Big Words From Winless Pitcher

What a way to win a series! The Blue Jays pounded out six runs off White Sox starter, John Danks, who was 0-7 going into this afternoons finale. Jose Bautista got things going with an RBI single to left. A couple batters later, Aaron Hill picked a great time for his first home run of the season with his first career grand slam home run. I am so happy to see Hill finally knock one out after 141 at-bats. I have always been a big fan of his and I only see his bat getting hotter as the weeks go by.

Edwin Encarnacion followed suit with his first home run. He has been taking a lot of heat (for good reason) and hopefully this is the beginning of the E.E. we saw finish 2010.

So, it took Danks over 50 pitches to get out of the first inning. Bautista popped up in the fourth inning with Toronto leading 9-2 and threw his bat to the turf in disgust in himself for not hitting his pitch. Danks took it upon himself to say some words to the reining home run king. Checkout @LottOnBaseball’s article of today’s game and the words the Chicago starting pitcher issued to Bautista http://natpo.st/kapdgv. He called him a “clown” for showing him up. Apparently Mr. Danks has never seen another player slam their bat to the ground for not hitting a pitch they should have. Instead of worrying about his now 0-8 record, he needs to find another way to take the heat off himself. Any player that does not show hustle, heart and compassion on every plate appearance, is not one I want on my team. Jose Bautista is the kind of player that runs out every ground and fly ball regardless of the score.

Also in John Lott’s article, the White Sox play-by-play announcer, Ken Harrelson, made a comment during the game that Bautista might be “corking his bat.” Apparently, if someone is not on performance enhancing drugs, they must be doing something else because certain mechanical changes in a player’s swing cannot produce the kind of numbers he has continue to post since the end of 2009. If you have ever watched a White Sox broadcast on WGN, you know by now how big of homers they can be. If their team is getting the snot kicked out of them, they try to find ways of demeaning the opposing team. I am not saying they are the only ones in sports broadcasting that root, root for the home team; but they do it in the most classless way possible.

Before I close, how about Corey Patterson? What an incredible display of hitting the last two games of the series. He went 5-for-7 yesterday including the walk-off home run in the 14^th inning. Today, 4-for-5 with another home run. Going into the four-game series, Patterson was batting .269. He bumped his average up 32 points to .301 after going 11-for-20 with a pair of home runs and four runs batted in (RBI) against the south-siders. He is definitely in the running for player of the week.

I saw Luke and Brayden Schenn at this afternoon's game. I asked Luke if he was showing his little brother around the town in preparation of him coming to the Big Smoke. They both chuckled at my attempt at humour. It is very nice to see the @MapleLeafs supporting the boys of summer.

The Blue Jays begin a three-game series tomorrow versus the Cleveland Indians to finish their seven-game home stand.

Until next time,

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

@ChaseHadden

Hot bats & angry birds

No pun intended or reference to the game/app Angry Birds, but with the way the Blue Jays have been swinging the bat like crazy, it seems only fitting to mention that the Jays are swinging and hitting like angry birds!

Closer Issues & Extra Innings
For anyone to tell me that Frank Francisco should be the closer, I'll go on record and say that I seriously prefer Jon Rauch after he slammed the door shut on the White Sox on Thursday.  I was catching Saturday's 14 inning game on an off in increments, and all I could think was "8-8 after 9 innings?! PLEASE tell me you're joking!"...apparently not but thanks to one hot swing of Corey Patterson's bat, the Jays won that exhausting marathon!

Series Recap:
Onto today's game to round out the series: apparently, White Sox starter Danks went into this game 0-7 and of all things, decides to call out Bautista for "being a clown". No lie--if I were Bautista and I heard what Danks was chirping, I would've just been silent instead....besides, talking smack to the league leader in home runs really doesn't get one anywhere, since he'll eventually find his revenge with a homerun at some point. The angry birds aspect of Sunday's game really showed: Hill had a Grand Slam off of Danks, Encaracion (of all people!) had a 2-run shot, and then another home run by, who else but Patterson. To say the least, the Blue Jays seem to really enjoy lighting up the White Sox at the Rogers Centre--and clearly, Ozzie Guillen hates it.

Up next: 4 game series vs the Cleveland Indians.

@jlau87

tampa and interleague

This week, it's been about Toronto facing Tampa Bay and beginning an Interleague series vs. Houston. We also saw the return of Litsch to the 15-day DL and WAY too many fielding errors from Edwin Encaracion. Heck, even Juan Rivera's making a case for himself to play at 1B..and what about Eric Thames at first?

In my mind's eye, the first game vs Tampa was pretty bad, with Litsch and Encaracion really having an off night, with bad plays and bad fielding choices, resulting in a 6-5 victory. As per Scott Carson's article on Sportsnet.ca about EE:

That evening's 6-5 loss was flat-out doomed from the beginning. On a night where Jesse Litsch brought nothing better, arguably, than No. 5 starter stuff, he sure didn't get any help from the defence. When the lights finally went on yet another one-run loss, the boxscore was ugly: The Jays made five errors, just one short of the club record set and equalled by the 1981 & '82.

Litsch and Encarnacion made two each; although Edwin was saved by some questionable scoring and could have been charged with two -- maybe three -- more. It was as sloppy a game as I can remember the Jays playing during my tenure. Couple it with the fact that the Jays continue to have trouble hitting with runners in scoring position - 2 for 12 on the night, and 11 for its last 53 - and the team really let one slip away.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that I started feeling sorry for Encarnacion, but his performance at first base, a position he was originally going to share with Adam Lind when spring training started this year, was brutal. Every ball hit his way was an absolute adventure. And with every failure in the field, coupled with the 0-for-4 performance at the plate where he failed to hit a ball out of the infield, the grumbling and the boos started getting louder.

One leather lung even bellowed out: "You suck!"; a sentiment normally reserved for the opposition.

So now the bigger question becomes: What do the Jays do with Edwin?'

If he can't play the field and with prospect Eric Thames up from triple-A and looking like his stay might be for more than just until Lind returns from the disabled list, there is no room for a DH in with zero home runs. Plus with the ticket buyers clamouring for Canadian Brett Lawrie to be called-up from Las Vegas to take over at third base, sure seems like the sand in EE's hour glass has almost siphoned out. David Cooper arrived from triple-A and, while he didn't hit for average, he didn't look out of place. Thames has the look and confidence of a solid player, and we now wait for Lawrie. Behind them is the next wave of prospects, led by Anthony Gose, no more than a year and a half away, if that. So, why not start getting bodies out of the way and expedite the remodelling if this franchise into a sleeker, leaner machine.

Interleague: I'm personally no fan of interleague play, as I find it's had a tendency to expose greater flaws, like the DH/no DH rule and that pitchers can't hit etc. However, having heard last night's game vs Houston wasn't the greatest, but as I caught bits and pieces of today's game and how the Blue Jays rallied from 4-0 down to win 7-5 thanks to a 2 run shot by Escobar, a 3-run shot by bautista, and capped off with a solo bautista bomb to bring his HR total to 18, I'm wondering if we should keep interleague play.

till next week,
@jlau

Blue Jays Claw to Sixth Straight Win

The Blue Jays found a way to win in game one against the Tigers, as they win 4-2 for their sixth consecutive win.

Aaron Hill was the story of the night. He looked a little bit like the Hill of a few years ago defensively coming up with a pair of great plays. The first came in the third inning, when he robbed Jackson of a base hit by leaping way up into the air ala Roberto Alomar. He also came through with the bat going 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the 8^th that started a three run inning. Hill has adjusted his hands at the plate a bit and seems to be seeing some results in the change of his mechanics at the plate.

Kyle Drabek struggled with his command for most of the night with a career high six walks. But, when he got himself in trouble, he buckled down and found a way to pitch his way out of it. It was a debatable call to send him back out for the seventh, but I was glad John Farrell made that call. Even though Kyle was at 101 pitches, he gave his starter a chance to win the game and his team came through for him in the eighth.

Frank Francisco closed the win in the ninth, but not before a solo home run from Jhonny Peralta in the 9^th. I understand fans being a little nervous when he has been out there so far this year, but this is why we traded for him. John Rauch probably was not available after throwing multiple innings on Saturday. Either way, it is always good to have options in the bullpen if someone is struggling to get the job done.

Toronto is now one game over .500 for the first time since April 15 and has a chance tomorrow for a perfect road trip.

Noteables:

TOR
A. Hill: 2-for-4; 2B, RBI
Y. Escobar: 2-for-3; 2 singles, BB, RBI

DET
J. Peralta: 1-for-4; HR

Pitching lines:

K. Drabek (W, 3-2): 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 2 SO, 113 pitches
M. Scherzer: 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 107 pitches
J. Benoit (L, 1-3)
F. Francisco (S, 4)

The Blue Jays go for win number seven tomorrow, sending Jesse Litsch to the mound (4-2, 4.14) vs. Rick Porcello (3-2, 3.67).

Toronto placed Adam Lind on the disabled list after tonight’s game (retroactive to May 8) and recalled Eric Thames from AAA Las Vegas (36 games, 6 HR, 30 RBI, .342 Avg. As per Barry Davis, Rogers Sportsnet).

Until next time,

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

Twitter: @ChaseHadden

Have A Day Jose!

Jose Bautista continues to be the offensive catalyst for the Blue Jays, as they sweep the Minnesota Twins 11-3 for their fifth consecutive win.

No words can describe the torrid pace Bautista has been on since September 2009. He slugged three home runs today (first career three-home run game, five in the series) and four runs batted in (RBIs). He even added another opposite field round tripper on his final home run of the day. Bautista is just getting great swings and making pitchers pay for their mistakes on location. His hands move like no other I have seen through the hitting zone. Bautista now leads the majors with 16 home runs on the campaign. He is without a doubt the early candidate for A.L. M.V.P. this year. What held him back from winning the award in 2010 was his batting average which sits second best so far in 2011 at .358 (two points back of Matt Joyce of the Tampa Bay Rays). His contract is looking better and better after every at bat.

The rest of the Blue Jays offence jumped on Brian Duensing early with seven runs on eight hits knocking him out after only three innings. Jose Molina was a bright spot today going 3-for-4 with an RBI and scoring a pair of runs. Probably the best play was when he moved up to third on a Yunel Escobar fly ball to centre catching Denard Span and the Twins defence by surprise, which resulted in him scoring on the next at bat by Cory Patterson.

Brandon Morrow picked up his second victory of the season in five innings of work. He looked sharp early retiring the first seven hitters he faced and striking out five through three innings. But a high pitch count and some trouble in the fourth and fifth ended his day premature. In all, Morrow finished with eight strikeouts.

Noteables:

J. Bautista: 3-for-5; 3 HR, 4 RBI
J. Molina: 3-for-4; 2B, 2 singles, 2 R, RBI
A. Hill: 2-for-5; 2B, 2 RBI

Pitching lines:

B. Morrow (W, 2-2) 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 106 pitches
B. Duensing (L, 2-3) 3 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 62 pitches

The Blue Jays are back at .500 after 40 games at 20-20, as they head into Detroit tomorrow for a two-game miniseries and their only stop this year to the Motor City. Kyle Drabek (2-2, 4.81) toes the rubber for Toronto in the opening game of the series and faces Max Scherzer (6-0, 3.20).

Until next time,

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

Twitter: @ChaseHadden

Blue Jays Love Extra Innings

The Blue Jays love extra innings as they come up with a six-run 11^th and  game-winning home run from slugger, Jose Bautista and a 9-3 win.

Pitching was the story early at Target Field. After giving up a solo homerun from J.P. Arencibia that gave the Blue Jays an early 2-0 lead, Minnesota Twins starter, Nick Blackburn, settled down and would retire 17 straight Toronto batters (including eight strikeouts, four on Juan Rivera). Yunel Escobar broke the slump in the eighth inning with a weak ground ball just in front of the plate and hustled down the first base line.  Corey Patterson tied the game lining a ball to the gap in right-centre for an RBI triple. But you have to give Denard Span credit for his hustle just to get leather on the ball on his diving attempt to robbed Patterson of a hit.

There has been a lot of talk about Jo-Jo Reyes’ long winless streak (which is warranted now that it has reached 26 games). But lately, he is slowly starting to find his stuff. Reyes was one out away from leaving with a quality start. He is the fifth starter and all you ask from them is for at least five-plus innings. Reyes is going to give up hits, but if he can limit his walks to minimal (only one today) then you will have a good chance at keeping your team in the game (of the 10 hits allowed, only one for extra bases). And of the 28 batters he faced, he managed 16 first-pitch strikes (57%).
The Blue Jays bullpen was solid today in their five and one-third innings of work. They threw strikes and only allowed one walk and three hits.

Toronto had a tough time generating any offence, but they delivered in the 11^th. After a lead-off single from Patterson, Bautista took a 1-1 pitch to right field on a line for his 13^th homerun of the season. His only two opposite field homeruns of his 67 homeruns (combined from 2010), both have come at Target Field. For a ballpark that is not homerun friendly, the Blue Jays have made it look small in only their second visit to the new home of the Twins. Toronto would score five consecutive runs and six in total in the 11^th to win their fourth straight game and improve to 5-1 this season in extra innings.

The Minnesota bullpen has been horrible since the beginning of the season and they showed it in extra innings. Of the four pitchers used in extra innings, they combined for six runs, four hits and five walks (four coming in the 11^th).

Notables:

TOR
Escobar: (3-for-6); 3 H, 2 R
Arencibia: (2-for-5); HR, 2B, 3 RBI
Bautista: (1-for-5); HR, IBB, 2 RBI

MIN
Cuddyer: (3-for-5); HR, 1 RBI

Pitching lines:

Jo. Reyes: 5.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 107 pitches
Blackburn:  7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR, 110 pitches
Rauch (W, 2-2)
Perkins (L, 0-1)

Brandon Morrow (1-2, 4.71) versus Brian Duensing (2-2, 3.32) in tomorrow’s pitching matchup, as the Blue Jays go for their first three-game series sweep of the Twins.

Until next time,

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

Twitter: @ChaseHadden

what a week!

It's been a fairly good week in Blue Jays land this past week, with the team showing the need for redemption after a horrible series vs the Detroit Tigers! 

This week, they had a mini set against the Red Sox and opened up a series against the Minnesota Twins. With the need to show that they can let the big bats shine (especially against their AL East rivals!), the bats sure did come out to play with home runs from Bautista, Arencibia, Cooper and John MacDonald?! We also got to see stellar double steals from none other than Rajai Davis, who had a double steal in BOTH games vs Boston. 

Last night, we saw almost a deja vu of opening day: Romero vs Pavano, this time at Safeco Field. A pitcher's duel at its finest: both teams shutout until the Blue Jays made it 1-0 and then, with yet another solo blast from Bautista the score was 2-0 for the Jays. 

With a complete game only ONE out away, Romero couldn't strike out his last batter, instead going 8.2 IP with Francisco so close to a blown save, but managed to strike out the last batter for the win.

__________________

on a couple side notes: i'm not sure if it's just me, but Encaracion's "butter hands" worry me since he doesn't seem to make routine plays that can force easy outs at 1B. if/when we have a healthy roster again, i believe nix will return to 3rd, snider to LF, lind to 1B, encaracion to DH and rivera to the bench.