We Should Petition Bud Selig to Shorten Games to 8 Innings
by jessef on Jul 21, 2009 10:58 PM EDT
in Toronto Blue Jays Game Recaps
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PrintCleveland Indians 2, Blue Jays 1
Well, that was an heartbreaker. The team did manage to get seven hits off Cliff Lee, but unfortunately they only managed one run, off a Scott Rolen homer. Lee needed 112 pitches to throw a complete game, struck out four and didn't walk any. Rolen's homer in the bottom of the seventh did put the team on top 1-0 and put Brett Cecil, who struck out nine and walked four over seven scoreless innings, in line for the win.
Accardo nailed down a 1-2-3 eighth and it looked like the Jays would pull out the win in spite of a meagre showing at bat, however, Ryan Garko managed to just leg out an infield single between Scoot and Rolen (who was guarding the line against a double) to lead off the ninth. Then Grady Sizemore sacrifice bunted to first, but Overbay, trying to nab the lead runner, overthrew Scutaro and the ball sailed into leftcentre. The Jays intentionally walked Asdrubal Cabrera to load the bases with none out. It looked like their luck might be changing when Downs induced a grounder from Shin-Soo Choo to Rolen for the force at home, but Victor Martinez doubled home the game-tying and winning runs. Downs managed to escape from the inning (thanks to a nice play by Rolen to get a force at second), but the Jays came up empty against Lee in the ninth.
Vernon Wells almost doubled down the line to lead off the ninth (but the ball went foul and he ended up flying out), Rolen hustled out an infield single, Overbay popped out in foul territory on the first pitch and Rios ended it with a grounder to second. It was a pretty tough way to lose. For what it's worth only one of the runs charged to Downs was earned, but he could have been sharper (though I did feel like the strike zone shrank a bit, then again, I am a Jays fan, I'm sure Indians fans thought it was fair).
Jays of the Day go to Cecil (.453), who settled down quite well after a bit of a rocky start, Rolen (.249), who got the on the board with his homer and reached in the bottom of the ninth and Accardo (.124), who nailed down the eighth. The Batista Award goes, of course, to Downs (-.622) and the Hinskes go to Rios (-.133), Overbay (-.188) and Boo Wells (-.232). Had Overbay's bat not earned him the Hinske, his error in the ninth would have solidified it for him. Hill also missed a tag in the top of the 7th on a Victor Martinez double, but made up for it with a nice play on a grounder from the very next batter. Yeah, Martinez killed us tonight. His WPA was .518.
Oh well, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Tonight, we lost. Let's get 'em tomorrow. Ricky Romero starts against Carl Pavano, who kept the Jays at bay once last season (it seemed like all they did was hit line drives at guys) but didn't get through four innings the next time. Frustrating as it is to drop this one, at least Cecil pitched well and Cliff Lee is the reigning Cy Young Award winner after all.
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Sure it was a sh*tty way to lose
But Brett sure looks like the real deal. I’m liking how this rotation is starting to take form.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jul 21, 2009 11:13 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
mixed feelings
yes he looks good but (1) that was the Cleveland Indians (2) he let way way way too many runners on base and gave up too many walks
against another team, that could have easily been 8+ runs
but overall, much to look forward to, but he does have to tighten up a bit, although I generally agree with your view that he looks good
Good performance by Cecil but...........
……….the offence isn’t anywhere to be found, with just 11 runs scored in the last four games. How in the world did we go just 2-2 in that span despite giving up just 9 runs and not all of them earned? Whether it’s bad luck (50%) and luck of clutch hitting (50%), we keep losing close games and at least half of these losses are against teams below .500. It can’t happen. The odd error also contributes to these losses but the Jays have made just 33 errors, including Tuesday night, and that’s an MLB-low. Great news!
Jesse, the problem is Martinez's overall 2009 figures against Toronto
Including Tuesday night, Victor Martinez is batting .360 (9 for 25) with four doubles and six RBIs versus Toronto this season.
Ouch!!! Can we be slapped in the face again by yet another sub-par opponent????
frustrated as we all are
v-mart’s career numbers are .297 AVG and 119 OPS+… bad as the Indians are, Victor is a very good offensive player
Prehistoric Hoops - a neat little Raps blog
Cliff Lee is good but not as good as Doc..........
……..and Doc should have won that Cy Young Award that went to Lee. Speaking about Doc’s greatness, just consider, folks, that (including his last win on Sunday 19 July 2009) Doc Halladay ranks first (since 1961) in the majors for winning percentage in day games (he owns a 56-21 career mark in those contests for a .721 winning percentage). In second place comes Pedro Martinez (at 74-29 in career day games for a .718 winning percentage), in 3rd place is Whitey Ford at .713 and in 4th place comes Ron Guidry at .711. If I recall the numbers correctly, Guidry was the last lefthanded pitcher in the game to win 30 games in a season and he did (unfortunately for the damn Yankees) during my year of birth, 1978. Isn’t this piece of statistic yet another juicy example of Doc’s place in history? No trade, let’s re-sign him! I hope he wants to stay in Toronto.
Guidry didn't win 30 games in a season
I think he went 27-3 or something one year. Denny McLain is the last player to win 30 in a season (31, I think) and it was in 1968.
And I agree that Doc should have had that Cy, though it was close and you can’t blame anyone for voting for Lee last season, he was phenomenal.
"Look at me! I'm Tomokazu Ohka of the Montreal Expos!"
they used to find ways to win, only a couple of months ago …. memories fade quickly
it was a game of inches … a few more inches higher and Millar’s double would have been a tater
a few inches lower and Overbay’s throw would have been an out
looking at the replay of the Overbay error, it looked like Vespa could have made the catch if he jumped. But he seemed like he wanted to keep foot on bag to prevent out. So, it was kind of a mental error too. I really think this team could spend some time on mental coaching of risk / reward so they can manage base running better and better weight the risks of making a costly error versus getting the incremental out. The whole concept of protecting a one run lead (tightening up) versus being more aggressive when faced with a one run deficit. To me, they need to spend some coaching sessions on these mental issues.
I really don't think Scoot had a shot at it
No matter how high he jumped… That throw was sailed.
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby
Thank you Jesse, you are right
I missed the call. No wonder, it’s a terribly tiring period at work. Yes, Guidry went 25-3 in 1978 with a 1.74 ERA and 248 strikeouts in 273 2/3 innings pitched. That was his best season in a career with 170 wins (compared to 91 losses). He also went 22-6 in 1985.
That was a magical season for Guidry...
who despite playing for NY was homegrown and was never a prima donna like the stiffs they have there now.
Growing up in NJ I probaby watched every one of his starts that year. You didn’t want to miss one because something amazing could happen, like striking out Joe Rudi 4 times, and getting 14 more in the game.
He was a small man who always gave it his all, and never wanted to come out of a game. The arguments with the dufus manager they had are legendary, and I don’t think he liked him very much .
One story I remember is that once between starts, every time Martin went to the top step of the dugout, Guidry spit tobacco juice on the back of his socks. By the end of the game, Martin finally noticed that his ankles were dripping wet. He was probably too drunk to notice.
by Chesapeake Ron on Jul 22, 2009 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Vernon Wells almost doubled…and he ended up flying out
Season in a nutshell right there. Almost describes every at bat.
A Nation of Masochists Pugnacity, Testosterone, TRUCULENCE and belligerence
General question for all.
Why does everyone assume that a front three of Doc, Marcum, and McGowan will be as good, or even close to as good, as it was for – what – not even one season?
I have no worries about Doc. But I don’t care how quickly Marcum is progressing. He won’t be the same, at least not for a season. And to watch how his arm was treated in college, I’ve got to believe that his days as a great #2 starter in the majors are numbered.
And why does everyone keep dropping McGowan’s name as a guy who will be a mainstay in our rotation? For crying out loud, management isn’t even sure if he’ll play again.
Richmond- he’s been solid for half of a season. Let’s not get too excited folks.
Romero- It’s nice to see him post some good numbers, but his control problems are a major concern as well as his prepping to go through the AL batting orders for a second year. He’ll regress a fairly decent amount next year. That’s optimistic.
Litsch- Who knows … for the back half of 2008 and into 2009, the kid struggled somewhat. Add a nice season-long injury, and you have to doubt his abilities to contribute much again.
I just don’t understand why everyone thinks that these characters are going to have a positive impact? Coming back from long-term injuries takes a lot of time and effort, and more often than not- the pitchers are only shadows of their former selves. We’ve got a lot of good young talent coming through (Rzep, Cecil, Mills, Romero (I am aware I listed him above)) … let’s think about them. Not the pitchers who, in all likelihood, aren’t going to be their 2007/2008 versions again. Ever.
Sorry, rough week at work. But this is a rant that I want to make everytime I see someone on a website drop these guys’ names like their going to be wonderful again without any question.
you are right that not all of them will be great next year.
McGowan might not pitch ever again. But you have to think that we will have a pretty good rotation next year. There is no real reason to think Marcum won’t be decent next year. The three rookie lefties look like the real thing, now maybe one of them won’t be but 2 of 3 ain’t bad. Richmond makes a fine 5th starter. This year he’s been far better.
The thing is, compared to coming into this season, it looks like we have a full rotation next year. At the start of spring we figured on having Matt Clement as one of our starters so next year is looking bright, in comparison at very least. We have gone from a team that had no idea who their starters would be to a team that is 5th in the league in ERA. There is really no reason to think we won’t be at least that good next year.
Lets count
These are potential arms that could be in the rotation next year
1) Doc
2) Romero
3) Litsch
4) Marcum
5) McGowan
6) Rzep
7) Cecil
8) Mills
9) Richmond
10) Purcey
Will all 10 work out? Of course not. I think the reason for the optimism is the depth. Certainly out of the 10 I listed, we will have a solid 5 man rotation and depth to fall back on with injuries/ineffectiveness.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jul 22, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions
I'd take Litsch out of the list...if he is back next year it won't be till near the end of the season.
But if you want to add one more, Robert Ray could surprise.
Thats true
I guess my point was less on who was on the list, but that there is 10 quality starters competing for 5 spots.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jul 22, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
and not a Clement in the list...
yeah compared to going into spring this year, next year looks great for starting pitching.
...or Tomo Ohka, or Victor Zambrano, or Ty Tauben-fricken-heim etc etc etc
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jul 22, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Or Josh Towers
They're not just hitting home runs. They're doing the little things, like hitting doubles.
Shudder
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jul 22, 2009 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I highly doubt McGowan will ever be back.
A Nation of Masochists Pugnacity, Testosterone, TRUCULENCE and belligerence
posted before I finished
I hope so but I’m a cynical bastard.
A Nation of Masochists Pugnacity, Testosterone, TRUCULENCE and belligerence
On a professional level, I'm not sure I care whether he comes back
Sure he throws hard, but we have plenty of guys who throw softer who have been able to get better results, and when he comes back one of them might be stuck at AAA because McGowan is out of options. (Obviously on a personal level I want him to be healthy and successful.)
They're not just hitting home runs. They're doing the little things, like hitting doubles.
When he's on, there is noone better in the club.
He just needs concistancy.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jul 22, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions
That's the same problem he's had the entire time he's been in our organization
Even if he wasn’t hurt I wouldn’t bet on him finding it.
They're not just hitting home runs. They're doing the little things, like hitting doubles.
Which 5 constitute a guaranteed solid rotation?
Doc (if he’s even here… he should be.)
Romero’s going to regress.
Litsch is going to start on the DL and will be on it for most of the season.
Am I the only one who isn’t sold on Marcum. Love the guy- but any time you spend a long time on the DL, you are going to struggle. Plus he’s always been overused.
I refuse to add McGowan to a list of potential starters next year. Anything we get from him is a bonus.
Rzep is young, inexperienced- could be good, but you don’t know until he goes through the league a second time.
I like Cecil! Haha
Mills has struggled in the Bigs. Will he get it fixed? Probably. But in 2010? Maybe.
Richmond has put on a great half-year. Let’s see how he finishes out.
Purcey? Still facing some major control issues in the minors.
I do really like Robert Ray, though. What’s the status on his injury.
See, I’m pessimistic. I figure Doc will be great, of course. I’ll take nothing from Litsch and McGowan. A down season for Marcum- if he can even stay healthy the entire year. Romero will take a step back. Rzep, Cecil, Mills, Richmond, Purcey- I’ll be happy with 2 making good contributions.
It will be a decent rotation. But solid? I don’t know. A lot of people keep banking that these young players will get better, which isn’t always/usually the case and that guys recovering from serious injuries will return to form. Too many assumptions for me. I don’t see much there.
And for the record, I wanted to see Matty Clement in the rotation…
Marcum will have part of this season and all offseason to prepare for next year so I don’t think rust will be a problem.
Romero may take a step back but are we expecting like a Josh Towers step back? I don’t think so.
'But I don't want to go among mad people' Alice remarked.
'Oh, you can't help that' said the Cat 'we're all mad here'.
Why does Romero have to regress?
He’s a first round draft pick, he’s always been highly touted and seems to have Doc-like focus. I loved the story where he stayed in Toronto over the allstar break to stay focused on the Bosox start after the break.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jul 22, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Not to mention he is showing maturity with the story on taking Rzep out to dinner to talk with him about adjusting to the majors
'But I don't want to go among mad people' Alice remarked.
'Oh, you can't help that' said the Cat 'we're all mad here'.
Really?
Do you have a link to the story or was it told over the air? I’d love to read about it.
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby
I want to give credit where it is due
Bautista has a better arm in the field then I gave him credit for. He was on the mark with the throws into the infield last night
'But I don't want to go among mad people' Alice remarked.
'Oh, you can't help that' said the Cat 'we're all mad here'.
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