Deja vu as Jays lose with bats AWOL with runners in scoring position.

Cleveland v Toronto. Game 1. Friday August 8, 2008

Another big series for Jays, not so much because Indians are bottom of their division but that Jays have in the past done poorly against such a team and also they lost 3 of 4 in Cleveland in May. Purcey is still the unknown factor tonight. I don’t like his tendency to give up the big home runs. Indians have four players with more home runs than any Jay.

What they are saying: Burnett on win streak: "It's big for us to hopefully keep on a good run here because we're far from out of it right now. That's the team attitude. We want to keep winning ballgames and make it interesting."

Ricciardi confirming that Cito will be back for 2009. "We were just fortunate that he was there. We were just really lucky that no one else had hired him. He was the right guy at the right time. We never had any doubts that he'd be back."
Reyes on first start for Indians: "I'm excited. I'm going to go up there and show them what I can do, and hopefully I can stay."

Pitching: Purcey 1-2, 8.35 ERA v Reyes first appearance for Indians tonight. 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 10 relief appearances with St. Louis.

Lineups: Clevealnd: Sizemore, Carroll, Shoppach, Peralta, Francisco, Choo, Gutierrez, Gonzalez, Marte and Reyes pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Wilkerson, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Lind, Stairs, Rolen,. McDonald and Purcey pitching.
As with Cito’s past history, the lineup exactly same as last night. He does not believe in tinkering with a lineup that is winning.

The result: Jays lose 5-2 and four out of five this season against Indians.

The good: Defence Johnny Mac again. Purcey I think deserves kudos for a good outing, he did more than enough for a win, just had no run support.
The very bad: Outhit Indians 10-9 but leave 10 on base and with runners in scoring position were 2/10 tonight. I don’t see any improvement from the dog days of previous coaching staff.
The bad: Bottom 4th: Johnny Mac long fly ball out to CF to leave three on. Not good. Very poor hitting all round tonight but Inglett and Rios the worst offenders.

Top 1st: Sizemore at bat great lead of guy with 27 !! home runs. Jays would not mind that in any position. Full count,strikes out. That is a huge out for Purcey to give him confidence. Carroll lines drive off glove of Johnny Mac into LF, one on one down for Shoppach strikes out, two down for Peralta. Strikes out, number three already but high pitch count 24 pitches for first inning. That has to come down David.
Bottom 1st: Inglett, first pitch lineout to Sizemore, one down. Joe has his very good points but I don’t believe he is a leadoff hitter. He has not shown the concept of hitting with his brain. A lead of guy has to take a few pitches if only to show hitters behind him what to expect. Wilkerson pops it up to Marte, two quick outs, Rios strikes out looking. A much too easy first inning for Reyes 11 pitches.

Top 2nd: Francisco at bat, fly ball out to Rios, one down for Choo singles to RF, Gutierrez with one on and one down. grounds to Rolen, throw to McDonald steps on bag at 2B throw to Overbay double play ball to end this inning. Nice play. 33 pitches that helps his pitch count bigtime.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay at bat pops it up but ball falls between 1B and LF. Lyle at 1B muight have reached 2B if he had gone immediately, but he held up not knowing it was fair ball. Barajas with one on check swing hit to Gutierrez, throw to 2B to get Overbay but Barajas safe at 1B, Lind aggressive here Barajas moves to 3B. Stairs at bat one down. and with two on. NO Matt, grounds first pitch to Peralta throw to 1B double play ball. I don’t know how many double plays that Stairs has hit in to this season but far too many. Feast or famine with Matty. Ruins a good situation there and trouble for Reyes. 21 pitches.

Top 3rd: Gonzalez shows bunt changes mind, strikes out number four for Purcey. Marte at bat one down, grounds to Rolen, throw to Overbay for out number two. Sizemore at bat, strikes out number five. 49 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Rolen at bat, full count and now walks him. McDonald gets a nice reception form crowd. Shows bunt, great bunt to 1B line, Reyes throw to 1B. Rolen moves easily to 2B. Inglett,first pitch again lines out to Marte at 3B. Two down now. That is not smart hitting Joe, (again). Wilkerson at bat with Rolen at 2B. Strikes out and leaves Rolen out there. There is a fine line between being aggressive and risk-taking and I don’t believe Inglett sees the difference, on the other hand Adam Lind appears to have it down pat.

Top 4th: Carroll lines hard out to Rolen, nice catch Scott, one down. Shoppach at bat one down doubles into LF corner. Peralta, with one down and one in scoring position, fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF, Shoppach tags and moves to 3B. Francisco at bat two down, doubles to wall in LF, Shoppach scores 1-0 Indians. Choo at bat, doubles off the wall in RF. Francisco scores 2-0 Indians. Gutierrez singles to CF, Choo scores 3-0 Indians. Gutierrez going for the double Rios throw to Inglett, Gutierrez out at 2B. 66 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Team has just given up three runs top of inning, team needs some leadership here from Rios at bat. Not like that Alex, first pitch grounds to Marte 3B Alex out at 1B. One down for Overbay at bat, strikes out, two down for Barajas, grounds hard back at Reyes, knocks ball down but too late to get Barajas at 1B Rod was hustling bigtime there. Good to see after Rios. Lind at bat lines single up the middle. Two on again. The leader of this team for the last month has been Adam Lind no doubt. Stairs at bat, that’s better Matty, singles into RF corner, Barajas scores 3-1. Lind at 3B. Two on for Rolen now, that was the pitch Scott, swings through it. Hits him on the arm to load the bases for Johnny Mac. Just a hit Johnny no need for grand slam. Long fly ball out to CF to leave three on. Not good. That was a great chance for Jays to open this game up. 62 pitches.

Top 5th: Gonzalez at bat, 3-0 and now walks on four pitches. Marte at bat one on. Gonzalez stealing Barajas throw picks him off in run down, big break for Purcey. Marte walks. Purcey is losing control here. Call to bullpen, Camp up pitching. Sizemore 2-0 count, Purcey cannot find strike zone. Sizemore fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF, that will help. Two down. Carroll at bat strikes out. 81 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Inglett will he take first pitch? Of course, he has no choice after two outs on two pitches. Eckstein will in lineup tomorrow if he doesn’t, and should be. Now grounds weakly out to 1B. Wilkerson at bat, singles to CF. One on and one down for Rios. High fly ball out to CF Wilkerson smart tags and gets to 2B. Would his brain could be duplicated in some of the other hitters. Overbay with two down. High fly ball out to Choo in LF. Jays are with 1/6 with runners in scoring position tonight. Cito ???? déjà vu ? what has changed ? Indians are 3/4 OUCH. 76 pitches.

Top 6th: Purcey still in there but probably on a short leash if he gets in trouble. Shoppach at bat, strikes out number seven. Free pizza for the crowd tomorrow. Peralta at bat, strikes out, number eight. Francisco at bat, grounds to Rolen, fumbles it and then throw gets away from Overbay. Error on throw by Rolen but that was one that Overbay usually takes. Francisco moves to 2B on the throw. Choo at bat fly ball out to Rios in CF. 97 pitches and probably the end of a good outing by Purcey. Has had no run support at all tonight.
Bottom 6th: Barajas at bat, pops it up to Sizemore in CF. one down for Lind 2-2 tonight, grounds out to Gonzalez. Two down for Stairs strikes out. Jays hitters are definitely AWOL tonight. 84 pitches.

Top 7th: Camp now pitching. Gutierrez at bat strikes out. Gonzalez at bat, grounds out to Overbay at 1B, two down. Marte at bat, 3-0 count. This is number nine hitter Shawn. Fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF corner. Good inning for Camp.
Bottom 7th: Can the Jays hitters find some hits here? Rolen, singles into shallow RF, good start. McDonald with one on, what say bunt? Not this time. Fly ball out to Sizemore in CF. Rolen holds at 1B. That’s it for Reyes. Inglett at bat, what will he do this time? 0-3 tonight and not a good at bat in all three, a total of five pitches. Rafael Perez. Inglett strikes out. Not a good day at the office Joe. Wilkerson at bat two down and one on. 3-0 count.full count, and walks, that was good at bat Brad. Jays need the base runners, Now Alex, two on and your turn to show you are the man. 0-2 count, please don’t throw it down and away… hard anyway for a lefty, but strikes out on a ball in the dirt. Awful at bat. 0-4 tonight for Rios. And Jays are now 1/7 with runners in scoring position. Don’t tell me that there has been a huge change since new coaching staff has arrived. It is the pitching that has remained very good and is carrying this team despite the awful hitting.

Top 8th: Sizemore at bat, grounds to 2B great diving save by Inglett and throw to Overbay gets Sizaemore. Joe at least has one contribution to this game tonight. That was a great play to save extra bases. Carroll at bat, 3-0 count and walks on four. Shoppach at bat, he walks. Inglett’s play is even more significant now. Peralta at bat with two on and one down. Camp cannot find the strike zone, 2-0 count after the two walks. That’s better strikes out. Two down. Francisco at bat, 3-1 count, singles up the middle and Carroll scores 4-1 Cleveland.That’s it for Camp. Just didn’t have the strike zone tonight, threw more balls than strikes. Choo at bat with two on and two down and Jesse Carlson pitching. Doubles to RF Wilkerson, Shoppach scores 5-1 Cleveland. Francisco at 3B, Gutierrez at bat, grounds to Rolen throw to 2B to get Choo.
One very simple statistic tells story of this game.
Runners in scoring position. Indians: 5/8. Jays: 1/7. Game over.

Bottom 8th: Will Jays hitters mail this one in? Overbay at bat, grounds to Carroll 2B. One down. Barajas at bat, one down. Fly ball to CF Sizemore dives but cannot get it, great effort but double for Barajas. Lind at bat, bounces it to 2B throw to 1B two down. Barajas moves to 3B. Mench pinch hitting for Stairs, singles to LF, Barajas scores 5-2 Cleveland. Rolen at bat, grounds to 3B throw to 2B gets Mench.

Top 9th: Frasor pitching. Gonzalez grounds a bullet to McDonald dive to his left and throw one down, Marte at bat, fly ball out to Rios. Two down. Sizemore at bat, Frasor hits him on the foot.Two down and one on. Carroll at bat, fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF.
Bottom 9th: Last chance for Jays hitters. Jensen Lewis pitching. Clean shaven Zaun pinch hitting for McDonald. Gregg wants to prove something here.Full count, Walks, that is what they need here. Inglett last chance, grounds to 3B throw to 2B Zaun upends him throw to 1B not in time Inglett safe but one out. Wilkerson at bat. Grounds to Carroll throw to 2B gets Inglett. Rios last chance to make a difference. Hitless in four at bats tonight. Strikes out looking. His third strikeout tonight, this guy should be the leader on this team until Vernon returns, fortunately is scheduled for Detroit series on Monday if all goes well and none to early.

This is a game that Jays should have and could have easily won with the runners they had on base and in scoring position. They still do not have that killer instinct, worse still they remain totally undisciplined at bat for the most part, Inglett and Rios in particular.