The resting of Phelps is really starting to bug me now. If the jays are trying to compete in the future give at bats to one of best young hitters that needs the experience. ARGHHHHH.
With Delgado DHing its the perfect time to give him experience at 1b aswell, so what if an error costs the team a game once, he will learn from the mistakes.

I sure hope Bordick plays another year...for the Jays. Watching him compute the speed and direction of Guillen's fourth inning-ending ground ball, taking that tight little arc to ball which squared him up for the quick release. Man, what a clinic!

If anybody is watching the game, how was that Ellis stolen base? I mean against a southpaw and Cash...

Deep apologies to Box readers and staff alike for the lack of Advance Scoutage this weekend. Contrary to the boasts of Con Edison, Mayor Bloomberg et al., only just now do I have my power back. Thanks to an incredibly kind soul in Hoboken, I was able to get out of the city and sleep in air-conditioned comfort last night.

And I missed two big victories for the Jays!

If anybody is watching the game, how was that Ellis stolen base? I mean against a southpaw and Cash...


Cash didn't even bother to throw. I think that was the second one in the game like that. The AL is going to start to run at will against at least Hendrickson and Escobar if this type of thing continues.

Hudson just took a Dave Berg line drive off the right wrist, and has been taken out of the game. Good news for the Jays, bad news for fans watching at home. Since settling down after the 2nd, Hudson was throwing at least 4 different pitches for strikes and was completely dominating Jays batting. I think he threw one straight fastball all game (inside to Delgado in the 2nd).

Thank you Gid...

It's difficult to know how many of Tosca's decisions are simply a case of him toeing the company line and how many are his own idea.

While Ricciardi is probably not overly concerned over Tosca's desire to use 5 relievers a game, I cannot fathom that he supports the continued invisibility of Josh Phelps. This is now the second time Phelps has sat so that Berg could play (unless Phelps was hurt and I didn't hear about it).

Is it even imaginable that Ricciardi would defend the continued benching of Phelps? If not, shouldn't he be pulling rank on Tosca and reminding him which players exactly figure into the team's future and which don't?

It is also difficult to know what Ricciardi thinks too. Like you, I can't imagine why he'd let Phelps rot on the bench, but then I can't imagine why he'd pay a whack of money to Doug Creek. Ricciardi is capable of doing the unimaginable. We have a tendency to blame Tosca for all of the bad decisions and give Ricciardi a free pass (maybe rightly, I don't know). Most of the stuff that Ricciardi does seems pretty damn smart, but in the case of the benching of Josh Phelps...? Who makes the policy there? I don't know.

Call it the Billy Beane effect (or if you prefer the Long/Hatteberg effect) where we are reluctant to believe that an intelligent man could ever do something stupid.

However, when all is said and done, I still blame Tosca! :-)

Call it the Billy Beane effect (or if you prefer the Long/Hatteberg effect) where we are reluctant to believe that an intelligent man could ever do something stupid.

Beane worshippers aren't merely reluctant to admit he's made some mistakes, they go out of their way to prove he "knows something we don't." It's spurious to assume that Beane, as a Resident Genius, "knows something we don't" about Hatteberg, Long, Singleton, or Mark Johnson that is vastly different than what the numbers (important) and anectodal evidence -- i.e scouting (just as important) -- suggest, if not scream, in the case of those four. But what's the big deal? We can call Beane one of the best GMs-- if the not the best -- in the league while simultaneously admitting he's human.

Was it just me, or was the Fan 590 out of operation yesterday? I tried to tune in the game on radio, and got nothing but silence.

we are reluctant to believe that an intelligent man could ever do something stupid

As a reasonably intelligent man who has done countless stupid things, this made me laugh. The lovely Mrs. Coach was initially reluctant to believe it, too. Now, she settles for sporadic wisdom, punctuated by occasional foolishness.

What puzzles me is why anyone would have such unrealistic expectations for a GM. If you make a hundred personnel decisions (this is just as true in fantasy baseball as real baseball) some will work out perfectly, others will be disappointing because of unforeseen circumstances, and even if you're smart, a few will turn out to be blunders. If you must judge Beane and Ricciardi against their peers, use the equivalent of OPS -- the number of moves that work, with extra credit for the brilliant ones. Holding them to standards of perfection is like trashing Barry Bonds for striking out twice a week.

Was it just me, or was the Fan 590 out of operation yesterday?

Could have been one of those mass hallucinations, Dave. I was listening when they went off the air in mid-afternoon. That wasn't a big deal, as we're all subject to power interruptions these days, but the duration was surprising.

I missed quite a bit of yesterday's game, but saw enough of the early innings to have concluded it was "one of those days" when you're just not going to win. Getting the tying run to the plate was an impressive comeback by the Jays, even though it fell short.

Checking out the local papers this morning, Escobar's agent is meeting with JP this week to work on getting a contract worked out. Escobar in the past has stated that he wants at least 3 years, but was quoted yesterday that he wants to stay in Toronto and that he'd accept 2 years.

I would guess they'll end up at 2 years for $10 million, with a team option for $7 million in 2006.

I'm headed to Norwich this afternoon to catch the Ravens. Yesterday was rained out so today will be a doubleheader with McGowan and Bush starting. Not too bad.

Game reports Pistol! Enjoy yourself.