This matchup wouldn't have been must-see TV in the regular season, so as an exhibition match, it was even more of a snoozer. But there were still some positive signs as the Jays thumped Tampa in this Sunday tilt.
Dave Bush headlined Toronto's victory with four shutout innings, working against many of the Devil Rays' likely Opening-Day starters. Reed Johnson drove in a couple of runs with a double, while Gabe Gross reached base via both the bloop and the line drive. The Jays' first three runs were unearned, thanks to a Julio Lugo error, so the offence still has not reached juggernaut status, exactly. A few notes on the game:
* As Andrew K noted in the Game Thread, Russ Adams made an errant throw at one point that pulled 1B Eric Hinske off the bag. This sight is growing familiar to Jays fans, who should probably get used to it for at least the first half of the season. Adams has fine range, goes to his left extremely well, and is a smart defender, but his arm strength is not terrific, and accordingly, he does tend to rush his throws somewhat. A full season of coaching from Brian Butterfield will make a big difference, but for the first half of 2005, Jays fans should be prepared to be patient with the rookie shortstop.
The flip side of Adams' throwing challenges, of course, is that Hinske will have to step up and help his young teammate out. Nothing gives a new infielder more confidence than the knowledge that if his throw goes awry, his first baseman will be there to bail him out. Carlos Delgado's defence drew mixed reviews over the years, but his ability to snag low throws from his infielders was one of his strengths. Hinske, naturally, has plenty of experience snapping up sharp grounders on the short hop, so he should be ahead of the game in that respect. But it still bears watching.
* The Jays beat up on former teammate Mark Hendrickson yesterday. While a few of JP Ricciardi's player transactions have been questioned lately, pretty much everyone agreed at the time that flipping the hulking lefty to the Rockies for Justin Speier was a terrific deal. Speier struggled a little last year with injuries, but when he's on, he's a solid reliever: he held opponents to a .239 average in 2004 and was slated to close for the Jays before Miguel Batista moved into the role. Speier should function as a solid and reliable 8th-inning setup man -- and let's give him a shout-out for his classy, team-first public reaction to the move. Hendrickson, meanwile, went 10-15 with a 4.81 ERA for the Rays, allowing 211 hits in 183 innings to go with an uninspiring 46/87 BB/K rate. All of which to say, the trade looked good then and it looks good now.
* Spring training statistics mean bupkus. But consider that Gabe Gross has 5 home runs this spring. The rest of the Blue Jays, combined, have 6.
* How many teams can say this? Nine of the Blue Jays' last 11 first-round picks are in their spring-training camp. Only Felipe Lopez and Joe Lawrence are otherwise engaged this March. When you think about it, that's remarkable.
* Fun stat of the day: Dave Bush's walks+hits divided by innings pitched (WHIP) at each of his professional levels:
Low-A: 0.90
High-A: 0.94
Double-A: 1.14
Triple-A: 1.28
Majors: 1.23
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