A crazy idea has been bouncing around my head - would it be a good idea to sit Hinske and play Gomez at third and Woodward at short tonight?

Absolutely no way. This is a game that the Jays should win handily, and there's a lot more to gain by playing Hinske at third. Namely:

- The no-confidence vote to Hinske if you sit him.
- This is an opportunity for Hinske to get low-pressure at-bats vs. a lefty (given that the rest of the lineup is going very well, this is a weak lefty, and Doc figures to dominate a struggling KC lineup).
- The superiority of Hinske over Gomez as a hitter. Gomez has been hitting well, but as a 12-year veteran we can be quite sure he's over his head.

Dennys Reyes as a starter:

5.98 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 1.49 K/BB, Opp average .293

His ERA is just under 4.00 the first time through a lineup and just above 10.00 beyond that.

I like the Jays' chances.

Robert, it's not such a crazy idea. Actually, you might even try Woodward at third and Gomez at short.

Hinske's had one day off so far this year. That's not a huge number; you could give him the day off today and start him tomorrow against the lefty with Lilly (a fly-ball pitcher) hurling. I wouldn't think giving Hinske two starts in three games against lefties would hurt his confidence.

Aren't we missing a chance to get BERG into the line up?

Hinske might have an erratic arm, but he's good when he gets his game into a groove, as we've seen in previous years. He needs the work I think. Gomez seems to have poor range and agility... more like a second-baseman in my mind, hopefully he keeps hitting.

Isn't there anybody in the farm that can do Berg's job, better?

Defensively, the idea to put Woodward and Gomez in the game at the same time makes sense. What I'm wondering is whether offensively it makes sense. I've tried to find historical splits but can't find them but my memory of Reyes is that he's got a screwball type breaking ball that, in theory, makes him tougher on righties. Affeldt has a killer curve against lefties so, offensively at least, it may make more sense to sit Hinske against Affeldt. Of course, the stats may not back that up!

- The superiority of Hinske over Gomez as a hitter

Hinske is hitting .243/.323/.383 so far this season.
Against lefties in his career he's hitting .230/.301/.389

Gomez is hitting .296/.361/.370 so far this season.

I'm not sure there's a dropoff at all at this point. It'd be a good time to give Hinske a game off. I like the idea - not permanently, but for this game.

Did Lopez get called up? Someone in a fantasy league of mine just picked him up off waivers.

Tom Cheek just announced that Lopez was recalled due to Speier going on the DL with elbow issues.

Woody is back in the line up, batting second against the left hander.

Hopefully Speier's injury isn't major, but I'm all for giving Qui-Lo another chance.

Pedro has struck out each of the first six batters he has faced, but it's taken him 51 pitches to do so.

Aquilino is in the lineup on gameday... I can tell you that.. whether he gets the call to do anything tonight (barring a blowout) is another matter...

Anyone else get LEFT...RIGHT!!!

Reyes is worrying me thru 1.2.... we gotta get to him boys!!!!!

How do they possibly rule that a hit? Both Halladay and Woodward should have had it. Reyes is looking like he's a bit hard to hit so the Jays need to keep taking pitches and drawing walks. They'll get to him.

Doc seems to be missing with his curveball, but his command of the fastball has been great. He's doing a great job of getting ahead of the hitters.

Eeee, the Royals announcer just said "Hmmm, 2 groundballs per inning for Halladay, you don't think of him as a groundball pitcher-more strikeouts and flyballs." That's not really reading the scouting report-or ever watching a game these last few years.

Aw shoot. Woody grounds a basehit to left and hurts his hammy again. Gomez comes in for him.

Is there another game thread that I'm missing? Delgado grounds out on a fat 2-0 pitch as the Jays leave the sacs loaded again.

Everyone is watching the Flames game!

Nice catch by Vernon. Would have been a HR with last year's dimensions.

Ahh, I see. Dang it, a few cheesy bloops give the Royals a 1-0 lead.

Man you know you are a bad fielder when even Cerutti comments that your defense isn't good. Berg looked like he was moving in slow motion on that loooper.

This does not look good, get Cat back in left field

I predict the ODog drives in that run...

Well done by Orlando and myself :).

It was all you Jim ;)

I know it's been a matter of some debate.

I don't see anyway in the world that Kevin Cash becomes more then a defensive backup in the majors. He just isn't going to hit.

Hudson must have watched Don Mattingly as a kid, cause recently it appears he hasn't even thought about swinging at a first pitch.

Beltran vs Cash ... who will win?

Halladay's been falling behind a lot this inning... that's a little troubling.

One run and done, not bad. I'm surprised Berg was still out in left considering that he will likely be pinch hit for.

Jack, u and Cerutti sharing brain waves?

If we are, I hope it begins and ends there.

Gotta love small ball. Give yourself two chances to score instead of three.

Chuck, I was thinking the same thing. It's been talked about ad nauseum, but I can't help thinking I'd rather have Reed swinging away with Frank at 2nd (or even if he were still at 1st).

This game just fits into the theory that Halladay gets no run support or double digit runs.

Hahahaha, small ball.

Wow, Halladay clocked at 97 in the 7th. Very costly 1-2 pitch to Sweeney. This'll be tough to come back from.

Tough loss considering the Red Sox rallied to come back and beat the Tribe in the bottom of the 8th.

Doc didn't bring his A game today and will drop to 3-4. He must be near the top in the MLB for loses (if the game holds up and the Royals win)

This one looks a lot like the early season losses. 0-game with RISP, stranding runners on 3rd less than 1 out, leaving bases loaded twice, making a no-name pitcher look like a stud. Ugh, it's always frustrating to lose with Halladay on the mound-you almost chalk this up as #7 in the win streak.

I would like to see Roy use the change-up more. I know its a new pitch but it would really keep hitters off the two and four seamers.

The Jays are still suffering from a power shortage from their 3 and 4 hitters

This one looks a lot like the early season losses.

Yes, an ugly loss indeed.

And it seems that while Wells may appear to have come out of his funk, if just a little, Delgado has taken his place. Lots of first-pitch swinging, which isn't Delgado's style. He seems to be replicating Wells' previous stretch of undisciplined at-bats.

While the players would no doubt fight it, the odd off-day for the (literally) every day starters is probably not a bad idea. At least in Delgado's case, have him DH for a couple of days to just think about his hitting.

Yeah, the two failures with the bases loaded hurt even more when you consider that Wells and Delgado were the ones at the plate.

As long as this doesn't turn into a losing streak though, It's fine. It's disappointing with Roy on the mound, but it's just one loss in seven.

It was Reed and Delgado as the guys to hit with 'em loaded.

Wells, Delgado, and Hinske have been poor at the plate this season. It would be interesting to see how many RBI's they had at this pt last season compared to right now. Hinske so far has proved to me his BA in rookie season was a fluke and he's more like a .250 hitter.

They have dug themselves in such a big hole they will need to take 3 out of 4 vs. the Sox coming up.

This one looks a lot like the early season losses.

I agree and that's the bad part. If they just got outplayed and lost, it wouldn't be so bad, but it's the way they lose; poor execution, failure to capitalize on a bad opposing starter, poor defense, etc. etc. that makes it tough to stomach.

My personal key to the game: When Delgado came up with the bases loaded in the fifth, right after Reyes hit Wells (and was showing signs of tiring/wildness). Reyes went 2-0 to Delgado. Delgado swings at what would have been ball three and grounds out meekly. Very poor at bat by a very good hitter. This seems to be happening often this year, and I don't remember it being like that last year. I noticed even in the previous game Wells managed three hits, but his other two at bats were very poor for the same reason (and resulted in two DP's). The Jays need to stop doing the work for the opposing pitchers.

Also after the initial hot start for Cash, his BA and OBP are taking a serious nose dive. I don't think he hits well enough to be a everyday catcher.

I don't see Cash as the problem. He (like Hudson) is there for his defense first and offense second. It's the guys who are there for offense and not producing effectively (clutch?) that are causing the problem.

The other problem is left field. The Jays field not only field below average offensive left fielders, but the fact that they are bad defensively as well compounds the problem.

I just hope Carlos isn't falling victim to the "reverse walk-year jinx", in which a free-agent-to-be presses too much and underperforms. I'd hate to see Carlos settle for below market value and do less than what the Jays need him to do

Anything on the status of Woody??

You guys realize that they won the 6 games before tonight, right?

You can't win every game.

Tom and Jerry were speculating that one of Adams/Hill (most likely Adams) might be called up in light of Woody's injury. I think that the Jays are going to be scouring the waiver wires for a backup to Gomez, or else they may make a minor trade, and they'll play it day to day.

It was Reed and Delgado as the guys to hit with 'em loaded.

Oops, my bad.

I was thinking of the last game where Wells came up with the Bases Loaded and GIDP.

You guys realize that they won the 6 games before tonight, right?

You can't win every game.

You realize that they are 14-19, right? Thanks for the analysis.

Speaking of painful, how about Montreal having a 5-0 lead with 1 out in the 9th, and then a 5-1 lead with two down and none on and blowing it. It's now in extras.

I don't see them calling up Adams or Hill because if starts their clock.

With the Jays attendance already brutal I shudder to think how many season tickets they will sell for next season if they don't win at least 85 games this year.

Tom and Jerry were speculating that one of Adams/Hill (most likely Adams) might be called up in light of Woody's injury.

Mike Wilner was speculating on Rios (when is he going to get off that?) or Hermansen. Hermansen makes sense to me, with Berg the nominal backup shortstop. He has played 136 games there over his career.

The other problem is left field. The Jays field not only field below average offensive left fielders, but the fact that they are bad defensively as well compounds the problem.


Paging Catalanotto, paging Catalanotto.

The "weak LF" problem only rears it's ugly head against LHP. And Cat showed yesterday he's not completely helpless against them.

jc

You realize that they are 14-19, right? Thanks for the analysis.

Six steps forwards, one step back ain't a bad approach. But hey, one year you just might be content as it is possible to go 162-0.

...The boys (formerly) in blue obviously screwed up this year so it might be better for the pessimists' blood pressure to just come back next season since the 33rd game is the deciding factor in any team's season. With that in mind, it seems obvious that Chicago (15-0 over Baltimore this evening) will meet Milwaukee (8-5 winners vs. MTL) in the Fall Classic.

You realize that they are 14-19, right? Thanks for the analysis.

Seriously, they just won 6 games in a row! The sky isn't falling. There's 162 games, they're going to lose a few of them.
When the Blue Jays lose this place is all doom and gloom. Even if they don't lose, but just start out slow, everyone is quick to point out that they're playing like it's still the start of the season.
Relax, it's only one game.

It's not all doom and gloom. People are rightly worried about the way the Jays are playing, and not just the results. Even when they play well they are going to lose games, so they can't afford to play poorly for long stretches.

I fail to see how a 14-19 record isn't a big problem because 'there's 162 games', yet both you and A refer to a six game sample as though that shows the 'real' Jays.

Relax, it's only one game.

Actually, in fairness to my fellow gripers, it's 33 games, just a week shy of the quarter-mark of the season. Game 33 just happened to look too much like many of games 1 to 32 for our tastes.

While things could certainly turn around, causing us to look back and laugh at this stretch of overwrought teeth gnashing, our frustration at the moment is understandable.

The team's 3/4/5/6 hitters, W/D/P/H, are slugging 404, 422, 382, 370.

The team's leadoff hitters, Clark and Johnson, have OBP's of 283 and 331.

Against RHP, the team starts an infielder in RF. Against LHP, they start an infielder in LF. Neither of these two infielders can hit (or field), yet there they are, in corner OF positions.

Orlando Hudson, who has been performing at an all-star caliber, leads the team in slugging, HR and RBI. He's two shy of the team lead in walks. While on the one hand this is very impressive, on the other hand it just ain't right.

That so many players are underperforming actually inspires optimism. If they would only just hit at their realistically expected levels, the team will be so much more successful.

NDG, I wasn't trying to pick on you, I'm just getting depressed about all the negativity around here.

I'm not sure how a one game sample is any better than a 6 game sample. I think what myself and A are saying that it's not worth getting upset over one loss when the team is playing well. Yes, it's dissapointing to lose to the Royals (or any team really) when Doc is pitching. That doesn't change the fact that the Jays have been playing well for the past week.

Yes, they're 14-19. However, they started the season 3-11. Since then they're 11-8, which I think is probably about their true level.

So I was thinking that the power of the Ten Run Hat had been lessened or something, but then I realized that last night I was at the little league game that my wife was coaching and her team won 11-4.

Best moment? A batter on my wife's team gets plonked, in the head, by the opposing pitcher. The batter, with a big smile on her face, looks at the umpire and says, "I get to go to first base?" The ump nods, and the batter runs, at full speed, cheering, to first. And on the next two pitches, she steals second and third.

And that's the joy of being eight years old.

I'm just getting depressed about all the negativity around here.

Amen, brother. But then again, I'm an eternal sunny-side optimist.

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Jays would like your support for the upcoming homestand against the Boston Red Sox. The Cheer Club has a big ol' bass drum to help crank up the noise level, especially for Thursday and Saturday's games. If you want to meet up with us (and please, consider it, even if you're not a sunny-side optimist like me, give it a single-game audition), drop me a line. COMN for e-mail.

Seriously,

Things have already turned around. What do you call 6 straight wins? If some of you can't discern that during the last week the Jays have played far far better than during the first three weeks of the season, then there is no hope for you and you should start following another sport.

If some of you can't discern that during the last week the Jays have played far far better than during the first three weeks of the season, then there is no hope for you and you should start following another sport.

But Robert, emphasizing the negative is the Toronto Way. ;)

I don't think the Jays played all that poorly. (It's always harder to tell when you catch the game on the radio). The key play was Beltran getting back to rob Cash of extra bases in the 5th inning... what would have been a home run last year turned into the first out, and they lost another run because Delgado's 2-0 grounder turned into the final out. What might have been a 1-0 or 2-0 Jays lead, didn't come about.

People are rightly worried about the way the Jays are playing, and not just the results.

Were you (or anyone else) worried about the way were playing during the winning streak? Or was that unproblematic? I actually don't recall anyone reflectng any concerns during that time... I may be mistaken.

Clearly, the way the team was playing in the first two weeks was a big problem because they looked thoroughly uninterested and were constantly blundering. From what I have seen, those issues have been ironed out now.

There was actually quite a bit of solid execution last night. That's perfectly encouraging, even if Delgado swung at one pitch he shouldn't have.

They have dug themselves in such a big hole they will need to take 3 out of 4 vs. the Sox coming up.

You can't be serious. You can't. If they are swept by the Red Sox, they will be 10 games out of first place, probably nine or so out of the wild card, with 125 games to go.

With 25 games to go, I'd say you were right. With 125 left, where one hot month can get you level, it's overdramatization.

I'm not worried. The power core will be fine. The personnel issues on this club at this point are really marginal ones, 4th outfielder, maybe 5th starter, big bat on the bench.

It would be really nice if Alex Rios, Russ Adams, Gabe Gross, Guillermo Quiroz and/or David Bush came on, so that one or two of them could help out by mid-summer. But even if none of them are ready by then, the team should be OK.

Mike Wilner was speculating on Rios (when is he going to get off that?)

There have been seveal references to Wilner talking about Rios coming up, but it was Ricciardi himself last Wednesday morning on the FAN who indicated Rios was pretty likely to be called mid-year.

He said that in answer to questions about poor outfield hitting, and the qualtity of some of the alternates (Clark/Berg). JP sounded a bit ticked off at some of the younger Jays taking too long to figure out that they have to make adjustments. Specifically, Wells, Hudson and Phelps. He pointed out it's their third year in the majors, and they should have figured it out by now.

Were you (or anyone else) worried about the way were playing during the winning streak? Or was that unproblematic? I actually don't recall anyone reflectng any concerns during that time... I may be mistaken.

No Craig, I wasn't (at least not for the first five games, the sixth game did feature some of the poor at-bats that was commonplace early). But again, how is a six game winning streak more reflective of the Blue Jays, than the first 33 games as a whole?

On a forum boards, written words tend to portray an emotion that may not have been intended. I don't think the Jays suck, and I'm not going to stop supporting them. However, several seem to have taken the attitude that anyone who doesn't say the Jays are the greatest, should stay away. Again this may be the medium more than message, but that isn't fair.

BTW, JP seems to agree with the "negative" people on this board. Did you hear him this morning? He commented on the lack of discipline and execution in last nights game. Should we tell him that he should follow another sport ;)

BTW, JP seems to agree with the "negative" people on this board. Did you hear him this morning? He commented on the lack of discipline and execution in last nights game. Should we tell him that he should follow another sport ;)

If he thinks that yesterday's game was as bad as the Opening Day debacle (and I know he doesn't) - then yes.

Last night was just an ordinary loss where the other team outplayed them. The first three weeks the Jays were losing becuase the were playing terrible baseball and were unlucky in some games. They DID NOT play terrible baseball last night.

However, several seem to have taken the attitude that anyone who doesn't say the Jays are the greatest, should stay away.

I don't think anyone's going that far. But I'm bothered by the constant focus on the negative while ignoring the positive. It's about balance.

So I suppose there have to be some negative people just to balance out me. ;)