Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Jays 12, Royals 9: Excess of Baseball

This, of course, is supposed to be Joe's Game Report. I was at the ball park, doing my STATS gig, taking abuse from Fordin, and just making a few notes.

I got carried away.

So I thought - there's an off day tomorrow. I'll post a Bonus Game Report. Well, why not - when 3 hours and 47 minutes are required for 8 and a half innings... I mean, we had a lot of baseball. And, like I said, there's an off day coming up afterwards.

Immediately the internal e-mails started flying. "Magpie, you're just trying to horn in on a Jays win. That 1-4 record of yours... you're feeling the pressure! You're trying to vulture one! Shame! This is Joe's win!"

And indeed it is, but Joe is a gentleman and a scholar, and he's letting me run (off at the mouth) with it.

As said, I was at the ball park scoring this one, and I had decided to make some extra notes. A subject that had come up in the course of the Game Chats was how often hitters actually swing and miss. It doesn't happen nearly as often as one might expect. So I thought I'd make an extra note each time a hitter swung and missed. I wasn't expecting quite this type of game - nobody ever expects quite this type of game, in the same way that nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Had I known, I might have reconsidered. 394 pitches were thrown yesterday afternoon. Which is a lot, believe me.

This game took 227 minutes to play, and the twenty-one runs scored were only part of the reason. The Jays made four mid-inning pitching changes, and sent Arnsberg out to chat with his pitcher a couple of times. The Royals made only two mid-inning pitching changes, but compensated by sending their pitching coach out to visit no fewer than four times in the course of the game. Hey, when you're walking 11 batters in 8 innings, I guess you need to go out there and remind your pitchers that Babe Ruth died a long time ago.

As this bizarre affair went on and on and on and on, a few other subjects caught my attention. We'll get to them in time. This was not a baseball game that's going to be put into a time capsule for future generations to marvel over. It is doubtful that any excerpts will show up in an instructional video. Both teams deserved to lose, and happily, the other team did.

I noticed in the Instant Replay that there were those who nominated Ken Huckaby as Jays Game MVP, which startled me, because I spent much of my afternoon complaining about various Huckaby-related things. But more anon.

First Inning

There was already a run in and a man on second when Dave Bush got his first swinging strike. Mike Sweeney missed a 66 mph curve on a 1-1 count. Later, with the count 2-2, Bush threw a lovely sinking fastball on the outside corner, and Sweeney missed that one as well. I was surprised - you don't miss as many bats with sinkers.

Matt Stairs singled in the second KC run, but Bush struck out Marrero and Brown to end the inning. Already I was thinking that Bush seemed out of sorts. He seemed far more tentative on the mound than usual, and he seemed positively obsessive about clearing away dirt from the rubber and smoothing out the ground in front of him. I also wasn't sure if he and Huckaby were on the same page. This was the first time they had worked together. Bush usually mixes up his two fastballs, but this inning he seemed to be throwing an awful lot of four seamers. Of course, the Royals were missing many of them. He started Emil Brown with one, that he swung through - Brown fouled off a number of pitches and worked the count full before swinging and missing another four-seamer for Bush's second strikeout. The next batter, Marrero also swung through a pair of four-seamers, on 1-0 and 1-2 counts, and Bush had struck the side while allowing a couple of runs.

Kansas City's Denny Bautista throws a 95 mph fastball almost effortlessly (although his shoulder started barking at him in the third inning) - however, he has a lot of trouble throwing anything for strikes. In this first inning, he blew one of those heaters by Hinske. It was the only bat he missed in the inning.

Second Inning

The Jays had given Bush a 3-2 lead, and Bush would give it back. Teahen singled on the ground up the middle. He was running when Castillo grounded out, so the Royals were able to stay out of the double play. Bush got Gotay to swing and miss at 1-0 breaking ball that the scorebaord called a "change-up" - Bush doesn't throw a changeup, unless he's added one very recently. He does throw a slider at about that velocity. He retired Gotay on a flyout and Angel Berroa stepped up to the plate.

This was an at bat that made me crazy.

Bush threw his two seam fastball and Berroa swung and missed for the first strike. He then floated in his 66 mph curve - it was just off the plate. Berroa leaned over the plate, he started his bat.... but held back. Bush threw another slow curve - Berroa swung and missed. He fouled off a fastball, and then Bush threw yet another slow curve.

Berroa pulled this one into the left field seats. It was foul by quite a bit, but I said to myself "OK, guys. Cut it out. Angel's figured out the curve ball." But Bush and Huckaby came right back with yet another slow curve (the fourth in the six pitches of the at bat), and Berroa rocketed it into left field for an RBI double. I was furious with Huckaby for going to the well too often, and unhappy with Bush for not shaking off his catcher. Berroa would come around to score on DeJesus' single.

Still, the play of the inning, besides the fourth curve ball to Berroa, was interim manager Schaeffer starting his runner Teahen with Castillo at the plate. With Alberto "running" to first, it's an easy double play, and the Royals don't score (assuming Bush gets Gotay, as he did.)

In the bottom half of the inning, Denny Bautista found a Jays hitter who couldn't catch up to his heater. Huckaby waved at two of them, and then hit into a double play. I was angry again. I can accept that there's a role for Ken Huckaby in the major leagues, but as a hitter he's not that much better than Tom Glavine (and not quite as good as Livan Hernandez). Plus, Huckaby runs like a catcher. He's a double play waiting to happen. I'm not a big fan of the sac bunt, but when Tom Glavine or Ken Huckaby are batting with runners on and no one out... I vote for the bunt. Making it worse was the fact that Hudson followed with another walk, but Bautista got Catalanotto to swing and miss one of his fastballs before grounding out to second.

Third Inning

Bush suddenly looked like Dave Bush in the third inning - he retired the side on a quick 9 pitches, getting a flyout and a couple of ground balls.

In the bottom half, Bautista's woes began. With one out, he hit Hillenbrand, which prompted an unnecessary warning from Tom Hallion. He got Hinske to swing and miss at a slider - Eric can never lay off those breaking balls, can he? - but Hinske lined an RBI double and came around to score on Wells' single. The pitching coach came out to visit with Rios at the plate, and with the count 3-1, Bautista came out of the game with "shoulder soreness." Mike MacDougal came in to throw one pitch to Rios and complete the base on balls. Which was charged to Bautista, and ESPN apparently charged the pitch to Bautista as well. Don't be fooled. Bautista threw 71 pitches on the afternoon, and MacDougal would throw 42.

Of those 71 pitches, just 35 were strikes. The 35 strikes break down this way:

11 called strikes
10 balls hit in play
9 balls hit foul
5 swinging strikes (slider to Hinske, fastballs to Hinske, Catalanotto, and Huckaby twice)

MacDougal got Adams on a pop up, and then found someone he could throw the ball by as well. Huckaby missed a 1-0 fastball and struck out swinging on a 3-2 slider.

Fourth Inning

With one out, Bush gave up an alarming double by Castillo - alarming because Castillo's really not much of a hitter. Gotay then lifted a high pop up foul down the third base line, except: a) it blew back into fair territory, and b) landed in between three fielders for a really cheap double. Castillo, hung up wondering whether the ball would be caught, was thrown out at the plate by Catalanotto for the second out. The Gang in the Game Chat were saying that Castillo didn't get any help from his on-deck hitter - take a bow, Angel Berroa - which was something I couldn't see in Real Time (watching the ball, I was.)

By now Gibbons had seen enough of Bush, and came out with the quick hook. That's two starts in a row that Bush has been pulled, with a lead, having thrown less than 80 pitches. Not that he looked very good today. He threw 74 pitches on the day, and 49 were strikes. The strikes break down as follows:

16 balls hit foul
14 balls hit in play
10 called strikes
9 swinging strikes (slider to Gotay, curves to Sweeney and Berroa, fastballs to Sweeney, Berroa, Brown twice and Marrerro twice)

Pete Walker finished the inning, and found himself in wonderful position to vulture a win.

With Hudson aboard after his third walk in four innings, MacDougal got Koskie to miss a hard first pitch slider. But Koskie would double in Hudson and score on Hillenbrand's bloop single. Jays were up 7-4. MacDougal got Hinske to swing and miss at a couple of pitches, I think a slider and a fastball. Actually, I'm not sure on this.

See, we were all a little distracted, because during the Hinske at bat Castillo tried to catch Hillenbrand wandering off first base. Only to throw the ball into right field. Official scorer Joe Sawchuk blinked and missed the play live, and was busy rewinding the videotape to see a replay before making a ruling. So naturally those of us who enter the game in real time are all yelling "What was it, Joe? Whose error? The catcher? We got to enter something!" And that's why those you following on GameDay experienced a lull at that point in the proceedings. After a moment, I charged forward and entered a throwing error on the catcher, trusting Joe would see it my way. Sometimes, I am so full of... confidence?

Anyway, this was the end of MacDougal's day. He threw 42 pitches, 25 strikes:

9 balls hit foul
6 called strikes
5 balls hit in play
5 swinging strikes (sliders to Koskie, Hinske, and Huckaby, fastballs to Huckaby and Hinske)

Fifth Inning

Could Pete Walker stand the good fortune? Not much chance of that. He got Matt Stairs to whiff a 2-0 fastball, but missed out of the zone with his next two pitches. Marrero delivered a two out double to keep the inning going, and Mark "Moneyball" Teahen grounded a single up the middle to score a pair and cut the lead to 7-6.

Teahen obligingly got himself thrown out trying to steal while Castillo was hitting, and that would be the end of Walker's afternoon. He threw 27 pitches, and 14 were strikes. The breakdown:

6 balls hit in play
4 called strikes
2 balls hit foul
1 swinging strike (fastball to Stairs)
1 ball bunted at and missed (Berroa)

Jamie Cerda came out to work the fifth for the Royals; he sandwiched strikeouts of Adams and Hudson around a walk to Huckaby. Neat trick, because he didn't get a single swing and a miss.

Sixth Inning

Vinnie Chulk breezed through the sixth, getting Castillo swinging at a 1-2 fastball, and getting Berroa to fly out after he'd swing at and missed the heater. Very neat and tidy 11 pitch inning.

For his part, Hillenbrand patiently worked Cerda for a two out walk, but Hinske grounded out to end the inning. Cerda's day was done. He'd thrown 45 pitches and 29 strikes, as follows:

14 balls hit foul
11 called strikes
4 balls hit in play
0 swinging strikes

Seventh Inning

DeJesus lined Chulk's first pitch of the inning for a double. The next ball Vinnie threw was in the general direction of second base. Alas, no one had informed the infielders that a pickoff play was in progress. The ball sailed into the outfield, and DeJesus trotted happily to third. Arnsberg came out to visit - Chulk gathered himself and got Sweeney swinging at a fastball for strike three. And with Matt Stairs coming to the plate, representing to the go-ahead run, surely it must be LOOGY time? Vinnie took his leave, having thrown 17 pitches and 13 strikes, as follows:

4 called strikes
3 balls hit foul
3 balls in play
3 swinging strikes (fastballs to Castillo, Berroa, Sweeney)

And so it was time for Scott Schoeneweis' brief but memorable day on the mound. Matt Stairs lined his second pitch over the wall in the right field corner to put the Royals ahead 8-7. Seconds later, Emil Brown crushed a 1-2 pitch into the second deck in left field. That was enough of that. Schoeneweis threw 7 pitches, 5 strikes:

2 balls hit in play
2 balls hit foul
1 called strike

Jason Frasor got Marrero to miss a 1-0 fastball before he walked him. He struck out Teahen swinging at 1-2 changeup. He got Castillo to miss a first pitch fastball, but walked him as well before escaping the inning with a one pitch flyout from Gotay.

The Royals summoned Andy "Benjamin" Sisco to work the 7th. Sisco is enormous, in the way that large buildings are enormous. The Royals PR guy told me he stands 6-10 and weighs about 270 pounds. He issued a leadoff walk to Wells, who then had a jolly time running for second over and over while Rios fouled off pitches. He eventually moved to second on the groundout. Which brought Russ Adams to the plate...

But nooo, as John Belushi used to sneer. John McDonald would pinch hit. Look, people. There is something seriously wrong somewhere if, in the late innings of a close game, you are sending up John McDonald to pinch hit. Something is very, very wrong with that scenario. Fortunately, McDonald was able to foul off a couple of 1-2 pitches and walked to first when Sisco missed with three straight pitches. Runners on first and second, one out, down by two runs... Ken Huckaby to hit? Bloody hell! Why is Frank Menechino even on the team if he's not going to bat in this situation?

At this moment, I said to my neighbour, "if you allow Ken Huckaby to swing the bat with the game on the line, you deserve to lose." Huckaby took the 1-0 pitch for a strike, and waved helplessly at a pair of fastballs. Hudson drew yet another walk to load the bases with two out for Reed Johnson. Sparky battled away nicely, spoiling four straight 2-2 pitches before swinging and missing the slider. Sisco's excellent adventure was done.

In one inning, he had thrown a mind-boggling 41 pitches and yet hadn't allowed a run. Or a hit - he walked the bases loaded. He threw 23 strikes, as follows:

16 balls hit foul
3 called strikes
3 swinging strikes (slider to Johnson, fastballs to Huckaby twice)
1 ball hit in play

And I thought the Jays had blown their best chance to get back into the game.

Eighth Inning

Jason Frasor gave up base hits to three of the four batters he faced. Berroa started things with a line drive single, but was quickly erased by Huckaby attempting to steal. Frasor struck out DeJesus, but gave up two more hits, to Sweeney and Stairs. Gibbons decided to bring in his closer with the team trailing by two.

Frasor has had better days - 3 hits and 2 walks in 1.1 IP, but he would escape without allowing a run. He threw 30 pitches, 17 strikes:

7 balls hit foul
4 balls hit in play
3 swinging strikes (changeup to Teahen, fastballs to Marrero and Castillo)
3 called strikes

Miguel Batista instantly wild pitched both runners into scoring position, but got Brown to fly out on the next pitch.

The Royals' fifth pitcher of the long, long afternoon was Ambiorix Burgos, certainly the first "Ambiorix" that I know of to play major league baseball. For all I know, he could be the first "Ambiorix," period. Corey Koskie hit his third pitch over the wall in left-centre, to cut the lead to 9-8.

Hillenbrand singled on a 1-1 pitch. Burgos got Hinske to swing and miss a 1-1 splitter (oh Eric and the off-speed stuff!), but the Dude singled to right on the next pitch. Wells reached on an error - his routine grounder went right through Teahen at third, which surprised Angel Berroa so much, that it went by him as well. Am I the only person wondering what Angel Berroa is thinking about during these games? It doesn't always seem to be baseball. I noticed that Dr Prison Fence's game story charged the error to Berroa, which, while not technically accurate, is certainly close enough for government work. They both deserved one.

Bases loaded and Alex Rios, having a quiet day up to this point, delivered a huge two run double to put the Jays on top. Alex has been scuffling a little these last few days. He needed it, and so did his team.

With no one out and runners on second and third, the Royals brought their infield in. Or as the Cheeky Rookie (Rob) said in the Chat, "Infield drawn in for John McDonald -- otherwise known as the McDonald Shift." Thank you, Rob, thank you. I not only promise to repeat that at every opportunity, I promise to claim the credit for it as well.

McDonald grounded out meekly to third. Huckaby got the suicide squeeze down, and Wells made it across the plate ahead of the throw. Orlando Hudson, who had struck out once and walked four times, finally put a ball in play, ripping a double to right that scored Rios and moved Huckaby to third.

That was enough for Burgos, who had made a notable contribution to the Jays winning effort, allowing 5 hits and 5 runs in a third of an inning. He threw 21 pitches, 15 strikes, as follows:

8 balls hit in play
4 called strikes
2 balls hit foul (one a foul bunt by Wells!)
1 swinging strike (splitter to Hinske)

The Jays greeted Nunez with another attempted squeeze. Alas, Johnson bunted through the ball. The charging Huckaby jammed on the breaks and reversed course. The Royals ran him back to third base, where Orlando Hudson was already waiting. The Royals tagged everybody, and waited for the umpires to decide which baserunner they had removed. Hudson left the field. Johnson grounded out to end the long but enjoyable inning. Nunez threw 3 pitches, 2 strikes:

1 ball hit in play
1 ball bunted at and missed

Ninth Inning

Batista issued a five pitch walk to start things off, but then, thinking no doubt of the post-game spread growing cold in the clubhouse, induced a pair of ground balls to Hudson. Orlando turned them into a force out and a double play. Game over. Had 'em all the way, as Matthew E always says.

Batista threw 16 pitches, only 6 strikes:

3 balls hit in play
2 called strikes
1 ball hit foul

The PITCH TOTALS for today's game:

Kansas City: 223 pitches, 129 strikes
50 balls hit foul
35 called strikes
29 balls hit in play
14 swinging strikes
1 bunted at and missed

Toronto: 171 pitches, 104 strikes
32 balls hit in play
31 balls hit foul
24 called strikes
16 swinging strikes
1 bunted at and missed

Whew!

Posted by Magpie on Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 06:00 AM EDT.

Jays 12, Royals 9: Excess of Baseball | 57 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Joe - Wednesday, May 11 2005 @ 11:25 PM EDT (#116406) #

Magpie, desperate to increase his W-L record, went ahead and wrote 3000 words on last night's game. Now, no matter what I do, he'd be showing me up, so I'm going to go ahead and increase my perceived worth to the site by posting an insightful and long comment. I'm not really increasing the worth of my contribution, but it looks good when it comes to salary renegotiation time. ("Just look at all those saves, I mean amazing comments!")

Yesterday afternoon's game was pretty ugly, or so I heard; Jerry and Warren "Can you hear my smile? I'll smile harder then" Sawkiw (My one useless talent: an ability to hear the difference between smiling and not smiling in a person's voice) certainly made it seem so. I did notice, though, that Jerry sure got more excited about good things that happen for the Jays than good things that happen for the Royals. You may recall my thoughts on homerism; I thought I remembered Jerry getting excited for both sides. I suppose I could have been wrong, Jerry might have had an off day, or he might just be becoming a bigger Jays fan. That last one would be pretty nice; it sure seems that a lot more people are becoming Jays fans. The Rogers Centre sure seems more lively these days than it has in years; some of that is undoubtedly because hardcore sports fans who would otherwise be engaged in hockey are letting out their steam at the Rogers Centre, but I hope that it's at least partly because people are becoming more interested in the game.

Now, pop quiz! Who's the MLB leader in HBP? Giambi, you say? Delgado? Maybe Reed Johnson? All those men are in the upper echelon of beanballs, but the winner and undisputed champion is none other than our very own Shea Hillenbrand. That Shea-Hey kid sure was looks to be a good pickup early in the season, eh Robert?

Of course, Hillenbrand's .417 OBP, good for #17 in the league, had better be high with his 7 HBP. And I don't think you can expect it to stay that high; I don't think that turning the other cheek is much of a baseball skill. Orlando Hudson drew as many walks in this game (4) as Hillenbrand had taken in the 34 games prior to yesterday's. Of course, Hillenbrand did get 4 RBI and 6 total bases, and was on base 5 times... I guess you just can't argue with the results.

Now I turn my attention to Dave Bush, who has not really seemed to be the same Dave Bush who so utterly shut down the Yankees' AAA team on that magical night in October. His K/BB is right about where it was last year, but he's allowing a ton more HR and hitting way more batters than he did last year. His walks are up a bit, too. This says to me that he's having troubles with his command; walks up alone might be explainable by people figuring him out and sitting on his fastball or his slow, slow curve, but, like I alluded to above, batters don't usually figure out pitchers by taking one in the flesh.

What's the solution? Well, Bush says that they're working on mechanical issues on the side, and it's just a matter of being able to translate those changes to the game without outthinking himself. Bush has always struck me as a very smart pitcher, and I think he'll make it.

By the way, Spencer Fordin, in the article linked above, mentions that McGowan is back up to his usual velocity, and throwing breaking balls in addition to everything else. Plans are to move him to Dunedin by June; he might not reach Syracuse before 2006, but I'd expect him to move up quickly after he does. That is, if he doesn't have troubles in recuperation or recovering his command, which he almost certainly will. You need look no further than Francisco Rosario, who spent almost all of 2004 pitching fairly poorly before absolutely tearing it up for the Fisher Cats in August and the playoffs. In other words, don't expect the world from him right when he comes back. I have high expectations for the future of Jays pitching, which will probably break my heart — but at least I'm not alone. McGowan was ranked #15 of 30 by our very own Jordan, injury and all, while Rosario made it all the way to #4. Hey, maybe my heart will be broken, but hoping and being disappointed is way more fun than being pessimistic and having your fears confirmed.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 08:40 AM EDT (#116412) #

Oooh, look at me -- I'm rolling around in a big, cushy bed of baseball insight and it feels so good!

Ahem, sorry, just came back from taking my dog for a walk.

Applause for Joe's insightful comment. As for Magpie, I have this to say -- Roger Angell, take a seat, the Magnificent M's got it covered.

Mick Doherty - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:41 AM EDT (#116418) #

Oooh, look at me -- I'm rolling around in a big, cushy bed of baseball insight and it feels so good!

Careful with the sarcasm, Flex, or we'll start ignoring you -- and I understand that can be considered a form of abuse.

Mike Green - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:44 AM EDT (#116419) #

Thanks, Magpie. I missed the first 4 innings of the game completely, and only caught snatches of the next 3, but now I am up-to-date.

Dave Bush had a history of throwing this kind of start every once in a while in his minor league career. Inevitably, if his manager left him in, he'd throw up zeroes into the six or seventh, and leave having allowed 4 or 5 runs. He's a tough guy, and his managers loved him for it.

It sounds like he needs to learn when to shake off the veteran catcher; I guarantee he'll have that one mastered by next start. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Ambiorix Burgos shares his first name with Ambiorix Concepcion who played in the NYPL last year.

Paul D - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:44 AM EDT (#116420) #

Out of curiousity, what's the average number of pitches per game?

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:53 AM EDT (#116423) #

Hey, I wasn't being sarcastic. I loved Magpie's piece.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:55 AM EDT (#116424) #

Now I'm really bummed.

Mick Doherty - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:57 AM EDT (#116425) #

I know, Flex, I was referencing your comment from yesterday's Instant Replay thread. *I* was the one being sarcastic, ironically enough.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:59 AM EDT (#116426) #

Wow, sarcasm is so tricky in print. It's like a hall of mirrors.

Okay, now I'm not so bummed. On with more celebratory baseball verbiage!

Jacko - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:01 AM EDT (#116427) #

After the Royals went up 9-7, I turned off the radio. Burgos had pitched well in his last few appearances, and I expected the Jays, who had never seen him before, to be completely baffled by him.

I was pleasanly surprised when I check the boxscore later and found out that they Jays scored 5 in the 8th to put the game away.

So, back to the Batista watch. Thanks to Magpie, we know that only 6 of his 16 pitches in the 9th inning were strikes. Geez. I wonder what a more patient team like Boston would have been able to do against him yesterday.

Jordan - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:08 AM EDT (#116428) #

Actually, I had McGowan ranked 7th in the post-2004 Top 30 List; Vince Perkins was #15.

For all I know, he could be the first "Ambiorix," period.

I'm pretty sure Ambiorix owned the general store between Fulliautomatix's blacksmithy and Unhygienix's fish shop.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:16 AM EDT (#116431) #

Okay, sorry for all the non-game related comments, but seriously -- first Magpie's Monty Python reference, now Jordan's Asterix reference, all within a deep baseball context. It's like the pleasure centre of my brain has exploded into the internet. I'm completely freaked out.

Craig B - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:17 AM EDT (#116432) #

Well, maybe not an Ambiorix, but how about an Ambriorix? That would be Ambriorix Concepcion, a pretty good outfield prospect in the Mets system.

Craig B - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:23 AM EDT (#116435) #

Incidentally, for all those with their Asterix and Obelix jokes... Ambiorix was, indeed, a famous warrior Gaul who fought the Romans during Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.

Dave Till - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:36 AM EDT (#116440) #

Is Ambirorix Concepcion related to Onix Concepcion?

Excellent writing from both Magpie and Joe.

I sometimes worry that Gibbons likes pulling levers too much. Two suicide squeezes in one inning was a bit much, and pinch-hitting McDonald for Adams is a bad idea (and will soon seem like a bad idea as McDonald's average begins to drop back to his career norms).

Then again, he should have pinch-hit Menechino for Huckaby, but I suppose that he didn't trust the new guy in there with the game on the line.

Jordan - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:42 AM EDT (#116442) #

I have a vague recollection that the Jays -- maybe Gibbons, maybe Tosca -- tried this last year too: attempting two suicide squeezes in one inning. The first worked, the second didn't. Does anyone have a clearer recall?

Any trick play like a squeeze is something you try maybe twice a month, not twice an inning. Too much novelty becomes counterproductive. It's the same reason nobody owns more than one "Weird Al" Yankovic record.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:46 AM EDT (#116444) #

Lots of worry around the use of McDonald as a pinch hitter for Adams. There's a general feeling that's not going to be a good long-term strategy. But what if Gibbons doesn't view it as a long term strategy? What if he's just riding the hot hand? I think McDonald is hitting .385 against lefties at the moment. That's not bad. I'm sure once he's hitting .200 he's not going to be in there.

Coach - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:47 AM EDT (#116445) #

On TV, Wells said "the pitchers have been picking us up all year" and suggested it was about time the hitters returned the favour. Winning ugly games is so much better than losing them. It's a bit easier to shrug off defeat when you are stymied by a Doc-like masterpiece, so I'm sure yesterday was far more painful to the Royals than Tuesday.

Great report, Mags, but Joe still gets the W.

Mike Green - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:56 AM EDT (#116448) #

Craig, Concepcion's first name was spelled Ambiorix in boxscores last year and they still have it that way in the baseball cube.

Maybe it's like Johnson and Johnston, and even native Spanish speakers confuse things. Jabonoso, can you help us out on the names "Ambiorix/Ambriorix"?

Jacko - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 12:00 PM EDT (#116454) #

This is a little off-topic, but there was no logical thread to put it into. And I feel like ranting :)

The Orioles called up their 2004 first round pick out of single-A ball to replace Luis Matos on the roster. I'm not sure what on what planet this move would make sense, but here on earth it looks completely indefensible:

- Fiorentino's options just got bumped up by _two_ years (they didn't have to add him to the 40-man until after the 2006 season)
- while he has power, he hasn't quite figured out the strike zone yet (12/30 BB/K); major league pitchers are going to eat him alive

Meanwhile, the Orioles have a plethora of journeyman options who would have been able to fill in for a month without costing them anything:

Walter Young (AAA)
Alejandro Friere (AAA)
Tim Raines (AAA)
Ramon Nivar (AAA)
Gene Kingsale (AA)
Simon Pond (AA)

Jonny German - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 01:01 PM EDT (#116462) #

Just want to note: the daily Game Report is exactly the right place for posts like Jacko's. I agree, horrible move by the Orioles.

Dave Till - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 01:26 PM EDT (#116466) #

A couple of random ramblings:

- I just noticed that Reed Johnson has scored only six runs all year, despite a .390 on-base percentage, despite batting leadoff when he is in the lineup, and despite reaching base about 30 times. (Compare that to, say, Eric Hinske, who has been on base about 46 times, and has scored 26 runs.) How do you do that? I guess this is because Vernon was struggling out of the 3-hole.

- Extra-base hits by Eric Hinske: 13. Extra-base hits by Carlos Delgado: 16. Carlos is at .304/.518/.394, and Hinske is at .281/.474/.366. When you factor in defense and salary, it's beginning to look like J.P. may have made the correct decision when he let Delgado go. I hate being wrong :-).

Mike Green - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#116470) #

Fiorentino was a 3rd round pick last year (Townsend was the O's 1st rounder). I agree that calling him up from single A to sit on the bench makes no sense. They're treating him as if he were a Rule 5er.

Jacko - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 01:58 PM EDT (#116472) #

Whoops, my mistake. He's certainly hitting like a 1st rounder :)

If he had signed a major league contract and was already on the 40-man roster, this move would have made some sense.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:01 PM EDT (#116474) #

When guys who hate being wrong are willing to admit when they are, we all win.

There's also good reason to think Ricciardi hasn't gotten enough credit for his ability to read the psyche of his team. I think it's clearer now that with Carlos, this team had gotten complacent, and I think Ricciardi's willingness to let him go wasn't just about money, or 1st Base performance, but about the personality of the team.

There's been a lot of talk and praise on air and some around here that this team plays harder now, and that's not just because of Gibbons. Ricciardi let one personality type go and, in Hillenbrand and Koskie, brought in two different personality types. The effect, so far, has been positive, and he should get some credit for that.

Mike Green - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:21 PM EDT (#116479) #

Flex,

Delgado was, and is, a hard worker, plus being an all-around good guy. Koskie is a lot like that.

It is appropriate to give credit where it is due for the performance of the new acquisitions on the field. Hillenbrand is unlikely to continue hitting .370, but if he ends the season at .310 with 15 homers and 40 walks, the acquisition on its own merits will have worked out pretty well. He has played fine defence at third and first, filling in for Koskie and Hinske. Koskie, of course, is a fine player in his own right, leaving aside his admirable personal characteristics.

I still have concern about the impact of the presence of both Hillenbrand and Catalanotto on Gross' development. He needs regular major league time and soon (despite his current struggles in Syracuse). It's the reverse situation to the premature promotion of Fiorentino by the O's.

Rob - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:24 PM EDT (#116480) #

Fiorentino wasn't on the 40-man roster, which removes any possibility that this move is a good one.

Brings to mind the Daniel Cabrera callup last year, also by Baltimore, and also on May 11. One can only wonder what lucky member of the Frederick Keys will get the call on May 11, 2006 to sit on the Camden Yards pine.

What's the deal with Michael Restovich? That guy must be on his sixth team since March.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:26 PM EDT (#116481) #

Mike, don't think I was denigrating Delgado's work ethic. Far from it. Only that his presence in the lineup and the clubhouse may have conspired to take too much pressure off his team mates. I like to harken back to Tosca's remark when Delgado arrived in spring training, when he said it was like Daddy coming home and making everyone feel comfortable and safe.

It may have felt good, but it probably wasn't good for the team.

Craig B - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:34 PM EDT (#116483) #

There's something to be said for the idea that in order to allow the next generation to fully realize its potential for leadership (on and off the field) the previous generation must take a step backward. If the future is Halladay, Wells, Hinske and Hudson, then they should probably be pushed forward.

Craig B - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:36 PM EDT (#116484) #

By the way, for those of you not inclined to daily visits to The Hardball Times, I have a new article up there, on Tony Pe�a and his firing.

Dave Till - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:47 PM EDT (#116486) #

I'm wondering whether Wells has struggled because he is putting pressure on himself to be The Man now that Delgado is gone.

I agree with the general assessment of Delgado: from what I've heard, he's a great guy and a hard worker. However, he is distinctly less mobile at first than Hinske. Putting Eric at first instead of Carlos has a positive effect on team defense.

Carlos is also (a) slower on the basepaths, (b) on base a lot, and (c) able to whack the ball a long distance. This means that a team featuring Delgado as the central part of the lineup can't steal bases much. If you steal when Delgado is at the plate, the opposition will likely just walk Carlos. And why risk being caught stealing when your big guy can score him by whacking the ball over the fence? (The Marlins, a team that has three really fast guys in the lineup, is tied for 6th in the NL in steals as I write this.)

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 02:55 PM EDT (#116487) #

That's a great piece, Craig. Really impressive, thoughtful work. I love sports stories that care enough to talk about the thoughts and emotions of men. Well done.

Gerry - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 03:14 PM EDT (#116490) #

Excellent read Craig. Between your piece and Magpie's, we get a great insight inside the games.

Magpie - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 03:57 PM EDT (#116500) #

That's a lovely piece on Tony Pena, well done Craig. He deserves a lot better than Angel Berroa...

I think Flex is on to something. Delgado was so much the focus of the offense, because he was so much more dangerous than anyone else, that there may have been a (very much unconscious) tendency to assume that he'd take care of all the heavy lifting. It's probably not a good thing to have one hitter who is that much better than the other guys. Although if you have, say, Barry Bonds on your team: a) there's nothing you can do about it, and b) you'll take it.

Still, I somehow think that any offense needs a locus of danger. The Jays are missing that right now. Nobody actually frightens you (well, Huckaby and McDonald frighten me) and it's good to scare the other team a little.

Did I make a Monty Python reference? I don't actually remember, but it does happen more or less automatically.

Ducey - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 04:00 PM EDT (#116501) #

"What's the deal with Michael Restovich?"

I read a few weeks ago that he is extremely hard on himself and has bouts of depression. Even though he appears to have tremendous ability, teams have not been able to get him to think positively about himself. Unfortunately, I doubt the frequent transactions have helped much.

Mike Green - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 04:14 PM EDT (#116503) #

An ideal offence does have a locus of danger. That's not likely to come here any time this year, with the result that the offence is likely to remain pretty much as it has been. For this team to win consistently, the pitching has to be very good. They've got a leg up, in that the defence is better than it has been, and the field turf helps.

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 04:28 PM EDT (#116506) #

Spanish Inquisition. No one expects it, or remembers it, it seems.

Next stop for me, the comfy chair!

Dave Till - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 04:38 PM EDT (#116507) #

Flex: our chief weapons are fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and a night out with the neighbours. :-)

I think that the best hitting lineups have (a) a locus of danger, and (b) no offensive sinkholes. The Jays, when all are healthy, have (b) but not (a); the Yankees, this year, have (a) but not (b).

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 05:05 PM EDT (#116510) #

Why do they not sell Python cuts on iTunes? Why? I can get Elaine May and Mike Nichols, but I can't get torture with soft pillows. (sigh)

uglyone - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 07:12 PM EDT (#116516) #

I think Flex is on to something. Delgado was so much the focus of the offense, because he was so much more dangerous than anyone else, that there may have been a (very much unconscious) tendency to assume that he'd take care of all the heavy lifting. It's probably not a good thing to have one hitter who is that much better than the other guys. Although if you have, say, Barry Bonds on your team: a) there's nothing you can do about it, and b) you'll take it.

Part and pacel with reneging offensive responsibily and leaving it all up to Delgado, is the tendency for the team to have very large emotional letdowns in those instances where Delgado DIDN'T come through, throughout the whole team (pitchers included), leading the team to "give up" in many instances.

I know J.P. recognized the danger of an imbalanced lineup, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who believed in this before the season started (and believed it was a tangible reason to predict improvement from some areas of the lineup), merely based on the myriad of examples of big hitters leaving lineups all over the league, with those lineups more than making up for the loss with "coincidental" simulataneous improvements from nearly all the other hitters.

Joe - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 07:17 PM EDT (#116518) #

Flex, have you noticed that Spamalot is available on the iTunes music store? I'm considering buying it.

Magpie - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 07:36 PM EDT (#116521) #

Sing along with NFH:<p>

"I have to push the pram a lot!"

Flex - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 07:53 PM EDT (#116523) #

Yup, I noticed. But when you're looking for Rat Pie with Rats in it, a bit of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life just pales.

But yes, I'll be getting Spamalot.

Glad to see my Delgado theory has hit at least a minor chord on this gameless Thursday.

HollywoodHartman - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 08:37 PM EDT (#116524) #

I spent all of Jewish hitstor class yesterday wondering if the hays could come back...

And I believe it was Jordan who said nobody owns more than 1 Weird Al album, I own 9...

Jordan - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 09:09 PM EDT (#116526) #

Really? There are nine?

Honestly, I stopped paying attention soon after Smells Like Nirvana. Then again, I stopped paying attention to music soon after Nirvana, so I'm probably not in the best position to judge.

I'll always believe that Al's greatest contribution to the genre was his version of American Pie with Phantom Menace lyrics. I like to think of it as a savage indictment of two of the emptiest, most overhyped American cultural milestones of all time. If he had worked in some Forrest Gump references from his marvellous Gump piece, we might have had an all-points blasting of the grotesque Hollywood media machine. Sadly, though, it all might have been a coincidence.

Hey, do people still buy albums?

Magpie - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:08 PM EDT (#116527) #

And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul, now he's toast
I'm still here, and he's a ghost

Too cool for words. But music, it turns out, did not end with Nirvana.

I know this because I once thought music had ended with the Clash. Having been wrong then, I won't get fooled again.

Won't get fooled again!

Lefty - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:15 PM EDT (#116528) #

No music didn't end with the Clash, it was bridged by Joey Keithley to Green Day, with a little Terminal Eyes to ease away the pain.

Joe - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:21 PM EDT (#116529) #

Hey, do people still buy albums?

I still buy albums. I can't speak for anybody else, of course, but I'm very much against stealing music. I also believe that, in a lot of cases, an album is meant to be enjoyed in its entirety, so, with a few exceptions, when I've bought music from the iTunes Music Store, I've bought it as a full album.

Now, if you were talking about LPs.. then no. No, nobody buys those anymore. (Waving my hands quickly so you don't notice my hardcore punk cousins who not only buy vinyl, but make their own albums and release them on vinyl.)

mathesond - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:24 PM EDT (#116530) #

It is possible that a subpoena may have been weighing on Pena's mind over the past little while, and may well have been a contributing factor in his decision to resign. (Link courtesy of robneyer.com)

Keith Talent - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:31 PM EDT (#116532) #

Hey, I orignally posted this in the photo thread but realize it would be better suited here:

Question: Is it ill-advised when Gibbons has Huckaby or McDonald hitting late in games, in key situations; or is it genius?

Looking back on the early season, it's tough to point to many occasions where Gibbons' moves have backfired. Remember Carlos Tosca; you could hold him personally accountable for at least a dozen Blue Jay losses last year.

Back to Gibbons, he has McDonald (and not to mention Reed Johnson) batting over .300. Would that show that he is expert in putting these people in when they are most likely to succeed: Having them out there enough not to be rusty, but not out long enough to face situations disadvantageous to them?

And Hey: isn't that World Cup of Baseball just going to kick butt next year? Go to the ESPN site and they've laid out who will likely play for each country. Canada's squad, though longshoots, is an impressive collection of talent.

Keith Talent - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 10:37 PM EDT (#116533) #

I think Dave Bush is beaning batters on purpose this season, to get respect. And word's getting around; that's why Blue Jays are getting beaned games when Bush pitches.

Named For Hank - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 11:26 PM EDT (#116534) #

Instead of going to lower resolution audio (again), I've been moving to SACD and DVD-A. I cannot wait for my SACD of Bowie's Scary Monsters to show up (which I believe I am getting for my birthday next week, and if I'm not I'm getting it for myself).

MP3, bah!

Magpie - Thursday, May 12 2005 @ 11:29 PM EDT (#116536) #

I think Dave Bush is beaning batters on purpose this season, to get respect.

I don't think so, mainly because he's hit most of them with that 66 mph curve of his. Which makes them laugh at him, in a macho kind of way.

Of course, Manny Ramirez was beaned the other day by an 81 mph Dan Haren curve and had to leave the game. No one regarded it as a bean ball - not Francona, not Manny, not on deck hitter David Ortiz because it was a curve ball. But then again, Haren's curve is about as hard as your average high school fastball and I wouldn't want to get one of them in the head.

And I guess I wouldn't even want to get a 66 mph Bush curve in the head. I don't know if I can even throw a baseball 66 mph, but I'm sure it would hurt anyway.

King Ryan - Friday, May 13 2005 @ 12:55 AM EDT (#116540) #

I still buy CDs. I guess it's mostly just because I like to have a CD collection that people can look over when they're here. I don't actually listen to the CDs much. I usually rip them onto my computer and listen to the songs on my MP3 player.

Also, Nirvana was terrible. (Uh-oh!)

Excellent game report, Magpie. I'm happy to say I read all 3300 words of it.

For those keeping count:

BLUE JAYS SWINGING STRIKES

Huckaby   6
Hinske    5
Cat       1 
Koskie    1
Johnson   1

Yeah, that's right.  Seventy-nine percent were Huckaby and Hinske.

ROYALS SWINGING STRIKES

Sweeney   3
Marreno   3
Berroa    3
Brown     2
Castillo  2
Stairs    1
Teahen    1
Gotay     1

....they just aren't very good, are they?

Tyler - Friday, May 13 2005 @ 02:36 AM EDT (#116541) #

This is a little bizarre. The guy's who've been doing the heavy lifting so far-Koskie and Hillenbrand-weren't even here last year. No one else is dramatically outperforming what was expected-the most shocking line so far is probably Wells' .216/.270/.343. Johnson's up a bit, but he's had a much better split in his at-bats this year, way closer to 50/50 as opposed to last year's righty heavy load. Hinske is up a bit too, but again, it's early. He's been tailing off since his hot start. Maybe before we start talking about how Delgado was actually a drag, because everyone was looking to him to carry the team, we wait and see how things look at the end of the season, or the halfway point even?

Dave Till - Friday, May 13 2005 @ 08:53 AM EDT (#116545) #

Back to Gibbons, he has McDonald (and not to mention Reed Johnson) batting over .300. Would that show that he is expert in putting these people in when they are most likely to succeed: Having them out there enough not to be rusty, but not out long enough to face situations disadvantageous to them?

I like Gibbons' lineup selections, for the most part, but I think McDonald's numbers are a fluke. In May, he's 2 for 9 with a walk. Given the way Adams is hitting right now (.333 in May, with five extra-base hits in 30 at-bats), pinch-hitting McDonald for him is a bad idea.

Johnson, on the other hand, is being used perfectly: playing against most lefthanders, and serving as a late-inning defensive replacement.

uglyone - Friday, May 13 2005 @ 09:53 AM EDT (#116549) #

No one else is dramatically outperforming what was expected-the most shocking line so far is probably Wells' .216/.270/.343.

who said anything about "dramatic" ?

aside from Wells, everyone is either around or above their expected production so far. (maybe not hudson, but he's coming on strong).

Even so, the performances so far of Hillenbrand, Zaun, Hinske, and Johnson probably COULD be characterized as "dramatically outperforming what was expected" anyways.

and if you check out Hinske's numbers, you might be surprised to find that he hasn't really been fading. Not in anything resembling a direct progression, anyways.

Of course, the interesting thing about the concept of the rest of the lineup compensating for the loss of the big bat is that in the end, we might see similar overall team offensive stats, but just more wins.

Not that I want to get into an argument about "timely" or "clutch" scoring, though.

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