming close and the batters were laying off it. He certainly did not stop trying to find that release point for the curveball which caused him to go to a lot of deep counts and drove up his pitch count chasing him after 5. Give him credit though for only giving up 3 runs, enough to grab the win.
Camp looked good in his return to the majors. He had a good spring and was pitching well in Syracuse so he deserved a shot. Apparently the changeup he is now throwing is something he has developed since his last stint in the majors. If it is the extra pitch he needs to be successful, combined with the early success of Carlson the Jays will have that many more quality arms in their crowded bullpen list.
It was a good sign to see Accardo get 3 ground balls, even if one got through. They need him to pitch well to keep away the desire to rush Ryan into pitching on back-to-back days.
Here are the game stats:
Adv+: Hill (2)
P-Adv+: Robertson
NAdv: Rios (6)
P-NAdv: Robertson
WG: McDonald (2)
ME(f): Cabrera
Until A.J. finds his curveball he is going to have more outings like this. He continually jumped ahead of hitters but then could not finish them off b/c his curveball wasn’t even coming close and the batters were laying off it. He certainly did not stop trying to find that release point for the curveball which caused him to go to a lot of deep counts and drove up his pitch count chasing him after 5. Give him credit though for only giving up 3 runs, enough to grab the win.
Camp looked good in his return to the majors. He had a good spring and was pitching well in Syracuse so he deserved a shot. Apparently the changeup he is now throwing is something he has developed since his last stint in the majors. If it is the extra pitch he needs to be successful, combined with the early success of Carlson the Jays will have that many more quality arms in their crowded bullpen list.
It was a good sign to see Accardo get 3 ground balls, even if one got through. They need him to pitch well to keep away the desire to rush Ryan into pitching on back-to-back days.
Here are the game stats:
Adv+: Hill (2)
P-Adv+: Robertson
NAdv: Rios (6)
P-NAdv: Robertson
WG: McDonald (2)
ME(f): Cabrera
Day 22 - Big Hurt No More
I have to say I was surprised to hear Thomas had been released. I for one believe he still has something left and that he is just going through his usual slow start. Yes, he is the on the downside, but I believe given the opportunity he would probably come close to matching last year’s output, maybe slightly less. The Jays can say all they want that this move is b/c they can’t wait around for him to get going, they need somebody who is producing now, but this move was down b/c of next year, plain and simple. If not for the vesting option in the contract the Jays would surely still have Thomas on the team.
Now maybe this comes from never having played baseball professionally, but I don’t get the whole political issue of not being able to drop Thomas in the batting order. Sure the guy is going to be a hall of famer, but if he wants to continue playing in his 40’s he is going to have to accept the fact that he may not be best suited for the middle of the lineup. I would have dropped Thomas in the batting order to say 7th behind Stairs and Overbay while he struggles through April and probably part of May and they could probably give him a day off a little more frequently.
The good news is this clears the way for Adam Lind once he is fully healthy. I believed at the end of last season that Lind should be this year’s starting LF and I would not have brought back Stairs this offseason simply b/c they just wouldn’t have roster room w/Thomas at DH, and Lind/Johnson in LF and no need to carry a 5th OF. Of course Johnson has now been replaced by Stewart, but w/Thomas gone that opens up Stairs to DH and Lind should now platoon with Stewart in left.
Now maybe this comes from never having played baseball professionally, but I don’t get the whole political issue of not being able to drop Thomas in the batting order. Sure the guy is going to be a hall of famer, but if he wants to continue playing in his 40’s he is going to have to accept the fact that he may not be best suited for the middle of the lineup. I would have dropped Thomas in the batting order to say 7th behind Stairs and Overbay while he struggles through April and probably part of May and they could probably give him a day off a little more frequently.
The good news is this clears the way for Adam Lind once he is fully healthy. I believed at the end of last season that Lind should be this year’s starting LF and I would not have brought back Stairs this offseason simply b/c they just wouldn’t have roster room w/Thomas at DH, and Lind/Johnson in LF and no need to carry a 5th OF. Of course Johnson has now been replaced by Stewart, but w/Thomas gone that opens up Stairs to DH and Lind should now platoon with Stewart in left.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Game 18 – To Swing or Not to Swing
Much better start from McGowan this time around. The strikeouts weren’t there, but he only had 2 jams. Both were of the same variety: leadoff single, then double setting up 2nd and 3rd none out, and both times McGowan managed to get the 1st guy w/o giving up a run and got the 2nd guy but with the run scoring.
Why don’t more pitchers catch infield pop ups? It is not like these guys can’t catch. Now, I realize part of it is b/c they have to get off the mound and you don’t want them stumbling but pitchers do it all the time to field bunts and cover 1st base and don’t have a problem. Granted w/a popup they have to look up and watch the ball so they can’t necessarily see the ground. My point is sometimes they almost seem afraid to call for a popup, but as happened in this game sometimes the pitcher is the one who should be calling it. Luckily for the Jays Eckstein managed to dive and catch it.
Ryan hasn’t been making his saves look easy, but he is getting the job done. At least his delivery looks ok and he doesn’t appear to be experiencing any unusual soreness after throwing. I just hope the Jays don’t try to rush getting him in back-to-back games.
I don’t have a problem w/certain players swinging 3-0, they just better hit it hard. Now there are some cases where you don’t want them swinging like if the pitcher has really been struggling with his control or one of your weaker hitters is up. But if one of your power bats is up there why not look for a pitch in a specific area and if the pitch is in that spot swing away, otherwise just leave it he still has to throw you 2 more. So even though Stairs got out today on a 3-0, I didn’t mind seeing him swing and he certainly hit the ball hard it just happened to be right at Guillen (at least within his jumping range).
On with the stats: Not a good day for the hitters trying to execute the advance.
NAdv: C. Thomas, Renteria, Inglett (2), Rios (5), Barajas (2)
P-NAdv: Bonderman 2, Rapada, McGowan 2 (6)
WG: Guillen, Eckstein (2), Scutaro (4)
Why don’t more pitchers catch infield pop ups? It is not like these guys can’t catch. Now, I realize part of it is b/c they have to get off the mound and you don’t want them stumbling but pitchers do it all the time to field bunts and cover 1st base and don’t have a problem. Granted w/a popup they have to look up and watch the ball so they can’t necessarily see the ground. My point is sometimes they almost seem afraid to call for a popup, but as happened in this game sometimes the pitcher is the one who should be calling it. Luckily for the Jays Eckstein managed to dive and catch it.
Ryan hasn’t been making his saves look easy, but he is getting the job done. At least his delivery looks ok and he doesn’t appear to be experiencing any unusual soreness after throwing. I just hope the Jays don’t try to rush getting him in back-to-back games.
I don’t have a problem w/certain players swinging 3-0, they just better hit it hard. Now there are some cases where you don’t want them swinging like if the pitcher has really been struggling with his control or one of your weaker hitters is up. But if one of your power bats is up there why not look for a pitch in a specific area and if the pitch is in that spot swing away, otherwise just leave it he still has to throw you 2 more. So even though Stairs got out today on a 3-0, I didn’t mind seeing him swing and he certainly hit the ball hard it just happened to be right at Guillen (at least within his jumping range).
On with the stats: Not a good day for the hitters trying to execute the advance.
NAdv: C. Thomas, Renteria, Inglett (2), Rios (5), Barajas (2)
P-NAdv: Bonderman 2, Rapada, McGowan 2 (6)
WG: Guillen, Eckstein (2), Scutaro (4)
Friday, April 18, 2008
Game 17 – Young vs. Old
Not sure if it was Purcey pitching well, at least out of jams, or it was the Tigers bats continuing to struggle but the results turned out ok for the kid. Obviously the walks are a concern as you are not often going to get away with 7 walks in 4.1 IP and only give up 1 run, but I have to figure the nerves played a part. When he comes back up the next time it should give a better indication. I don’t see Purcey developing into an ace but he certainly could mature into a #3 type starter.
On the opposite end it was the 40-something Kenny Rogers going for the Tigers. Another chance for the Jays to smack around a LH, only this time it is someone they have seen before so maybe that will work to their advantage. Apparently not so, although they did push across 4 runs against him and on most nights I think the Jays pitching staff is able to make that stand up. Who would have thought the Jays would be 0 and 4 in games started by a LH.
Accardo’s struggles are becoming a little worrisome. A lot of his struggles seem to stem from the loss of his splitter. When he was successful closing last season it was his splitter as his out pitch. Now he has mainly been resigned to using his fastball and slider. The other thing I wonder about is whether he has lost some velocity. I seem to recall him hitting 95 and 96 in prior years, but this year he has only been getting it up to 92-93.
Matt Stairs was noticeably absent from today’s game. He could have pinch hit for Stewart in the 9th, not sure about Gibbons’ decision process there. There wasn’t going to be another opportunity to use him w/the 2-3-4-5 hitters afterwards.
Now for the stats:
Adv: Renteria
P-Adv: Frasor (1)
Adv+: Ordonez
P-Adv+: Accardo (1)
NAdv: Sheffield, Cabrera
P-NAdv: Purcey (1), Accardo (2)
On the opposite end it was the 40-something Kenny Rogers going for the Tigers. Another chance for the Jays to smack around a LH, only this time it is someone they have seen before so maybe that will work to their advantage. Apparently not so, although they did push across 4 runs against him and on most nights I think the Jays pitching staff is able to make that stand up. Who would have thought the Jays would be 0 and 4 in games started by a LH.
Accardo’s struggles are becoming a little worrisome. A lot of his struggles seem to stem from the loss of his splitter. When he was successful closing last season it was his splitter as his out pitch. Now he has mainly been resigned to using his fastball and slider. The other thing I wonder about is whether he has lost some velocity. I seem to recall him hitting 95 and 96 in prior years, but this year he has only been getting it up to 92-93.
Matt Stairs was noticeably absent from today’s game. He could have pinch hit for Stewart in the 9th, not sure about Gibbons’ decision process there. There wasn’t going to be another opportunity to use him w/the 2-3-4-5 hitters afterwards.
Now for the stats:
Adv: Renteria
P-Adv: Frasor (1)
Adv+: Ordonez
P-Adv+: Accardo (1)
NAdv: Sheffield, Cabrera
P-NAdv: Purcey (1), Accardo (2)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Game 16 – Bullpen Night Off
You could expect no less than for Doc to go out there and pitch a CG after the bullpen was used up the night before. Too bad he had no help offensively, and didn’t seem to have luck on his side. A few of the hits the Rangers managed weren’t exactly hit hard but they found holes. And they managed to put a couple together unlike the Jays who just seem to scatter them never doing enough to score. At one point Halladay had retired 12 in a row.
For the 1st time this season I have no stats to post.
For the 1st time this season I have no stats to post.
Day 19 - Recovery
Quick game thanks to Doc and the lack of offense from the Jays lasting just 2 hr 33 mins. Chance to catch up on sleep now.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Game 15 – Stealing Wins
This is a game you would like to see the Jays win. Sure they had no business drawing even, but thanks to a gift from Broussard they did, and then they had several chances to win and did not take advantage. To make the playoffs, they are going to have to occasionally steal a game they had no business winning. Plus this was another opportunity to take advantage of a LH and the Jays could not mustering only 2 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings against Gabbard.
I don’t have a problem with the way Gibbons handled his bullpen this game. Yes he ran out of relievers but you don’t plan on 14 innings, despite what I heard from several callers during the Jays post game. I’m taking a guess here, but I figure you can count the # of games on one hand that will last longer than 12 innings for the Jays this season. At the time of each move, particularly pulling Tallet after 0.2 IP, and Frasor after 0.1 IP I thought it was the right move, so I’m not going to say now that it was bad just b/c the game went 14.
Hats off to Carlson for coming in and striking out the side with bases loaded in the 11th and then gutting out 2 more innings w/o surrendering a run. He is impressing so far and the only problem is w/B.J. Ryan back they now have 4 lefties in the bullpen, leaving just 3 righties. Yes teams are always saying they want that extra lefty in the bullpen, but that is usually b/c they only have 1 good one. The fact is you are going to face more RH hitters. Of course Ryan is your closer, and Tallet actually did better against RH’s last year so they may not be as bad off. But if there is one place the Jays have depth, it is in the bullpen and should they decide to make a trade I would not be surprised to see a reliever on his way out.
14 innings means there are more stats: Completing what I’m guessing would be a rare feat, Hank Blalock had the hat trick in the Advance department, 1 of each.
Adv: Murphy, Blalock, Hamilton
P-Adv: Tallet (1), Downs (1), Carlson (1)
Adv+: Blalock
P-Adv+: Litsch (1)
NAdv: Blalock
P-NAdv: Ryan (1)
WG: Litsch (1), Wells (1), Hill (3)
Day 18 – Long Days
My flight wasn’t too early this morning but with the time it took to get to the airport plus the amount of time you have to be ahead it still makes for quite the early start. Got back to Toronto around noon and headed into work a little later in the afternoon to put in a few hrs before the game. Little did I know the long night ahead of me. The game went 14 innings and finished in just under 5 hrs at midnight. By the time I got home, had some supper and got ready for bed I’d been up for about 22 hrs.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Game 14 – Batting Around
One of the slowest working pitchers in baseball, Steve Trachsel, started but did not last long, otherwise it could have been a long night. Although not the most exciting of baseball, it is always nice to see your team explode offensively every once in awhile. Everybody chipped in w/at least 1 hit, and the Jays had their 1st inning of the season where they sent at least 10 men to the plate.
Something a veteran like Mora should know, but you always take the DP in the 1st inning even if it means giving up a run. All it took was a simple look at the runner heading home and it cost them the DP. Teams will gladly trade the run for 2 outs early in the game. They have plenty of time to come back and they want to stay away from the big inning.
Rios is starting to look a little sloppy, he had no reason to even think of heading for 2nd after his single in the 4th. Markakis had no shot at Hill going to 3rd. Not a good situation to make the 2nd out in, when you’ve got a man at 3rd w/less than 2 outs. At least I’ll give him credit for forcing the Orioles to make 3 throws in the rundown to finally tag him out. The O’s are lucky Hill didn’t try to scamper home.
Here are the game stats:
Adv+: Hill (1)
P-Adv+: Trachsel
NAdv: Payton
P-NAdv: Marcum (2)
ME(r): Rios (3)
ME(f): Mora
Something a veteran like Mora should know, but you always take the DP in the 1st inning even if it means giving up a run. All it took was a simple look at the runner heading home and it cost them the DP. Teams will gladly trade the run for 2 outs early in the game. They have plenty of time to come back and they want to stay away from the big inning.
Rios is starting to look a little sloppy, he had no reason to even think of heading for 2nd after his single in the 4th. Markakis had no shot at Hill going to 3rd. Not a good situation to make the 2nd out in, when you’ve got a man at 3rd w/less than 2 outs. At least I’ll give him credit for forcing the Orioles to make 3 throws in the rundown to finally tag him out. The O’s are lucky Hill didn’t try to scamper home.
Here are the game stats:
Adv+: Hill (1)
P-Adv+: Trachsel
NAdv: Payton
P-NAdv: Marcum (2)
ME(r): Rios (3)
ME(f): Mora
Day 17 – Bargaining
Did some walking of the area around my hotel before heading downtown to explore there. Didn’t do anything specific just wander the streets trying not to get myself lost. I wouldn’t say it is the nicest of downtowns, pretty dirty.
Another really small crowd for the game, but it worked out for me as I got a seat right behind home plate in the 7th row. The guy had 4 season tickets there but he was only using 3 for this game, so he just wanted to get anything for the 4th. For the most part I usually just look to get seats in the upper deck behind home plate from the box office, but I am always open to buying from scalpers if it is a good deal. I find that if I don’t plan on it then I’m more willing to walk away if they don’t come down to my level. And that is what I believe is the key to bargaining, being able to walk away.
Another really small crowd for the game, but it worked out for me as I got a seat right behind home plate in the 7th row. The guy had 4 season tickets there but he was only using 3 for this game, so he just wanted to get anything for the 4th. For the most part I usually just look to get seats in the upper deck behind home plate from the box office, but I am always open to buying from scalpers if it is a good deal. I find that if I don’t plan on it then I’m more willing to walk away if they don’t come down to my level. And that is what I believe is the key to bargaining, being able to walk away.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Game 13 – Saving Your Bullets
I was surprised to not see Rios PH for Stairs in the 8th once Walker was brought in. I thought maybe Rios was being benched after his misplay in RF on Sun., until he came out to PH for Overbay in the 9th. Even though you knew Sherill would be pitching the 9th, I would have used Rios in the 8th when he could tie the game or at least extend it with your 3-4-5 hitters coming up compared to the 9th where he would have the 7-8-9 hitters following him. If you get the chance to tie the game in the 7th or 8th, I say use your bat then do not leave him on the bench hoping for a good situation in the 9th. As it happened the Jays once again had a runner on for Rios but b/c BAL added an insurance run in the 8th the Jays were now down by 3 meaning Rios no longer represented the tying run.
The Jays once again missed an opportunity to jump out to a big early lead after 3 straight 1-out singles in the 1st scoring one, but Thomas grounded into a DP. After that the Jays never had 2 runners on base the rest of the game unless you count the 2-run HR by Rios in the 9th. For 7.1 of those innings they were facing Matt Albers and Jim Johnson, not exactly household names.
On with the stats:
NAdv: Markakis
P-NAdv: McGowan (4)
The Jays once again missed an opportunity to jump out to a big early lead after 3 straight 1-out singles in the 1st scoring one, but Thomas grounded into a DP. After that the Jays never had 2 runners on base the rest of the game unless you count the 2-run HR by Rios in the 9th. For 7.1 of those innings they were facing Matt Albers and Jim Johnson, not exactly household names.
On with the stats:
NAdv: Markakis
P-NAdv: McGowan (4)
Day 16 – Empty Space
Off to Baltimore w/a stop in Charlotte. One of the things I have come to notice while booking flights within the US, there aren’t a lot of direct flights. It seems the majority of the flights require a connection. Luckily Air Canada has a lot of direct flights so at least I can get direct to and from Toronto.
Camden Yards is a very nice ballpark but I have to say I prefer the Ballpark in Arlington. The one thing I’m starting to sense from these ballparks is the amount of space they allowing for in the concourse area. Now it is nice when walking around to not be crowded but it seems like it might be a bit excessive, of course this comes from a guy who never leaves his seat during the game.
Wow, did Camden Yards look empty. These are certainly not good times for Baltimore baseball. There had to be less than 10,000 at the game, the official attendance was 11,510, but that counts all the sold seats even the season tickets that were no shows.
Had at least a half hour wait for the bus after the game and then on top of that the bus ride was about 45 mins. That is one of the downsides of finding a cheaper hotel away from downtown.
Camden Yards is a very nice ballpark but I have to say I prefer the Ballpark in Arlington. The one thing I’m starting to sense from these ballparks is the amount of space they allowing for in the concourse area. Now it is nice when walking around to not be crowded but it seems like it might be a bit excessive, of course this comes from a guy who never leaves his seat during the game.
Wow, did Camden Yards look empty. These are certainly not good times for Baltimore baseball. There had to be less than 10,000 at the game, the official attendance was 11,510, but that counts all the sold seats even the season tickets that were no shows.
Had at least a half hour wait for the bus after the game and then on top of that the bus ride was about 45 mins. That is one of the downsides of finding a cheaper hotel away from downtown.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Game 12 – Welcome back B.J.
Not a great start from Burnett, but it got the job done. I think it was the right move bringing in the lefty to face Broussard, but I would have let A.J. finish the AB vs Laird rather than intentionally walk him once he fell behind.
Great effort by the bullpen again, but I don’t like the 2 walks from Downs. I happened to be on the internet in the morning before the game so I read that the Jays had activated Ryan for the game. I have to say I was pretty surprised. Not sure if it is the right move, I think he would have been better off getting a couple more outings in the minors, where there is less pressure, to make sure he doesn’t have anymore setbacks. Ryan didn’t make it easy on himself giving up the leadoff triple but he showed what he can do pitching out of it. I imagine the Jays will not use Ryan on back-to-back days for the foreseeable future, maybe through April and part of May, but until that game appears that Gibbons feels they need and they have a 1-run lead going to the 9th or the tying run gets on base in the 9th you have to wonder if Gibbons will go to Ryan even he if pitched the prior day. I guess only time will tell whether he is fully recovered, although it may be a few mths before he is fully back to his effectiveness of ’06 or longer.
I can’t say I was as surprised that League was the one being sent down. As much as I love League, clearly he was not high on Gibbons’ list. So here is hoping he goes down to AAA and gets regular work and will be back up before long and ready to challenge Accardo for the RH setup role.
Of note, all 4 Rangers runs came today from the leadoff batter in the inning and the only inning they got the leadoff man on and did not score was the 10th.
I don’t get Byrd bunting in the 6th after the leadoff single. The guy is your 5th hitter, one of your power positions and you have the 6 and 7 hitters coming up. Sure it worked as they got their 1 run to take the lead, but then promptly gave it right back. On the Jays side I didn’t like Hill bunting in the 7th w/runners at 1st and 2nd. He is your 2 hitter for a reason and your down by 1 playing on the road, let him swing away and see if the middle of your order can get you the lead.
This was my 1st chance to see Josh Hamilton and he looks like he has got some pop, he absolutely crushed the HR on Fri night. No wonder he was the 1st overall pick, glad to see him get his life back on track.
Stats: Not sure if I mentioned this in my explanation of Advances, but if the hitter hits into a DP, but still moves the runner to 3rd it counts as a Non-Advance. Sure he moved the runner to 3rd, but it defeats the purpose getting him there w/2 outs. He just has a tougher job when there is a runner at 1st since not all groundballs to the RH side will get the job done.
Adv: Young
P-Adv: Burnett (1)
NAdv: Inglett (1), Barajas (1), Overbay (2)
P-NAdv: Feldman 3
WG: Hill (2), Kinsler
ME(r): Laird
Great effort by the bullpen again, but I don’t like the 2 walks from Downs. I happened to be on the internet in the morning before the game so I read that the Jays had activated Ryan for the game. I have to say I was pretty surprised. Not sure if it is the right move, I think he would have been better off getting a couple more outings in the minors, where there is less pressure, to make sure he doesn’t have anymore setbacks. Ryan didn’t make it easy on himself giving up the leadoff triple but he showed what he can do pitching out of it. I imagine the Jays will not use Ryan on back-to-back days for the foreseeable future, maybe through April and part of May, but until that game appears that Gibbons feels they need and they have a 1-run lead going to the 9th or the tying run gets on base in the 9th you have to wonder if Gibbons will go to Ryan even he if pitched the prior day. I guess only time will tell whether he is fully recovered, although it may be a few mths before he is fully back to his effectiveness of ’06 or longer.
I can’t say I was as surprised that League was the one being sent down. As much as I love League, clearly he was not high on Gibbons’ list. So here is hoping he goes down to AAA and gets regular work and will be back up before long and ready to challenge Accardo for the RH setup role.
Of note, all 4 Rangers runs came today from the leadoff batter in the inning and the only inning they got the leadoff man on and did not score was the 10th.
I don’t get Byrd bunting in the 6th after the leadoff single. The guy is your 5th hitter, one of your power positions and you have the 6 and 7 hitters coming up. Sure it worked as they got their 1 run to take the lead, but then promptly gave it right back. On the Jays side I didn’t like Hill bunting in the 7th w/runners at 1st and 2nd. He is your 2 hitter for a reason and your down by 1 playing on the road, let him swing away and see if the middle of your order can get you the lead.
This was my 1st chance to see Josh Hamilton and he looks like he has got some pop, he absolutely crushed the HR on Fri night. No wonder he was the 1st overall pick, glad to see him get his life back on track.
Stats: Not sure if I mentioned this in my explanation of Advances, but if the hitter hits into a DP, but still moves the runner to 3rd it counts as a Non-Advance. Sure he moved the runner to 3rd, but it defeats the purpose getting him there w/2 outs. He just has a tougher job when there is a runner at 1st since not all groundballs to the RH side will get the job done.
Adv: Young
P-Adv: Burnett (1)
NAdv: Inglett (1), Barajas (1), Overbay (2)
P-NAdv: Feldman 3
WG: Hill (2), Kinsler
ME(r): Laird
Day 15 – Sweep Success
Afternoon game today to wrap it up as the Jays complete the sweep. Big change from previous years where the Jays have really struggled playing in TEX.
Definitely a different crowd than in NY, much more laid back here. Barely had any comments directed at me this weekend other than from the guys I sat with on Fri. I bought the extra ticket from a guy who has season tickets and he was a regular at the games as were some of the other guys sitting in front of us who all knew each other so we had some good banter going during the game.
Definitely a different crowd than in NY, much more laid back here. Barely had any comments directed at me this weekend other than from the guys I sat with on Fri. I bought the extra ticket from a guy who has season tickets and he was a regular at the games as were some of the other guys sitting in front of us who all knew each other so we had some good banter going during the game.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Game 11 – Running Wild
What a joy it is to come to the ballpark and watch Doc pitch. Nice to see him pitch well here in TEX where he has typically struggled.
A strange move I found by Gibbons was bringing in the infield in the 2nd inning when the Jays are already up 1. You have Halladay on the mound so you don’t expect him to give up much and did Gibbons really expect the Jays were not going to score more runs against Mendoza. No sense giving the Rangers a chance to put up a crooked #. It ended up not mattering as Halladay got the strikeout, but I think an unnecessary risk.
Not sure if Scutaro was just running on his own or it was a missed sign by him or Eckstein. They tried hit and running on the 1st pitch and you don’t often see a team hit and run on 0-1 so I have to think either Scutaro missed the sign to take off the hit and run or he was running on his own. Just b/c Laird struggled throwing last night doesn’t mean the Jays can run wild on him. I have no problem w/the stolen base but if the team is going to continue running like they have been I’d like to see them at least 75%. I have to say I’m a much bigger fan of the hit and run then the stolen base.
For the game stats:
Adv: Catalanotto
P-Adv: Halladay (2)
NAdv: Wells (3)
P-NAdv: Mendoza
ME(r): Zaun (1)
A strange move I found by Gibbons was bringing in the infield in the 2nd inning when the Jays are already up 1. You have Halladay on the mound so you don’t expect him to give up much and did Gibbons really expect the Jays were not going to score more runs against Mendoza. No sense giving the Rangers a chance to put up a crooked #. It ended up not mattering as Halladay got the strikeout, but I think an unnecessary risk.
Not sure if Scutaro was just running on his own or it was a missed sign by him or Eckstein. They tried hit and running on the 1st pitch and you don’t often see a team hit and run on 0-1 so I have to think either Scutaro missed the sign to take off the hit and run or he was running on his own. Just b/c Laird struggled throwing last night doesn’t mean the Jays can run wild on him. I have no problem w/the stolen base but if the team is going to continue running like they have been I’d like to see them at least 75%. I have to say I’m a much bigger fan of the hit and run then the stolen base.
For the game stats:
Adv: Catalanotto
P-Adv: Halladay (2)
NAdv: Wells (3)
P-NAdv: Mendoza
ME(r): Zaun (1)
Day 14 – Dallas Winter
Spent the afternoon just walking around Arlington. Saw the new football stadium they are building, it is across the street from my hotel. They are building one with a retractable roof b/c apparently in order to get the superbowl in Dallas they needed a new stadium and it needed a roof. Don’t ask me why the NFL is worried about the weather in Dallas, even if it is Jan. It looks very big, not sure what the capacity is going to be though.
One thing I noticed walking around the concourse of the ballpark is all the picnic tables. They have a very large concourse area and they have setup a lot of picnic tables around the outer edge. It also looked like they had a much larger selection of choices for food than most ballparks. There was also like a mini park in the CF area with a bunch of activities setup for the kids.
One thing I noticed walking around the concourse of the ballpark is all the picnic tables. They have a very large concourse area and they have setup a lot of picnic tables around the outer edge. It also looked like they had a much larger selection of choices for food than most ballparks. There was also like a mini park in the CF area with a bunch of activities setup for the kids.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Game 10 – Mental Game
Good rebound game for the Jays and Jesse Litsch continues to prove me wrong. The Rangers helped the Jays out w/some sloppy defence and as one guy in front of me said to just write debacle in my scorebook.
I have no problem w/Gibbons using Downs for the save in that situation. The hope was Frasor could just pitch a scoreless inning but after a couple reached base the rangers had a number of LH bats due up, so it made sense to use your LH specialist, despite the save situation. I still think Accardo is the closer until Ryan returns.
After watching Padilla pitch and talking to some of the Ranger fans I get the sense they have the same feeling when he pitches as Jays fans due with Burnett. Padilla doesn’t have the stuff of Burnett, but doesn’t seem to live up to his potential as he seems to lack concentration at times. Padilla cruised through the 1st 3 innings then ran into problems in the 4th and 5th.
Loved the double steal. Worth the risk when you are up by 2 w/2 outs and Eckstein up. Based on Laird’s reaction don’t even think he considered Zaun trying to come home. Tough day in general for Laird as twice he threw it away on steal attempts and got charged with errors. Luckily he got a gift as Zaun swung through the pitch on a hit and run and Overbay was a dead duck.
Coats has got to learn to call off his infielders. He had plenty of time to call off Eckstein and make the catch in the 7th. Eckstein still should have caught it, but the reason the OF has priority is b/c it is easier coming in on a ball than going back.
On with the stats: Not a good day for the Jays with 3 Non-Advances, but in 2 of the 3 cases the next hitters picked them up.
Adv: Young
P-Adv: Litsch (2)
NAdv: Rios (4), Hill (1), Overbay (1), Young
P-NAdv: Frasor (1), Padilla 2, Fukumori
WG: Murphy
ME(r): Scutaro (1)
ME(f): Fukumori, Hamilton
I have no problem w/Gibbons using Downs for the save in that situation. The hope was Frasor could just pitch a scoreless inning but after a couple reached base the rangers had a number of LH bats due up, so it made sense to use your LH specialist, despite the save situation. I still think Accardo is the closer until Ryan returns.
After watching Padilla pitch and talking to some of the Ranger fans I get the sense they have the same feeling when he pitches as Jays fans due with Burnett. Padilla doesn’t have the stuff of Burnett, but doesn’t seem to live up to his potential as he seems to lack concentration at times. Padilla cruised through the 1st 3 innings then ran into problems in the 4th and 5th.
Loved the double steal. Worth the risk when you are up by 2 w/2 outs and Eckstein up. Based on Laird’s reaction don’t even think he considered Zaun trying to come home. Tough day in general for Laird as twice he threw it away on steal attempts and got charged with errors. Luckily he got a gift as Zaun swung through the pitch on a hit and run and Overbay was a dead duck.
Coats has got to learn to call off his infielders. He had plenty of time to call off Eckstein and make the catch in the 7th. Eckstein still should have caught it, but the reason the OF has priority is b/c it is easier coming in on a ball than going back.
On with the stats: Not a good day for the Jays with 3 Non-Advances, but in 2 of the 3 cases the next hitters picked them up.
Adv: Young
P-Adv: Litsch (2)
NAdv: Rios (4), Hill (1), Overbay (1), Young
P-NAdv: Frasor (1), Padilla 2, Fukumori
WG: Murphy
ME(r): Scutaro (1)
ME(f): Fukumori, Hamilton
Day 13 – US Sports Talk
Got some good news out of my flight to Dallas. The TV entertainment system did not work for the flight so they gave everybody a voucher for a future flight. I’ll gladly take no movies on the plane in exchange for a voucher, if only it happened more often.
The public transportation isn’t great here in TEX, at least to Arlington, so I took a shared shuttle from the airport to my hotel. There were 2 others from Ft. Worth on their way home and another visiting from Chicago. We talked along the way and I couldn’t help but notice when we talked sports it revolved around baseball and football, so different than in Canada where its hockey 1st, hockey 2nd, and hockey 3rd.
After getting checked into my hotel, I was within a mile of the ballpark, I did some initial exploring of the area then headed to the ballgame. Wow was I impressed with the ballpark. It is gorgeous, best I’ve seen so far. Now it doesn’t compare to Yankee Stadium in terms of the excitement you get being there, but a lot of that has to do with the history and tradition that goes with Yankee Stadium.
The public transportation isn’t great here in TEX, at least to Arlington, so I took a shared shuttle from the airport to my hotel. There were 2 others from Ft. Worth on their way home and another visiting from Chicago. We talked along the way and I couldn’t help but notice when we talked sports it revolved around baseball and football, so different than in Canada where its hockey 1st, hockey 2nd, and hockey 3rd.
After getting checked into my hotel, I was within a mile of the ballpark, I did some initial exploring of the area then headed to the ballgame. Wow was I impressed with the ballpark. It is gorgeous, best I’ve seen so far. Now it doesn’t compare to Yankee Stadium in terms of the excitement you get being there, but a lot of that has to do with the history and tradition that goes with Yankee Stadium.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Game 9 – Situational Hitting
For the 2nd straight game the Jays are shut down by a LH, something that shouldn’t happen very often w/all the RH hitters in their lineup. It’s not like they didn’t have some chances, in both the 2nd and 6th they had runners at 2nd none out and the next batter failed to advance them leading to them not scoring in either inning. They also had the leadoff man on in the 3rd and 5th but they didn’t even make it to 2nd base. All that was just against the starter. They also had runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out in the 11th but couldn’t score, although Scutaro was robbed of a hit by Hannahan.
It was bad to see Travis buck come up to bat in the 12th , he already had 6 hits in the series, of which 5 were doubles, and what does he do hit another double. Of course the key at bat in the 12th was the one by Kurt Suzuki, who got HBP. The reason you walk Hannahan was to set up the DP, or at least give League 2 righties to get out. By hitting Suzuki he then needed to double off Brown to avoid facing a lefty. I did not agree w/leaving Downs in last night for the 8th mainly b/c of the RH’s he would have had to face but also b/c he was burning him out making him unavailable for this game and he would have been perfect to come into face Buck.
After watching Jack Cust in this series, I wonder how long he remains a starter. The reason he has always been up and down throughout his career was on display. He caught fire last year when he came up with OAK, but he went 1 for 13 in the series w/2 walks (1 intentional) and struck out 5 times. If he stays in the starting lineup and gets over 500 AB’s he could break the strikeout record.
Speaking of strikeouts, Thomas went down 4 times on strikes. However, he did walk twice so that is still a .333 OBP and strikeouts are just another out same as a flyout or groundout. Except in the case like in the 2nd when Thomas was up w/Wells at 2nd and none out, and a flyball or groundball to the right side would have advanced the runner. Now you don’t pay Thomas to just move the runner, you want him driving in runs, and it is early in the game while you would expect runs wouldn’t be at a premium for the Jays facing a lefty but I’d rather not see Thomas go down looking, at least put the ball and you have a chance of moving the runner.
On the +ve side another great start for Marcum, I’m surprised at the strike out totals in the early going. Good work by the other relievers Frasor, Tallet and making his big league debut Jesse Carlson. Not an easy situation to make your debut, bases loaded in extra innings, even if your team is already given up the lead.
Here are the stats: I debated over whether Rios deserved a mental error on the Wells fly ball that dropped in but ultimately decided he should have been able to read it soon enough to make it to 2nd, especially w/his speed.
Adv: Cust
P-Adv: Marcum (1)
NAdv: Ellis, Thomas (1), Stewart (1)
P-NAdv: Eveland 2, Marcum (1)
WG: Hannahan, Barajas (1)
ME(r): Rios (2)
ME(f): Devine
It was bad to see Travis buck come up to bat in the 12th , he already had 6 hits in the series, of which 5 were doubles, and what does he do hit another double. Of course the key at bat in the 12th was the one by Kurt Suzuki, who got HBP. The reason you walk Hannahan was to set up the DP, or at least give League 2 righties to get out. By hitting Suzuki he then needed to double off Brown to avoid facing a lefty. I did not agree w/leaving Downs in last night for the 8th mainly b/c of the RH’s he would have had to face but also b/c he was burning him out making him unavailable for this game and he would have been perfect to come into face Buck.
After watching Jack Cust in this series, I wonder how long he remains a starter. The reason he has always been up and down throughout his career was on display. He caught fire last year when he came up with OAK, but he went 1 for 13 in the series w/2 walks (1 intentional) and struck out 5 times. If he stays in the starting lineup and gets over 500 AB’s he could break the strikeout record.
Speaking of strikeouts, Thomas went down 4 times on strikes. However, he did walk twice so that is still a .333 OBP and strikeouts are just another out same as a flyout or groundout. Except in the case like in the 2nd when Thomas was up w/Wells at 2nd and none out, and a flyball or groundball to the right side would have advanced the runner. Now you don’t pay Thomas to just move the runner, you want him driving in runs, and it is early in the game while you would expect runs wouldn’t be at a premium for the Jays facing a lefty but I’d rather not see Thomas go down looking, at least put the ball and you have a chance of moving the runner.
On the +ve side another great start for Marcum, I’m surprised at the strike out totals in the early going. Good work by the other relievers Frasor, Tallet and making his big league debut Jesse Carlson. Not an easy situation to make your debut, bases loaded in extra innings, even if your team is already given up the lead.
Here are the stats: I debated over whether Rios deserved a mental error on the Wells fly ball that dropped in but ultimately decided he should have been able to read it soon enough to make it to 2nd, especially w/his speed.
Adv: Cust
P-Adv: Marcum (1)
NAdv: Ellis, Thomas (1), Stewart (1)
P-NAdv: Eveland 2, Marcum (1)
WG: Hannahan, Barajas (1)
ME(r): Rios (2)
ME(f): Devine
Day 12 – Ballpark Trends
Getting packed and ready to leave on Road Trip #2, headed for Arlington and Baltimore. I’m excited to see these ballparks. Both were built in the early 90’s and were the start of the new trend to go back to retro style ballparks that have quirks in them and are asymmetrical. Sadly, the then Skydome was built just a few years before this trend. I think it adds something to the ballpark when you have something a little irregular that makes it unique.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Game 8 – Fielding 101
Where to start? Plenty of sloppy play by the Jays defensively, even though only 1 error was officially charged to them. The big play being Scutaro trying to throw out the runner at the plate in the 9th. As soon it was hit I was thinking they might have a chance to turn the DP if they hurry, but even though his momentum was taking him towards 2nd he still decided to spin around and throw home. I couldn’t believe it, even a perfect throw wasn’t going to get the runner at home.
A couple more fielding miscues in the 4th led to a couple runs and drove up McGowan’s pitch count. Although neither was scored an error, they are plays Major Leaguers should make more often than not. The 1st was by Eckstein and the scoring decision on that could have gone either way, but the 2nd by Scutaro should have clearly been an error I was thinking they might have a shot at turning 2, but they easily would have got one. Not sure what the official scorer was thinking giving Brown the single. Anyways however it is scored the plays cost the Jays 2 runs and extended the inning.
McGowan struggled in the 5th as well, but good to see him pitch out of bases loaded none out w/o giving up a run. I’m surprised Downs was left out to pitch the 8th. He already had pitched 1.1 and you had the next 2 hitters were RH’s, and 3 of the next 4. It almost backfired as the first 2 righties got hits setting up 2nd and 3rd none out but luckily Downs pitched himself out of it.
Not good seeing the Jays offence struggle after the 1st and not put the game out of reach. These are the kinds of games where the offence has to keep adding on runs in the early going and drive the stake in.
Now for the stats: Note the Scutaro ME is for throwing home in the 9th. I am not charging any kind of error to him for his bobble in the 4th as although I may disagree with the official scorer, it is a scorer’s decision and therefore I stick by it.
Adv+: Ellis
P-Adv+: McGowan (1)
NAdv: Cust, Hannahan, Rios 2 (3)
P-NAdv: Smith, Street, McGowan (3), Downs (1)
ME(r): Buck
ME(f): Scutaro (1)
A couple more fielding miscues in the 4th led to a couple runs and drove up McGowan’s pitch count. Although neither was scored an error, they are plays Major Leaguers should make more often than not. The 1st was by Eckstein and the scoring decision on that could have gone either way, but the 2nd by Scutaro should have clearly been an error I was thinking they might have a shot at turning 2, but they easily would have got one. Not sure what the official scorer was thinking giving Brown the single. Anyways however it is scored the plays cost the Jays 2 runs and extended the inning.
McGowan struggled in the 5th as well, but good to see him pitch out of bases loaded none out w/o giving up a run. I’m surprised Downs was left out to pitch the 8th. He already had pitched 1.1 and you had the next 2 hitters were RH’s, and 3 of the next 4. It almost backfired as the first 2 righties got hits setting up 2nd and 3rd none out but luckily Downs pitched himself out of it.
Not good seeing the Jays offence struggle after the 1st and not put the game out of reach. These are the kinds of games where the offence has to keep adding on runs in the early going and drive the stake in.
Now for the stats: Note the Scutaro ME is for throwing home in the 9th. I am not charging any kind of error to him for his bobble in the 4th as although I may disagree with the official scorer, it is a scorer’s decision and therefore I stick by it.
Adv+: Ellis
P-Adv+: McGowan (1)
NAdv: Cust, Hannahan, Rios 2 (3)
P-NAdv: Smith, Street, McGowan (3), Downs (1)
ME(r): Buck
ME(f): Scutaro (1)
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Game 7 – One of Those Days
A.J. certainly looked bad, not sure he even got a single curveball over for a strike. And the bullpen didn’t really help out. Once the Jays tied it up in the 4th and then again in the 8th I’d take my chances with the depth of the bullpen but both times it failed them. Good to see Toronto’s offence continually battle back though.
As far as A.J. is concerned I think it’s going to happen to him, as it does to basically every pitcher. They have bad outings. I think this start does show why it would really help if Burnett were able to further develop that changeup and be able to trust it. It is the exact reason why most pitchers need at least 3 quality pitches to be a successful starter, if you lose one on a given day you still have 2 pitches you can rely on to get hitters out.
I’ll give Tallet a pass given how well he has been pitching, but it always has been the walks that have hurt him. Accardo didn’t exactly get knocked around as the 1st hit was just a chopper that got over his head, but you would expect him to be able to handle the bottom of the order. However, I haven’t forgotten he already has 3 saves against NY and BOS w/o giving up a run. Glad to see League in a game finally, but he looked a little rusty, I wonder why?
Another big hit from Thomas. He may not be getting a lot of hits in the early going but he is coming up with some big ones. I still believe Thomas can be a productive hitter and should put up numbers similar to last year if not better in the RBI and Run categories assuming the Jays offence shows improvement from last year.
Good game for Hill with 4 hits, but nobody is hitting well behind him right now. How long before Hill gets a shot at batting 2nd? I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Stewart bat leadoff when he starts with Hill 2nd, and Eckstein 9th. When Stairs starts, I think you leave Eckstein leading off, Hill 2nd and Stairs bats 7th behind Overbay.
A little surprised to see Stewart hitting for Zaun in the 8th w/a man at 1st and 2 outs. Stewart doesn’t have a lot of pop so I’m not sure how much you gain by having him hit there when you would probably still need another hit. If you are going to use Stewart to hit in the 8th, why not for Scutaro one batter earlier? That way if Stewart gets a hit you have 2 cracks at getting another hit. Not saying I would have PH at all, but just I’d rather see him used for Scutaro if Gibbons insists on using him in the 8th.
Stats: Eckstein is charged with a defensive error, even though he already got an error on the play b/c the error only scores the 2nd run, the defensive error is for the batter which would have completed the DP and therefore the 1st run would not have counted.
From now on I will be shorthanding Pitcher advances with P-.
Adv: Zaun (1)
P-Adv: Gaudin
Adv+: Thomas (1)
P-Adv+: Embree
NAdv: Suzuki
P-NAdv: Burnett (1)
WG: Hill (1)
DE: Eckstein (1)
As far as A.J. is concerned I think it’s going to happen to him, as it does to basically every pitcher. They have bad outings. I think this start does show why it would really help if Burnett were able to further develop that changeup and be able to trust it. It is the exact reason why most pitchers need at least 3 quality pitches to be a successful starter, if you lose one on a given day you still have 2 pitches you can rely on to get hitters out.
I’ll give Tallet a pass given how well he has been pitching, but it always has been the walks that have hurt him. Accardo didn’t exactly get knocked around as the 1st hit was just a chopper that got over his head, but you would expect him to be able to handle the bottom of the order. However, I haven’t forgotten he already has 3 saves against NY and BOS w/o giving up a run. Glad to see League in a game finally, but he looked a little rusty, I wonder why?
Another big hit from Thomas. He may not be getting a lot of hits in the early going but he is coming up with some big ones. I still believe Thomas can be a productive hitter and should put up numbers similar to last year if not better in the RBI and Run categories assuming the Jays offence shows improvement from last year.
Good game for Hill with 4 hits, but nobody is hitting well behind him right now. How long before Hill gets a shot at batting 2nd? I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Stewart bat leadoff when he starts with Hill 2nd, and Eckstein 9th. When Stairs starts, I think you leave Eckstein leading off, Hill 2nd and Stairs bats 7th behind Overbay.
A little surprised to see Stewart hitting for Zaun in the 8th w/a man at 1st and 2 outs. Stewart doesn’t have a lot of pop so I’m not sure how much you gain by having him hit there when you would probably still need another hit. If you are going to use Stewart to hit in the 8th, why not for Scutaro one batter earlier? That way if Stewart gets a hit you have 2 cracks at getting another hit. Not saying I would have PH at all, but just I’d rather see him used for Scutaro if Gibbons insists on using him in the 8th.
Stats: Eckstein is charged with a defensive error, even though he already got an error on the play b/c the error only scores the 2nd run, the defensive error is for the batter which would have completed the DP and therefore the 1st run would not have counted.
From now on I will be shorthanding Pitcher advances with P-.
Adv: Zaun (1)
P-Adv: Gaudin
Adv+: Thomas (1)
P-Adv+: Embree
NAdv: Suzuki
P-NAdv: Burnett (1)
WG: Hill (1)
DE: Eckstein (1)
Day 10 – Toonie Tuesday
It’s a rare game where you see more fans in the 5th deck than at field level. But that is the case when all 500 level seats are only $2. The only problem is some of the people this promotion attracts don’t know how to handle themselves at a ballgame. Numerous fights broke out down the right field line. Can’t imagine there were very many Oakland A’s fans there so not sure how the fights started as I was on the 3rd base side. As a result the Jays have decided to stop selling alcohol in the 500 level on Toonie Tuesdays. This does not affect me since I don’t drink, but what does effect me is they plan on being more thorough in their searches of people entering the stadium making sure they are not bringing in their own alcohol. This is going to cause longer lineups getting into the stadium, but I guess that is one of the advantages of the Jays not drawing large crowds.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Day 9 – Offday
One of the rare times I’m actually at my apartment and not sleeping. For the next 6 months I’ll either be on the road, and when at home in Toronto I’ll be at work or the ballpark. So when the Jays are off that means I can go home after work and spend a few hrs catching up on stuff around the apartment and maybe actually have time to watch one of my movies.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Game 6 – Series Sweep
The battle of aces didn’t last long as Beckett was clearly tiring as early as the 4th all leading to the series sweep. Glad to see the Jays take advantage of a road weary Red Sox team.
A little bit concerning is all the K’s by the bottom of the Jays order. The bottom 4 in the order combined to strikeout 11 times, Overbay, Barajas, & McDonald 3 each, and Scutaro with a pair. At least the heart of the order came through with a couple big HR’s.
Why walks will kill you was once again on display as 3 of the 6 runs that scored for the Jays were on base before the HR’s b/c of walks. So even though BOS out homered TOR 3 to 2, the difference was Halladay was giving up solo shots.
I don’t think Halladay really had his best stuff today but he still pitched well despite giving up 4 runs as other than the HR’s the only player the Sox got to 3rd against Halladay was on the triple Youkilis got after the collision between McDonald and Wells. But that is what you get out of an ace, he is able to battle even on days when he doesn’t have his best stuff and give you a quality outing.
Good news that nobody was seriously hurt on the collision. Maybe its a sign the Jays won’t be so cursed this year. First it was A.J. in NY looking like he hurt something only to stay in, and now both McDonald and Wells appear to be ok.
Julio Lugo sure looked out of it today with 3 errors but most days I think he gets out of it with just one. Both throwing errors were balls I think Youkilis should have handled. That is no excuse for Lugo throwing balls in the dirt, but it is amazing how many errors a good first basemen will save his infielders during a season.
For the stats we had the usual, Johnny Mac getting on the board in his 1st start, and the rare, Manny Ramirez.
WG: Ramirez, McDonald (1)
A little bit concerning is all the K’s by the bottom of the Jays order. The bottom 4 in the order combined to strikeout 11 times, Overbay, Barajas, & McDonald 3 each, and Scutaro with a pair. At least the heart of the order came through with a couple big HR’s.
Why walks will kill you was once again on display as 3 of the 6 runs that scored for the Jays were on base before the HR’s b/c of walks. So even though BOS out homered TOR 3 to 2, the difference was Halladay was giving up solo shots.
I don’t think Halladay really had his best stuff today but he still pitched well despite giving up 4 runs as other than the HR’s the only player the Sox got to 3rd against Halladay was on the triple Youkilis got after the collision between McDonald and Wells. But that is what you get out of an ace, he is able to battle even on days when he doesn’t have his best stuff and give you a quality outing.
Good news that nobody was seriously hurt on the collision. Maybe its a sign the Jays won’t be so cursed this year. First it was A.J. in NY looking like he hurt something only to stay in, and now both McDonald and Wells appear to be ok.
Julio Lugo sure looked out of it today with 3 errors but most days I think he gets out of it with just one. Both throwing errors were balls I think Youkilis should have handled. That is no excuse for Lugo throwing balls in the dirt, but it is amazing how many errors a good first basemen will save his infielders during a season.
For the stats we had the usual, Johnny Mac getting on the board in his 1st start, and the rare, Manny Ramirez.
WG: Ramirez, McDonald (1)
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Game 5 – Middle Relief
I’m not sure exactly how Litsch does it, but he continues to get in trouble and pitch out of it. 9 runners in 5+ IP’s is not good, but giving up only 2 runs is. Having watched Litsch pitch last year I was not very convinced he is ready to be the Jays 5th starter. Sure his ERA wasn’t bad, but he was allowing way too many baserunners and that is bound to catch up with you. Plus the fact he came up from AA means most teams wouldn’t have had him on their radar at all and therefore little scouting and video and now 2nd time through it may be a different story. However, once again he battled his way through only giving up 2 runs but only having one 3 up 3 down inning w/o the benefit of a DP. I guess one of the reasons Litsch manages to pitch out of these situations is he has shown the ability to get a lot of ground balls which lead to DP’s. The other is he usually throws a lot of strikes and doesn’t walk guys. And while I don’t have the stats in front of me, I don’t recall Litsch giving up a lot of HR’s. Only time will tell whether Litsch can continue to pitch out of jams.
Good job by the bullpen again, but still no League sighting. Not sure how they expect him to be good when he pitches if they don’t give him work to keep him sharp. I realize Frasor also hadn’t worked and it was a good time to get Wells his MLB debut w/the big lead, but why use Wolfe ahead of League. Clearly it shows Gibbons preference for Wolfe as the main RH setup guy as he was warming prior to the Jays 6 run outburst and I figure that is why he still put him in to pitch the 7th since he had already warmed up.
One of the reasons I don’t believe Boston is as strong as people think is their middle relief, which nowadays is required with SP’s going shorter and shorter. The Red Sox will have to heavily rely on Delcarmen, Okajima, & Papelbon. I don’t think Okajima will be as good as hitters have now seen hit pitching motion and his pitches, and remember it was just last offseason that the Red Sox said Papelbon was not allowed to pitch in relief b/c of the shoulder problems he had in 2006, so you have to think they will still be somewhat careful with how much they use him. Looking at their rotation they may not get a lot of IP’s out of them. They will probably have a very short leash on Buchholz, Matsuzaka has to learn to keep his pitch counts down, Wakefield is over 40 and even throwing a knuckleball takes its toll. The Red Sox better hope Beckett doesn’t get injured again.
On with the stats: Maybe I’m too generous with the reaction plays at 3B as Scutaro picks up his 3rd Web Gem in 5 games.
Adv: Varitek
Pitching Adv: Litsch (1)
WG: Scutaro (3)
Good job by the bullpen again, but still no League sighting. Not sure how they expect him to be good when he pitches if they don’t give him work to keep him sharp. I realize Frasor also hadn’t worked and it was a good time to get Wells his MLB debut w/the big lead, but why use Wolfe ahead of League. Clearly it shows Gibbons preference for Wolfe as the main RH setup guy as he was warming prior to the Jays 6 run outburst and I figure that is why he still put him in to pitch the 7th since he had already warmed up.
One of the reasons I don’t believe Boston is as strong as people think is their middle relief, which nowadays is required with SP’s going shorter and shorter. The Red Sox will have to heavily rely on Delcarmen, Okajima, & Papelbon. I don’t think Okajima will be as good as hitters have now seen hit pitching motion and his pitches, and remember it was just last offseason that the Red Sox said Papelbon was not allowed to pitch in relief b/c of the shoulder problems he had in 2006, so you have to think they will still be somewhat careful with how much they use him. Looking at their rotation they may not get a lot of IP’s out of them. They will probably have a very short leash on Buchholz, Matsuzaka has to learn to keep his pitch counts down, Wakefield is over 40 and even throwing a knuckleball takes its toll. The Red Sox better hope Beckett doesn’t get injured again.
On with the stats: Maybe I’m too generous with the reaction plays at 3B as Scutaro picks up his 3rd Web Gem in 5 games.
Adv: Varitek
Pitching Adv: Litsch (1)
WG: Scutaro (3)
Day 7 – Red Sox Nation
After the sellout opening night, there is a sizable drop in attendance and a certain sea of red in the stands. As is always the case when Boston is in town, a large # of Red Sox fans show up to the game sitting along the 1st base side in their Red Sox gear. Its not a bad thing for the Jays with the extra revenue it generates, it would just be nice if they were less noticeable b/c more Jays fans showed up.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Game 4 – Baserunning
Took awhile for the Jays offence to kick in but after Stairs’ HR, and some BB’s they managed to give Marcum some support. The Hill 1B in the 6th was about the longest 1B I have ever seen and further more it didn’t even advance the runner from 2nd. Overbay kind of got caught not knowing what the call was on the flyball that Ellsbury dropped. The issue was whether Ellsbury had control of the ball and then hit the wall causing the ball to be jarred loose. The key in those situations when you are running is find the umpire. B/c the ball was hit so deep what Overbay could have done was stay closer to 2nd. If the ball is caught he is close enough to the bag to tag up advance, if it drops in he would more than likely still be able to score. And in this case since he didn’t know whether it was ruled a catch or not, he could have tagged anyways and that way at least advanced 1 base.
That was the 1st time Overbay should have scored. The 2nd came on the next play, but this one wasn’t Overbay’s fault. Scutaro sent a base hit into LF and Ramirez basically conceded the run but Pevey put on the stop sign. I’ll cut Pevey some slack b/c he is new, but he also sent a runner in NY that would have been out had Abreu made a decent throw. I for one liked Butterfield as a 3rd base coach, he always seemed to be aggressive at the right time. The Jays can only hope Pevey has a quick learning curve.
Interesting to note Gibbons used Tallet in the 8th knowing he would be facing 4 RH’s, I assume Gibbons figured they would PH Crisp if he went to Tallet. I think Gibbons is too easy to dismiss certain pitchers after 1 or 2 bad outings, specifically Frasor and League. Last year Frasor was very good for the 1st month as the setup guy before he got moved into the closer role. After a couple rough outings I understand taking him out of the closer’s role, but he was basically buried the rest of the year despite pitching well. Yes Accardo and Janssen were doing well in their roles, but Frasor didn’t even get a shot at getting back to say the 7th inning setup guy instead having to settle for pitching in games they are losing. As for League, you can write off all last year b/c of the injury. If you go back to 2006 after they changed League’s arm slot and they were getting move movement on his fastball and he wasn’t throwing as hard, he was very good in the 2nd half the 7th inning guy in front of Speier and Ryan and even the 8th inning guy in Sept. when Speier went out. Now I’m not saying he should automatically be given the setup role but I think you have to give him the chance to prove that he is back to 2006 form. He’s too good to toil away at the end of the bullpen.
Now for some stats:
NAdv: Wells (2), Rios (1)
Pitching NAdv: Wakefield, Delcarmen
WG: Scutaro (2)
ME(r): Overbay (1)
That was the 1st time Overbay should have scored. The 2nd came on the next play, but this one wasn’t Overbay’s fault. Scutaro sent a base hit into LF and Ramirez basically conceded the run but Pevey put on the stop sign. I’ll cut Pevey some slack b/c he is new, but he also sent a runner in NY that would have been out had Abreu made a decent throw. I for one liked Butterfield as a 3rd base coach, he always seemed to be aggressive at the right time. The Jays can only hope Pevey has a quick learning curve.
Interesting to note Gibbons used Tallet in the 8th knowing he would be facing 4 RH’s, I assume Gibbons figured they would PH Crisp if he went to Tallet. I think Gibbons is too easy to dismiss certain pitchers after 1 or 2 bad outings, specifically Frasor and League. Last year Frasor was very good for the 1st month as the setup guy before he got moved into the closer role. After a couple rough outings I understand taking him out of the closer’s role, but he was basically buried the rest of the year despite pitching well. Yes Accardo and Janssen were doing well in their roles, but Frasor didn’t even get a shot at getting back to say the 7th inning setup guy instead having to settle for pitching in games they are losing. As for League, you can write off all last year b/c of the injury. If you go back to 2006 after they changed League’s arm slot and they were getting move movement on his fastball and he wasn’t throwing as hard, he was very good in the 2nd half the 7th inning guy in front of Speier and Ryan and even the 8th inning guy in Sept. when Speier went out. Now I’m not saying he should automatically be given the setup role but I think you have to give him the chance to prove that he is back to 2006 form. He’s too good to toil away at the end of the bullpen.
Now for some stats:
NAdv: Wells (2), Rios (1)
Pitching NAdv: Wakefield, Delcarmen
WG: Scutaro (2)
ME(r): Overbay (1)
Day 6 – Home Opener
Had a new experience going through security at La Guardia. They were asking people to take off their shoes before going through the metal detector. I don’t remember anything from the flight since I was asleep before we even took off and I only woke up once for like 5 secs. Sure made the flight go by quickly, although it was only like a 1.5 hr flight anyways.
Got back to my apartment around 10 and got a couple more hrs of sleep before heading into work for the afternoon. Yes, that’s right I’m still working during this adventure. Need to pay for it somehow. My current contract happened to be expiring Mar. 31 so once I made the decision to go ahead with my baseball odyssey I talked to my employer about staying on part time. Well my employer was generous enough to come to an agreement where I would work anytime I am in Toronto whether it be weekday or weekend. So I won’t have much to write about in my blog on days I am in Toronto other than about the baseball game that day.
Glad to see Roberto Alomar finally raised to the Level of Excellence. He is the best player to ever wear a Jays uniform (while in his prime). And in 2 years will be the 1st ever player inducted into the Hall of Fame wearing a Blue Jays Cap.
Also nice to see Paul Beeston go up there. I’m glad the Jays use the level of excellence not just for players but for anyone who has had a significant impact to the Blue Jays Franchise.
After the 9th inning I have to say I’m a little ashamed to be a Jays fan. Now streakers are stupid enough, but sadly that happens everywhere. Well what really disappoints me is the people who were throwing the towels and garbage on the field in the 9th inning. That doesn’t make sense to do anytime, least of all when your team is winning and the closer is on trying to save the game.
Got back to my apartment around 10 and got a couple more hrs of sleep before heading into work for the afternoon. Yes, that’s right I’m still working during this adventure. Need to pay for it somehow. My current contract happened to be expiring Mar. 31 so once I made the decision to go ahead with my baseball odyssey I talked to my employer about staying on part time. Well my employer was generous enough to come to an agreement where I would work anytime I am in Toronto whether it be weekday or weekend. So I won’t have much to write about in my blog on days I am in Toronto other than about the baseball game that day.
Glad to see Roberto Alomar finally raised to the Level of Excellence. He is the best player to ever wear a Jays uniform (while in his prime). And in 2 years will be the 1st ever player inducted into the Hall of Fame wearing a Blue Jays Cap.
Also nice to see Paul Beeston go up there. I’m glad the Jays use the level of excellence not just for players but for anyone who has had a significant impact to the Blue Jays Franchise.
After the 9th inning I have to say I’m a little ashamed to be a Jays fan. Now streakers are stupid enough, but sadly that happens everywhere. Well what really disappoints me is the people who were throwing the towels and garbage on the field in the 9th inning. That doesn’t make sense to do anytime, least of all when your team is winning and the closer is on trying to save the game.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Game 3 – Limiting the Damage
Got to hand it to Hughes, he was looking sharp with very good command for the first few innings. He threw first pitch strikes to 14 of the first 16 batters he faced. He then walked Scutaro in the 5th, the first of 6 straight batters he would throw a first pitch ball to. Of the 8 batters he threw first pitch balls to in the game, 3 of them got hits and 1 walked. Of the 15 batters he threw first pitch strikes to, just 1 got a hit.
Of course McGowan was matching him until he ran into trouble in the 5th. Another good sign that McGowan has arrived, something he started showing last year, was his ability to limit the damage. Even after the wild pitch scored one, it didn’t shake him as he came back to strike out Rodriguez then only give up one more on the SF.
I didn’t mind Gibbons leaving Wolfe in to start the 8th especially after how quickly he worked through the 7th, but I was actually surprised he went to him at all. I thought he would have went straight to Downs to start the 7th with Cano and Matsui due up and Molina the only RH of the next 5.
Neither a sore hip nor age can stop Stairs from being among the best in baseball at getting around on a fastball as he proved when he pulled a fastball from Joba into RF. Too bad he didn’t get any air under it.
Tough to lose 2 of 3. Shame when the pitching staff was able to hold down this NY offence to just 8 runs.
Now for the stats. I’ve decided to add a little something. In the case of the advances since its not just the hitters who are trying to advance the runner, but also the pitchers trying to get the hitter out without him moving the runner, I figured I would also track the pitchers stats in these runner on 2nd nobody out situations. So for the pitchers, it will be the opposite they want NAdv. So I’ve gone back and edited my Game 1 & 2 posts to include the pitchers.
Adv: Stairs (1)
Pitching Adv: Hughes
NAdv: Damon, Rodriguez
Pitching NAdv: McGowan 2 (2)
Of course McGowan was matching him until he ran into trouble in the 5th. Another good sign that McGowan has arrived, something he started showing last year, was his ability to limit the damage. Even after the wild pitch scored one, it didn’t shake him as he came back to strike out Rodriguez then only give up one more on the SF.
I didn’t mind Gibbons leaving Wolfe in to start the 8th especially after how quickly he worked through the 7th, but I was actually surprised he went to him at all. I thought he would have went straight to Downs to start the 7th with Cano and Matsui due up and Molina the only RH of the next 5.
Neither a sore hip nor age can stop Stairs from being among the best in baseball at getting around on a fastball as he proved when he pulled a fastball from Joba into RF. Too bad he didn’t get any air under it.
Tough to lose 2 of 3. Shame when the pitching staff was able to hold down this NY offence to just 8 runs.
Now for the stats. I’ve decided to add a little something. In the case of the advances since its not just the hitters who are trying to advance the runner, but also the pitchers trying to get the hitter out without him moving the runner, I figured I would also track the pitchers stats in these runner on 2nd nobody out situations. So for the pitchers, it will be the opposite they want NAdv. So I’ve gone back and edited my Game 1 & 2 posts to include the pitchers.
Adv: Stairs (1)
Pitching Adv: Hughes
NAdv: Damon, Rodriguez
Pitching NAdv: McGowan 2 (2)
Day 5 – Getting My Exercise
Had to check out of my hotel this morning since I didn’t want to have to pay for the night when I won’t be back from the game until around midnight and I have an early morning flight. So I left my luggage in storage and I went to spend the day in Central Park. I spent about 5 hrs in the park and still didn’t get everywhere. There were 2 different fields that each contained around 6 ball diamonds, there was a hockey rink, a castle, running tracks, a garden and more.
After all the walking, I was ready to sit down and watch some baseball. It was another cool night. I was sitting almost at the top of the upper deck, row W, not as good as my row M from Wed. night but at least I was only about 4 sections to the 3rd base side of home plate. Some more problems in the stands as around 10 people got kicked out in the section next to me. About the worst thing you can do as a visiting fan is acknowledge a drunk fan’s remarks. It only leads to people from both parties getting kicked out.
After the game it was back to pick up my luggage and then I had a few hours to kill before my flight.
After all the walking, I was ready to sit down and watch some baseball. It was another cool night. I was sitting almost at the top of the upper deck, row W, not as good as my row M from Wed. night but at least I was only about 4 sections to the 3rd base side of home plate. Some more problems in the stands as around 10 people got kicked out in the section next to me. About the worst thing you can do as a visiting fan is acknowledge a drunk fan’s remarks. It only leads to people from both parties getting kicked out.
After the game it was back to pick up my luggage and then I had a few hours to kill before my flight.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Game 2 – 1st Win
Good to get the 1st win out of the way. Looked like it could be more of the same in the early going as they wasted runners at 1st and 3rd none out in the first, although they had already scored one at that point, and then wasted 1st and 2nd nobody out in the 2nd. However in the 3rd, thanks to Mussina paying too much attention to Rios he offered up a cookie to Vernon on the 1st pitch.
A solid start from Burnett, yes he only had 3 K’s but as long as he is keeping the ball down and getting ground balls that’s when he is successful. Well Burnett induced 9 outs via ground ball compared to 4 in the air. Even more impressive is how easy Burnett can make it look out there. He wasn’t in any jams out there at all until his 1st and only walk in the 7th and then the HR to Rodriguez.
Nice to see Barajas prove that it is possible to throw out a runner with Burnett on the mound after every steal attempt last year against Burnett was a success.
Now for the stats:
Adv: Eckstein (1)
Pitching Adv: Hawkins
Adv+: Rios (1)
Pitching Adv+: Mussina
NAdv: Wells (1), Scutaro (2), Rodriguez
Pitching NAdv: Accardo (1), Mussina 2
WG: Scutaro (1), Damon, Rodriguez
ME(r): Jeter
A solid start from Burnett, yes he only had 3 K’s but as long as he is keeping the ball down and getting ground balls that’s when he is successful. Well Burnett induced 9 outs via ground ball compared to 4 in the air. Even more impressive is how easy Burnett can make it look out there. He wasn’t in any jams out there at all until his 1st and only walk in the 7th and then the HR to Rodriguez.
Nice to see Barajas prove that it is possible to throw out a runner with Burnett on the mound after every steal attempt last year against Burnett was a success.
Now for the stats:
Adv: Eckstein (1)
Pitching Adv: Hawkins
Adv+: Rios (1)
Pitching Adv+: Mussina
NAdv: Wells (1), Scutaro (2), Rodriguez
Pitching NAdv: Accardo (1), Mussina 2
WG: Scutaro (1), Damon, Rodriguez
ME(r): Jeter
Day 4 – The Fan Experience
Spent the day first exploring the area around my hotel in Queens, then the area around Yankee Stadium in the Bronx before heading to the game. No sight of rain today so the players were taking BP today. I watched from the OF b/c at Yankee Stadium they do not let you down in the sections around home plate and the infield even during BP unless you actually have a ticket for those sections. No, I’ve never caught a ball, but unless it’s a HR ball during the game it is just another baseball. A BP ball, or foul ball just doesn’t have any meaning to it.
The first 2 games/3 days here in NY are prime examples of the benefits of having a retractable roof. 1st it was the rain, now it’s the cool weather. I’m not one to usually complain about the cold, and don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that bad just enough to realize the benefits of playing indoors in April. It is just something I’ve never experienced as a fan, at least since I was younger and used to watch my brother’s little league games during Winnipeg April’s. All my Major League fan experience has either been at Rogers Centre or at other ballparks during the summer months of July and August where no matter where you go it is warm. Of course both before and after the game when I was walking around NY the weather wasn’t an issue, its just when you are sitting for 3+ hrs that makes it seem cold.
I had a good conversation with the gentleman sitting beside me during the game. He didn’t hold it against me that I was cheering for the Jays. However, some other fans weren’t quite as receptive. Now I personally didn’t have any problems, I just laughed off any comments I received, mostly just good natured teasing. Interestingly enough it was a fan wearing a Red Sox hat in my section that was taking all the abuse. Of course the fans who start these things are always the ones who have already had a few drinks.
The first 2 games/3 days here in NY are prime examples of the benefits of having a retractable roof. 1st it was the rain, now it’s the cool weather. I’m not one to usually complain about the cold, and don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that bad just enough to realize the benefits of playing indoors in April. It is just something I’ve never experienced as a fan, at least since I was younger and used to watch my brother’s little league games during Winnipeg April’s. All my Major League fan experience has either been at Rogers Centre or at other ballparks during the summer months of July and August where no matter where you go it is warm. Of course both before and after the game when I was walking around NY the weather wasn’t an issue, its just when you are sitting for 3+ hrs that makes it seem cold.
I had a good conversation with the gentleman sitting beside me during the game. He didn’t hold it against me that I was cheering for the Jays. However, some other fans weren’t quite as receptive. Now I personally didn’t have any problems, I just laughed off any comments I received, mostly just good natured teasing. Interestingly enough it was a fan wearing a Red Sox hat in my section that was taking all the abuse. Of course the fans who start these things are always the ones who have already had a few drinks.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Game 1 - New Stats
How much does that running mistake by Rios in the 1st change the game? Chien-Ming Wang was not looking good the first couple innings leaving a few balls up and the Jays managed 4 hits in the first 2 innings. The Jays had a great chance to score first and grab the momentum, instead inning over and then before you know it back-to-back 2-out hits by the Yankees in the bottom half to give them the lead. After scratching across 1 in the 2nd the Jays bats went to sleep managing just 2 hits the rest of the way.
I loved seeing Gibbons being aggressive and hit and running with Zaun at the plate on the 1st pitch. Too bad the pitch was in the dirt and Zaun missed, but Scutaro managed to steal the bag anyway. With a pitcher like Wang who throws a lot of strikes and gets a lot of groundballs it makes a lot of sense, especially with the bottom of your order. Although the Jays have not been much of a running team under Riccardi/Gibbons I have found that Gibbons still likes to use the hit and run a fair amount with the right guys. The guys who I would expect to see it a lot from are Zaun, Eckstein, and McDonald.
As much as I hate seeing the Jays lose, as a baseball fan all I can ask for is a good game and a pitchers duel lasting just 2 hrs 31 min is exactly that.
I’ve decided to score all the games this season and in doing so I’ve got a couple of stats I’m going to take notice of in this blog. The first is what I’m calling Advances. I always found it strange that baseball scores a fly out that scores a runner as a SF, but moving a runner from 2nd to 3rd counts as nothing. So I’m going to term Advances (abbrev. Adv) to just those situations except its only an Advance in the case its a runner at 2nd nobody out and it can either be a fly ball or ground ball that advances him. If the batter manages to get a hit then I’ll coin it Adv+ since he moved the runner along without using up an out. If he fails to move the runner then its a NAdv. I’m not going to include Sacrifice bunts as anything since that is something the manager instructs him to do rather than the player taking it upon himself to move the runner, plus the Sac bunt already doesn’t count as an AB. And of course if the batter walks/HBP then it does not count.
The next is Web Gems (WG). I just thought it would be fun to keep track of, its just too bad Johnny Mac won’t be in their everyday. Yes it will be subjective and I won’t have the benefit of instant replay so it will all be first impression.
Sort of going hand-in-hand with this is Defensive Errors (DE). Basically DE’s are any play that reasonably should have been made but for one reason or another cannot officially be scored an error. For example, if the relay throw on the backend of a DP is off the mark there can be no error charged b/c you can’t assume a DP but everyone knows the runner would have been easily out. Enter the DE.
The final stat is Mental Errors (ME). This can be both bad baserunning decisions (ME (r)) (and I’m going to try and separate those made by the player and those by the 3rd base coach) and fielding (ME (f)). Again this will be rather subjective and what exactly qualifies will probably be a work in progress. Baserunning will consist of either the player getting thrown out by a long shot or getting doubled off on a fly ball/line drive that there was no need to be that far off the base. There is also the specific cases of something like running from 2nd to 3rd on a groundball hit in front of you. Defensively I’m thinking of things like players miscommunicating and letting a fly ball drop in, OF’s overthrowing the cutoff men, players forgetting how many outs, etc. Basically its the little things that often go unnoticed in the boxscores.
So with that here are the stats for the 1st game: (#’s in brackets are season total) I am going to include opponents in the list but I won’t have season totals for them.
Adv: Hill (1), Cano
Pitching Adv: Halladay (1), Wang
Adv+: Zaun (1)
Pitching Adv+: Wang
NAdv: Scutaro (1)
Pitching NAdv: Wang
WG: Cabrera 2, Giambi, Eckstein (1)
DE: Hill (1)
ME (r): Rios (1)
I loved seeing Gibbons being aggressive and hit and running with Zaun at the plate on the 1st pitch. Too bad the pitch was in the dirt and Zaun missed, but Scutaro managed to steal the bag anyway. With a pitcher like Wang who throws a lot of strikes and gets a lot of groundballs it makes a lot of sense, especially with the bottom of your order. Although the Jays have not been much of a running team under Riccardi/Gibbons I have found that Gibbons still likes to use the hit and run a fair amount with the right guys. The guys who I would expect to see it a lot from are Zaun, Eckstein, and McDonald.
As much as I hate seeing the Jays lose, as a baseball fan all I can ask for is a good game and a pitchers duel lasting just 2 hrs 31 min is exactly that.
I’ve decided to score all the games this season and in doing so I’ve got a couple of stats I’m going to take notice of in this blog. The first is what I’m calling Advances. I always found it strange that baseball scores a fly out that scores a runner as a SF, but moving a runner from 2nd to 3rd counts as nothing. So I’m going to term Advances (abbrev. Adv) to just those situations except its only an Advance in the case its a runner at 2nd nobody out and it can either be a fly ball or ground ball that advances him. If the batter manages to get a hit then I’ll coin it Adv+ since he moved the runner along without using up an out. If he fails to move the runner then its a NAdv. I’m not going to include Sacrifice bunts as anything since that is something the manager instructs him to do rather than the player taking it upon himself to move the runner, plus the Sac bunt already doesn’t count as an AB. And of course if the batter walks/HBP then it does not count.
The next is Web Gems (WG). I just thought it would be fun to keep track of, its just too bad Johnny Mac won’t be in their everyday. Yes it will be subjective and I won’t have the benefit of instant replay so it will all be first impression.
Sort of going hand-in-hand with this is Defensive Errors (DE). Basically DE’s are any play that reasonably should have been made but for one reason or another cannot officially be scored an error. For example, if the relay throw on the backend of a DP is off the mark there can be no error charged b/c you can’t assume a DP but everyone knows the runner would have been easily out. Enter the DE.
The final stat is Mental Errors (ME). This can be both bad baserunning decisions (ME (r)) (and I’m going to try and separate those made by the player and those by the 3rd base coach) and fielding (ME (f)). Again this will be rather subjective and what exactly qualifies will probably be a work in progress. Baserunning will consist of either the player getting thrown out by a long shot or getting doubled off on a fly ball/line drive that there was no need to be that far off the base. There is also the specific cases of something like running from 2nd to 3rd on a groundball hit in front of you. Defensively I’m thinking of things like players miscommunicating and letting a fly ball drop in, OF’s overthrowing the cutoff men, players forgetting how many outs, etc. Basically its the little things that often go unnoticed in the boxscores.
So with that here are the stats for the 1st game: (#’s in brackets are season total) I am going to include opponents in the list but I won’t have season totals for them.
Adv: Hill (1), Cano
Pitching Adv: Halladay (1), Wang
Adv+: Zaun (1)
Pitching Adv+: Wang
NAdv: Scutaro (1)
Pitching NAdv: Wang
WG: Cabrera 2, Giambi, Eckstein (1)
DE: Hill (1)
ME (r): Rios (1)
Day 3 – Opening Day Take 2
After opening day was rained out it has been rescheduled for Tue. Night so after some planning for my future road trips it was off to the ballpark hoping the rain would stay away. There was an occasional shower during the day. When I got to the ballpark the tarp was on the field, but luckily it wasn’t raining. With no rain I figured now it would be ok to make my way to Monument Park and get some pics. Its pretty impressive all the great players that played for NYY and now have their #’s retired. You read the plaques and it is just amazing the total accomplishments of these players. Now I’m not positive on this but I do believe they will be moving Monument Park to the new stadium, as they should. One of the things that makes the Yankees and Yankee stadium so special is the history, tradition and unparalleled success the franchise has had.
Just as game time approached the skies started to clear and opening day was finally here. Opening day very well may be my favourite day of the year and to get to spend it at Yankee Stadium knowing that there would never be another opening day at Yankee Stadium was something special. Boy does it feel good to be sitting at the ballpark and watching baseball again.
I gotta say, I would have thought the Yankees could have done better than only have some guy play the Canadian Anthem on the organ for opening day. Is it that hard to find someone to sing our anthem, apparently it maybe as the person who sang the American Anthem had a bit of a struggle with it.
I’ll try and keep my game talk in a separate blog in case there are those of you readers who only prefer to read one or the other.
I’m going to have to pick on Toronto fans a little bit here. One of the things I love to see is fans getting up on their feet at crucial points in the game. In Toronto about the only time the fans get up is when there are 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th inning. There is something to be said for 50,000+ fans on their feet cheering on their team hoping for that important out, or important run whether it be the 9th inning or the 5th.
So after the Jays took a tough loss, I made my way to Times Square looking for a place to eat. Low and behold I found myself a Papa Johns, the best pizza I’ve ever had. Ever since I first discovered it at a youth conference being held at Purdue University where we stayed in the residences and ate their food, which was pretty poor hence the ordering pizza, I’m always on the lookout for Papa Johns restaurants when I go to the states.
Just as game time approached the skies started to clear and opening day was finally here. Opening day very well may be my favourite day of the year and to get to spend it at Yankee Stadium knowing that there would never be another opening day at Yankee Stadium was something special. Boy does it feel good to be sitting at the ballpark and watching baseball again.
I gotta say, I would have thought the Yankees could have done better than only have some guy play the Canadian Anthem on the organ for opening day. Is it that hard to find someone to sing our anthem, apparently it maybe as the person who sang the American Anthem had a bit of a struggle with it.
I’ll try and keep my game talk in a separate blog in case there are those of you readers who only prefer to read one or the other.
I’m going to have to pick on Toronto fans a little bit here. One of the things I love to see is fans getting up on their feet at crucial points in the game. In Toronto about the only time the fans get up is when there are 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th inning. There is something to be said for 50,000+ fans on their feet cheering on their team hoping for that important out, or important run whether it be the 9th inning or the 5th.
So after the Jays took a tough loss, I made my way to Times Square looking for a place to eat. Low and behold I found myself a Papa Johns, the best pizza I’ve ever had. Ever since I first discovered it at a youth conference being held at Purdue University where we stayed in the residences and ate their food, which was pretty poor hence the ordering pizza, I’m always on the lookout for Papa Johns restaurants when I go to the states.
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