Blue Jays Beat

Potent Offense Comes Alive in 2nd Game Against Orioles

2008-04-16T13:43:26Z

In game 1 against the O's, Dustin McGowan got hit all over the ballpark and still only allowed 3 runs, with the 4th being knocked in off of Brian Tallet. A game that the O's should have easily took was almost stolen from under their feet as Rios pinch hit a 2 run shot to edge the Jays within one run in the top of the 9th. It proved to be too little too late as the O's took game one 4-3.

Game 2 was a old fashioned whooping on the part of the Jays as all of their 9 starters, recorded at least one hit and the Jays go on to win 11-3. One wishes that half of the bats would have come alive in the night before, but so goes the game of baseball and so goes an excellent road trip for the Blue Jays who head back to Toronto winning 4 out 5 games.

The Rangers will be in town for a 2 game series followed by a 4 game series against the re-emerging Detroit Tigers. The Jays must take the next two games against Texas as the Detroit series will prove to be a very difficult one.

SEASON TO DATE

Positive:

The Jays are performing at a level that was expected of them. Most baseball enthusiasts believe that in order for the Jays to make the playoffs, they MUST win 60% of their games going into June. Thus far they have won 57% going 8 and 6.

Shawn Marcum continues to dominate and has looked like the Jays best starter so far. Even better than Halladay.

Vernon Wells has been tearing it up and seems to have rebounded from his slow 2007 season.

Gibbons has the boys stealing and bunting which shows that these Jays are going to attack their competion.

Aaron Hill is proving to be the American League's best defensive and offensive 2nd Baseman.

Negative:

AJ Burnett has looked less than mediocre in his last two starts.

The consistency of the bats has been somewhat suspect. Specifically in the two games against Oakland and the one game in Baltimore.

Jeremy Accardo has lost the confidence of the fans by blowing two saves in a row and possibly being demoted from closer to middle reliever.

Jays Go On the Road and Give Me a Welcome Home Present

2008-04-14T13:57:49Z

After a VERY disappointing midweek series against the A's, the Jays headed on the road for Texas while I headed down to Niagara Falls for a quick 2 day vacation with the family. I decided to stay out of touch with the rest of the world for the 2 days and thus didn't have any idea how the Jays were fairing against the Rangers.

So I head back home Sunday afternoon and find out 2 incredible things as I lay on the couch and turn on the game.

1ST- Jays are going for the sweep after beating Texas in the first two games.

2ND - BJ Ryan is in the bullpen and is able to come into the game for a save.

The Jays go on to seal the deal by sweeping the Rangers on a BJ Ryan 10th inning save.

Thank you Jays for a BEAUTIFUL welcome home present.

As I stated after the A's beat them in game one of last week's series, the Jays should be able to win 7 out of their next 9 games. Since they went on to lose the next two against the A's, the Blue Jays must sweep the next two mini-series against the Orioles and Rangers to fulfill my prophecy.

Jays Closer Loses 2nd in a Row

2008-04-10T14:07:28Z

"When is B.J. Ryan coming back?", the crowd questions after Jeremy Accardo gives up his second triple in as many nights to allow Oakland to not only tie things up, but go on to win 6 - 3.

Accardo, who only had 5 blown saves in 35 attempts last year has now lost two in a row and the return of ace closer Ryan from Tommy John surgery gives Jays fans a sigh of relief.

Ryan should be back in a week which will move Accardo to set-up.

That being said, the Jays offense had its slowest night of this homestand all while having a debut lefty on the mound in Greg Smith. They took it to Smith early on, capitalizing on his lack of control in the 1st inning. Unfortunatley, they wouldn't score a run for the rest of game.

It was disappointing to have 2 on with nobody out in the bottom of the 9th and then have Huston Street retire Rios, Wells and Thomas in order.

FINAL NOTES

I was not one of the Jays fans who felt that John MacDonald should necessarily be given the starting shortstop position for 2008, but I did see a very weak left side line up for the Jays last night and hope that Gibbons will reward MacDonald with a start at SS or 3rd for the rubber match against the A's tonight.

3rd baseman Marco Scuturo made a horrible decision to try and throw Travis Buck out at home in the bottom of the 9th instead of going for the double play to second with 1 out.

Although Eckstein was solid at the plate yesterday scoring a run after being hit in the 1st and getting on in the bottom of the 9th, I thought that his range at shortstop was horrible and feel that MacDonald may not contribute runs offensively but will certainly erase runs defensively.

Jays pitching stinks - The bats make it a game

2008-04-09T14:33:24Z

April 8th, 2008

The Jays had a chance to extend their win streak to 4 in what should have been a sure win with AJ Burnett on the mound against Chad Gaudin who was rushed off the DL.

Well... Burnett's curve couldn't find the plate and his fastball was lit up like he was pitching beach balls. He allowed 6 runs after 2 innings, but the Jays potent offense tied it up with a Vernon Wells 3 run blast.

Cue the Jays' next pitching blunder. Brian Tallet, who has looked fantastic this year, lost his splendor by allowing the A's to get back the lead 8 - 6.

The Jays rebounded once again with the clutch blast of Frank "THE TANK" Thomas. 4 clutch hits in 4 straight games. See the previous blog to review my admiration for the big fella. He brought it back to 8 - 8 and the Jays had a chance of winning a game that Burnett had already lost for them.

Cue the Jays final pitching blunder. Jays' interim closer Jeremy Accardo walked Kurt Suzuki with 2 out which brought Mike Sweeney to the plate. The A's took the final lead 9 - 8 when Sweeney blasted a triple to score Suzuki.

FINAL NOTES:

Everyone on the Jays offense is contributing right now and when the pitching staff do what they are capable and suppsed to do... the Jays should be able to string together 7 wins out of their next 9 games between the A's, Orioles and Rangers.

Frank Thomas A Really Big Kid

2008-04-08T14:53:17Z

Watching Frank play "the game" of baseball last weekend reminded me of summers on smalltown ballparks around rural Ontario. Every pitch mattered and every hit felt bigger than the one before. We played for the pride of our fathers and the admiration of our friends. Watching Frank pump his fists on second base after a timely double during Toronto's home opener made me realize that even Frank's gigantic stature can't hide the kid inside him. You can tell by the look in his eye when he steps up to the plate this year, every pitch matters and he wants to make every hit bigger than the one before.

It's tough to predict what a 40 year old man is going to accomplish in a game primarily designed around reaction time even if that 40 year old man is 18th on the All-time Home Run List.

But watching the kid inside Frank come to the plate against the Red Sox for Toronto's opening weekend leads me to believe that Frank Thomas is going to reach as many home runs this year as years he has lived. If I stand correct, he will be one of the determining factors for the Jays to make the playoffs in '08. And that bodes well for young Jays fans playing in smalltown parks around rural Ontario.

Opening Weekend in Toronto

2008-04-07T14:08:05Z

The Toronto Blue Jays are off and running after a fair outing in the Bronx to open the season on the road and a stellar performance for their first weekend at home.

Granted the Red Sox came into Toronto a tired and homesick team, but the Jays did not hesitate to take advantage of uncharacteristic errors and missed opportunities from the Sox.

FRIDAY NIGHT Jays fans had plenty to cheer about on Friday night with the day's long-term value signing of right field star Alex Rios and rising star second basemen Aaron Hill. Coupled with the induction of Roberto Alomar and Paul Beeston into the level of excellence, the night couldn't have started off any better. The crowd was rockin' for the home opener on Friday night, and the constant hum of the crowd seemed to help elevate Shawn Marcum's game on the mound. He didn't hold back against the potentially potent Red Sox offense and continued how he left off at the end of the 2007 season. At the plate, the Jays line up as well or even better than last year's World Series Champs. 3, 4 and 5 hitters Rios, Wells and Thomas leave no room for error on the part the opposing pitching staffs. Thomas gave off an aura of determination all weekend long which began paying dividends with his timely double off Delcarmen to solidify the Jays home opener victory.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON Game 2 of the seres was a fans treat as the Jays gave no mercy to the weiry Red Sox and cashed in on all opportunities with a 10-2 thrashing. On the mound, youngster Jesse Litch who rounds up the Jays pitching staff as their 5th starter had some location problems but still managed to dig down and provide a very solid outing. Frank Thomas again was one of the days key players with a homerun that he willed over the left centre wall.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON Not quite the pitcher's dual it could have been with Josh Beckett making his debut off the DL and Roy Halladay giving up 3 homeruns in the game. Still, Halladay pitched well enough to keep the Jays in it and Frank Thomas sealed the weekend sweep with a crushing Grand Slam off a first pitch Delcarmen fastball. Fan favourite shortstop John MacDonald got his first start of the season and did not disappoint with some AMAZING defense including a play off a Justin Pedroia grounder that could very well be major league baseball's highligt of the season.

WEEKEND WRAP-UP Everyone on the Toronto Blue Jays is firing on all cylinders right now and it gives hope to us fans who fear a disappointing repeat of last year with injuries, lack of offense and some bad luck. As it stands after the 6th game of the season, the Jays can field a time against any team in the league and feel confident to come away with a victory. Their offense which currently looks like one of the best in the league can only get better with the return of newly acquired third basemen Scott Rolen. Their pitching which also currently looks like one of the best in the league, can only get even better with the return of ace closer B.J. Ryan. More than anything this weekend, the Toronto Blue Jays have sent a message to the the Red Sox and Yankees that they better be on the top of their game when they face them.