Wells seems to be having better at bats. The slow start from the 3-4 hitters is a major reason the Jays have had to come form behind in, according to Jerry, 18 of the 16 games so far.
Really. One of his two career hits.
Yeah, he looks like he's trying to hurt the baseball. I never could understand how it worked for him - all that motion before he actually swings. But it seems to be working for him.
The aim is to dislodge the ball, not cause injuries. You don't "hammer" the catcher unless he's standing up to receive the ball.
Cat did exactly the right thing: (1) slide to make sure you catch the plate, and (2) try to kick or knee the catcher's mitt to try to dislodge the ball.
I generally only like the aggressive base running against the bad defensive teams. The Yankees are a pretty bad defensive team, but the one thing they do well on defense are fundamental plays - relays, rundowns, etc.
I also think I would have liked it better if Hillebrand had been hitting, if only because Shea is much bigger risk for the GIDP than Koskie.
Oh well.
Alarming developments: Derek Jeter was 0-12 lifetime against Lilly before this inning. And Sheffield was 2-20, including his homer earlier. So this is disturbing.
Lima-Time lost his no-hitter in the 6th, but the Royals are still ahead 5-2. Smoltz has a shutout through 6 and the Braves just got him a couple of runs. And today's Best Pitching Matchup comes to you from Houston, where Oswalt has an early 1-0 lead over Prior and the Cubs.
No, you don't. When a catcher is standing to receive a throw, by all means plow into him. When a catcher is crouching low to block the plate, forget about it. He's got two hands on the ball and he isn't going to drop it just because you run over top of him.
That's why baserunning coaches teach players to go after the glove once a catcher (or other player) it set - you're hitting the catcher where the blow is likely to cause a drop. Anyway, Posada was down so low he was practically sitting on the ground (terrific catching fundamentals there, by the way). How do you "hammer" a guy in that position? Jump in the air on top of him? Drop to your knees and push him?
Indeed. He's about as fearsome a sight bearing down on you as... Rance Mulliniks?
Now if it had been the Dude...
Lima-Time has now coughed up the no-no, the shutout, and the lead. That was fast. Tied at 5-5.
Now would be a good time, Alex.
Not fair. Whatever Lilly has done with Sheffield before today has worked pretty well - the man was 1-18 against him coming into the game. He clearly knows what he needs to do, and just couldn't execute today.
Like now.
Or were the locals just expressing their opinion of the Bomber' bullpen?
Maybe the sound of the Yankee fans booing their own team? (They were only doing it gently, so far, today, but it was definitely audible after the go-ahead run.)
Tyler,
No doubt about that. Williams was no more than 250 feet from the plate and couldn't even reach the mound. I'm quite confident I'd have made a better throw than that. (Used to play centerfield, and I'm about 12-13 years younger than Bernie, but I'm not getting paid the big bucks am I? hahah)
Maybe someone can help me out on this. Yankee fans have always been very loyal, caring fans but were they as spoiled and self-righteous like this in any of their glory years prior to the 90s?
Note to self...
I'd rag on the Yankee fans more, but I recall that there were many Jays fans who were insufferable in 1992 and 1993.
Anyway, I think there are as many or more good Yankees fans, as fans of any other team. I myself probably know as many Yankees fans who are proud, passionate, knowledgeable baseball fans as I do fans of any other team including the Jays.
Because of their recent success, I think they have more loud and prominent bandwagoneers than any other team. Which gives rise to the idea that their fans are jerks - but it probably isn't so.
He's still in the game.
MEN FROM MARS HAVE LANDED, and Johan Santana is losing 2-0 on a pair of solo homers by Vlad and a Molina.
This is what I really like about Gibbons: he'll change his managerial style based on the team he's playing. With a Yankees team that hasn't aged like fine wine, taking advantage of old men in the OF, less than deceptive pitchers and noodle-armed catchers, small ball (if you can call it that, 8 runs isn't very small) is the best strategy.
Don't mean to get off-topic, but Yankee fans were demanding that they trade Cano, Gordon, and Wright for Halladay on some forum on Saturday.
Back to your regular scheduled Jays barnburner.
I'd say 55% or so, bearing in mind that giving up a tying run in a game that the reliever vultures counts as a "blown" save even though he gets a win.
Amen to that. I thought this was supposed to be the Blue Jays broadcast.
5 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 1 SO, 2 HR, and a nifty ERA of 7.11 on the season. It's never good when your ERA sounds like a convenience store.
At least he had a better day than Prior.
It's the curse of the Magpie. If only I'd picked A-Rod for MVP...
Posada vs Schoeneweis: 7-17 (.412). His three year splits:
As RHB 399 162 119 34 0 21 80 67 3 84 0 0 .298 .402 .541 .943 As LHB 1042 0 275 61 1 50 201 195 19 261 3 4 .264 .387 .468 .855Is this wise?
Probably not. But it worked anyway.
The best thing I can think of is that it's Yankee Stadium move. You don't want Posada taking a shot at the short porch in RF against Walker.
Not any more. Prepare to be blamed!
I just can't believe that yesterday's cramp is still keeping Giambi out today. A cramp? From yesterday?
Womack 1-9
Jeter 2-15
Williams 3-11
Let us not speak of Sheffield, Rodriguez, and Matsui however.
Play of the game so far might just be the Catalanotto AB against Q where he managed to come back and work the walk.
Some defense from the Mouse!
Against Bernie Williams, teams have been running first to third and tagging up on shallow fly balls for years. Williams' weak arm is no secret.
Crosby (LH) and Sanchez (RH) - with Giambi presumably unavailable, Crosby was the only possible choice to PH and you wouldn't use him against a LH.
Fate careth not for disclaimers. Tempt it not!
Hillenbrand hitting .410 and leading the league in hitting is pretty cool, but has anyone realized that Rios, with his .330 average, ranks 12th?
Sure, it would be nice to see him draw a few more walks, but it's hard to complain about a .330 batting average. Great start for the young man and the way he's stung the ball the last couple games has been very encouraging. I was surprised to see a familiar name listed next to Rios in the OPS rankings... guess who?
Rios 88 AB .330 BA .347 OBP .466 SLG .813 OPS Izturis 105 AB .343 BA .384 OBP .429 SLG .813 OPS
Standard small sample size disclaimer. It'll be interesting to see how these players perform over the rest of the year. I think we'll see Rios lead Izturis by a good 125-150 OPS by the end of the year. But youneverknow, Izturis showed some improvement last year and he's still only 25.
It's hard not to be a huge Hillenbrand fan right now. I promise to fondly remember these happy days when he inevitably slumps and never gets on base due to his aversion to the free pass.
Umm, Ryan, there was a Roundup yesterday. :)
There was? Ok my mistake then. Although I still cant find it (Im slow like that sometimes).
