Jay 0-7 with runners in scoring position is all you need to know about this one as Jays are eliminated.

Toronto v Boston. Series finale. Sunday September 21, 2008.

Preview: A very important game for Jays. This is their season finale if they lose, they are mathematically out of the playoffs. How sad is that to get eliminated and by Boston at home. Lots of incentive for the Jays to win. The previous two games have not been good at all for the bats. One inning basically helped them win yesterday along with their great pitching and bullpen. BUT someday their hitting has to come through and today would be a good time to do it. The big bats of Rios, Wells and Overbay have not earned their money this series. But today we have David and Goliath pitching matchup. Scott Richmond the rookie who is not even mentioned as possible starter next season and that is without at least two of the current lineup available Marcum and Burnett. Pitching his third game and yet to win he is matched up against Dike-K who has just been perfect on the road this season8-0. As if that was not bad enough Richmond is supported by a very weak underachieving hitting lineup. Good luck Scott today, this could be a very bad day. Nice giveaway shirt designed by Johnny Mac for first 10,,000 fans BUT Jays management two questions, why not give Johnny Mac a cameo appearance at least for the fans to show they appreciate his hustle ? Cito show some class. But then again you probably though this lineup would win in he bottom of the ninth. Secondly why give them to Red Sox fans ? Jays management knows that the first 5,000 fans through the gate in a Boston series are the Red Sox nation fans who come to worship batting practice. Shirts would all be gone long before majority of real Jays fans turn up. This happened with the Halladay bobble head give away a couple of years ago, when most of them went to Boston fans who probably either threw them away or sold them on ebay.

Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Bay, Kotsay, Lowrie, Casey, Cora, Varitek, and Matsuzake pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Rolen, Snider, Thigpen and Richmond pitching.

Pitching: Richmond 0-2 v Matsuzake 17-2.
The result: Boston wins this one easily 3-0 and eliminate a weak hitting Jays side. This game was lost in the first inning. Jays 0-7 with runners in scoring position tells this story.

The good: Nothing much here today apart from my Johnny Mac shrt. Wells two of the total three hits, and the pitching which kept it close enough if the hitters had not mailed this one in. A good double play by Richmond strikeout and Thigpen’s throw to Scutaro 2B to end the fourth inning.

The bad: A couple of prima donnas out here today. There is Rios admiring his new hair style, looks like a star cut out of side of his head, or is it a Patriots logo? Surely not. Ortiz grandstanding on his at bats, walks everywhere. It is interesting to see him (hatless) in batting practice today hitting to left, I hope Jays staff were watching. They may change their mind about the shift right.
Where do we start up and down the lineup but not Vernon today he came through with two hits but spent most of the afternoon on base, waiting in vain for someone to get a hit.
How come this new hitting staff are supposed to have changed this team for the better, when today they finish season with 9-9 series split, and in the last ten days they have lost three in Boston last weekend and two in Toronto this weekend? By my math, the Gibbons crowd had Boston’s number with a record of 7-4 ? Friends it is all smoke and mirrors but don’t try to convince me that Cito and coaches are better than that 20-10 May this season. And much more important today Jays 0-7 with runners in scoring position, plus ca change Cito.

The game: Top 1st: Ellsbury leading off triples to CF. That’s a great start Scott. Pedroia sac fly to LF Snider, Ellsbury scores. 1-0 Boston. Just like that, this could be a long afternoon for Richmond and the Jays. Great execution by Red Sox. Ortiz at bat one down, pops up to 3B Rolen. Youkilis full count and walks. Bay at bat one on fly ball out to RF Rios. Richmond escapes further damage here.
Bottom 1st: Inglett fly ball out to CF Ellsbury. Scutaro strikes out. Rios fly ball out to LF Bay.

Top 2nd: Kotsay fly ball out to LF Snider. Lowrie strikes out. Casey fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 2nd: Wells doubles to the CF wall Jays have something going here. Lind grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Casey, Wells moves to third. Overbay full count and walks. Two on and only one out. Rolen strikes out. Snider strikes out. Oh boy, golden opportunity there to get ahead.

Top 3rd: Varitek strikes out. Ellsbury doubles to CF. Pedroia grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay, Ellsbury to 3B. Ortiz, full count, lines this one to LF and with his power this is out of here, HR. That really was a line drive. 3-0 Boston. Youkilis strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Thigpen pops up to RF Kotsay One down for Inglett grounds back to Matsuzaka throw to 1B Casey. Two down. Scutaro strikes out. Jays go very quietly.

Top 4th: Bay fly ball out to CF Wells. One down for Kotsay, singles to CF. Lowrie strikes out. Kotsay was stealing, Thigpen throw to SS Scutaro, double play. Very nice play by Thigpen and Scutaro.
Bottom 4th: Big bats. Rios pops up to SS Lowrie. Wells at bat fouls out to 1B Casey. Lind with two down fly ball out to LF Bay.

Top 5th: Casey popped out to 3B Rolen. Varitek pops up to catcher Thigpen. Ellsbury doubles to RF. Pedroia fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 5th: Overbay grounds out to 1B Casey. Rolen pops up to 1B Casey. Snider full count and walks. One on for Thigpen, strikes out. Jays cannot get anything going today.

Top 6th: Bautista in at 1B for Overbay. Not sure why here. He had a horrible game at 1B last time he played there. Parrish now pitching. Richmond was not bad, it is the hitters that are not performing. Ortiz fly ball out to RF Rios. Youkilis strikes out. Bay full count and walks. Kotsay grounds to Rolen throw to 1B Bautista to end the inning.
Bottom 6th: Inglett doubles to CF. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Kotsay. Inglett does not move. Rios pops up to 3B Youkilis. Has he hit it out of the infield today ? Wells grounds back to Matsuzaka throw to 1B Casey. Big bats go quietly again and leave lead off double out there.

Top 7th: Bautista in as third baseman now with Wilkerson in as 1B. That makes better sense. Lowrie grounds to 3B Bautista throw to 1B Wilkerson. Casey pops up to 2B Inglett. Varitek singles to LF. Ellsbury pops up to 3B Bautista.
Bottom 7th: Youkilis in as 1B. Lowrie in as 3B. Cora in as SS. Lind strikes out. Bautista fly ball out to CF Ellsbury. Wilkerson fly ball out to LF Bay.

Top 8th: Wolfe pitching. Pedroia doubled to LF. That is his major league-leading 52nd double. One on for Ortiz, pops up to SS Scutaro. Two down. Pedroia stealing and safe at 3B that was not a good throw by Thigpen. Youkilis lined out to 3B Bautista. Bay grounded out, SS Scutaro throw to 1B Wilkerson.
Bottom 8th: Okajima pitching Snider grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. Thigpen strikes out. Inglett lines out to 2B Pedroia.

Top 9th: Tallet pitching. Kotsay grounded out, 2B Inglett to 1B Wilkerson. Lowrie flied out to RF Rios. Cora grounded out, SS Scutaro to 1B Wilkerson.
Bottom 9th: Papelbon now pitching. Scutaro grounds to SS Cora throw to 1B Youkilis. Rios grounds to 3B Lowrie, throw to 1B Youkilis. Alex hitless again today. Wells singles to CF. Vernon keeps it going with his second hit of the day. Defensive indifference, Wells takes 2B in scoring posiiton. Lind gets hold of this one but long fly ball out to LF wall for Bay.

Halladay wins number 19 with help from the bullpen and a few bats

Toronto v Boston. Saturday September 20,2008.


Pitching: Halladay 18-11 v Lester 15-5
Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Bay, Lowrie, Crisp, Cora, Varitek and Lester pitching.
Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Overbay, Rolen, Mench, Thigpen, McDonald, ad Halladay pitching.

The Result: Jays win 6-3. Halladay win number nineteen.
The good: Halladay, and the bullpen to shut down Boston after the third inning. Rolen HR.

The bad: Wells and Overbay the biggest goat today, double play with bases loaded and one down in a 5-0 game that could have driven Lester from the game in the second inning. Wells also hits into a double play. Then again the first pitch swinging. The six pitch inning 5th ??/6th yet again by Jays. Overbay and Mench. Wells and Overbay hitless again today 0-7. Last season Vernon had an excuse, not this year. Overbay has gone backwards since Gibbons left. Hitters 3/9 with runners in scoring position today. You can’t give a team like Boston giveaways.

The game: Top 1st: Ellsbury leading off and singles to LF. One on for Pedroia, there goes Ellsbury and steals 2B. Boston serious today, Pedroia 3-0 count and walks on four pitches. Not the start Halladay had in mind today. Ortiz at bat with two on and no outs, I don’t think he will be bunting here. Fly ball out to RF Rios, Ellsbury moves to 3B. One down, another sac fly here will get them ahead. Youkilis strikes out that is huge. Two down with two on. Bay at bat, birthday boy today. Pedroia is stealing, safe at 2B. Boston is running on young Thigpen today. Red Sox now have two in scoring position. Bay fly ball out to LF Mench. Halladay and the Jays escape but this might be a long afternoon.
Bottom 1st: Will Jays hitters emerge today ? Scutaro leading off singles to CF. It is not Scutaro’s bat I worry about, it is the big guys behind him who went 0-15 collectively last night. Bautista at bat grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis, moves Scutaro into scoring position but can the bats behind him bring in the run? Rios singles to LF and Scutaro scores. 1-0 Jays. Where was that last night Alex? Wells at bat another slumper, strikes out and continues his hitting woes. I don’t mind streaky hitters but it would be nice for Vernon to have a streak this season. Overbay at bat another goat from last night, Rios stealing and safe at 2B. Not enough of that in my opinion.Cito is not an aggressive manager but if hitters are not getting the job done then he has no choice. Overbay fly ball out to CF Crisp, leaving Rios in scoring position.

Top 2nd: Halladay has a lead to work with. Lowrie fly ball out to CF Wells. One down for Crisp singles to CF. One on one down for Cora fly ball out to LF Mench. Two down for Varitek strikes out. Halladay a better inning.
Top 2nd: Rolen singles to RF. Mench walks and Rolen moves to 2B, two on and no outs. Thigpen bunting and gets a great one down to 3B Lowrie throw to Pedroia, to get Inglett, Rolen to 3B, Mench to 2B. Two in scoring position and only one down. McDonald is hit to load bases.Lester really in a mess here. Scutaro at bat, YES Marco, doubles to LF , Rolen scores, Mench scores, ad Johnny MC to 3B. Jays up 3-0. Still only one down for Bautista, singles to LF, McDonald scores,4-0 Jays. Scutaro to 3B. for Rios grounds to Cora at SS, Cora comig home with the throw and wild into the Boston dugout. Error to Cora and Rios safe at 2B. Scutaro scores, 5-0 Jays. Bautista at 3B. Still only one out for Wells, intentional walk. Sorry Vernon no hit here to break that slump. Bases loaded yet again. Overbay at bat, NO Lyle. Grounds a 2B Pedroia to SS Cora on to 1B Youkilis, double play, and the inning ends. That was NOT a good at bat Lyle. Boston has the bullpen up and working and could have been the end of Lester. Jays have given Halladay a lead to work with at least.

Top 3rd: Ellsbury grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Pedroia, doubles to RF. One on and one down for Ortiz, he singles to CF and Pedroia scores. 5-1 Jays. Youkilis at bat fly ball out to RF Rios. Two down for the birthday boy. Bay 3-1 and gets hold of this one this is out of here HR to LF, two runs score and this game is a little tighter for Halladay at 5-3 Jays. Two down for Lowrie grounds out to 1B Overbay for the third out. But this has saved Lester. Too bad. You don’t often see Halladay let a team get back in a game that quickly.
Bottom 3rd: Lester rejuvenated by that comeback Rolen strikes out. One down for Mench strikes out. Two down for Thigpen grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis. Jays go very quietly, momentum has shifted bigtime back to Lester.

Top 4th: Crisp grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Cora fly ball out to CF Wells. Two down for Varitek grounds to Halladay tags him for third out. Halladay also has quick three up and down.
Bottom 4th: McDonald grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. One down for Scutaro grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis. Two down. Bautista infield single to SS Cora, one on one down for Rios walks, was that semi intentional with Wels on deck? Bautista moves to 2B.
Wells pops up to SS Cora. One of the good fallouts with Wells awful hitting is that he may not be selected for the World Cup in March 2009 and will have to send more time in Spring training getting his hitting stroke back. Downside is however the last time he played in that tournament he started the season very well and not his usual two months to get warmed up.

Top 5th: And now both pitchers have settled in but Lester should have been out of the game in the second inning if Overbay had found his missing stroke. Top of the order. Ellsbury grounds to Halladay throw to 1B Overbay. One down. Pedroia fly ball out to RF Rios.Ortiz with one on his usual patience full count and walks. Boston hitters work the count in their favour most of the time, how come Jays cannot do the same? Instead of that inane first pitch swinging? Perhaps Jays hitting coaches should observe Boston and for that matter Yankees with similar styles. But then was not Denbo a Yankees coach before he came to Toronto? Youkilis singles to LF. Ortiz moves to 2B.One down but two on Boston getting to Halladay again. Wild pitch, Ortiz to 3B and Youkilis to 2B. I wonder if Thigpen is tuned into Halladay yet? Must be an ordeal for the young catcher to be catching with Halladay. Bay now with two on, full count and walks bases loaded with two down for Lowrie. Strikes out, a huge strike out for Roy. That was big trouble brewing.
Bottom 5th: Can the Jays take advantage of that escape here? Overbay (first pitch of course) pops up 3B Lowrie. Lyle is really struggling at bat. He had such a great on base percentage before the current coaching regime. Rolen grounds to SS Cora throw to 1B Youkilis. Two down.
Mench NO ! (first pitch of course) grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. One of those great six pitch !!!! innings by the Jays hitters to get the opposition pitcher pumped up….That was rock bottom. No excuse at all especially for Mench but he is probably history next week anyway.

Top 6th: Jays hitters giving Lester every chance to get stay in the game. Crisp grounds out to 1B Overbay. Cora grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Varitek fly ball out to CF Wells. Halladay quick three up and down. Boston hitters are now being bewitched by the awful Jays. But Roy;s pitch count is way over 100 so that could be it for him today but at least he still has the lead.
Bottom 6th: Thigpen leading off singles to LF. Johnny MC bunting here ???? YES great bunt to Lester throw to 2B Pedroia, Thigpen moves to 2B. Runner in scoring position for the top of the order but I am beginning to think that it is better situation with the bottom of the order. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Ellsbury. Two down. Bautista strikes out. Not good friends. Jays hitters have certainly had their chances.

Top 7th: Bullpen now taking over, Carlson pitching. Ellsbury pops up to 2B Scutaro. One down. Pedroia grounds to SS McDonald throw to 1B Overbay. Two down. Ortiz fly ball out to RF Rios. Very nice inning from Carlson.
Bottom 7th: Lester still in there. Rios leading off singles to LF, second hit today, where was this yesterday ? Wells now woith one on, his last chance today probably to break his slump. NO Vernon… grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 2B Pedroia on to 1B Youkilis, double play and the hurt goes on for Vernon. Overbay grounds to 1B Youkilis to Lester and Lyle continues his own futlility.

Top 8th: League now pitching. Youkilis strikes out. Pone down for Bay, grounds to Rolen but beats out the throw Bay. Lowrie at bat safe on fielder's choice and Overbay's error, Por Lyle noting is going right for him in this series, perhaos tomorrow will be his day along with Vernon and Alex Bay moves to 2B. Crisp grounds to 1B Overbay to League, Bay to 3B Lowrie to 2B,. Red Sox nation fans here are getting excited. Cora grounds hard up the middle but League makes great save here and throw to 1B Overbay for third out. That could have scored two runs there. League helps himself with that play and Halladay will speak to him again..
Bottom 8th: Masterson now pitching. Rolen at bat, gets hold of this one and this one is out. Another HR for Scott into LF and Jays get an insurance run for BJ. 6-3 Jays. Snider now pinch-hitting for Mench, should have been in the lineup today. Snider grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis.Thigpen pops up to SS Cora. McDonald grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. Now the game rests with BJ.

Top 9th: Snider in at LF for Mench who was a bust today. Cito should really let Snider play out the season if they are serious about him for next year. BJ Ryan now pitching. Varitek fly ball out to RF Rios.One down for top of the order. Ellsbury grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Two down for Pedroia grounds to SS McDonald on to 1B Overbay for the third out and well deserved win for Halladay. He struggled earlier with control but hung in there and once again the Jaya bullpen shut the Red Sox down.

What they said: Ellsbury: "We're still trying to catch Tampa. It would have been nice to have won today but we know we've still got (eight) more."

Halladay: "I don't think I was around the zone as much as I normally am. I kind of compounded the problem myself. They're a good team. They're going to make you work either way."

Lester: "You can't spot a pitcher like Halladay five runs in the second inning and hope to have a chance to win,"

Boston manager Terry Francona: "He's (Halladay) always one pitch away from a double play. He sinks the ball so well, he cuts it. He threw a couple of changeups today. That's why he's got 19 wins. He's done it against everybody. He's got tremendous stuff."

Jays big bats Rios and Wells just get worse as season goes on.

Tornto v Boston. Series opener. Friday September 19,2008.

Preview: The series Jays have been waiting for, for revenge. The city full of the Red Sox Nation. If Jays cannot get up for this one then they are as laid back as their Manager. The bad news re Marcum who has to have Tommy John surgery and will miss all next season. puts an interesting spin on the Burnett future..

Pitching: Burnett (18-10, 4.19 ERA). v Byrd. (11-12, 4.53 ERA) Burnett is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in two starts versus Boston t this season, and 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA all-time against them. Byrd is 2-2 with a 4.94 ERA in four starts versus Jays this season, and 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 10 career starts against them.

Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Casey, Bay, Kotsay, Lowrie, Varitek and Byrd pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Overbay, Lind, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Burnett pitching.

Result: Jays lose this one 4-3 and probably any chances of keeping AJ Burnett next season and I for one would not blame him. He pitched well enough to win yet again but the Jays big bats were terrible tonight 0-15.

The good: Three consecutive doubles in the 2nd inning. Bottom of the batting order Rolen, Zaun and Snider. Inglett and Scutaro in the bottom of the fifth to tie it up. Burnett to keep it close.
The bad: Rios and Wells. 0-8 tonight not just the first pitch swinging stuff, just awful at bats. Rios really does look as if he doesn’t care.

Top 1st: Ellsbury strikes out. One down Pedroia walks. One on one down for Ortiz pops it up to 3B Rolen. Youkilis fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 1st: Inglett grounded out, second baseman Pedroia to first baseman Casey.
Scutaro doubles to left. Rios flied out to left fielder Bay. Wells fouled out to catcher Varitek. 7 pitches.

Top 2nd: One down Bay at bat, grounds to Burnett, tries to bare hand it and drops it. Rolen tries but not in time with throw to 1B. Error to Burnett. Kotsay lines out to CF tremendous catch by Wells, two down for Lowrie at bat, lines it past a diving Scutaro into LF, Varitek pops it up to Zaun for running cath in foul ground for third out.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay at bat, full count now equals number of pitches from first inning at least, in my book that is a plus sorry Cito. Grounds to Pedroia throw to Casey at 1B for first down, Lind at bat 0-7 high fly ball out to Ellsbury in CF, two down for Rolen, doubles into LF corner, this guy is hot right now. Zaun with two down and on in scoring position. Gregg doubles into LF, Rolen scores 1-0 Jays. Snider now YES Travis, he doubles into left centre, and scores Zaun. 2-0 Jays. I like Travis, he hits the way I wish Alex and Vernon would, stays back and goes with the pitch. Inglett now keep the line moving Joe. 3-1 count and walks him, two on for Scutaro. Here comes pitching coach. All this with two outs. Lines out hard to Ellsbury in CF for third out, but damage is done and Jays get out on top. 39 pitches.

Top 3rd: Ellsbury bunts to Burnett, does not miss this one and great throw down the line to Overbay to get Ellsbury, one down. Pedroia at bat one down, strikes out looking, two down. Ortiz at bat, full count, strikes him out bigtime. 46 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Rios (first pitch, of course) high fly ball out to CF, what a waste. Wells slaps it in to RF but at Casey 1B makes good play to knock it down. Two down for Overbay, first pitch grounds out to Casey. Six pitch inning, what is with these people? 45 pitches.

Top 4th: Six pitches ?? If I were Burnett I would really light into these hitters to give him a few minutes at least to sit down. Youkilis at bat, singles into RF. One on for Casey fly ball out to Wells in CF. one down for Bay, grounds to Rolen, on to Inglett to get Youkilis on to Overbay but not in time for two. Kotsay with two down and one on, singles into CF to Wells, two on for Lowrie, strikes him out, number five tonight. AJ is doing his job, how about the big bats? 54 pitches?
Bottom 4th: Lind grounds to Youkilis at 3B throw to Casey for first out. Rolen grounds to Lowrie SS throw to Casey for second out. Zaun at bat two down, full count. Fly ball out to Bay in LF. Jays go quietly again but a few more pitches at least.

Top 5th: Varitek at bat, doubles just inside the 3B bag into LF. Ellsbury bunt here? tries but not successful. Bunts past Burnett, he left it for Rolen as he goes back to 3B, Ellsbury safe at 1B, two on and no outs. Mental error there AJ. Pick off here and they get Ellsbury hung up, great play AJ. Redeems himself. One down. Pedroia lines hard wide of Scutaro, gets to it great play Marco and throws home to keep Varitek at 3B although Pedroia safe at 1B. Ortiz at bat, strikes him out for second time. Two down. Youkilis with two on and two down. Full count singles into CF and Varitek scores, 2-1 Jays. Casey at bat, two on and two down. Doubles over Rios to the RF wall. Two runs score. 3-2 Boston. Bay at bat, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out. 86 pitches though.
Bottom 5th: Jays bats have to get this one back for AJ, Snider at bat, strikes out. One down for Inglett, singles up the middle, one on for Scutaro. Keep it going Marco. YES Marco, doubles to the wall and Inglett scores 3-3. Nice hitting Marco and good running by Inglett. Now Rios, first pitch chin music… so Alex what are you going to do about it? Pops it up to Youkilis two down, sit this guy please Cito. Lopez up in Boston bullpen. Wells now, another underachiever with the bat, grounds to Youkilis tags Scutaro as he heads to 3B for third out. Rios and Wells what a pair. 75 pitches.

Top 6th: Kotsay at bat, full count, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for first out. Lowrie at bat, loops it into shallow LF, Snider throw not in time. One down one on, Varitek grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for second out, Lowrie moves to 3B. Ellsbury grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for third out. 107 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Overbay at bat, full count, patience here Lyle. Pops up ball four to Bay in shallow LF. Lind, 0-9 mini slump, 3-0 count, good at bat here by Adam fouling off pitch after pitch on full count. This time fly ball out to Bay in LF. Two down for Rolen. Full count, another good patient at bat, strikes out. 98 pitches.

Top 7th: Burnett out again. He wants that win. It is too bad that you donlt see that intensity transfer to some of his overpaid teammates. Pitch count over 100 though. Tampa hammering Twins 9-0 and Yankees leading Baltimore 3-2. Pedroia fly ball out to Rios in RF. Ortiz full count, but walks him. Tallet and Camp working in Jays bullpen. Youkilis fly ball out to Snider throw back to Overbay gets Ortiz double play ball. Great play by Snider, terrible lapse by Ortiz venturing too far to 2B and then ambling back that was an Alex Rios moment, and costs the Red Sox. AJ doesn’t mind though. 121 pitches and six strikeouts.
Bottom 7th: Now the Jays bats have to get one here for Burnett. Lopez now pitching. Zaun grounds up the middle Pedroia great play to just get Zaun, a Johnny Mc play. Snider at bat, strikes out. Top of the order, Inglett full count, and walks. Scutaro at bat, that’s it for Lopez, here comes manager Francona. Delcarmen now pitching. First pitch grounds it up the middle to Pedroia steps on the 2B bag to get Inglett for third out.

Top 8th: Tallet, Casey at bat, strikes out swinging. One down for Bay singles past Tallet to Inglett, but Bay safe at 1B. Kotsay at bat, 3-0 count, and walks him on four pitches. Two on and that’s it for Tallet, here comes Cito and Camp now pitching. Lowrie at bat, 3-1 count and walks him to load the bases. One down for Varitek grounds slowly to Scutaro throw to Inglett but cannot turn two. Bay scores. 4-3 Boston. That’s it for Camp, Parrish now pitching two down and two on. Ellsbury at bat, lines it into shallow CF great diving catch by Vernon to get third out.
Bottom 8th: How bad are the Jays hitters tonight? Big bats Rios, Wells, Overbay and Lind are combined 0-12 tonight. They will not win many games with numbers 2-6 in the lineup hitless. One more chance for them now. Rios at bat, 0-4 as he pops it up to 1B Casey. Wells now at least he has had a good night with his glove. High fly ball out to CF Ellsbury for second out. Vernon is also 0-4. Here comes Manager Francona for new pitcher, Okajima to face Overbay. Setting up for Papelbon in the ninth. Lyle fly ball out to Bay in LF and this game is virtually over. 0-15 for those lineup hitters 2-6. Ouch, ouch. Cito I thought you had new hitting coaches.

Top 9th: Pedroia facing Parrish grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for first out. Ortiz at bat, pops it up to Rolen at 3B wall, long run for that as he was playing almost at 2B with right shift on. Youkilis at bat full count, and walks. Number five walk by Jays pitchers tonight. Fly ball first pitch to Wells in CF for third out. Pitchers and fielders have done their job tonight but yet again as all season long the hitters and I mean the professional hitters have been unable to get anything between them. It has been the two at the top and the guys at the bottom that have come through tonight but not enough against this Boston team, they want to win and there’s the difference from this seat at least. So why would Burnett want to come back next year with this hitless underachieving group?
Bottom 9th: Youkilis in as first baseman.Cora in as shortstop. Lowrie in as third baseman. Papelbon pitching. Will not make same mistakes he did in Boston last weekend against this team. Lind at bat, grounds to Papelbon cannot handle it, knocks it down, and his throw to 1B is wild, Lind safe and falls but now up and risks another base and is just safe at 2B on the throw. That was huge gamble but paid off. Error on Papelbon. Wilkerson now pinch running. Rolen at bat runner in scoring position. 3-1 count, Rolen not tempted but lines this one out to SS Cora, one down. Zaun with one down and one on. Grounds to 2B throw to Papelbon for second out. Wilkerson moves to 3B for Snider. A lot of pressure on Travis here. Strikes out.

Don’t blame yourself Travis, the game was lost by the guys who are paid in the millions batting higher in the lineup.

Jays win a tight one. Litsch win number twelve. BJ save number thirty one

Toronto v Baltimore Game series finale. Thursday September 18, 2008.

Preview: Final game of home series with the Orioles but Jays will play the again in Baltimore to finish off the season. For the optimists they are hoping that those games will decide the playoffs and they may well do so. But two big series still to play at home Boston tomorrow for the weekend and then the Yankees series which probably will decide third place in the Division and you know the Yankees will not want to finish fourth. Jays have not played well this week but perhaps last night has given them a kick start to finish strongly.

What they said: Manager Cito: "I'm proud, but still think we could have done better," GM Ricciardi : "Cito will be here next year. We'll take care of that."
Mora: "Nobody wants to be in last place. Nobody wants to be a loser. It's one thing we need to turn around next year."

Pitching: Olson (9-8, 6.84 ERA) v Litsch (11-8, 3.75). Olson had his worst outing of the season against Minnesota on Saturday allowing six runs and five hits in the 12-6 loss. He is 1-3 with an 11.91 ERA in his last six outings. Against the Jays he is 0-1 with a 14.04 ERA in two starts this season.
Litsch in his last start pitched 5 1-3 innings against Boston, allowing three runs, five hits and five walks in the 7-5 loss. He is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA in four career starts against Baltimore. In his start against them July 21, he gave up six runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings of an 8-3 loss.

The good: Bautista first inning HR and excellent double play in 2nd. Zaun two run double in the sixth. The bullpen of Wolfe, Carlson and Ryan to shut Orioles out. Ryan to get out jam in the ninth. It was not his fault that Zaun interfered with Payton to walk him in the ninth.

The bad: Litsch walks bases loaded with three walks in the fourth. Rios unable to bring in runners from 2B and 3B in the 4th. Zaun trying for triple and out by a mile. Seventh inning neither Rios or Wells can bring the runner in. Familiar chorus?

Lineups: Baltimore: Roberts, Cintron, Markakis, Huff, Millar, Scott, Salazar, Payton, Santos and Olson pitching.
Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Lind, Rolen, Overbay, Thigpen, Snider and Litsch pitching.

Top 1st: Roberts grounds out first pitch to Overbay, one down for Cintron, grounds up the middle first pitch again Bautista throw not in time. Why are they playing Bautista at 2B ??? Markakis full count and strikes him out two down for Huff, grounds to Rolen, throw not in time. Scott playing too deep. Two on two down for Millar, strikes out. Good first inning for Jesse. Now can the bats carry on from last night? 24 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Scutaro, 3-0 count, grounds to Cintron throw to Millar for first out. Bautista full count, this one is hammered, a rocket to LF bullpen, 1-0 Jays. Rios at bat, was last night a one off ? grounds to Huff, throw to Millar for second out. Wells, with two down, lines hard at 3B Huff off his glove diving for the ball, Vernon safe at 1B. That was catchable. Lind with one on and two down. Pops it up to Layton in CF t end the inning but Jays are ahead. 19 pitches.

Top 2nd: Scott at bat, both pitchers working fast tonight. Strikes him out, number three for Jesse. Salazar at bat one down, singles up the middle, one on one down, Payton grounds to Bautista steps on 2B and throw to Overbay, very nice Jose, highlight reel, double play and Jesse is out of this one with no damage. 34 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen such a great game last night. Walks, one on for Overbay, full count, pops up to SS Cintron, one down. not a great at bat by Lyle. Thigpen, 3-0 count, fly ball out to LF Scott, two down and Rolen still stuck at 1B this is not good Cito, something else to work on in Dunedin, moving the runner over. Snider at bat, another 3-0 count, at least Jays are more patient tonight, they must be reading the blog… and walks Snider on four pitches. Scutaro now with two on and two down. Do you think Jays will ever attempt a double steal under Cito ? fly ball out to RF Markakis. 47 pitches though.

Top 3rd: Santos grounds to Bautista throw to Overbay for first out. Roberts at bat, one down. fly ball out to Snider LF for second out. Cintron with two down, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out. Quick inning for Jesse here. 43 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Jays have had their chances tonight already, they need to capitalize. Top of the order and the big bats. Bautista at bat, strikes out swinging. Rios at bat one down. Grounds hard to SS Cintron drops the ball but still time to throw Rios out at 1B two down for Wells. Why does Vernon always try to pull the ball? Grounds this one to Huff throw to Millar for third out. Rios and Wells what a pair. 56 pitches.

Top 4th: Markakis at bat, strikes out, for the second time tonight. Huff grounds first pitch to Bautista throw to Overbay for second out. That is a big out for Jesse. Millar at bat, hard grounder to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out and another quick and short inning for Jesse. 54 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Lind at bat, fly ball out to CF Payton, Adam is not having a good September. Rolen at bat, one down. Loops it into shallow LF but great running catch by Castro behind 3B.Two down for Overbay, fly ball out to CF Payton, three up and down. 70 pitches.

Top 5th: Scott at bat, grounds to Overbay, flip to Litsch for first out. Salazar, full count, walks him, Payton at bat, one on one down. Walks, two walks for Jesse here, back to back. Santos strikes out, number five for Litsch tonight, two down for Roberts. Full count, not good Jesse. Walks bases loaded three consecutive walks, ouch, ouch. Wolfe up in bullpen. Cintron at bat bases loaded two down. Here comes Cito. Singles into RF two runs score. 2-1 Baltimore. Runners at 1B and 3B for Markakis. Grounds to Bautista at 2B throw to Scutaro for out at 2B. But Jesse has opened the door here and that might be his last pitch tonight.86 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Thigpen at bat, hit him on the foot, Snider now can he make him pay? One on no outs. Singles up the middle and this kid continues to produce. Two on and no outs, for Scutaro gotta move them over Marco, bunting. Perfect both runners move up. Two in scoring position now for the big guys. Can they bring them in? Bautista at bat, pops it up but too shallow Castro makes the catch at shallow LF. Rios at bat, two down, just a base hit Alex, don’t be a hero. Grounds it to Castro SS and Alex cannot do it but did anyone expect him to? In the clutch he chokes almost every time. 87 pitches.

Top 6th: Litsch still out there for Huff at bat, strikes out. Millar at bat, one down. Full count and walks another. Scott at bat, 3-0 count in danger of another walk, there’s a strike, full count, lines it out to Wells in CF, two down for Salazar, pops it up to Rios in shallow RF. 107 pitches though for Litsch. Yankees hammering White Sox and Tampa beating the Twins.
Bottom 6th: Can Jays hitters rediscover last night’s magic? This might be Olson’s last inning. Wells leadoff, walks, he did that last night, is he discovering some patience at the end of the season ? Lind lines hard to Millar throw to 2B gets Wells and almost gets Lind at 1B but Millar drops ball. Adam escapes here. Rolen at bat, fly ball out to Markakis in RF two down. Overbay at bat, singles up the middle, two on two down. Too little too late. Orioles bullpen working. Thigpen at bat, here comes the Manager, that’s it for Olson 99 pitches. I think they are giving Thigpen a little too much respect here. Jim Miller pitching Zaun pinch hitting for Thigpen, and wild pitch first pitch moves both runners up, YES Gregg doubles into RF corner two runs score and now he is trying for three bases and is thrown out at 3B. Why would he do something stupid like that, he is hardly the swiftest runner, he was out by six feet at least, adrenalin fries his brain I guess. But Jays are ahead again 3-2 Jays. But Zaun could have been key at 2B with Snider at bat.

Top 7th: Wolfe now pitching Jesse in line for the win. Salazar leading off, fly ball out to Rios in RF. One down. Santos strikes out. Roberts full count, don’t lose him Brian, fly ball out to Snider in LF, three up and down for Wolfe, nice pitching.
Bottom 7th: Snider to leadoff, grounds to Roberts throw to Millar for first out. Scutaro at bat, doubles into LF corner, nice at bat Marco. Bautista now with runner in scoring position. But we have been here before. 1/4tonight with runners in scoring position. Grounds to Millar throw to Miller at 1B. Scutaro to 3B. Rios can he redeem himself ? Don’t place any bets. Rios 0-3 tonight. One night on next night off. Full count, and walks him. Wels now with two on and two down. Don’t expect Alex steal here, 2-2 now Alex stealing but Vernon fouls off. Full count, will Vernon swing ? yes he does but fouls it off. Pops it up to Payton in shallow CF. Both Alex and Vernon just cannot get it done tonight. 1/6 with runners in scoring position.

Top 8th: Carlson now pitching. McDonald in for Scutaro at SS Marco moves to 2B.Bautista sitting. Pinch hitter Jones for Cintron, fly ball out to Wells. One down. Markakis at bat, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, two down. Huff, grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay for third out. Very nice inning once again for Carlson.
Bottom 8th: Jays hitters need to get something going here and out this game out of reach. Big bats cannot do it but little guys might. Walker pitching. Lind at bat, gets hold one here but just foul into RF, almost Adam. full count, pops it up to Roberts but a better at bat for Lind this time. Rolen with one down, full count, grounds to 3B Huff throw to 1B Millar for the out. Two down for Overbay, fly ball out to Markakis. Jays hitters are going very quietly tonight.

Top 9th: Here we go again BJ Ryan with a one run lead. Millar at bat. Strikes him out. One down for Scott, 2-2 count, singles into LF Snider. One on one down for Salazar, 3-1 count and walks him on a very high pitch. Payton with tying run at 2B. Walks him on first pitch, catcher’s interference, hits Zaun’s glove on swing. Bases loaded for Mora pinch hitting. Oh man, pops it up to Overbay in foul ground, Scott holds at 3B. Two down bases loaded for Roberts. Grounds it to Johnny Mc. Quick throw to Overbay for the out, great throw, good play by Overbay to get a very speedy runner and Jays win this one 3-2.

Jesse Litsch gets win number twelve. Ryan save number thirty one.

Jays hitters show fighting spirit to win season high comebacker.

Toronto v Baltimore. Game two of series. Wednesday September 17, 2008.

Preview: Interesting situation, Jays about to announce that Cito will be Manager next season, not good. I am not a fan of Cito and do not believe that he has done any better than Gibbons was doing. Witness the last few games where this team hitting has been pathetic. If Cito takes credit for the 10 game win streak then he takes the fall for the current mess. He can’t have just the good.
Gibbons may be blamed for the hitting woes but I also give him credit for the best month of the season in May with the 20-10 record that Cito and staff have yet to match. I believe he has indeed restored some calm to the lineup but now this team is so calm and laid back they have no fire and no determination. When was the last time a Jays player was tossed from a game for showing emotion ? Where is the aggressive baseball that Tampa, Boston, Yankees show most of the time. Not Cito’s way…. Well what is Cito’s way? If the hitting last three games is the way then next season will be a bust.
This “first pitch swinging fever” now up and down the lineup is ruining the team and more to the point has resulted in zilch. One perfect example of what I am talking about was last night’s game with young Travis Snider. Playing against a lefty pitcher to get him accustomed to them he took an eight pitch count from Waters and doubled into CF. The only multibase hit of the night for the Jays. All around him and now including Lind which is real shame, the hitters are swinging at “their good pitch”, the first pitch and getting in a deep hole from pitch one.

Rios and Wells are the biggest culprits but now Overbay, Zaun, Rolen, and Scutaro are following their leaders. Opposing pitchers must love it, pitch them all away first pitch, strike one, a couple of more pitches and then down and away to Rios and Wells and bingo. Everybody on baseball knows that Rios and Wells cannot hold off that pitch. Sorry Cito until that is changed then you can keep your style of hitting coaching. As for Rios, he has to be one of the biggest busts of the season in the majors. A player with undoubted skills, with bat, speed and defence and yet still unwilling to run out a ground ball to 1B, run into the wall in RF, let alone shallow foul ground or change his awful hitting. A player yet to have a full season of good baseball and I am afraid that as long as he is not disciplined by his Manager and benched occasionally to bring him up short, he will continue in his own little world that has no link with the game at hand.

So tonight’s game. Can the Jays extend their losing streak to four ? Probably not they may score twenty runs or be shut out again and this is what drives the fans crazy, they never ever know which team is showing up to play from game to game. They do know that the pitchers for the most part will pitch their hearts out hoping that their brothers have brought their bats with them. If and a very big if, this Jays team thinks that they are playoff material then they need to finish the season on a 10-2 run or better. That will be the only signal to the fans that they are for real and not a mirage every night. More to the point for Mr. Rogers he will want to see some bodies in those seats and not the opposing “nations” of fans. Last night’s crowd or lack of was a almost as embarrassing as the way the team played but message to the top, the fans are not as stupid as you may think and they will not be back unless we can see some attractive and entertaining baseball. Cito are you listening. Someone wake him up in that dugout.

What are they saying? Waters: Anytime I'm out there I want to go all nine. Sometimes you don't have what you need to do it but tonight was special."

Marcum: "I threw a couple of changeups, my forearm tightened up and I got some numbness down in my pinkie finger, my hand was going numb. Hopefully I'm not shut down and can make my next two starts and try to end on a good note for next year."

The Manager: We'd like to stay there (third place), so it's important that we play hard the rest of the way no matter what happens. Like I said earlier in the week, we'd like to make a statement to everybody else that we will be around. If it doesn't happen this year, we'll see that it happens next year. So it's important for us to play hard the rest of the way." (or if it doesn’t happen next year Cito there is always 2010…..I hope the last few games is not what he means by playing hard.)
More Manager Cito: “You just hate to lose at this time of the year because you really feel like you've taken a step backward."

Pitching tonight: Purcey (3-6, 5.10) v Bass (3-4, 4.84 ERA)
Purcey makes his first start against Baltimore . After a great outing and pitching eight innings in a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay he was not good in last start in Boston in a 7-0 loss at Boston. He allowed four runs - three earned - and six hits with two walks in 6 2-3 innings. Purcey is 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA in six home starts. He should be in line for rotation in 2009 but is he good enough or does he need another season in AAA ? One of the spring training questions.
Bass makes his second career start. Acquired from Minnesota on Sept. 5, the right-hander was in the rotation Thursday against Cleveland and pitched well enough to earn another start, allowing three runs - one earned - and four hits over 4 1-3 innings 6-3 victory. Bass pitched two scoreless innings on May 13 in his only career appearance against Toronto.

The lineups: Baltimore: Roberts, Markakis, Mora, Huff, Hernandez, Jones, Salazar, Montanez, Castro and Bass pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Purcey pitching.

The result: Jays win great comeback game 8-7 after spotting Orioles a six run lead. Their biggest comeback of the season.

The good: Comeback win from 0-6. Hitters all down lineup everyone of starting lineup gets a hit, but Rolen 3-4 with triple and two doubles. Rios with double and HR, and Snider one again showing that he does belong in the majors, two key hits and two RBIs including sac fly for the winning run. Bullpen especially Tallet and Carlson who gets the win tonight and of course BJ Ryan closing the door for save number thirty.

The bad: Purcey in the fifth letting game get away from him. Jays bats for four innings and the previous nine last night.

The game: Top 1st: Roberts doubled to left. Here we go friends. Markakis singles to LF, Roberts moves to 3B. Two on not outs. Mora grounds to shortstop Scutaro on to 2B Inglett on to first baseman Overbay double play, but Roberts scores 1-0 Baltimore. Huff singles to CF. Hernandez grounds to 2B Inglett for the third out Huff at 2B.
Bottom 1st: Inglett strikes out. Scutaro grounds to SS Castro to first baseman Huff. Rios strikes out.

Top 2nd: Jones fly ball out to CF Wells. Salazar grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay.Montanez strikes out. 19 pitches
Bottom 2nd: Wells what has he brought tonight? Takes first pitch, well that’s a change. Full count, Vernon patient ? High fly ball out to LF one down for Lind, drives this one up the middle for first Jays hit. Overbay that’s it, grounds to 2B Roberts flip to SS Castro on to 1B Huff inning ending double play. Thanks Lyle. 17 ! pitches for Bass. Looking like last night again.

Top 3rd: Castro pops up to Rios one down. Roberts strikes out. Two down for Markakis full count. Walks him, Mora at bat with two down and one on, on a two strike pitch again, rolls one down to 3B, Both runners safe. Huff with two on now, pops it up to Rolen behind 3B but Purcey had loads of extra pitches there as he could not put the hitters away with two strikes. 40 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Jays have not scored in thirteen innings. There’s a problem here hitting coaches. And this is so embarrassing, fortunately not many fans again tonight to see it. Rolen now leadoff double to LF off the glove of Montanez. Zaun now with runner in scoring position for only the second time in two games… Zaun grounds to Castro, throw to Huff, Rolen stays there. Snider now grounds first pitch oh no not Travis to 2B Roberts but at least he moves Rolen to 3B first for a Jays hitter this week. Things are definitely looking up here. How does it feel Scott ? Inglett with two down and Rolen at 3B. fly ball out to LF Montanez, leaving the lead off double at 3B. Hmmm ah well at least Jays managed to get to 3B. 30 pitches.

Top 4th: Hernandez pops up to Inglett for first out. Jones at bat, doubles down the 3B line to Lind in LF. hit number five for Orioles. One on, one down for Salazar, full count. Fouling a lot of pitches here, how come Jays hitters can’t do this? Fly ball out to Wells and Jones tags and moves to 3B. Two down one at 3B. Montanez fly ball out to Lind for third out gets Purcey off the hook.56 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro lines out to LF Montanez, one down for Rios. Grounds to Mora at 3B and throw to Huff, two down. Wells, singles up the middle. Lind with two down one of the problems Jays have is that as they do not play small ball they have to rely on hits to move the players along, here is wild pitch that will help, two more and Jays will score, Wells moves to 2B. Lind lines out to Huff at 1B. The futility continues. Thirteen innings since the last Jays run and this is Baltimore they are playing, go figure. 39 pitches for Bass.

Top 5th: Castro singles to Lind in LF, One on, great shot of Burnett on the bench you can se what he is thinking, only two more weeks with this group, and who can blame him. Roberts at bat, 3-0 count, loops it to Wells in CF. Two on and no outs and you know Roberts will be stealing immediately. Purcey in big trouble here. Markakis this is it, ground rule double into LF corner, Lind nowhere near, slidng but not at the wall. Reed Johnston would have had that one. Jays really need a good fielding left fielder. Castro scores 2-0 Baltimore and Roberts in at 3B still no outs and two more in scoring position for Mora, two more runs as he singles into right centre, 4-0 Baltimore. Huff with no outs, this one is out of here, second row right field seats, 6-0 Baltimore. Camp up in bullpen. Hernandez singles to LF. Six straight hits. Jones strikes out, Bronx cheer to get first out. Salazar strikes out. Umpire gave him a break on second strike. Montanez number nine batter this inning. Strikes out the side but far too late. Purcey has a lot of work to yet to rival Halladay. Tampa beating up on Boston Wakefield is already out of the game. There is irony for you after what he did to the Jays last weekend.
Bottom 5th: Now this will be interesting, how do the Jays hitters respond? Overbay singles into LF. Rolen at bat, now triples off CF wall, Overbay scores, 6-1 Jays and they have their first run since Sunday, nothing to get too excited about yet friends. Zaun gets hit and two on for Snider, two on and no outs. Singles into RF, scores Rolen 6-2 Baltimore and two on and no outs for Inglett. Grounds to Huff throw to Roberts to get Snider for first out, Zaun moves to 3B one down two on. Scutaro singles into LF Zaun scores 6-3 Baltimore and that’s it for Bass. Scutaro at1B and Inglettt at 2B one down. Cormier pitching Rios at bat, big hit Alex now. Yes, finally, Alex comes through, doubles hard to left centre wall and both Inglett and Scutaro score 6-5 Baltimore now Vernon with Alex at 2B. Strikes out turning away from the pitch, come on Vernon hit the thing, two down for Lind grounds to Huff throw to Cormier for third out. Jays comeback with five after not scoring any in previous fourteen innings. Go figure this team.

Top 6th: Whole new ball game here. Tallet now pitching has to hold them here. Castro fly ball out to Lind in LF. Roberts grounds to Scutaro great throw deep in the hole to Overbay to get him at 1B. Two down. Markakis fly ball out to Wells, three up and down on seven pitches. Good inning by Tallet, or maybe Orioles are in shock after that last inning watching their 6-0 lead evaporate in twenty minutes.
Bottom 6th: Overbay grounds first pitch to Roberts throw to Huff for first out. Rolen grounds to 2B Roberts throw to Huff two quick outs. Zaun loops it into right center. One on for Snider. Johnny Mc. pinch running for Zaun. Full count to Snider I do like this kid so cool and so far does not swing at wild pitches (or first pitches). Grounds to SS Castro full length dive to knock ball down throw not in time to get Snider, great play by Castro but not enough, two one for Inglett. Singles into CF. McDonald scores 6-6 and throw by Jones gets away from catcher Hernandez and both runners move up into scoring position. Scutaro at bat, grounds to Castro throw to Huff to get third out.

Top 7th: Thigpen catching. Mora at bat, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for first down. Huff with one down. Full count. another ground ball out to Inglett throw to Overbay for second out. Here comes Cito, that’s it for Tallet. League now I never understand that with Cito when Tallet is going so smoothly, one more pitch and he is out of the inning and in comes another pitcher to get settled in and for one out. Hernandez at bat, full count, strikes him out for third out. Boston and Yankees both losing. Jays missed a chance last night to pull one back on those two so don’t let this one get away.
Bottom 7th: The big bats for Jays, we need to see them hitting here friends and put this game away. Rios at bat, Rocky Cherry now pitching. Not a good ball strike ratio, take a few Alex. YES Alex, gets hold of this one, HR to left centre. Second deck. 7-6 Jays. Vernon now high fly ball out to Jones in CF, one down for Lind. That’s it for Cherry. Jamie Walker now pitching, fly ball out to Jones for second out. Overbay at bat, two down, grounds to Huff throw to Walker for third out.

Top 8th: Wilkerson in LF for Lind. League still pitching. Jones grounds to Scutaro bare hand throw to Overbay to get first out. Salazar, this is trouble, doubles to the CF wall. One on one down for Scott pinch hitting for Montanez. Carlson up in Jays bullpen. Singles up the middle and Salazar scores. 7-7 game. Cintron another pinch hitter, this time for Castro and strikes out. Two down for Roberts, 0-2 count, singles into LF, two on two down, here comes Cito, that is it for League. Jesse Carlson to pitch to Markakis. Full count after 0-2. Grounds to Overbay, throw to Carlson for the third out.
Bottom 8th: Jays need to get that lead back. Yankees now winning Boston still losing. Kam Mickolio now pitching to Rolen, Doubles into LF corner. Third hit tonight for Scott. Thigpen now at bat, shows bunt. Gets it down to move Rolen to 3B. One down for Snider. 2-3 tonight. This will do it, Travis fly ball to LF Scott, Rolen scores 8-7 Jays. Good execution by the Jays with runner in scoring position bunt and sac fly. That is a change from earlier in the season but then neither Thigpen nor Snider were laying wit this team. Two down for Inglett. Singles up the middle, Scutaro fly ball out to Markakis in right centre.

Top 9th: Here we go, BJ Ryan pitching with one run lead. Hang on friends. Mora grounds to Scutaro long throw gets to Overbay in time for the out. Huff at bat fly ball out to Wells in shallow CF. Two down for Hernandez strikes hi out, Save number thirty for Ryan.

Jays win their biggest comeback of the season and none too soon. The spark must have been that six run fifth inning by Baltimore finally giving the Jays offence a kick start. Whatever the reason that is fine with Jays fans and may it continue.
Yankees win so Jays stay still but will gain important one on Boston if they continue to lose.

How do you spell awful? Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto v Baltimore. Series opener. Tuesday September 16, 2008.

Preview: Jays on life support now for the rest of the two weeks of season. They are still in it mathematically but realistically their biggest opportunity will come in weekend series against Boston and final chance to sweep them (as they did last season in last series and who can forget that grand slam off Papelbon……? ) how sweet it was….
Jays are not even getting help from Tampa now, last night Boston hammered the Rays and in Tampa for their first win this season in seven tries. They should be fired up tonight and relaxed at least for Baltimore. Jays now 80-60 and have a chance to get over 90 wins for the season, we can but dream but with a nine game homestand and home cooking. Who knows and with the 208 Jays anything can and probably will happen. Fans would not be surprised to see them go 0-9 or 9-0 and that has been the big difference this season. Undoubtedly a good team on paper and occasionally in practice, they just cannot get it together consistently.
Baltimore (66-82), has lost 17 of its last 21 games but always dangerous and definitely playing for something the last two weeks. Baltimore has four players with more than twenty home runs. Jays highest is Wells with seventeen. Roberts at leadoff has 37 stolen bases. Baltimore beat the Twins on Sunday. Jays lost three of their first four with Baltimore this season, but have won seven of eight since.

What they are saying: Halladay: "It was a big series for us. There's obviously still two weeks left to go, but it's tough to come in knowing you've got to win three or four and getting one."
Overbay: "We need a lot of help from other teams, And for us), it's just a matter of getting on a roll."

Pitching tonight: Marcum 9-6, 3.38 ERA) v Waters (2-3, 5.73). Marcum has a 1.26 ERA over his last two starts, and allowed two runs in 7 1-3 innings of Thursday's 6-4 victory over White Sox. Marcum limited Baltimore to run over seven innings on June 6 at Rogers Centre, though he didn't get a decision after Baltimore rallied for a 6-5 victory. Opponents are hitting .199 off Marcum at home in 2008.
Waters, a 28-year-old rookie left-hander, hasn't pitched well recently. He's 0-2 with a 7.63 ERA in his last three starts, and gave up five runs in 5 2-3 innings on Wednesday in a 7-1 loss to Cleveland. Baltimore starters are 2-10 with an 8.02 ERA over their last 15 games. BUT you know record of Jays against rookies… he will probably give them tough night.

Lineups: Baltimore: Roberts, Markakis, Mora, Huff, Hernandez, Scott, Jones, Salazar, Castro, and Waters pitching.
Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Overbay, Rolen, Lind, Zaun, Snider and Marcum pitching. Bautista playing 2B for fourth time in his career and first since 2006. Sorry Cito I don’t get it.

Result: Jays lose 2-0 to Baltimore at home and to a team sixteen under .500. This was one of those rock bottom performances from an underachieving team that the fans have long been accustomed to this season. No fire, no fight and no effort.
The good: Snider with his double in the eighth inning. The only Jay tonight to have a good at bat. Three double play balls to save the hapless Jays from further damage, Baltimore go 0-8 with runners in scoring position (fortunately for the Jays). The good, all those empty seats showed that many Jays fans are smarter than some give them credit for. 25,746 I don’t think so. Closer to a Tampa attendance. A game to miss. Boston fans will get access to lots of cheap tickets this weekend.
The bad: The awful first pitch swingers, bush league, sorry Cito. Interesting statistic. Waters threw 106 pitches for nine innings, Jays pitchers threw 159… That is what first pitch swinging does friends, for a start it made the difference for Waters staying in the game. Eight walks by Jays pitchers tonight.

The game: Top 1st: Roberts grounds to 1B Overbay throw to pitcher Marcum for first out.. Markakis doubles to RF. Mora grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Huff walks. Hernandez grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay.
Bottom 1st: Scutaro grounds to 2B.Roberts throw to 1B Huff. Bautista fly ball out to RF Markakis. Rios fly ball out to RF Markakis for third out.

Top 2nd: Scott grounds out to Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Jones grounds to SS Scutaro throw to Overbay.Two down for Salazar, strikes out.
Bottom 2nd: Wells at bat (first pitch ? yes) grounds to SS Castro throw to 1B Huff. Overbay fly ball out to CF Jones. Rolen with two down singles to CF. Lind lines out to RF Markakis. 21 pitches for Waters.

Top 3rd: Castro full count and walks. Roberts doubles to LF Castro scores. 1-0 Baltimore. Markakis full count and walks. That’s it for Marcum, he is injured, looks like his hand and out of there. Parrish now pitching. Two on no outs for Mora strikes out. Mora doesn’t like the call and is arguing, and is now thrown out of game. Huff at bat 3-0 count, come on Parrish. Walks bases loaded. Hernandez grounds to Scutaro steps on 2B and throws to Overbay for third out. Double play ball. Jays needed that, not a good inning for them.
Bottom 3rd: Zaun at bat, pops it up to Castro at 3B, one down for Snider. Full count and strikes out looking, two down. Scutaro grounds to 2B Roberts for third out. Someone needs to wake up Jays hitters they are flat bigtime tonight.

Top 4th: Scott at bat, this one is gone, high fly ball out to CF, HR to Scott. 2-0 Baltimore. Jones grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay one down. Salazar at bat, Parrish does not have that great control he had earlier in the season.50/50 balls and strikes. Full count, Salazar singles up the middle. One on one down for Castro. Singles to LF. Two on one down for Roberts. Grounds to Rolen steps on the bag and throw to Overbay, double play ball, for second inning in a row saves the Jays and Parrish.
Bottom 4th: Bautista high fly ball out to CF. Rios at bat, his average is dropping so you know he will be playing for average the last two weeks not that it matters with his contract.. Fly ball out to Markakis. Two down for Wells. Singles to Huff at 3B who cannot get it Castro throw too late. One on for Overbay. Fly ball out to Scott in LF. Cy Young pitching again tonight. Plus ca change, with this group despite the new coaching staff. By the way the best month of the season remains May when Jays went 20-10 under John Gibbons. Interesting.

Top 5th: Markakis at bat, Parrish walks another. He is awful tonight. Not the Parrish we saw in March and April. Millar with one on and no outs. Markakis stealing but Zaun’s throw in time and throw back to Overbay as Markakis retreats. Millar grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for first out. Markakis safe at 2B. Huff lines first pitch hard to Rios, nice catch for second out. Hernandez at bat, 3-0 count. Takes all the way for strike one. Grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for third out.
Bottom 5th: Jays hitters mailing this one in tonight so far against the rookie pitcher. I can see why there is a very small crowd tonight. Rolen at bat, Fly ball out to CF Jones. One down. Lind at bat, first pitch swinging (another rookie ruined >?) lines right at Millar at 1B. Zaun smarter than the rest, singles into CF. One on but two down. Snider at bat. grounds to SS Castro, throw to Millar at 1B for the third out. 50 pitches in five innings? Jays want out on the town tonight.

Top 6th: Wolfe now pitching. Scott singles into LF hit number six for Baltimore. One on for Jones, grounds to Rolen on to Bautista on to Overbay double play ball, the third one tonight to save Jays pitchers. Salazar at bat, strikes out. Jays still need to score some runs to win a game.
Bottom 6th: Scutaro first pitch fly ball out to Markakis. Bautista well at least it took five pitches but fly ball out to Markakis. Two down. Rios 0-2 tonight. Grounds to Huff throw to Millar for third out.

Top 7th: Castro at bat, grounds to Rolen, throw to Overbay for first out. First time since second inning that Jays pitcher gets leadoff hitter. Roberts at bat, strikes out. Tallet now up in Jays bullpen. Two down for Markakis, on base three times already tonight. 3-1 count, and walks, third walk tonight for Markakis and perfect night at bat. Millar at bat one on two down. Pops up to Snider for third out.
Bottom 7th: Baltimore embarrassing Jays tonight. Which team is 16 below .500 ? Wells what will he do? This is interesting takes first three pitches 3-0 count and walks, when did Vernon walk last on four pitches? That’s more like it Lyle, pops up (first pitch) to 3B after four straight balls. One down for Rolen, strikes out two down. Lind at bat, strikes out on three pitches. Waters for MVP.

Top 8th: Jays running out of time now and do not look like winning this one, they have not had a runner at 2B all game and Waters can probably pitch a complete game as his pitch count is so low thanks to the first pitch swing club. Tallet now pitching. Huff at bat, grounds to Overbay throw to Tallet only just in time to get Huff. One down for Hernandez, strikes out, two down for Scott. Grounds out to Overbay. Three up and down.
Bottom 8th: Lots of talk about letdown after Boston series and tough losses but Jays have to be motivated to play out the two weeks, this falls into the Manager’s lap, and Cito is not doing his career any good tonight. Jays are awful yet again. Zaun (first pitch swing ! ) fly ball out to RF Markakis. Snider at bat, 3-0 count. full count but five pitches at bat at least, eight pitches and doubles into CF, the rookie shows the Jays hitter how to do it and he is playing against a lefty… I hope Cito and Jays hitting coaches don’t get to him and make any changes. One on one down, Scutaro at bat, grounds (first pitch) to SS throw to Millar for second out. Bautista now grounds to 3B Huff throw to Millar for third out. Two of those outs were on first pitch swings, don’t tell me that is good hitting Cito. The guy who gets on took eight pitches.

Top 9th: This game will be over in less than 2.5 hours and that is with six hits from the Orioles. Frasor now pitching, I revise my time for the game. Jones at bat, grounds back to Frasor throw to Overbay for the first out. Nice defensive play by Frasor. Salazar at bat, full count, and walks him. One on one down. Fahey pinch running. Castro grounds to Bautista at 2B throw to Overbay for second out but Fahey moves to 2B. Roberts at bat, I was right about revised time, Frasor has slowed this game to a crawl. Here comes Arnsberg, wild pitch but no damage, the last time Zaun had one of those in Boston, the guy scored from 2B. 3-1 count. That was a strike but called ball four. That’s it for Frasor. Two on two down for Markakis. Carlson pitching. Pitcher number six Jays tonight. Baltimore still with Waters going into the ninth. Strikes him out.
Bottom 9th: The big bats, but don’t bet the house on them friends. Rios at bat 0-3 tonight, Waters still in there and why not pops it out to Markakis. One down for Wells, pathetic grounds to SS Castro throw to Millar, Overbay, does not swing, 3-0 count and walks on four pitches. Relax Waters this is the Jays. Rolen here we go, first pitch swinging fly ball out to Markakis.

The rookie gets complete game shut out after a month in the majors. Sorry Cito that is disgusting.

Fumbling and bumbling and lack of hitting lose this one for Jays

Toronto v Boston Series finale. Sunday September 14, 2008.

Preview: It is fitting that it is Halladay pitching the finale. One of the most important games of the season. Jays win and are 6.5 games back they lose and are 8.5 back with twelve to play. Lots of interesting numbers. Halladay looking for better game than his last game. Pitching today on three days rest.

Lineups: Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Mench, Overbay, Rolen, Zaun, McDonald and Halladay pitching. This lineup will not scare many teams. All the lefties are sitting apart from Overbay. No Inglett, no Lind and No Snider. Second team in action and against a very good pitcher in Lester at home.

Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Lowell, Bay, Varitek, Cora, Crisp, and Lester pitching.

Pitching: Lester (14-5, 3.23 ERA) v Halladay (18-10, 2.77).

The result: Boston wins 4-3. Closer than it actually was as Jays rally at the very end but too late.

The good: Halladay seven innings on three days rest.Bautista HR.

The bad: The hitters once again let the pitching down. Error by Overbay in the seventh and another by Rios in the eighth to ruin this one for Halladay. Manager Gaston debatable decisions. Could have, might have and should have today.

The game: Top 1st: Scutaro fly ball out to RF Ellsbury. One down for Bautista, DH today. full count. Oh YES Jose…. Gets hold of this one over the wall in LF centre. This one is out of here, HR 1-0 Jays. Very nice Jose. Rios at bat, grounds to SS Cora, fumbles the ball but has plenty of time to throw to Youkilis for the out, with Alex ambling down to 1B, his heart is in the game today. Joe Maddon benches players for not running out ground balls. Rios has had one hit in three games of this series in Boston. Wells with two down. Hit on the foot. Mench at bat, two down one on. Strikes out. 19 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Halladay. Ellsbury at bat, singles to CF. Pedroia at bat, Ellsbury stealing on first pitch and easily safe at 2B on the throw by Zaun wide of the base. Boston plays much more aggressively than Jays. Pedroia bunts back to Halladay throw to Overbay for the out. Ellsbury moves to 3B. Ortiz at bat, shift right is on grounds to Scutaro, throw to Overbay, Ellsbury scores 1-1. Great execution by Red Sox. Something else they are far better than the Jays are. I think it will be very interesting Spring training to see of Cito does any of the basics. Two down for Youkilis. Singles into RF. Lowell at bat, grounds to Rolen, throw to Overbay for third out. 16 pitches.

Top 2nd: Overbay at bat, strikes out, one down for Rolen, full count and walks. Zaun grounds to out, 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis, Rolen movers to 2B on the play. Two down for McDonald with Rolen in scoring position. Strikes out. 37 pitches. This bottom of the order is very, very different from the first team, much weaker.
Bottom 2nd: Bay at bat, doubles to left centre wall Vernon cannot get up to it. Varitek with runner in scoring position. Grounds to Scutaro, throw to Overbay for the out. Bay moves to 3B. One down. Cora at bat, strikes out, two down. Crisp singles into RF, Bay scores 2-1 Boston. Ellsbury at bat, dribbler in front of plate and throw to Overbay gets Ellsbury for third out. 40 pitches though for Roy.

Top 3rd: Jays hitters need a big inning here to take some pressure of Halladay. Top of the order Scutaro high fly ball to CF Crisp runs it down. Bautista with one down. grounds it up the middle to Pedroia throw to first baseman Youkilis. . Rios now what does he have? in a big slump at Fenway this weekend, that’s better Alex doubles to the right centre wall. Vernon now, can he bring him in? Pops it up to Cora for third out. 52 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Pedroia fly ball out to RF Rios.Ortiz strikes out. Youkilis grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay.

Top 4th: Mench grounds to 3B Lowell throw to 1B Youkilis for first out. Overbay singles to CF. Rolen fly ball out to RF Ellsbury. Two down for Zaun. Zaun grounds to 3B Lowell throw to 1B Youkilis. Three up and down by Jays hitters.
Bottom 4th: Lowell strikes out. Bay strikes out. Varitek fly ball out to LF Mench. Quick three up and down for Halladay, nice inning Roy.

Top 5th: McDonald fly ball out to RF Ellsbury. One down for Scutaro lined out to 3B Lowell. Nice catch by Lowell. Bautista strikes out. Jays go quietly.
Bottom 5th: Cora grounds back to Halladay throw to 1B Overbay. Crisp pops up to SS McDonald. Ellsbury strikes out.

Top 6th: Rios grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. One down for Wells grounds to 3B Lowell throw to 1B Youkilis. Two down for Mench strikes out. He has been a bust today. I think it would have been better to see Snider in there, and give him the experience certainly he could not do worse than Mench today. Although if Kevin hits a grand slam in the ninth I will be the first to cheer.
Bottom 6th: Pedroia grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay. Ortiz fly ball out to CF Wells. Youkilis grounds to SS McDonald throw to 1B Overbay.

Top 7th: Overbay strikes out. Rolen singles to 3B safe at 1B. Zaun walks, Rolen to 2B. Jays have something going here. No pinch hitter here Cito for McDonald ? Two on and one out ??? NO NO NO Johnny Mc. Grounds to SS Cora throw to 2B Pedroia on to 1B Youkilis. Double play ball. That one hurts bigtime. Cito wishing he had pinch hit? or maybe not. But hard to justify not pinch hitting for McDonald in that situation.
Bottom 7th: Lowell singles to LF Mench. Bay pops up to 2B Scutaro. Varitek grounds to Overbay, Lyle fumbles this one and Varitek safe at 1B, and Lowell moves to 2B. error on Overbay nut that should have been double play ball Lyle. Halladay gets no help here. One down two on, instead of end of inning. Cora at bat grounds to Rolen throw to 2B Scutaro to get Varitek, Lowell moves to 3B. Two down for Crisp, singles to LF, Lowell scores, Cora to 2B. 3-1 Boston. Two down two on for Ellsbury fly ball out to CF Wells.

Top 8th: Jay running out of at bats. Top of the order. Scutaro fly ball out to CF Crisp. One down for Bautista fly ball out to LF Bay. Rios pops up to 2B Pedroia. Three up and down.
Bottom 8th: BJ Ryan pitching, needs the work with off-day tomorrow. Pedroia at bat grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Ortiz at bat, hits this hard to Rios in RF, tries to make an impossible catch and ball gets by him, Ortiz a triple. Alex gambled and lost bigtime. Youkilis now with one down here it goes sacrifice fly to CF Wells, Ortiz scores. That was not smart Alex, but then not atypical, the guy does not seem to have a baseball mind. He has not had much of anything this season apart from $65 million contract. Maybe he is smarter than we think. It really doesn’t matter to him. Red Sox now up 4-1. Lowell fly ball out to LF Mench.

Top 9th: Papelbon pitching. Jays now have a three run deficit thanks to Alex’s misjudgement. But then again we have the big guys at bat. Wells at bat, here we go, doubles to LF. Lind now pinch-hitting for Mench. ADamn should probably have been hitting all game regardless of the lefty lefty matchup. Here we go again Lind singles to left, Wells scores. 4-2 Boston could have been 3-2 without the giveaway run by Rios in the eighth. Overbay at bat singles off the wall in left, Lind moves to 3B Overbay thrown .out on Bay’s throw to Pedroia at 2B. Lyle is furious and TV replay shows he is right, he was safe. That is a huge call by umpire, instead of two ins croing position and no outs it is one on and one out. Rolen grounds to Lowell at 3B throw to 1B Youkilis, Lind scores and this is a 4-3 game but now with two down. The Rios messup in previous inning and bad umpire call completely change this game. This game should be tied at minimum. Zaun at bat grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. Jays lose a very important game and one that they could have and should have won.

Several what if’s. Cito’s decision not to pinch hit for McDonald. Not to use some of his bench throughout the game, his lineup against Lester. Overbay’s error, and finally Alex.
Rios the goat today and definitely a forgettable series for him with two hits all weekend in four games in addition to his poor fielding. You know he will be hitting for the last two weeks when it will not matter anymore. (apart from his personal stats that is.)
The problem with Alex is that he has to be the most frustrating of all the Jays players to watch with such great all-start abilities and underperforming through most of the season, as he did last season.