Since nobody put up an entry for Game 31, I wanted to mention something I saw in the seventh inning of yesterday's game.
Here's the scenario: the Jays are up 2-1, and Doug Creek has just come in for Doug Davis. Creek, as regular Jay-viewers know, has a wee bit of trouble with his control. He walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, as the boo-birds began to warm up their vocal cords. The next batter, Eric Owens, saw ball 1, and then took a strike, to the derisive applause of the home fans.
Here's where, in my opinion, Owens blew the game. With a shaky lefthander on the mound, the leadoff hitter on base, nobody out, and a 1-1 count, Owens tried to bunt and missed. This gave Creek the free gift of a strike when he desperately needed one; ahead on the count, he was able to strike out Owens, and get the rest of the side out. The only possible explanation for Owens' behaviour is that he wasn't adequately prepared for his at-bat: someone should have told him that the Jays' bullpen tends to self-destruct, and instructed him to be patient. Of course, that's not Anaheim's way - the defending world champs tend to make things happen out there. It worked for them last year.
Other notes:
- Good outing by Davis, but 8 hits and 1 strikeout over 6 innings suggests that he did it with mirrors.
- A happy-making thought for all of you: we get to see that kind of defense from Vernon Wells for the next five years.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030504080540999