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The Blue Jays can get back to .500 today, but who knows what to expect in Escobar's first start since September 23, 2001? Let's hope Kelvim is a little better this time -- in that disaster, he lasted just an inning and a third against the D-Rays, allowing six hits and issuing four walks for six earned runs.

Given his tendency to throw a lot of pitches per at-bat, I don't expect Escobar, on a limited count, to figure in the decision this afternoon. If he is efficient enough to last five innings, that would be very promising for the rotation experiment. Kelvim will have to be careful with Mike Sweeney, who has lit him up at a .467 clip (7-for-15) with a homer, but the Royals will again be without Carlos Beltran, and light-hitting Mendy Lopez gets the start at 3B in place of Joe Randa. The Jays should have their "A" team on the field, with Hinske returning to action.


No Jays hitter has faced 6'8" righty Kyle Snyder in a big-league game. The former North Carolina star, K.C.'s first-rounder (seventh overall) in 1999, made just five starts in AAA and has three no-decisions for the Royals, so cooling off the hot Toronto lineup is a tough assignment. Don't be surprised if this one is decided by the bullpens. Expect to see Sturtze make his first relief appearance, as it's his regular turn today. Talk of Tanyon becoming the setup guy is premature, until he demonstrates some consistency as a long man.

Back on April 29, I made a ridiculously optimistic suggestion, considering the team had been bouncing in and out of the division cellar for a while, between six and eight games under .500: "two out of three in the next seven series would make the Jays 24-23 heading into the May 22 midterm with the Yankees." A win today and a couple in Chicago (not an impossibility) will turn that unlikely scenario into reality.

Some skeptics are finally starting to recognize that Toronto has an exciting young team under astute management. Richard Griffin, who only recently doubted the Jays could beat Baltimore for third in the AL East this year, speculates in today's Star about the 2005 lineup, calling Team J.P. legitimate contenders by then. Rich even tosses off a line about Cinderella's slippers possibly fitting this year's model, saying that winning now isn't inconceivable. It's a rare day indeed when Griffin's glasses are rosier than mine.
Game 44: All Even? | 11 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike D - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 02:54 PM EDT (#102690) #
Hate to waste a post this way, but where can I find the radio over the internet? My RealOne account is getting all screwy, and it seems like an interesting game so far.
_snellville jone - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 03:11 PM EDT (#102691) #
I'm keeping track of the game on Gamecast. Can anyone explain the "Phelps lines into double play right to catcher, Delgado out at third" play?
_mathesond - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 03:14 PM EDT (#102692) #
I would guess that Phelps lined out to RF, who threw home, and the catcher threw to third, doubling off Delgado. But GameCast gets pretty screwy, so who knows?
_snellville jone - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 03:20 PM EDT (#102693) #
Thanks, that makes sense. I was thinking he lined out "right to [the] catcher", not "Right [field] to catcher."
_snellville jone - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 03:52 PM EDT (#102694) #
Congratulations to John Thomson who pitched a three-hit, complete game victory over Mike Mussina and the Yanks to complete Texas' sweep of New York at Yankee Stadium.
_King Rat - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 05:16 PM EDT (#102695) #
In case anyone is still wondering, Borwn threw Carlos out at home. There was a collision. The Jays are at .500! Woo-hoo!
_mathesond - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 05:47 PM EDT (#102696) #
Jays are coming to Chicago - I'm thinking of going to all 3 games. Getting a group together for the Monday nighter, anyway (1/2 price tickets!). Might even dust off the old 1993 ALCS T-shirt
_King Rat - Sunday, May 18 2003 @ 06:24 PM EDT (#102697) #
'Borwn,' of course, is Rat-ese for Dee Brown.
Coach - Monday, May 19 2003 @ 10:51 AM EDT (#102698) #
All it took to make a winner of Tanyon Sturtze was Josh Phelps' end-of-the-bat home run. Good for Tanyon, who responded positively to the wakeup call, pitching from the stretch even with nobody on, and challenging hitters early in the count instead of letting them lay off low splitters. Escobar had great stuff, as usual, but in addition to his frustrating tendency to use every pitch in every at-bat, he showed how rotten he is at things that don't matter to him, like holding runners and fielding.

Tosca's bullpen policy is to have everybody ready, all the time. When he used Trever Miller in the sixth, I feared a later Doug Creek appearance, but that didn't turn out to be necessary, as Jeff Tam was very effective. Throwing his sinker higher, for called strikes, instead of in the dirt, Tam worked a great seventh inning, then justified his manager's confidence in leaving him in for the eighth. For a moment, with the lefty-swinging Ibanez representing the tying run, Jeff looked like he slipped back into his "afraid to lose" mode, but he recovered nicely to get a harmless popup to shallow CF, escaping the wrath of the ZLC for himself and the skipper. Tam also shrugged it off when Woodward failed to handle Harvey's bouncer up the middle. I agree with John Cerutti, who when asked by Faulds if Mike Bordick would have made that play, answered with an abrupt "yeah," followed by eloquent silence.

Gamecast simply got that double play wrong; Delgado tagged up and crashed the catcher (he might have scored if he slid, but it was a good effort) so he was out at the plate. Earlier, Carlos ended his slump with a bang, and also got one of those fluky hits (a bad hop over the second baseman's head) that many players believe can change their luck. Lately, the breaks -- especially the umpires' calls -- have evened out.

This is a confident Jays team on a 12-4 roll heading into Chicago. The White Sox have lost five of their last six series, with only a sweep of the Orioles keeping their 6-12 record in that span from being even worse. Let's hope those trends continue for three more days.
_StephenT - Monday, May 19 2003 @ 02:09 PM EDT (#102699) #
Craig B - Monday, May 19 2003 @ 06:50 PM EDT (#102700) #
I agree with John Cerutti, who when asked by Faulds if Mike Bordick would have made that play, answered with an abrupt "yeah," followed by eloquent silence.

Best, and most insightful, piece of commentary from Cerutti in a long time - one word. In fact, Sonya and Jay and I were watching, and I just had said the same thing - "Bordick makes that play") to Sonya when Faulds asked the question of his partner.
Game 44: All Even? | 11 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.