Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Game 132: Playoff Spoilers

So far in August, the Blue Jays have hurt Seattle and helped Oakland. Now they go into Boston for a mini-series. The Red Sox, who swept four straight from the M's to create a three-way tie in the AL wild-card race, are aware that they must cope with Roy Halladay tomorrow, so they need a win tonight to sustain that momentum.

It's RH Tim Wakefield (1-1, 4.68 in four 2003 starts against the Jays this year) facing LH Mark Hendrickson (1-0, 4.09 in four previous starts vs. Boston). Lurch held the BoSox to two earned runs in six innings in his only Fenway appearance back in April, and has been pitching well lately, with two wins over the Mariners in his last three starts. Toronto beat Wakefield in Fenway July 18, but ten days earlier, he shut the Jays down at SkyDome. The knuckleballer has three straight no-decisions.

My usual source for pregame lineups has yet to post the box score, so for a change, I'll first-guess. Bordick, Catalanotto, Myers and Delgado have had the most historical success against Wakefield; perhaps Cat should lead off, with Bordick second. If Cash is behind the plate, let Myers DH, as Phelps sometimes has trouble with soft-tossers. Reed Johnson is 0-for-8 vs. Wakefield, but with Kielty hurt, Sparky needs to be in the lineup. I'd bat him ninth tonight.

Posted by Coach on Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 06:53 AM EDT.

Game 132: Playoff Spoilers | 53 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 07:05 PM EDT (#55817) #

Bordick leads off, Cat is second. Myers is behind the plate, Phelpsy gets to DH, and Reed hits eighth. J'approve. Unfortunately, I don't have the same facility for predicting (or understanding) Tosca's bullpen moves.

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 07:36 PM EDT (#55818) #

Strange inning. Hinske, on with a walk, takes off on a run-and-hit with Johnson up. Reed lines one to right through the hole, and Eric's excellent adventure begins. He has to pull up to avoid being hit by the ball, nearly crashes into Garciaparra rounding second, stumbled around third and was out at the plate. But the first-base ump (I think) ruled that Nomar obstructed the runner (replays indicated that Hinske never broke stride) and the Jays were awarded a run.

The call almost makes up for a non-call of catcher interference earlier this summer when Manny Ramirez strolled in front of Crash. That one would have ended the game, but allowed the Sox to win it; this is just an early run.

Then Sparky, apparently thinking there were two outs, got doubled off on an infield popup. It wasn't pretty, but it's 1-0 Jays.

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:03 PM EDT (#55819) #

Bordick reached on a Mueller error in the top of the third, and Cat made them pay, ripping a hanging knuckler into the Boston bullpen for his 10th HR of the year to make it 3-1.

Vernon Wells, who earlier got doubled off second on a Myers line drive to center, atoned with a spectacular catch in the bottom of the inning, robbing Todd Walker of a triple. V-Dub got a great jump, took a perfect route, and stretched over his shoulder like a wide receiver hauling in a long bomb for a touchdown.

Back-to-back doubles by Phelps and Hinske and it's 4-1. Where is everyone?

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:11 PM EDT (#55820) #

About time we had one of these. Hudson doubles, Bordick singles and takes second on the throw home, Catalanotto adds a double and now it's 7-1 in the top of the fourth -- that's all for Wakefield.

robertdudek - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:15 PM EDT (#55821) #

I'm watching the game, coach. And still reading the comments on the J.P. article.

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:16 PM EDT (#55822) #

Strange stuff this evening. Wells hits a hard one-hop comebacker that nails reliever Todd Jones in the pitching arm and ends his night with an infield single. The Red Sox have gone to Jeff Suppan, who some people thought was going to start tomorrow night; because it's an injury situation, he'll be given as many warmup pitches as he needs.

Pepper Moffatt - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:21 PM EDT (#55823) #

http://economics.about.com
Back-to-back doubles by Phelps and Hinske and it's 4-1. Where is everyone?

I'm here, but I'm writing a piece on the gold standard in another window.

Did Wilner ever mention the interview on air? He seems like a pretty good guy. I love listening to him when I'm in the TO area. Listening to him talk about baseball is like listening to your intelligent college roomate talk about the sport. The one that won every fantasy league he was in and paid his way through college betting against Anthony Young.

Is it a bad sign when your own article is making you sleepy? I need to find more exciting topics.

Mike

_jason - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:27 PM EDT (#55824) #

Nobody has mentioned the Giles deal yet. Great snag for SD. Thats going to be a great offense for years to come, and they have some good young arms. Plus, they will still have some cash to spend in the off-season since Giles is fabulously underpaid. Welcome to the new toughest division in baseball; the NL West.

_Shrike - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:30 PM EDT (#55825) #

Actually, I've mentioned the Giles trade in two other threads.

I am *not* happy that Suppan is now in long relief. My roto team doesn't need one of its starters used this way. That being said, I'm quite happy that the Jays are taking it to the Sox.

_Shrike - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:52 PM EDT (#55826) #

It's now 7-6?!

What just happened?

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 08:56 PM EDT (#55827) #

Proving the "anything can happen in Fenway" adage, the wheels fell off in the fourth for Lurch, and Josh Towers had to come in to preserve what used to be a big lead, but is now 7-6. O-Dog's leaping, unassisted double play was helpful.

Every Blue Jay has at least one hit after five innings, but failing to take advantage of a first-and-second, none-out opportunity may come back to haunt them.

robertdudek - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:00 PM EDT (#55828) #

Baseball Primer has a link to the J.P. interview, but, unfortunately there has been no worthwhile discussion of it, mostly a few idiots with time on their hands.

Pepper Moffatt - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:03 PM EDT (#55829) #

http://economics.about.com
...mostly a few idiots with time on their hands.

Known simply as "The RossCW Collective"

Mike

_Homer Jay - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:25 PM EDT (#55830) #

Guess who's one hitting the Yanks.

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:28 PM EDT (#55831) #

Did Wilner ever mention the interview on air?

Depending on how much time he has on the postgame show tonight, I think he might give us a little plug.

Sparky just tried to score Myers from third with a two-out bunt. I'm listening to the radio and didn't see it, but it sounds like Suppan made a great defensive play.

Still 7-6; Josh Towers has done a very nice job in relief, but the big boys are coming up again this inning.

robertdudek - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:38 PM EDT (#55832) #

Two great defensive plays in the bottom of the 7th. Johnson takes the hop off the wall and rifles the ball to 2nd to get Walker, who had slowed thinking it was a homerun. Except that the umpire called him safe. Tosca came out to protest and was summarily ejected.

Manny hit a towering shot to centre - it would have been out of 29 of 30 parks in the majors. It found it's way to the 420 foot corner where Vernon hauled it in.

Millar has just tied the game with an RBI double.

_Shrike - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:42 PM EDT (#55833) #

Not a good night for the umpires, obviously. Nor the pitching staffs, as both offenses are punishing mistakes.

Gitz - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:48 PM EDT (#55834) #

Robert, I too was disappointed in the "discussion" of the J.P. interview. Not much new there; the signal-to-noise ratio on Primer borders -- and crosses over that border -- on the intolerable too often for me.

Many thanks, however, to Aaron Gleeman for posting the link.

Pepper Moffatt - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:51 PM EDT (#55835) #

http://economics.about.com
the signal-to-noise ratio on Primer borders -- and crosses over that border -- on the intolerable too often for me.

Me too. I really wish they'd institute a User Login/Password. There's way too much trolling there.

I hope Batter's Box never turns into Primer. If it starts to, I'd recommend a login system here as well. Fortunately there's been very little noise on this site.

Mike

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 09:57 PM EDT (#55836) #

The Fighting Jays squandered all of their 7-1 lead, but have gone in front 10-7 in the top of the eighth. Big nights at the plate for Phelps and Cat, HUGE night for Wells with the bat and the glove.

Gitz - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:01 PM EDT (#55837) #

Good thing Boston improved their bullpen, eh? (Note to small-sample-pointing-out wolves: I'm joking.)

robertdudek - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:02 PM EDT (#55838) #

Big games from Vernon and Phelpsie.

Getting back to Reed's bunt. He was clearly doing it on his own because Myers (the runner on third) was completely unprepared and got a very late jump. IMO even if the bunt had gotten past the pitcher the 3B had a very good shot at getting Myers at home. The only way it works is if Myers stays put and Reed beats it to load the bases (or the throw home is wild/mishandled).

The camera showed J.P. rushing up the aisle immediately after the play (he had been seated behind the Jays' dugout).

I count this as Reed's 2nd mental error of this game (the first being doubled off on a pop up thinking there were 2 outs). Reed should not be bunting with a slow runner at third - period.

Hinske doubles in two more runs. 12-7: welcome to Arena baseball, New England style.

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:04 PM EDT (#55839) #

You gotta like Hinske taking the tough lefty high off the wall for a 2-run double. 12-7 for the good guys; Towers stands to get the W but I think his evening is over.

The Jays have eight doubles -- one shy of the club record.

Gerry - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:06 PM EDT (#55840) #

On the Johnson bunt, Suppan made an OK play. Myers should have stayed at third, he was an easy out. Johnson probably surprised him.

Tosca does not seem to be a big fan of that umpire. I wonder what the three fingers meant, or if he will explain after the game.

On TV, after Hinske struck out and the Johnson bunt, they showed JP heading up and out of the stands. It could have been a washroom break, or more likely, he needed to let off some steam.

As has been pointed out here the last few days Wells stats are getting better in the second half, no dog days for him.

_Chuck Van Den C - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:06 PM EDT (#55841) #

the signal-to-noise ratio on Primer borders -- and crosses over that border -- on the intolerable too often for me

Guess who's one hitting the Yanks.

These two comments tie in nicely: signal-to-noise and Loaiza. On Usenet, both at r.s.b and a.s.b.tbj, Ricciardi detractors have a field day pointing out how dumb he was to have let Loaiza go. Of course, you'd need Angela Lansbury's help to scare up anyone who argued to keep him after last year...

_Homer Jay - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:19 PM EDT (#55842) #

Well I'm happy the Yanks are yanked, maybe there is too much reading between the lines. And I'm happy Lo is having succes, whatever his past faults were.

_StephenT - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:21 PM EDT (#55843) #

If you can't stand to watch the Jays' pen at work, there's a nice view of Mars (in the southeast) from most of Southern Ontario right now.

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:24 PM EDT (#55844) #

Aquilino Lopez makes his 60th appearance of the season, coming in to face Garciaparra, who is 0-for-5 against him so far, with three strikeouts. Nomar doesn't chase the slider this time, and draws a walk. It's the rookie vs. Ramirez, representing the tying run. Manny is a .350 hitter in his career with the bases loaded, including 15 grand slams.

Woo-hoo! He struck him out!

Coach - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:47 PM EDT (#55845) #

Great game. The inside-the-park homer fit right in with the other wackiness, but Aquilino settled down for the save. Doc gives the Jays an excellent chance to sweep tomorrow.

_Shane - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 10:53 PM EDT (#55846) #

I've been in and out all day long, so if I miss the occasional fact, bare with me (works for Richard Griffin?).

For my blab's worth, Aquillino has still been the Jays second best pitcher all year long. The guy is the bullpen's guts, and I hope he has arm left for '04.

Seccond, Tosca may switch pitchers like a crack-whore and bench the crap out of Phelps, but he has passion for his team, and I really enjoy that.

_Jonny German - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 11:32 PM EDT (#55847) #

Mike Wilner got his plug in for the Batter's Box J.P. interview, right at the end of Jays Talk.

He also said he's going to try to get Richard Griffin on air at some point and ask him about some of the ridiculous things Griffin has written.

And as long as I'm typing... how about Doug Davis 4-hitting the Reds tonight?

_David Armitage - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 11:37 PM EDT (#55848) #

Good night to be a fan of Canadian Baseball (unless of course you're still hoping the CBL comes back) with the Jays win AND the 'Spos incredible comeback from an 8-0 deficit to beat the Phillies 14-10. With the win and the Phillies' loss, they are now only 2 games back of the wild card, although there are 6 teams still ahead or tied with them, not to mention the Dodgers only half a game back.

As a former Montrealer, I pray that everything works out best for them and somehow a playoff spot inexplicably leads to the team somehow remaining in that great city. Edgar Bronfman should buy back the team and forget about Vivendi's entertainment assets, the world needs more Youppi and less American Pie movies. I know it's probably too late, but a man can dream can't he?

_R Billie - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 11:38 PM EDT (#55849) #

I like Tosca too but for the sake of his mental health and our own, I hope our pen is significantly deeper next year. And that Hendrickson has to earn his way into the fifth spot and not necessarily have a spot due to lack of options.

I think Justin Miller and Bob File may be two X-factors that could prove big if they come back healthy next year. Not to mention Arnold, Bush, McGowan, and Peterson of course (though the latter got touched up for a couple of runs tonight). I'm hoping they start giving Peterson 2 or 3 innings at a time. As I've said before a number of times, whether a guy is going to be a starter or a reliever, 1 inning appearances do not give a guy enough work to develop.

Dave Till - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 11:48 PM EDT (#55850) #

As I write this, Reed Johnson is probably standing at a blackboard, writing the following:

I will not attempt a surprise squeeze bunt
I will not attempt a surprise squeeze bunt
I will not attempt a surprise squeeze bunt

Nice catches by V-Dub. V-Dub rules.

The Sox should put their baseballs in the humidor that the Rockies use.

I'd like to know why Carlos Tosca was so agitated. It was fun to watch, though.

_susdajaysfan - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 11:51 PM EDT (#55851) #

Why are the Jays so enamoured with Mark Hendrickson. What indication has he given the Jays or the fans to believe that he is worth sending out there every four days. His fastball top out at 90 and not with a lot of movment. His breaking is inconsistent and more importantly he does not throw strikes. Why are they still running this guy out there? Cause he is 6'10. Granted he does not have a lot baseball experience but that is what the minor leagues are for. See the Jays keep saying that they dont want to rush their prospects and these are guys who have been playing baseball their whole lives and did not make a career change in their 20's, and yet they choose to let Mark Hendrickson learn at the major league level which as Carlos Tosca said himself, can be counter productive for a pitcher who is trying to put it together. I would rather see the Jays run 5 productive right handers out there as opposed to letting a 6'10 southpaw who thus far has not indicated he deserves to be in the starting rotation. This guy should be honing his craft in Triple A and not in the majors.

Pepper Moffatt - Tuesday, August 26 2003 @ 11:59 PM EDT (#55852) #

http://economics.about.com
On Usenet, both at r.s.b and a.s.b.tbj, Ricciardi detractors have a field day pointing out how dumb he was to have let Loaiza go. Of course, you'd need Angela Lansbury's help to scare up anyone who argued to keep him after last year.

No kidding. I don't know why I go to a.s.b.tbj anymore. The only people who aren't complete idiots are you, Northey, and Lau, and a lot of the stuff Lau posts makes me scratch my head. Since you post here, I think I wouldn't bother reading the group anymore if Northey would post here instead.

Mike

Gitz - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 12:12 AM EDT (#55853) #

Incidentally, in case you think some Jays's announcers struggle at times, here's a gem from SF's Joe Angel.

"The Blue Jays defeated the Red Sox tonight, 12-7. And that game is in the eighth inning."

_R Billie - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 01:14 AM EDT (#55854) #

That announcer had a lot more confidence in the pen than many others have had.

_A - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 01:58 AM EDT (#55855) #

Two promo oriented questions:
How many hits did Da Box get today?
Also, did that plug on the postgame ever come through?

_You asked for i - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 03:35 AM EDT (#55856) #

I hope Batter's Box never turns into Primer. If it starts to, I'd recommend a login system here as well. Fortunately there's been very little noise on this site.

Unless you count the noise of your mentioning the about.com Economics site that you tend...every second post...all the time...over and over again...AAAAAAAGH!!!

Pepper Moffatt - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 06:47 AM EDT (#55857) #

http://economics.about.com
Unless you count the noise of your mentioning the about.com Economics site that you tend...every second post...all the time...over and over again

You gotta develop a rhythm, baby.

Mike

Coach - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 08:16 AM EDT (#55858) #

A, your question about Mike Wilner's plug was "answered" in the affirmative by Jonny German a couple hours before you asked it. As he was signing off, Wilner mentioned our "great interview with J.P. Ricciardi" and slipped in the URL. It's appreciated, and it may have helped turn the old hit counter overnight, when there was more traffic than usual.

With about an hour to go, if we're measuring the 24 hours since the interview was posted, it's certainly a record day in Da Box -- over 2,000 hits! We are almost certain to reach 200,000 by the end of the season, which is a pretty good rookie year.

The Official Site is worth a visit this morning, especially if you have Real Player -- there's video of Vernon Wells' spectacular catches (and Tosca's ejection).

J.P. is coming up soon as a guest on The FAN morning show.

Gerry - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 08:55 AM EDT (#55859) #

Q - Why are the Jays so enamoured with Mark Hendrickson?

Hendrickson is a relatively inexperienced pitcher due his NBA career. Very tall pitchers can take time to find their delivery. They have a lot of (big) parts to move and coordinate and coordination is not usually a strong point among the extremely tall. Secondly he is a left handed pitcher. Baseball lore suggests lefties can take more time to develop. So, tall + lefty = patience required. Before yesterdays game Hendrickson had the lowest ERA of any Jays starter in August. His problem is consistency, one start is excellent and the next a disaster.

Named For Hank - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 11:16 AM EDT (#55860) #

I heard Batter's Box hat-tipped as the source of some J.P. quotes on The Fan 590 this morning (during the 7:40am roundup), though they called it "Batter's Box dot com". And apparently the Star has isolated a couple of comments from the interview and published an article this morning that has annoyed both J.P. and Tosca. I missed the J.P. call on The Fan, but Tosca's coming up shortly.

_R Billie - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 11:33 AM EDT (#55861) #

The comments don't appear to be on the Star site anywhere so I assume they're in the print edition. What was said, according to the FAN 590, was that JP apparently manipulates Tosca's decision making during a game. JP on the radio said that while he and Tosca discuss lineups and other matters he does not advise on tactics in a game such as when to bunt or I assume make pitching changes. He ended by saying it's another thing the Star had wrong.

What I also found interesting was his advice for apparently incoming Leafs GM John Ferguson Junior. He suggested he clean house and get his own people in since he learned the past two years why GMs often do so. You don't have a long time to enact change in the role and you need to have people who are loyal and believe in the plan while you're there.

_Matthew Elmslie - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 12:00 PM EDT (#55862) #

The Ricciardi-Ferguson comparisons are interesting to me. (It even seems like they have the same hometown.) For instance, it was said about the Leaf GM hunt that the Leafs couldn't afford to hire a Ricciardi-type because Leaf fans wouldn't stand for any five-year rebuilding process.

Which I thought was garbage. The Jays were taking a far greater risk in hiring Ricciardi and thinking long-term than the Leafs would be in doing something similar, because Leaf fans will put up with anything and Jays fans apparently won't. Oh, there would be complaints and media pressure, but it'd all come to nothing. The Leafs could announce a fifteen-year rebuilding plan and they'd still pack the ACC every night.

Named For Hank - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 12:06 PM EDT (#55863) #

Yeah, I just heard a brief snippet of the replay of J.P.:

"It's just the Star trying to stir things up again."

"They got it wrong, like most things."

"Consider the source."

I take it that J.P. is not much of a fan of The Star, eh?

Mike D - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 12:22 PM EDT (#55864) #

You're right, Matthew. Theo Epstein is a better comp for Ferguson; like Theo, JF Jr will have at least money to undo any mistakes.

And of course, because of the guaranteed high revenues, Ferguson will have a much larger margin for error.

_David Armitage - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 06:39 PM EDT (#55865) #

The Ferguson-Ricciardi comparison is not a comparable situation at all outside of the fact that they are/were lesser known talents without much proven experience at the position they were entering.

The similarities end there however. Whereas J.P. has control over the baseball side of the team, personnel moves, etc., Ferguson will never be given the same amount of freedom with Quinn, and to a much lesser extent Dryden wielding any power in the organization. This has puppet move written all over it, and this shell game of power/responsibility will probably continue so long as the Teachers keep making their money.

_okbluejays - Wednesday, August 27 2003 @ 10:29 PM EDT (#55866) #

Q - Why are the Jays so enamoured with Mark Hendrickson?

Are they? I'm not so sure. Here's my $0.02...

He's inexpensive, which is a big plus. In addition, he's a guy that could develop into something pretty decent, but if he doesn't, there's no harm done. He wasn't considered one of our better prospects when he was called up, and I doubt the Jays are seriously banking on him being a major contributor when we're in a position to compete. If he does, so much the better.

Personally, I don't see much when I look at his stats, or when I see him on TV, but I have no problem with what the Jays have done with him.

The Jays probably view him as a decent bridge from what we had to where we're going. Given our salary constraints, why not take a gamble on the guy? There's always a chance, however slim, that he could pan out... but I know nobody on this site would talk about him and a young Randy Johnson in the same sentence... even with the similar body size (which is where the similarities end - unfortunately).

_�I��C��J�W� - Sunday, May 16 2004 @ 12:39 PM EDT (#55867) #

http://www.foleb.com
"The Ferguson-Ricciardi comparison is not a comparable situation at all outside of the fact that they are/were lesser known talents without much proven experience at the position they were entering." I'd agree to that!

_Mr. Grants - Thursday, June 24 2004 @ 01:33 PM EDT (#55868) #

http://government-grants.org
Which I thought was garbage. The Jays were taking a far greater risk in hiring Ricciardi and thinking long-term than the Leafs would be in doing something similar, because Leaf fans will put up with anything and Jays fans apparently won't. Oh, there would be complaints and media pressure, but it'd all come to nothing. The Leafs could announce a fifteen-year rebuilding plan and they'd still pack the ACC every night

_Mr. Grants - Thursday, June 24 2004 @ 01:36 PM EDT (#55869) #

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