More on last night’s Blue Jays win

Random thoughts on yesterday’s game:

Gibby deserves tons of credit for leaving Sanchez in the game after he gave up the game tying run. He set himself up for all sorts of grief if they lost. People would have complained that he was managing to get the starter a win. But, go ahead run on third, no outs, what pitcher would you rather have on the mound?

On the flip side of that, people talking about what reliever could/should have gone in talk about Tepera. If you were going to replace Sanchez, you really should be talking Osuna (not that he would have been Gibby’s choice). Going with anyone who isn’t your best reliever in that spot would be just wrong, and it would be the way 99% of managers would do things.

Does it seem to you that we are benefiting from our opponents bad defense more this season than any year in the recent past?

In the 8th inning, Anthony Santander’s throw from right field gets by the catcher (I don’t know what he was thinking, and got past the pitcher backing up the play, another ball player sleeping on the job, and found it’s way into our dugout, to score our first run. Sometimes the Baseball Gods are on our side.

Somewhere Jose Bautista is smiling. Is there a better way to win a game than a home run off Darren O’Day?

It is kind of cool that Miguel Castro pitched against us on the day that Roberto Osuna picked up his 100th save, becoming the youngest pitcher to get to 100 saves. Back in 2015, when they were both rookies, Castro had the closer’s job out of spring training. When he had some troubles, the job went to Brett Cecil. At the end of June it became Osuna’s role and it still is.

For the third game in a row, the Jays hit a batter without, you know, hitting a batter. Third game in a row a pitch brushed by a loose jersey. I really think a hit batter should be a hit batter. Guys seem to be wearing jersey’s that are a size too big and letting them hang loose over the inside edge of the strike zone. The ball passes by and they get a free base, without picking up a bruise.

I think it shouldn’t be a hit batter unless it actually hits the batter.

I’m going to show my age, but back in the old days, if a pitcher was carrying a no-hitter into the late innings, if the first ‘hit’ was anywhere near a fielder, they would call it an error. Sometimes, if there was a clean hit later, they would go back and change the error. Fielders would say that you dive at everything to give the scorer a chance to call it an error.

The ball hit at Donaldson was hit hard, but 20-30 years ago, if there was a no-hitter on the line, that would have been called an error. I don’t know if that’s right or wrong, but I like the idea that the first hit should be a clean hit.

I really hate the idea that we can jinx someone by saying ‘no-hitter’. I think announcers do a disservice to their audience if they don’t tell them there is a no-hitter going on. Their job is to describe the game and if, in the 6th or 7th inning, there is a no-hitter happening, that’s news. The audience should be told. The idea they can affect play from the tv or radio booth is silly.

When Brandon Morrow came within one out of getting a no-hitter, I was sure it was going to happen for him someday. I got that one wrong.

But, I think, one day, Aaron Sanchez will get us a no-hitter. I think everything will work out perfectly for him, some day. He seems like the type of pitcher who, when everything is working, is just about impossible to hit. I remember thinking Dave Stieb was like that. It took Stieb a few times of carrying a no-hitter into the late innings before he got one. I hope Aaron gets one.

The other great part about Sanchez’ start is we only used one reliever. The rest of the bullpen got a much needed night off. That’s the first time this season a Blue Jays’ starter has handed the ball over to the closer. Letting the pen have a day off, once in a while, will be important as the season goes on.

Mike Wilner tells us the umpires screwed up the batter interference call:

That makes a lot more sense. A team shouldn’t get a reward for breaking a rule.

The start of this season is so much more fun than the start of last season. At this point last year we were all depressed. We’ve had more fun in two weeks than we had in all of April last year. Let’s keep it going.