Three changes for the Jays

Koskie DH'ing and Hilly plays Third
Myers catching and hitting 7th
Johnson in RF hitting 9th

Adams draws back in and moves up a spot in the order to hit 8th.

Who will have more strikeouts at the end of the season: Ryan Drese or Albert Pujols? :)

Is that like Stark's battle of the Everquest nerds (Schilling vs Glanville) for walks in '03?

Is Drese the guy who throws The Thing, or is that Dickey? I get those two mixed up a lot.

As an out of market Jay fan who has ordered Extra Innings in the past I've always had the other team's broadcast team. This year I ordered MLBTV.

Tonight I see the defense listed and thought it was weird that they spelled it 'defence'. Then I see Rogers Sportsnet in the corner. So this will be my first exsposure to the Jays crew.

4 balls to open the game to Soriano? Not a good sign.

What kind of pitch count is Lilly on tonight considering on where he is "stretched out" too? Is he good for a 100, or are we looking at 80-85?

Lilly was in the 90's on Sunday, I believe. He's probably fine to go to the limit.

Is Drese the guy who throws The Thing, or is that Dickey? I get those two mixed up a lot.

Dickey. It comes to the plate roughly like a late-breaking screwball. Drese's m.o. is a two-seamer, hence all the grounders.

Not getting many ground balls so far. Too bad that wasn't to a part of the wall where they have all those ridiculous angles. Allen looked like he was a little uneasy playing that carom, and it was a really simple one.

That pitch to get Hinske sure looked like The Thing.

Allen looked like he was a little uneasy playing that carom

I feel a little uneasy watching him. In any case, this is the first time he's taken the field this season.

That pitch to Hinske was a great one but I don't understand why hitters who know the pitcher is a sinker ball pitcher with good lateral movement don't defend against that pitch. Catalanatto did it last night against Astacio when he doubled in the first inning but so many hitters get caught looking on those pitches.

Cat yanks one out! Drese left that sinker over the heart of the plate and he hits a rope just fair down the right field line.

That looked like a Fenway home run. Drese sure is giving up a lot of screamers.

Drese has been leaving his sinker up a lot but most of the drives to the outfield have found gloves.

Michael Young owns Ted Lilly. Yet for some reason Lilly keeps throwing him high fastballs. Two run homer and the Rangers lead it 3-2.

When teams put the shift on the SS and 3B both shift one position. Wouldn't it make more sense to leave the SS at SS and move the 3B to the 2B spot, or even make the 3B the short right fielder?

Great point Pistol, what about DPs though? I'd assume the 3B man would be covering 2nd for the force rather than the SS.

Maybe they'd rather have someone with experience turning DPs doing it (of course this is only with Runners on first).

When Lilly is throwing his curveball for strikes, he is my favorite pitcher to watch in all of baseball. There's just nothing like when a guy gets caught looking on a pitch that started at his head. :)

HA! Some kid just did the Al Bundy pose behind the plate.

Rolling over, jumping at the ball, front foot hitting. That's exactly what you can't do against Drese and that's what the Jays have been doing a lot of. He definately has the momentum now with Ted Lilly's command all over the place.

Lilly is really fighting his control: 6 straight Balls.

I'd reckon it's time to get Pete Walker up and ready. Lilly is really struggling in the 4th.

That's about as close as you can come to giving up a three run homerun. Lilly not pitching well at all right now. Jays need to adapt a better approach against Drese and start mounting some offence. Lilly won't be much longer for this game having thrown 74 pitches through just 4 innings.

Arg...let the ball travel. Another weak ground out.

With the heart of the Order coming up, the way Lilly has pitched, I think you need to seriously consider going to the pen.

10 pitch inning for Drese. There's still four innings to go in this game but there better be someone warming up behind Lilly this inning because if the margin grows it doesn't look good at all for the Jays.

Every pitch is belt high from Lilly in this game. He needs to be pulled. Gibbons tends to be very slow in getting relief help ready but League is up and warming right now.

Punchout is warming up... Not who I expected.

Why are they warming League up? I guess they don't want to use Walker in close games, which this somehow still is.

There's a nice changeup. I just don't understand why he doesn't use that pitch so much more than he does. He always gets swings and misses on it and it's a far more reliable pitch against righties than his curve.

They have to start showing some confidence in Walker sometime, now is as good as ever, especially against the Rangers.

I mean they should just be handing the ball to Walker until he gives you a reason to think otherwise.

My opinion anyways.

After the walk to Teixeira, I wouldn't leave Lilly in to face Hidalgo. I'd bring in League.

Much needed double play there. One of the few groundballs Lilly has been able to get. Ironically it was a groundball from another high fastball.

Right after I say that, Lilly gets Hidalgo to ground into an inning ending double play. It never fails, I'll go watch the game sheepishly now.

Yeah Billie, that was an interesting Swing by Hidalgo.

It's very hard to hit a GB on a Fastball about a foot above the Zone.

He's thrown 90 pitches through 5 and has been fighting himself all game. I would let a fresh pitcher start the next inning with the game still very much in doubt.

That's not left field Orlando. Another weak ground out.

Sorry if this is a bad distracting post - but does anyone know of a radio station that is streaming the game online? I can't find one.

Sigh. At least Koskie had a good at bat there.

CJCS out of Stratford is, but all the slots fill up quickly. I wasn't able to get in the last couple games. I had to use an actual radio!

Koskie looked pissed that he swung at a pitch near his shoetops on 3-2.

What's the purpose of the "thumb ring thing" (for lack of much better words) that Vernon Wells uses on his right thumb while batting?

Kudos to Lilly for keeping the team in the game while not having anything close to his customary command. Sure, he got lucky on Soriano's flyball, but Drese gave up a bunch of line drives early too, so I count them as even in the luck department.

We just got a plug from Jamie!

Good move to get a new pitcher into the game. Here's League. He's throwing quite well to Mench. This is the best command I've seen out of him this year. Jumps out ahead 0-2. Spots two sliders with nice bite low and away and then throws a big moving sinker that Mench swings through for a strikeout.

And gets Allen swinging weakly at a slider running away. Back to back K's. This is a lot more like he was throwing late last year.

Not only is Da Box mentioned by Jamie but he QUOTED ME!

Thanks a ton, Nick!

Thanks for the on-air plug, gv27!

Incidentally, from what I know of Brandon League's personality, the story of him standing up and banging his head on the bullpen roof just fits perfectly...

We just got some love from Jamie Campbell on the sportsnet broadcast. Apparently were 'a popular baseball website back in Canada' (at least thats what I think he said.)

He mentioned that we comped League too some random guy I forget, based on eyewear.

It was awesome

Nice inning for League. Fell behind Barajas and threw a fat sinker down the middle that he doubled down the line on but otherwise was spotting the ball well.

I made the comparison because of the Hawaiian heritage, hair, and glasses. I wasn't even watched baseball when Lenny played, but I read Jay Jaffe's article on him.

I add my thanks, gv27. Loved the line: "He had to get into the pike position to get out of the way of that one". Brilliant!

Good move by gibby to get Lilly out of the game before he imploded. I think once League settles into the majors he will be awesome.

First pitch swinging Shea...why so anxious? Drese has had them front foot hitting all night.

Good approach by Hinske but he got under it a bit. Myers grounds weakly back to Drese on the first pitch for the second time tonight. This is just a weak night for the hitters.

Might just be me, but has anyone else noticed that the Jays are swinging at the first pitch A LOT in the last four or five games?

I noticed it with Hinske during the Oakland series, only because I'd been impressed with his patience so far this season, and the first-pitch-swinging thing is such a 2004 Hinske trait....

I might be mistaken, but I don't think so...

Man, the Jays need Hudson, Wells, and Koskie to hit. ASAP.

Third K of the night for League on Soriano. He never had a chance.

Big test in the lefty Blalock. Leaves the ball up a little bit but Blalock sends an easy grounder to Hinske at first. Nice movement eventhough that pitch was up.

That was anti-Jeter range. Great play.

There's a gold glove play by Hudson to preserve a 1-2-3 inning for League who's having his best outing of the year by far.

That's the second play tonight by Hudson that I don't think there is another second baseman in the League that makes either of them.

Gotta love the confidence of Gibbons to throw League out there in another close-game situation. I was nervous at first, but League is proving me wrong.

And wow that was a nice play by the O-Dawg.

Still an absolute travasty that Boone somehow got the Glove instead of Hudson.

Boone may have won because he's good at turning two. Unlike Soriano...

Yes! Adams a clean line drive single through the box and he breaks up a string of 13 straight retired by Drese.

Then Johnson grounds to short but fortunately the Rangers don't turn two on it. You have to think about a hit and run here.

when johnnie mac is at short and o-dawg at second, they may be the best defensive middle infield in all of the majors... russ adams is getting there defensively though.

Hudson has to be moved down in the order until he starts hitting. He is just bad right now.

Woo! Hudson would have had that. :)

Now would be a good time for Vernon's bat to wake up.

A weak grounder finds the big hole on the right side with Johnson at first and just does find the hole. Johnson goes to third base. Vernon has to come through here. Don't be afraid to dunk a single into right field here.

Vernon Wells, don't swing at the first pitch.

On cue, Hudson gets a hit.

Now it's .598 OPS Wells. I'm not too confident.

I don't think they'll give Wells anything to hit here. They'll make him chase and go after Koskie with Shouse if needed.

I would have thought Adams leading off with a single would have been a good time to go small ball, especially with Johnson, Cat and Hudson coming up. The chances for a double are small so you'd have to get 2 hits instead of 1 to score a run.

Aw. He didn't give Vernon anything up.

I hear ya Pistol, I thought Adams or at least Johnson would try to swipe one. Its only 1 run!!

Vernon keeps wanting to pull the ball. The problem is he's pulling it on the ground to the third baseman for easy plays. You had the whole right side of the infield to shoot the ball through Vern.

Damnit. Wells better out of this slump soon. He makes me cringe when he comes to the plate.

Vernon got good wood on that pitch, blaylock was just in the ball's way. he is slumping, but he's making contact.

Just an effortless swing from Teixeira to reach out and pull that League sinker out of the park. That was a two strike homerun. League needs a second pitch to use on lefties.

Vernon smoked two balls to third base this game; they just happened to be right at the third baseman. You want him to go the other way in a situation like that? That's nuts.

Teixeira really dropped down to hit that homerun. It was a pretty good pitch on the outside corner and a fantastic job of hitting by Teixeira to hit it out. A pitcher could make a long living throwing balls where League threw that. I bet they bust Teixeira in with a fastball next time up and keep him honest.

"3.00 ERA, but don't look at that...4 saves this season"

Hilarious. ERA probably is more relevant with a closer than it is with a typical reliever, as he doesn't have the problem of dealing with inherited runners. Did anyone hear who made the comment? Was it Tabler or Campbell?

If GV27 stops by, I would have been interested in you questioning your partner if he thought it was a good idea to bring League back for a third inning with the bullpen rested after last night's complete game.

Why is Hinske swinging at the first pitch? The Jays need two runs. There's nothing to be gained even if he homers.

It was Tabler.

I had no idea Cordero was so filthy. Maybe if I had known I wouldn't have dropped him for Matt Herges when he struggled out of the gate last year.

Of course I want Vernon to go the other way if there's a huge hole on the right side of the infield. The Jays need to tie the game and keep Cordero away from it. It doesn't matter how hard Vernon pulls the ball if the infielders are positioned for him to pull. The Rangers will gladly take nothing but hard hit grounders to third from Wells in this series.

I had no idea Cordero was so filthy. Maybe if I had known I wouldn't have dropped him for Matt Herges when he struggled out of the gate last year.

Ummm, Cordero made eight appearances last April and didn't allow a run in seven of them. He did have some control issues early on.

It's not like there was an extreme shift on him. What you suggest would most likely result in a pop up or lazy fly because they were working him inside. The pitch he hit was middle in, the kind of pitch he pulls for a homerun if he gets a bit of air under it.

If the pitch was on the outside corner, then I'd agree. No one asks their best power hitter to try to poke one the other way in a situation like that.

Besides which, Vernon is a pull hitter - that's how he hits. And that's what I want him to do when he gets a pitch like that.

It seemed to me watching the game that in the middle of the game the Jays played right into Drese' hands by swinging at early pitches and not being selective like they were earlier in the game. Did anyone else get that impression?

Vernon is a power hitter but he's a hitter first. You need one run to tie the game in that situation and nothing is more important than that. There's no reason to be trying to hit a homerun. Vernon being a strong guy can easily inside out that inside pitch and punch a line drive to right field. Trying to pull Ryan Drese whether you hit right or left is playing right into his hands unless he makes a mistake. How many balls in the air did the Jays get off of Drese today? Not that many.

<em>Ummm, Cordero made eight appearances last April and didn't allow a run in seven of them. He did have some control issues early on.</em>

Which makes my decision all the more baffling! Cordero has an ERA of 13.50 and a WHIP of 3.00 for my team when I dropped him. I probably played him during his one meltdown or something.

There wasn't an extreme shift on him. There was a natural hole on the right side of the infield with Teixeira holding on Hudson. Vernon is still hitting under .200 eleven games into this season and he's having as slow a start to the year as last April. I'd say it's time for him to make adjustments as a hitter.

It's very hard to hit for any kind of average in the major leagues if you try to pull everything. When Vernon had his big year he pulled a lot of balls but he also used centerfield and right field. He was very difficult to pitch against. Right now pitchers know if they continually bust him inside he'll just pull it foul or on the ground.

If he goes to right field a few times pitchers will necessarily adjust and leave more pitches over the outside half of the plate which are the ones Vernon can really drive.

R Billie,

I think you're wrong about everything you've written with regard to that at-bat.

Playing for one run in that situation is not correct. 1 run on the road means you are tied and your opponent has 6 outs to play with while you have only 3 - a losing proposition. Your best power hitter should be aiming to hit the ball very hard because:

1) He could hit a homerun and greatly increase your chances of winning the game

2) He could hit a gapper and drive in two runs

3) He could hit a single and tie the game

Poking the ball the other way (especially when the pitch is NOT on the outside corner), the BEST you can do is tie the game. Over time, your "passive" strategy is not going to get the job done.

I don't think anyone associated withe the game of baseball would suggest what you suggest given that your best power hitter gets his pitch on a 3-1 count with a chance to put your team ahead by two runs on the road. I'll reckon Wells missed a homerun by about 3-4 millimetres on the bat. It's a no-brainer.

If he was behind on the count and had to put a defensive swing on the ball, then I'd say your advice is reasonable. That was not the case.

What makes your suggestion particularly comical is that this might have been Vernon's best at-bat of the season. He showed great patience laying off the low sinkers, working the count to 3-1. Waiting for his pitch - getting it(!) - and hammering it. That might be as good an at-bat as Vernon is capable of at this stage of his career. Just a super, perfect at-bat.

200 PAs like that this season and Vernon is an MVP-candidate.

Most of the best homerun hitters of our era (and of every era) are pull hitters.

Why didn't you jump all over Teixeira for taking a low slider on the outside corner and pulling it for a homerun in the 8th inning?

I'm with Robert in this situation. Cutting down your swing and poking the ball the other way, would have been a defensible strategy in the deadball era, and it would be absolutely called for in fastpitch softball, but in modern baseball, you always play for the win on the road and the tie at home. That doesn't just extend to strategic decisions like bunting, stealing, infield positioning and the hit-and-run; it also extends to approaches to both pitching and hitting in individual at-bats.

I understand the allure of increasing the chance of getting the tie through hitting a single; believe me. *Especially* with Vernon struggling. In the end, though, if you have to be beaten you want to be beaten playing your strongest hand, and Vernon's strength is pulling the ball hard.

I would not expect John McDonald to do the same thing, obviously, in a similar position.

OK Robert, though, I think you've made your point. No need to beat it to death. :)

I don't think we're going to agree. If you have a hole on the right side in a 1 run game with the tying runner at third you try to take advantage of it. Whether you're on the road or not it's always better to be in a tie game close to the end of the game than trailing by 1 run. Paul Molitor had power but he would have simply driven that inside pitch to right field since that's exactly what the Jays needed in that situation.

Yes you're on the road but if you don't score there the game is as good as over. There's no guarantee you're going to get a runner on base in the 9th. If you don't at least tie the game there is a very good chance you will lose.

Teixeira was in a completely different game situation. There's no-one on base. His team is up by one run. The pitch was down but over the middle of the plate. That's his wheelhouse and that's why he was able to elevate the pitch.

The inside corner of the plate is not Vernon's wheelhouse. His wheelhouse is the outer half of the plate where he can extend his arms. I don't mind Vernon trying to hit a homerun but if he doesn't get a pitch where he has a good chance to do that, he has a choice. Take the pitch and let the count run full or shoot the pitch to right through the hole to tie the game and get Drese out of the game and demoralize the Rangers.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, according to CNN on the web:

Delgado booted Carlos Beltran's grounder and then threw the ball over Beckett's head as the pitcher covered first for a second error...

Schadenfreude.

Missed all but the last two innings tonight, but did enjoy seeing the fighting Jays try to pull it out in the 8th.

What was funny was they did a close up on League looking in on the catcher and I suddenly saw Tom Henke. Lost the look as soon as he moved but it was interesting. The expression on his face plus the glasses did it.

As to the broadcast, I enjoyed it more and I think I figured out what was bothering me about Campbell. A lot of the time it sounds like he is trying to talk to the microphone rather than talking with someone. Tabler never sounds like that, he always sounds like he is talking with someone about the game (advantage of experience I suspect, or because he literally is talking to Campbell, when I see him on tv he always seems to be trying to explain things that the other broadcaster already knows but doesn't care if the other guy knows it or not, he just keeps explaining). Might be the price of being the play-by-play guy but I think it is key to feel like the announcers are right there talking to you while you watch. I did appreciate the 'Jays down by 2 going to the 9th' and lines like that going out of each inning, especially as I just heard one of those lines as I turned on the tv (down by one at the time). I suspect I'll be a Campbell booster by season's end given how much better he sounded this time vs a week ago, but year one is always the hardest for anyone in any profession, especially one as visible as this.

I thought Campbell and Tabler did an excellent job tonight.

Not only a good job by Jamie and Pat but we got a plug as well. :)

Schadenfreude.

Because a guy would rather make $13M a year than $6M?

I have a dream: Blue Jays and Marlins in the World Series.

The play by Delgado was LOL funny. The first error was when we booted the grounder back towards home plate into foul territory. He then manages to field the ball and for some reason decides to throw a blind over the shoulder toss to Beckett covering first (which doesn't get within 10 feet of him) and sails in to RF for the second error on the play.