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Not quite so good as the day before. The Jays lose 3-1 to a dominant Mike Mussina and the Yankees.


Star of the Game: Mike Mussina was brilliant. He went 7.1 Innings, striking out seven walking no-one and giving up just one measly little run. It was really quite a performance, he kept the hitters off balance all night and hit his spots with all his pitches, particularly his knuckle curve.


For the Jays: Cat was three for four, with a double and an outfield assist.

Unsung Hero: The Jays bullpen, which has had a rough start to the year, went four Innings and gave up just the one run from Frasor.

Was Ted Teasing: Well yes he was, I'd give him a 7 out of 10 on the tease-o-meter. There were the good things, 5 Ks and just two runs conceded, and the bad things, 5 walks and 7 hits. Must infuriating and Ted-like was the way he seemed to start every inning off by dominating the first two hitters and then with two outs Yankees would just start appearing all over the bases as he went into full on tease mode.


Mis-Play of the Game: Not a night the umpiring crew will want to remember as they botched two big plays. One went for the Jays in the fourth when Aaron Hill dropped a throw from Russ Adams at second base, but was ruled to have caught it and got a crucial force on Damon. The second led to the Yankees second run. With runners on first and second in the fifth Cano singled to left, Cat threw in to Glaus who cut the ball off in case Matsui tried to score from second. Jorge Posada was lumbering around second and over-ran the bag, Glaus alretly forced him onto the run-down as Matsui made a dash for home. The Jays infielders took their sweet time chasing Posada down and Matsui crossed the plate just after Adams finally put the tag on. Not in Umpire Bizzaro World though where Matsui was ruled to have crossed the plate before the tag and the run was scored.

Box It: Sir, Yes Sir!

Elsewhere: Gabe Gross gets some love from the Milwaukee Press and Studes looks at the rampant spread of the WPA graph across baseball websites

Today Another bleeping off day, before the city is overrun by New Englanders for the weekend.


TDIB: Thursday Edition | 19 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Named For Hank - Thursday, April 20 2006 @ 02:44 PM EDT (#145520) #
Chances are high that tomorrow will mark my first cheap seat game of the year.  Anyone going?  Who wants to meet up?
Gerry - Thursday, April 20 2006 @ 04:06 PM EDT (#145524) #

Pop quiz......what is the strongest division in baseball after 2 and a half weeks?

In the AL its the East of course with a cumulative record of +8.  Tampa are in the rear but only one game under .500.  If Tampa beats Boston tonight the Jays will be tied in last place in the East.  I know its a technicality, the division is strong, but its not the strongest by record.  The AL Central is at -1, thanks to KC at -10.  The top three teams are strong and Detroit are hanging in.  The AL West is at -7.

The NL East was supposed to be a powerhouse with Atlanta, the Mets and Philadelphia all fighting for the title.  But the NL East is at -7 so far.  The NL West has a team with a better than .500 record but their record stands at -2.  The division with the best record in baseball?  It is the NL Central, the doormat division at +9.  Houston started strongly, the Brewers are much improved and the Reds are playing well.  The Cardinals are not even in first place.  Enjoy the ride NL Central I have a feeling it might not last. 

js_magloire - Thursday, April 20 2006 @ 09:42 PM EDT (#145540) #
Derekk Lee broke his wrist in two places yesterday. He's going to have a cast on for 6 weeks. Does anyone know how long before he actually plays again, once he gets the cast off? Maybe another 2-4 weeks after that? So we're talking 2.5 months, which is a huge blow to the Cubs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AtiSSLaATpjQNaQ6PJZ6IGoRvLYF?slug=ap-cubslee&prov=ap&type=lgns

Mike Green - Friday, April 21 2006 @ 11:36 AM EDT (#145567) #

The expression in Yiddish for "old fart" is "alter kocker", or colloquially "A.K.".  After Julio Franco's pinch-hit homer, at age 47 (making him the oldest player to ever homer), led the Mets to victory yesterday, his nickname should be AK-47. 

Leigh - Friday, April 21 2006 @ 11:43 AM EDT (#145568) #

What hurts the Cubs the most is their out-creating bench.  The apparent effect of the injury is that Todd Walker will move over to first to take over for Lee while Neifi Perez and Jerry Hairston split time at second in lieu of Walker.

Career RC/27 (Runs Created per 27 Outs):  Lee, 6.43; Walker, 5.53; Neifi, 4.01; Hairston, 3.98.

The drop-off from Lee to Walker at firstbase is less than that of Walker to Neifi/Hairston at secondbase.  Playing Neifi/Hairston is a greater evil than losing Lee!  Will the Cubs recognize and fix this?  Unlikely. 

Mike Green - Friday, April 21 2006 @ 11:58 AM EDT (#145570) #

Todd Walker is a poor defender at second (well, anywhere, but it hurts more at second).  Neifi Perez, execrable as he is with the stick, is a good defender.  Basically, he's John McDonald.  The fall-off from Lee to Walker at first is probably greater than from Walker to Perez at second, taking into account both offence and defence.

Oddly, it wouldn't have been such a bad thing in hindsight if the Cubs had acquired Hee Seop Choi to back up Lee.  Nah, that wouldn't have worked.  But, Carlos Pena would have.

Leigh - Friday, April 21 2006 @ 12:02 PM EDT (#145571) #
If only the Jays had a superfluous corner infielder with that hacktastic veteran gamer mojo that Dusty Baker is so enamoured with, perhaps something could be arranged...
jjdynomite - Friday, April 21 2006 @ 12:07 PM EDT (#145572) #

Mike, with all the raw eggs Julio chugs I don't think he'll ever be an A.K. Yiddish-style.  Besides, the nickname is taken by Russian NBA star Andrei Kirilenko (#47) who represents the country which makes the actual rifle.

How about Generalisimo Franco after his Spanish namesake, who somehow lasted as leader from 1936 to his death in 1975.  And he was friends with Richard Nixon, while our Julio played with Otis on the '84-'87 Indians.  Yes, I used Baseball Reference to look this up; I assumed they were on the Braves together but given their combined ancientness it is unsurprising they were on another team at the same time.

Jonny German - Friday, April 21 2006 @ 12:42 PM EDT (#145577) #
It's an intriguing thought. What sort of return would you be looking for from the Cubs?
Leigh - Friday, April 21 2006 @ 01:00 PM EDT (#145579) #

I'd wonder how the Cubs really feel about Rich Hill, having passed him over in favour of Sean Marshall when they needed a starter to fill in for Prior.  In the coming weeks, they are going to have Prior, Zambrano, Wood, Maddux, Rusch, Marshall, Williams and Miller all ahead of Hill on the depth chart.

That said, Hill might be a bit much.  Jamal Strong is playing in Iowa's outfield and would be a suitable injury replacement for the Jays, should they need one in the future.

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