We here on the Batter's Box Roster would like to experiment with a post-game analysis and discussion article we'd like to call "Instant Replays." This is your first Instant Replay article, so feel free to define it however you like by posting your thoughtful reactions to tonight's game.
Keep in mind that this is not a game thread, and as such standards are as high for this thread as for any other on Batter's Box.
Greinke lived up to his advanced billing, throwing a real gem but getting no run support. From the other dugout, Halladay (on an extra day's rest) was the familiar Doc we know and love — that is, one of the best pitchers in baseball.
What goes on in Toronto often stays in Toronto, because MLB, as a sweeping generalization, can easily turn a blind eye to things that happen outside the American borders. (Or so my Canadian inferiority complex tells me.) Halladay is, just about unquestionably, among the top tier of pitchers — I think any fears I may have induced in the Batter's Box Blue Jays 2005 Season Preview have been pretty much allayed — but I don't get the sense that the league's eyes rest on him all that much. For that matter, how much attention did Hentgen and even Clemens get in their Cy years? Obviously enough — they did win the award, after all — but, just maybe, these great players don't get the same level of respect they'd get if they were on the Tigers, or even the Royals. One little border makes all the difference (or does it?)
Which brings us to Orlando Hudson, who made an absolutely unbelievable play tonight, ranging all the way to behind second base, planting, and throwing out the runner. Effortless, like rolling off a log — or so it'd seem — and undoubtedly belongs in highlight reels. O-Dog is making a major run for the Gold Glove, and I hope he doesn't miss it because of the Jays' geography.
