Things got a bit freaky there at the end, thanks to Scotty Shoeneweis, but obviously Gibbons saw the writing on the wall there early on because he was able to bring Batista in pretty quick.

The messiness at the end dimmed (but didn't quite erase) a picture perfect beginning, with nearly every swing off Franklin in the first inning sweet and pure, especially the one by VDub. When so many of the batters before him were able to make solid contact, you wanted Wells to assert himself as a power force and take us to the next level, which he did.

And am I the only one who sees a little Paul Molitor in Aaron Hill's quick, punching swing? Molitor used to stand quietly in the box and wait till the last split second before snapping at the ball, and Hill's approach seems remarkably similar.

Congrats to Gaudin, by the way. He seemed a tad eratic at first, but he settled down nicely.

Too bad Bush didn't get this kind of run support!

Wells is definitely off my list of players that I'm worried about as of tonight. I like him hitting lower in the order though since he's never been a high OBP player but he has good power. 5th, like where Texas moved Soriano (a pretty similar hitter over their careers .285/.330/.480 for Wells v .283/.322/.503 for Soriano), seems like a good spot.

Gaudin looked pretty good. Recovered nicely from the jam in the first. I didn't realize he's only 22. Definitely looking forward to seeing his next start.

Tonights save by Batista was his first since May 3rd vs. the O's. The Jays simply aren't playing a lot of tight games in the 9th inning.

Flex your bang on regarding the Molitor comparison, I was thinking the same thing after seeing Hill this past week.

I was at the game tonight....

It was nice to see Wells sting the ball - he just crushed it 4 times, including a couple of hard hit outs. If he swung at a first pitch at all, it was only once.

Gaudin also impressed - he had a couple of rough patches but was able to keep himself under control. He seemed to be able to get his offspeed stuff over at any part of the count.

I'd forgotten how nice it is to see a game at the park...

I don't know if Chad Gaudin is going to be a better pitcher than Dave Bush but he sure is more fun to watch. That slider is just dandy.

Adrian Beltre looked positively awful for the M's, especially the first two AB's against Gaudin. Just a whole bunch of check swings and weak waves at pitches down in the dirt.

MLB.com has a story updating us on the all-star voting so far; no Jays have cracked the top 5 in the infield or the top 15 in the outfield. Get out there and vote for your Jays people!

Tony freakin' Womack and Bret Boone in contention at 2nd base? Giambi #2 at DH? C'mon!

Wells... 5th, like where Texas moved Soriano... seems like a good spot.

Back in one of his Abstracts in the early 80's, James made a case for placing a high OBP player in the 5-hole given that player's likelihood for leading off the 2nd inning. James' preferred lineup construction was predicated on breaking the lineup into two groups (slots 1-4, slots 5-9) with each fronted by a leadoff guy (better at OBP than SLG) and finished with a table clearer (better at SLG than OBP).

His argument for where the speed players should go ran counter to popular thinking then and now. He didn't think group 1 needed speedy table setters since the power hitters behind them would drive them home regardless. He believed the speedy players were better off in the second group where the table clearers were more likely to drive home runs with singles than with extra base hits.

Chuck, iirc, he said the #5 guy should have some power, b/c he'd come up with runners on if 2 of the team's best 4 hitters get on. I think the emphasis was on power/speed combo rather than OB%/speed, but I could be wrong. I remember thinking Devon White fit that description pretty well...

dp, I don't remember his essay exactly and don't feel like rifling through my Abstracts to find it. You may well be right. Still, his basic argument was that he believed that managers tended to put the exact wrong guy into the 5-hole: the low-OBP power hitters.

Too bad Bush didn't get this kind of run support!

In the first inning that was my exact thought. Sure he needs to, and can, pitch better, but if he got 5 runs before he took the mound maybe his confidence is different.

Gaudin looked like a fastball, slider pitcher. He also reminded me a little of Justin Miller, when the slider is "on" he looks great, if it is missing the fastball is hitable.

I think a good deal of credit has to go to Gregg Zaun for Gaudin's performance last night. Watching the game on tape this morning, I thought Zaun called a great game, set a big target and employed Chad's stuff very well -- which is particularly impressive given that they hadn't been an in-game battery since spring, if then.

Flex you cad!

During the game I told my wife how much Hill's swing reminded me of the Magnificent Molitor.

However, physically he looks really chunky form the waist down. As he ages and thickens he'll be a great hittin' funny lookin' critter. Hopefully, a Blue Jay All-Star for years at third or second.