Well, that was less than fun.
There were some good things. A quality start for Morrow, 6 innings, 3 hits, 8Ks. Too many walks, (6) but he was all around the zone. Even the two runs he gave up came because of a ground ball that Aaron Hill should have come up with. Cito decided to bring the infield in with runners on 2nd and 3rd and Morrow got the ground ball he needed but Hill couldn't come up with it. I think bringing the infield in the 5th inning is a dumb move but it seems that's the way we are doing things.
Also good or actually great was Jose Molina throwing out 4 (!) base stealers (I'll admit I thought the last one was safe, but the umpire had a sense of the occasion). It certainly helped Morrow that 4 of his walks were erased by great throws by the catcher.
The bad? We managed only 4 hits and 1 walk against David Price and he struck out 9. In the Rance Mullinicks drives me crazy column, at one point Rance complained we aren't aggressive enough as hitters, 30 seconds later he was complaining about swinging at 2 strike pitches. On the whole I'd like the team to stop thinking they are all power hitters. We don't have to swing from the heels on every pitch.
Getting hits today were Bautista, Gonzalez, Monlina and McDonald, one each. The rest were 0 fors. McCoy took the walk. Ruiz hit one hard right at a glove. Adam Lind struck out 3 times. The only Jay batting .300 is Vernon Wells at .306. No one else is close.
I do consider Cito a good batting coach but it isn't working with this group. But then I think that many of these guys couldn't learn to hit no matter who worked with them. The good news is most of the guys that can't hit won't be with the team next year, if fact, it would be nice if some of them weren't with the team by the end of the season.
From the pen? Camp pitched a good inning and Merkin Valdez got the last out (the only batter he faced). But between the two of them, Jason Frasor was just terrible, again. 4 hits, 1 walk, 4 earned while getting just 2 out. Our bullpen was supposed to be a strength this year but it's been the starting rotation that have been the best thing to watch so far this season.
I'm thinking some changes are going to have to be made to the pen. We aren't using Accardo and Valdez at all, so why not call up Roenicke, who hasn't given up a run yet at Vegas and maybe Carlson, even though he has been hit some in Vegas. Frasor has to move to pitching in games already decided, at least till he shows something. And Cito needs someone else he trusts in the pen.
Anyway, no Jay of the Day by the numbers today, though I think I'll give one to Molina one for all the guys caught stealing. Suckage Jays, well McDonald (-.109 WPA) and Ruiz (-.103) have the numbers. Frasor is saved from having suckage numbers because the game was pretty much decided before he came in but I'll award him one too.
Jays start a series against the Red Sox tomorrow in Toronto. Dana Eveland goes up against Josh Beckett. Beckett is 1-0 with a 5.26 ERA but we have this way of making pitchers look good. I'd love us to change that against him.