Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Sunday Roundup

The latest news & views from Spring Training.

1. Fordin Notes - Towers discusses his start yesterday, Justin Miller returns to the mound, and much more.

2. Summary of yesterday's loss to the Red Sox.

Here's the Star's summary, with a couple notes thrown in as well.

Here's the Sun Notes. Includes a Rosario mention, a bad wrist for JFG, and a better wrist for Lilly.

3. More on Justin Miller's return and other freak injuries.

4. Notes from the Sun including roster cut downs.

5. Worried about de los Santos not pitching yet? Apparently the Jays aren't.

6. With the Jays playing the Sox yesterday the Jays got some coverage in the Boston Globe. Here's an article about the Jays hopes to stick around and contend this season.

7. It isn't Jays related, or even baseball related, but if any of you are college basketball fans and want to battle fellow Bauxites in the Yahoo Tournament Pick'em feel free to join. The winner will receive admiration and praise from the losers.

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The Jays take on Cliff Lee and the Indians today. Hentgen gets the start. Anyone know if TV and/or radio is available?

Posted by Pistol on Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 09:40 AM EST.

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Pepper Moffatt - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 09:59 AM EST (#76215) #

http://economics.about.com
I'm really busy this weekend, but I just wanted to take a few seconds to thank you for doing the weekend Roundups. I know you had big shoes to fill (size 12 1/2), but you're doing an excellent job. :)

Thanks so much,

Mike

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 10:06 AM EST (#76216) #

That's good news about de los Santos. If Gil Patterson can help him before he ever gets in a game, wonderful. They don't really need Valerio anyway, if you go by that Boston Globe piece, in which Bob Hohler calls Ligtenberg a lefty. By the way, Kerry looked very good yesterday -- still pitching righthanded, he overmatched a couple of hitters with nasty, sweeping sliders.

This interesting tidbit from the end of Ganter's game story:

"That's as good stuff as I've ever seen," Hudson said of Batista.

The thing is, Mike wasn't quoting the O-Dog, who might be expected to gush about a new teammate. That was umpire Marvin Hudson's opinion, after working behind the plate. You don't often hear the men in blue issuing scouting reports, especially raves. Most encouraging.

Kevin Cash, who may have been confused by El Artista's palette of eight different pitches -- he got shaken off a lot -- compared Miguel's stuff to Halladay's. That's high praise, indeed, from the two guys who had the best view.

Pistol - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 12:01 PM EST (#76217) #

I know you had big shoes to fill

Well that explains the blisters.....

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:12 PM EST (#76218) #

Listening to the game on Gameday, wondering why the Toronto feed isn't working though.

Noah Hall strikes out on what was called ball four, Dave Berg makes another quick out, Simon Pond gets ahead in the count 2-0 and hits a ball hard to the outfield but Coco Crisp makes a running catch.

Here comes Pat.

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:25 PM EST (#76219) #

Matt Lawton leads off for the Indians and singles, he's been hitting well this spring (.412). Omar Vizquel next up, hits a grounder down the first base line and ends up at second, Lawton to third.

Brief break as the Indians announcers mock Lilly for his TV injury.

Hentgen falls behind 3-0 to Jody Gerut who just about takes Hentgen deep on that count, but the ball drifts foul. Gerut hits a grounder to third, Howie Clark holds the runners and gets Gerut at first.

Alex Escobar is DHing and steps up. Pat falls behind again 3-1 and eventually walks the bases loaded.

Victor Martinez, switch hitting catcher, is up. Pat starts him off with a strike but then falls behind again 2-1. He's had real trouble spotting his curve if the Indian announcers are to be believed, it also sounds like the umpire's got a small-ish zone. Bases loaded, full count. Base hit, Escobar moves to third and two score after Martinez singles to right.

2-0 Indians. Patterson visits the mound.

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:32 PM EST (#76220) #

Belliard is up, men on first and third, just one out. Hentgen throws a first pitch strike for just the second time if memory serves. Gets Belliard looking. Two away.

Ben Broussard steps up, he's hitting .525 this spring. Pat starts with a ball again and Broussard hits a double. Another run scores, men at second and third now. Rios made a nice play in center to cut the ball off and prevent extra runs from scoring.

Hentgen starts Casey Blake off with a strike and then gets ahead 0-2, hits a bloop over Gomez and two more runs score.

5-0 Tribe. Pat's done. 2/3 IP, five hits, five runs, one k.

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:35 PM EST (#76221) #

Now 5-0, and Hentgen's day is done after eight batters. These things happen in Florida. It's early yet.

There's a radio feed at CJCS in Startford. Someone found it recently and I bookmarked it. Scroll down and click on Real Audio - Listen.

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:36 PM EST (#76222) #

Missed the pitching change because the Toronto feed is now working on gameday.

Turns out The Incredible Chulk is on the mound. Coco Crisp is at the plate, he's the ninth hitter in the inning. Jays pitchers are having trouble with strikes and Coco is walked on five pitches.

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:38 PM EST (#76223) #

Vinny Chulk, probably not expecting to pitch until the third or fourth inning, walked his first guy but got out of it. Tom Cheek called his breaking pitch "slurvy," moving east-to-west.

_StephenT - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:39 PM EST (#76224) #

On GameDay, the sound quality is a lot better on the Indians feed than the Jays feed. The Jays feed, like a week ago, has sudden changes in the background sound level which are very annoying. It also seems scratchier.

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:39 PM EST (#76225) #

I wonder, is Chulk considered the front runner for the last bullpen spot?

Joe - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:44 PM EST (#76226) #

http://me.woot.net
The 'sudden changes in the background sound level' issue happens on the FAN too. My theory is that the audio hardware they're using automatically cranks up the gain when the volume has been low for a while; because of the pace of baseball games, this happens fairly frequently, as the play-by-play guys aren't always talking. Of course, as soon as somebody says something, gain is turned back down to its normal level.

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 01:50 PM EST (#76227) #

I wonder, is Chulk considered the front runner for the last bullpen spot?

Yesterday, Steve Z had Vinny making the team. I'd say Chulk has a very good chance if Lilly begins on the DL, and if he keeps throwing strikes in Florida. He's just walked another hitter; he has to challenge them.

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:06 PM EST (#76228) #

Six straight hits for the Baby Jays (the A team didn't make the trip) including a broken-bat RBI single by Kevin Cash, and Simon Pond kept another rally going. Noah Hall scores on a double-play grounder by Rios, and it's now 5-4.

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:06 PM EST (#76229) #

Thanks Coach, that's what I was assuming.

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:19 PM EST (#76230) #

I'm just guessing, Jack, but I'd say Chulk is #12 for now. Someone else could still step up in that battle. Of course, I'm also campaigning for Simon Pond instead of a 12th pitcher, but that will be a last-minute decision, based on how many arms are 100% healthy and available.

Terry Adams bounced one with runners at second and third -- Jerry Howarth called, "Blocked beautifully by Kevin Cash. He just saved a run."

Rios made a diving catch for the second out, an RBI sac fly. Jerry said he broke back on it, then recovered. 6-4 Tribe.

Adams hit Matt Lawton with a 2-2 pitch. He isn't sharp today. This could be a long afternoon with a football score.

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:25 PM EST (#76231) #

http://bluejays.theinsiders.com/2/242146.html
I tend to agree Coach, I'd like to see Pond on the roster instead of a dozenth arm. Though according to the (comically?) speculative article I just read (comn), Chris Gomez might lose his spot on the roster to Pond.

_R Billie - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:37 PM EST (#76232) #

Although Rios made a good catch to get the out it wasn't before he initially broke the wrong way on the play which cost him an opporunity to prevent the runner tagging and scoring. This is the second time I've noticed Rios break wrong on a ball hit right at him; those are tough to judge but I think it's safe to say that Rios isn't automatically going to replace Vernon in CF.

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:40 PM EST (#76233) #

Chris Gomez might lose his spot on the roster to Pond.

Those are two different jobs, and I'm not sure where he got the idea of Pond at second base. Simon is in right field, where no bad news is good news, and he just hauled in a long fly ball. If Gomez is being pressured by anyone, it's Jorge Sequea.

Jays who apparently didn't ride the bus to Winter Haven today: Delgado, Wells, Phelps, Catalanotto, Johnson, Hinske, Hudson, Woodward and Myers. Cash and Hentgen were the only regulars in the starting lineup.

Rios isn't automatically going to replace Vernon in CF

I'll take 2008 if we have a pool.

_R Billie - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:44 PM EST (#76234) #

I tend to agree Coach, I'd like to see Pond on the roster instead of a dozenth arm. Though according to the (comically?) speculative article I just read (comn), Chris Gomez might lose his spot on the roster to Pond.

This inside article might be useful if Pond actually played second or short. They say Pond is a natural secondbaseman which is odd as he played zero second or short this past year. Considering how much the Jays like offence from the middle infield I doubt they consider Pond anything more than a 3B/1B/OF candidate.

I would agree that Gomez has not shown much and I was surprised he got a major league contract when guys like Clayton and Ordonez signed minor league deals with San Diego. Still it seems a bit silly to call him a failure based on 13 spring at bats.

Sequea on the other hand is a guy who actually could threaten Gomez's position, though he's more of a second baseman than a shortstop.

_Steve Z - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 02:55 PM EST (#76235) #

Leave it up to Gil to make pitchers fielding practice fun! Fordin's latest notes column highlights a couple of points discussed yesterday, including Talley's dwindling chances at heading North, and Hill's impressive big camp debut. (I'm assuming it was a careless misprint that had Noah Hall reassigned yesterday, as Noah's palying against Cleveland today.)

If you had to choose a dinner guest among the current Fighting Jays, who would you pick? Delgado, the "great conversationalist," might be your pick if you're in Florida during the offseason. Aaron Sharockman (St. Petersburg Times) gives us a fine look at Delgado's "modest" lifestyle, while detailing a lesser known part of a ballplayer's life: real estate.

Gitz - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 03:01 PM EST (#76236) #

Steve, you can be re-assigned to the minor-league camp but still be used in the big-league games. The good news for the player in that situation? He gets the major-league per diem. Of course, they'll still end up going to Hooters, no matter how much money they have.

Craig B - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 03:05 PM EST (#76237) #

The story from the St. Pete Times on ballplayers' spring training houses had one laugh-out-loud moment... Carlos Delgado heading over for a three-hour dinner with neighhbours Art and Judy Auster. I'm pissing myself laughing because (knowing Delgado's house is in a relatively modest subdivision of mostly retirees) the image I get is of Delgado sitting down to dinner with Morty and Helen Seinfeld.

_Steve Z - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 03:15 PM EST (#76238) #

Gitz, you're right, but the fact that one article had "Hill and Whittaker" and the other had "Hall and Whittaker," with none of the local scribes mentioning Hall at all, I'm assuming it was a misprint. And newly acquired NRIs usually get the whole big league camp to show their stuff, but who knows? Hall hasn't spent a day in AAA yet, so even if he posts some unbelievable spring numbers, he'd be starting the year in the minors.

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 03:22 PM EST (#76239) #

Bob File was even better than Chulk today: six up, six down. It's the first time since J.P. took over with competition like this, in the bullpen and at the end of the bench, where today's 3B Howie Clark remains in the mix.

Jason Arnold pitching, Chiaffredo behind the plate. "A good live fastball," according to Howarth, struck out the first batter. His changeup was also working well; Phillips grounded weakly to third. But Sizemore lined a two-out triple off an 0-2 pitch, and Arnold walked Michael Aubrey. The Jays then botched a rundown, allowing the seventh Cleveland run to score. Another walk and a punch-out concluded an eventful inning.

_Matthew E - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 03:28 PM EST (#76240) #

I know Kevin Cash has a good defensive reputation.

Can anyone corroborate this reputation with either numbers or personal observation? Because it seems to me, anecdotally, that he's made a lot of misplays in games I've seen/heard him play in.

Craig B - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 04:00 PM EST (#76241) #

Matthew, I think the best way to see Cash is as a catcher with great defensive *tools*. He doesn't have a whole lot of catching experience yet (he wasn't a catcher in college), so he's still pretty far away from where a real, experienced major-league catcher is. He's got the talent, though.

_Steve Z - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 04:01 PM EST (#76242) #

Jays lose 7-4. According to Wilner, Pond's foul ball (which Tosca argued) should have been a game-tying homerun. Eye-witness accounts had the ball hitting the foul pole. Apparently the umps aren't in game shape yet either...

Coach - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 04:10 PM EST (#76243) #

Wilner also called McGowan, who faces the Cubs tomorrow, "the next great starting pitcher for the Blue Jays."

Terry Adams reported that his elbow felt fine after his 28-pitch inning, and saw it as a positive that he got to work in so many different game situations.

Craig, that's a good summary of Cash. Very quick feet help him on bunts and chops in front of the plate, and with his release. He has a strong, accurate arm, not a breathtaking "cannon," and blocks pitches well. Without exception, the pitchers love throwing to him. Improvement in the mental part of catching comes only with experience; Kevin seems like an apt student.

_Steve Z - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 04:57 PM EST (#76244) #

Did anyone catch CityTV's MediaTelevision last night? They featured the Jays creative spots from last year and previewed some 2004 commercials. One of the commercials has O-Dog making a smoothie in a blender, opening up his freezer to find a collection of bobbleheads (Yanks, Sox, etc., I assume), picks one out, and adds it to the mix, before chopping it all up and drinking it. Another ad has an anthem singer speeding through 'O Canada' (he does the whole thing in about 15 seconds) so he can rush off the field to watch the Jays play. Has anyone seen any of the commercials yet? For a good laugh, take a look at last year's out-takes (at the bottom of the page)!

_Robbie Goldberg - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 05:00 PM EST (#76245) #

Though I don't have a BA membership, I thought it was interesting that the Globe and Mail's Jeff Blair has an article on their front page...

_Scott - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 06:56 PM EST (#76246) #

For what its worth, NYY have shut down Leiber for the rest of the spring after he reinjured his groin in his start yesterday.

The Bosox have also shut down Kim for the remainder of spring with a "muscle imbalance" which is causing pain in his shoulder.

_Robbie Goldberg - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 08:38 PM EST (#76247) #

They featured the Jays creative spots from last year and previewed some 2004 commercials.

I don't particularly like those commercials to be honest, but one in particular that I really did like was one where Halladay is walking down a beach shore skipping rocks on the sea. At the end you see a big, metallic boat that is hit by one of the rocks. The boat sinks and the caption "You gotta see these guys play" follows. Anyone else see it? I think it's my favorite yet...

_JackFoley - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 08:44 PM EST (#76248) #

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-yankees-lieberout&prov=ap&type=lgns
Lieber is shut down indefinately and Ozzy Osbourne is the new fifth starter for the Yankees. He's a southpaw. COMN.

_Jonny German - Sunday, March 14 2004 @ 10:16 PM EST (#76249) #

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/teams/player_bio.asp?player_id=837&hubname=-
COMN: How funny is it that the Yankees new #5 starter is a 34-year-old who has thrown 16 innings since 1999? Now THAT is a serious lack of depth! The Empire is crumbling!

_coliver - Monday, March 15 2004 @ 07:44 AM EST (#76250) #

Howie Clark had not played much this spring (2 for 7 in 3 games). Is he nursing an injury? Is he at risk of not making the opening day roster?

_Mick - Monday, March 15 2004 @ 10:07 AM EST (#76251) #

The Yankees' fifth starter, unless I miss my guess, is Orlando Hernandez.

_Jonny German - Monday, March 15 2004 @ 11:25 AM EST (#76252) #

Would that be Orlando "Out until June with shoulder issues" Hernandez?

Pistol - Monday, March 15 2004 @ 04:59 PM EST (#76253) #

A reminder for you college hoops fans (and even if you're not!):

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A link is in the initial post. The more the merrier.

Sunday Roundup - Bracket Edition | 39 comments | Create New Account

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