"They only started chasing us once you put on that getaway music!"
I pulled the classic "publish the article at 10am instead of 10pm" trick, like somebody who doesn't know how to program a VCR. At least I got to pull that joke out from the attic.
Any-who, to the Game of the Month! But
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our runners up, who helped to make
this a fairly exciting month of Blue Jay baseball.
May 4th versus NY Yankees, at Da Dome
Chase
Whitley and R.A. Dickey did battle, matching each other with six
scoreless innings (back when Dickey really couldn't strike anybody out)
until the Yankees scratched out a run in the seventh. Things looked
bleak (NY's pen is stupid good) until the Bluebirds got some magic in
the bottom of the eighth against Chris Martin (should've stayed in
Coldplay!). Dellin Betances was summoned to face Edwin with one out,
tying run at second (Donaldson) and go ahead run at first (Bats) but
Edwin launched a ball into left that tied it up at one. A few batters
late with two out, Russell Martin came up and it a sharp ball down the
third base line, which Chase Headley miraculously came up with, jumped
up and fired a low throw. Had Mark Teixeira's excellent glove been
manning first base, the throw is likely picked and the inning is over
with a tie game. But it was Garrett Jones instead, who missed it
completely and allowed Martin to be safe, while two more runs scored.
This was all Brett Cecil needed for his second (and most recent!) save
of the year. FINAL: TOR 3 NYY 1.
May 27th versus Chicago White Sox, at Da Dome
The
Bluebirds were looking to sweep away the Pale Hose with Marco Estrada
going up against Jeff Samardzija. The White Sox jumped out to a 3-0
lead, thanks to Ezequiel Carrera losing a fly ball in sunny right field.
Toronto chipped away with one in the 7th inning and another in the
eighth. Low on infielders, Gibbons brought Russell Martin in to play
second base for the ninth inning. Which does sound insane, though
Russell has played a significant amount of infield (mostly 3B) both in
the minors and majors. Martin indeed would make a nice backhanded play
to get a force out at second base. Bottom of the ninth, David Robertson
entered and was greeted fondly by a Josh Donaldson home run to tie it
up, forcing extra innings. Roberto Osuna came on but actually looked
hittable for a change. The Sox scored two on a triple, single and a
double, allowing Robertson to win the game and avoid the series sweep.
FINAL: CWS 5 TOR 3.
May 29th versus Minnesota Twins, at Target Field/Bulls Eye Ballpark
This
one had the makings of a disaster. Mark Buehrle was serving up
meatballs to the Twins in the first inning, surrendering four runs while
Ryan Tepera waited ready in the bullpen, ready to replace him. Toronto
got one run back in the 2nd but trailed 4-1 until the top of the fifth,
when Josh Donaldson launched a missile off of Trevor May into the
deepest part of the park. It was a three run shot to tie the game at 4,
where it would remain until the top of the ninth, when Twins skipper
Paul Molitor (Molly!) brought in his closer Glen Perkins. Former Twin
Chris Colabello, after a well fought walk by Russell Martin, unleashed a
mighty wallop and sent a ball into the left-field bleachers against his
former team. It was 6-4 Blue Jays. Meanwhile, Mark Buehrle had settled
down from his first inning troubles, retiring 21 of 22 Twins, and came
out for the ninth. Buehrle gonna Buehrl (if I may be bearded for a
moment), and he finished it up with a tidy 1-2-3 for the complete game.
FINAL: TOR 6 MIN 4
Those were all extremely entertaining games, but there can be only one Game of the Month. And it is...
May 26th: Chicago White Sox at Toronto Blue Jays
A
Tuesday night at Da Dome, featuring a battle between the tricky Toronto
knuckleballer and The Before Chris Sale Great White Sox Left-hander,
John Danks. Dickey had his anti-spinner working early, mesmerizing Adam
Eaton and Jose Abreu for strikeouts while retiring former Blue Jay Melky
Cabrera inbetween. For Cabrera, I believe you can refer to that as a
knuckle sandwich. Danks likewise got off to a good start, getting Jose
Reyes to whiff on a low and away changeup and blowing gas right through
Edwin Encarnacion's wheelhouse. In the middle of that sandwich, however,
was a Josh Donaldson bomb with extra mustard. The ball rattled around
in the second deck of the left-field bleachers until it was picked up,
hilariously, by a dude in an Adam Lind jersey. 1-0 Toronto.
Longtime
National League first baseman Adam LaRoche led off the top of the
second by working Dickey to a full count before lining a single into
right-field, Chicago's first hit of the game. (By the way, LaRoche has
over 5300 big league plate appearances, he's played for six different
team, only a little over 200 have been as an American Leaguer. Coming
into 2015, that number was 19! So, now you know that crucial piece of
information. That's why I'm here). Anyhow, Alexei Ramirez was next and
hit an 0-2 comebacker right to Dickey. Dickey turned and fired to Goins
at second, who pivoted and unleashed to first-base, but Ramirez beat it
by the tiniest of steps and was safe. There was one out now for J.B.
Shuck, the Chicago right-fielder. Dickey jumped ahead 0-2 again but
Shuck lined a ball just past a sliding Steve Tolleson into right-field,
moving Ramirez to second base. Aw shucks. The next batter was Gordon
Beckham (whom it felt like Jays fans wanted to acquire for decades, at
least until Devon Travis showed up). Beckham took a 1-1 knuckleball and
fisted it in front of a charging Kevin Pillar. Even with one out,
Ramirez was running all the way and scored without any trouble. It was
tied up at 1-1, still with two ChiSox runners on. The next batter,
catcher Tyler Flowers, thought: "hey, this hitting a ball weakly into
centerfield thing sounds good. I gotta try that some day!" That day
turned out to be this day, as he hit a Dickey pitch into nearly the
exact same spot as Beckham's single. This too dropped in front of Kevin
Pillar but this time the runner (Shuck) held up at third. The bases were
now loaded with one out, White Sox second baseman Carlos Sanchez due
up. Dickey got ahead again 0-2 (for like the billionth time this inning)
to which Sanchez said: "Ha! I'll just hit a weak ball into centerfield,
like all the cool kids are doing!" Sadly, Sanchez wasn't as cool as
those kids. He connected cleanly on a high Dickey knuckler but hit it
too hard into center, right into Pillar's glove. Shuck tagged and
charged home, giving Pillar a chance to showcase his awesome arm OF MEGA
STRENGTH POWER UP IT'S OVER THREE MILLION WHOOOAAAAA oh whoops he threw
it over everybody. The throw sailed way over Dickey's head (he was
backing up the play at home) and bounced off the screen behind the
plate, scoring Shuck and allowing the runners to advance. 2-1 Chicago.
Now the White Sox really had an opportunity, with a single scoring two
more and the top of their order back up with Adam Eaton. Eaton battled
Dickey to a nine pitch full count until he squared one up into the
left-center gap. Pillar raced over, reached his glove out and on the run
made the catch, saving two runs and ending the frame. And thus, The
Inning Of Kevin Pillar was at last complete. 2-1 Chicago.
John
Danks came out for the bottom of the second and dealt himself three of a
kind: Chris Colabello hit a 2-2 fly ball to right-field, Danny Valencia
hit a 2-2 into centerfield, and Kevin Pillar completed it with a lazy
flyer into left, also on a 2-2 count. Neat. After two innings, still 2-1
White Sox. The top of the third was a Typical Dickey Inning, as he got a
quick two outs (including a nasty second strikeout of Jose Abreu)
before losing the strikezone entirely and walking Adam LaRoche on four
pitches. His next pitch to Ramirez bounced in front of Josh Thole's
glove, whose backhand attempt was as futile as telling Brett Lawrie to
lay off the Red Bulls. The ball skipped away from Thole and LaRoche
moved up to second. Dickey continued to struggle, falling behind Ramirez
3-1 before leaving a juicy spinner over the plate. Alexei was slightly
tied up, but still lined it hard towards second base. Fortunately for
the home nine, that spot happened to be right where Steve Tolleson was.
The ball was caught without damage, ending the frame and keeping it 2-1.
The bottom of the third brought the bottom of the Jays order to face
Danks. Tolleson was disposed of quickly, but Thole managed to lunge at
an 0-2 Danks offering and drop it into centerfield for a one out single.
It was astonishing to watch the reaction of the Sox fielders, their
body language almost saying: "How did that find a hole?" The top of the
Blue Jays order was back up and Reyes wasted no time, hacking the first
pitch foul and into LaRoche's glove for the second out. Up came
Donaldson, who was feeling greedy for the Extra-Base Hits Off John Danks
Trust Fund. Donaldson deposited a ball hard down the left-field line
past a diving Beckham, which bounced off the side wall and quickly
towards Melky in left-field. Thole was still able to reach third and The
Bringer of Rain stood at second base with a double. Here came Bautista.
Danks worked to a 2-2, but Bats managed to pop a low off-speed pitch
into deep centerfield. Eaton froze for a moment, misreading the swing,
and by the time he charged back it was too late. The ball bounced behind
him and over the wall for a ground rule double. Both runs scored and
the Blue Jays were back on top, 3-2. Danks got Edwin to whiff to finish
the frame but after three, it was 3-2 Toronto.
The top of the
fourth for the White Sox began with J.B. Shuck. On a knuckler low and
in, the Chicago right-fielder golfed one into the corner, bouncing up
against the wall and forcing Chris Colabello to make a play (always
hazardous). It was a leadoff double for the White Sox, aw shucks. This
time R.A. Dickey was not feeling generous with a big inning, however.
After a weak flyout and ground ball from Beckham and Flowers
respectively, Dickey threw a mean knuckler right past Carlos Sanchez to
end the inning, stranding Shuck right at second and adding to Sanchez's
uncoolness. Poor guy. The bottom of the fourth brought Colabello to the
plate, and he squared one into centerfield that was falling fast. Eaton
charged in and slid into the turf, a trail of rubber smoke following him
as he made a nice catch for the first out. Valencia was dispatched
quickly and Pillar, with two out, knocked one up the middle that Danks
snagged nicely with the backhand and tossed to first, ending the Blue
Jay fourth. 3-2 Toronto.
To the top of the fifth! The knuckleball
began another brief waltz with the strikezone, walking Eaton on five
pitches to lead it off for Chicago. Next came Jose Molina, I mean Melky
Cabrera! Sorry. Anyhow, Melky popped one high into right-field and both
second baseman and outfielder converged. On a play like this, the
outfielder always has the right-of-way: it's a much easier catch when
you're charging in, instead of back pedalling and trying to keep your
eye on it. Unfortunately, that outfielder was Chris Colabello, who
(understandably so) seems willing to defer to anybody else out there
when it comes to making a catch. So without calling Tolleson off,
Colabello ran in, and Tolleson gave chase, and the ball was still up
there, and they both kept going, and Colabello slowed up and stopped
because Tolleson was getting close to him, and the STUPID BALL DROPPED
FOUR FEET FROM EITHER OF THEM! Ah, darnit. Well Dickey was in trouble
now, with two on and nobody out, the dangerous Jose Abreu looming in the
batter's box. But Dickey had already struck out Abreu twice in this
game. This was a case of a great batter being utterly bamboozled by an
unusual pitch, surely? How many pitchers throw knuckleballs in Cuba? Do
any? Anyhow, if Dickey stuck with that pitch that had worked twice thus
far, surely he could whiff Abreu again no? Or perhaps even get that
precious ground ball double play. A tough spot, but not hopeless thanks
to that fickle knuckling wizard. Dickey fell behind 3-1, and so went
right after Abreu up and in with... a fastball? What? Abreu teed off,
blasting the sad thing like a laser beam well over the bullpen wall in
left-field, scoring three runs and granting the White Sox a 5-3
advantage. Bamboozled indeed. And the trouble didn't end there. After
LaRoche grounded out, Ramirez roped one into centerfield for a one out
single. Not wasting time, Ramirez took off first pitch for second base.
This was Josh Thole's turn to throw a knuckleball, as his throw to Reyes
was right on the money and beat Ramirez, yet Reyes somehow couldn't
hold it in his glove and the ball rolled away. Dickey managed to get
Shuck to groundout (aw shucks) and knowing he was likely at the end,
unleashed his best placed knuckler of the game on 1-2 to Gordon Beckham.
It rose up and fluttered back down to catch the upper away part of the
zone, catching Beckham looking. The damage was done, however, and the
score was now 5-3 Chicago. But at least I got to use the word bamboozled. Twice!
To
the bottom of the fifth where the Blue Jays hit the sticks. Tolleson
smacked the second Danks pitch he saw into the turf in left-field. Melky
scampered over and made an off balance throw but Tolleson rolled into
second with a leadoff double. Next was Thole, who ripped an inside Danks
changeup into the right-field corner (and when I say ripped, I mean
just pummelled). The ball took one hop up against the wall and Thole
slid into second with another double, scoring Tolleson and making the
score 5-4. The lineup was turned over for Jose Reyes, and for the
second straight at-bat he wasted no time in getting himself out, this
time on a foul bunt pop up to third base. With one out and the tying run
at second, Donaldson and Danks were ready to duel. Danks tried working
him away but Donaldson would not chase that pitch, leading to a full
count. Danks went upstairs and away, just high, and once again Donaldson
didn't chase, drawing the walk. Up came Bats again, and again Danks
jumped ahead 1-2 before trying to finish him with a pitch low and away,
this time a fastball. Bats would not be fooled, slicing it down the
right field line and into the corner. Thole and Donaldson both scored,
Bats had another double off Danks and Toronto had jumped ahead once
more, 6-5. Danks took his revenge by whiffing Encarnacion and
Colabello both on off-speed pitches, ending the inning. The lead had now
changed four times, and it was 6-5 Toronto after five.
Into
the Chicago sixth and R.A. Dickey was done, on the hook for a W.
Summoned from the much maligned Blue Jay bullpen was hard thrower Ryan
Tepera. Ryan Goins was also in defensively for Tolleson. Beginning the
fun was catcher Tyler Flowers, who clubbed a sinking line drive right
into centerfield. This was about the sixteen thousandth ball that had
been hit to Kevin Pillar this game, and he looked more like a soccer
goalkeeper than an outfielder with this one. He charged in, realized he
had no chance and tried to leap at the ball to try and block it. It
deflected off of him and bounced into right-field, where Colabello
picked it up and tossed it in, just as Flowers slid into second as the
tying run. Next was Carlos Sanchez, and the second pitch he saw got him
right in the thigh. He took one for the team, but his uncoolness shone
through immediately as he rubbed the spot the pitch had got him. Wear
that, kid! This was the end for Tepera, as both batters he'd faced were
on base and nobody was out. In came Aaron Loup to face the lefty batter
Eaton. Loup louped his way to a 2-2 count (you know, lots of low
sliders, outside corner yada yada) but on that pitch Eaton threw his
hands out and rolled a ball slowly to Donaldson at third. For an instant
Donaldson hesitated (probably thinking Goins wasn't at the bag yet)
before throwing over to second base. Goins stepped on the bag and
pivoted to first, but that brief hesitation was just enough time for
speedy Eaton to beat it out. White Sox at the corners, one out. Melky
turned around to face Loup as a righty, and he grounded another slow
grounder, this one to Jose Reyes. Reyes flipped it to second and Goins
once more pivoted to first base, but Melky beat that one out barely and
the run scored. The game was tied at 6-6. John Gibbons asked for a
review (the play at first was extremely close) but the safe call stood.
It seems possible that the review had led Gibbons to forget that Jose
Abreu was next, and as such he forget to take Loup out. And, naturally,
Loup struck Abreu out to end the inning. It's a funny game.
The
bottom of the sixth was also when White Sox skipper went to his pen,
summoning right-hander Jake Petricka. Petricka must've eaten his
Wheaties (what a dated joke. Geez) because right away he whiffed
Valencia on three pitches, got a weak groundout from Pillar and whiffed
Goins on some nasty sinking action for a quick 1-2-3 inning. Heading
into the 7th, Tied 6-6.
For the top of seven, Toronto
brought in the young and talented Roberto Osuna, whom at this point
owned a nifty 0.76 ERA and a WHIP of 0.75 in 19 games. Ah, the life of a
reliever. This first task was Adam LaRoche. On a 1-2 count, LaRoache
bounced one up slowly up the middle towards Jose Reyes who was playing
the shift. The ball was hit soft enough that Reyes would've had to rush
the play even with the slow footed LaRoche, but Reyes bobbled it anyhow
and there was no play. It was an E6 and Chicago had the leadoff batter
on. After Alexei Ramiriez flew out to left field, J.B. Shuck bounced one
to Goins at second. The Bluebird two bagger flipped to Reyes for one
but again the ball was not hit hard enough to roll a double play. Aw
shucks. The inning was still alive for Gordon Beckham. Osuna threw him a
fastball inside up and Beckham turned on it, hitting it well into
left-field, right into the glove of Danny Valencia to end the inning. To
the bottom, where Jake Petricka came back with two quick outs of Thole
and Reyes (four total pitches) before Josh Donaldson knocked a five hop
seeing eye single up the middle to keep the frame alive. Next was
Bautista. Like Danks before him, Petricka seemed convinced the way to
get Bautista out was to pitch him low and away, despite Bats already
having two doubles against that exact approach. Well Petricka tried that
very thing, and Bats did exactly what he'd been doing all game: lining
the pitch into opposite field for extra bases. Shuck threw it into
second baseman Sanchez (the cut-off man) but Sanchez could not handle
the throw and it dribbled away from him. Donaldson scored (he might've
anyway) and Bautista advanced to third on the error. 7-6. Edwin was next and hit a ball that stayed up a little too long, landing in right-fielder Shuck's glove to end the inning. 7-6 Toronto after seven.
So
began the top of the eighth, and John Gibbons decided to hand this
moment of a tight ballgame to Liam Hendriks, one of the bright spots in
what thus far had been a fairly rotten bullpen. Hendriks began by
whiffing Tyler Flowers on three pitches, the last of which was a 97 mph
heater that he missed so badly they were throwing it around the bases
when he finally swung. Next was Carlos Sanchez, who finally notched a
point in his coolness belt by slashing a liner into the left-field
corner for a double. The tying run was in scoring position and the top
of the order was back up. Hendriks jumped ahead of Adam Eaton quickly
1-2, the White Sox centerfielder looking completely overmatched. The
fourth pitch was a slider down in the zone, which Eaton swung at like a
golfer attempting a chip shot, and somehow the bat connected with the
ball and somehow the ball landed softly into right-field.
Colabello came up throwing to the plate and the play was somewhat close,
but Sanchez evaded Thole's swipe tag and was safe, tying the game at 7-7.
The White Sox weren't quite done yet, as Melky Cabrera hit a slow
ground ball to the left of shortstop. Reyes dove on the turf, came up
with the ball but there was no play anywhere. It was an infield single
for Melky, putting Sox on the corners with one out. (For what it's
worth, Reyes likely saved a run here. If that ball gets by him, Eaton
was already rounding third and scores easily). Next was Jose Abreu in a
big spot: him looking for a big single and Hendriks praying to the
disciplines of Our Holy Lord of Ground Ball Double Plays. His prayer
seemed to work: Abreu bounced a high hopper to second base, which Goins
smoothly flipped to Reyes for one. Melky Cabrera's slide nearly took
Reyes out but Jose manged to flip the ball mid leap over to first base.
The throw pulled Edwin to stretch off the bag but he came up with the
bounce, and Abreu was called out. Inning over.
Wait, no it
wasn't. Robin Ventura wanted a challenge, and the replays showed that
Abreu's foot indeed beat the ball hitting Edwin's glove. Had Reyes'
throw been right where Edwin was standing (instead of pulling him to
stretch for it) Abreu would've been out. Instead he was safe, Eaton
scored from third and Chicago had sneaked ahead 8-7. By the way,
that was not the fault of Reyes. Remember he was leaping to avoid Melky
Cabrera's hard slide. Not an easy play whatsoever. Well with new life,
the White Sox kept going. LaRoche singled off Hendriks into right-field,
moving Abreu to third base. Alexei Ramirez then grounded one between
the second and first base hole, scoring Abreu to make it 9-7,
marking the end of Liam Hendriks in this one. Hendriks wasn't sharp, but
nothing was hit that hard and a lot of balls just found holes. Ah, the
life of a relief pitcher. In came Steve Delabar for J.B Shuck, and the
former Delabeard got his man with a groundout to second base. But the
White Sox now had a two run advantage for the sixth lead change of the
game. 9-7 Chicago. Aw shucks.
To the bottom of the
eighth, where Zach Duke (who by the way, turned his career around with
the Reds. Look it up. You did? Well damnit, I stand by what I said) came
on for the Pale Hose. Up first was Chris Colabello (who gave an
interview on MLBtv's Intentional talk you should totally check out) and
he drilled a Duke offering into deep left-field for a leadoff double.
One thing that struck me about this play was how well Melky played it in
left-field. Familiarity with the park could certainly be a factor, but
he genuinely hustled over quickly to get it and fire it back in, even
though it was a certain double for Cola. And he wasn't moving like 2013
Melky either (though that would be alarming for his sake). It makes me
wonder that this isn't a guy who just cashed in on a nice contract and
is content to sail on into the sunset, he just might be in a terrible,
season consuming slump. It's happened to him before: in his dreadful
2010 with the Braves, he posted an OPS of .740, .710 and .813 in May,
June and July respectively. Not great but not completely useless either.
It was April (.508) and September (.543) that did him in then, which is
similar to his current .543 two months in. No, I wouldn't want him back
either, but a lot of that is in retrospect. He's never been this bad for a full season, and I doubt he will be.
Anyhow,
the Blue Jays had started the inning in business. The tying run at the
plate, nobody out with Lefty Nightmareist Danny Valencia up. Duke was
not fazed, retiring both Valencia and Kevin Pillar on groundouts,
pushing Colabello only to third with two out. Gibbons went to his bench,
summoning Russell Martin to bat for Goins. Ventura countered by
bringing in his closer early, David Robertson. The former Yankee had
insanely good numbers to this point, boasting an ERA under a run, a WHIP
right at 0.65 and a K-BB ratio of 29-2! So, swing away Russ. And swing
away he did, but he couldn't square up Robertson, bouncing a ball to the
right side that was handled easily by Sanchez at second. No runs in,
Chicago still led 9-7 after eight.
Steve Delabar came
back out for the ninth and had such an unremarkable inning that I feel
like skipping it. What? Oh fine. He got the bottom of the White Sox in
order (Beckham, Flowers and Sanchez) with a whiff of Flowers for good
measure. All right, to the bottom of the ninth, where the Bluebirds
faced the daunting task of going up against one of the finest closers in
the game. First up was Josh Thole, 2-3 (I know!) so far. Robertson
blasted ahead 0-2, and tried sneaking a curveball by him. It was right
down the middle and Thole turned on it, lining it softly just past
Sanchez into right-field for a single. Thole was now 3-4 (I know!!!).
Next was Reyes, representing the tying run. You might think here: "Thole
on base? Why not pinch run?" Because the only one left on the bench was
Justin Smoak, whom I'm pretty sure has never pinch ran for anybody (Edit: it had never happened before until Wednesday.) Anyhow, Reyes waited
on a 1-1 Robertson cutter and bashed it into right-field, skipping into
the corner. Thole charged hard into second while Reyes stopped at second
base, doing his demonstrative Reyes thing to the Blue Jays dugout. It's
funny how this both why Mets fans loved him and why Blue Jays fans are
irritated by him (Marlins fans, meanwhile, probably barely remember
him).
Well Robertson was in trouble now. Tying runs on base,
nobody out, and three dangerous bats due up in Donaldson, Bautista and
Encarnacion. Not an enviable situation for any pitcher on the planet Earth. Robertson got the count to 1-1, threw a cutter low and over the plate and...
Bam. http://m.mlb.com/video/v132742283/cwstor-donaldson-crushes-a-walkoff-homer-in-9th/?game_pk=414332
FINAL: Toronto 10, Chicago White Sox 9.
That was fun.
Assorted Nonsense
The Curious Case of The Hutch and The Road
Okay, I'll bite. What's the problem?
*all stats as of June 17th
HOME: 2.72 ERA (39.2 IP) 1.034 WHIP, .570 OPS against, 7-37 BB-K ratio
ROAD: 9.46 ERA (32.1 IP) 1.887 WHIP, 1.020 OPS against, 13-25 BB-K ratio.
So basically on the road: he allows way more runs, gives up more baserunners (WHIP), more hard contact (OPS), and gives away more free passes. There! Mystery solved! That cheque for thousands of dollars better be in the mail...
What's The Diff?
Here's another one. The Blue Jays insane run differential is a result of two simple things. They blow out a lot of teams, and they themselves are rarely blown out. That second one is important when you consider this:
April 24: 12-3 to TB
April 11: 7-1 to BAL
May 1: 9-4 to CLE
May 13: 6-1 to BAL
April 26: 5-1 to TB
May 15: 8-4 to HOU
These are the only games so far in 2015 that the Blue Jays have lost by more than 3 runs. By comparison, the insanely good St. Louis Cardinals have only lost five games by more than three runs, one less than the Blue Jays. Being close in ballgames isn't a problem for the Bluebirds. Well, except that they have won fifteen games so far by five runs or more. Those same Cardinals have only done that eight times. What does this mean? Beats me. I don't get paid by the conclusion, dammit!
Redlegs Review
Look everybody, just calm down. Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman aren't appearing in Blue Jay blue tomorrow morning. Nevermind the awkwardness that would come from Cueto wearing another team's laundry when he pitches in the all-star game in Cincinnati, the Reds aren't as buried in the standings as people seem to assume. They're 5.5 out of the NL wildcard, which is significantly closer to the Giants, Cubs and Nationals than the true bottom feeders like Milwaukee or the Phillies. I can think of another team that was five games out of it just a few weeks back. Until that hole gets deeper, Cincinnati is holding on to their stars. Besides, I don't see them trading Chapman anyway. At least not this year.
If we are talking potential Reds trades though, I always wonder why Mike Leake doesn't get any respect. Sure, he doesn't throw that hard or strike out tons of guys, but he's sneaky effective, limits the free passes and pitches a ton of innings. Like Cueto, he's an impending free agent but unlike Cueto, he isn't going to cost an insane prospect haul. I'm an eternal optimist (it's on my business card. Or rather, it is my business card) but even I don't think Cincinnati can re-sign both Cueto and Leake. One of them is probably gonna get dealt, and if the Reds sputter along just under the surface of .500 all year, it'll be Leake.
That's it, that's all! See you next month, which is like a week from now. Slow down, baseball season. Slow down.
As always, you can watch the condensed GotM at mlb.com here: http://m.mlb.com/video/v133238883/52615-condensed-game-cwstor
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20150611195347713