There's nothing like a bucketful of cold water to wake you up in the morning, and there's nothing like a 7-0 whipping by the Detroit Tigers to wake up a baseball team. The Blue Jays will try to score their first runs and their first win of the season tonight against 2003's history-making 20-game-loser Mike Maroth. They'll send Miguel Batista and his Amazing Technicolour Repertoire to the mound in opposition. It's Batter's Box/Cheer Club Night at the Skydome, so keep your ears peeled for raucous Bauxites noisily rooting for the home squad.
The FAN 590 is doing the Raptors' game, the station out of Stratford isn't broadcasting the game...Anyone know where I might find this game on the Internet??
Oh, drat. I get the Tigers feed on Extra Innings. Nine more innings of hearing how the Tigers are going to win 155 games. Well, that's a bit glib. They'll win 154 games.
http://www.phillies-fan.com
I get the feeling this one is going to get ugly...
I get the feeling this one is going to get ugly...
I don't get it. How can these games be broadcast on the radio? I thought MLB controlled all the games on MLB Radio.
Yikes-looks like Orlando's decision to tag Young instead of flipping it to Woody might have cost Young a torn ACL. That didn't look good.
That looked painful. Losing Young's bat for an extended period, while not as devasting as it would've been last year, would be a pretty big blow to this Tigers club.
Oops-ankle. That's gotta deflate the Tigers a bit after the good start.
Looked like an ankle injury. Probably not ACL. It looks like he'll be out awhile but hopefully he'll be back soon. Last year, I thought Jeter was out for the year but he was able to make it back.
How many Jays do you think will get hit in games Batista starts??
Not particularly great swings by Wells/Delgado. Tough end to a promising inning.
fyi: Jays radio feed on mlb.com is finally working.
A few early observations:
-Batista is hitting 96 on the gun but not hitting the strike zone
-Heck of a play by Hinske
-It looks like there's absolutely no one at Skydome
-Batista is hitting 96 on the gun but not hitting the strike zone
-Heck of a play by Hinske
-It looks like there's absolutely no one at Skydome
Twelve straight shutout innings by the vauted Tigers staff! I am fully aware of small sample sizes so do not take this as some long term comment on the club' offense but what is really noticeable is how bad the AB's have been and how flat the team seems. I can only think that the club came out of spring training assuming that they would be 3-0 after the first series.
A couple of thoughts
In times of no cheer theres always beer.
Zambrano will be wilder than Batista all yr.
Next week all of this won't seem so bad.
In times of no cheer theres always beer.
Zambrano will be wilder than Batista all yr.
Next week all of this won't seem so bad.
Hey we scored a run! We weren't on pace to do that this season! ;-)
With Maroth on the mound, four runs should not be enough to win tonight's game. Keep Fighting, Jays!
Good play at the plate, even if Hinske was out.
I have a feelig Maroth has awoken a sleeping giant....
I have a feelig Maroth has awoken a sleeping giant....
Boy, Batista's just got to throw a first pitch strike. Getting the leadoff guy would help too, but strikes El Artista!
Atta boy El Artista! Looks like he just needs to be called by his nickname. Great throw by Cash-wow.
In the words of Faulds, "Whadya think about that?"
Nice homer by Sparky, who is now on pace for 81 :)
Nice homer by Sparky, who is now on pace for 81 :)
Sparky spanked that sucker. Impressive display of power and lightning quick bat speed.
AND he has a walk.
AND he has a walk.
Terrific outing by Speier. Let's hope keeping the Jays in it will matter and they'll start to hit.
Maybe Terry just wanted to remember what it felt like to allow one of those homer things, it's been a while for him.
http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images/gameday/mugshots/150277.jpg
COMN for the facial hair on Doug Davis. A friend suggested he was an extra for Pirates of the Carribbean 2.
COMN for the facial hair on Doug Davis. A friend suggested he was an extra for Pirates of the Carribbean 2.
Young suffered a non-displaced fracture of his right tibia and will be out for six weeks. It looked a lot worse than that when it happened, so that's relatively good news. Not that the Tigers seem to need another bat in this series....
Speaking of injuries (and I'm not talking about getting shut down-no, dominated by Nate Robertson and losing to the Tigers again), Joe Mauer left the Twins game with a sprained knee. I hope for his, the Twins, and my fantasy team's sake that he's OK (in that order too, I really think he's going to be a fun player to watch).
I look forward to Hentgen's start tomorrow. If he's the pitcher I think he is, he'll step it up and do his best to play stopper. Too bad it's not on the TV.
0-3 going to Fenway would be unfortunate but may be a nice test of the tenacity of this club.
0-3 going to Fenway would be unfortunate but may be a nice test of the tenacity of this club.
http://economics.about.com
Wow... looking at the box score, I can't be too upset that I missed this one.
Jays used 4 relievers and no pinch hitters. I fear this is going to be the trend for the season, but to be fair, if you're going to carry 7 relievers, you might as well use them all regularly. I hope Simon Pond is going to get at least a few ABs... a sweet swing is useless if it's confined to the dugout.
Cheers,
Mike
Wow... looking at the box score, I can't be too upset that I missed this one.
Jays used 4 relievers and no pinch hitters. I fear this is going to be the trend for the season, but to be fair, if you're going to carry 7 relievers, you might as well use them all regularly. I hope Simon Pond is going to get at least a few ABs... a sweet swing is useless if it's confined to the dugout.
Cheers,
Mike
http://kenkosowan.fotopic.net
Hi there everybody.
Slightly off topic here.
What exactly is the deal with MLB's arrangement for online streaming audio for baseball games? I tried listening to both the Expos game and the Red Sox game this afternoon; but was blocked out because of this rights deal! ARGH.
However, I was able to listen to the Jays game on the streaming audio for 980 KRUZ up here in Peterborough....
Has the Telemedia Network (wow... that dated me) or the FAN Network that is made a deal with MLB???
Someone help!? I want to listen to my free Internet baseball... This is another reason I'm not loving Selig now.
Hi there everybody.
Slightly off topic here.
What exactly is the deal with MLB's arrangement for online streaming audio for baseball games? I tried listening to both the Expos game and the Red Sox game this afternoon; but was blocked out because of this rights deal! ARGH.
However, I was able to listen to the Jays game on the streaming audio for 980 KRUZ up here in Peterborough....
Has the Telemedia Network (wow... that dated me) or the FAN Network that is made a deal with MLB???
Someone help!? I want to listen to my free Internet baseball... This is another reason I'm not loving Selig now.
MLB holds exclusive rights to broadcasts of all MLB games, as far as I know, but sometimes there are feeds people find that are mysteriously broadcasting the games.
Also, Johan Santana left in the fifth today with an undisclosed hand injury.
Also, Johan Santana left in the fifth today with an undisclosed hand injury.
No team has ever gone 0-162 right? ;)
I keep telling myself, "it's only two games" yet I can't help but over-react.
I keep telling myself, "it's only two games" yet I can't help but over-react.
The Jays had trouble at home against the Tigers last year too. Now you give Detroit a competent major league offence to contend with and the Jays seem almost helpless. They look really poor swinging the bats.
Too be fair though the Jays didn't have much luck against Maroth as he only had one strikeout but gave up only five hits. The Tigers in the meanwhile seemed to find every infield hole and barely hit a few balls fair down the lines. At least now we know the team is capable of scoring a run. :)
Too be fair though the Jays didn't have much luck against Maroth as he only had one strikeout but gave up only five hits. The Tigers in the meanwhile seemed to find every infield hole and barely hit a few balls fair down the lines. At least now we know the team is capable of scoring a run. :)
Last year the Jays were an incredibly streaky team, especially early in the season. Perhaps they're going to be the same way this season. 160-2!
Batista didn't seem to have much control tonight.
Batista didn't seem to have much control tonight.
I keep telling myself, "it's only two games" yet I can't help but over-react.
How will we ever catch those first place Devil Rays?
How will we ever catch those first place Devil Rays?
A line-up with a righty swinging Hudson, a Cash and a Woodward makes for about ten to twelve automatic outs per game. Well, not that bad, but between Cat and Wells hackin' away and the limply bottom 7,8 & 9, the pitch counts stay low and the line-up's barely turning over enough to sustain multiple-run innings. Frustrating stuff.
Batista didn't seem to have much control tonight
One of the guys in our group was counting and reported that Batista only got to 0-1 on five hitters.
Thanks to everyone who turned up tonight. A grand day out, despite the slightly discouraging result.
One of the guys in our group was counting and reported that Batista only got to 0-1 on five hitters.
Thanks to everyone who turned up tonight. A grand day out, despite the slightly discouraging result.
Cash's footwork was brilliant and he threw some rockets. Sparky had a fine game. Speier really impressed me. All in all, there were several positives coming out of this game. I ain't discouraged anymore, and thanks to all those who picked me up this evening.
21,003 tonight. Looks like $3.25 night brought in an extra 7,000 people or so. It might even have increased the Jays' cash intake, if there would only have been 2,000 in the upper deck otherwise (not sure what to assume).
At least the Devil Rays are smoking Mussina and the Yankees yet again. Thank goodness the Alomar division is a head-to-head league. Fresh start for Mike next week. :P
Hey, as long as the Yankees keep losing to the Devil Rays the Jays can afford to lose to the Tigers right? Still, there is something real bizarre about the AL East standings.
#1 - Tampa Bay
#2 - Baltimore
#3 - Boston
#4 - NY Yankees
#5 - Toronto
A reversal of those would be nice. At the moment in MLB #1 is a tie between Detroit and Milwaukee (2-0 each). Tampa Bay is the only other 2 game winner. The 2 game losers are NYY, Toronto, and St Louis. Gotta love April. 8P
#1 - Tampa Bay
#2 - Baltimore
#3 - Boston
#4 - NY Yankees
#5 - Toronto
A reversal of those would be nice. At the moment in MLB #1 is a tie between Detroit and Milwaukee (2-0 each). Tampa Bay is the only other 2 game winner. The 2 game losers are NYY, Toronto, and St Louis. Gotta love April. 8P
http://me.woot.net
Thank you for treating us to a fun game, Craig.
The Dome wasn't as empty as I assume it looked on TV; attendance in the field-level seats were par for the course these days, but upper deck and outfield, the $2 seats, were pretty full. The crowd was fun, seemed loud (although that could just be Aaron) and came away (I think) entertained. Heck, Aaron's sign even got us on the JumboTron!
Thank you for treating us to a fun game, Craig.
The Dome wasn't as empty as I assume it looked on TV; attendance in the field-level seats were par for the course these days, but upper deck and outfield, the $2 seats, were pretty full. The crowd was fun, seemed loud (although that could just be Aaron) and came away (I think) entertained. Heck, Aaron's sign even got us on the JumboTron!
Notes from a fan:
Tough losses but it's early days yet. Weird things happen in April. I think both Halladay and Batista will be very good this year.
Particularly painful to watch: (i) poor execution; (ii) poor defense; (iii) free swinging/poor plate patience. These were the hallmarks of the Ash-era teams, and still haunted the Jays to some extent last year.
I agree I'd like to see Pond get some playing time. Maybe as occasional DH/3B/LF. He's hit like crazy the last couple of years, winter ball and spring included, and really seems to be getting it together.
Tough losses but it's early days yet. Weird things happen in April. I think both Halladay and Batista will be very good this year.
Particularly painful to watch: (i) poor execution; (ii) poor defense; (iii) free swinging/poor plate patience. These were the hallmarks of the Ash-era teams, and still haunted the Jays to some extent last year.
I agree I'd like to see Pond get some playing time. Maybe as occasional DH/3B/LF. He's hit like crazy the last couple of years, winter ball and spring included, and really seems to be getting it together.
Hey! Imagine I brought my 22" Bass Drum to the Blue Jays game but was told that I had to check it in by the security supervisor AND a police officer... oh wait, that happened tonight. What BS. I actually asked for my money back... even though Craig was wonderful enough to organize a fine, free outing to the Dome. Overall I was disappointed and cannot believe they would actually refuse my drum entry when he was obviously ready and willin' to make some noise for the Fightin' Jays... Anyways, I can't believe I let poor Aaron and CC down. I promised a drum but failed you. Sorry.
Thanks, Craig, for setting this up. It was great.
Unfortunately, the Jays are doing an excellent impersonation of a team who really is going to go 0-162. I mean, I know they won't. But they're playing like they will.
Unfortunately, the Jays are doing an excellent impersonation of a team who really is going to go 0-162. I mean, I know they won't. But they're playing like they will.
not much left to say that hasn't been pointed out already... but these guys have plenty to work on... as for the tigres...
tough blow losing dimitri for 6-8 wks, but I gotta say that Ivan has gotta be Dave Dombrowski's crowning achievment to this point. His offensive exploits have been impressive sure, but I think he's one of those few players that comes onto the field and makes his teammates better. The detroit pitchers seem to be feeding off of him right now. Jason Johnson looked extremely upset initially after the woodward triple and it really did appear that Ivan is the one who managed to calm him down so as to right the ship in order to get out of the inning unscathed. Maroth held his own tonight too... these are pitchers who're not the most intimidating with their stuff. A josh Beckett this staff hath not.... but in these two games played so far, the staff is coming out and pitching with Josh's level of confidence (to some degree anyways...)....
Give Pudge my vote for MVP of gms 1-2.... :)
Maybe if he keeps up his contribution to both sides of the ball, he could be a candidate for the MVP of games 1-162 as well.
tough blow losing dimitri for 6-8 wks, but I gotta say that Ivan has gotta be Dave Dombrowski's crowning achievment to this point. His offensive exploits have been impressive sure, but I think he's one of those few players that comes onto the field and makes his teammates better. The detroit pitchers seem to be feeding off of him right now. Jason Johnson looked extremely upset initially after the woodward triple and it really did appear that Ivan is the one who managed to calm him down so as to right the ship in order to get out of the inning unscathed. Maroth held his own tonight too... these are pitchers who're not the most intimidating with their stuff. A josh Beckett this staff hath not.... but in these two games played so far, the staff is coming out and pitching with Josh's level of confidence (to some degree anyways...)....
Give Pudge my vote for MVP of gms 1-2.... :)
Maybe if he keeps up his contribution to both sides of the ball, he could be a candidate for the MVP of games 1-162 as well.
http://bluejayscheerclub.com
First Cheer Club injury of the season: I think I blew out my voice last night. Whoops!
We'll see what a day of honey-filled tea does for it.
First Cheer Club injury of the season: I think I blew out my voice last night. Whoops!
We'll see what a day of honey-filled tea does for it.
Disappointing? Yes. Hard to believe? At times. Indicative of how the rest of the season will go? Not at all.
Like Craig, I'm seeing plenty of positives. Cash may be 1-for-7 but it's more like a 1-for-5 -- his arm was directly responsible for taking a couple of outs away from the Tigers. Vina got a terrific jump off Batista, and Kevin gunned him out -- it wasn't even close. Reed Johnson, in addition to the big homer, drew a walk (the four-pitch variety, not one of his patented HBP) and made a fine catch on a hot, low line drive that many right fielders would have let drop for a single or misplayed into extra bases. Speier looked very sharp.
Aaron, maybe you blew out your voice by not warming up properly. It's hard to be the official Batter's Box photographer for three innings in the silence of the camera bay, then rush up to the 500 level and start bellowing. It was fun seeing so many Bauxites, and too bad we didn't have even more to cheer about. Maybe next time.
Like Craig, I'm seeing plenty of positives. Cash may be 1-for-7 but it's more like a 1-for-5 -- his arm was directly responsible for taking a couple of outs away from the Tigers. Vina got a terrific jump off Batista, and Kevin gunned him out -- it wasn't even close. Reed Johnson, in addition to the big homer, drew a walk (the four-pitch variety, not one of his patented HBP) and made a fine catch on a hot, low line drive that many right fielders would have let drop for a single or misplayed into extra bases. Speier looked very sharp.
Aaron, maybe you blew out your voice by not warming up properly. It's hard to be the official Batter's Box photographer for three innings in the silence of the camera bay, then rush up to the 500 level and start bellowing. It was fun seeing so many Bauxites, and too bad we didn't have even more to cheer about. Maybe next time.
http://aaronreynolds.ca
Aaron, maybe you blew out your voice by not warming up properly.
I believe this is true.
I'll have some of the black & white images up hopefully this afternoon at aaronreynolds.ca (COMN) in the gallery.
Aaron, maybe you blew out your voice by not warming up properly.
I believe this is true.
I'll have some of the black & white images up hopefully this afternoon at aaronreynolds.ca (COMN) in the gallery.
Aaron,
Your pictures from Prague are unbelievable. Especially the black and white shot with the archway. Good job sir.
Your pictures from Prague are unbelievable. Especially the black and white shot with the archway. Good job sir.
http://bluejayscheerclub.com
Thanks! It's a beautiful place. We were there only a few months before the flooding.
Thanks! It's a beautiful place. We were there only a few months before the flooding.
So.
When do we start the Tosca death watch?
;)
Or do we have to first go through Patterson?
:D
When do we start the Tosca death watch?
;)
Or do we have to first go through Patterson?
:D