Mission ’13, Game 27: Jays win 9-7

REMEMBER THIS GAME

Aren’t these the Jays we’ve expected all along? A Rajai walk is plated by a Bautista double in the first. Then a nice rally that had only two hard-hit balls, one of which came with two out, resulting in three runs. There was a productive out (deep fly to center field), and NO STRIKE OUTS. How refreshing.

Is Big Papi hot, or what? Fresh off the DL, he’s tearing the cover off the ball. Home run #3 by Big Papi is only part of the point for Jays’ fans, though. It was the homer by Mike Carp and the walk to Saltalamacchia that’s so frustrating. Carp is off to a hot start, but he’s no all star, and Salty only has 7 BB on the season. Three of those came in game #1 against NY. Also, the Jays just finished scratching out three runs against a pitcher who normally dominates them, and Brandon Morrow was on the verge of giving it all away. It took a brilliant play by Brett Lawrie to get leather on a sharp grounder. Then he threw to 2B for the force, and Boni relayed it to 1B for the DP. It was an astounding play just to keep the ball on the infield; getting two outs was unreal.

Frustratingly, the Jays went very quickly and quietly in their half of the inning and the Red Sox came to bat again. Stephen Drew singled sharply up the middle and Ellsbury singled to right to start the inning. A fly ball to center preceded a run-scoring single by Dustin Pedroia, which made it 4-3 Jays. Another unusual out—Ellsbury was picked off 2B—ended the inning.

A casual observer will notice that Lester is settling in, while his Red Sox ‘mates are getting dialed in against Morrow. The disparity of the patience and professionalism of the batters for each team is glaringly obvious. The Jays manage to do it for an inning or two; for the Red Sox, it’s as natural as getting up in the morning.

A four-run lead has almost completely evaporated, and the commentators are talking as if 5 innings is all Brandon Morrow will pitch tonight. Is John Gibbons serious? Morrow has given up three runs, and Gibby’s thinking about bringing Aaron Loup in to pitch the sixth? One of these times Gibby’s going to need to let his pitchers ‘sort it out’, especially guys like Dickey and Morrow. Certainly one factor to consider is that the Jays are desperate for wins, particularly division wins, but the ‘pen will be burnt out by the All Star game. it also sends a message that you’re not confident that your starters can get themselves and the team out of a jam. Last week, both Kuroda and Sabathia did it. Neither had good stuff (for them), but both gutted it out and wound up pitching solid outings. Just because there are 8 RPs doesn’t mean they need to be used every game.

Speaking of dialed in, Edwin Encarnacion has homered into the upper deck with Rajai aboard to make the score 6-3. It was the 16^th home run hit into the upper deck at The Rog, but the first by a Blue Jay since ’04 (Vernon Wells) and the first by any team since ’11. When Rajai plays like this he’s a valuable player. He’s been on base three times (BB, HBP, single), stolen a base, and scored three runs. it’s good to see both Bautista and Edwin pick him up when he’s on base so frequently.

Sure enough, Brandon Morrow threw 96 pitches in 5 IP so he’s out of the game. It was a decent start (5 IP, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), but nothing special. Aaron Loup relieved him and promptly gave up a home run to pinch hitter Jonny Gomes. Jon Lester remains in the game, despite struggling with control, location, and giving up 6 runs (5 ER). The Red Sox saw 186 pitches from five pitchers in 9 innings. Jays’ hitters saw 141 pitches from three pitchers in 8 innings. Think about that for a moment. I have no idea if this is representative, but one thing it means is that Jays’ pitchers have very few secrets. BOS has seen 90 pitches from 4 relievers, and there are two games left in the series.

The Jays’ defense betrayed them again. A tailor-made DP ground ball to Kawasaki was relayed to Izturis, who flat out missed it. Kawasaki entered the game as a defensive replacement at the start of the inning, pushing Izturis to 2B. Loup is replaced by Steve Delabar, who faced Pedroia with one out and runners on the corners. Pedroia walked to load the bases. The Jays are doing everything possible to give away this ball game. The question is, will the Red Sox accept their generous offer? In a battle that pitted strength vs. strength, Delabar faced Ortiz with the bases loaded. Delabar and Arencibia struggled to get on the same page, and Delabar even crossed him up once. Ortiz doubled to clear the bases to make it 7-6 Red Sox. A strike out and a pop out ended the inning.

Rajai Davis had one of his best offensive games of the season, and Manager Gibbons decided to pinch hit for him. Junichi Tazawa struck out Adam Lind. If it wasn’t for the chicken wings, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Gibbons was fired mid-inning. Edwin crushed another 2-run home run—Jose had walked ahead of him—to ensure that the Jays re-took the lead. Could this be the turning point of this incredibly disappointing season for the Jays? Previously the game would have been over when they lost the lead. Now they’ve shown moxie, refusing to allow the other team shovel any more dirt onto the coffin. Remember this home run and this game.

All Darren Oliver needed to do was get it to the 9^th so Janssen can get into the game. Predictably, he walked Salty but it didn’t amount to anything. Oliver seems to be getting sharper with each game.

In the bottom of the 8^th the Jays scored a much-needed insurance run (single-sac bunt-single by JPA, Izturis, and Rasmus) against Joel Hanrahan. The Rog is almost as bad as Fenway for giving up leads. In Fenway’s case, it’s the park.

Casey Janssen pitched as you would expect: bottom, outside half of the strike zone to every batter. He’s a pleasure to watch pitch. His strategy is so simple that it should be ineffective but he’s easily the most effective pitcher on the team and, right now, in the league.

I don’t want to see any more of the ridiculous self-promoting advertisements. I don’t want to hear the idiotic theme songs any more. I don’t want to hear about any more promotions, bobble heads or otherwise. John Gibbons needs to do something meaningful. In 2008 the Blue Jays, under Gibbons’ guidance, were 11-17 in April and 35-39 when he was replaced by Cito Gaston. He’s picked up where he left off, and there’s still no reason to think that he’s a major league-calibre manager.

Wes Kepstro

Looking Back: An Old Post On J.P. Ricciardi

Wow, I bet you have not heard that name in a while and certainly weren’t expecting to see it at this blog!  I just ran across this old piece I wrote on October 6, 2009 at my old blog (Jays in Seven!) titled “In ‘Defense’ Of J.P.” and I thought it would be fun to revisit some of my old articles over the next few weeks.  Perhaps it will at least give us all something to actually talk about given the depressing state of the 2013 team.

Here it is, enjoy.

* * *

If you believe Michael Lewis (author of Moneyball) JP Ricciardi wasn’t exactly the Blue Jays first choice for General Manager when the team decided to part with former GM Gord Ash.  The team, and more specifically Paul Godfrey had eyes for Billy Beane’s right hand man Paul DePodesta but unfortunately for the team DePodesta would only leave for the ideal situation – aka not a non-traditional baseball market like Toronto.  The next logical choice for a team looking to compete on a budget turned out to be JP Ricciardi, a man who was supposed to have a real nose for talent and all in all a well respected baseball mind in the Oakland front office.

Ricciardi sold Paul Godfrey and the Blue Jays with the notion that less is more, especially when it comes to competing with less money than the big guys – New York and Boston.  Ricciardi’s tenure started with a bang as he roped in Erik Hinske who won the AL ROY and looked to have a bright future going forward, at this point the city and fans were hooked and though none of us will admit it – “In JP we trust” was a common phrase.  Anybody who says otherwise is flat out lying, Ricciardi was an exciting prospect for Blue Jays fans, and a slick tawking Bostonite who actually chose to come to Toronto, things were too good to be true.  So where did things go wrong?

Blue Jays Series Recap – Four Game Sweep for Yankees

The Blue Jays haven’t been swept by the New York Yankees in a four game series since 1998 but that is exactly what just occurred in the Bronx.  The Jays were in every game and the aggregate score for the series was 19-13 and it seemed that each night the Blue Jays found a way to lose.

If you aren’t already familiar you need to check out the game recaps by Wes, they are top notch.

Here is a sampling.

Game one:

As has often been the case, though, the Jays were still in the game. They lost two of three to BAL, both by one run. Kuroda shut them down in this game after they flexed their muscles early, but they’re only down two and Kuroda’s out of the game. If Lincoln et al can hold the fort, the Jays have a chance to steal this one. Unfortunately for Jays’ fans, it was not to be. The greatest closer in baseball history recorded a K, a broken bat infield pop-up, and a K to finish it.

Game two:

JP Arencibia needs to go. His offense is one-dimensional and his defense is atrocious. Delabar gave up a double to Robinson Cano and, with two out, walked ichiro intentionally. The 2-2 pitch was low, and Arencibia let it go to the backstop. 5-3 Yankees. The next pitch was strike three. In the ’80s, the Boston Red Sox were enamoured with Marc Sullivan because he was the chairman’s son. The Minnesota Twins held on to Tim Laudner for far too long. Arencibia fits the mold. A player with some perceived value that keeps him hanging around. Seriously, is his one-dimensional offense really special enough to offset horrific defense?

Read all the recaps here.

I also wrote a quick commentary on when is the appropriate time to start officially “panicking” about the 2013 Blue Jays.

CURRENT RECORD: 9-17, 5th place, 9.5 games out of first place. (-34 run differential)

Here are the quick recaps and boxscores:

Game 1 – Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3 – Robinson Cano 3-run HR the difference.

Game 2 – Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4 – Yankees lose catcher Cervelli but overcome to pull out victory.

Game 3 – Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4 – Poor managing by Gibbons allows Hafner to beat them.

Game 4 – Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2 – RA Dickey solid but gives up late game homerun to Lyle Overbay.

UP NEXT: A much needed off day Monday followed by a mid-week series versus the first place Boston Red Sox (18-7, +35 run differential).  We also get to see both Jon Lester (4-0) and Clay Buchholz (5-0).  Oh joy.

Mission ’13, Game 26: Yankees win 3-2

Life is full of interesting choices. Some of those choices are made at our own instigation and discretion, like what shirt to wear or whether I take a PBJ to work or a tuna sandwich. No one forces my hand: I’m free to choose. Other choices in life, however, are brought about by external influences. Unbeknownst to me my boss can’t stand the smell of my tuna fish sandwiches but says my production’s down. All of a sudden I’m looking for another job.

We find these types of choices every day in every aspect of life.

Baseball has these kinds of situations, too. Do I swing at the first pitch or make the pitcher throw a few more? Should I throw him a fastball high and tight, or a slider down and away? When a player hits free agency the choices become greater, and there are different variables to consider. This team’s offering more money, but they aren’t very good. The other team’s offering less, but they have a history of success. Should I play close to home? What about my family? I guess that a realistic option would be poor team/less money, but we rarely—if ever—see players make that choice. Anyways, I expect you get what I mean. Choices, lots of ’em and belonging to different categories.

I suppose in the course of a 24-hour period we make dozens, if not hundreds, of decisions. Not only do they belong in different categories, but they are also each of a different magnitude and have various long- and short-term implications that we consider in the blink of an eye. My choice of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs (shout out to Calvin & Hobbes) over Cheerios will affect my short-term health (sugar rush) and my long-term health (diabetes). This isn’t as important as my choice to pass the 18-wheeler on a blind curve, however.

Such is the mind set that Brennan Boesch inspired in me today. Here’s a guy who’s a decent #3 outfielder at the ML level who was released by the Detroit Tigers. They’d picked up Old Man River (Torii Hunter), which made Boesch expendable. So the Tigers expended him. The Yankees have suffered innumerable injuries and defections, so they signed Boesch to a one-year deal.

Two days after a low-point in his Major League career, he finds himself under contract to one of the most decorated franchises in North American professional sports. If asked, he probably wouldn’t have left the Tigers in the first place but the decision was made by others. When he was in professional limbo for those two days, he was as free as he’d ever been as a professional baseball player. All he needed to do was answer the call when it came (which, of course, constitutes a serious limitation on that freedom…).

Now we see him in game 4 of a series between the Yankees and the Blue Jays. The Yankees are going for the sweep; the Jays are trying to salvage a modicum of self-respect by avoiding the sweep. Brennan Boesch, the proximal reason for our metaphysical and philosophical gymnastics today, homered in the second inning against RA Dickey. Fate? Chance? Luck? A Supreme Being? The Force? Perhaps a malevolent force or being? Or are we masters and mistresses of our own destiny, with no outside forces having a ‘say’?

One might say that the Detroit Tigers took a chance, bid Brennan good luck and directed him toward MLB’s Supreme Being, whom Torontonians definitely consider to be malevolent. He was briefly the master of his own destiny but now finds himself and his freedom subjugated to the Evil Empire.

Let’s get back to reality: the Jays were swept by the Evil Empire. The surprisingly-hot Boston Red Sox are next on the agenda. Mercifully, the Jays have a day off on Monday.

Wes Kepstro

At What Point Can We Worry About the 2013 Blue Jays?

The Blue Jays just dropped another series to an AL East rival and there record now stands at 10-19.  They sit 10.5 full games out of first place and while nobody is suggesting a division title is won in April I think it’s time to acknowledge that they can at the very least be lost with such a disastrous month.

Perhaps 2013 is just not destined to be our season even we all still #lovethisteam.

If things continue this way and we are well out of the playoff hunt before Jose Reyes returns I wouldn’t be surprised (or disappointed) if the Blue Jays were sellers.  If they were to move some pieces to either shed payroll or pick up an interesting prospect or two they would likely have some suitors.

-Josh Johnson needs to show he is healthy if any team were to give up any blue chip prospects.  He also needs to show the looming free agent market that he can throw a full season worth of innings.  If he comes back to his career levels he makes a solid #3 starter and I am sure the team could land one pretty intriguing prospect.

2013 ZIPS (rest of season projection) 126.0 IPs, 123 hits, 40 BB – 105 K, 3.79 ERA, 3.59 FIP.

-Melky Cabrera hasn’t shown he is the same hitter without PEDs.  This is just a fact.  The numbers pre and post the steroid allegations show a completely different player.  I thought he would be more athletic than he is but his play in the left field and on the base paths leave much to be desired.  I think Anthony Gose could play to his level, at least, as well as play high caliber major league defense.  In short, no big loss.

2013 ZIPS (ROS) 551 PAs, 289/335/437, 6.5 BB%, 13.4 K%, 27 2B, 12 HR.

These projections are slanted, plain and simple.  They heavily weight his PED infused 2011/2012 seasons.  I think he would be hard pressed to come anywhere near the projected SLG%.

-Mark Buehrle is exactly who I thought he was coming into this season.  A pitch to contact lefty who’s stuff doesn’t play as well in the AL East.  He can give the Jays 200 innings and a low to mid 5.00 ERA – I don’t see much in the way of improvement at this stage of his career.  He simply gives up too many hits and in a league that can wait out a pitchers best stuff Buehrle is at times a sitting duck.  If Ricky Romero returns to form I don’t see how he couldn’t outperform him.  This should almost be a priority win or lose as Buehrle is overrated and vastly overpaid for a fifth starter.

2013 ZIPS (ROS) 145.0 IPs, 163 hits, 30 BB – 80 K, 4.53 ERA, 4.44 FIP.

-Darren Oliver could be a solid addition for a team looking for a veteran LOOGY.  He would need to improve upon his lacklustre numbers to start this season but if he does, we could likely fetch a ‘C+’ level prospect.

There is no need to completely wipe out the roster and I don’t see any reason to move Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, R.A. Dickey, Brett Lawrie and a few of our top bullpen arms unless the deal was just insanely in our favour – think Jurickson Profar insane.

The players listed above could be replaced if Rogers continues to show a willingness to spend money and trades are always an option for the Blue Jays brass.  However at this time I wouldn’t doubt Alex Anthopoulos is a tad gun shy as none of his recent highly touted moves have paid any dividends yet.  Luckily Travis d’Arnaud took a ball off his foot and won’t be getting called up anytime soon (thanks Wes).

OTHER BLUE JAYS LINKS:

Blue Jays Stats Pack – April 2013 – Hitters (how much do the Jays miss Jose Reyes?)

Mission ’13, Game 25: Yankees win 5-4

Did anyone think JA Happ would be the Jays’ most consistent starter in April? I’m glad he was chosen to be the #5 over Ricky Romero. Can you imagine? *shudders* The Jays staked him to a 3-0 lead in the first four innings on a Rajai ground out, a Jose homer, and a Lawrie fly ball that scored Edwin (shout out to Chris Stewart for dropping the ball).

Realistically, the Jays are playing the top of the AL East heap and their run differential after game 3 is -6, and their record is 1-5. They’re not getting blown out or anything; they’re not winning, either.

Having said that, Happ coughed up the lead. The Jays scratched out three runs against NY’s best starter, CC Sabathia, only to have Happ walk a pair, then give up a home run in the bottom of the fourth. As they say in soccer, we’re back to square one. No more damage was done in spite of a few more base runners. The Jays zeroed in on CC Sabathia when he struggled with his location; the Yankees did the same to Happ. Given the disparity in talent and experience, it doesn’t bode well for the Jays.

JA Happ bounced back effectively in the next inning, making the ‘bad’ inning almost comical in how out of place it was in the game. CC continued to struggle with his location into the sixth inning, though, as Brett Lawrie tagged him for an opposite-field homer (his second in two games), as the Jays re-took the lead, 4-3. This is about as much as we’re going to see CC struggle with his command. It’s good to see the Jays take advantage.

First Overbay triples, then Hafner triples? Seriously? Wells is now a certified Jays killer, but Travis Hafner’s resurrection has meant additional headaches for the Jays. Hafner’s triple against Brett Cecil has put the Yankees back in the lead. No disrespect to Rajai Davis intended, but I think Colby Rasmus catches that ball.

Mo’s participation in the first two games and his advanced age means that Joba Chamberlain is getting the call to close this game. Joba doesn’t even look confident on the mound, despite his stature and 95 mph fastball. No problem, though: it’s the Jays.  It’s sad but the Jays hope to avoid the sweep in game 4.

Wes Kepstro

Mission ’13, Game 24: Yankees win 6-4

Aaron Laffey subbed for Josh Johnson, as he of the many injuries is injured. It’s a triceps thing. Laffey then played “Where’s Waldo” with home plate for 2.2 mostly-ineffective IP. In Laffey’s defense only one of the five walks came around to score. He was relieved by Brad Lincoln, who gave up two runs in his 1.0 IP. In Lincoln’s defense, Overbay tripled at least once every year between 2004 and 2011. Ugh.

Mercifully for the Jays, Ivan Nova wasn’t any better, giving up two runs in two innings before he left with an injury. One of those runs came on Edwin Encarnacion’s 6^th homer. Unfortunately for the Jays, David Phelps replaced Nova and was terrific. He struck out nine Jays in four innings.

Chicken wings are the order of the day today. Edwin has homered in his fourth straight game, it’s his third homer of the series, and his second homer of the game. I keep waiting for Jose Bautista to wake up and notice that the hitter behind him is white hot, and to do anything he can to get on base. I guess I’ll just keep waiting patiently. Until then I’ll keep cringing as Jose strikes out to end an inning and then watching Edwin hit solo homers and getting on base somehow. Edwin’s latest tater made the score 4-3 Yankees.

In the bottom of the 6^th, Loup tired and put a couple of runners on base. Steve Delabar was summoned to face Jayson Nix and keep it a one-run game. He struck out Nix on five pitches. I love watching Steve Delabar pitch.

JP Arencibia needs to go. His offense is one-dimensional and his defense is atrocious. Delabar gave up a double to Robinson Cano and, with two out, walked ichiro intentionally. The 2-2 pitch was low, and Arencibia let it go to the backstop. 5-3 Yankees. The next pitch was strike three. In the ’80s, the Boston Red Sox were enamoured with Marc Sullivan because he was the chairman’s son. The Minnesota Twins held on to Tim Laudner for far too long. Arencibia fits the mold. A player with some perceived value that keeps him hanging around. Seriously, is his one-dimensional offense really special enough to offset horrific defense? The Blue Jays scratch and claw to score runs, and their defense—notably Arencibia, Bonifacio, Lawrie, and DeRosa—gives them away. (Not to mention poor base running. Well done, Rajai.) Jose Bautista’s homer in the top of the eighth would have tied the game, albeit briefly…

Darren Oliver has done nothing this season to make me glad that Alex Anthopoulos went to Texas to talk him out of retiring. He’s been ordinary this season when he’s pitched, and he seems disinterested. The home run by left-handed hitting Brett Gardiner has put this game out of reach. 6-4 Yankees. Mariano Rivera is on to pitch the ninth.

For the umpteenth time this season already, we’re saying ‘the Blue jays hope to split the series’, or ‘the Blue Jays look to salvage one game in this series’. CC Sabathia is slated to pitch game three. Good luck, Blue Jays. The New York Yankees have been decimated by injuries, and they’ve toyed with Toronto thus far in the series.

Wes Kepstro

Mission ‘3, Game 23: Yankees win 5-3

Chicken wings anyone? Rajai singled, Kawasaki hit into a DP, Bautista walked, and Edwin hit his 5^th home run. 2-0 Jays. This is exactly what we expected when EE started hitting the ball with authority several games ago. He was making outs, but he gave the impression of heating up: for once, we were right. It’s only the eighth time in Mission ’13 that the Jays scored first.

Something that impresses me about Edwin Encarnacion is that he’s a power hitter who doesn’t strike out much, even when he’s struggling. His struggles have been moderately-well documented in the early going, but his discipline hasn’t been mentioned much. Going into game #23, Edwin had just 17 hits but he only had 16 strike outs. I expect his BABIP (.206) to rise steadily and his K rate (16.7%) to taper off somewhat, but his BB rate (11.5%) is consistent with his career numbers. There’s no Blue Jay hitter who makes me more confident hitting with two strikes than EE. Barring injuries, we can expect another good year.

Mark Buehrle traditionally struggles against the Yankees. In his first game against the Bombers Buehrle pitched pretty well, giving up 3 runs (2 ER) in a game TOR lost 5-3. His first inning tonight was very good with two Ks and a weak ground out to Brett Lawrie.

His opponent, Hiroki Kuroda, has already struggled somewhat, as we’ve seen. Those struggles continued into the 2^nd inning when Brett Lawrie homered to RF (…take note of the location…), making the score 3-0. The Jays’ 6^th hit was a sharply hit liner into the RF corner by Munenori Kawasaki. It was his first hit to RF this season. Kuroda made some good pitches to strike out Jose Bautista but in the first two innings the Jays have six hits, three of which have been for extra bases and two have been hit to the opposite field. The Jays are hitting the ball where it’s being pitched, rather than being pull-happy.

The Yankees’ first run came courtesy of Vernon Wells, the noted Buehrle killer. It was long home run to dead center field. Vdub now has 24 hits (3 HR) in 48 AB against Mark Buehrle. Francisco Cervelli followed with a long drive into right-center for an out that Rasmus ran a long way to catch.

The bottom of the third was interesting. An infield hit and a 99-hopper past 2B Maicer Izturis set the stage. A good AB by former Jay Ben Francisco resulted in a long fly ball that was well foul, then a fly ball out to Melky. Prior to the Francisco AB, Buck and Tabby spoke about how Buehrle needed to induce a ground ball to get out of the inning. They didn’t want Robinson Cano to come to the plate with runners on base. After Francisco flied out, Cano tattooed a 3-run homer to deep right to give the NYY a 4-3 lead. There’s no time to sit back and admire a 3-run led in Yankees stadium. It’s time for the Jays to tap into that well of offense again.

Hiroki Kuroda has settled in. The struggles of the first two innings are gone, and Maicer Izturis reaching 1B on an Overbay error is the first Blue Jays’ base runner since the offensive ‘explosion’. Kuroda retired eight straight before the error. Overbay then speared a Rajai Davis liner headed into the RF corner to retire the side after booting Izturis’ routine grounder.

Mark Buehrle is headed in the other direction, however. Each inning after an easy first has been more difficult, culminating in giving up the lead on Cano’s homer.

The NYY managed only four hits in their previous game, and very little offense in the TB series (against Price, Moore and Cobb). They’ve scored 5 runs in the first four innings against TOR. Francisco Cervelli expressed his joy at being back in Yankee Stadium by homering to make it 5-3. What will this team be like when guys like Granderson, Teixeira, Arod, and Jeter come back? Buehrle struggles with their B squad…

Mark Buehrle’s game is over after 5.1 IP, and his line isn’t pretty: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. His replacement, the recently recalled Brad Lincoln, doesn’t inspire confidence. Shoulder woes prevented him from becoming a starter with the Jays, meaning they’ll use him as a RP. Last season he pitched in 24 G for TOR, compiling a 5.65 ERA. He retired both batters he faced and stranded both inherited runners.

Hiroki Kuroda retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced. Joba Chamberlain relieved Kurodaat the start of the 7^th inning. Brett Lawrie greeted him with a grounder that Joba tried to field with his bare hand. Lawrie was safe at 1B on what was ruled an infield hit. The Jays hit two lazy fly balls to CF, and Kawasaki hit into a FC to end the inning. Since Kawasaki’s double, only two Jays have reached base; one on an error, one on an infield single. The deafening roar of offense has tapered off to a whimper.

In a blatant example of homerism, the umpires convened a meeting about a play that went the Jays’ way. On a bunt by Ben Francisco, Brett Lawrie charged, bare handed the ball, and threw to Edwin at 1B. The ball snow coned in EE’s glove, and the crew chief (at 2B) ruled that EE bobbled the ball after the 1B ump ruled Francisco out on the play. Jays’ manager John Gibbons was ejected for arguing the call reversal. DeMarlo Hale called on Brett Cecil to relieve Lincoln. Robinson Cano hit a lazy fly ball to Rasmus and Wells struck out to end the inning. Well done by Cecil, yet again, especially amidst controversy.

As has often been the case, though, the Jays were still in the game. They lost two of three to BAL, both by one run. Kuroda shut them down in this game after they flexed their muscles early, but they’re only down two and Kuroda’s out of the game. If Lincoln et al can hold the fort, the Jays have a chance to steal this one. Unfortunately for Jays’ fans, it was not to be. The greatest closer in baseball history recorded a K, a broken bat infield pop-up, and a K to finish it.

There are two things about which I’m fairly confident early in Mission ’13. First, the Jays are better than this. They’re going to improve. How much? Well, that’s the $64 question. Second, every time Mark Buehrle faces the New York Yankees (and likely the Red Sox) the Jays are in trouble. He pitches to contact; those teams are very disciplined at the plate. It’s a terrible combo for the Jays.

Wes Kepstro

AL East Prospect Report – April 24, 2013

Hitters:

BAL AA Avery, Xavier CF, 1-4, .279, 2B (7)
BAL AAA Hoes, L.J. LF, 3-4, .279, 2B (4)
BAL HiA Davis, Glynn CF, 2-4, .214, 2B (2), BB (9), CS (1)
BAL HiA Webb, Brenden RF, 1-2, .200, 3 BB (7)
BAL LoA Walker, Christian 1B, 2-4, .385

BOS AA Bogaerts, Xander SS, 2-5, .297, 3B (1), BB (8)
BOS AA Vazquez, Christian C, 2-4, .268, BB (10)
BOS AAA Bradley, Jackie CF, 2-3, .400, 2 BB (4) (won’t be long until called back up)
BOS AAA Brentz, Bryce RF, 2-4, .262, HR (2), BB (6)
BOS HiA Cecchini, Garin 3B, 2-4, .328, HR (2), BB (9)
BOS HiA De La Cruz, Keury RF, 1-4, .227, HR (1)
BOS HiA Jacobs, Brandon LF, 0-2, .200, 3 BB (7)

NYY AAA Joseph, Corban 1B, 1-4, .294, 2B (5)
NYY LoA Culver, Cito SS, 2-4, .233, BB (11)

TB AA Mahtook, Mikie DH, 1-4, .211, 2B (7)
TB AAA Myers, Wil DH, 2-4, .317, 2B (3), BB (12), CS (1) (how long can TB keep him down?)

TOR LoA Hawkins, Chris LF, 3-4, .250, SB (1)

Pitchers:

BAL HiA Berry, Tim 5 5 1 1 1 6 2.86
BAL LoA Bridwell, Parker 4 5 5 5 2 6 4.12

BOS AA Workman, Brandon 5 3 3 2 3 3 3.13
BOS HiA Owens, Henry 6 3 0 0 1 6 1.71
BOS LoA Light, Pat 5 3 3 2 1 4 4.91

NYY AA Tracy, Matt 5.1 10 5 5 2 2 13.1
NYY AAA Betances, Dellin 7 3 1 1 2 7 8.04
NYY LoA Encinas, Gabe 6 4 2 0 1 5 0.39

TB AA Romero, Enny 5 4 1 1 2 6 4.82
TB AAA Geltz, Steve 2 1 1 1 0 4 4.22
TB HiA Gomez, Roberto 6 4 1 0 1 5 5.68
TB LoA Ames, Jeff 5 7 3 3 0 2 2.25
TB LoA Sawyer, Nick 2 1 1 0 1 4 2.89

Mission ’13, Game 22: Jays win 6-5 in extras

It was a game filled with walks, errors, poor pitching, home runs (by the Jays), a couple defensive gems, and a timely rally.

The O’s took the lead in the first—it was the 15^th time in 22 games that the Jays have given up the first run(s)—but JP Arencibia hit a two-run shot in the second, scoring Melky ahead of him. It was the first of four home runs against O’s starter Josh Stinson.

The Jays pushed the lead to 3-1 in the third on a Rajai Homer, but an error in the bottom of the inning by Brett Lawrie gave that run back. Home runs by Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista made the score 5-2 Jays in the sixth inning.

Brandon Morrow pitched into the seventh, but after a walk and a double, he was relieved by Aaron Loup. Loup has struggled with his location lately, but he retired the first batter he faced. He then gave up a run-scoring single, a stolen base, and a triple before retiring the side. When all was said and done, the O’s rallied for three in the bottom of the 7^th to tie it at 5 apiece.

The O’s mounted a mild threat in the bottom of the ninth and a more serious threat in the bottom of the 10^th inning. A Machado single, a Bautista error, and a Hardy single had Machado headed to the plate for the win. Rajai fielded the ball cleanly on a hop and made a perfect throw to JPA for the out.

The Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen was outstanding in the game except for one-third of an inning. In the 11^th inning the Jays worked Jim Johnson for an unearned run to take the lead into the bottom of the frame. Prior to that the O’s ‘pen pitched 5 innings of shutout ball. It was the last third of an inning that created the problem. The Jays scratched out the run on a pair of singles, a HBP, and a walk.

In the bottom of the 11^th, the Jays’ most effective closer since a healthy BJ Ryan came in and slammed the door shut. Casey Janssen was aggressive, effective and successful. It’s a pleasure to watch him pitch.

The Jays salvaged one win in a 3-game series again, but it was a hard-fought series and the teams were evenly-matched. If this series was any indication, Baltimore’s ‘pen is excellent again and the team as a whole plays sound, fundamental baseball. The 11^th-inning rally by the Jays could be attributed to a tired Jim Johnson very easily. This is not to detract from the Jays’ win, but it was Johnson’s third straight game making an appearance.

Anyways, the Jays have no business being 9-13 after 22 games the way they’ve played. They’ve only won one series in large part because they aren’t hitting, pitching, or playing defense very well. Had I just returned from Tombouctou (yes it does exist; it’s in Mali), after working there for several months and you gave me a blow-by-blow description of the year-to-date, I’d be shocked to hear that they were only four games under .500. Believe it or not, there’s great reason for optimism is you’re a Jays’ fan.

Wes Kepstro