SADNESS RECAP
Not much going the Jays way the past week. Just when you think everything was going well. Blammo. Reality hits you in the gut with the force of a bad burrito.
Colon pitches A's past slumping Blue Jays - The Globe and Mail
Sadness recap by the Globe. Jays lose 4-1.
Blue Jays fall to A’s, fifth loss in a row: Griffin - thestar.com
It gets uglier. The makeshift lineup and pitching staff can't do much against the A's.
Reddick, Smith back Colon in A's 4-1 win - SFGate
Not that easy to stomach recap from the A's perspective.
JAYS LINKS
The Blue Jay Hunter: Do the Blue Jays Have to Spend to Contend?
Ian questions "the Plan" and makes some good points especially about signing Fielder etc. They would have helped, but I have a feeling it would have been 2005 all over again (ETA: just as Ian pointed out... not trying to steal Ian's point as I wrote this while suffering through some insomnia.) Despite the arguments every fan here, other blogs and even the mocked Jaystalk have one thing in common: WE ALL WANT THE JAYS TO WIN. The Travis Snider and 10 player trades seem to me trades based on the need to obtain some short term parts and help offload a potential roster crunch. I don't think they had much to do with "the Plan", I hope.
Pen of the Ack: Rocking the boat
More Questions of the Plan. It has been a frustrating season and it wouldn't be good to continue with the mantra "AA is god." AA is human.
Baseball Prospectus | BP Unfiltered: Can Gregg Zaun See the Future of Bad Backup Catchers?
Zaun is... right? The Jeff Mathis for Brad Mills trade was viewed as a nothing for nothing swap. Hard not to see it that way as Brad didn't show the control he had in AAA while Mathis' awful hitting became a baseball Meme. Ben Lindbergh looks at Zaun Cherry's observations. Some may see it as a broken clock is right twice a day, but catching was Zaun's trade.
MLB LINKS
Rangers Come Back Twice, Defeat Angels In Extra Innings - Baseball Nation
Even the Rangers AND the Angels get the blues. What is even more troubling:
Yu Darvish when facing a team he's already played: 6.45 ERA. Now in line for loss that would make him 3-6 in 9 such starts.
Maybe AA and Rogers being "cheap" isn't so bad. Those are some awful numbers for Yu.
Houston Astros Putting On A Clinic In Bad - Baseball Nation
As awful as Toronto has been... Yikes.
Oakland Athletics Promote Dan Straily to Majors - Minor League Ball
Greeaaaaaat. Just what the Jays need to face, a hot hot prospect with killer K numbers.
Hackers conquer several MLB Facebook pages, announce Derek Jeter’s sex change operation | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports
From the blog Big League Stew: Running social media for a major league team got a little more complicated on Thursday when the official Facebook pages for several teams fell victim to hackers in search of a laugh.
Report: The Kansas City Royals Are Using Taxpayer Money Meant For Stadium Repairs To Pay For Other Stuff
From Deadspin: somewhat NSFW. Makes you wonder what real economical benefit professional sports gives a city.
Vin Scully Trying To Describe The Twitter Sounds Exactly What You'd Expect It To Sound Like
From Deadspin (again sometimes NSFW)
I love Vin Scully, and he deserves all kinds of credit for doing his darnedest to keep up with the times at age 84. That said, I'd also love to hear how his producer tried to describe Shane Victorino's tweet when the producer suggested Scully ought to read it on the air, which Scully does in the video below.
Will The Pirates Bullpen Fold Down The Stretch? | FanGraphs Baseball
A look at the Pirates BP and what Brad Lincoln meant to the Bucos. Perhaps an echo of the past as a weak BP doomed the 1992 Pirates--the last Pittsburgh team that made the playoffs. That's why Doug Drabek pitched into the 9th inning of the famous Francisco Cabrera game.
Baseball History - August 3rd - National Pastime - Baseball History
1948 Negro League legend Satchel Paige makes his major league debut hurling seven innings to lead the Indians over the Senators, 5-3.