Remember last year? When Vernon Wells would hit the ball hard every at-bat? That was awesome!

The Tigers did pounce on every mistake opening day, but I thought Doc pitched great in Boston. His only mistake was throwing that curve to Ortiz down the middle; if it catches either corner, it's an out. The pitch to Bellhorn was actually high and tight -- he fought it off more than crushing it, and it would have been caught in any other park, but Pesky's Pole came into play.

I'm not worried at all about Halladay. I'll feel better when Hudson, Woodward, Johnson and especially Delgado are above the Mendoza line; today is a perfect time to get those bats started.

Radio for today?

590? 610?

Sounds like its on 590.

Robert:

What do you make you Ligtenberg's extreme ROOGY tendencies last year? Clearly you have faith in his abilities to get lefties out, or why support Tosca's move on Sunday to bring Kerry out to close the game with two lefties* due, and two more waiting?

*Lefties and switchies, that is.

Johnson tries to bunt for a hit, and is tagged out by Pena as he dove to avoid the play.

Cat grounds out to Pena.

I didn't know Johnson missed his last spring start with a blister on his finger. It didn't seem to affect him adversely.

Wells grounds to Munson, hits him in the chest. He barehands it and hurries his throw, pulling Carlos off the bag and Vernon beats it out.

Delgado walks on 4 pitches.

Phelps grounds to Guillen, who throws him out easily.

0-0 after half an inning.

Sanchez singles, but Vina grounds into a DP and Doc escapes the inning without harm.

Five pitch inning for the DOC--no one can do it better.

5 points to anyone who gets the early 90s rap reference.

How long do the Jays give Johnson before considering bringing up one of the kids?

It's Carly Simon, right?

http://economics.about.com
Why no love for Reed? He's struggling a bit, but he's got a higher OPS than either Wells or Delgado.

2 ip. 0 h.

This is JASON JOHNSON fer Chrissakes! I was at the opener and I could not believe how good they were making him look then -- I think Tosca needs to remind the boys that spring training really is, like, over.

A terrible approach to the AB by Woodward. The Jays have now struggled in two straight starts against him. However, to Woodward's AB they had made Johnson throw 36 pitches in an inning and two-thirds. To fly out on the first pitch is a poor approach in the circumstances. It's actually symptomatic of a much larger poor approach to hitting that I've seen over the first 8 games.

5 points to anyone who gets the early 90s rap reference

It was F*&% Your %$# by the F*&^ing A%$#@!@s

The Jays haven't been swinging the bats well or executing a game plan at the plate much at all. But I think you have to give some credit to Jason Johnson too...he was hitting 93 consistently on opening day and spotting his fastball well. I don't remember him throwing that hard in the past. It's possible that the insulin pump he wears now during the game is giving him a boost to his energy.

The Jays have also been just plain unlucky. They've put a lot of well hit balls in play which have found gloves, particularly drives to the outfield.

Now Johnson leads off the third with a single and Cat rocks one off the left-centerfield wall and drives home Reed. 1-0 Jays.

Reed singles. Cat doubles to deep left, off the top of the fence, and Reed scores.

Vernon singles past the outstretched glove of Guillen. Cat rounds third and goes for home. He slides and beats the throw and Wells takes second.

2-0 Jays, none out and Wells on second.

Case in point...Delgado just drove a ball into the glove of the leftfielder. Before that Wells singled home Cat and went to second on the throw to make it 2-0.

Cristian - finally a song reference I get (sorry Moffatt, my vault of musical knowledge pretty much begins with in the 90s). That would be Dr. Dre in the hip hop classic "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" off his 1992 Chronic album. And you're right, no one can do the 5 pitch inning quite like Doc. We need to get a Baseball North ad with Halladay retiring the side and Cash turning to the retired batter saying "Welcome to D-O-C bitch!" (A play on the line from the the O.C. on Fox).

Eric Munson is a HORRIBLE third baseman.

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
How long do the Jays give Johnson before considering bringing up one of the kids?

How long to the Jays give Delgado before they bring up one of the kids?

I think its a very good sign from Delgado's AB that he drove the ball with some authority to left.

RBillie, your point about giving credit to Johnson I agree with. It makes the approach from Woodward even worse. He's the 9th place hitter. He's hitting significantly less than his weight and he's just watched Johnson throw 8 straight shoutout innings against the Jays. Having seen the Jays at least making him work the first time through the line-up the one thing you do not do in Woodward's position is get out swinging on the first pitch.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB020404100012490296&sql=Aax6gtr89kl6x
David,

You are close with Dr. Dre attempt. The song is from the Dr. Dre produced debut album of the D.O.C. aka The Doctor of Compton. Click on my name for the first lesson in Blue Jays Related Hiphopology 101. Tomorrow's lesson: Tha Dogg Pound - Snoop Dogg and the O-Dog.

Well, I've got my fire back these last three-four days. People in the office must be wondering what's going on, me saying "c'mon Sparky, let's plate this bastard and blow it open".

I hate watching GameDay. I need a radio in my office.

By the way, I also like the O.C. inspired "Welcome to the D-O-C bitch!" banner. Someone has to pass the idea to the Cheer Club.

Hey... I don't need a radio...

Gotcha, Craig:

Baby your mind is a radio
Got a reciever inside my head
Baby I’m tuned to your wavelength
Lemme tell you what it says:

Transmitter!
Oh! picking up something good
Hey, radio head!
The sound...of a brand-new world.

<>

Nigel, Woody has had some of the longest, most tenacious at-bats of any Blue Jay. There is absolutely nothing wrong with swinging at the first pitch, if it's a strike in the part of the zone you're looking for. It's going up there hacking, regardless of location, that is discouraged. The idea is to have a good rip at all pitches that give the hitter an advantage, and let all the others go, at least until you have two strikes. Without TV I can't tell you where that one was to Woody. I agree that the result was disappointing, but it's quite a leap to suggest that something is wrong with a player's entire "approach" based on one swing.

Through 3 innings, Doc has thrown 30 pitches, 24 for strikes. Ah, the trains run on time.

"Good ol' country fastball."

God bless you, Jerry Howarth.

Looks like the boys have chased Johnson.

Five K's and seven ground balls in four innings. When Roy is on, you don't need outfielders.

update: Through 4 innings, Doc has thrown 47 pitches (dunno the strikes count)

34 strikes, 13 balls, Harry.

Actually Coach, I'm not suggesting that Woodward's entire approach is terrible. What I am suggesting is that in that AB the approach was terrible. I disagree that in the circumstances it was ok for Woodward to hack at the first pitch even if it was what he was looking for. I would agree with you if we were talking about Wells or Delgado who are both legitimate HR threats and have a much more substantial track record of success. In this case I don't think its a leap even if it was a cookie right down the middle.

http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/D/Dr.%20Dre/Dr.%20Dre%20-%20Nuthin%20But%20A%20G%20Thang%20lyrics.htm
Cristian,

I guess I misunderstood and assumed you were quoting song lyrics, not titles. Dre spits "Like my nigga D.O.C., no one can do it better" at the end of Nuthin' but a G Thang (COMN), which as you point out is a reference to the D.O.C. song. Suffice it to say that most Bauxites could care less about this little distraction anyhow, but it's fun to represent the sub-25 crowd with a bit of Gangsta Rap!

Complete game shutout anyone?

Why did Jason Johnson leave so early? He only gave up 3 thru 4, and they pulled him already???

Complete game shutout anyone?

uh oh. you've cursed it now.

I'm not sub-25. I'm slightly over. I was however a huge rap fan until a friend of mine gave me a cassette with The Smiths on one side and The Charlatans on the other. After that day, my music tastes made a 180 degree turn. Kazaa has allowed me to be nostalgic about my old gansta rap ways.

Wow... a 2-pitch out to Guillen... this is the doc I know...

Five pitch inning for the DOC--no one can do it better.

5 points to anyone who gets the early 90s rap reference.


I'll bet you're referring to "Nuthin but a G Thang," by Dr. Dre, but he of course was referring to "No One Can Do It Better," by the D.O.C.

oh yeah... I also noticed that most of the ground balls administered by Doc seem to go right to the o-dog... He's gotta be doin' that on purpose somehow to avoid the shoddy D put up by Woodie :).....

Hijack......Has anyone noticed Dontrelle Willis's stat line?

Here is his pitching line:

2 GS, 12.2 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 12 K, 0.00 ERA (no unearned runs)

Here is his batting line:

6 AB, 6 H, 1 DB, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1.000 AVE, 1.000 OBP, 1.667 SLG

An ERA of zero and an OPS of 2667! I know it will not last but at any time in the season those are strong numbers.

uh oh... the shutout is in danger... :(

Brandon Inge is up with the bases loaded - that's like Carrot Top performing at La Scala.

A walk, a hit and a misplay scored a hit loaded the bases, but a routine 4-6-3 DP off the bat of Inge ends the threat. We can be thankful that Pudge got the day off.

Yep, muffs it. 4. 6. 3. Book it!

A walk, a hit and a misplay scored a hit loaded the bases, but a routine 4-6-3 DP off the bat of Inge ends the threat. We can be thankful that Pudge got the day off.

DP!

I'm not sub-25. I'm slightly over. I was however a huge rap fan until a friend of mine gave me a cassette with The Smiths on one side and The Charlatans on the other. After that day, my music tastes made a 180 degree turn. Kazaa has allowed me to be nostalgic about my old gansta rap ways.

Lemme guess one side was "Some Friendly" and the other was "Meat is Murder?". "Fool's Gold" did it for me back in grade 8. After that I was hooked on the whole Manchester sound.

2nd of the day I might add....

I'm doing gameday froma compy lab at school... there's this prof lecturing in the room next door and he sounds scary and crazy... he's screaming like a madman... and the sad thing is that its for some computer class... how do you get that enthusiastic about networks or databases or whatever the hell it is... blegh.....

http://economics.about.com
Be thankful you've never heard me lecture. :)

they need to have university courses in sabermetrics... They have to have that somewhere...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=newlook/bluejays&POLL173=10000000000000000000
Click on my name to vote on the Jays, Padres, and Ranger uniforms.

Eddie,

One side was Some Friendly. The Smiths side is was a mix of a bunch of their stuff. It didn't matter: within a few months I had purchased every Smiths and Morrissey album made.

wha wha whattt??? who got hurt???

joy division is the best manchester band ever imo.

but what song of theirs was ever successful other than 'dead souls'?

depends how you define successful. if by successful you mean it conveyed near pure emotion to the listener then i'd say all of them. if you mean commercially, then i'd say "love will tear us apart". i don't even think that dead souls was a single but i'm sure you know it from the nine inch nails cover.

the original is way better than the NIN cover... no doubt...

Four pitch inning for Halladay. He's thrown just one more pitch than Jason Johnson did.

How about Love will tear us apart?

is anyone familiar with the Life of Agony cover of 'don't you forget about me'??? priceless... :)

i'm not watching or listening to the game does anyone know why johnson didn't score on wells' double?

Atmosphere. I had the 12" vinyl single and I still have the CD single. I love that intro.

Have to agree - J-D one of the best ever. "Ian Curtis died for your sins!" - a T-Shirt I always wanted to have - with the cover of the second album for the image.

(Phelps up with the bases juiced!)

http://economics.about.com
What.. no love for Happy Mondays/Black Grape/Shaun Ryder?

Cheers,

Mike

I too own all of the Smith's albums and most of the Morrissey albums - though now I boycott any Morrissey album with Suedehead on it - which of course, is about half of his albums.

Morrissey is a guilty pleasure of mine. No seriously, I'm straight.

I'm a devo guy myself... best band ever... I just managed to find some live CD of theirs in Vortex Records over on Yonge... Awesome band....

I'm partial to Warren Zevon, personally.

How about The Wonderstuff or The Inspiral Carpets.

Devo - incredible live. Saw them at Massey Hall - their encore was "Working In A Coal Mine" - terrificly energetic and kitchy stage show.

How 'bout that Phelps-y!

Phelps singles in two more runs; 5-0 Jays and the bases are loaded again.

2 more on a Phelps single that cashes Reed and Wells. 5-0 Jays.

ooooooohhh... bases juiced for kid cash... this has gotta be his MVP season....

has everyone (everyone discussing the manchester scene anyway) seen 24 hour party people? i loved it.

So far, Harden's pitching a hell of a game against the Rangers.

How long until Beane trades Redman to get some more bats?

The first Morrissey album in 8 years comes out in May. The first single has been played on BBC6 (my favourite online radio station) and it's very good. The new album sounds promising. No seriously, I'm also straight.

I'd like to apologize for turning this thread into an intermittent gangsta rap/Madchester thread but the truth is I'm not really all that sorry.

this has gotta be his MVP season....

Maybe not, but with the Mauer express to Cooperstown temporarily derailed, and Crosby off to a slow start, who's the RoY front-runner?

I don't want to jinx it or anything, but this game is like totally in the bag. I mean, it's over.

a bl walk to the o-dog??? YEEAAAHHH let's bury this guy!!!

Walked Cash with the bases loaded! Woody gets his shot ...

(O-Dawg, that is, walks)

Bases-loaded RBI walk by Hudson makes it 7-0. There won't be much action in the Toronto bullpen, with Doc still under 70 pitches.

James have to be very high up any list of Manchester bands - you'll especially find that opinion in Manchester itself.

The Wonderstuff weren't from Manchester, but The Inspiral Carpets were and were awesome.

If Doc continues to cruise through the bottom of the 7th, maybe the big lead would present a good opportunity to rest Doc's arm and see what Frasor can do in the 8th and 9th.

Steve, he's pitching a shutout and he's barely broken a sweat.

Of course, no Manchester discussion would be complete without discussing the Stone Roses. Actually Stone Roses and Smiths were my choices for the nickname for the Jays AA affiliate. Manchester Smiths sounds so much better than Fisher Cats.

The Phillies, consensus pick to run away with their division, trail by four and are nine outs away from going 1-7. How long before they tie a can to Bowa?

True that, but it is still early in the season, and it's a blowout.

8-0 on a Woodward sac fly. Yan strikes out Johnson to end a 10-batter inning.

I dropped "Fool's Gold" about 40 minutes ago as the album that started me into that genre. Probably the album that defined the whole era IMO.

I let Roy finish the game to establish the fact that the 0-2 start was another jinx. 70 pitches is nothing.

Until Roy gives up a run or gets over 100 pitches, it's a day off for everyone else. I agree that Frasor would be the guy to call on, but Halladay's mowing them down and you wouldn't want to ask him for the ball right now.

Jerry Howarth stumbles onto a not so bad idea: Cito Gaston managing the Phillies. With Fregosi having managed the Jays we'd see both 1993 World Series managers switching sides.

Protecting Halladay is all well and good, but he still needs to get his regular work in and build up his endurance. Frasor will get his chance soon enough.

No I-Rod, and now they're starting to sub out Higginson and Pena. What?!!? Are Tigers resting up for the stretch run?

I know it's a blow out but I think it's strange to remove good players this early in the season.

9 straight balls for Yan

I picked Charlie Manuel as NL Manager of the Year; Cito would also be fine, but Charlie's already on the Philly payroll and would be the perfect antidote for a veteran team sick of Larry.

76 pitches, 54 strikes for Doc. There were two flyball outs in there somewhere, 14 grounders.

Vina out too. I'm loving it if I'm a Tiger fan that paid to attend this game.

Is it possible Delgado's knees are hurting worse than he's letting on? I think one could count the number of hard hit balls on one hand while infield grounders would probably require the use of multiple hands and feet. Or, is it simply a matter of 'coming around'?

Jays' hitters: 8 walks, 2 strikeouts
Tigers' hitters: 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

That's a huge turnaround from the early season results so far.

#162853 Posted 04/15/2004 02:35 PM by Matt:

they need to have university courses in sabermetrics... They have to have that somewhere...

Matt, if I say I'm working on it, is that giving away too much?

It's a long-term project (I have a Baseball Memorials Society to get off the ground first) but real college-level courses in baseball studies are coming. They're just not here yet.

craig b are you targetting any particular school? (i know it's a long way away but i'm just curious).

The Rookie of the year... I believe!!!

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
Picking up Cash when Mauer went on the DL in my fantasy league is making me look like the smartest man alive.

TWO RUN HOMER FOR MVP KEVIN CASH!

OK, I was wrong. Cash is an MVP candidate. 2-run dinger, 10-zip.

Lend me some Cash!

Cash! 2-run bomb

Cash with the 2run shot into the seats! I love this guy.

Cash makes no enemies! (TV reference - who gets it)

2 run Homer. M-V-P .....

thats awesome.... the cash HR draws 7 posts within 15 seconds...

http://economics.about.com
Whenever I slag a hitter, he seems to explode, like Cash has over the last week.

Who should I question next? :)

Well, if we can have a course on the Beatles (USC) and The Simpsons (Berkeley), why not baseball?

Actually, USC used to offer a Sports Information major (acronym, apprporiately, SPIN), but it dropped it soon after I started. There are a few colleges who offer Sports Management degrees, usually housed within MBA programs; one of my friends has an MBA/Sports Management from Reed College in Florida. What's he doing now? After a stint with the Olympics in Salt Lake City, he's now selling furniture.

None of these are the same as baseball courses, however.

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
Delgado, Moffat, Delgado. He needs to crank it up a notch. ;)

Wow, I made a waiver claim this week and my potential dropped player is Cash, but I'm seriously reconsidering now.

It's fun tracking the game from MLB's Gameday application, as it displays the pitch location. Cash's home run was the most enjoyable to view using this super-duper modern technology:

Pitch 1, ball, low and away.
Pitch 2, ball, low and away.

You can visualize what the pitcher is thinking: "Jeez. This guy hit about .130 last year. How about I challenge him with a fastball?"

Pitch 3: fastball right down the middle, letter high.
Bam.

Here's what I think is happening: most pitchers haven't seen Cash, so they do what pitchers normally do to newbie batters: they challenge them with their best heat, thinking, "No rookie can hit my dead red." When the rookie proves that he can hit the fastball, they start nibbling. Cash is in phase #1 of this process - in about a month, they'll start throwing him all kinds of breaking pitches. He'll have to adjust, but so far so good.

Executive summary of all of the above: yay Kev!

I'd think that you'd have to reconsider.... he's just red hot right now...

Show of keyboards: Does Halladay start bottom half of the ninth?

I think it's time to switch my Hacking Mass catcher from Cash to Ausmus...

Halladay starts the 9th if he wants to - with a Cy under his belt, there should be no ego thing working. He might even say he's done to show the bullpen some love ....

But I think he's out there in the 9th.

http://economics.about.com
That Delgado, I tell ya, he's terrible. Simply awful. Couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. That guy can't find first base without the aid of a sherpa. He couldn't make contact if he went up to bat with an oar. His swing catches more air than a parasail. We'd ship him off to Japan if it didn't violate international antidumping laws. Totally hacktastic.

How's that? :)

I'd say no, but considering he's only thrown 91 pitches, I'm probably outnumbered.

11-0 now on back to back doubles by the middle infielders. Delgado and Hinske are the only starters without hits today, and Hudson is the only one with just one hit.

[mind of Carlos J. Delgado:)

Urge to kill [the ball] ... RISING!

superdevin, the idea is to offer this stuff independently. Maybe through SABR or something like it, but more likely through an independent non-profit institute. Courses offered over the internet and possibly through other distance education means.

Anyone who is interested in the idea is free to e-mail me and I'll send a brief rundown of the idea...

Please pitch the 9th

is it just me is chris shelton somehow "whiter" than robert fick?

Sometimes, I think Doc puts a runner on base just so he can get the next guy to hit into a double play.

Complete game, shutout, first series win. A good day's work.

And he always seems to get the DP on the first or second pitch. That's just plain mean.

What's really unfair is throwing hittable, pecker-high cheese to Monroe, basically asking him to put the ball in play and make an out.

No respect. :)

That's the game I was hoping to see on Opening Day! Didn't take Doc long to get back in top form. Bring on Pedro and the Sox!

I think Cash might be sending a message to Quiroz: This isn't gonna be your job to lose.

Now it's time to administer a therapeutic beating to the Orioles.

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead.

I'll be putting up a thread later (or tomorrow), but I thoguht I'd remind everyone that our next Batter's Box Free Tickets day is Pedro vs. Doc this coming Tuesday.

Freebies are still available and e-mail me at craig@battersbox.ca to book one or two.

How awesome is it that the free game is going to be Halladay against Pedro?

Thanks again Box!

Finally!

See, this is what's supposed to happen when the Jays play the Tigers. I'm still not sure about this "Kevin Cash outhitting Delgado" business, but what the hell.

Keith Law, one of JP Ricciardi's special assistants. An expert in statistical analysis, Law is involved in every aspect of talent acquisition

Keith Law, one of JP Ricciardi's special assistants. An expert in statistical analysis, Law is involved in every aspect of talent acquisition

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead.

Oh man - speaking of great bands who rule live!

I'm currently rocking "The Thrills:So Much for the City".

i didn't think that they were that good live. i saw them open for queens of the stone age a few years ago.

Keith Talent:

Wha?

http://bluejayscheerclub.com
You tryin' to tell us something there, Mr. Talent? ;)

Craig: I'm in for Tuesday, and so's my wife. And we have tickets already.

I've sent an e-mail about trying to get Bird Droppings' drum in this time.

i didn't think that they were that good live. i saw them open for queens of the stone age a few years ago.

Were you expecting anything or had you heard of them before the show? I rarely give opening bands a chance, but occasionally I'll catch one that blows me away.

The last time it happened it was a Southern Ontario band called the Sour Keys opening up for By Devine Wankers. I should have left after the opening band.

The Constantines are another great band. They get all kinds of love from England and the US but nothing here. Great band, great live show.

(BTW, if Keith Talent is trying to "tell us something", he's telling somewhat less than the complete truth...)

Hope I'm not being a wet blanket, but...after looking at the Jays' schedule, I noticed that Monday, which would be Lilly's next start on normal rest, is an off day. So maybe he gets the Tuesday start, and Doc is bumped to Wednesday.

One of the best live shows I've ever seen featured the Constantines, Explosions in the Sky and ...Trail of Dead.

I was totally deaf by the end of the night, but damn, it was worth it. All for $11 at the Horseshoe!

The Dears are a phenomenal live band. The Stars get better every time I see them, too.

Aside: if you haven't noticed yet, ESPN introduced a new feature called Stat Pack. For each game, they provide a PDF file of information including:

• up-to-date season hitting and pitching stats


• a team-to-team comparison for the game


• a game preview (same as on their website Scores page)


• a 2-page scoresheet to score the game

Here's the file for today's Blue Jays - Tigers tilt. Other than the advertising, it's decent - especially useful is the player stats.

Tidbit: Jeremy Bonderman has an 11.91 K/9IP so far this season.

Thank you Roy Halladay, something positive for the new season.

Were you expecting anything or had you heard of them before the show? I rarely give opening bands a chance, but occasionally I'll catch one that blows me away.

The last time it happened it was a Southern Ontario band called the Sour Keys opening up for By Devine Wankers. I should have left after the opening band.

The Constantines are another great band. They get all kinds of love from England and the US but nothing here. Great band, great live show.

i was expecting a fair bit from trail of dead but they were so sloppy that all their songs sounded the same so it kind of wore on. i was really impressed with the first half of their set but the last half just dragged on.

i'm from cambridge(/live in waterloo) and i'm in a band down here and we've played shows with both those bands a few times (the cons and the sour keys). i've seen each atleast a dozen times and love them both.

Does anyone have a best guess as to which game Roy will start when the Jays are in Chicago at the end of the month? I'm guessing either Friday, the 30th or Saturday May 1st.

The Windsor version of the Cheer Club (basically me and 4 friends) concluded the 3 game series today with a bang, here are some notes from the game.

Reed's push bunts are already in midseason form. Although he got tagged out in the first inning on one, he placed it well, and whether or not Pena actually tagged him before he dove into the bag is debatable.

While it's probably premature to judge somebody by one at-bat, Hermansen looked lost on his strikeout, swinging wildly at the last two curveballs thrown to him by Levine. Maybe just nerves, but something to pay attention to.

Roy pitched a gem today, almost the inverse of Jason Johnson's performance. He kept the ball down to most hitters, and limited them to nothing but hard hit singles. His pitch count inning by inning did not differ much, and he caught at least 2 or 3 batters with his effective curve on the day. The in-stadium radar had him as high 98 mph on the gun - while he did seem to be throwing hard I suspect that the gun in the stadium is a bit off. However, throughout the game his velocity was tremendously consistent which helped since he established the curve very early on.

As far as the hitters go, 11-0 is not giving them enough credit. They showed tremendous patience working a lot of deep counts, on top of the 9 walks. Cash hit the only HR, but at the same time there were 3 other well hit balls earlier in the game that just as easily could have gone out had it not been for the wind blowing in from left. The ball hung up there early on, but the wind died down around the 7th inning stretch. It seemed as though the Fighting Jays were hitting the ball hard, but seeing how the game was played outside at Comerica rather than inside the Dome it just wasn't carrying for them.

Defensively, the Jays were solid, with a few exceptions. With the score 3-0 and the Tigers threating Woody stumbled coming forward on a routine DP ball which eventually led to a bases loaded situation. The fact that he fell was irrelevent, he still could've made the play had he been able to get it out of his glove. Hinske had little work at 3rd but looked really unprepared for a bunt by Sanchez that ended up rolling foul.

Since I love the idea of 3 stars for the minor league reports, I'd like to do the same:

3rd star: Vernon Wells 2 hits including the double that really got things going, and a smart move to 2nd on a single relayed to the plate.

2nd star: Orlando Hudson 1 H, 1 BB, but more importantly he was instrumental in the 3 DPs turned today, and makes you realize how important the infield defense is to a pitcher like HLH.

1st star (tie): Kevin Cash, Roy Halladay 2 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI. Cash caught a wonderful game, managed HLH very effectively and showed tremendous discipline at the plate. Roy did well to keep the ball down in the strike zone, got a lot of first pitch strikes, and despite surrendering 8 hits only looked to be remotely in trouble once throughout the game.