So I gotta be a winner
Fingernails and a cigarette's a lousy dinner
AUHR*T&@H)*&@!)!!!!!!
Orioles 6, Blue Jays 5.
Gruesome, like the one before, and the two three before the one before. But for some reason, now that the initial shock has worn off, I'm having no difficulty at all maintaining my happy face. Not sure why. Might just be that I feel kind of detached from this year's team, even though I know they're pretty good. It gets tiresome after a while, watching helplessly as JP's expertly built pitching-and-defense juggernaut hits its stride and then he does his damnedest to cancel all his hard work out by means of Shannon Stewart.
Or maybe it's that last night's loss actually was largely attributable to the most glaring holes in the team. In June, if you've gotta lose, that's how you want to do it, right? At least it helps keep you from kidding yourself. Stewart contributed his third straight oh-fer in the leadoff spot, this one an 0-5 highlighted by a groundout to the pitcher with the potential tying run on third and one out in the eighth inning. Stewart is now batting .247/.321/.305. On the pitching side, after Brian Tallet's command vanished and left the Jays up 4-3 with the bases empty and one out in the eighth, the Jays called on their secret, proven weapon to protect the lead: Armando Benitez. Benitez had a couple of false starts sandwiched around an untimely and gritty David Eckstein error but he struck two Orioles out to end the rally emphatically. Experience is always crucial in high-leverage situations, especially when you're trying to win despite a young, untested bullpen, as the Jays are.
There were also some actual positives. Like Rod Barajas, who continued his hot hitting by going 2-3 with a walk, as well as his recent streak of wily defensive trickery by hosing Freddie Bynum at second and nearly scoring a pickoff at first. This after his chicanery in last weekend's series at Anaheim, throwing at Reggie Willits inside the baseline on a sac bunt and pump-faking Torii Hunter at third base. Anyone on a hitting streak is easy to like, but Barajas' smarts are shooting him up my list of random favorite players in a hurry.
Brandon League Watch: Maybe it's a bit soon for the all-out freedom movement, but he's doing pretty well. 17 appearances, 32 innings, 31 K, 10 BB, 68% GB, 31 hits, 2 homers, a .242 average and a 4.22 ERA.
Reed Johnson Watch: He's hitting .308/.410/.446 against lefty pitchers in 78 PA. Didn't see that coming. In fairness, he's doing it in the NL, which is either an advantage or a ridiculous advantage, and I'm looking forward to more interleague play so we can clear up that distinction once and for all.
And also so we can see some AL teams flail at Edinson Volquez's changeup. That's gonna be fun.
This afternoon, A.J. Burnett looks to stem the tide against Jeremy Guthrie. Light 'em up, blow 'em out, etc. First pitch is at 1:07.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20080606224653326