Burres Gets Hit So Hard It Knocks Him Back to the Minors, Jays Lose
by Tom Dakers on Apr 30, 2009 9:14 PM EDT
15 comments
Jays 6 Royals 8
How come the only people that thought using Brian Burres as a starter was a good idea worked for the Jays? The good news is that Burres and Bryan Bullington were sent back to the Minors after the game. Maybe there is a God, or at least intelligent life in the Jay's front office.
Anyway the game....I don't really want to talk about it....but Burres was awful for the 2 innings plus he was out there for, giving up 5 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned and a walk to bring his ERA to a wonderful 14.21. Isn't there some baseball saying about an ERA bigger than your shoe size being bad luck? Bullington wasn't much better in relief. League and Carlson did well over the last 3 innings but by then it was a little late.
Offensively? Well we did get back into the game late and likely would have done better but we hit into 6 (!) double plays. 6 double plays! One each by 6 different players. Tying a league record. The scary part is we could have done worse. We hit into a double play in each of the first 4 innings.
There were some good offensive performances, like someone in the game thread said 'you need lots of base runners to have 6 double plays. We took 6 walks and had 11 hits, including a leadoff homer by Marco Scutaro and a 2 run shot by Adam Lind. Everyone in the lineup got on base at least twice except Jose Bautista who got on once.
Jay of the Day is Adam Lind (.095 WPA). Honorable mention to Kevin Millar and Scoot for that leadoff homer. How many of you guessed that Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill would be tied for the team lead in homers at the end of April. Put down your hands, you liars. Suckage Jays? Let's all say it together Brian Burres (-.395 WPA, please, please JP, I don't care what happens from here on out, do not call this man up again), Jose Bautista (-.168) and Hill (.101) get Hinskes.
Beyond that, I'm sorry, I know Cito is like everyone's favorite manager, and I'll admit he is growing on me, but his idea that we can't pinch hit is an idiot idea. Think about this, 8th inning, the team has worked their way back from down by 6 to where they have a runner on and the tying run at the plate. Bautista up, ok, you want to give Rolen the whole day off, let him bat against the righty. I don't like it but ok. But after he strikes out, Raul Chavez is up.
Chavez is a good defensive catcher, but he hits, well he hits like Johnny Mac. On our bench is Lyle Overbay, and he is swinging the bat so well of late. 99 managers out of 100 would pinch hit there. In fact likely 100 out of 100, unless the 100th is our Cito. But Cito is still posing for that statue that they are going to put outside of Skydome. I really really don't understand how you can be philosophically opposed to pinch hitting and be a manager in the majors. It doesn't make sense to me. You won't do it because it might hurt Raul Chavez's feelings? Chavez knows he isn't here because of his bat.
Anyway, let's not get too upset by one loss, because if anyone told you we'd be 15-9 at the end of April you'd have been happy. Currently we are half a game behind the Red Sox for first but the Sox are down 6-0 to the Rays at the moment (Beckett looks terrible), so odds are we will be going into May tied for first. I thought we were optimistic here at BBB but I thought we might start slow and build as the season went on. But this is terrific.
Better news, we won't have to suffer thru another Brian Burres start. I'm sure street cleaners outside Hugo's office building are happy too, he won't be making the big jump. Not sure who the Jays are bringing up, but it can't get no worse than Burres has been. You'd have to think Accardo will come up for Bullington.
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Our magic number is 140
after the Sox’ loss.
They're not just hitting home runs. They're doing the little things, like hitting doubles.
by Torgen on Apr 30, 2009 10:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Fabio Castro
First start in AAA:
5IP, 4H, 3BB, 2ER, 5K
Took 98 pitches for 5 innings though. He’d be on schedule to take Burres’ start.
by Waveburner29 on Apr 30, 2009 11:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
check that
5.1 IP with 5 hits allowed…faced 2 batters in the 6th
by Waveburner29 on Apr 30, 2009 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Was the third earned run
the inherited runner?
They're not just hitting home runs. They're doing the little things, like hitting doubles.
by Torgen on May 1, 2009 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pinch hitters?
What is Cito’s rationale? I remember reading it here or elsewhere and it didn’t make any sense.
I remember back in the early 90s, my old baseball coach used to make the same complaints about Cito.
I admit I was wrong about his lineups, they are working out well. Even when he rotates Bautista, Millar etc in, I cannot come up with an arguement.
However doesn’t pinch hitting late in a game make sense, regardless of the time of year?
by Rhinos on May 1, 2009 11:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
He doesn't want to hurt the feelings of the player being pinch hit for.
I guess he would say it more like: he wants to show confidence in his players. But, to me, there is a two way street there, why not think that you are showing confidence in the player you are pinch hitting with. Raul Chavez is not going to be hurt by being pinch hit for, he knows his glove is buying him major league roster time. If his sense of self worth is hurt by being pinch hit for, then he shouldn’t be in the majors.
by Tom Dakers on May 1, 2009 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
out of curiousity
I looked up Cito’s stats a pinch-hitter and they were pretty mediocre – a .677 OPS over 254 plate appearances Tenace was arguably worse – he batted .199/.378/.316 in 180 plate appearances (actually better overall numbers than Cito, but Tenace was a better hitter than Cito that’s to be expected) as a pinch-hitter.
"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 May 1, 2009 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
To be honest
I remember reading a game thread about a week ago (The game where BJ blew the 3 run lead). When Millar was at bat, people were yelling and screaming for Cito to bring in Overbay, but then Millar hit a clutch double to win the game. I can understand Cito’s rationalle of keeping in the player who has been involved in the game for 3+ hours rather than putting someone in that is cold and has been sitting in the bench for a high pressure situation.
That being said, I’m a better hitter than Chavez.
If you go out and you’re looking for the girl to wink at you and she hasn’t winked at you before 12 she isn’t going to. You might as well go home.
by craig in calgary on May 1, 2009 12:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Still doesn't make sense
Good for Millar. But I bet Overbay’s numbers against righties are better than Millars. Regardless, that worked out.
Chavez and if JohnnyMac ever gets a start should almost always be pinch hit for late in a game.
by Rhinos on May 1, 2009 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Millar is not equal to Chavez
I still think pinch-hitting for MIllar in that situation was the right move (actually, I think Lyle should have been in on his defense, which might’ve made that entire inning unnecessary). But Millar, at least, is on the Jays for his bat. The Jays have a continuing interest in Millar’s continued production at the plate for the rest of the season. That’s just not the case with Chavez, where he is clearly not here for his bat and wouldn’t be here at all but for the Barrett injury. The difference between Overbay and Chavez, where Overbay has a decent chance of hitting it out and tying it or gapping one and putting the tying run on 2nd, and Chavez, who has a lifetime .261/.291 OBP/SLG, is way different than the difference between Overbay and Millar in the prior situation.
"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 May 1, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
With Chavez
since he’s only going to play when Barajas needs the day off, pinch hitting for him (especially on the road) means that Barajas loses his day off, even if Barajas isn’t the one doing the pinch hitting.
They're not just hitting home runs. They're doing the little things, like hitting doubles.
by Torgen on May 1, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well....he'd lose a couple of innings of his day off.
I think he could have handled a inning of catching yesterday.
by Tom Dakers on May 1, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
exactly
you want it to even out, remove him for Chavez as a defensive replacement sometime when the Jays are ahead or behind and get him a few innings back that way
"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 May 1, 2009 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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