Not everything in Blue Jay land is perfect; Doug Creek looks shaky, and I'm not impressed with Jason Dubois' bat speed. But there is plenty of reason for optimism.
Shannon Stewart's bat is electric, he's in midseason form. Eric Hinske's no longer 0-for-Florida; he's going to be just fine with the stick, and might win a few games with -- of all things -- his glove. Tanyon Sturtze is a completely different pitcher than he was in his nightmare 2002 season.
It was an excellent afternoon for the Blue Jays, easy 6-2 winners over Tampa Bay, and I can't express how happy I am to be watching baseball again. J.P Ricciardi joined Rob Faulds and John Cerutti in the booth for a couple of innings, and Sturtze, after three terrific innings of work, was an entertaining TV guest. Paul Godfrey also made an appearance, endorsing his GM as a judge of talent, and talking about the club's aggressive new marketing campaign.
Not much has changed with the Sportsnet crew; Faulds called a pitch "outside, for strike one" and didn't know if Stewart's bases-clearing double was a grand slam, a foul ball or a line drive out. Cerutti was tolerable, asking his usual softball questions and making only the most obvious comments. Nobody expected the Ricciardi interview to be great broadcast journalism.
J.P. believes the Jays have "carried over from the second half," and praised his team's enthusiasm and excellent work ethic. Asked about the difference between now and a year ago, the GM was candid: "We're going forward, instead of trying to survive." He dodged Rule 5 questions with a comment that he intends to "keep stockpiling players," no matter how they are acquired.
Ricciardi also praised the "outstanding" springs of Corey Thurman and Mike Smith, who he envisions as a reliever down the road. Most importantly, he dropped a strong hint that Jayson Werth is the front-runner for an OF job. "We talk about that every day," J.P. admitted. He also acknowledged the difficult early schedule -- "we'll be facing a lot of tough left-handers; Wells, Santana, Fossum..." -- and suggested that the 25-man roster would keep that stretch in mind, then changes may be made.
The 2B and SS of the future, Dominic Rich and Russ Adams, showed their stuff, setting the table for Stewart's fourth RBI of the game and Hinske's first of the spring, on a soft opposite-field flare. They also combined on a nifty defensive play to erase a baserunner on a grounder into the hole.
Other thoughts: Tampa's defence is just horrible. That notoriously aggressive baserunner Carlos Delgado took second when 1B Lee Stevens muffed a cutoff throw, and in a huge play-not-made that will not show on the box score, 3B Jared Sandberg dropped a catchable pop foul that allowed Shannon Stewart to stay alive and deliver his 3-run double.
Cliff Politte looked good. I've always contended he needs regular work to stay sharp, and today he blew the express past the abysmal Greg Vaughn (the 'golden sombrero' -- 4 Ks; Faulds dubbed him "Senor Sitdown") but also fanned Stevens on an off-speed pitch, either a splitter or a new changeup. Jeff Tam was OK, working his way out of an inning after being nearly decapitated by a Carl Crawford liner.
I absolutely love Adams and Rich. They have a similar approach at the plate, and sliced identical opposite-field singles to spark a rally. Rich also drew a walk, and showed his range on a flare to shallow CF. Adams, who has benefitted from being around the classy Mike Bordick, takes a lot of pitches, and you can tell he's a confident two-strike hitter. He spoiled a 3-2 pitch he didn't like, recognized a curve and just missed hitting it hard, fouling it straignt back. Then Tosca showed his confidence in the kid's bat control, sending the plodding Huckaby, and Russ ripped a potential RBI double just a bit foul. He finally lined out to CF, but it was a big-league AB if I ever saw one.
Jason Dubois has a tremendous eye, and no doubt prodigious power, but I saw no evidence of big-league bat speed -- he was late on a lot of pitches all day. Forget the idea of carrying him on the big club; this kid needs lots of AB in the minors. I still hope they can work something out to keep him, but he would be no help this year.
Of three LH relievers on the day, Doug Creek looked the worst. Sturtze, who joined the telecast for an inning after his fine performance, praised Creek's slider and said he's "really tough on lefthanded batters," but a 2-out wild pitch was typical -- against RH hitters, Creek was all over the place. Tim Young, who may not even be as tall as Politte, fooled uber-prospect Josh Hamilton and got out of his inning with a DP grounder, but I liked Trever Miller best. He's taller, can get RH batters out, and challenges hitters.
I have about a thousand other observations, including a dissertation on Hinske's fielding -- he was sensational today -- but I'll shut up for now.
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