If Rios and Wells start carrying the offensive load now, this team starts looking like a legitimate surprise team.

Gutsy effort by Josh, even though he wasn't "on". Usually that means disaster for him, but he toughed it out tonight.

I've been away for a few days. Isn't this supposed to be an Instant Replay? You guys haven't gone and changed all the furniture again have you?

Great Game!

I liked John Gibbons taking out Control Towers after 5, he wasn't having his best game. SS loogy even looked pretty good.
Alex Rios to me is looking great, he's going to be fun to watch for the next 10 years.

Last nights game highlights how the Jays are not a bad hitting team when they are platooned properly.

Top 5 batting average vs. lefties not including last night:
McDonald .375
Hillenbrand .367
Rios .366
Johnson .341
Wells .308

Vs righties:
Hillenbrand .352
Hudson .302
Hinske .301
Rios .298
Cat .289

And now it's an Instant Replay thread with an Instant Replay icon...

Ducey, do you have the OBP and SLG numbers to go with those batting averages?

I'll help out Ducey. Top 5 hitters (by BA) vs. LH:

McDonald- .375/.412/.406 (34 PAs)
Hillenbrand- .367/.392/.531 (51 PAs)
Rios - .366/.409/.634 (44 PAs)
Sparky - .341/.408/.500 (46 PAs)
Wells - .308/.372/.769 (43 PAs)

Top 5 batters by BA vs. RH:

Hillenbrand- .352/.410/.486 (109 PAs)
O-Dog - .302/.356/.415 (114 PAs)
Hinske - .301/.389/.462 (106 PAs)
Rios - .297/.327/.402 (98 PAs)
Cat - .289/.346/.412 (104 PAs)

Zaun at .286/.420/.476 in 79 PAs has actually been the Jays most effective hitter against righties. Adams and Koskie have also been reasonably effective.

Oh, and here's another productive way to spend the morning. Brandon League, Gabe Gross, Aaron Hill, John-ford Griffin and the rest of the Sky Chiefs take on old friend Sean Douglass and the Mud Hens this morning at 10:30 a.m. Video streaming is available for those with high-speed internet connections here.

So here's one of the troubles of having a team in a city with a bunch of daily newspapers. You've got so many reporters hovering around trying to get quotes they end up bumping into each other, their pens get jostled, and then when they get back to their computer, sometimes it's hard for them to make out what they wrote. So thus we have Larry Millson of the Globe writing that Ted Lilly is being bumped from his next scheduled start:

"When Lilly will be given the chance to start again in a real game is undecided. It has been decided that he will not make his scheduled start, which would have been on Friday now that Roy Halladay has been moved from Friday to Saturday."

And then we have Mike Ganter at the Sun writing the exact opposite:

"Ted Lilly's stint on the sidelines was shorter than expected. The Blue Jays struggling left-hander with the 10.41 ERA threw three innings against a quartet of Blue Jays hitters prior to last night's game and when all was said and done, was back in rotation and will start Friday....With Lilly going Friday, the Jays are now able to hold Halladay until Saturday, giving him a much-needed extra day's rest. "

Anyone out there know which one it is? I kinda hope Millson's got this one right.

So here's one of the troubles of having a team in a city with a bunch of daily newspapers.

Actually, no trouble at all... 1 of the 4 has minimal sports coverage and 2 of the 4 rarely know what they're talking about. Therefore, read the Globe, ignore the rest, and you're all set.

Or go to Jerry Howarth or Spencer Fordin for reliable backup. Jerry was saying yesterday that Friday's starter would be either Walker or Downs - sounded like a decision between the two hadn't yet been made.

JP was on the Fan this morning and said that he talked with Gibby yesterday and Gibby feels the Jays should throw Ted out there, so its Lilly on Friday. Plus Roy threw 120+ pitches on Sunday.

D'oh! I keep missing Ricciardi on Wednesdays. Thanks for clearing the Lilly matter up. Did he say anything else of import?

Thanks Mike for the heads up re: the video streaming. Little known fact, Canadians actually have a much higher usuage of high speed connections than their American counterparts

On Sportsnet the Angels broadcasters are describing Adam Kennedy the same way we describe Orlando Hudson as a future multiple time gold glove winner - How do their defences compare?

Pretty damn comparable. Adam Kennedy is really the O-Dog's closest comparable player in all respects at the moment. Excellent range. Good on the DP. Some pop. Will take the walk sometimes, and hit for a decent average. Better D than O.

I'd take the O-Dog, but that might be hometown bias. O-Dog is definitely better on the DP.

My understanding is that Gibbons just changed his mind. In the little baselines thing of the Globe sports section (I believe) it says that Gibbons started off by saying Lilly wouldnt pitch, then changed his mind. Doc's going on Saturday, with Lilly on Friday

I will get a Game Report up sometime in the next ten years or so.

Anybody watch the Extra Innings feed of last night's game? As usual it was the opposition broadcast. Bert Blyleven is the analyst, and he screws up players names worse than my dad. His constant references to "Ken Huckleby" and "Russ Johnson" remind me of the Joe Carter TV era.

I hear ya the beav, he's certainly not a particularly good announcer, although he does have some pretty decent stories.

In other news, David Wells is getting thrown about in his return, already surrendering 3 runs to the A's in 2/3rds of an inning.

Hee Hee

Wells went 1.1 IP, gave up 9 hits, 7 earned runs, and 1 home run.

Blood Sox losing 9-1