28 July 2007: Messing with a Streak

Saturday, July 28 2007 @ 12:50 AM EDT

Contributed by: Magpie

I'm back online, and the winning streak ends. My fault. I should have known.

Never mess with a winning streak.

I'm sorry.

Ah, the little things that make you crazy. The Jays hit at least three balls that looked like they were going to clear the fence, until the ghostly breath of Luke Appling blew them back onto the field of play. In the fifth inning, with Uribe on second, Mackowiak flied out to Wells in right centre. Uribe tagged and lit out for third. Wells' throw from the gap ran out of steam as soon as it hit the infield - Clayton let it go past him, and it rolled slowly to Glaus, just behind Uribe. Glaus looked frustrated that Clayton hadn't intercepted the throw and relayed it. While it's normally not a good idea for an infielder to intercept a throw and relay it himself - this particular situation was probably an exception. Uribe then scored on a harmless little pop up that fell just out of reach of three fielders (although there are at least a dozen major league shortstops who make that play, although Royce Clayton, alas, isn't one of them.)

And then, in the sixth inning, Stairs muffs Podsednik's grounder and has to settle for the play at first base. Overbay almost surely makes that play. Unlike Stairs, Overbay is a professional first baseman, and perhaps just as important, left handed - he wouldn't have had to try to backhand the ball. Fields scored easily from second on Uribe's double, and while Podsednik might have scored from first on the same hit, there certainly would have been a chance for a play at the plate.

Anyway, let's observe my return to the internets with a Data Table. Here are the Game Scores for all 102 Jays starts this season:


                 DATE   OPP    RESULT  IP     H  R  ER   HR   BB   SO   GB   FB    PIT    BF   GSc    DEC

McGowan Jun. 24 COL W 5-0 9 1 0 0 0 1 7 14 6 109 29 91 W

Burnett May. 16 BAL W 2-1 9 3 1 1 1 2 10 9 7 103 31 85 W
Halladay Jul. 22 SEA W 8-0 9 3 0 0 0 1 3 11 13 111 30 83 W
Halladay Apr. 30 TEX W 6-1 9 5 1 1 0 0 8 16 3 110 31 81 W
Towers Jul. 8 CLE W 1-0 8 3 0 0 0 0 4 12 7 92 27 80 ND

Halladay Apr. 13 DET W 2-1 10 6 1 1 1 0 2 15 12 107 35 78 W
Marcum May. 13 TB L 2-1 6 0 0 0 0 3 7 5 5 78 21 76 ND
Towers Apr. 15 DET W 2-1 7.2 3 1 0 0 1 4 11 7 97 27 74 W
McGowan Jul. 24 MIN W 7-0 7.1 4 0 0 0 3 5 9 7 111 68 72 W
Halladay May. 31 CWS W 2-0 7 6 0 0 0 0 7 10 3 95 24 72 W
McGowan Jul. 4 @OAK W 10-3 7 4 0 0 0 2 4 9 8 101 27 71 W
Marcum Jun. 16 WAS W 7-3 7 3 2 2 2 3 11 6 5 101 26 71 W
Marcum May. 29 NYY W 3-2 6 2 0 0 0 3 6 8 3 95 23 71 ND
Litsch May. 15 BAL W 2-1 8.2 4 1 1 0 3 1 21 2 99 30 70 W
Towers Jul. 21 SEA W 1-0 6.2 3 0 0 0 2 4 10 6 97 25 70 W
Halladay Apr. 24 @BOS W 10-3 8 5 3 3 1 0 10 11 6 113 29 70 W
Burnett Apr. 26 @NYY W 6-0 7 4 0 0 0 4 5 11 4 113 27 70 W

Halladay Jun. 20 LAD W 12-1 8 6 1 1 1 1 4 12 9 98 30 69 W
Marcum Jun. 26 @MIN L 2-1 8 6 1 1 0 1 2 8 11 93 29 67 ND
Burnett May. 27 @MIN L 4-2 8 3 4 3 1 3 8 10 7 127 31 67 L
McGowan May. 28 NYY W 7-2 7.2 5 2 2 1 1 7 9 8 117 30 67 W
Burnett Apr. 9 KC W 9-1 6.2 3 1 1 1 3 5 13 4 103 27 66 W
Halladay Jul. 17 @NYY L 3-2 7 5 1 1 0 3 6 10 5 113 29 66 ND
Litsch Jul. 25 MIN W 13-1 7 5 1 1 0 1 4 12 4 84 54 66 W
Burnett Jun. 1 CWS L 3-0 7.1 6 3 3 0 1 12 9 3 118 29 65 L
McGowan Jun. 8 @LAD L 4-3 7 4 2 2 1 0 4 9 7 81 25 65 ND
Burnett May. 11 TB W 5-1 6.2 5 1 1 1 5 10 8 5 118 30 65 W
Marcum Jun. 9 @LAD W 1-0 6.2 7 0 0 0 0 3 11 9 109 27 63 W
Marcum Jul. 1 @SEA L 2-1 6.2 6 0 0 0 2 2 12 10 112 29 62 ND
Ohka Apr. 29 TEX W 7-3 7 5 1 1 0 3 2 11 7 102 27 62 W
Litsch Jul. 3 @OAK L 3-1 7 7 2 0 0 3 5 11 5 106 30 61 L
Burnett May. 6 @TEX L 3-2 7.2 7 3 3 3 1 9 9 7 97 31 61 L
Burnett Jun. 7 TB L 5-3 7 7 3 3 1 3 13 11 2 131 32 61 ND
Halladay Jun. 15 WAS W 7-2 7.1 7 2 2 1 1 6 14 3 110 27 61 W
Chacin Apr. 17 BOS W 2-1 6.2 6 1 1 1 0 3 6 10 97 25 61 W
Marcum May. 19 @PHI W 13-2 6 4 2 2 1 1 6 8 5 85 22 61 W
McGowan Jul. 19 @NYY W 3-2 7 4 2 2 0 3 3 14 3 112 27 61 W
Burnett Apr. 20 @BAL L 5-4 7 3 2 2 1 5 2 11 8 118 28 60 ND

Halladay Apr. 19 BOS L 5-3 7.1 6 2 2 0 3 2 13 6 95 29 57 ND
Marcum Jun. 21 LAD L 8-4 6 3 2 2 1 3 1 7 9 96 24 56 ND
McGowan Jun. 2 CWS W 9-3 7 6 3 3 0 3 5 14 5 103 30 55 W
Halladay Apr. 8 @TB W 6-3 7 7 3 3 1 3 7 9 3 113 29 55 W
Halladay Jun. 10 @LAD W 11-5 7 5 3 3 0 3 2 14 6 101 29 54 W
Halladay Apr. 2 @DET W 5-3 6 6 3 2 0 1 4 10 6 104 26 53 ND
Litsch Jul. 15 @BOS W 2-1 6.2 9 1 1 0 1 2 10 10 94 27 53 W
McGowan Jun. 13 @SF W 7-4 6 7 2 2 0 4 6 5 10 96 27 52 W
Burnett May. 22 @BAL W 6-4 6.2 6 4 4 1 2 8 8 5 104 27 52 W
Ohka Apr. 18 BOS L 4-1 6.1 4 4 4 3 1 3 9 10 87 23 51 L
Chacin Apr. 6 @TB L 6-5 6 6 3 3 3 0 2 11 7 82 23 50 ND
Towers Jun. 17 WAS L 4-2 7 7 4 4 1 1 4 11 4 81 27 50 L

Marcum Jul. 18 @NYY L 6-1 6 5 3 3 0 2 1 8 9 93 22 49 L
Marcum May. 24 @BAL W 5-4 7 6 4 4 2 2 2 8 10 101 26 49 ND
Ohka May. 26 @MIN W 9-8 7 8 3 3 0 2 2 14 7 94 29 49 ND
Chacin Apr. 11 KC W 7-4 5 5 3 3 1 1 4 9 5 79 22 48 W
Marcum Jul. 13 @BOS W 6-5 6 7 5 3 1 1 6 10 6 109 27 47 W
Ohka Apr. 23 @BOS W 7-3 5 6 3 2 0 3 4 12 3 97 24 46 W
Halladay Jun. 25 @MIN W 8-5 7 6 5 5 0 3 4 15 4 117 29 46 W
McGowan May. 23 @BAL L 5-2 6 8 3 3 0 2 3 7 8 89 26 45 L
McGowan May. 12 TB W 5-4 5.2 7 4 4 2 1 6 10 4 95 23 44 ND
Burnett Jun. 12 @SF L 3-2 4.2 6 3 2 0 2 4 9 5 82 22 44 L
Ohka May. 14 BAL W 5-3 5 5 3 3 2 2 1 5 11 91 22 44 ND
Towers Jul. 2 @OAK W 11-7 5 5 4 4 1 2 4 6 4 82 20 43 W
Marcum Jul. 23 MIN W 6-4 6 8 4 4 3 0 3 10 6 87 56 43 W
Towers Jun. 27 @MIN W 5-4 6.1 9 4 3 0 0 2 14 6 86 29 43 W
Towers Jul. 27 @CWS L 3-4 5.1 7 4 4 0 0 5 6 5 90 61 43 L
Halladay Jun. 30 @SEA L 8-3 6 10 3 3 0 0 3 12 6 105 28 43 L
Towers Jun. 11 @SF L 4-3 4 5 4 3 1 1 5 3 7 65 18 42 L
Burnett Apr. 14 DET L 10-7 5.1 7 4 4 1 1 5 10 5 95 25 42 ND
Towers Apr. 27 TEX L 5-3 4.2 5 5 5 3 0 7 5 6 70 20 41 L
Zambrano May. 2 @CLE L 7-6 2.2 4 2 2 1 3 1 4 4 66 15 40 ND
Marcum Jun. 3 CWS W 4-3 3 4 3 3 2 3 4 1 4 69 16 40 ND

Ohka Apr. 12 DET L 5-4 6 8 5 4 1 1 2 13 8 86 28 39 L
McGowan May. 18 @PHI L 5-3 4.2 3 5 5 0 4 5 7 4 86 21 39 L
Ohka May. 9 BOS L 9-3 4.2 6 3 3 0 5 2 7 4 96 24 37 L
Towers Apr. 10 KC L 6-3 5.2 10 6 3 1 0 6 6 10 83 27 37 L
Taubenheim Jun. 23 COL W 11-6 5 5 5 5 1 4 4 2 9 93 24 37 ND
Burnett Jun. 28 @MIN L 8-5 4 6 5 5 2 0 6 4 6 75 20 36 ND
Litsch Jul. 20 SEA L 4-2 4.1 5 4 4 1 4 2 7 5 80 22 35 L
Chacin Apr. 28 TEX L 9-8 5.1 7 4 4 1 4 1 7 9 95 27 35 ND
McGowan May 3 @CLE L 6-5 5 6 5 5 0 5 4 6 2 104 25 34 ND
Litsch May 25 @MIN L 4-3 4.1 8 3 3 1 1 0 8 7 89 21 34 ND
Halladay Jul. 6 CLE W 8-6 5.2 9 5 5 1 1 3 12 4 97 27 33 W
Ohka May. 4 @TEX L 7-1 7.1 10 7 6 2 1 1 6 14 97 31 32 L
Litsch May. 20 @PHI L 5-3 4 7 4 4 2 1 1 5 8 71 20 32 L
Towers Apr. 21 @BAL L 5-2 5 9 5 4 0 3 4 6 6 102 28 32 L
McGowan Jun. 29 @SEA L 5-3 5 8 5 5 0 3 4 14 3 101 26 32 L

Ohka Apr. 7 @TB W 8-5 4.1 6 5 5 2 3 1 10 6 83 23 29 ND
Halladay Jul. 12 @BOS L 7-4 5 8 5 5 0 4 2 11 6 112 26 29 L
McGowan Jul. 14 @BOS L 9-4 5 8 6 6 3 2 4 8 8 104 25 29 L
Towers Jul. 16 @NYY L 6-4 5.2 9 6 6 3 1 2 12 8 106 26 28 L
Chacin Apr. 22 @BAL L 7-3 4.1 5 6 6 0 2 1 8 6 68 21 28 L
Burnett May. 1 @CLE L 12-4 5 8 7 7 2 4 7 6 7 116 27 26 L
Litsch May. 30 NYY L 10-5 0.2 4 5 5 1 2 1 1 2 36 8 23 L
Ohka Jun. 6 TB L 6-2 3.1 10 5 5 0 1 3 6 2 55 20 22 L
Burnett Apr. 4 @DET L 10-9 2 5 6 6 0 4 2 3 3 55 15 20 L
Towers Jun. 22 COL W 9-8 4 11 5 5 1 2 2 8 5 95 24 20 ND

Halladay May. 10 BOS L 8-0 5 11 8 7 1 0 2 12 4 87 25 17 L
McGowan Jun. 19 LAD L 10-1 1.2 8 6 6 0 2 2 6 1 67 15 15 L
Marcum Jul. 7 CLE L 9-4 3.1 9 8 8 3 1 2 1 10 83 20 11 L

Halladay May. 5 @TEX L 11-4 5.1 12 9 9 0 2 3 15 3 99 29 9 L
Zambrano May. 8 BOS L 9-2 2.2 8 8 8 4 2 0 3 6 57 16 8 L
Halladay Jun. 5 TB W 12-11 3.1 12 8 7 2 1 1 8 6 77 23 6 ND


Some summary notes:

90+     Team was 1-0, starters were 1-0
80-89 Team was 4-0, starters were 3-0. Towers has the best No Decision of the season so far.
70-79 Team was 11-1, starters were 9-0. Marcum had both No Decisions.
60-69 Team was 11-10, starters were 11-4. Burnett had 3 very Tough Losses, Litsch had the other. And 11-10 is a shockingly poor record for a team to post when it's getting this type of performance from the starting pitcher. It's utterly and inexplicably Weird. 
50-59 Team was 7-5, starters were 6-2. Ohka and Towers each took a Tough Loss.
40-49 Team was 12-9, starters were 7-7. Collecting Cheap Wins were Marcum (2), Towers (2), Chacin, Ohka, and Halladay.
30-39 Team was 2-13, starters were 1-9. Collecting a Very Cheap Win was Halladay.
20-29 Team was 2-8, starters were 0-8.
10-19 Team was 0-3, starters were 0-3.
0-9      Team was 1-2, starters were 0-2. Halladay escapes with a No Decision in the worst start by a Jays pitcher so far this season.

There. It's like I never left....

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