Vernon Wells hit a big homer, and a nice team pitching effort gave the Jays the series win.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Gustavo Chacin, Aaron Hill, Russ Adams.
Who are three Jays who will be in the top 10 in ROY voting, Alex?
Who are three Jays who will be in the top 10 in ROY voting, Alex?
Sweet, Sweet, Sweet!
Good win for the Jays today, it sure didn't look promising half way through the 5th, i was fearing another 0 being put up by the boys. Is it just me or do Chacin's leftovers never come home to score, it seems the bullpen always picks him up, maybe its my short memory playing tricks on me. Chulk hasn't looked to good his last few times up and its about time Gibbons gets da box's memo and switches the role of Speier and Chulkmania.
Good to see Chacin get the W
Good to See Wells hit a clutch homer for a change.
Good to see SS keep on getting K's
Good win for the Jays today, it sure didn't look promising half way through the 5th, i was fearing another 0 being put up by the boys. Is it just me or do Chacin's leftovers never come home to score, it seems the bullpen always picks him up, maybe its my short memory playing tricks on me. Chulk hasn't looked to good his last few times up and its about time Gibbons gets da box's memo and switches the role of Speier and Chulkmania.
Good to see Chacin get the W
Good to See Wells hit a clutch homer for a change.
Good to see SS keep on getting K's
Pitches swung at outside of the strike zone, using my sometimes-reliable eyes:
Player Out Swung % Hill 4 0 0% Rios 2 0 0% Menech. 11 1 9% Cat 9 1 11% Adams 12 2 17% Gross 11 2 18% Zaun 9 2 22% Johnson 9 2 22% Wells 10 3 30% Hinske 6 3 50%
Naturally, Wells was near the bottom, but I was surprised to see most everyone not named Hinske under 25%. That speaks more about the wildness of Harden than the Jays' batters, though.
Did anyone else notice Miguel Batista's gigantic medallion when he came out to pitch the 8th? I bet the umpire told him to remove it after the third out, and he didn't wear it in the ninth.
Joe, the ROY doesn't usually go 10-deep, more like 6 or 8. Your point still stands, though. I think Chacin will win a bunch and end up in the top 3, like Cabrera last year. A better ERA, though.
Credit where it's due -- Wells really delivered with that three-run bomb at a crucial moment. And the context was sweet because Jamie Campbell had been making a point of detailing Wells's penchant for hitting add-on homers but not getting the big hits when his team needed them. So good on Vernon, and it was nice seeing him display some fierce emotion on the pop-up with the bases loaded.
And while I'm in the business of congratulations -- a tip of the cap to Jamie Campbell for finally coming up with a new verb for a standard outfield out. Instead of a ball being "driven" (shallow fly ball) or "belted" (soft fly ball), he described a fly ball out that was "ripped."
Good night all around.
And while I'm in the business of congratulations -- a tip of the cap to Jamie Campbell for finally coming up with a new verb for a standard outfield out. Instead of a ball being "driven" (shallow fly ball) or "belted" (soft fly ball), he described a fly ball out that was "ripped."
Good night all around.
what an excellent series win.
the "hottest team in baseball" comes into town, with their 3 hottest starters taking the hill (and no Roy for us), and they can barely scrape out 1 win. That's the first series they've lost in a month.
Gus comes up clutch, Verno comes up clutch, the whole bullpen brings it home.
Now we have a chance to go into Texas, with Roy pitching, and win another series heading into the break.
Hit the All-star break 4 games over .500 within 4 games or so of both the division and the wildcard?
gotta love that.
This was a very big win. The Jays are treating us to some solid entertainment this year.
the "hottest team in baseball" comes into town, with their 3 hottest starters taking the hill (and no Roy for us), and they can barely scrape out 1 win. That's the first series they've lost in a month.
Gus comes up clutch, Verno comes up clutch, the whole bullpen brings it home.
Now we have a chance to go into Texas, with Roy pitching, and win another series heading into the break.
Hit the All-star break 4 games over .500 within 4 games or so of both the division and the wildcard?
gotta love that.
This was a very big win. The Jays are treating us to some solid entertainment this year.
and hey, why don't I do another update on....
...AL Run Diff...
1) CHX: +86
2) LAA: +81
3) TOR: +51
4) BOS: +50
5) CLE: +46
...AL Run Diff...
1) CHX: +86
2) LAA: +81
3) TOR: +51
4) BOS: +50
5) CLE: +46
It's a special satisfaction to be outhit and win the game.
Batista is back in the groove. What a relief!
Batista is back in the groove. What a relief!
Wilner just said Downs will start on Saturday. First I've heard of it.
Why on earth would they start Downs when they could start Dave Bush.
If Downs gets the start I won't like it...You hear me JP!
If Downs gets the start I won't like it...You hear me JP!
Maybe Downs has had some really good side sessions?
Fun game all around.
Did anyone else notice Miguel Batista's gigantic medallion when he came out to pitch the 8th
Gotta love Batista. And now the RC has a cool intro to him too, sorta like the "Lights Out Lidge" thing they got going in Houston. Although they did change "Gangstas Paradise". I'll have to talk to him about that. Defending Vernon Wells on various websites has become a little easier. Please Vernon, do the same thing this weekend.
They changed Gangsta's Paradise? I thought that was his cool intro.. What're they using now?
As tomorrow's Advance Scout will reveal, the Rangers hit righties way, way, WAY better than lefties.
Hence Scott Downs.
Hence Scott Downs.
Unconfirmed report from a friend that Sportsnet's broadcast tonight named the Jays as specifically being players in the A.J. Burnett sweepstakes. Anybody who can confirm or direct a proper link with the details?
Let me get this straight: Modern pentathalon, which absolutely no one plays, is still an Olympic sport, but baseball isn't?
OK.
OK.
They're using Stranglehold by the nuge TorontoDan. It's an odd sensation though, it'll have to grow on me. I mean I love the song by itself, it even has closerish lyrics sometimes, and it comes with a montage, so you'd think I'd be all over it, but something just didn't feel right about when he came out. I couldn't get into it. Certainly not as much as Walker's triumphant "Rock you like a hurricane". But I'm sure Stranglehold will grow on me when I come to accept it.
For me, wild western cowboy music does it at closer. Gotta have a redneck feel, fast, and solo-ish. Any closer out there uses Thunderstruck?
Yea. Just when we think the World is dominated by the Western society, they take baseball out of the Olympics.
One of the reasons they gave (or unofficial reasons) for the cancellation of baseball from the Olympics was that there was a lack of pros in it.
My question to the IOC: Isn't the Olympics an amateur competition anyways?
Not to mention that they don't even make it realistic for MLB to have an Olympic Break like the NHL, since the Olympics are taking place in the most crucial baseball months.
One of the reasons they gave (or unofficial reasons) for the cancellation of baseball from the Olympics was that there was a lack of pros in it.
My question to the IOC: Isn't the Olympics an amateur competition anyways?
Not to mention that they don't even make it realistic for MLB to have an Olympic Break like the NHL, since the Olympics are taking place in the most crucial baseball months.
Why would they take baseball out of the Olympics? They cite "lack of pros" as a reason but i thought the Olympics was amateur sport at its best anyways. I certainly enjoyed baseball last summer as a part of the games. Too bad..
The only olympic sport which is exclusively amateur is actually boxing.
Track and field, swimming, rowing, sailing etc.. are all actually professional sports in which professionals compete in the athletics.
Paula radcliffe, the British marathon runner, makes over $2m/year.
I'm afraid 'amateurism at its best' died a LONG time ago.
Track and field, swimming, rowing, sailing etc.. are all actually professional sports in which professionals compete in the athletics.
Paula radcliffe, the British marathon runner, makes over $2m/year.
I'm afraid 'amateurism at its best' died a LONG time ago.
Why not try and get it played at the Winter Olympics?
It could probably be tagged on as a trial event for Vancouver
Do they have a domed stadium?
It could probably be tagged on as a trial event for Vancouver
Do they have a domed stadium?
Walker uses "Rock You Like a Hurricane"? Bah... that's Mike Timlin's song... :)
Unconfirmed report from a friend that Sportsnet's broadcast tonight named the Jays as specifically being players in the A.J. Burnett sweepstakes. Anybody who can confirm or direct a proper link with the details?
I haven't seen anything, but it makes perfect sense. Burnett is a pitcher similar to Clement who the Jays went after hard this offseason indicating they want another frontline pithcer, they can afford to sign Burnett to an extension with the salary increase, the Marlins are apparently willing to trade Burnett, and the Jays should be able to put a package together to acquire him.
The ESPN baseball web site currently contains a link to an article listing what the contending teams are shopping for. Naturally, the Blue Jays (4.5 back; .518 winning percentage) are not listed as a contender. The Yankees (3.5, .530), the Indians (12, .541) and the Rangers (8, .518) are, however.
No respect...
No respect...
Possibly they removed baseball from the Olympics because of the all-but-certain World Cup of Baseball, coming soon. It wouldn't make sense to have two worldwide championship series in the same sport. Of course, by that reasoning, they shouldn't have soccer in the Olympics either, which would be just fine with me.
Baseball, which is played competitively by more and more nations all the time, is certainly a more fitting Olympic sport than, say, basketball, which is dominated by a few countries, or women's hockey, which always comes down to US-vs.-Canada in the gold-medal game. And I'd be quite happy to see professionals banned again from the Games -- they were only admitted in the first place to boost American TV ratings.
Baseball, which is played competitively by more and more nations all the time, is certainly a more fitting Olympic sport than, say, basketball, which is dominated by a few countries, or women's hockey, which always comes down to US-vs.-Canada in the gold-medal game. And I'd be quite happy to see professionals banned again from the Games -- they were only admitted in the first place to boost American TV ratings.
I'm afraid 'amateurism at its best' died a LONG time ago.
I believe that the rationale for the Olympics being for amateurs only is entirely misunderstood. The stipulation was not meant to promote the purity of sport, by ensuring its participants were there solely for the love of sport. Rather, it was a way for wealthy men to ensure that only they participated, since less wealthy men could only train and travel on someone else's dime.
Amateurism, in this case, was elitism. Hardly noble at all.
There's an interesting article over on CNNSI.com by Brian Cazeneuve, in which he speculated that baseball and softball would be vulnerable.
First, softball suffers from the women's hockey problem that Jordan mentioned; it's invariably a U.S. cakewalk, and there have been the same four semifinalists every time it's been played. Baseball ought to be as international as Jordan described, but intenational amateur baseball is bizarrely Euro-dominated. The silly formula of three European teams, two from the Americas, two from Asia and one from Australia was as much the reason for an unbalanced and unsatisfactory tournament as was the absence of the world's top players.
Another point Cazeneuve makes, and it's hard to ignore, is that although baseball and softball are played in many countries, it's a regionally limited game that requires two specifically-built venues. London, for instance, would have to build a baseball stadium and a softball stadium, only to have to tear them down or have them rot. It's not like plopping cones in a lake and -- voila -- a rowing and canoeing venue is born.
Sure, baseball is more deserving than other sports. But I do also see the problem with the absence of the world's best players. As long as players don't get paid to actually play in the Olympics, the "amateur" status of an athlete doesn't impress or matter to me. I'm frankly glad that the Olympics have moved past the debates of whether Jim Thorpe should be stripped of his track and field medal for having played semipro ball in another sport, or Barbara Ann Scott for having shot a commercial in a figure skating outfit.
There are very solid reports that the Jays are most definitely in the Burnett race ("don't trade him before you get back to us" - J.P.), and also the Dunn sweepstakes.
One of them is Jeff Blair (Globe & Mail).
Blair had an update on the Jays. Nothing has changed the Jays are still buyers but they are only looking at longterm solutions, no rent a players. Some updates on his rumors.
-will use Hudson and prospects to get what he needs(OF and 2nd starter)
- JP said he talked to the Marlins about Burnett. According to Blair he said to the Marlins don’t do anything with Burnett until you get back to us. Florida is not sure they will trade him or not. Jays are willing to talk deal with Burnett in a 72 hour window if a deal was made with Florida. Burnett wants 10 million per year. Blair guessed at the cost of Rios and Chacin.
-Include Jays in the group after Adam Dunn
-Jays are looking at Kip Wells
-don't discount a deal with a contending team either such as the Cards looking for a right-hand hitting OF to platoon with Walker (Reed?)
As sad as I am to see baseball dropped, I'm waiting to reserve judgment until I see which sports are added. If golf is added, I cannot see the Olympics as more important to pro golfers than any of the four majors and the international competitions like the Ryder Cup, the Presidents' Cup and the Solheim Cup are already hugely successful despite not playing for a purse. And there are already enough tournaments with twosomes if they wanted to play by nationality. And you think we're not going to see pros in golf? And I guess rugby and roller sports are the other two possibilities.
Baseball in the Olympics would be a far second to the World Series and I have no idea how the World Baseball Classic is going to be received. I think the idea that the prelims are played in the spring with the semifinals and finals played during simultaneously held All-Star breaks of Japan and the U.S. is a sensible one in lieu of playing the All-Star games themselves. They can start the tournament later into Spring Training and for the title games, all the players will be in game condition.
As for soccer in the Olympics, it's currently an under-23 tournament with three over-23 players allowed per team. And while people care about Olympic soccer, it doesn't come close to any of the other major international competitions like the World Cup and the European and Asian championships.
I really don't pay attention much to the Olympic baseball tournament anymore - the only reason to watch was to see some of the Japanese pros from the Pacific League (like Matsuzaka) because if it's just a bunch of minor leaguers (and watching Team Canada wasn't enough of a lure for me), I'd rather just watch MLB. It's still sad though - I went to the 1984 Olympics baseball bronze and gold medal games at Dodger Stadium and those are the few games I actually remember the results of from my childhood.
Baseball in the Olympics would be a far second to the World Series and I have no idea how the World Baseball Classic is going to be received. I think the idea that the prelims are played in the spring with the semifinals and finals played during simultaneously held All-Star breaks of Japan and the U.S. is a sensible one in lieu of playing the All-Star games themselves. They can start the tournament later into Spring Training and for the title games, all the players will be in game condition.
As for soccer in the Olympics, it's currently an under-23 tournament with three over-23 players allowed per team. And while people care about Olympic soccer, it doesn't come close to any of the other major international competitions like the World Cup and the European and Asian championships.
I really don't pay attention much to the Olympic baseball tournament anymore - the only reason to watch was to see some of the Japanese pros from the Pacific League (like Matsuzaka) because if it's just a bunch of minor leaguers (and watching Team Canada wasn't enough of a lure for me), I'd rather just watch MLB. It's still sad though - I went to the 1984 Olympics baseball bronze and gold medal games at Dodger Stadium and those are the few games I actually remember the results of from my childhood.
According to the voting at the same time as baseball and softball were dropped, no new sports are to be added in 2012.
I'll have an article on The Hardball Times about Olympic baseball, probably on Monday. Essentially, I'll be saying that Olympic baseball won't be missed at all, and that the brewing World Cup tournament will mean a higher, not a lower, profile for international baseball.