The Whole Sad Story
The Jays dropped an exceptionally ugly game to the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 , although they managed to make it close at the end.
Tomo Okha actually wasn't terrible -- although he was getting knocked around a bit, he was the victim (and the perpetrator) of some terrible defense. With Reed Johnson being a late scratch, Glaus leaving the game in the 2nd inning, and Overbay getting the day off, it was definitely the B squad out there today.
That said, the fill-ins played well enough, although Stairs really doesn't offer much in the outfield. The main problem was that the regulars didn't have it. That and shoddy defense doomed this game. Aaron Hill made some fine plays in the field, but also made a costly error. Okha threw one away as well, costing the Jays another run.
And at the plate, the Jays just couldn't execute, apart from Aaron Hill's 2-run HR, against crafty lefty Mike Maroth. Just seems like an off-day for the lineup, as they should eat guys like Maroth up. Rios, Wells, and Thomas all had some truly poor at-bats with runners on, and every time you looked it seemed as though another Jay was popping up.
Overbay fully justified my (now 3 year old) man-crush on him by somehow managing to come off the bench and punch a 99 mph Zumaya heater down the third base line to put the Jays within 1, but that was high water mark as Rios popped out to end the threat.
Accardo pitched a shaky but scoreless 7th (2 walks), while Downs was once again employed as a LOOGY (and struck out Granderson on 3 straight pitches). Zambrano looked pretty sharp again from the bullpen, making his case for a rotation spot, but I thought Okha was respectable enough, if only just. Just one of those days, I suppose... I hope Reed and Glaus are okay, and if Reed is going to be out (back spasms) for any length of time, let's get Lind up.
Clayton Watch : Royce was 0-4 and didn't look particularly smooth in the field. In a true Clayton Watch moment, Gibbons had no choice but to send Clayton, the tying run, up to bat for himself in the 8th against Joel Zumaya with a runner on 2nd. Clayton weakly dribbled out to 1st. Let's hope that particular scenario never repeats itself.
Waxing/Waning Gibbons
This is just a short one, but Waning . Stairs batting 2nd? Against a lefty? Really? Give me Hill next time, please.
Jays of the Day
Hill , who despite his 4th error of the season, was the Jays' best player tonight on both sides of the ball. The Minister of Defence , who did an admirable job filling in for Glaus on both sides of the ball.