Toronto @ Boston GameThread, Apr 29, 2008 7:05 PM EDT

I'm Not Looking For a New England: Game 27, Toronto at Boston

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 6:51 PM EDT in Game Threads

Toronto @ Boston

Tuesday, April 29- Boston, Massachusetts
7:05 PM (EDT)

Toronto Blue Jays
rf Alexis Rios
ss David Eckstein
3b Scott Rolen
cf Vernon Wells
2b Aaron Hill
1b Lyle Overbay
dh Shannon Stewart
lf Adam Lind
c Gregg Zaun
Pitching: Doc Halladay, rhp

Boston Red Sox
cf Coco Crisp
2b Dustin Pedroia
dh David Ortiz
lf Manny Ramirez
1b Kevin Youkilis
3b Mike Lowell
rf J.D. Drew
c Jason Varitek
ss Julio Lugo

Pitching: Jon Lester, LHP

We were trying to decide in the comments of yesterday's off-day thread who would DH tonight against the southpaw Lester. Well, we have our answer, Shannon Stewart. Stewart is going to have to show something soon or I think the Jays will lose patience with him. He's batting an abhorent .212/.323/.269 and has scored only 5 runs despite batting mostly at the top of the order. He has drawn a decent amount of walks, but that can't be expected to last if he keeps slugging .269. In fairness to him, he hasn't even had 70 plate appearances, but something tells me the Jays aren't going to wait around very long for him.

I'm not crazy about starting Eckstein today, I would've liked to see Mac behind Doc, just given his groundball tendencies and the way the Red Sox have played Doc (hack hack hack, which goes against their normal strategy but seems to work fairly well against him).

By the way, Lester has been terrible for Boston this season. Really, he's having the same problems he's had in the major leagues in past seasons -- 19 walks to only 16 strikeouts is certainly not going to get the job done. He's given up lots of hits as well (37 in only 31 1/3 innings) and coupled with the walks, he's rather lucky to be sporting a 5.40 ERA, really. He did have one terrific start against Oakland, but other than that, his best start has been one in which he gave up 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings. So, the Jays should be trying to take the exact opposite approach the Sox are taking with Doc - they should force Lester to throw strikes and then pound them. Of course, this game is seldom what you expect.

I'll be listening to rather than watching the game, as Mrs. Hugo hosts the Silver Spring Women Writers' Group on Tuesday. Sounds like something out of a Bronte novel, doesn't it? Let's go Jays!

By the way, today's title comes from the rabble-rousing voice of the workingman, Billy Bragg. Not sure about his politics, but I sure do love his music.

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Comments

Apparently it's raining?

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:08 PM EDT 0 recs

maybe

I think the game is starting though

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:20 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah, 15 minute rain delay.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:21 PM EDT up 0 recs

Rios takes until 3-2

then taps to the mound.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:22 PM EDT 0 recs

x breaks his bat grounding to shallow third

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:23 PM EDT 0 recs

sounded like

a great inning from Lester

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:24 PM EDT 0 recs

Rolen pops up to first

I sure hope another lefty starter isn’t going to dominate our predominantly righty lineup again.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:25 PM EDT 0 recs

good start

from the Doctor

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:28 PM EDT 0 recs

I'm curious why mlb.tv is still in commercial mode

when Doc has struck out crisp already.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:28 PM EDT 0 recs

and Pedroia too

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:29 PM EDT up 0 recs

That's two strikeouts

and still no video.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:29 PM EDT 0 recs

Way to miss a whole half inning there, mlb.tv

Good thing I pay for this service.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:30 PM EDT 0 recs

Okay, switching to radio

this is getting ridiculous.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:33 PM EDT 0 recs

Looks like they realized the game was on

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:35 PM EDT 0 recs

that's good

probably only b/c it was the red sox

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:36 PM EDT up 0 recs

They don't have the HD feed, though

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:37 PM EDT up 0 recs

Lyle works the walk

There goes the perfect game.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:40 PM EDT 0 recs

Lyle draws the walk

cmon Stew

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:40 PM EDT 0 recs

Stew hits an unimpressive one-hopper to first

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:41 PM EDT 0 recs

I wonder if the weather has something to do with it

the video dropped out again.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:47 PM EDT 0 recs

Lowell

always seems to kill the Jays

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:47 PM EDT 0 recs

Okay, now it's 16:9 centered in 4:3 centered in 16:9

and then on my screen in fullscreen, that’s centered in 4:3 again.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:48 PM EDT 0 recs

High throw doesn't catch Youk

(running on the pitch), but Lowell strikes out.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:50 PM EDT 0 recs

Doc strikes out Lowell

but a bad throw from Zaun lets Youkilis steal 2nd on the 3-2 pitch

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 7:50 PM EDT 0 recs

x makes that play uncomfortably close

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:54 PM EDT 0 recs

Lind makes a quick out to continue his 0-fer

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 7:57 PM EDT 0 recs

Zaun strikes out looking for the second out

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:00 PM EDT 0 recs

And Rios grounds out quickly

At least Zaun saw a few pitches.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:01 PM EDT 0 recs

DH v LHP?

Who do the Jays have to replace Stewart at DH v LHP? Barajas, with his stellar .296 lifetime OBP v LHP?

Stairs has put up decent numbers vs LHP in the past few years (except for a sub .600 OPS in 2006), though significantly below his output v RHP and overall. Putting him as the everyday DH would give us 3 lefties in our lineup v LHP. How do people feel about that? And if we jettisoned Stewart, the pickings for replacements seems thin (I guess Coats, or Diaz to fill in at DH sometimes, but then we get into the whole 3 C on the roster and no PT/development for Diaz scenario).

by SuckaMD on Apr 29, 2008 8:03 PM EDT 0 recs

Coats hits lefty

so he’s not a platoon option.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

good question

I think we could probably find a decent righty bat somewhere.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:08 PM EDT up 0 recs

Halladay with another good inning

Still worried that Lester will no-hit us.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:06 PM EDT 0 recs

Right, I didn’t envision Coats as a platoon guy, but I figured if we dumped Stewart, we would need a 4th OF. I suppose Stairs could be that guy, but Coats is certainly a better option as a defensive replacement. I guess if we brought up Diaz, he could spell Stairs at DH if he is pressed into duty in the OF. I’m curious about others’ opinions on the matter.

by SuckaMD on Apr 29, 2008 8:07 PM EDT 0 recs

how are Matthews and Smith doing at AAA?

both are righty-hitting outfielders if I recall, and both had pretty good seasons last year

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

Smith's batting .238 in AA

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:13 PM EDT up 0 recs

Do you think there is any hope they will dump Stewart.....

I don’t think JP will want to admit to another mistake….how many mistakes can you make and keep your job….

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

Maybe if they can find something better

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:21 PM EDT up 0 recs

truly can't imagine them doing worse.....well...maybe if they put me in.....

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

that's right

I’d forgotten that Smith was hurt and was playing at AA now. As for Stewart, I think the Jays will dump him soon.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:24 PM EDT up 0 recs

case in point

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:24 PM EDT up 0 recs

I hope Lind gets a hit soon....they'll start giving Stewart his at bats.....

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

x doesn't help our cause

although Lowell did make a diving play there.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:09 PM EDT 0 recs

Rolen grounds to his counterpart

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:11 PM EDT 0 recs

VW draws the walk

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:13 PM EDT 0 recs

Hill pops up on the first pitch to waste that chance.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:14 PM EDT 0 recs

Quick grounder from Pedroia

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:16 PM EDT 0 recs

Quick grounder into the shift from Ortiz

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:17 PM EDT 0 recs

At least Doc has allowed fewer baserunners.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:22 PM EDT 0 recs

Ah, good. Overbay broke it up.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:22 PM EDT 0 recs

Stew wastes no time eliminating the runner

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:23 PM EDT 0 recs

And Lind's 0-fer continue

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:25 PM EDT 0 recs

At least x isn't making us regret his presence

so far, considering how busy he’s been.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:28 PM EDT 0 recs

Infield single for Moss

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:30 PM EDT 0 recs

Thank God for Doc

Based on today, Overbay needs to not hit in front of Stewart

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:31 PM EDT 0 recs

Is there anyone Stew should be hitting behind?

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

Barajas? Mac?

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

who hits eight in A ball for the jays?

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

Doc seems to be on complete game pace again.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:32 PM EDT 0 recs

tough to do that against Boston

though they are usually pretty aggressive against Doc

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

Zaun draws the 4 pitch walk

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:35 PM EDT 0 recs

this seems somewhat promising

don’t be too eager, Lexi

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:35 PM EDT up 0 recs

perhaps

a little more eager than that, though

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

rios...gotta protect the plate...damn it....

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:38 PM EDT 0 recs

Rios strikes out looking

Let’s see how x does

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:39 PM EDT 0 recs

good thing Zaun wasn't running

3-2

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:39 PM EDT 0 recs

If Zaun was going to run

then Rios would probably have been told

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:40 PM EDT up 0 recs

probably

but not necessarily

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

Man, they are really holding Zaun close

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:41 PM EDT 0 recs

Hit and Run not on

and x grounds into the double play

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:42 PM EDT 0 recs

great job fellas

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:42 PM EDT 0 recs

Boy that was sad......can we start playing Mac...if we are using a SS that doesn't hit?

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:42 PM EDT 0 recs

by that logic

we should replace half our roster with defensive specialists, unfortunately

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

well..only at the most important defensive spots...I like hill defensively

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

x'

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

as I was trying to say

x’s OBP is still .340-ish. You can’t really expect that of Johnny Mac.

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Apr 29, 2008 8:44 PM EDT 0 recs

and dropping....and ummm how many runs would mac have saved the last 2 weeks or so....

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

.300

would be an unrealistic expectation for Mac, really. Unfortunately, OBP alone isn’t helping us as much as it should because of our lack of power and failure to hit with runners on.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

if Eck was .330 and Mac was .290....with their D....who would you rather have out there?

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

add in Eck's .330 will be in high leverage batting spots.....

by rincewind on Apr 29, 2008 8:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

good question

I’d say you could leverage both depending on the situation, it doesn’t have to be an either/or thing. I’d have liked to have seen Mac start today, for example. But you would still need eck, b/c mac is so bad offensively I’d want to pinch-hit for him early and often

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 29, 2008 8:51 PM EDT up 0 recs