Friday April 18,2008
Jays v Detroit. David Purcey major debut.
Jays lose badly 8-4. No bats again, lousy relief pitching, even Johnny Mac error. This is another night to forget. Thomas ??? .166 average.
Purcey is pitching to replace Burnett who pitched 14th inning on Wednesday. Wolfe was placed on disabled list to make room for Purcey. Barajas replaced Overbay tonight, and Johnny Mac was in for Eckstein. Stewart in LF. Thomas remained behind Wells.
Lineups: Detroit. Rodriguez, Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez, Cabrera, Guillen, Renteria, Thames, Inge and Kenny Rogers pitching.
Toronto: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Wells, Barajas, Scutaro, Zaun, Johnny Mac. And David Purcey first start at major league level. He has been tearing up AAA Syracuse.
Top 1st: Rodriguez double, Polanco walks, Sheffield strikes out, Purcey’s first major league strike out. Ordonez walks, bases loaded. Purcey is one bundle of adrenalin. Cabrera fly ball CF scores Rodriguez. 1-0. Guillen at bat, wild pitch moves both runners into scoring position, Guillen grounds out to 1B. Could have been much worse for Purcey who has thrown a lot of pitches here.
Bottom 1st: Stewart walks on four pitches, Hill pops up to Polanco at 2B, Rios flies out to RF, and Wells flies to right centre. This has been the pattern for last few games. Big bats nowhere to be seen.
Top 2nd: Renteria walks on four pitches, Thames walks, Inge bunts both runners over. Rodriguez strikes out, Polanco walks, bases loaded again for Sheffield. Fourth walk for Purcey in two innings. Sheffield strikes out for second time. Another escape for Purcey, he is really playing with fire and huge pitch count over 50 pitches for first two innings.
Bottom 2nd: Thomas, this time first pitch swing, flies to CF, Barajas playing at 1B tonight, HR to CF. his first home run of 2008 and as a Jay. Scutaro lines out to SS, Zaun grounds to SS. 1-1.
Top 3rd: Ordonez fly ball to Stewart in LF, Cabrera double to CF, Guillen chopper to Scutaro at 3B, gets runner at 1B. Cabrera to 3B. Renteria grounds to SS.
Bottom 3rd: Jonny Mac pops up, Stewart grounds to 3B, Hill fly ball to LF. (first pitch swinging) Who is th Jays hitting coach this season ? At this rate he will be looking for another job. This is awful.
Top 4th: Thames lines to Stewart, Inge grounds to SS, Rodriguez grunds to SS. This is first three up and down inning for Purcey.
Bottom 4th: Rios walks, Wells grounds to SS, double play. Thomas ??? lines hard to 3B. Either Kenny Rogers is the CY Young of the East or the bats are worse than we think.
Top 5th: Polanco walks, four pitches. Sheffield pops up to Hill at 2B, wild pitch moves Polanco to 2B, Ordonez walks, That’s it for Purcey. Captain Hook is out and brings in Frasor. Cabrera grounds into double play. Purcey’s line. 4.1 innings, 1 run, 7 walks, three strike outs.
Bottom 5th: Barajas hit on foot, Scutaro flies to RF. Zaun walks, Johnny Mac lines back to Rogers. Runners at 1/2B. Two down. Stewart triples to the wall in LF, two runs score, Barajas and Zaun (interesting trivia two Jays catchers scoring on same play) 3-1 Toronto. Hill singles to LF, Stewart scores 4-1. Rios ? flies out.
Top 6th: Jays have a lead to work with for a change. Let’s hold it Frasor. Guillen doubles to CF, Renteria griunds out to 2B, one down. Guillen to 3B.Thames singles to LF, Guillen scores, 4-2. Inge at bat, wild pitch. Thames moves to 2B, two in scoring position. This is the guy I would have rather seen go to AAA. Frasor is so inconsistent. Inge strikes out. Prove me wrong Jason please. Rodriguez doubles to LF. Thames scores 4-3. Polanco at bat. Captain Hook takes Frasor out and brings in Accardo. Ground ball to 2B. Threat over but Tigers get one back.
Bottom 6th: The big bats...relax fans. Wells flies out to RF, Thomas of the .172 average exactly the same play to RF, two down. Barajas grounds back to Rogers. Hmmm. Are there any adjectives left to describe this lot ?
Top 7th: Accardo still pitching. Sheffield doubles to LF, Ordonez similar play to LF, scores Sheffield 4-4. Jays had a three run lead in this game once upon a time. Cabrera flies out to shallow RF, Ordonez stays put at 2B, Guillen grounds single right through Johnny Mac’s glove and legs, error on SuperMac. Ordonez scores 5-4. Captain Hook gets Accardo. Downs now pitching. Renteria HR to RF, two runs score. Ordnez and Renteria. This game is way out of hand 7-4. Still only one out. Thames fly ball to Stewart in LF, Inge strikes out. Tigers are taking pity on a totally demoralized side.
Bottom 7th: Scutaro strikes out.. Zaun pops to SS, Johnny Mac walks, that’s it for Rogers. Leyladn for some reason is worried Jays bats might start a rally. Lopez pitching. Stewart grounds to 3B, Sutaro is out at 2B.
Top 8th: Downs still in there. Rodriguez grounds to 2B, Polanco grounds to SS, Sheffield strikes out fore third time this game. Good inning for Downs.
Bottom 8th: Denny Bautista now pitching. Big bats coming up.. chance for comeback inning. Hill, flies to CF, Rios (first pitch swing, why not, nothing else is working for this lot tonight) flies to RF, Wells walks on four pitches, no Vernon, they are pitching around you to get to the feared DH. Now at .169… Thomas strikes out although at least on ten pitch count. Bottom line… three outs. As long as Gibbons puts Frank behind Vernon, hey are going to pitch around Wells to get to him. He has to move down the order and get some protection in for Vernon. Stairs would be ideal but anyone but Frank until he gets his whatever is missing back.
Top 9th: Tallet pitching. Fifth pitcher of the night, (the starters have all gone to ground quick). Ordonez grounds out, Cabrera doubles to LF, Guillen at bat, Cabrera steals 3B, why ??? Obviously Leyland has not seen Jays hitters and needs another run. Guillen fouls off two pitches on same leg, ouch bigtime. Lines catch to Johnny Mac. Renteria singles to LF, scores Cabrera 8-4. Thames flies to RF.
Bottom 9th: Todd Jones in. Barajas fly ball to CF, one down. Overbay pinch hitting for Scutaro ? walks, Zaun walks, Inglett pinch hitting for Johnny Mac, fly ball to shallow CF, Stewart grounds to 3B. Game over thankfully for those remaining.
Jays are in batting morass. Detroit gave them a lesson on how to bring in runners on base. The big bats are not producing and Gibbons has to make changes starting with the DH. Either move him down the order or sit him. Detroit is too good a team to wait around for the current bats to come to life. This Jays team should be consistently scoring 6-8 runs a game.
Another problem now is the stress on the bullpen if the bats are not scoring. Halladay is realistically the only one who can pitch complete games, the others will be straining to offset and I believe this will affect their effectiveness. Instead of pitching within themselves believing that runs will come from this "hitting lineup " , they will be trying to limit runs scored and this will backfire. On top of wednesday's 14 inning fiasco the pitchers are constantly overworked by a Manager who believes in playing the percentages even if it means bringing in a pitcher to face one bat. A pitcher does not come into a game and throw one pitch, they are warming up before. The frequency they are called upon means additional stress on arms and risk of injury. Add this stress together and I believe there is a real chance of meltdown in the bullpen. Accardo's confidence is zero right now. Tallet is starting to strain and lose his early season effectiveness.
Other games tonight. Boston over Texas 11-3. And Yankees lose to Baltimore 8-2. There is too much parity this year in the East for Jays to let a batting slump go too far but this season is looking very similar to 2007.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Disappearing offence.
Thursday April 17, 2008 Jays v Texas at the Rogers Centre.
Good to see the roof open tonight and not too cool to sit out.
Jays lose another 4-1 even with Halladay pitching complete game. We need patience with this team.
The good: Halladay complete game and great double play in 9th started by Halladay. Halladay saved bullpen tonight also from more work although Frasor was up and working in 9th. Hill one of the few bats to be consistent tonight. The good also, we didn't see Captain Hook Gibbons out there tonight, that must be hard for him.
The bad: Bats again for second night against Texas.
Thomas again now with average down to .179 ouch… I think they have to start moving him down the order. Opposition is pitching around Wells now to get to Frank.
Jays play into two double plays early in game.
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Hill, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Stairs, Overbay, Zaun, Inglett with Halladay pitching.
Texas: Kinsler, Catalanotto, Bradley, Botts, Murphy, Laird, Vazquez, Duran making his major league debut, and Padilla pitching.
Top 1st: Kinsler single to LF, Catalanotto grounds to 2B, double play, Hamilton grounds to SS. 9 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Eckstein grounds to 2B, Hill continues his streak and singles to LF, Rios grounds to 3B, Hill out but Alex is safe at 1B, Wells walks on four pitches, are they starting to pitch around Vernon to get to Thomas? Frank checks swing grounder to 1B awful.
Top 2nd: Bradley single to RF, Halladay not as sharp as usual. Botts bounces one to SS, out at 1B, Murphy doubles to LF, Bradley scores. Texas 1-0. Laird grounds to 3B, two down. Vazquez grounds to 1B. No further damage to Roy. 23 pitches for first two innings, count will be important in later game for the bullpen.
Bottom 2nd: Stairs grounds to 2B, Overbay walks, although Lyle only has two doubles to date, he has a great on base percentage. Something different out there tonight, Padilla has a curve ball that he is throwing at 59 mph !! Zaun grounds to 2B, double play.
Top 3rd: Duran debut, a little different from AAA Oklahoma tonight, poor guy facing Halladay in first game. Strikes out on three pitches. Welcome to the majors. Kinlser singles to LF, Catalanotto at bat, Kinsler steals 2B, Catalanotto singles to CF, Kinsler scores, 2-0 Texas. Hamilton grounds to 1B, double play gets Roy out of more trouble. 35 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett grounds to 2B, Eckstein singles to LF, Hill fly ball to RF, Rios singles to CF, two on two out, Wells fly ball to RF. Padilla up to 51 pitches. And 50/50 balls and strikes. Halladay is 30/70.
Top 4th: Bradley lines to SS caught by Eckstein, Butts strikes out, Murphy pops up to 3B. Quick inning for Halladay. 48 pitch total. He is keeping Jays in the game but is getting no run support.
Bottom 4th: Thomas pops up to 2B, Jays have yet to get lead runner in any inning tonight, Stairs a long single off RF wall, Overbay grounds to 2B, double play. Second of the game against Toronto.
Top 5th: Laird grounds to 3B, Vazquez strikes out for second time tonight, Duran strikes out also for second time tonight. Some good news on the outfield scoreboard … Manny Ramirez hits second home run against Yankees tonight. Roy 58 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Padilla 61 pitches. Zaun pop up to RF, Inglett walks, Eckstein flies to CF, Hill grounds to SS. Jays are getting baserunners but not bringing them in. Where have we heard that story befiore ?
Padilla is still throwing that 59 mph curve but next pitch is 93 mph fast ball, must look like 200 to the batters. 76 pitches by Padilla. 18 more than Halladay. Texas bullpen is also hurting from last night but so far it looks as if they will be brought into use before Toronto’s bullpen. We clutch at any straw....
Top 6th: Kinsler pops to 1B, Catalanotto grounds to 2B, Hamilton grounds to 1B, Halladay is doing everything he can. Another 9 pitch inning.
Bottom 6th: Where is the offence ? Here come the big bats again. Rios strikes out, Wells singles to LF, Vernon is doing his part. Thomas now with average at .185 and dropping at each bat. Strikes out. Stairs grounds to 2B. Padilla now at 91 pitches. Maybe one more inning.
Top 7th: Bradley dribbler to 1B. Botts grounds to 2B, Murphy double to LF, Laird broken bat single scores Murphy, 3-0 Texas. Vazquez walks, two on again. Duran strikes out for third time. Roy now at 93 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Padilla on 92 pitches. Overbay grounds to SS, Zaun doubles off CF wall, Inglett grounds to 1B Zaun to 3B. Eckstein grounds to SS, safe at 1B. Zaun scores 3-1 Texas. Finally a run. Hill flies to LF.
Top 8th: Kinsler another single to CF, his third hit of the game, Catalanotto bunts in front of Halladay, great throw by Roy to 2B, gets him and throw to 1B gets Catalanotto, great double play. Hamilton singles to RF, Halladay helped himself with that double play, Bradley grounds to 2B. Roy now at 101 pitches but you know he is coming out for the 9th.
Bottom 8th: Padilla is already out of game. Jamey Wright pitching. Rios singles into right centre. This is the first Toronto lead off runner in the game. Wells grounds to 3B. Thomas strikes out, his average now .179. Stairs wild pitch and Alex moves to 3B, this is the first piece of good luck Jays have had tonight, Stairs grounds to 1B.
Top 9th: Yes Halladay is out there. Botts strikes out, Murphy again double to outfield drops between Rios and Wells, from where I am sitting I think that is a catchable ball by Rios, he appeared to slow down when he saw Wells closing. Alex very rarely goes full out for any ball. Laird singles to CF, Murphy scores, 4-1 Texas. Laird out at 2B, Vazquez grounds to SS.
Bottom 9th: Wilson the Texas closer in for 9th. He also pitched last night. Stewart pinch hitting for Overbay, strikes out. Zaun walks, his on base percentage has improved this game, Scutaro pinch hitting for Inglett pops ball to 2B, Eckstein grounds to 1B. This game is over.
Halladay pitches complete game for the loss. But just as important he saved the bullpen tonight from more work.
Tomorrow David Purcey, recall from AAA, will replace Burnett after last night. Burnett will now pitch Sunday.
Another disappointing game with lack of offence. There is no consistency at all yet from this team. One day 11 runs the next 1. Perhaps with Rolen back in lineup things may settle. Meantime Jays are at .500 with eight wins and eight losses.
This next 4 game series will be big, Detroit is no pushover even with Cleveand beating them tonight.
Good to see the roof open tonight and not too cool to sit out.
Jays lose another 4-1 even with Halladay pitching complete game. We need patience with this team.
The good: Halladay complete game and great double play in 9th started by Halladay. Halladay saved bullpen tonight also from more work although Frasor was up and working in 9th. Hill one of the few bats to be consistent tonight. The good also, we didn't see Captain Hook Gibbons out there tonight, that must be hard for him.
The bad: Bats again for second night against Texas.
Thomas again now with average down to .179 ouch… I think they have to start moving him down the order. Opposition is pitching around Wells now to get to Frank.
Jays play into two double plays early in game.
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Hill, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Stairs, Overbay, Zaun, Inglett with Halladay pitching.
Texas: Kinsler, Catalanotto, Bradley, Botts, Murphy, Laird, Vazquez, Duran making his major league debut, and Padilla pitching.
Top 1st: Kinsler single to LF, Catalanotto grounds to 2B, double play, Hamilton grounds to SS. 9 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Eckstein grounds to 2B, Hill continues his streak and singles to LF, Rios grounds to 3B, Hill out but Alex is safe at 1B, Wells walks on four pitches, are they starting to pitch around Vernon to get to Thomas? Frank checks swing grounder to 1B awful.
Top 2nd: Bradley single to RF, Halladay not as sharp as usual. Botts bounces one to SS, out at 1B, Murphy doubles to LF, Bradley scores. Texas 1-0. Laird grounds to 3B, two down. Vazquez grounds to 1B. No further damage to Roy. 23 pitches for first two innings, count will be important in later game for the bullpen.
Bottom 2nd: Stairs grounds to 2B, Overbay walks, although Lyle only has two doubles to date, he has a great on base percentage. Something different out there tonight, Padilla has a curve ball that he is throwing at 59 mph !! Zaun grounds to 2B, double play.
Top 3rd: Duran debut, a little different from AAA Oklahoma tonight, poor guy facing Halladay in first game. Strikes out on three pitches. Welcome to the majors. Kinlser singles to LF, Catalanotto at bat, Kinsler steals 2B, Catalanotto singles to CF, Kinsler scores, 2-0 Texas. Hamilton grounds to 1B, double play gets Roy out of more trouble. 35 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett grounds to 2B, Eckstein singles to LF, Hill fly ball to RF, Rios singles to CF, two on two out, Wells fly ball to RF. Padilla up to 51 pitches. And 50/50 balls and strikes. Halladay is 30/70.
Top 4th: Bradley lines to SS caught by Eckstein, Butts strikes out, Murphy pops up to 3B. Quick inning for Halladay. 48 pitch total. He is keeping Jays in the game but is getting no run support.
Bottom 4th: Thomas pops up to 2B, Jays have yet to get lead runner in any inning tonight, Stairs a long single off RF wall, Overbay grounds to 2B, double play. Second of the game against Toronto.
Top 5th: Laird grounds to 3B, Vazquez strikes out for second time tonight, Duran strikes out also for second time tonight. Some good news on the outfield scoreboard … Manny Ramirez hits second home run against Yankees tonight. Roy 58 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Padilla 61 pitches. Zaun pop up to RF, Inglett walks, Eckstein flies to CF, Hill grounds to SS. Jays are getting baserunners but not bringing them in. Where have we heard that story befiore ?
Padilla is still throwing that 59 mph curve but next pitch is 93 mph fast ball, must look like 200 to the batters. 76 pitches by Padilla. 18 more than Halladay. Texas bullpen is also hurting from last night but so far it looks as if they will be brought into use before Toronto’s bullpen. We clutch at any straw....
Top 6th: Kinsler pops to 1B, Catalanotto grounds to 2B, Hamilton grounds to 1B, Halladay is doing everything he can. Another 9 pitch inning.
Bottom 6th: Where is the offence ? Here come the big bats again. Rios strikes out, Wells singles to LF, Vernon is doing his part. Thomas now with average at .185 and dropping at each bat. Strikes out. Stairs grounds to 2B. Padilla now at 91 pitches. Maybe one more inning.
Top 7th: Bradley dribbler to 1B. Botts grounds to 2B, Murphy double to LF, Laird broken bat single scores Murphy, 3-0 Texas. Vazquez walks, two on again. Duran strikes out for third time. Roy now at 93 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Padilla on 92 pitches. Overbay grounds to SS, Zaun doubles off CF wall, Inglett grounds to 1B Zaun to 3B. Eckstein grounds to SS, safe at 1B. Zaun scores 3-1 Texas. Finally a run. Hill flies to LF.
Top 8th: Kinsler another single to CF, his third hit of the game, Catalanotto bunts in front of Halladay, great throw by Roy to 2B, gets him and throw to 1B gets Catalanotto, great double play. Hamilton singles to RF, Halladay helped himself with that double play, Bradley grounds to 2B. Roy now at 101 pitches but you know he is coming out for the 9th.
Bottom 8th: Padilla is already out of game. Jamey Wright pitching. Rios singles into right centre. This is the first Toronto lead off runner in the game. Wells grounds to 3B. Thomas strikes out, his average now .179. Stairs wild pitch and Alex moves to 3B, this is the first piece of good luck Jays have had tonight, Stairs grounds to 1B.
Top 9th: Yes Halladay is out there. Botts strikes out, Murphy again double to outfield drops between Rios and Wells, from where I am sitting I think that is a catchable ball by Rios, he appeared to slow down when he saw Wells closing. Alex very rarely goes full out for any ball. Laird singles to CF, Murphy scores, 4-1 Texas. Laird out at 2B, Vazquez grounds to SS.
Bottom 9th: Wilson the Texas closer in for 9th. He also pitched last night. Stewart pinch hitting for Overbay, strikes out. Zaun walks, his on base percentage has improved this game, Scutaro pinch hitting for Inglett pops ball to 2B, Eckstein grounds to 1B. This game is over.
Halladay pitches complete game for the loss. But just as important he saved the bullpen tonight from more work.
Tomorrow David Purcey, recall from AAA, will replace Burnett after last night. Burnett will now pitch Sunday.
Another disappointing game with lack of offence. There is no consistency at all yet from this team. One day 11 runs the next 1. Perhaps with Rolen back in lineup things may settle. Meantime Jays are at .500 with eight wins and eight losses.
This next 4 game series will be big, Detroit is no pushover even with Cleveand beating them tonight.
Gibbons must go, followed by Thomas. Carlson for PM.
Wednesday April 14, 2008. Jays v Texas at Rogers Centre
Jays lose this one in 14 innings 7-5.
Managers don’t lose games, the players do but this is one exception. Gibbons must take full blame for this loss. His use/abuse of pitchers has been questioned continually and tonight it came home to roost. To use his whole bull-pen and have to go to starters is inexcusable. This not only lost tonight’s game but has messed up Burnett’s next start at the weekend. Starters prepare for games, they are not relievers on five minutes warmup.
The very good: Jesse Carlson, his three innings of scoreless relief has to earn full marks and being brought in for his first inning with bases loaded no outs and striking otut e side is the single best ining to daye of this season. This guys was in AAA two weeks ago.
The good: Aaron Hill not just with his bat again but also his fielding saving base after base hit. Scutaro with his bat.
The bad: the big bats again failing to bring in the winning run.
The very bad: Gibbons and Frank Thomas. The time may be close to sit Thomas or senbd him to Syracuse to get his timing right and use Stairs as DH.
The lineups.Texas: Catalanotto, Young, Hamilton, Bradley, Blalock, Botts, Murphy, Laird, Vazquez, and Kason Gabbard pitching.
Toronto: Eckstein, Hill, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Barajas, Overbay, Scutaro, MacDonald and Jesse Litsch pitching.
Top1st: Catalanotto flies to Scutaro playing in LF tonight, Young grounds to SS, Ham,ilton lines back to Litsch, great reflex catch by Jesse. Nice inning.
Bottom 1st: Eckstein loops one to RF one down, Hill now .340 average, doubles to LF, he is one bat that is hot, Rios grounds to 2B, Hill to 3B, Wells .345 average, ball hits Wells as he comes out to fthe box,. Leave Hill at 3B.
Top 2nd: Bradley strikes out, Blalock singles to LF, Botts strikles out, Murphy grounds in hole at 1B Hill saves extra bases with diving save, two on, Laird lines to LF Scxutaro throw to plate gets Blalock, great throw by Scutaro. Tonight DEFENCE rules.
Bottom 2nd: Thomas singles to LF, Barajas to Blalock automatic double play, Overbay singles to LF, Scutaro singles to RF, Johnny Mac grounds to 3B.
Top 3rd: Vazquez strikes out, Catalanotto ground rule double into LF seats, Young grounds to 1B, two out, Catalanotto at 3B, Hamilton singles into CF, Frank scores, 1-0 Texas. Bradley singles to CF, Hamilton to 3B, Blalock grounds to Overbay to end inning. 1-0 Texas.
Bottom 3rd: Eckstein hit, ( his league leading sixth time), Hill flies to LF, Eckstein stays, Rios singles up the middle, Eckstein at 2B, Wells up the middle off the glove of Vazquez, Eckstein scores, 1-1. Thomas flies to RF, Barajas first pitch swinging club member, grounds to 3B. Leaves two on.
Top 4th: Botts, HR 2-1 Texas, Murphy strikes out, Litsch is not rattled, Laird flies to Rios right cventre, Vazquez grounds to Overbay at 1B.
Bottom 4th: Overbay grounds out, Scutaro high fly ball to wall in LF, two down, Johnny Mac strikes out.
Top 5th: Catalanotto strikes out, Young fly ball to Rios, Hamilton grounds out to Hill. Litsch is doing his job. Where are the bats?
Bottom 5th: Eckstein grounds out to 3B, Hill walks, Rios doubles to LF wall, Hill scores, 2-2. This is Alex’s fifth double of the season, Overbay take note. Gabbard now at 78 pitches. Wells walks, Thomas high fly ball to CF, two down, Barajas chops ball to 1B. Two more left on.
Top 6th: Litsch at 87 pitches also. Bradley double over Scutaro’s head off the wall, Blalock singles to RF, Bradley to 3B. That’s it for Jesse. I think he did his job well he could be sitting on a good lead if the bats were working tonight. Tallet now pitching, Botts with two on doubles to CF, two runs score, 4-2 Texas. Murphy grounds to 1B, Botts to 3B, Laird grounds to 3B, runner holds two down, one on. Kinsler pinch hitting for Vazquez, intentional walk, Catalanotto at bat, Kinsler pinch running steals , Catalanotto walks, bases loaded. Tallet pulled and Frasor pitching to Young. Young fly ball to Rios I shallow RF. Leaves bases full. Gibbons has use three pitchers this inning.
Bottom 6th: Overbay strikes out, he is in deep slump, Scutaro grounds to SS, Johnny Mac flies tro CF wall. The Jays bottom three are scaring no one tonight.
Top 7th: New pitcher !!!!! Downs now in. Hamilton singles to CF, Bradley walks, two on no outs, Blalock grounds to Hill, gets Hamilton but not in time for Blalock, runner to 3B, Botts strikes out,, Murphy lines to LF Scutaro, nice recovery Scott.
Bottom 7th: Jeremy Wright pitching, Eckstein walks, Hill strikes out, Rios grounds to SS, double play. This is the 23rd double play for Jays this season. I wonder also how many have involved Thomas?
Top of 8th. Yes you guessed another new pitcher… Accardo this time. The fifth this game. Gibbons “the hook.” Probably playing his percentages. Laird flies to RF, Kinsler same play, Catalanotto HR into RF bullpen… look on the bright side friends, Accardo could be the closer. 5-2 Texas. Young bounces ball to Hill nice play by Aaron to get Young at 1B.
Bottom 8th. Crunch time bats. Benoit now pitching for Texas. Wells flies out to shallow RF, Thomas walks, Stairs pinch hitting for Barajas, singles to LF, Matt has been Mr. Clutch all season.He has my voet to replace Thomas anyday. Overbay walks, bases loaded. Scutaro great at bat also walks, Frank scores without running, 5-3 Texas. Inglett now in for Macdonald bases still loaded. New pitcher, Wes Littleton. Inglett grounds to 1B, Broussard now playing at 1B, throws ball into LF, two runs score. What an error. Texas has committed 17 errors this season. This game is tied and inning not over with runners at second and third with one down, big inning and chance to steal one from Texas here ? Eckstein grounds to 2B, throw home gets Scutaro, Hill grounds to 3B, gets Inglett at 2B. What a wasted opportunity here Jays but game is all tied up.
Top 9th. Oh man. Another pitcher B.J. Ryan in non save situation, sixth pitcher. Hamilton walks, Bradley walks, Blalock flies to shallow centre, Wells great sliding catch to save BJ. Broussard strikes out on three pitches, Murphy flies to Wells. Good inning BJ. Now up to the bats.
Bottom 9th: The big bats…… 5-5 can they steal this one? Littleton still pitching. Rios flies to CF, Wells bounces to 2B, and Thomas ??? lines one at Littleton, recovers ball and throws him out at 1B. This is not good at all from the big bats.
Top 10th: Guess what, another pitcher number seven tonight. This time Wolfe, only one left now in bullpen, bats had better come through quickly. Laird flies to Wells, Kinsler flies to Inglett in LF Catalanotto lines to Hill, great diving play by Aaron. Good neat inning by Wolfe. The bullpen have come through tonight.
Bottom 10th: Can the Jays do it this time ? Littleton still pitching ???? Washington has different philosophy from Gibbons obviously. Zaun grounds to 1B, Overbay singles to LF, Scutaro hit and run on executes perfectly. Overbay to 3B, Scutaro at 1B, two on, one out and runner at 3B… Inglett tries squeeze play, fouls it off. Inglett grounds to SS, Kinsler unassisted double play. We are going to 11.
Top 11th: Wolfe still pitching. Young singles to CF, Hamilton ground rule double into LF, trouble bigtime, runners at 2B and 3B no one out. Bradley intentional walk. Gibbons goes to the bullpen for Jesse Carlson, the eighth pitcher used tonight and now the bullpen is empty. Carlson the poor guy from AAA two weeks ago has the bases loaded and no outs. He has to limit the damage here but it is asking a lot from him. Melhuse at bat, strikes out on three pitches, wow, great stuff Jesse. Byrd pinch hitting for Broussard, strikes out !!! two down for Jesse. Can he do it ? Murphy at bat, Jesse strikes him out amd the side with bases loaded. That is unbelievable. Give this guy the key to the city. Talk about pressure on a newbie.
Bottom 11th: Top of the Jays order. German pitching. Eckstein grounds to 3B, and beats out the throw, great hustle David, Hill bunts Eckstein to 2B, runner in scoring position for the big (expensive contracts ) bats. Rios grounds to SS, Two down, someone says Jays are 1-13 with runners in scoring position, seems like 1-1000 tonight, Wells at bat, surely he can come through…. Flies to RF. Pathetic.
Top 12th: Big question now will Gibbons be pitching himself ? No he is leaving Carlson in, poor guy. Laird grounds to Overbay, Kinsler flies to Wells, Catalanotto grounds to Overbay. Carlson is amazing. Where has he been ???????? but he is saving Jays and Gibbons face tonight and giving them chances to win this thing.
Bottom 12th: Ggerman still pitching. Big Frank at bat… Flies to RF, pathetic at bat, Zaun singles to CF, Overbay strikes out Zaun moves to 2B and inscoiring position, Scutaro walks on four pitches. Inglett strikes out.
Top13th: Carlson in for his third inning. Too much to expect this guy to do. Young doubles to LF, Hamilton flies to CF, Young tags and is at 3B with one down, Bradley intentional walk, Melhuse strikes out. Carlson is at 37 pitches. Byrd intentional walk, bases loaded. More pressure on Carlson. Murphy grounds to 1B. What more can we say about Jesse Carlson ? Just an incredible performance tonight.
Bottom 13th: Top of order again for Jays. Nippert now pitching. Eckstein pops up behind 1B, Hill firs pitch ! swinging ?????? grounds to 3B, terrible at bat Aaron, Rios singles to RF, Wells ??? flies out to LF. The smell in the Rogers Center is the Jays batting tonight.
Top 14th: A.J.Burnett pitching. Gibbons strategies have finally backfired on him, he has no one left in bullpen and has gone to Sunday’s starter. Recipe for disaster. He has used nine pitchers tonight and is praying out loud that Halladay can give him lots of innings tomorrow. Laird singles to LF, Kinsler strikes out, Catalanotto doubles down right field line, runners on 2B and 3B, Young groiunds to SS, throw home rundown gets lead runner. Hamilton at bat wild pitch scores Catalanotto, 6-5. Hamilton double to LF, runs scores 7-5 Texas. Bradley walks, Melhuse strikes out. This game is done.
Bottom 14th: Wilson the closer now in. Thomas the saviour at bat, HA! First pitch swing, good for Frank, pops up to SS, garbage Frank and you know it. Zaun pops to 1B, Overbay grounds to 2B.
It is now Thursday morning and there is no one left in Rogers Center to watch this awful performance.
Texas wins 7-5 and apart from the pitching, Carlson in particular, Hill and Scutaro the rest should follow Gibbons into the nearest hole.
Jays lose this one in 14 innings 7-5.
Managers don’t lose games, the players do but this is one exception. Gibbons must take full blame for this loss. His use/abuse of pitchers has been questioned continually and tonight it came home to roost. To use his whole bull-pen and have to go to starters is inexcusable. This not only lost tonight’s game but has messed up Burnett’s next start at the weekend. Starters prepare for games, they are not relievers on five minutes warmup.
The very good: Jesse Carlson, his three innings of scoreless relief has to earn full marks and being brought in for his first inning with bases loaded no outs and striking otut e side is the single best ining to daye of this season. This guys was in AAA two weeks ago.
The good: Aaron Hill not just with his bat again but also his fielding saving base after base hit. Scutaro with his bat.
The bad: the big bats again failing to bring in the winning run.
The very bad: Gibbons and Frank Thomas. The time may be close to sit Thomas or senbd him to Syracuse to get his timing right and use Stairs as DH.
The lineups.Texas: Catalanotto, Young, Hamilton, Bradley, Blalock, Botts, Murphy, Laird, Vazquez, and Kason Gabbard pitching.
Toronto: Eckstein, Hill, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Barajas, Overbay, Scutaro, MacDonald and Jesse Litsch pitching.
Top1st: Catalanotto flies to Scutaro playing in LF tonight, Young grounds to SS, Ham,ilton lines back to Litsch, great reflex catch by Jesse. Nice inning.
Bottom 1st: Eckstein loops one to RF one down, Hill now .340 average, doubles to LF, he is one bat that is hot, Rios grounds to 2B, Hill to 3B, Wells .345 average, ball hits Wells as he comes out to fthe box,. Leave Hill at 3B.
Top 2nd: Bradley strikes out, Blalock singles to LF, Botts strikles out, Murphy grounds in hole at 1B Hill saves extra bases with diving save, two on, Laird lines to LF Scxutaro throw to plate gets Blalock, great throw by Scutaro. Tonight DEFENCE rules.
Bottom 2nd: Thomas singles to LF, Barajas to Blalock automatic double play, Overbay singles to LF, Scutaro singles to RF, Johnny Mac grounds to 3B.
Top 3rd: Vazquez strikes out, Catalanotto ground rule double into LF seats, Young grounds to 1B, two out, Catalanotto at 3B, Hamilton singles into CF, Frank scores, 1-0 Texas. Bradley singles to CF, Hamilton to 3B, Blalock grounds to Overbay to end inning. 1-0 Texas.
Bottom 3rd: Eckstein hit, ( his league leading sixth time), Hill flies to LF, Eckstein stays, Rios singles up the middle, Eckstein at 2B, Wells up the middle off the glove of Vazquez, Eckstein scores, 1-1. Thomas flies to RF, Barajas first pitch swinging club member, grounds to 3B. Leaves two on.
Top 4th: Botts, HR 2-1 Texas, Murphy strikes out, Litsch is not rattled, Laird flies to Rios right cventre, Vazquez grounds to Overbay at 1B.
Bottom 4th: Overbay grounds out, Scutaro high fly ball to wall in LF, two down, Johnny Mac strikes out.
Top 5th: Catalanotto strikes out, Young fly ball to Rios, Hamilton grounds out to Hill. Litsch is doing his job. Where are the bats?
Bottom 5th: Eckstein grounds out to 3B, Hill walks, Rios doubles to LF wall, Hill scores, 2-2. This is Alex’s fifth double of the season, Overbay take note. Gabbard now at 78 pitches. Wells walks, Thomas high fly ball to CF, two down, Barajas chops ball to 1B. Two more left on.
Top 6th: Litsch at 87 pitches also. Bradley double over Scutaro’s head off the wall, Blalock singles to RF, Bradley to 3B. That’s it for Jesse. I think he did his job well he could be sitting on a good lead if the bats were working tonight. Tallet now pitching, Botts with two on doubles to CF, two runs score, 4-2 Texas. Murphy grounds to 1B, Botts to 3B, Laird grounds to 3B, runner holds two down, one on. Kinsler pinch hitting for Vazquez, intentional walk, Catalanotto at bat, Kinsler pinch running steals , Catalanotto walks, bases loaded. Tallet pulled and Frasor pitching to Young. Young fly ball to Rios I shallow RF. Leaves bases full. Gibbons has use three pitchers this inning.
Bottom 6th: Overbay strikes out, he is in deep slump, Scutaro grounds to SS, Johnny Mac flies tro CF wall. The Jays bottom three are scaring no one tonight.
Top 7th: New pitcher !!!!! Downs now in. Hamilton singles to CF, Bradley walks, two on no outs, Blalock grounds to Hill, gets Hamilton but not in time for Blalock, runner to 3B, Botts strikes out,, Murphy lines to LF Scutaro, nice recovery Scott.
Bottom 7th: Jeremy Wright pitching, Eckstein walks, Hill strikes out, Rios grounds to SS, double play. This is the 23rd double play for Jays this season. I wonder also how many have involved Thomas?
Top of 8th. Yes you guessed another new pitcher… Accardo this time. The fifth this game. Gibbons “the hook.” Probably playing his percentages. Laird flies to RF, Kinsler same play, Catalanotto HR into RF bullpen… look on the bright side friends, Accardo could be the closer. 5-2 Texas. Young bounces ball to Hill nice play by Aaron to get Young at 1B.
Bottom 8th. Crunch time bats. Benoit now pitching for Texas. Wells flies out to shallow RF, Thomas walks, Stairs pinch hitting for Barajas, singles to LF, Matt has been Mr. Clutch all season.He has my voet to replace Thomas anyday. Overbay walks, bases loaded. Scutaro great at bat also walks, Frank scores without running, 5-3 Texas. Inglett now in for Macdonald bases still loaded. New pitcher, Wes Littleton. Inglett grounds to 1B, Broussard now playing at 1B, throws ball into LF, two runs score. What an error. Texas has committed 17 errors this season. This game is tied and inning not over with runners at second and third with one down, big inning and chance to steal one from Texas here ? Eckstein grounds to 2B, throw home gets Scutaro, Hill grounds to 3B, gets Inglett at 2B. What a wasted opportunity here Jays but game is all tied up.
Top 9th. Oh man. Another pitcher B.J. Ryan in non save situation, sixth pitcher. Hamilton walks, Bradley walks, Blalock flies to shallow centre, Wells great sliding catch to save BJ. Broussard strikes out on three pitches, Murphy flies to Wells. Good inning BJ. Now up to the bats.
Bottom 9th: The big bats…… 5-5 can they steal this one? Littleton still pitching. Rios flies to CF, Wells bounces to 2B, and Thomas ??? lines one at Littleton, recovers ball and throws him out at 1B. This is not good at all from the big bats.
Top 10th: Guess what, another pitcher number seven tonight. This time Wolfe, only one left now in bullpen, bats had better come through quickly. Laird flies to Wells, Kinsler flies to Inglett in LF Catalanotto lines to Hill, great diving play by Aaron. Good neat inning by Wolfe. The bullpen have come through tonight.
Bottom 10th: Can the Jays do it this time ? Littleton still pitching ???? Washington has different philosophy from Gibbons obviously. Zaun grounds to 1B, Overbay singles to LF, Scutaro hit and run on executes perfectly. Overbay to 3B, Scutaro at 1B, two on, one out and runner at 3B… Inglett tries squeeze play, fouls it off. Inglett grounds to SS, Kinsler unassisted double play. We are going to 11.
Top 11th: Wolfe still pitching. Young singles to CF, Hamilton ground rule double into LF, trouble bigtime, runners at 2B and 3B no one out. Bradley intentional walk. Gibbons goes to the bullpen for Jesse Carlson, the eighth pitcher used tonight and now the bullpen is empty. Carlson the poor guy from AAA two weeks ago has the bases loaded and no outs. He has to limit the damage here but it is asking a lot from him. Melhuse at bat, strikes out on three pitches, wow, great stuff Jesse. Byrd pinch hitting for Broussard, strikes out !!! two down for Jesse. Can he do it ? Murphy at bat, Jesse strikes him out amd the side with bases loaded. That is unbelievable. Give this guy the key to the city. Talk about pressure on a newbie.
Bottom 11th: Top of the Jays order. German pitching. Eckstein grounds to 3B, and beats out the throw, great hustle David, Hill bunts Eckstein to 2B, runner in scoring position for the big (expensive contracts ) bats. Rios grounds to SS, Two down, someone says Jays are 1-13 with runners in scoring position, seems like 1-1000 tonight, Wells at bat, surely he can come through…. Flies to RF. Pathetic.
Top 12th: Big question now will Gibbons be pitching himself ? No he is leaving Carlson in, poor guy. Laird grounds to Overbay, Kinsler flies to Wells, Catalanotto grounds to Overbay. Carlson is amazing. Where has he been ???????? but he is saving Jays and Gibbons face tonight and giving them chances to win this thing.
Bottom 12th: Ggerman still pitching. Big Frank at bat… Flies to RF, pathetic at bat, Zaun singles to CF, Overbay strikes out Zaun moves to 2B and inscoiring position, Scutaro walks on four pitches. Inglett strikes out.
Top13th: Carlson in for his third inning. Too much to expect this guy to do. Young doubles to LF, Hamilton flies to CF, Young tags and is at 3B with one down, Bradley intentional walk, Melhuse strikes out. Carlson is at 37 pitches. Byrd intentional walk, bases loaded. More pressure on Carlson. Murphy grounds to 1B. What more can we say about Jesse Carlson ? Just an incredible performance tonight.
Bottom 13th: Top of order again for Jays. Nippert now pitching. Eckstein pops up behind 1B, Hill firs pitch ! swinging ?????? grounds to 3B, terrible at bat Aaron, Rios singles to RF, Wells ??? flies out to LF. The smell in the Rogers Center is the Jays batting tonight.
Top 14th: A.J.Burnett pitching. Gibbons strategies have finally backfired on him, he has no one left in bullpen and has gone to Sunday’s starter. Recipe for disaster. He has used nine pitchers tonight and is praying out loud that Halladay can give him lots of innings tomorrow. Laird singles to LF, Kinsler strikes out, Catalanotto doubles down right field line, runners on 2B and 3B, Young groiunds to SS, throw home rundown gets lead runner. Hamilton at bat wild pitch scores Catalanotto, 6-5. Hamilton double to LF, runs scores 7-5 Texas. Bradley walks, Melhuse strikes out. This game is done.
Bottom 14th: Wilson the closer now in. Thomas the saviour at bat, HA! First pitch swing, good for Frank, pops up to SS, garbage Frank and you know it. Zaun pops to 1B, Overbay grounds to 2B.
It is now Thursday morning and there is no one left in Rogers Center to watch this awful performance.
Texas wins 7-5 and apart from the pitching, Carlson in particular, Hill and Scutaro the rest should follow Gibbons into the nearest hole.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Timber... Jays bats support great pitching
Tuesday April 15, 2008 Jays v Baltimore.
End of road trip. Jays win 11-3 Marcum win and end road trip 4-1.
Bats come alive behind good pitching.
Very good: Marcum. And all of the bats and the fundamentals moving runner over and bringing him in.
Jays starters are now 7-2. AL best .778 average wining percentage.
Good: Bullpen. Carlson and Wolfe tonight.
Not so good : Leave 10 men on base (picky) and Alex's base runing.
Lineups: Jays. Eckstein, Hill, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Stairs, Overbay, Scutaro, Zaun with Marcum pitching. Wells and Thomas recognizing Jackie Robinson.
Baltimore: Roberts, Mora, Markakis, Millar, Scott, Payton, Ramon Hernandez, Jones wearing 42 for Jackie Robinson day, Luis Hernandez, and pitching Steve Trachsel. 6-0 lifetime v Jays.
Top 1st: Eckstein hit again, third time this season, they don’t miss Reed Johnson !, Hill at bat, Eckstein steals, Hill singles to LF, Eckstein to 3B, Rios grounds to 3B, Eckstein scores, 1-0. Hill out at 2B and Rios safe at 1B, good situational baseball to start game. Wells pops to shallow LF, two down. Thomas at bat, Rios caught stealing.
Bottom 1st: Roberts walks, Mora grounds to Eckstein at 3B drops ball but gets Roberts at 2B, Mora safe at 1B. Markakis dribbler to 1B, Mora to 2B, two down for Millar, flies to Rios in RF.
Top 2nd: Thomas left on base with Alex caught stealing in 1st, flies to RF. Stairs flies to LF, Overbay strikes out. Quick inning for Trachsel.
Bottom 2nd: Scott leadoff double to RF, Payton strikes out on three pitches, (R) Hernandez grounds to Scutaro, runner holds at 2B, Jones walks, (L) Hernandez grounds to 1B. Marcum gets out of trouble.
Top 3rd: Zaun walks, Scutaro singles to CF, Eckstein at bat, double steal, Zaun out at 3B, looks like missed hit and run, Eckstein singles to RF, Scutaro to 3B, Hill three run blast to LF, 4-0 Jays. Rios walks, Wells singles to LF, Thomas walks, bases loaded and Trachsel is suddenly out of there. I don’t think he will go 7-0 tonight. Aquino in for Trachsel, Stairs sac fly, Rios scores 5-0 Jays. Overbay walks, Zaun grounds to 2B leaving bases loaded. One of the best innings Jays have had for some time. This is what this lineup is capable of any day.
Bottom 3rd: Roberts grounds to Hill, Mora strikes out. Markakis HR to CF, 5-1. Millar flies out to CF.
Top 4th: Scutaro leadoff double to LF, Jays continue the bats, Eckstein bunts Scutaro to 3B, Hill hit on elbow, Rios with two on, lines to RF, Scutaro scores, 6-1. Hill to 3B, Rios out in rundown, bad base running Alex. Wells walks, Thomas flies to right centre wall. Hits and walks are killing Orioles pitching tonight.
Bottom 4th: Scott flies to RF, Payton grounds first pitch to Hill, R. Hernandez bouncer to 1B. Easy inning for Marcum.
Top 5th: Stairs grounds to 2B, Overbay pops up to 3B, Zaun walks, Scutaro flies to LF.
Bottom 5th: Marcum now 65 pitches. Jones HR to LF just inside foul pole. 6-2. Hernandez grounds to 2B, Roberts lines out to Rios, Mora grounds to Marcum. No harm done.
Top 6th: Eckstein lines to CF on for the third time, Hill strikes out, Rios grounds to SS, Eckstein safe at 2B, Rios also safe at 1B, everything is going right for Jays tonight. Wells singles over 2B, Eckstein scores 7-2, Rios at 2B. New pitcher. Randor Bierd.Thomas at bat, ball gets by catcher and both runners move up, one of those nights for Baltimore, Thomas singles to LF Rios scores 8-2, Stairs lines to RF, Wells scores, 9-2, Overbay strikes out, Zaun flies to CF. Five singles this inning and 12 hits so far in the game. 9-2 Jays.
Bottom 6th: Marcum on 73 pitches. Markakis strikes out, Millar grounds out to Hill,Scott lines single to LF, Payton strikes out.
Top 7th: Scutaro flies to RF, Eckstein flies out to CF, Inglett number to pitcher. Three up and down for a change.
Bottom 7th: R. Hernandez grounds out to Scutaro, Jones walks, L. Hernandez flies to LF, great running catch by Inglett now in LF. End of Marcum 103 pitches. Jesse Carlson in. Gibbons likes this guy. Roberts strikes out.
Top 8th: Rios grounds out to SS, just gets him at 1B, Wells now with .351 batting average, grounds to 3B, Thomas flies to RF.
Bottom 8th: Carlson still pitching. Mora leadoff HR to LF 9-3. All Baltimore runs have been single HR’s. Markakis singles to LF, Jesse in trouble but Gibbons leaves him in. Millar flies out to Wells, Scott flies out to Wells, and Carlson is finished. Nice pitching Jesse again. Wolfe now in Payton flies out to Rios.
Top 9th: Sarfate pitching. Johnny Mac flies out to shallow centre, Overbay excuse me double down 3B line, Lady luck is with Jays tonight. Zaun wild pitch Overbay to 3B, Zaun doubles half way up RF wall, would have been another home run to left. Overbay scores 10-3 Jays. Scutaro pops up to 3B, Eckstein singles and Zaun scores. 11-3. Eckstein safe at 2B. Inglett singles to LF, Eckstein to 3B. Rios strikes out.
Another excellent hitting inning for Jays. 16 hits tonight.
Bottom 9th: Wolfe pitching. Quiroz now catching (another ex-Jay ) grounds to Scutaro, Jones flies out to CF, Hernandez the same and this game is over.
Jays 11 runs on 16 hits and no errors. 6 walks and 10 left on base.
Orioles 3 runs on 6 hits and no errors
Monday, April 14, 2008
Toronto loses big chance to go to the top.
Vancouver Jay, League was sent down to Syracuse to make room on roster yesterday for B.J. Ryan. My preference would have been to send Frasor... and that was before tonight's game.
Monday April 14 2008. Jays v Baltimore at Camden Yards.
Camden Yards has to be one of the picturesque parks even empty of fans as it was tonight.
Both teams at 7-5.
Orioles win this one 4-3. Story of the game however must be the three double plays that Jays gave up.
The good: Alex off the bench for pinch hit home run in top of 9th.
The bad: Three double plays. The way the first inning ended after such a great start, this could have been such a dfferent result.
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Stairs, Hill, Wells, Thomas, Overbay, Stewart, Zaun and Inglett, with McGowan pitching. (Rios night off, until pinch hit in 9th.)
Orioles: Roberts, Mora, Markakis, Millar, Huff, Scott,Henrandez, Jones, Hernandez and Albers pitching.
The game: Top 1st: Eckstein grounds to SS, Stairs singles to LF, Hill single to CF, Wells, single to LF, Stairs scores 1-0 Jays good start. Thomas lines to 3B, double play.
Bottom 1st: Roberts singles, Markakis flies to RF, Millar singles to LF Roberts scores 1-1, Huff grounds to 3B ,double play saves McGowan from more damage.
Top 2nd: Overbay walks, Stewart grounds to 3B, Overbay to 2B, Zaun strikes out, Inglett grounds to 2B.
Bottom 2nd: Scott strikes out, (R)Hernandez flies to RF. Jones single to LF, (L) Hernandez single to RF, Jones to 3B, Roberts flies to Wells.
Top 3rd: Eckstein shatters bat and grounds to 1B, Stairs flies to wall at CF, Hill flies to CF. Albers has settled in.
Bottom 3rd: Mora singles to LF, Markakis strikes out, Mora steals 2B, Millar strikes out, Huff strikes out, McGowan’s best inning so far. Now at 51 pitches though.
Top 4th: Wells grounds to 3B, Thomas single to CF, Albers at 54 pitches. Overbay grounds to SS another double play.
Bottom 4th: Scott grounds to Overbay, Overbay throws on his back to get him at 1B. Hernandez chops it to SS two down, Jones singles up the middle, McGowan has Jones picked off but throws wide at 1B, error and runner goes to 3B, Hernandez grounds to 3B. McGowan is not sharp tonight.
Top 5th: Stewart flies to CF, Zaun grounds to SS, Albers now at 71 pitches but not in any trouble with Jays tonight. Inglett singles to RF, Eckstein grounds to 2B. Jays are getting runners on but once again not bringing them in.
Bottom 5th: Roberts pops to Inglett, Mora taps in front of Zaun thrown out at 1B, Markakis walks, Miller at bat, Markakis stealing, Zaun’s throw sails into centre field. Error to Zaun. Markakis to 3B. Miller two run home run to LF. 3-1 Orioles. Huff strikes out.
Top 6th: Jim Johnson pitching. Stairs grounds to pitcher one down, Hill grounds to SS but throw in dirt at 1B, Hill is on base, error on play. Wells grounds to 3B another double play, the third of the night against Jays. This is killing them.
Bottom 6th: Scott singles to RF, Hernandez pops to McGowan, throws to 1B catching Scott of bag, double play. Jones singles to left centre, 3-3 tonight, Hernandez with Jones stealing Zaun gets him at 2B. That will help his average.
Top 7th: Thomas grounds back to Johnson, Overbay singles to RF, Stewart flies to RF, Zaun flies to LF.
Bottom 7th: Tallet pitching. Hernandez walks, on four pitches, Roberts singles to LF, Mora bunting runners move up, Mora chops it to 1B, throw to home, Hernandez out. Markakis grounds to SS fielders choice at 2B.
Top 8th: Inglett groiunds to 1B, Eckstein single to RF, Stairs at bat , Walker now pitching, roller to 2B, Overbay at 2B, Stairs out at 1B, Hill at bat, another pitching change, looks like Gibbons out there. Bradford in now Hill grounds to 3B. Jays have 7 hits 2 errors tonight. It is the double plays that have hurt them. Orioles have 11 hits with 3 runs and one error. Score remains 3-1.
Bottom of 8th: Tallet pitching. Huff singles up the middle, Scott singles to RF, Huff now at 3B with no one out.
End of Tallet but here comes Frasor. Hang on everyone. Which Frasor is out there tonight ?
Payton running for Scott with Huff at 3B. R. Hernandez sac fly to CF scores Huff 4-1. A huge run. Payton also moves to 2B, Jones at bat, Payton stealing 3B, throw by Zaun but not in time at 3B. Jones walks, Frasor is adding gas to the fire. Hernandez at bat, Jones takes 2B without a throw, this just gets worse. Still only one out but now two in scoring position. Base hit will score both. Hernandez fly ball to shallow left, Stewart throwing home gets Payton. Great double play gets Frasor off the hook for more damage.
Top 9th: Sherill in for save. Wells singles to LF, good start. Thomas flies to RF. Rios in to pinch hit for Overbay. Home run to LF for Alex. First of the season and great timing. 4-3 now. Jays are still in this one.Stewart strikes out, groan, Zaun flies to LF.
Jays have 9 hits tonight but lack of runs hurts them and the double plays even more so. Not a good game tonight for Jays. That first inning could have been so different.
Monday April 14 2008. Jays v Baltimore at Camden Yards.
Camden Yards has to be one of the picturesque parks even empty of fans as it was tonight.
Both teams at 7-5.
Orioles win this one 4-3. Story of the game however must be the three double plays that Jays gave up.
The good: Alex off the bench for pinch hit home run in top of 9th.
The bad: Three double plays. The way the first inning ended after such a great start, this could have been such a dfferent result.
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Stairs, Hill, Wells, Thomas, Overbay, Stewart, Zaun and Inglett, with McGowan pitching. (Rios night off, until pinch hit in 9th.)
Orioles: Roberts, Mora, Markakis, Millar, Huff, Scott,Henrandez, Jones, Hernandez and Albers pitching.
The game: Top 1st: Eckstein grounds to SS, Stairs singles to LF, Hill single to CF, Wells, single to LF, Stairs scores 1-0 Jays good start. Thomas lines to 3B, double play.
Bottom 1st: Roberts singles, Markakis flies to RF, Millar singles to LF Roberts scores 1-1, Huff grounds to 3B ,double play saves McGowan from more damage.
Top 2nd: Overbay walks, Stewart grounds to 3B, Overbay to 2B, Zaun strikes out, Inglett grounds to 2B.
Bottom 2nd: Scott strikes out, (R)Hernandez flies to RF. Jones single to LF, (L) Hernandez single to RF, Jones to 3B, Roberts flies to Wells.
Top 3rd: Eckstein shatters bat and grounds to 1B, Stairs flies to wall at CF, Hill flies to CF. Albers has settled in.
Bottom 3rd: Mora singles to LF, Markakis strikes out, Mora steals 2B, Millar strikes out, Huff strikes out, McGowan’s best inning so far. Now at 51 pitches though.
Top 4th: Wells grounds to 3B, Thomas single to CF, Albers at 54 pitches. Overbay grounds to SS another double play.
Bottom 4th: Scott grounds to Overbay, Overbay throws on his back to get him at 1B. Hernandez chops it to SS two down, Jones singles up the middle, McGowan has Jones picked off but throws wide at 1B, error and runner goes to 3B, Hernandez grounds to 3B. McGowan is not sharp tonight.
Top 5th: Stewart flies to CF, Zaun grounds to SS, Albers now at 71 pitches but not in any trouble with Jays tonight. Inglett singles to RF, Eckstein grounds to 2B. Jays are getting runners on but once again not bringing them in.
Bottom 5th: Roberts pops to Inglett, Mora taps in front of Zaun thrown out at 1B, Markakis walks, Miller at bat, Markakis stealing, Zaun’s throw sails into centre field. Error to Zaun. Markakis to 3B. Miller two run home run to LF. 3-1 Orioles. Huff strikes out.
Top 6th: Jim Johnson pitching. Stairs grounds to pitcher one down, Hill grounds to SS but throw in dirt at 1B, Hill is on base, error on play. Wells grounds to 3B another double play, the third of the night against Jays. This is killing them.
Bottom 6th: Scott singles to RF, Hernandez pops to McGowan, throws to 1B catching Scott of bag, double play. Jones singles to left centre, 3-3 tonight, Hernandez with Jones stealing Zaun gets him at 2B. That will help his average.
Top 7th: Thomas grounds back to Johnson, Overbay singles to RF, Stewart flies to RF, Zaun flies to LF.
Bottom 7th: Tallet pitching. Hernandez walks, on four pitches, Roberts singles to LF, Mora bunting runners move up, Mora chops it to 1B, throw to home, Hernandez out. Markakis grounds to SS fielders choice at 2B.
Top 8th: Inglett groiunds to 1B, Eckstein single to RF, Stairs at bat , Walker now pitching, roller to 2B, Overbay at 2B, Stairs out at 1B, Hill at bat, another pitching change, looks like Gibbons out there. Bradford in now Hill grounds to 3B. Jays have 7 hits 2 errors tonight. It is the double plays that have hurt them. Orioles have 11 hits with 3 runs and one error. Score remains 3-1.
Bottom of 8th: Tallet pitching. Huff singles up the middle, Scott singles to RF, Huff now at 3B with no one out.
End of Tallet but here comes Frasor. Hang on everyone. Which Frasor is out there tonight ?
Payton running for Scott with Huff at 3B. R. Hernandez sac fly to CF scores Huff 4-1. A huge run. Payton also moves to 2B, Jones at bat, Payton stealing 3B, throw by Zaun but not in time at 3B. Jones walks, Frasor is adding gas to the fire. Hernandez at bat, Jones takes 2B without a throw, this just gets worse. Still only one out but now two in scoring position. Base hit will score both. Hernandez fly ball to shallow left, Stewart throwing home gets Payton. Great double play gets Frasor off the hook for more damage.
Top 9th: Sherill in for save. Wells singles to LF, good start. Thomas flies to RF. Rios in to pinch hit for Overbay. Home run to LF for Alex. First of the season and great timing. 4-3 now. Jays are still in this one.Stewart strikes out, groan, Zaun flies to LF.
Jays have 9 hits tonight but lack of runs hurts them and the double plays even more so. Not a good game tonight for Jays. That first inning could have been so different.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Correction
Oops, sorry about that, I was so excited about BJ's save and return...
There were seven Jays pitchers used today not six...
AND BJ was pitching in bottom of 10th not the 9th.
festinate lente.
There were seven Jays pitchers used today not six...
AND BJ was pitching in bottom of 10th not the 9th.
festinate lente.
Disney comes to Arlington and the Jays.
Sunday April 13th Jays v Texas in Arlington. Series finale. Jays going for sweep in Texas for first time since 1985.
Jays win 5-4 in 10 innings. This one was definitely scripted. Fantasy Disney.
B. J. Ryan returns. Brandon League sent to AAA.
The good: B.J.Ryan and all of the bullpen. Inglett.
One for Jays history books. Bottom of the 10th.
Not so good: The number of runners left on base. 10 left on base. Rios still not in the hitting groove yet. Six Jays pitchers used today. Are we going to have burnout as in 2007 ?
The bad: Rios mental error, drops routine fly ball. In retrospect better that catch than the one in bottom of 10th.
Lineups: Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Overbay, Barajas, Inglett, Macdonald and Burnett pitching.
Texas: Kinsler, Young, Hamilton, Blalock, Byrd, Murphy, Catalanotto, Laird, Broussard, and Scott Feldman pitching.
The game:
Top 1st: Stewart leading off today (Eckstein day off), singles to CF, Hill flies to LF, Rios strikes out, Wells singles to CF, Thomas strikes out on full count.
Bottom 1st: Kinsler lead off double to CF, Young fly ball to RF, Kinsler tags and gets to 3B, Hamilton grounds out to Hill. Run scores 1-0 Texas. Shift right for Blalock, walks, Byrd grounds to Inglett at 3B for Scutaro again.
Top 2nd: Overbay singles to RF, Barajas doubles in left centre gap, Overbay scores 1-1. Inglett flies to CF, Barajas holds at 2B, JohnnyMac hit, two on for Stewart grounds to SS double play.
Btm 2nd. Murohy strikes out, Catalanotto grounds to Hill, Laird singles to CF, Broussard at bat Laird rtues delayed steal, Burnett gets him at 2B.
Top 3rd: Hill grounds to SS, Rios flies to CF, Wells same play.
Bottom 3rd: Broussard pop up to Inglett, Kinsler flies to Wells, Young strikes out.
Top 4th: Thomas singles to CF, Overbay walks, Barajas grounds to SS, double play, Thomas at 3B, Inglett singles to CF scores Thomas, 2-1 Jays. Macdonald broken bat hit to pitcher.
Bottom 4th: Hamilton HR to RF 2-2, Blalock flies to Stewart, Byrd grounds to SS, Murohy flies to Wells.
Top 5th: Stewart strikes out, Hill grounds to SS, Rios same play. Alex is having terrible start to season, still no home run power. Not good.
Bottom 5th: Catalanotto singles to LF, Burnett at 75 pitches. Laird at bat, Catalanotto stealing, Laird bunts Frank to 3B, Broussard strikes out, Kinsler single to CF and scores Catalanotto, 3-2 Texas, Young flies to RF, Rios drops routine ball. Kinsler at 3B, Hamilton fly ball to CF.
Top 6th: Wells singles to LF, Thomas walks, Overbay grounds to 2B double play, Barajas singles to LF, Wells scores 3-3. Inglett flies to centre right, Barajas appears hurt, looks like hamstring.
Bottom 6th: Zaun catching for Barajas, Blalock off the wall in RF long single respecvting Rios’ arm, Byrd attempts bunt, bunts Blalock to 2B, Murphy pops up behind 3B to Johnny Mac., Catalanotto full count, Burnett always makes everything so difficult he had him at 0-2 count, Frank doubles to RF 4-3 Texas, Laird with Frank at 2B, cannot find strike zone, putting him on, Gibbons out, so is Burnett, Tallet in.
Broussard two on two out, strikes out on 3 pitches. Tallet makes it look so easy compared to Burnett.
Top 7th: German pitching. Stairs (pinch hitting for Macdonald) singles to right centre, Burnett 114 pitches. 7 hits 2 walks three strikeouts. Eckstein pinch running for Stairs, Stewart on base, Hill two on 0 outs, Hill bunts both runners over, Rios sac fly scores Eckstein 4-4. Wells walks, Thomas pops to SS. This game lead goes back and forth, neither team breaking out for big inning.
Bottom 7th: Accardo pitching. Eckstein at SS for Johnny Mac. Kinlser grounds to SS, good start Jeremy, Young walks, Hamilton grounds to Hill, double play. That should give Jeremy some confidence.
Top 8th: Benoit pitching. Overbay strikes out. Zaun grounds to 1B, Inglett flies to CF.
Bottom 8th: Downs now pitching. Blalock pops to Zaun, Byrd flies to Rios, catches it this time, Murphy walks. Milton Bradley pinch hitting, singles to LF, 2 on 2 outs. Laird at bat, walks on four pitches, bases now loaded. This is the game here. Jason Butts pinch hitting for Broussard, strikes out on 3 pithces. That is great pressure pitching Scott.
Top 9th: Jays top of the order. Wilson pitching 3/3 saves this season. Eckstein grounds to Wilson, Stewart singles up the middle off the mound into CF, Hill walks, two on one out, Jays threatening again with the big bats to come. Rios strikes out, at some stage they have to move him down the order intiol he gets his stroke back. Wells flies to RF. Great opportunity list.
Bottom 9th. Wolfe now in. Kinsler strikes out, Young singles to RF. That’s it for Wolfe, Gibbons rings changes again. Carlson in. Hamilton at bat flies to RF, Blalock grounds to 1B. Extra innings. Nice pitching by Carlson, continues to impress. I hope he is not used up by Gibbons. He has used five pitchers today.
Top 10th: Nippert pitching, Thomas walks good start. Scutaro in to run for Frank. Overbay walks, 2 on no outs. Surely they can nring in one. Zaun sac bunt moves both over in scoring position. Inglett sac fly scores Scutaro, 5-4. Eckstein grounds out. Will one run be sufficient.
Bottom 9th: What a great sight. B.J.Ryan on the mound for first time since April 2007. Will this be a Hollywood ending ? He must have rivers of adrenalin right now in his blood. Byrd at bat, triple to the wall in left centre, ouch bigtime. This is not the Hollywood ending we all have in mind. This is very, very tough.
Murphy grounds to SS, runner holds, one down at least. Bradley pops up to Inglett behind 3B, no chance to score, two down. BJ only one more……. Laird connects and flies to Rios. This game is over. The white knight has saved the game. A huge win, sweeps Texas and also the first sweep of Texas since 1985 !
BUT the most important event is that B.J. is back. Now everyone holds their breath for next 24 hours and hope that arm is ok. Meantime Jays have one back and for now Inglett and Scutaro are filling 3B very well for Rolen.
Note: Jays runners left on in innings 1, 2, 4,6,7,9 and 10.
Jays win 5-4 in 10 innings. This one was definitely scripted. Fantasy Disney.
B. J. Ryan returns. Brandon League sent to AAA.
The good: B.J.Ryan and all of the bullpen. Inglett.
One for Jays history books. Bottom of the 10th.
Not so good: The number of runners left on base. 10 left on base. Rios still not in the hitting groove yet. Six Jays pitchers used today. Are we going to have burnout as in 2007 ?
The bad: Rios mental error, drops routine fly ball. In retrospect better that catch than the one in bottom of 10th.
Lineups: Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Overbay, Barajas, Inglett, Macdonald and Burnett pitching.
Texas: Kinsler, Young, Hamilton, Blalock, Byrd, Murphy, Catalanotto, Laird, Broussard, and Scott Feldman pitching.
The game:
Top 1st: Stewart leading off today (Eckstein day off), singles to CF, Hill flies to LF, Rios strikes out, Wells singles to CF, Thomas strikes out on full count.
Bottom 1st: Kinsler lead off double to CF, Young fly ball to RF, Kinsler tags and gets to 3B, Hamilton grounds out to Hill. Run scores 1-0 Texas. Shift right for Blalock, walks, Byrd grounds to Inglett at 3B for Scutaro again.
Top 2nd: Overbay singles to RF, Barajas doubles in left centre gap, Overbay scores 1-1. Inglett flies to CF, Barajas holds at 2B, JohnnyMac hit, two on for Stewart grounds to SS double play.
Btm 2nd. Murohy strikes out, Catalanotto grounds to Hill, Laird singles to CF, Broussard at bat Laird rtues delayed steal, Burnett gets him at 2B.
Top 3rd: Hill grounds to SS, Rios flies to CF, Wells same play.
Bottom 3rd: Broussard pop up to Inglett, Kinsler flies to Wells, Young strikes out.
Top 4th: Thomas singles to CF, Overbay walks, Barajas grounds to SS, double play, Thomas at 3B, Inglett singles to CF scores Thomas, 2-1 Jays. Macdonald broken bat hit to pitcher.
Bottom 4th: Hamilton HR to RF 2-2, Blalock flies to Stewart, Byrd grounds to SS, Murohy flies to Wells.
Top 5th: Stewart strikes out, Hill grounds to SS, Rios same play. Alex is having terrible start to season, still no home run power. Not good.
Bottom 5th: Catalanotto singles to LF, Burnett at 75 pitches. Laird at bat, Catalanotto stealing, Laird bunts Frank to 3B, Broussard strikes out, Kinsler single to CF and scores Catalanotto, 3-2 Texas, Young flies to RF, Rios drops routine ball. Kinsler at 3B, Hamilton fly ball to CF.
Top 6th: Wells singles to LF, Thomas walks, Overbay grounds to 2B double play, Barajas singles to LF, Wells scores 3-3. Inglett flies to centre right, Barajas appears hurt, looks like hamstring.
Bottom 6th: Zaun catching for Barajas, Blalock off the wall in RF long single respecvting Rios’ arm, Byrd attempts bunt, bunts Blalock to 2B, Murphy pops up behind 3B to Johnny Mac., Catalanotto full count, Burnett always makes everything so difficult he had him at 0-2 count, Frank doubles to RF 4-3 Texas, Laird with Frank at 2B, cannot find strike zone, putting him on, Gibbons out, so is Burnett, Tallet in.
Broussard two on two out, strikes out on 3 pitches. Tallet makes it look so easy compared to Burnett.
Top 7th: German pitching. Stairs (pinch hitting for Macdonald) singles to right centre, Burnett 114 pitches. 7 hits 2 walks three strikeouts. Eckstein pinch running for Stairs, Stewart on base, Hill two on 0 outs, Hill bunts both runners over, Rios sac fly scores Eckstein 4-4. Wells walks, Thomas pops to SS. This game lead goes back and forth, neither team breaking out for big inning.
Bottom 7th: Accardo pitching. Eckstein at SS for Johnny Mac. Kinlser grounds to SS, good start Jeremy, Young walks, Hamilton grounds to Hill, double play. That should give Jeremy some confidence.
Top 8th: Benoit pitching. Overbay strikes out. Zaun grounds to 1B, Inglett flies to CF.
Bottom 8th: Downs now pitching. Blalock pops to Zaun, Byrd flies to Rios, catches it this time, Murphy walks. Milton Bradley pinch hitting, singles to LF, 2 on 2 outs. Laird at bat, walks on four pitches, bases now loaded. This is the game here. Jason Butts pinch hitting for Broussard, strikes out on 3 pithces. That is great pressure pitching Scott.
Top 9th: Jays top of the order. Wilson pitching 3/3 saves this season. Eckstein grounds to Wilson, Stewart singles up the middle off the mound into CF, Hill walks, two on one out, Jays threatening again with the big bats to come. Rios strikes out, at some stage they have to move him down the order intiol he gets his stroke back. Wells flies to RF. Great opportunity list.
Bottom 9th. Wolfe now in. Kinsler strikes out, Young singles to RF. That’s it for Wolfe, Gibbons rings changes again. Carlson in. Hamilton at bat flies to RF, Blalock grounds to 1B. Extra innings. Nice pitching by Carlson, continues to impress. I hope he is not used up by Gibbons. He has used five pitchers today.
Top 10th: Nippert pitching, Thomas walks good start. Scutaro in to run for Frank. Overbay walks, 2 on no outs. Surely they can nring in one. Zaun sac bunt moves both over in scoring position. Inglett sac fly scores Scutaro, 5-4. Eckstein grounds out. Will one run be sufficient.
Bottom 9th: What a great sight. B.J.Ryan on the mound for first time since April 2007. Will this be a Hollywood ending ? He must have rivers of adrenalin right now in his blood. Byrd at bat, triple to the wall in left centre, ouch bigtime. This is not the Hollywood ending we all have in mind. This is very, very tough.
Murphy grounds to SS, runner holds, one down at least. Bradley pops up to Inglett behind 3B, no chance to score, two down. BJ only one more……. Laird connects and flies to Rios. This game is over. The white knight has saved the game. A huge win, sweeps Texas and also the first sweep of Texas since 1985 !
BUT the most important event is that B.J. is back. Now everyone holds their breath for next 24 hours and hope that arm is ok. Meantime Jays have one back and for now Inglett and Scutaro are filling 3B very well for Rolen.
Note: Jays runners left on in innings 1, 2, 4,6,7,9 and 10.
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