Preview Jays White Sox

Friday May 2, 2008. Preview Toronto v Chicago White Sox.

I always find it humourous reading and listening to Toronto media slamming the Jays. This is a city where the media worships sports futility in the shape of the under achieving Leafs. For more than 41 years !!! the hockey team has shown no signs of life and the majority of fans are too young to even remember when last in playoffs. And yet the Jays go through a mini-slump and the media bays for the Managers head. The hockey team can go through two seasons of slumps and no cry for the axe.
That’s it for hockey on this blog.

Jays return home after a bad road trip but are showing very good signs of being through it. The positives are in the excellent pitching throughout the road trip and not least in Boston, good hitting last night, and some superb fielding plays, add in BJ Ryan’s pitching, Jesse Carlson, Scott Rolen’s bat and glove, there is more than a ray of hope. Toronto shut Boston down completely last night in Fenway, that is some achievement for a team down and out according to the critics.

The other major factor is that Yankees and Boston are having similar abnormal streaks. Detroit pre-season favourites to run away with all started season 0-7. Chicken Little the sky fell in Detroit. No it didn’t, they have just swept Yankees in New York and are starting to show form.

So on to this series. Marcum with something to prove goes tonight. He needs to avoid the first three-game losing streak of his career. In the loss to Kansas he only gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings but lost the game. Toronto pitching has in fact only given up seven runs in the last five games, including three in Boston, that is not the sign of a slumping team.

Marcum’s record against Chicago 1-0 and 3.27 average in two starts in 2007.
Chicago pitcher is Mark Buerhle, 1-2 5.65 ERA but that is deceptive as he started season slowly. His last start in Baltimore held the Orioles to three runs on three hits in six innings of work.
Buehrle has posted a 3-2 record in 10 career games against the Blue Jays, with a 3.12 ERA.

Chicago offence - ranking dead last in the American League in both hits (219) and team batting average (.242).
But they have home run hitting 36 and on base average .335 to make up for that.
Chicago's lost two against Minesota this week 3-1 and 4-3 and going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Does that sound familiar ??? BUT I don’t hear Chicken Little panicking in Chicago either, they lead their division.

What they said: Nick Swisher "When our pitchers go out there and do a heck of a job for us, we have to score some more runs for them, and it's going to come.... We've had plenty of opportunities to win a lot of games, and that's one thing we're going to have to work on." (Does that not sound familiar ye of Jays colours?)
Chicago general manager Ken Williams: "Just don't start looking at the [averages on the scoreboard] and start swinging outside the zone and stop getting on base. As long as they don't panic and do what they are doing... we are OK. We really have a chance for another very special season if they keep that hard-nosed, grinder-type mentality. The talent is what it is - it's there."
Could also be talking about Toronto… ???