They Always Win When I'm Not Watching

Looks like a nice win for the Jays tonight, despite a late scare.  Too bad I was flying back to Saskatoon from down east.  Maybe I just need to avoid seeing the games more, since that seems to be the only time they win these days.  Probably just my imagination.

Rzepczynski had a nice start, three hits and one walk against six strikeouts in six and a third.  With only one earned run.  That's quality.  Of course it looks like League had one of his trademark off nights and just about lost it.  In any case, it's a win against one of the top teams in baseball, so let's just be happy about it.

Jays Go Downs Again

On a day when Boston and New York both lost surely Toronto would pull off a win.  You know, climb a token rung on the AL East ladder.  And when you look at the game tonight, their staff mostly did what was needed.  Mostly.

Rzepczynski looked rough to start the game, balking Ichiro over to second with none out.  Ichiro would come home to score, filling me with dread for the unravelling I have come to expect.  But the rookie settled in and actually pitched a very solid game after that (until the sixth, when, in rookie pitcher style, he started to fall apart).  He only gave up five hits and two walks, and managed eight K's (through 5.1 innings).  I'll call that a good start.

And of course the Jays offense saved themselves for late, scoring all three of their runs in the seventh and eighth innings.  This game was really defined by pitching though, and the part I'll remember most is Scott Downs, the Jays de facto closer, coming into a tie game in the bottom of the ninth and putting the first two batters on (a single and a walk).  The third batter (Chris Woodward) bunted, and with the ball rolling toward third Downs looked to easily grab it and get the lead runner.  But he missed it, so instead of one out and runners at first and second we had none out, bases loaded.

To Downs' credit he settled in after that.  The next batter grounded into an easy force out at the plate, and the one after that struck out.  But that left Ichiro to come in, two down, bases loaded.  He was two for three with a walk to that point, and as it turned out the Japanese hit production concern wasn't prepared to let up.  He hit a flare to short center field and the game came to an abrupt end.

That leaves the Jays 12.5 games back in the division.  But hey, at least they still have the best pitcher in baseball...

The Roller Coaster

Up down up down. Crazy what I put myself through as a Blue Jays fan. Rzepczynski (Yes, I had to look up the spelling, and not I'm not one hundred percent sure I got it right even still) started out very good, conceding only one run through the first four innings. But it seemed to take him a lot of pitches to do it. I like this kid, he doesn't show any fear, and handles himself well on the mound. But in the fifth he seemed to fall apart a bit, and really that was the game right there.

Still, it was nice to see Hill get his 22nd homer. If we want to look for throwbacks to the 92/93 Jays (and believe me, I do) I think Hill is as good a stand in for Roberto Alomar, at least right now, as you'll find in baseball. Maybe Ian Kinsler would be another, but I have to think Hill is right there.

Losing a series to this version of the Cleveland Indians shouldn't happen. In all three games our rookie pitching staff hasn't been able to reach the level we need. It's a well known fact that injuries to our staff have been the biggest problem this year, so I'll look at the positives and say that at least these kids are getting some top level experience. The future looks bright, it's just the present I can't deal with.

In non Blue Jays news, Mark Buehrle managed to pitch only the 18th perfect game in MLB history today (with some fantastic defensive help from DeWayne Wise). Congratulations to him and all that. It's an achievement that really can't be overstated. But, perhaps more importantly, the win came against Tampa Bay...