Incidentally, I'll make a nice scapegoat in case of a loss. The Jays so far have done well when I've been able to pay attention (Minnesota series) and poorly when I haven't (most of the Yankees series). Tonight is another night at work (where I'm posting this right now) so I will be stuck with occasional score updates only.

http://economics.about.com
Has anyone got the MLB Gameday Audio to work? Every time I think I've solved the problem, a new one crops up. MLB keeps trying to tell me that I haven't subscribed to the service, although Real.com shows that I definately have. Although I can access my account on Real.com which shows I've paid for it, you can't access MLB Gameday Audio from Real.com.

What a bloody mess. Can Selig do *anything* right?

MP

I think an integral part of every game thread is for someone to post a working audio link to the game. I tried the Fan590 but they are playing the Raptors game. Ughh, the most unappealling part of basketball gets amplified over radio--nonstop sneaker squeaking.

http://economics.about.com
MLB is supposed to be blacking out any internet radio links, so I imagine those threads will stop.

I guess I'll have to listen to the Rochester Red Wings games. If it weren't for AAA baseball, I don't know how I'd live here.

MP

Other than the radio link, I'm curious as to what internet gamecast people prefer? I used to use ESPN but it seems buggy. I'm now using cbs.sportsline.com for my live gamecasts but it is not without faults either. What does everyone else use?

mlb.com
i like it.

http://economics.about.com
Uh Oh.. The Bo-Sox have out their first of seven closers.

MP

Now that the administrative side has been dealt with, someone should post something about the game. It looks like the Jays have chased Derek Lowe and will give the much publicized 'committee' another chance to right itself. Derek Lowe throws 104 pitches over 5 1/3 innings--decent plate patience by the Jays today.

http://economics.about.com
Tosca seems to love Pete Walker.. but where is the love for Aquilino?

Another homerun for Delgado, off the left-handed Alan Embree. Where are all the "Delgado should sit versus lefties" posts now?

Working from ESPN's gamecast at the moment...it's the bottom of the 7th. The Sox scored first off Mark Hendrickson in the 3rd on a two-run double by Todd Walker; the Jays came right back with two of their own on a bases-loaded single by Delgado. Lurch gave the lead right back again by allowing a two-run blast by Kevin Millar, but once again his batters bailed him out, on a Greg Myers solo shot and a Chris Woodward run-scoring triple. The Jays then went ahead 5-4 in the 6th when Woodward doubled in Hudson. Hendrickson got through 6 2/3 before yielding to Walker, who retired Nomar with a runner on third.

And wonder of wonders, in the bottom of the 7th inning, Vernon Wells walked -- on four pitches. Next up: Carlos. Boom! 7-4 Jays.

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Sample size, sample size.

Delgado shouldn't sit against (almost) anyone. Who is going to take his place in the lineup.. Dave Berg?

I guess the Red Sox brought in the wrong closer. Maybe they should trade for Escobar.

Wells looks a bit more patient this year.. so I decided to look up his pitches/PA stats on ESPN. He might have become more patient, but remember.. sample size!

2001 3.29
2002 3.42
2003 3.54

If this trend continues, Wells could really put together a monster year.. and sooner than a lot of us think.

MP

I need to post these things faster....

The Jays knocked around arguably the best pitcher in the AL in 2002 tonight. That has got to be good for their collective confidence, especially at home. Now we'll see how the pen fares.

Oh yeah...Delgado's HR was to left-center. That should make opposing pitchers verrrry nervous.

I have to admit. I started the last round of 'Delgado should sit against lefties' posts. I still think that when they play in NL parks and they face a lefty, they should put Phelps at first and keep Delgado on the bench.

Cliff Politte pitching the 8th....a Ramirez single and a Hillenbrand double around a pair of outs left Cliffy facing pinch-hitter Trot Nixon. Regardless of the outcome, take it as a good sign that Tosca didn't reflexively go to his bullpen again for Creek. Politte is the setup guy and should be facing all but the toughest (or most susceptible to southpaws) of lefty hitters in the 8th. I hate the three-reliever inning and always have.

Nixon drew a walk, but Politte K'ed Jason Varitek with the sacks drunk. That's the good news. The bad: Escobar will face Damon-Walker-Nomar in the 9th.

Politte had a rough half-inning, but he got the K when he really needed it, more proof that his good success last season was no fluke. I'm sure JP et al. will be quite grateful when Escobar's salary is off the books. In the short term, I'll be grateful if Escobar doesn't blow the save.

http://economics.about.com
Well, it looks like it's no longer a save situation. Does Tosca go to Escobar, Tam, Lopez, or someone else?

MP

No save situation tonight....Stewart's sac fly brought the O-Dawg home from third, with Woodward still at first with one out. Bobby Howry doesn't appear to be the answer to Boston's current bullpen woes.

Cat flied out to centre, and Vernon struck out on a 3-2 pitch. It's possible Tosca will leave Politte in to pitch the 9th.

I don't mind giving Escobar regular work, but I would've gone to Aquilino.

It wouldn't even have bruised Kelvim's ego. That said, Escobar has pretty good stuff tonight. Thank you, MLB.TV!

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I can't really fault the decision to go to Escobar.. it's likely he was already warming up anyway. Plus Politte might be able to pitch tomorrow since he only pitched one inning tonight.

I have a feeling one of the next two games will end up being lopsided, so we'll see Lopez then.

MP

Has anyone got the MLB Gameday Audio to work?

Yes. I paid a week ago. I listened to Tom & Jerry's Friday broadcast vs. the Twins, and tonight I listened to the Red Sox pre-game show. (Now I'm watching the NESN broadcast on Rogers' MLB Extra Innings. Very nice broadcast by Orsillo & Remy. NESN isn't afraid to show all the empty seats in the dome tonight.)

Software I'm using: Microsoft Windows XP 5.1.2600, Internet Explorer 6.0, RealOne Player 6.0.10.505.

Nope...it' s Kelvim time. Hang on to your hats.

Damon...struck out on three pitches
Walker...grounded to shortstop on a 2-2 pitch
Garciaparra...infield single on first pitch
Ramirez...singled to center, Nomar to 2nd...sheesh
Millar...retired the side, finally.

Escobar is doing his best to allow the tying run to come to the plate. Did I mention something about a blown save? Silly me.

http://economics.about.com
Can you log into a game, and send me the URL? I want to see if I can get it to work straight from RealOne.

Someone on rec.sport.baseball suggested a fix, but it doesn't seem to work yet. I guess I'll keep trying.

I wonder what direction Mike Ulmer would say Baseball North is headed now. FOUR IN A ROW!

Of course, only a handful of us will notice until the Leafs season is over.

MP

Apparently I have little faith in Escobar, who managed to end the game with the victory intact. At least I never get disappointed...

Mmmm, nothing like hurting my BBFL team in WHIP without the added benefit of a save. Curse you Bobby Howry!

The story of the game tonight, with apologies to Carlos and his four-RBI night, is Hendrickson. He battled tough against one of the meanest lineups in the major leagues, and after twice surrendering leads, he clamped down until the 7th. Going 6 2/3 innings is especially promising: Tosca wasn't afraid to run him out there for the 7th (though admittedly, it helped that there were two lefties due up), and Hendrickson answered by keeping the Sox at bay. Kudos also to Pete Walker for a clutch performance in relief.

This is now four straight solid starts by the rotation, and it's rapidly becoming apparent that if the pitching staff holds the opposition to somewhere in the vicinity of four runs, the Jays have a very good shot at a victory.

At least Bobby Howry didn't directly hurt your WHIP for his 4th consecutive outing.... I was one day late on dumping him for Villarreal; so now I miss out on Villarreal's start tonight too. This is why 20-year olds (whose name isn't Aaron Gleeman), with no experience above A-ball shouldn't be managing big-league fantasy teams.

http://economics.about.com
You have A-ball experience?

I never made it out of highschool baseball wise. And I was lousy back then too. All I have to show for it is one severely messed up rotator-cuff.

MP

Can you log into a game, and send me the URL?

Start page:

http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/audio/mlb_gameday_audio.jsp

Go to April 4 archive, which is here:

http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/audio/gda_2003/index.jsp?c_id=mlb&ymd=20030404

Click on the FAN link for the Jays broadcast and it takes me here:

https://secure.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mediaplayer/index.jsp?pid=mlb_ga&SKU=MLBGASEA0001&SKU=TEAMGASEA&SKU=MLBTT0009&SKU=TEAMTT&SKU=MLBBRB0001

Then I have to enter my email address and password, click Login, then RealPlayer comes up and plays (no URL is shown for that).

The only difference from spring training is that I didn't have to go through the password step in the pre-season.

MP,
No,no... it was just a joke, about a young player being rushed up to the majors. I played up until AAA midget, and my shining moment was doubling off of the current UBC closer (not quite Jeff Francis, but that's ok).

Best game of the year. My seats weren't bad:



That's Lurch dealing to David Ortiz, who became the target of great derision by the fans for the rest of the evening after smashing something in the dugout following his first AB. Notice I said fans, not crowd. Attendance was announced at 13,147, but at least half of them were well-disguised as empty seats, and boy, was it quiet early. The loudest response came between innings when Jim Van Horne did a live Sportsnet update on the JumboTron and uttered the words "Toronto Maple Leafs" and "playoffs."



The scoreboard begged for noise, but it was almost silent until Carlos Delgado, who had himself quite a night, tied the score with a vicious single up the middle to cash Stew and Cat, the OBP machines who had started the rally with 2-out walks. The Jays had kicked it around a little behind Hendrickson in the top of the third; first Wells got a bad read on a shallow fly that fell into no man's land, then Woodward missed a playable ground ball that was somehow scored a hit, and changed to an E-6 only about two innings later. Next, O-Dog failed to make a good throw on two consecutive double-play chances. Fortunately, Hinske (who is coming around with the bat and the glove) made a superb play on a slow roller to get his pitcher out of the inning down by just a pair.

Home plate umpire Eric Cooper had a brutal night. His partner at first base, Tim Timmons, wasn't much better. Cooper called Chris Woodward out at the plate (Damon did make a great throw) to end the fourth, but Woody knocked the ball out of Varitek's hands, and the ump either missed that, or didn't notice Woody touching the plate as he ran into the catcher. I was surprised when the ensuing argument was so civil and short-lived; perhaps Cooper defused Tosca by admitting he blew it. Catalanotto almost got the thumb for arguing another of the ump's terrible decisions on a called third strike.



Cooper and Timmons also conspired to ring up Josh Phelps on a questionable checked swing, and Timmons missed a couple of plays at first. But who's complaining? Delgado, though he did have one brain cramp, failing to cover his bag on a tapper he thought was foul but Hendrickson fielded, made a couple of great diving stops and absolutely crushed a laser to left-centre for the insurance runs. Showing he forgives the boors (booers?) who were so impatient with him against the Yankees, Carlos flashed a movie-star wink to our section after his dramatic tater.

Have I mentioned that Greg Myers is, and deserves to be, the Jays #1 catcher? What a great game by the veteran. He homered on the pitch pictured below, hit two other rockets right at defenders, and called a superb game, handling Cliff Politte beautifully through the game's critical at-bat, a bases-loaded whiff of Jason Varitek, who represented the tying run. There had been a meeting on the mound in which it was decided to give pinch-hitter Trot Nixon a pseudo-quasi-intentional pass with first base open, and after Politte got ahead of Varitek 0-2, Myers called two high heaters that just missed, but perfectly set up the decisive slider.



There was more to like. Kelvim Escobar had filthy stuff against Damon and Walker; Nomar guessed first-pitch fastball and got an infield hit, Manny got his second cheap hit of the night on a broken-bat bleeder, then the dangerous Kevin Millar, who crushed Hendrickson's only mistake of the night for a 2-run shot, was no match for the closer -- in a non-save situation!

The small gathering warmed to a terrific game, and gave Hendrickson a deserved ovation when he left in the seventh. We got a modest tip of the cap from Lurch in return. Pete Walker popped up Nomar to preserve the lefty's lead. Chris Woodward had an electric bat all night. O-Dog scored 3 runs and showed great hang time to spear a Bill Mueller liner. Hinske made an excellent catch on a tough foul pop, followed by a 180-foot strike to the plate to keep the runner at third.

Tomorrow is Boston's best chance to salvage a game in this series, as the lefty Fossum will face the Jays' platoon lineup, but I don't give the BoSox much of a chance with a mediocre righty going in the finale against Halladay. Their bullpen committee is as bad as advertised; Alan Embree is not the same pitcher he was in 2002, and Bob Howry wasn't fooling anyone.

And as if I didn't have enough fun just being there, I'm thrilled to report that Jays pitching coach Gil Patterson has agreed to an exclusive Batter's Box interview in the near future.

Coach, that's amazing news about Gil. Good job!

I've been saying from the start that Myers adds little to this team since the Jays are so committed to carrying Huckaby for some reason and there is little value in 3 catchers blah blah infinity blah⁹⁹⁹. Now that I've seen Myers in person, I realize that he's in great shape and I won't be as vocally negative. That said, the words "hot streak" do come to mind and if Myers hits even 250 on the season, count us all lucky.

You can get every single Blue Jay game (audio) on either

a) www.fan590.com

and if not there (for Raptors etc.)

b) www.610cktb.com

Free of course.

Chris

Someone refresh my memory - would a Myers-Wilson platoon work, from a logistical standpoint? ie, does Myers tattoo lefties and Wilson righties, or vice versa? I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think I should get the facts before I start loudly demanding it.

Great game tonight, I'm officially jumping back on the Hendrickson bandwagon after my negative comments last week. And I was always on the Delgado bandwagon - I want to see another season like 2000, not necessarily because it's good for the team (though it wouldnt hurt) but because I'm sick of him taking crap.

Standard caveat applies (I know it's early but...)
Does Delgado not look more like the 2000 (344/470/664) vintage than 2001-2002 (279/408/540-277/406/549)?
I.E. Power shots to straight away and LF, Liners up the middle.

I'm not saying that he's going to hit .344 again but I like the way he's been not trying to pull as much as the last couple of years (it seems to me).

If I recall correctly, however, Carlos carried something like a 1500 OPS into the middle of the second week last season. Truly, 7 games means nothing. We know what Carlos is already. We just need to see him put it all together again.

I was at the game last night as well...similar vantage point as Coach except up several decks in the 500 level. The defence really collapsed in the third. Hendrickson should not have allowed any runs as a shallow flyball fell in for a "double" after Wells initially broke the wrong way, Woodward blew it on a sinking liner, and the Jays somehow muffed up two consecutive tailor-made double play balls. Making even one of those plays would have gotten Lurch out of the inning without being scored upon.

That said Boston had a number of cheap hits. Of the number of doubles they had, a couple were off the well-placed bloop variety and another would have been a single if it hadn't been Johnny Damon running. They also had a couple of infield hits. The first two runs scored on a "double" which was really a single that Stewart tried to charge and make a play on but it ended up kicking off his body and rolling to foul territory. Which was probably better than the ball getting by him completely.

Seeing Eric make such a strong throw from deep foul territory all the way to the plate I'm amazed his throws to first are ever offline. Of course the real problem is his footwork...he just isn't quick at setting his feet and throwing in one motion. There's always the crowhop/double clutch.

I was amazed that Hendrickson lasted 6 and 2 thirds with only 101 pitches used. He really did deserve that applause because it looked like the BoSox were going to wear him out but he hung tough. Boston mounted an attack against Politte and Delgado's insurance homerun ended up meaning quite a lot because even with the extra padding the inning was quite nervous once the bases were loaded and there was no place to put Varitek. Heck, seeing Myers jump out to talk to Politte now and then made ME feel better and I was just watching.

The Sox didn't get to Kelvim as much as the boxscore would suggest. And infield hit and a fisted looper to center with two outs and then a popup to end it. Esco seems to be over that forgetable first appearance. All in all a great game to attend.

Thanks, R Billie, awesome stuff.

I saw the Stewart play on the highlights and it looked to me like he had a decent chance at it. With Stewart's arm, he's not a sure thing to get the runner at the plate with two out even though it's a very shallow hit. I'd say if he had a 30% chance of making that catch he should probably do it... given that it would be the third out, and that the batter could wind up at second on the throw to the plate if the throw didn't nail the runner.

Great game analysis - this BLOG is like coming home. Not that we're overt homers, but the critical positiveness (?) is refreshing.

My 2 cents: I watched the game from a room in the hotel (right-centre) ... my boss is in from out of town and copped a field-view room no extra charge. Very interesting perspective - a little far, to be sure, but no worse than many of the regular seats - and a bathroom ten steps away is a luxury any beer drinker has to love (and real beer, too!).

My only observations are:
- Delgado's homer was a laser - I barely had time to leap out of my chair before that bullet screamed over the wall ... wow!
- I don't remember the exact inning (a few too many beers), but Phelps (?) was called out at first to end an inning (and a rally) and I could tell from MY lofty perch he was safe - terrible call. Terrible.

Quite enjoyable.

Oh - the Real Player MLB.com subscription. I too had difficulties - I was stuck in Sudbury with no access to Headline Sports for the Sunday season opener, and I could NOT get MLB.com to stream the audio - all I could get were Hewlett-Packard adverts and program errors. I resolved the problem by uninstalling the RealOne player, rebooting, and downloading a fresh copy and installing that - it has worked perfectly ever since. And don't forget to "log in" - the GameDayAudio site is a little less clear than last year - I seem to remember the site automatically taking me to the login page, this year it's an option in small letters near the top centre.

(I run Windows 2000 Pro, SP 3, IE 6 SP2)

I saw a couple of innings of last nights game on extra innings. Hendrickson was really fighting his control. Myers said as much in the post game comments on Global last night. In the paper today Hendrickson said that he had better stuff against the Yankees.

Bottom line: Hendrickson is still fighting to develop a consistent, replicable delivery. He will likely have some ups and downs through the year as he works on this.

Did anybody else at the game notice the brain freeze the P.A. announcer kept having? "Coaching Third Base....(long pause, checking the papers...) Brian Butterfield..."
He also called Bill Mueller "Bill Muller" for his first at bat.
And once, it took him a long time to say "Boston Red Sox", as if he couldn't quite remember who the opponent was.

For me, the best thing about last night's game was the opportunity to watch NESN on MLB.TV. I love how Jerry Remy says "Nomah" or "Kevin Mill-AHH."

Oh I forgot about the play at the plate...the flyball was fairly shallow left-centre and it was easy to tell there would be a play at the plate even if the throw was a bit offline. But I guess the Jays decided to put the pressure on the Sox defence. The throw was right on the money and Woodward was out by a mile...but after colliding with Varitek the ball popped loose. The umpire still called him out claiming he missed homeplate.

From my view directly overlooking homeplate it seemed clear that Woodward HAD crossed home but the umpire was in the worst possible position to make that call...he wasn't at an angle where he could see Woodward's foot touching the plate through Varitek. And that could have been a pivotal play had the Jays not added more off Embree.

Delgado's bomb was eye opening but so was Myers'...who knew he still had that kind of power to left-centre? I mean that ball was way out off the back of the bullpen wall. It came at a great time too because the Jays had just gone down 4-2 and ended up coming back to tie it at four that same inning (which ended with Woodward being out at home).

Hendrickson was really fighting his control.

Mark looked hesitant at times with the fastball, spotting it very carefully, but appeared much more confident with his breaking stuff, which he could throw for a called strike or get them to chase low. Any lefty who faces Nomar-Manny-Millar-Hillenbrand three times shouldn't expect to emerge unscathed, but he won plenty of those battles. Ramirez' three hits included a broken-bat dribbler and an end-of-the-bat bloop. (Manny also demonstrated his woeful lack of range in LF, and jogged around the bases at a pace that makes Delgado look like Maury Wills.)

From Baseball America.....

Blue Jays top prospect Dustin McGowan suffered the loss yesterday, going five strong innings and allowing two runs. His record dropped to 1-1, 1.80 after tossing seven one-hit innings in his Opening Day start when he was 93-97 mph with his fastball.

The beautiful thing about this site is the variety of opinions and approaches we get... I rarely get a chance to watch the game, I have twin 5-month olds and they take up my evenings, pretty much. (Their anti-sports mother doesn't help, either). So, I'm the stats-devouring kind of fan. Others who post here are people who go to games, or watch on tv, or a mix of all of the above. Some know how to tell if a pitcher has a hitch in his delivery, others are just casual fans. I personally couldn't tell a picture-perfect delivery from Mitch Williams.

So... good job, everyone! Keep it up.

Delgado's bomb was eye opening but so was Myers'...who knew he still had that kind of power to left-centre?

Ahem.

Myers led the AL with 3 pinch HR last year, and clubbed 6 in just 144 AB. The year before that he smacked 11 out in 161 AB. I've been saying since he was signed (despite considerable doubt around here) that given the opportunity, Greg would have a career year. He is in fantastic shape for 37, and although Spicol may be right about him eventually hitting .250, his OBP will be (as usual) about 100 points higher than his average; he's a classic J.P. walks-and-power platoon guy.

Oh I didn't doubt Myers had power or would do decently (especially compared to Huck). But I remember him being more of a dead pull hitter...I was impressed by his opposite field power. I certainly have much more confidence with Myers hitting than with Huckaby or even Wilson.

I wasn'r raggin' on you, Billie, just (risking a torn labrum) patting myself on the back.

Could Myers' new-found ability to use the entire field (no handy stats here, but I guarantee that more than half of his balls-in-play have been to the left side) mean that he's paid attention to Mike Barnett for the last several weeks? The hitting coach must be a very popular guy right now, as the Jays are averaging just over six runs a game.

I still can't really believe that I picked Myers as high as I did in BBFL, but so far he's been a pretty decent backup catcher for me. Now if I could only get some saves...