I figured yesterday's rainout was a perfect excuse for me to play hooky. And then I looked at yesterday's results, and duty kicked in.
Those of us in the Toronto area tend to pay more attention to the local team than the other twenty-nine combined. That's how the local media covers baseball, and it requires some real effort to put what's happening to the Blue Jays into any meaningful context. Now we do indeed have Bauxites from distant climes, and dispatches from locales as exotic as Texas and the Pacific northwest.
But on the other hand, I myself am about as Toronto-centric as it gets. Bloor and Yonge has long been the Centre of my Universe. My idea of the Mysterious East is the Danforth. In my heart of hearts, I suspect a passport is required to go to Scarborough.
So I always feel the need for perspective, and I am always trying to get me some.
So today's perspective is inspired by a brief dispatch from North Texas. You think the Blue Jays have bullpen problems? As Mick pointed out yesterday, the Yankees are the only team in the majors that doesn't have a save in 2007. The greatest closer in history has blown both his save opportunities and has a 7.11 ERA
The man with more saves than any other pitcher who has ever lived took the mound in relief of Jake Peavy last night. Peavy struck out 16 D'Backs in an utterly dominating performace, but Stephen Drew hit a two-run walkoff homer off Trevor Hoffmann to win the game.
The best pitcher in baseball this season has not been Johan Santana or Felix Hernandez - it's been Tim Hudson of the Braves. He worked eight shutout innings against the Marlins last night and took a 3-0 lead into the ninth. Then he ran out of gas, and the Marlins scored the winning run off Bob Wickman on a passed ball.
Other teams, other fans, also endure the Agonies of the Damned. There is wailing and gnashing of teeth all over.
The Yankees are skipping Andy Pettitte tonight. He'll make his next start against Boston - you know, a team that they see as a competitor in the AL East. Not that train wreck just ahead of them in the standings. The Jays get celebrated prospect Phil Hughes making his major league debut against A.J. Burnett.
FanfromTheIsland was wondering when the postponed game would be replayed. MLB hasn't made an announcement, but I'm betting on Thursday September 20. The Jays make two more trips into the Bronx this year. They have a four game set the Monday after the All-Star Break (right after a four game set at Fenway Park.) Neither the Jays nor the Yankees has an off-day nearby, so a double-header would be required. Nobody likes double-headers anymore.
However, the three game set in late September is preceded by an off-day for both teams - Thursday the 20th. So I'd bet on that. I believe a team can't play more than 20 days in a row without giving consent - I forget the exact rule. However, the Yankees are also off on the 10th and 24th, while the Jays are off on the 6th and 24th, so that provision shouldn't matter.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20070426100828641