consistency issues..

Is there much more to say on the issue of consistency when it comes to not only hits from their batters, but more from their bullpen & starting rotation? Not likely, but in the wake of the Blue Jays having dropped 3 in a row to AL East rival Tampa Bay and losing 12-0, it's time for a bit of a vent. 

Today's game was just terrible beyond words. For a pitcher often so dominant and a year ago, struck out 17 Tampa batters in a 1-0 win, Morrow just didn't seem to have it. Giving up a first pitch HR to Jennings is defninitely not the ideal way to open a ball game...but then again, trailing 4-0 after 2.0 IP isn't ideal either! 

As the game went on while I was napping, I began to hear a LOT of booing from the crowd at the SkyDome--especially when the relievers just didn't seem to be able to record a single strike, but instead gave up another SIX runs. 

Yes, the arms in the rotation & bullpen are young and inexperienced--especially since the majority of the pitchers have been called up from either double-A or triple-A. For pitchers that are supposed to have "great stuff", the key is to locate the pitches accurately and consistently and the same can be said for pitchers that don't throw at overwhelming speeds. 

Suffice to say, it hasn't been easy for the Blue Jays after having traded Hill & MacDonald to the Arizona Diamondbacks and now without the guidance of manager John Farrell, who's presently recuperating from pneumonia.

Tomorrow wraps up the four game set vs Tampa with Romero on the mound. 

With hopes for a win and a speedy recovery for John Farrell, 

GO JAYS GO! 

Blue Jays Out Slug Mariners

The Blue Jays take game two against Seattle as the offense comes through with a 13-7 victory. It certainly was not a night for the pitchers as this game could have been played across the street at Qwest Field where the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL call home.

Toronto jumped all over Vargas in the first inning cashing in six runs, including a three-run double by Colby Rasmus and a two-run home run by Aaron Hill to put the Jays up 6-0 before the Mariners stepped into the batter’s box.

Brad Mills had a rough start in his last outing, but walked away with a 1-2-3 first inning on a pair of strikeouts. But, that all started to fall apart in the second. He gave up a lead-off walk and followed that up with back-to-back home runs from Casper Wells and Miguel Olivo and cut the lead in half. After facing seven batters in the second, he followed up in the third with another eight batters and three more runs to tie the game 6-6. This would spell the end of the night for Mills. He had trouble locating his pitches and left a lot of them up. For someone who does not throw very hard, location of pitches is crucial for him to be successful in the majors.

The Blue Jays bounced back in the fifth and sixth combining for seven runs, including Jose Bautista’s league-leading 35^th home run in the sixth. Toronto showed a lot of patience at the plate generating seven walks, three from Bautista. He looked much better last night laying off some tough pitches that he has chased over the last few games.

Hill had probably his best game offensively this season, going 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI. Barry Davis of Rogers Sportsnet pointed out on Twitter that Hill’s 4 RBI-night, equals the same amount he had in the last 15 games.

Brett Lawrie continues to impress with his first career three hit game. They were not the prettiest, but they all look the same in today’s paper. He also came through with some more beautiful defensive plays. Some are making the comparisons to Evan Longoria. I say, let’s wait for at least a full season before we do that. But make no mistake; Lawrie is going to be a great player for years to come.

Luis Perez came out of the bullpen in the fourth and shut the door. He threw strikes and only allowed one run in four innings of relief. If this was the final start for Mills (as he could be on the way back to AAA), Perez showed last night that he could possibly fill the void in the fifth spot until the rosters expand in September.

Notables:
TOR
J. Bautista: 2-for-2; HR, 3 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI
C. Rasmus: 1-for-4; 2B, 4 RBI
B. Lawrie: 3-for-4; 3 singles, 2 R, RBI

SEA
M. Olivo: 1-for-2; HR, BB
C. Wells: 1-for-5; HR, 2 RBI
K. Seager: 2-for-3; 2B, BB, HBP, 2 RBI

Pitching lines:
B. Mills: 3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR, 70 pitches
J. Vargas (L, 7-11): 4 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 94 pitches
L. Perez (W, 2-2): 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 61 pitches

The Blue Jays look to take the rubber match tonight against the Mariners. Brandon Morrow (8-7, 4.55) will take the hill against his former team, while the Mariners send rookie Blake Beavan (3-3, 3.59) to face the Blue Jays.

Until next time,

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

Twitter: @ChaseHadden

late summer callups

It's that time of the year...no, I'm not referring to the whole back to school thing!
 I'm referring to the time of the year when teams call up prospects from their
AA & AAA systems to see if they're ready for the MLB and to see what they've got.

Consider it the MLB version of auditions.

We've just seen Brett Lawrie make his debut this past weekend against the "punching bags" of the AL East: the Baltimore Orioles, notching his first hit, RBI & home run all within his first 3 games and going 5 for 11 (.454 batting average). In addition to Brett Lawrie being called up, the Blue Jays have also called up top pitching prospect Henderson Alvarez, who has actually managed to throw at 101 mph in the minor leagues this season. 

that's what I envision the team doing to the
Yankees & Red Sox one day! 

Also, for anyone reading this and wondering just what's going on with Kyle Drabek and how he's doing with the Las Vegas 51s in the PCL, this article should answer your question: Drabek: progress?

Personally, I believe that it might be time for Drabek to stop showing too much emotion on the mound. It seems to be impeding his progress and along with the inconsistencies, perhaps it's why he was constantly getting lit up in games. 

With now being the time to expand the roster from 25 to 40 and 38 spots filled, I believe I would be remiss if I did not say that Travis Snider would be recalled and added to the 40-man roster at some point. 

Furthermore: a BIG congratulations to the ace of the blue jays pitching staff: Ricky Romero for being named the AL player of the Week after going 2-0 with an ERA of 1.69 earned-run average, while allowing just five hits. He also had 12 strikeouts with only four walks over 16 innings. 

If you're looking for tonight's game vs the Oakland Athletics, catch it on the FAN Radio Network  and on Rogers Sportsnet ONE. 

Cheers. 

jLau

Twitter: twitter.com/jlau87
______________________________


blog post update: for anyone wondering about Dustin McGowan and his road to recovery, here's your answer: 
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110808&content_id=22934448&vkey=news_tor&c_id=tor

Blue Jays Finally Beat Price

The Blue Jays finally defeat Tampa Bay Rays’ ace, David Price, with a pair of home runs and win 3-1.

Ricky Romero was magnificent against the Rays. He got in some trouble in the second inning by loading the bases on a pair of walks and hitting a batter and nobody out, but was able to get out of the jam with a pair of strike outs and a ground out. This was a huge confidence boost and was on cruise control for the rest of the night. He only gave up one hit, which was a home run to rookie Desmond Jennings in the sixth. Romero threw his fastball for strikes, which set-up his curve ball that got the majority of his seven strikeouts.

Jose Bautista came into the game without a home run in 14 games. But that came to a halt in the fourth, when he took a 2-0 Price fastball over the left field fence for his 32^nd home run of the season and put the Blue Jays ahead 1-0.

Yunel Escobar led off the Toronto sixth with a solo home run to right field and a 2-0 lead. It is great seeing him take the ball the other way, especially with power. He has had two or three to right field this year now.

Rajai Davis gave the Blue Jays some insurance in the seventh with a two-out RBI double. Now in the box score it just shows up as a double, but Davis hustled right out of the box and saw B.J. Upton was back on his heels and forced him to make a throw. Davis stole two more bases and now has 33 on the season.

Notables:
R. Davis: 2-for-4; Double, single, RBI, 2 SB
J. Bautista: 1-for-3; HR, RBI, IBB
Y. Escobar: 1-for-3; HR, RBI, BB

Pitching line:
R. Romero (W, 9-9): 8 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR, 109 pitches
D. Price (L, 9-10): 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO,  2 HR, 111 pitches
J. Rauch (S, 10)

 J.P. Arencibia had four strikeouts in the opener versus the Rays. Fans need to realize that he plays a demanding position that is defensive first, working with the pitching staff. Yes, he is batting .219, but you will take the low batting average when he has 17 home runs and 49 RBI. And remember, this is his first full major league season. It is definitely not a terrible one so far. Right now, he is averaging a home run every 17 at-bats. But he is now in a better spot in the line-up where he does not have to focus a lot on key RBI situations. I am sure the average will come up as his career progresses.

Game two goes tomorrow night C. Villanueva (6-2, 3.60) vs.  James Shields (9-9, 3.03). The Blue Jays can take over third place with another win over the Rays.

Until next time,

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

Twitter: @ChaseHadden

#12

It could not have been more of a perfect day for Roberto Alomar day. A packed and loud Rogers Centre with the roof rolled back, and the sun shining bright for the unveiling of his number 12. The first Blue Jay to have his number retired in the club’s 35 year history (Jackie Robinson’s #42 is retired throughout Major League Baseball). 

 First, thank you to the fans for being patient before the ceremony started. I helped clear a path for Alomar’s RCMP escort down section 114 and on to the field. The crowd roared on the concourse the moment he arrived, shaking hands and giving high-fives all the way down to the field.

The ceremony was fantastic. Having Alomar’s former teammates, manager and his family on stage was very special. Hearing the 45,000+ fans chanting “Robbie!” gave me goose bumps, and when his #12 banner was dropped beside the 1993 World Series banner, the crowd cheered as loud as possible giving him a standing ovation. It is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life.

Robbie Alomar was my favourite position player on the Blue Jays growing up (Tom Henke being my favourite pitcher). I tried to emulate his game whenever I took the field. I attempted those unbelievable, diving catches robbing base hits, or the head-first slide while stealing second. I remember going to see him play when he returned to Toronto as a Baltimore Oriole.  It was a Thursday night and went down to field level on the first base side where there was a mob of fans. Somehow I squeezed my way to the front and Alomar signed my hat (It was a Pig Pen hat and ironically it was the night before his incident).  But it was one of the biggest thrills as a kid and one I will always remember.

Blue Jays President, Paul Beeston, was correct when he said that having Alomar’s number the first in franchise history is a very high standard to begin with. And was right in saying it will be a long time before the next one happens. His numbers and achievements speak for themselves:

-          - 12 straight All-Star appearances

-          - 10 Gold Glove awards (including six consecutive)

-          - 4x Silver Slugger award (first in 1992)

-          - 1992 ALCS MVP

-          - 2x World Series champion

-          - First Blue Jay to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

Watching his game-tying home run in the ’92 ALCS yesterday repeatedly gave me chills every time. If he does not hit that home run, they are in a deep hole and probably do not go on to the World Series.

You could argue who the next one could or should be. Roy Halladay, Carlos Delgado, or Dave Stieb just to name a few potential candidates. 

There is no doubt that the five years we got to watch Alomar play, he was the best player not only at his position, but the best in the game during that time with his multiple big hits, and numerous highlight reel defensive plays. There is and very unlikely will there be a better second baseman than Roberto Alomar. Thank you Robbie for playing the game the way you did, the right way.

Until next time,

*Tomahawk chop*

Let’s Go Blue Jays!

Twitter: @ChaseHadden