Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - TDIB 13 April 2008: Jays Win Series In Texas?!

TDIB 13 April 2008: Jays Win Series In Texas?!

Roy Halladay starts in Arlington and doesn't leave the game with a gruesome injury. To add insult to injury, or lack thereof, he goes the route and the Jays win 4-1.

Other potentially interesting things going on:

- Alex Rios has 11 walks, which puts him in second place in the AL, one walk behind the champ: Chone Figgins. Rios and Figgins have 4 stolen bases each. Figgins is also the OBP champ with a .537; Rios sits at .451 in that category.

- Evan Longoria made his debut for the Rays last night in a 3-2 loss, going 1-3 with a walk and an RBI single. He was upstaged by Ramon Hernandez, who hit the game-winning solo shot off then-perfect Dan Wheeler with two out in the top of the ninth. The weirdly overpowering George Sherrill followed with a 1-2-3 inning for his fifth save of the year. Baltimore is 7-4 and remains a game ahead of second-place Toronto. The rubber match of the O's-Rays series goes today as 6'9" righty Jeff Niemann makes his big-league debut for Tampa opposing Brian Burres.

Niemann is pitching in the place of Matt Garza, who's on the 15-day DL with radial nerve irritation. Apparently, Garza claims to have known about this irritation last fall. Joe Smith: Manager Joe Maddon said he had no knowledge of the injury, though Garza said it surfaced late last season, with him typically "pitching through it..." The Rays Index has a detailed analysis of whether the Rays could file a grievance and demand compensation from the Twins. It mentions the precedent of the Gary Majewski trade. If Garza's injury is not of the short-term variety, this issue seems like it could become a pretty big deal.

In other Baltimore news, the Orioles expect to throw righty Matt Albers at the Jays on Monday.

- Detroit is 2-9. The White Sox continued their mastery of the Tigers yesterday, as Gavin Floyd used his Tools to outduel Justin Verlander at the Cell and claim his second straight win over Detroit. Floyd took a no-hitter into the eighth. The Sox are 4-1 against Detroit and will look to hand the Tigers their fourth straight series loss when Javier Vazquez opposes The Gambler today.

With Dontrelle Willis on the DL, the Tigers have called on 26-year-old rookie righty Armando Galarraga to take his spot in the rotation. Galarraga is off to a good start this year: in two games at AAA Toledo, he's 2-0 with 12 innings pitched, a 2.25 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and 1 walk.

- The A's are unconscious. They beat Cleveland 7-3 last night. After KOing C.C. Sabathia in the fourth on Friday, they did the same thing to Fausto Carmona last night. With his shiny guaranteed contract in tow, Carmona was obviously in a charitable mood. He issued 8 walks to the A's in his 3.1 innings, single-handedly killing my BBFL opponent in K/BB. Despite all the walks, Carmona only gave up 3 runs, but he took the loss anyway: Cleveland only converted five innings of Lenny DiNardo into two runs, and Oakland's bullpen did the rest. The rampaging A's are now 8-4. They've won five games in a row in some pretty tough stadiums. And they're doing all this in spite of Jack Cust's .114/.311/.257 line. Chad Gaudin faces Cliff Lee this afternoon as the A's go for another sweep.

- Tonight, it's the rubber match at Fenway. Daisuke faces Phil Hughes in the Sunday nighter.

- And today, A.J. Burnett and the Jays go for the sweep. 25-year-old groundball-machine righty Scott Feldman, who's spent parts of the last three seasons as a long man in the Ranger pen, makes his first big-league start for Texas. First pitch is at 3:05.

Posted by Alex Obal on Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 07:15 AM EDT.

TDIB 13 April 2008: Jays Win Series In Texas?! | 35 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Mike Green - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 08:50 AM EDT (#182625) #

Strangely, Armando Galarraga's nickname is not "Little Cat". He was originally signed by the Expos out of Venezuela also.

Joe Inglett has had 33 games at third base over his long minor league career (with considerable time in the middle infield and in the outfield), prior to this year. I guess he was looking competent enough at it in Syracuse, and it is much better to have a serviceable platoon at third base than have Buck Coats rusting on the bench.

The Rays' season has not started well. In addition to the expected injuries to Baldelli and Kazmir, they've also lost Floyd, Garza and Navarro. They look to me like they can weather it. Niemann will be fine. Longoria is up, so Willy Aybar can DH with Gomes moving to right field. Howell is coming on nicely in their pen. Why is it wrong to mention Mike Sirotka and Matt Garza in the same sentence?

Chuck - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 09:27 AM EDT (#182628) #

Why is it wrong to mention Mike Sirotka and Matt Garza in the same sentence?

Because everyone on the planet (except Gord Ash) knew SIrotka was broken before the Jays traded for him whereas Garza's issues were much less public?

Pistol - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 10:03 AM EDT (#182629) #

Well, players have to pass physicals before they're traded, right? It looks like Garza didn't mention this when he was with the Twins or after he was traded.

I can't imagine anything coming out of this, in terms of additional compensation. Majewski's case seemed more clear cut (he had been on the DL prior to the trade as well IIRC).

mathesond - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 10:50 AM EDT (#182630) #

Apropos of nothing at all, congratulations are in order for Sportsnet's Jim Lang, who received the Fire Joe Morgan treatment

Chuck - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 11:15 AM EDT (#182631) #

Fish. Barrels. Jim Lang is at the bottom of a pretty unimpressive SportsNet totem pole.

Rob - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 11:53 AM EDT (#182633) #

Game scores of opposing pitchers, presented without comment:
26 Gaudin
39 Mussina
39 Mendoza
40 Beckett
42 Padilla
46 Buchholz
49 Wakefield
57 Wang
58 Smith
59 Hughes
70 Eveland

--

Toronto have been swept out of Arlington a remarkable number of times. June 1996. May 1993. August 1990 (Brad Arnsberg with the first win in a rare five-day series). Every single series* played between 2002 and 2006. Is it the heat? Where else on the road is it that hot, Los Angeles of Anaheim?

Last time the Jays won a series in Texas was nearly five years ago, and as you can see from the line score, they almost managed to lose a 7-1 lead. Dave Berg was hitting .340 at the time, so clearly there were extreme solar winds or something.

Last time the Jays swept a series in Texas was a two-gamer in June of '92: Jack Morris intagibled his way to the first win and Ward & Henke saved the second. Looks like three games were originally scheduled because they played only on Monday and Wednesday. Meaning they still needed a rainout to sweep.

So the last time the Blue Jays swept in Texas, and had a favourable Accu-Weather forecast while doing so, was April 26 through 28, 1985. Jesse Litsch was a few weeks old. On the 27th, Willie Aikens (who?) tied the game in the top of the ninth with a pinch-hit home run, one of only four hits he had that year. Those wins were their second through fourth of a seven-game winning streak (remember those?) that propelled them into first place in the East, where they would stay for the rest of the season.

* Close enough.

Sherrystar - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 12:16 PM EDT (#182634) #

BJ is back!

Sportsnet is reporting he has been activated for today's game in Texas. League has been sent to AAA.

ANationalAcrobat - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 12:23 PM EDT (#182635) #

Thanks for reporting on that, Sherry. The Jays' handling of BJ will be very interesting: I hope they start him in low pressure situations to make sure his command and velocity are where they should be. Throwing him straight into the fire could be a big mistake.

Magpie - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 12:23 PM EDT (#182636) #

On the 27th, Willie Aikens (who?) tied the game in the top of the ninth with a pinch-hit home run, one of only four hits he had that year.

Willie Mays Aikens! Alas... a tale of woe.

He was a slow, LH swinging slugger who came up as a first baseman with the Angels, but was just comically bad in the field. Maybe the worst I've ever seen. The Angels traded him to the Royals (along with Rance Mulliniks) and he spent four seasons as KC's first baseman. He had major issues with LH pitchers, was a disaster defensively, and even when he was 25 he was about as slow as 40 year old Frank Thomas. He could hit, though, and he knocked 4 HR in the 1980 World Series. People would remember that a lot better if the Royals had actually won the series...

He got caught up in the Kansas City cocaine culture, and they traded him to the Jays for Jorge Orta to give him a fresh start. He put in one disappointing year here, and then the Jays traded for Len Matuszek on April 1 1985 and gave him Aikens' job as DH against RH pitchers. He started 6 games that April, and pinch hit 6 times. That ninth inning PH homer against Texas turned out to be the last AB of his major league career. He was DFA'd and released two weeks later, and never made it back to the majors. He spent the rest of the 1980s absolutely destroying the Mexican League.

The story does not have a happy ending. In 1993, he was caught selling crack to an undercover cop. The legal farce known as "mandatory minimums" put him away for 20 years.

Mike Green - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 12:40 PM EDT (#182637) #

Aikens was an earlier version of Calvin Pickering, but he actually got a chance in his early 20s.

I watched Hoop Dreams the other night, and remembering Aikens and his troubles struck a chord. So many of these stories do have unhappy endings.

Maldoff - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 12:45 PM EDT (#182638) #

I'm not a fan of this move by the Jays. First, it's still very early in the season (11 games in). Why rush BJ back? Let him pitch back-to-back at least once in Dunedin, ensure he's healthy, then bring him up. Second, why send down Brandon League? The Jays have Jesse Carlson and Brian Wolfe in the bullpen, who, no offense to them, are not big parts of the future. With BJ back, Downs and Tallet can move down to more LOOGY roles, and Calrson is really superfluous.

ANationalAcrobat - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 12:52 PM EDT (#182639) #

Second, why send down Brandon League? The Jays have Jesse Carlson and Brian Wolfe in the bullpen, who, no offense to them, are not big parts of the future. With BJ back, Downs and Tallet can move down to more LOOGY roles, and Calrson is really superfluous.

I don't feel especially strongly either way, but I certainly don't mind League going down. If you've watched him pitch, his command so far has been balky. It's clear that Gibbons does not trust him enough to use him much, and his command is unlikely to improve any time soon if he's not getting innings. It can't really hurt to have him succeed in AAA before bringing him back up, at which point he might be ready to pitch effectively. Either way, it's clear that League's stuff is back, and if he shows he can use it properly it, he'll help the big club sooner than later.

On a related note, League has been an extremely pleasant surprise this season: I suppose I had basically written him off, not expecting he would ever throw 98 again. We should be very grateful he's back, even if he is going to be in AAA for a bit.

Rob - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 01:02 PM EDT (#182640) #

So what you're saying, Magpie, is today could be the first time the Blue Jays sweep a full series in Texas without the help of anyone eventually headed for long stay in a medium security Georgia prison.

I can already hear Pat Tabler including that in his pre-game banter.

James W - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 04:08 PM EDT (#182643) #

The report on ESPN.com says they will not be easing Ryan into anything. B.J. Ryan is the Toronto Blue Jays closer... unless he pitched the day before.

scottt - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 05:34 PM EDT (#182647) #

That has a lot to do with the 2 games Accardo lost earlier in the week.

Here he is, pitching the seventh.

scottt - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 06:42 PM EDT (#182652) #

Who said Gibbons doesn't use his bullpen?

greenfrog - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 06:50 PM EDT (#182653) #

That was awesome.

Mike Green - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 06:50 PM EDT (#182654) #

A nice first win for Jesse Carlson. Three pitches, two outs.

Sheldon - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 06:51 PM EDT (#182655) #

Well it was nice seeing BJ get the save, but that triple scared the heck out of me.

Whoohoo the jays have been involved in three sweeps this year and have won two of them. Hopefully they can continue their winning ways.

HollywoodHartman - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 06:56 PM EDT (#182656) #

Only bad news is Rod Barajas leaving injured. He was having a very good game. Hope he gets better soon.

Alex Obal - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 06:57 PM EDT (#182657) #

Sweet. Very sweet.

I think if you must have seven relief pitchers on this team, it makes perfect sense to have Jesse Carlson be one of them.

greenfrog - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 07:01 PM EDT (#182658) #

First Jays series sweep in Texas in 23 years, according to the Fan 590.

westcoast dude - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 07:01 PM EDT (#182659) #

What a fairy tale ending! The team won't need a jet plane to fly to Baltimore. This was the series they had to win to keep the Spirit of '85 Alive. An outstanding effort from the 'pen. How about Inglett's 2 RBIs? Scutaro scores the winning run out of a Frank Thomas lead-off walk. Team effort, running on all cylinders.

RhyZa - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 07:11 PM EDT (#182660) #

Man, Vernon takes forever to dig the ball out from the wall... but booyah, this is the bizarro team so far.

timpinder - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 07:17 PM EDT (#182661) #

Dave Till - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 07:45 PM EDT (#182663) #

That was a pleasant experience. Great to see Ryan back in the saddle again. He looked good out there (leadoff triple notwithstanding).

I assume Accardo was on in the 7th today for platoon reasons: there were a lot of lefties coming up in the 8th, so Downs was set to pitch then.

Gibbons was lucky that the Jays won it in the 10th - had the game gone much longer, he would have risked a serious case of the bullpen shorts. He'd used everybody except Frasor, and Ryan had warmed up in the 9th; if B.J. hadn't come in, he might not have been available Monday anyway. And the Jays don't have a day off this week.

Who is this Joe Inglett, anyway? (You might find Baseball Prospectus's comment on him amusing: "Thirty-year-old Triple-A roster fodder Joe Inglett occupies a spot on the 40-man roster, while [Jamie] Vermilyea and [John-Ford] Griffin were removed from it. That's the sort of inexplicable roster management the Jays have repeated time and again during Riccardi's tenure as GM.")

Rob - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 08:21 PM EDT (#182665) #

First Jays series sweep in Texas in 23 years, according to the Fan 590.

Sigh.

Ryan Day - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 09:08 PM EDT (#182669) #

I know the Jays do some weird roster stuff (Jean Machi? Really?), but is BP really complaining about John-Ford Griffin being let go? The guy who spent three years at AAA and never topped a 335 OPB or 488 SLG and has no defensive value at all?

That's just weird, even aside from the fact I think Inglett is pretty darn awesome right now.

Lefty - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 09:19 PM EDT (#182670) #

He should stick around long enough to pay off the car loan at least.

Good for him though. Every dog has its day and these are Inglett's.

Dave Till - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 09:20 PM EDT (#182671) #

Yep - I quoted verbatim from Baseball Prospectus. (It's on page 537 :-)). They also think that the Jays should start McDonald over Eckstein.

VBF - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 09:53 PM EDT (#182672) #

So here was what Vernon had to say after Friday:

�I think it�s a sign it is early in the season and looking at the guys after that game, I saw a different look in their eyes than in previous years. In previous years, it was like �Oh well.� This time it was more like, �This isn�t going to happen anymore.�

I never really took much stock into player quotes, but Jebus, I hope this is an attitude that continues.

scottt - Sunday, April 13 2008 @ 10:40 PM EDT (#182673) #

If Barajas is placed on the DL, who gets the call? Is it Thigpen, who has a little major league experience and has caught most of the Jays staff, or Diaz, who is off to a hot start in AAA and seems to be Ricciardi's favoured choice, but hasn't had a bean yet in the majors?

I don't think there's an if here. You can't start a game with only one catcher. If Fasano hadn't complained when they signed Barajas he would certainly have gotten the call. Instead he's playing AAA for Atlanta.

Barajas is hitting .385 and had 2 RBIs in this one. Couldn't have won without him.

Whoever they call will might have to get behind the plate since there's no day off to rest Zaun until the 28th.

Jimbag - Monday, April 14 2008 @ 02:00 AM EDT (#182674) #

Well, you couldn't have asked for more drama from a game being played in the first half of April, could you? It didn't have the consequence of a late September game, but both teams played their butts off and the result was a much more entertaining contest than I ever would have hoped for (mind you, that may be a byproduct of having been denied the opportunity to see the first two games in the series).

Not a banner start from AJ, but he did manage to gut it out (a scrappy performance, anyone?) when the going got tough. The DPs that were hit into to squander opportunities should have come as no surprise, since the speed on the basepaths (at least regarding the hitters and whomever was at first) was of the local-traffic only variety. Hill's bunt actually surprised me a little, since Eck and Stewart were on...as opposed to Thomas, Overbay, et al.

But I think Gibby managed a great game - he didn't over or under utilize anyone out of the bullpen, and maximized his chances for success by pinch hitting and running at the right times. He's been criticized for relying too heavily on his horses in the past (by me, for sure), but I thought he made all the right decisions today.

Good to see Ryan back - I know some people are of the opinion that he's being rushed, but you have to admit he was up there challenging hitters today. Even on the triple, he was ahead 0-2, and it would only have been a double if it hadn't taken that dead hop off the wall that delayed Wells' throw in by just enough to allow Byrd to get to 3rd.

The Jays didn't capitalize on all their opportunities, but with AJ gutting it out without his best stuff, a good discipline at the plate and a great performance from the bullpen - it was enough. It wasn't a thing of beauty, but it was enough.

It was great to see the team at the end of the game - BJ looked happy as a clam, and the look on Halladay's face when he high fived him said it all - they looked pumped and confident. And if this team can muster up half the swagger of the 86 Mets, I think they'll do just fine. They can leave the cockiness at the door - but it'd be good to see a team that goes into EVERY series with the expectation of winning it, if not sweeping it. This was a game that the entire team shared in, they all deserve a chunk of the credit - the starters, bench and bullpen all contributed to the win. All they need to do now is take that same mental attitude into Baltimore...being in first in the middle of April means nothing in October, but it's better to be in first than in fifth. I'd keep typing, but I think my cliche machine just overheated.

Zao - Monday, April 14 2008 @ 06:22 AM EDT (#182676) #

If Fasano hadn't complained when they signed Barajas he would certainly have gotten the call. Instead he's playing AAA for Atlanta.

I don't think he got released because he complained, he complained because he got released. There was simply no room for him in AAA.

Timbuck2 - Monday, April 14 2008 @ 10:06 AM EDT (#182688) #

The official word is he wanted out if he wasn't going to be the backup catcher in the bigs. J.P. thus obliged him by kindly releasing him before the end of spring training...

TDIB 13 April 2008: Jays Win Series In Texas?! | 35 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.