These Twin City Kisses Sound Like Clicks and Hisses: Game 41, Jays at Twins
by hugo on May 13, 2008 7:05 PM EDT
in Toronto Blue Jays Game Threads
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PrintToronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins, May 13, 2008 8:10 PM EDT
It's possible I'm making too much of yesterday's game, but when Lyle's hit back up the middle deflected off Rafael Betancourt's arm and allowed him to reach base and Stairs to reach 2nd, it seemed like the Jays finally got a break and that perhaps now things would be better. I guess today will give some indication as to whether that's true.
Certainly until that play, it didn't seem like anything had changed. The Jays lost the first game 3-0, wasting a fine effort by A.J. Burnett and a 3-hit night by Matt Stairs. In the second game, things looked to be even worse. Between the unassisted triple play off Lyle's bat earlier in the game and the two fantastic defensive plays in the 9th off the bats of Alexis Rios and Kevin Mench, it looked like the Jays would surely squander another terrific start by Shaun Marcum. Marcum went 8, striking out 5, walking none (though hitting one), and yielding only 2 hits.
Then luck bounced the Jays way, and a Stewart sac fly, Aaron Hill 2-rbi single (1 of which was scored due to a heads up play by Brad Wilkerson to tag to 2nd on the sac fly), and Snakeface save later, the Jays had snapped their losing streak. B.J. Ryan got the win by pitching a fine 9th inning, though Marcum was the hero, lowering his ERA to 2.22.
Today, the Jays head to Minnesota to take on the Twins, who have surprised many by playing quite well so far. The Twins are coming off a series in which they took 3 of 4 from the Red Sox, and are scoring runs despite not hitting for much power. The Jays unique combination of lack of power and absolute putridity with runners in scoring position has really put a lot of pressure on their pitchers, but by and large they seem up to the task. Still, it'd be nice to score a few runs early for once.
Today's pitching matchup features two young arms: Jesse Litsch and Kevin Slowey. Litsch has been just fine so far, particularly of late, and is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA over his last 3 starts. He has been going deeper into games and hasn't been walking anybody - in fact, he hasn't walked a batter since Gibbons inexplicably exploded on him - which is vital for a pitcher of his ilk. Slowey is a year older than Litsch and has only made two starts this season due to a biceps strain from which he recently returned. In limited action, Slowey's problem has been the long ball this season, and man would it be great for the Jays to hit a few homers.
I'm a big fan of the Twin Cities, the Twins have always been my favourite AL Central team and their music scene has produced some amazing bands, including the Replacements, Husker Du, and the Hold Steady (graciously supplying our title). And I am an even bigger fan of Bob Dylan (actually from Hibbing, Minn. but his musical career began in Minneapolis in large part) and Prince.
I'll be around for the game, but will also be writing a little piece about Stewart, who's apparently not a happy camper, during the game. Let's go Jays!
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Stew is the obvious guy to drop when we add Bonds
because with Stairs and Mench becoming the LF platoon, you need someone who can play RF, and Wilk is a better choice there than Stew.
Because we’re adding Bonds, right? Right? Any day now.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Stewart definitely can't play right, but Stairs and Mench probably could
"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
How's Mench's arm?
So it turns into Stew vs. Wilk with the bat?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
I don't think we're getting Bonds
though Wilner thinks J.P. would, if money weren’t an issue and if Godfrey didn’t hate Bonds
"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
Yeah, because now we believe JP.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
he has to say that though
if he were actually trying to get someone else, he gains leverage by making it seem as though he isn’t desperate or anything
"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
there are some clueless GMs out there
and others with their own problems
"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
Wilk works the 7 pitch strikeout looking
after the 3-0 start
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Outside corner
Still, awfully close to take
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Another outside corner
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
If Litsch gets those calls
it could be a long night.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
0 for 2
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Hmmmmm Tabler just said Rolen has done something every game to help the team win....
We’d had what 6 wins since he’s been playing….
And mlb.tv briefly cuts to the Mets/Nats game
and then pretends it’s a commercial. Great job.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
that's funny
I tried to watch the first hour of that game, and couldn’t get it, and I live in DC
"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
I was thinking there was a problem with the feed
but I guess not
"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
he had a hit in his first game
not sure since then
"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
It did it again
The tail end of a half-inning of the mets game, then a commercial break.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Stairs gets on
via the free pass
"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
Well if it had been the humpback liner he thought it was going to be
then it would just have been one out. It was not hustling that made it a double play. And what are we going to do, bat Mench vs. a righty?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Well course I'd much rather have Lind....
I guess releasing him would be admitting another mistake…at some point JP would have to be fired
there's Lind
"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
When Lind finds his stroke again?
He hasn’t been good in AAA since we sent him back down.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Yeah....you think it's posible he's given up....get 19 at bats and don't hit....
but you are on a whole team that hasn’t hit and you get sent away….you gotta know you aren’t in the plans
Stew forgets to hustle
Certainly not helping his cause.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
So you think Marcum is crap?
Because his fastball is nothing special and he’s successful.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
no I think he's a hell of a pitcher....
but that was a fastball you gotta be able to catch up to…Lind got dropped but wasn’t striking out….Wilk doesn’t give a lot of signs that he can connect….maybe I’m wrong and he’s a .300 hitter….but he’s been released twice in the last 8 months or so….
hes never been a high average hitter
and has always struck out a ton, the only question is whether he still can hit one out and can get on base via the walk. while it’s not really fair to judge him on two bad at-bats, especially b/c you know he’s going to strike out a lot, I agree with you that he looks cooked to me 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
Oh well was hoping for some sign that last night was the turning point....
but gotta get moving….hope they score a few….
Solo homer
Game over.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
We need to score 2
or it is game over.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
no worries Litsch
they’re going to get some dingers, just make sure they’re solo shots. I have some faith we can score a few today
"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
lets go GJE
"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
not what I had in mind
"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
Stairs draws his second free pass
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Overbay with the RBI double
Who needs scoring position?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
That said, it's RISP time
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Lyle!
there’s one right there.
"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
doubles are awesome
"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
1 for 3
Over Cuddyer’s head for another double
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
woooo!
that was lucky
"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
1 for 4
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Litsch with the shutdown inning
1-2-3 through the heart of the order on 3 fly balls.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Litsch hasn't been getting as many grounders this season
"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
Cutters instead of sinkers?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Except weren't all three hitters lefties?
Cutters would break in on them, which you’d think would cause grounders.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
he's had the good cutter for most starts
but his sinker doesn’t seem to be sinking as much. Although his curve looks better, which has meant more Ks
"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
Three pitch strikeout for Litsch
leading off the bottom of the 5th
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
That's 26 innings without a walk for Litsch
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
And he strands the 2 out single
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Rios 0 for 3 after a swinging strikeout
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Rolen grounds out on the 15th (!) pitch
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Stairs!!!
"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
Stairs with the solo homer
and I think Rolen set that up by tiring out Slowey.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Gomez gets 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
No double play
Hill sent ass over teakettle at second, but they got the lead runner
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
almost got the DP
"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
Overbay knocks down the hard hit ball down the line
No double play again, and only the tail runner eliminated.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
nice play 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
And that's it for Litsch
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Litsch out, Carlson in
"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
That's not a good start for Carlson
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
is the magic gone?
"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
or just one hanging slurve?
"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
Morneau destroys it
"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
and Carlson out after 1 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
That solo homer really looking big right now.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
please let it not be Benitez
"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
Frasor still rates above Armando
"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
Yeah, don't want to balk in the tying run.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
and then hear from him how he is "doing my job"
"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
Was 'doing my job' after the balks?
I thought it was a game in SF.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
yep you're right
"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
Easy grounder
Time for insurance runs.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Frasor successful
still hanging 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
Stew grits out a single up the middle
specifically, the opposite side of up the mdidle.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Zaun's grounder not turned into a double play
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
harris is not much of a fielder, is he?
"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
It would appear not
He stepped to the third base side to avoid the takeout slide.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
dang, the Yankees tied it in the 9th
on a Matsui dinger
"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
Seems like we'd rather the Yankees win
given that we expect to have to pass both them and the Rays.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Of course, that assumes that the Rays will be as good as or better than
the Yankees over the rest of the season.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
maybe if ARod and Posada never return
"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
up to wilkerson
"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
Single up the middle
RISP time with 2 outs.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
cmon Hill!
"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
2 for 5!
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
w00t
"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
bad throw from Young means
2nd and 3rd
"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
Can Lexi break his funk?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
won't get the chance
"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
Seems like an odd choice.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
when did we last top 3 runs
Marcum’s start against the Rays?
"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
The 6-2 game.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
right, that's what I thought
"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
They're putting Rios on
to pitch to Rolen.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
interesting strategy by Gardy
"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
That was a swing?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
that wasn't good
"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
2 for 6
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Frasor still in
feels like one of his bigger spots of the season, but maybe it’s just me
"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
He's pitching with the lead
uncharted territory.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
yeah
since the first week or so after BJ went in for surgery 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
And with Accardo on the DL
he’s the best righty option.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
I agree
certainly the best option to be up at this time. But I think League would be much more help than Camp or Benitez
"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
Rolen converts
nice outing for Frasor
"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
I assume
Beej will be good to go tonight after only 7 pitches yesterday, will Downs be the guy in the 8th? or will we try something else, do you think?
"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
Not sure what the matchups are like
but I would assume it would be Downs into Beej. Beej can pitch on two straight days.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Mench with the line drive single
over the corpulent hurler
"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
Mench with the leadoff single
against the lefty reliever brought in to face Stairs.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Two straight singles?
RISP time
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Lyle
follows with the single off the lefty
"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
the O's beat Beckett
that makes me happy
"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
Stew draws the walk
trying to bunt, even with 2 strikes
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Stew walks
to load them for Zaun
"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
Zaun gets Mench in
insurance!
"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
To the opposite field
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
2 for 7 on the Scutaro grounder
but two in scoring position now.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
would be great
if Wilkerson could get a hit here
"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
2 for 8
plus the sac fly.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Benitez in
immediately gives up a HR to Kubel on the 1st 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
he never should've been called up
and he needs to get out of this game post-haste
"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
gets Gomez
on the 3-2 slider. Clearly Gomez was sitting fastball
"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
FSN North called it a splitter.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
looked like a slider to me
but I could be wrong
"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
Benitez I hate you with the fire of 1000 suns
"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
Should we tell the Giants bloggers
how he did his job?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Benitez wastes no time
giving up a homer to Kubel
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Strikes out Gomez
keeping his speed off the bases.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Rays won, Sox lost
Rays are now in first.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Harris walks
Mauer to hit as the tying run, but not against Benitez
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
and Downs comes in to try to get Mauer and Morneau
let’s not use Benitez in any more high-leverage situations please
"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
Do you give the role back to Camp?
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
I mean, now that Benitez has pitched
we can let him go, right? Just like we did with Randy Wells.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
I'd recall League
he’d get enough work now to stay sharp, with Accardo and Wolfe out.
"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
Lead out, no relay from Scutaro
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
nice job by Downs to get the groundball from Mauer
but no chance for the DP, so now it’s Morneau as the tying run
"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
Taps to short
6 unassisted
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
great work from Downs
to get the 2 best hitters on the team. JotD material there
"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
I'm counting 7 JotDs so far.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Hill draws the leadoff walk
That’s some good work getting leadoff men on.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Bass ducked on the 0-2 pitch
like he thought Mauer was going to throw to second.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Rios gets the hat trick
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Hill gets picked off
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Rios looks awful at the plate right now
Hill picked off, and it’s Beej time
"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
Cuddyer reaches way out for a single
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Beej makes Monroe look terrible
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Young grounds out, but Cuddyer was on the move
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Lamb crushes one foul
almost a soul crusher
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
Grounder to Rolen
looked so easy
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
So to review
A homer, some hits with RISP plus some opposite field doubles, and a runner at third with less than two out scoring. In other words, the opposite of Jaysball.
"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"
two in a row!
Lamb came way too close to tying it. The Jays still squandered lots of chances, but a good team effort nonetheless. Jays of the Day: Litsch, Stairs, Hill, Frasor, Overbay, Downs, and Stewart, with honourable mention to Ryan. I know that’s a lot, but they all earned it with fine performances
"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
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