11:30 PM Eastern
There really wasn’t much to the game tonight, which happens on occasion, but rarely. The Yankees had all the offense they would need before the Blue Jays even came up to bat.
It looked for a second as though David Purcey might actually get out of that first inning relatively scathe-free, despite the Yanks loading the bases with nobody out on three straight singles. He popped up Alex Rodriguez to shallowish right, then got Jason Giambi on a deep fly ball to centre that scored a run. If that had been it, it would have been a major victory for the rookie, but Xavier Nady followed with a hard line single to right to cash a second run. Another big two-out hit for the visitors came in the 4th, on Derek Jeter’s two-run, opposite-field homer which, it turns out, they didn’t need.
For the second straight game, the Blue Jays managed just five hits. This time, though, all five were singles, and that’s just not going to cut it when you give up five runs.
Brian Tallet looked very good in his first action since coming off the disabled list last week, allowing a looping single and a ground ball up the middle in two shutout innings of work but really, there wasn’t much else positive from a Blue Jays’ perspective. At least they have Roy Halladay heading out there tomorrow night in the rubber game against Sir Sidney Ponson.
It was a fun Wednesdays with J.P., as always. He mentioned that he doubts the Jays will be big players in the free agent market, and refused to even speak the name of Scott Boras. One thing that struck me odd was his reaction to my asking about Tim Collins, the 5’7″, 155-pound lefty who is currently tearing it up in low-A Lansing. Collins has thrown 63 1/3 innings in relief, allowing just 31 hits while walking 30 and striking out 92. The numbers are sort of ridiculous, but J.P.’s asking if someone put me up to asking him about Collins was weird. I’m going to have to find out tomorrow what that was all about, since I couldn’t catch him before he left the booth tonight.
Here’s the entire session, for your listening pleasure:
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The Jays are still 7 1/2 back of the wild card, with a chance to be 6 1/2 back when Boston comes to town. If that happens and they sweep the Sox, whose number they’ve had all year, they’ll be just 3 1/2 back with five weeks to play. It’ll still take a miracle, but by no means are the Jays out of it. That, of course, could very definitely change by the end of the week.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome. Others will mostly be ignored.
55 Responses to “Put Away The Brooms”
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Mike,
Just got back from Chicago, where I was able to check out the Northsiders play the reds in a thrilling 5-0 game where Rich Harden looked real good!
Funny thing, some of the guys were harping me saying that ‘Reed Johnson was the steal of the season’..I’m not going to get on that case, but it was kind of funny!
What’s also funny is that I leave and the Jays beat up on both Boston and New York, and are still 7.5 games back. :(
Wrigley Field is a phenomenal place to catch a game if you haven’t done so. I recommend all baseball phanatics to do so at some point in their lives.
- MarkMichael of the Ballyard:
Hello! I am absolutely baked at the cottage, pirating someone Internet’s signal on the end of the dock and listening to obnoxious country music thinking about how weird it is to have the Internet here.
I caught two pike and three bass this evening, in case you were wondering.
And I think it’s so weird that I am starting at U of T in like two weeks! Scary, scary, scary! I think I am going to write some fishing articles up here, which is appropriate since all I do is fish, and I think that’s a good beginning to a journalism career.
Okay, I have some serious baseball stuff for you. Remember how baked I am.
This Aaron Hill thing is scarey as hell. To cut to the chase, is it realistically possible that his career is done, and is there any obvious precedent for a similar situation — young ballplayer, freak but not outwardly violent oollision leading to head injury & the end of a career?
I can seriously hear the train echoing for miles and miles as I listen to Copperhead Road. This is trippy.
Oh right — how has John Macdonald’s use changed under Cito Gaston and how do you feel about it?
I think I am going to go chase frogs or something. Ignore any typos — I’m literally sitting beside the lake in pitch black picking up a wireless signal off the end of the dock and there’s no way I can go edit profciently.
I’m seriously going to go fish now.
MW: Hope the potato chips don’t scare the fish. I can’t recall ever hearing of a young player having his career ended because of a concussion, but it may well be that Hill never plays again. I doubt that very much, though. How has McDonald’s use changed? He’s playing every day. Given that the choice at short (before Rolen hit the DL) was McDonald or Scutaro, I’m very happy about it.
- JCLHey Mike. I have no idea why JP would think that someone else put you up to asking about Tim Collins. That sounds like a Wilnerised question to me. If I had to guess, I think his chances of playing in the show are not as good as others just from judging by JP’s reaction. If you have any idea what JP was thinking when you asked him that, let us know.
MW: Turns out that Collins is a pet project of J.P.’s, an undrafted find of his.
- Matt from BCJust heard the radio bit for the first time…I’m shocked at how stupid some of these callers are. Is that typical?
It’s like the RealGM forums for the Raptors “fans”….so stupid you cringe…You guys are very patient.
It’s as though the Toronto Pro sports teams are all doomed to mediocrity because the fanbase in this city (country?) is so ***ing dense.
MW: I have no idea why you would think that language would be at all appropriate in this forum.
- julieMike,
do you know anything about the bad blood between Keith Law and the Jays/JP?
I believe he was the source a couple of years ago that Vernon Wells was walking, and whenever I see a chat with him he takes a shot at either the team or JP.
MW: The only source of bad blood could be that Law used to work here, and left for ESPN after his role was diminished. I’m a big fan of Keith’s, very good guy.
- JasonBoston’s off tomorrow so won’t the Jays be 7 games back if they win tomorrow night?
MW: Yup. I didn’t check the schedule.
- RandyI tried calling in tonight. Never got it to work, apparently there’s something more that’s necessary for an international call.
Anyway, a while back I suggested Lowe and you were cool to it – rightly so as it turns out. I looked and Lowe has fairly ugly road splits away from Dodger Stadium.
I also was once a fan of the idea of trying to bring back AJ but it occurred to me today that letting AJ go and signing another Type A pitcher (if we were to do so) is a net gain of one supplemental draft pick. Not inconsiderable.
So, acknowledging two previous ideas I’ve grown out of, here’s another:
Since we know McGowan should be back early in the year, and that Cecil and Janssen become progressively more of an option as the year goes on..
Then, instead of throwing 8 figures per year for 4 or 5 years at a top tier guy, why not see if you can sign Pedro Martinez (if he holds it together the rest of this year) for a cheap deal (maybe with an option based on number of starts)?
Even if all you got was a couple of months of good work before his arm fell off, it could be a better-than-average bridge to one of the guys we could rely on more in June than in April.
And if by some miricle he held up all year, so much the better.
The worst that could happen is that he got hurt in ST and we ended up losing more or less the same amount of money we spent this year on David Eckstien.
MW: That’s an excellent idea. We may see something like that, or like a Carl Pavano, Mark Prior or Kris Benson.
- WillRainMike, better defensive player John MacDonald or Orlando Hudson?
MW: John McDonald.
- JasonHow would the jays be 6.5 back by the time boston gets here?
they are 7.5 back now and boston doesn’t play Thursday.
MW: See above.
- Jhi Mike;
What an atrocious game, hitting wise by the jays, just when Rios came through with a clutch hit and rbi, Wells struck out swinging at a lousy pitch outside of the strike zone, just one criticism of the lineup, why was mench in the dh spot? we could have used Stairs hr power especially last night.
Purcey seemed to lose his control midway in the forth, as he seemed to try and overpower every batter, and Barajas seemed relieved to have Tallet on the mound after the rookie’s lackluster outing. In closing, Mike as irrational a thought as this may sound like, would the jays prorate the minimum salary and bring Bonds aboard for the last 35 games, it would at the very least fill the skydome and give jays fans something interesting to talk about, lastly I would send down Mench and bring back Adams to the roster-much better hitter, and they should play wilkerson a little more, thanks for the great show and blog.
MW: You’ll have to tell me why they should play Wilkerson more. Also how you surmised that Barajas was relieved to have Tallet on thye mound over Purcey. Mench was playing over Stairs because Andy Pettitte is left-handed, and Stairs doesn’t hit lefties well. The Bonds thing isn’t happening, but it was probably the most rational thing you said.
- robert sRuss Adams update — after going 0-3 on Tuesday, breaking off his hitting streak, Russ was “back” last night, going 2-4 with a double.
August numbers now .431/.465/.708, for OPS of 1.172.
Meanwhile, Travis Snider is hitting .359/.419/.538 in 11 games at AAA, considerably better than his numbers at either A or AA earlier in the year — and that’s after going “0-fer” for 3 consecutive games (0-9, two BB).
Jeremy Accardo’s line last night was “mixed” to say the least — 2/3 IP, 2BB, 1 Hit, 1 K, but 0 Runs allowed.
- NormMike, I’ve recently stumbled upon your blog, and it’s turned into a can’t-miss stop every morning for me. Thanks for your hard work in keeping us up to date on what’s happening in Jays Land.
How does JP see the Jays rotation in ’09? Despite Halladay-Marcum in the 1-2 slots, who is next? Do they expect Janssen back? Is Purcey part of the solution? Can we count on ’4-seam’ Jesse Litsch? What about McGowan?
It seems to me that this team is very close to contention (heck – they’re on the fringes this year and they haven’t hit a lick), but need a top 5-8 pitching staff in order to stay near the top. Who will be leading that staff?
MW: In 2009, I think the Jays see Halladay/McGowan/Marcum/Cecil as the top four. Thanks for stumbling across the blerg – how did you stumble?
- MattMike, in last night’s discussion concerning Richmond, JP mentioned that he “now has a (Majors) pension”. Without knowing anything about how the pension system works, I would have expected that there would be some sort of “minimum service” before a pension would kick in, but this appears not to be the case.
At what point does the pension plan begin — 40 man roster? 25-man roster?
How much service time is required before a “full pension” is earned?
MW: You need 10 years service time for a full pension. I was surprised that J.P. mentioned the pension as often as he did, but maybe he just meant that Richmond is in the plan now.
- NormHey Mike,
Loved the comment by Gary from Sheffield – comparing a sporting event to a retail situation.
As a fan, you know going in that they might lose the game, the game might be a ‘yawner’ etc. If you aren’t willing to take this ‘risk’, don’t go to the game!
MW: That was pretty weird.
- WayneThat Collins reaction was strange. JP had me convinced you were in on some inside joke. They wouldn’t add a Lansing player to the 40 man roster! Maybe the kid is in town?
How David Purcey pitched last night is irrelevant. If he had been brilliant and gave up just two runs, the Jays would have still lost. That’s because we run a lineup with the likes of Scutaro (hitting second too!), Barajas, Macdonald, and Mench/Wilkerson/Stairs. Like in the first game, it really helps if we get lucky. This team is the worst offensive Blue Jay teams in recent years. I think it has got worse under Gaston because they are swinging at first pitches and taking fewer walks. I just hope these guys don’t make Sir Sidney look better than Roy Halladay tonight.
MW: J.P. thought I was in on some inside joke, but I wasn’t.
- Jim BI was reading this morning that the Jays have gone after a big bat on the waiver wire only to have them pulled back. Do you know who they are referring to? I think it was a sun-media report.
MW: Probably Raul Ibanez.
- Brandon FMike
I agree with instant replay but don’t think it should be used frivolously.
Why not limit the use of replay. Assign each team three opportunities to challenge each game and they can use the challenge at any time for anyhing?
MW: I don’t like that idea. What if a team uses up its challenges before a big mistake is made?
- francisThe waiver process is quite confusing and I’m not going to ask you to explain it all because you have many times but can you please answer what the logic is of making it so complicated to trade in August when teams can pull players back from waivers or refuse to make a trade. Am I missing something? I just mean if there’s no risk in putting the whole team on waivers what’s the point of having waivers?
MW: Because the guys who get through can be traded. I have no idea what the logic behind it is.
- EricThis Tim Collins was apparently spotted by JP’s Dad… and hes from JP’s home town of Worcester… Perhaps thats why?
Also, Collins’ manager Tim Signore compares him to Sandy Koufax… Wow… How has he flown so under the radar?
Quite interesting.
MW: Very interesting indeed, and a great story developing. He has flown under the radar because he’s smaller than David Eckstein.
- Andrew (Guelph)Something that has always made me say “Hmmmm”. When a team has a record of 70 and 60, it is said that the team is 10 games over 500. My math says that this is false. If the team had 5 less wins, they would also have 5 more losses making their record 65 and 65. Therefore, 70 and 60 is only 5 games over 500. Get my drift?
MW: I do, and you’re right, but that’s just one of the quirks of baseball-talk. Generally accepted, I believe, because most people can’t be bothered to do the math other than wins minus losses or vice-versa.
- dan from elmvaleIf they sweep Boston I don’t think they would be within 3.5 games of the wild card. Aren’t the Twins/WhiteSox also in the race?
MW: They’d be within four games of Boston, the Twins or White Sox would be another story.
- PeeWeeToronto is not a desirable destination? It’s like NYC only a gazillion times cleaner and is just as and even more cosmopolitan.Look, it’s JP’s job to attract potential players whther they be Manram or even a role player. I live in the NYC area and would sell Toronto like the shining urban jewel of North America.
Speaking of Manny, the Jays can’t afford him? They have a ton of money coming off the books next year and can use some of that money to sign him. Yes, they need a number 3 to a certain degree ( they can bring up Richmond, Cecil, or Janssen to fill a spot so itching is not their weakness) but honestly offense is their weakness and adjustments should be made accordingly. An addition of both Manram and/or Thome/Giambi would be a move in a postive direction.
MW: The Jays can definitely afford Manny, but just because they can doesn’t mean they should get into a deal that’s going to hurt them long-term. Ramirez is said to be looking for a four-year, $100 million contract, which would mean that he’s sucking up $50 million for his ages 40 and 41 seasons. That’s problematic. I’d be happy to give him three years and $50 million, though.
- jayMike a few times I’ve called you and refered to a new stat (I made up) called GBI. Games-the-Jays-have-actually-been-in. Despite all the negative calls and posts about how badly the Jays have underacheived this year, you have to admit the Jays have been in a large majority of the games this year. As a big Jays fan I consider that as something that is not nothing.
Last night unfortunately was NOT a GBI. I took my son and we were both bummed out about how well Pettitte (sp?) was and the Jays bats were not.
Only cool thing was when the guy 2 rows behind us proposed to his girlfriend and had 33K fans watching on the Jumbotron. It looked for a moment that could have gone either way. Might have been the mix of simultaneous emotions on her face that gave me that impression though. Anyway I wish them all the best.
It sure made for some interesting convo with my teenaged son as we watched the Jays ineptitude.
MW: Sorry you were there for one of the few games the Jays haven’t been in this season. Good job spelling Pettitte, though!
- Ian CMike:
I’m curious. If the Jays should pay A.J. a boat load of money, and an extension, wouldn’t they have to do the same for Doc. After all he is probably one of the top 3 pitchers in the majors. Your comments please.
Keith
MW: No, they wouldn’t. Not until 2011, anyway.
- Keith BatesAssuming the Jays win the next 4, they aren’t guaranteed to gain the full amount of games because of the way the Twins and White Sox are battling each other. Jays need to get past 1 team at a time. Doesn’t look like the Rays are going anywhere, unless they absolutely collapse.
25 – 11 gets the Jays to 90 wins. You figured with 40 games to go they would need to go 32 – 8 (they have gone 3 -1 so far)to make the playoffs which looks very reasonable. Playing .800 ball will be quite a run. I’m just glad we get to even consider the possibility this late in the season.
This team has struggled since Cito’s return when someone other than Doc or AJ is on the mound, let’s hope that Marcum can get on a winning role and the bats wake up to finish off this homestand.
Do you think the 4 year $60 million contract some think AJ will probably get if he chooses to opt out is worth it? Do the Jays even enter into any discussions with him if he opts out, much like the Yanks did with A-Rod?
MW: The Jays would still talk to A.J. if he chooses to opt out, but I don’t think they’d offer 4 years, let alone $60 million. As for Marcum, he seems to be on that winning roll right now.
- Aaron KerMike,
Good show last night. One thing I disagree with is that their is no one in the minors to step in for Bad Brad or Kevin Munchin…I think Bucky Coates could swing as weak a bat while playing better D.
I guess I am viewing Giambi through Blue Jays colour glasses…i.e. forgetting about his ability to drive the ball.
As for A.J., I had never thought of the angle that J.P. could sign another a compariable pitcher to A.J. and get the draft picks from lossing A.J.
- JWMike, the Jays are most definitely out of it. ESPN.com’s coolstandings, which I’m not sure you’re familiar with, gives them a 2.2% chance of making the postseason. That sounds about right given that Tampa Bay and Boston are just much better teams.
This is just facing reality. The Jays will not be in any race as long as JP is still GM and makes trades such as Rolen for Glaus. At what point will escuses stop being made and responsibility for failure occur?
MW: I love that you’re backing up your opinion about the Jays’ playoff chances by citing the facts of ESPN.com’s coolstandings. So reality is that the Jays will never be in any race as long as J.P. is the general manager – is that right?
- Will, Syracuse, NYMW: I think people have started to realize over the last few years that the guy who wins the batting title isn’t necessarily (and generally isn’t) the best hitter in the league. In my mind, not getting out is the best thing a hitter can do. But no one stat shows everything.
This comment brought to mind Wade Boggs. He won the batting title 5 times and had a .328 career batting average, but had limited power and no speed and never drove in more than 89 runs. He really never had an ideal spot in the batting order. For that reason he tops my list as the least productive player elected to the Hall in the 40 years I’ve been following baseball, despite some of his great stats.
MW: Boggs was a pretty productive guy, especially through his peak. From 1983-1989, his average OPS+ was 152. Say what you will about the Green Monster, but Boggs hit at least 40 doubles in 8 of 9 seasons from ’83-’91.
- MarvinWho do you expect the Jays to send over to Pittsburg in exchange for Jose Bautista?
MW: Maybe Russ Adams.
- AdamYou have to feel sorry for Doc, Going into tonight he has compiled 191 ip, 8 cg’s, 2 so’s, given up 32 walks, a whip of 1.04, and has a 2.64 era, and yet somehow he has been dumped on for 9 losses.
Performance wise (accounting for injuries) would you consider 2008 to be Roy’s strongest season since 03?
MW: 2005 was pretty spectacular, but he only made 19 starts that year.
- ukJayReading between the lines on some other sports columns and blogs, Rios and Wells don’t like each other much. Have you heard anything about this?
Also, Richard Griffin suggests that bringing back Delgado–who is Puerto Rican–might be a big help to Rios, as Delgado might be able to mentor him. This hadn’t occurred to me but I think it’s a good idea. What do you think?
MW: I haven’t read between those lines. What makes you think that? And I don’t think the idea of bringing a guy in be be a mentor (read babysitter) is a good one, unless he’s also going to be a productive member of the line-up. Delgado likely won’t be available, anyway.
- reyesHi Mike,
did I hear JP correctly last night? Did he say that the Jays wouldn’t bring up Snider unless they felt they needed a bat down the stretch? Um, don’t they need a bat now?
I could be wrong about what he said though.
Thanks!
MW: I’m pretty sure that’s not what he said.
- RoryI don’t know anything about Juan Bautista. Good move? Bad move?
In other news, so far this game is a ton of fun to watch…
MW: I don’t know anything about Juan Bautista, either. Jose Bautista, though, is a nothing-special sort of player, who can play a reasonable but unspectacular third base and a poor outfield. He hits left-handers better than he hits righties, and he’s now the Jays’ home run leader, which is really, really sad.
- reyesMike,
With a 13-0 lead, and Halladay having thrown 60 pitches after 5 innings, what would think about:
1) Moving Burnett up to make a Saturday start, with a limited pitch count (i.e. 60-70 pitches). I’ll take my chances with 5 innings of Burnett and Toronto’s excellent pen.
2) Pulling Halladay at 60 pitches, and moving him up for a Sunday start.
3) Litsch misses a start.
That would give Toronto as good an opportunity as possible to sweep a very crucial Boston series, with Marcum, Burnett and Halladay taking the hill.
Just a thought.
MW: Not an entirely horrible thought, but it’s not going to happen.
- ReneWhy is Halladay still in this game?
MW: Because he had only thrown 82 pitches into the 7th, carrying a shutout, but he’s not coming out for the 8th.
- KrisSomewhere John Gibbons is watching this game thinking “I wish I could have had just a few of those hits with runners in scoring position”. Mind you, maybe if the hitters would have actually been swinging instead of watching pitches, his team would have had a fighting chance. I still blame it on the players though. If someone changed my technique to the point where it made my ability decline, I would have changed back to an approach that I had previous success with.
MW: Hmmm, I’ve heard that somewhere before.
- dan from elmvaleDoc is probably not going to win the Cy Young, but if they had taken him out after 6, his ERA would have been 2.55, now it isn’t.
Way to go. Cito
MW: Yeah, it was Cito’s fault that Halladay gave up that three-run homer.
- MattNo, it wasn’t Cito’s fault that Doc gave up a three-run homer.
It was Cito’s fault for not pulling Doc out of a game where he had a 13 run lead.
Can you imagine if Doc took a ball off his face pitching in a game like this?
MW: Then why did Halladay even come out for the 5th?
- Matt“Who goes for Batista?”
Maybe Jason Frasor….?
MW: I doubt very much it’ll be a roster player. Check the new blog post!
- WillRainHi Mike,
Great game tonight. I guess Roy’s teammates like him afterall.
I am reading a book called, ” Baffling Baseball Trivia “. In it they tell of a situation where the manager puts his starting pitcher on first, his first baseman to third, and brings in a reliever. Once the reliever gets the next batter out, he puts his starter back on the mound and his 1st baseman back to first.
Have you ever heard of anything like this before ? Or heard of any other odd rules coming into play in a game ?
MW: That’s not really an odd rule, players can change positions in the game. As for having a pitcher “relieve himself” on the mound, Whitey Herzog used to do it all the time with the Cardinals in the mid-80s, using Todd Worrell and Ricky Horton almost interchangeably. The Brewers did it with Chuck Crim and Dan Plesac in one of the first-ever games played at SkyDome.
- KimMW: You’ll have to tell me why they should play Wilkerson more. Also how you surmised that Barajas was relieved to have Tallet on thye mound over Purcey.
“thye”?
MW: In 2009, I think the Jays see Halladay/McGowan/Marcum/Cecil as the top four. Thanks for stumbling across the blerg – how did you stumble?
“blerg”?
Sorry for being too picky, so I will leave a comment. Jimmy Rollins is now being buried by the fans in Philadelphia for saying that some players do not want to play in Philly because of those notorious fans there. There are always good/bad sides of every cities/teams and players have different taste (i.e. Koskie took less money to play in Toronto; some players love media attention while other players like more of quite atmosphere).
Oh, and do you think that Jose Bautista will get a shot at starting 3B over Scutaro? After all, he’s got 12 HRs, more than any Jays.
MW: I’m dealing with hundreds of comments a week, and I’m not taking the extra time to proofread my responses. If you want the comments answered, you’re going to have to live with a typo every once in a while. And there’s nothing wrong with the word blerg. Bautista will definitely start at third against lefties, I don’t know what the plan is for using him against righties.
- JaybirdI can’t believe that JP is still taking the position that he never offered to trade Rios to San Francisco for Lincecum. UNBELIEVABLE !!! This guy really thinks that the fans are stupid and I’m sure that’s part of the reason people think he’s so arrogant
Who should we believe Mike? I know you did radio spots on those days of the meetings reporting the story and saying that they just needed San Francisco to agree to it for it to be done. Are you just one of those reporters that JP says hear things and then make stuff up to report without having all the facts? If so you’re not in bad company as I heard the same thing from Jamie Campbell, Steve Phillips, and Ken Rosenthal so there was a big rumour conspiracy going on to make JP look bad obviously.
I laugh when he talks about sitting down with his detractors … he’d look so bad.
MW: When did J.P. say he never offered to trade Rios to the Giants for Lincecum? Sadly, another case of just hearing what you want to hear.
- Peter B.Do you think Keith Law harbours any sort of resentment for JP Ricciardi and what is their relationship these days?
MW: You’ll have to ask Keith that – good thing he does chats on ESPN.com!
- andrewMike, do you have some way of looking up the Jays’ record in games started by John McDonald over the last few years? (My guess is that it’s pretty impressive.) Do you think the sample size is enough to tell us something about his overall value to the team?
After the start to this season, I would *love* it if the Jays were playing meaningful games (say, within 4 or 5 games of the wild card) in September. But the Jays are still very much a long shot to make the playoffs.
MW: I don’t have any ways of looking that up that you don’t have. And I don’t think it’s about sample size, he’s just one of nine or more – it’s tough to ascribe that level of importance to a single player.
- GeoffMike, I realize you probably don’t often watch the Sportsnet telecasts (if at all), but I’m convinced Rance Mulliniks is being paid by the word.
Do you know why Darrin Fletcher’s not doing games any more? I thought he was a good colour man.
MW: This is the wrong place to come to complain about the TV broadcast.
- Mark McDonaldWhy did the Jays pitch Halliday in place of Litsch, with Ponson pitching for the Yankees. Wouldn’t it have made sense to hold him back to pitch against the Redsox.
P.S. I intended to ask you this even before the Blue Jays walloped Ponson.
MW: They want to win every game they can. They didn’t exactly light up Darrell Rasner, so I don’t know how you could have assumed that they’d beat the hell out of Sir Sidney.
- steve from NJMike, how long a term would you give a SP?
MW: It depends who he is.
- andrew“My math says that this is false. If the team had 5 less wins, they would also have 5 more losses making their record 65 and 65. Therefore, 70 and 60 is only 5 games over 500. Get my drift?”
No, and Mike shouldn’t have either. 70-60 is ten games over .500 because it would take 10 consecutive losses to get you back to .500. It doesn’t work by looking back retroactively and substituting losses for wins! Your math makes no sense.
MW: Well, except that a .500 record after 130 games is 65-65, and therefore 70 wins is only five above .500.
- AriI dont dig it when people mispronounce names but with Doc, I can offer one possible reason why people do so-
They see the spelling and think ‘Hall’ should be said like ‘Deck the Halls’, or ‘Kids in the Hall’.. you get the picture.
MW: Fair enough, but it’s not like he’s been here 10 years or anything.
- Chris BAfter the 5th, he qualified for the win. After that, he shouldn’t have pitched anymore in the game. As I said, if he had been hurt in a game like this, Cito and the Jays would have been the laughing stock of baseball. You know it and I know it.
From the tone of your comments, it seems like you agree with the decision to keep him in the game.
MW: I do. But you’ll have to enlighten me – getting him the win is more important than risking him being hurt?
- MattRegarding POST #31 about Rios and Wells “not liking each other”…
Next time you’re at the Rogers Centre for a fine evening of baseball, in between plays you will notice Rios and Wells chirping and smiling back to each other in the outfield.
Hardly the signs of guys who don’t like each other.
- Andrew (Guelph)Mike:
I thought the role of a pitcher was to pitch. At what point do you bring a pitcher out of a game. I’m fedup with these jerks nit picking on every little thing the Jays do. Do they want to bunr out the best bull pen in the majors. Please respond
Keith
MW: Me, or the jerks?
- Keith BatesHello Mike…….Any reason why JP was apprehensive about commenting on Tim Collins……….he seemed to be putting him under the radar for some reason….whats your take?
MW: He wasn’t apprehensive at all. He was just surprised that I’d ask about him.
- Mark from ThoroldMW: This is the wrong place to come to complain about the TV broadcast.
Oh, I know. None of the right places seem to care, however.
MW: Sorry.
- Mark McDonaldRe: Moving pitchers to other positions
Herzog did do that, usually for the purpose of a favourable match-up such as righty-righty without the expense of using the whole bullpen. He usually did it in cases where he felt there was essentially zero chance of the batter hitting a ball to the opposite field (Whitey was a real statistician and likely ahead of his time – remember his three-ring binders and coloured pencils?)
It was entertaining when the batter DID hit one at the pitcher temporarily playing right field and Ricky Horton chasing a triple into the right field corner…
It also brings up a question of the arm strength of a pitcher compared to an outfielder. Pitchers usually throw no more than maybe 100 feet or so as most plays they are involved in are in the infield. Would most pitchers have “good arms” if they were playing the outfield?
After all, remember Dave Righetti throwing that ball from the mound over the right field fence at Exhibition Stadium – that would probably have been at least 250 feet.
MW: Rick Ankiel certainly has a good outfield arm. Most pitchers do a lot of long toss, so chances are the hard throwers would be able to remain hard throwers.
- Rob M