Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - A's 5, Jays 2 - The I Couldn't Pay Attention to the Game Report

A's 5, Jays 2 - The I Couldn't Pay Attention to the Game Report

I remember the night the kid cut off his right arm
In a fit to save a bit of power
He got fifty thousand watts
In a big acoustic tower

As I've probably mentioned on here before, for my game reports I usually end up watching the game in bars, partly because I don't have cable TV and partly because I enjoy bars. Anyhow, I found it particularly hard to concentrate on yesterday's game. I'm having trouble coming up with something coherent from these notes at all. So instead I'll just publish the notes verbatim. Enjoy!

First Inning - Top Half

Orlando Hudson leads off. In the chat room I've been defending the wisdom of this choice to those who would prefer to see Rios here. Except now I'm thinking maybe Rios at #1 would make a lot of sense. Hudson grounds out and I'm thinking it even more. Gotta remember the sample size, Pep.

Cat looks like the kid that mows my lawn.

V-DUB!!!!! Sorry for ever doubting you, buddy. You've been playing well lately. I wouldn't be surprised if you surprised us all and hit 35 this year.

Hillenbrand walks. Doesn't help Dudek any.

Hinske flies out. Still, up 1-0 in the first against the A's. I'll take it.

First Inning - Second Half

BE GOOD LILLY. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BE GOOD!

What the hell happened to Jason Kendall?

Two groundouts and a pop fly. Excellent. I'd like to see Lilly start mowing people down, but I'll take what I can get.

You know that 70's easy listening song Baby Come Back? (It's by the band Player. I had to look that up. Who the hell are they?). Anyhow, the song is much better if you change Baby Come Back to René Lévesque:

René Lévesque, you can blame it all on me
I was wrong, and I just can't live without you

Second Inning - Top Half

Hill grounds out, Zaun strikes out looking, and I need a drink. Did you know a scotch & soda only has 65 calories? It's how I keep my girlish figure.

RIOS!!!!!! Wow. How the hell does this guy hit homeruns? He's got a 30 inch waist! He's gotta teach me his swing - it could come in handy in slowpitch.

You know, to follow the Earl Weaver strategy, you need to get guys on base before you hit the homeruns. But the good guys are still winning 2-0 and Lilly isn't pitching too badly. Adams gets out, which doesn't help us any.

Second Inning - Bottom Half

Wow.. Lilly just struck someone out! Speaking of whatever happened to: Eric Chavez? Did the A's get a new batting coach over the winter. What's wrong with these guys?

Check out those two women who just walked in. They'd be hot if they didn't look like they didn't spend their lives lying 3 feet away from the Earth's sun. Who in the world thinks it's attractive to have skin that has the look and feel of an old leather handbag? I never understood that look. Mind you, I could never figure out why so many people thought Jennifer was more attractive than Bailey:

Mmm.. Bailey Quarters.

Third Inning - Top Half

How are we in the third inning? I guess I spent too much time gawking at Skincancer Girl and her sidekick Broiler Babe. Anyhow, the good guys are still ahead 2-0, so I guess that's all that matters.

Groundout, flyout, groundout. Well, that sucked. Where are the solo homeruns, I ask?

Third Inning - Bottom Half

Flyout. Bloop single. Flyout. Flyout. Why do the Jays have 4 infielders and 3 outfielders for this game. It should be the other way around.

This isn't sustainable. If Lilly keeps pitching like this, the A's are going to start teeing off on him at some point. Hopefully he'll be yanked due to pitch count by that time. What is he at now anyway?

Why does Jamie Campbell sound different announcing ball games than he does on Sportsnet? Does he have a third voice for day to day use as well? And if so, does he get them confused sometimes and says, "Medium Regular to go" in the same voice normally reserved for "Grounder to second"? Because that would be cool.

Fourth Inning - Top Half

Remember those dark nights down Brickfield
Never a blade in sight - BRICK FIELD NIGHTS
No youth club, no coffee bar
Saturday was the local cinema night - BRICK FIELD NIGHTS

Why was late 70's Brit Pop so obsessed with 50's death rock (and 50's music in general)? I'm all for pointless nostalgia, but you think they could have mixed it up a little. Well, at least Johnny Are You Queer? was a great song.

Airport, you've got a smiling face,
you took the one I love so far away
Fly her away - fly her away - airport.
Airport, you've got a smiling face
You took my lady to another place
Fly her away - fly her away.

I've got to stop listening to new wave mixed CDs before I do these reports. The songs in my head... they're killing me. At least I finally got the theme song from The Greatest American Hero out of my head.

Another boring half inning. Blanton has found his groove, which is tough to say for a guy who is 0-5 this year.

Sudden Mental Question: If J.P. was GM of the A's, would Blanton have already been sent down to Sacramento?

Fourth Inning - Bottom Half

Is Kielty for Lilly still the absolute steal it seemed like last year?

Another inning, another 2-0 lead for the Jays. Could this really be happening? Is Lilly going to shut these guys out? If he does, that say more about Lilly's pitching or about the A's?

Fifth Inning - Top Half

Blah. Boring half inning. I could really go for one of those innings where someone gets plunked, steals second and third, then scores on a suicide squeeze. Small ball is generally pretty ineffective, but boy is it fun!

Why did the Decepticons keep Starscream around? I mean, did he have any uses whatsoever? I don't even think he could take Bumblebee in a fight.

Fifth Inning - Bottom Half

CRAP. First Crosby singles, then Dan the Man Johnson. Two on, one out. That's it, man. Game over, man! Game over!

Or not. Two flyouts, and the good guys are still ahead 2-0. Gotta chill. Gotta relax.

Sixth Inning - Top Half

Orlando Hudson might not be the most talented Blue Jay, but he's by far the most fun to watch (Reed is second). We've now got guys on second and first with NO outs.

AWWW CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! CRAP ON A SHINGLE. There went that rally.

Sixth Inning - Bottom Half

It Byrnes, it Byrnes!

That looked like it was going so well. First Mark Ellis hit a liner to short, then Bobby Kielty flies out. Two up, two down. We go into the 7th up 2-0 and we're looking good. Except Eric Chavez walks. No big deal, we've still got two outs and it's only one runner. Except Ted Lilly's adventures with flyballs finally comes back to haunt him.

It's still tied, though. 2-2. This ain't over.

Seventh Inning - Top Half

This is all going to be okay. This is like a Disney movie - like Mighty Ducks. The good guys need some sort adversity during the middle of the game to overcome. That way they didn't just win the game, but they're REAL champions. Or something like that.

I really should have ordered nachos earlier. Now by the time they get here the game will be over. Unless this goes into extras, which it might. D'oh! I don't want to be here until 2am.

We didn't get them this time, but there's still two more innings left.

Seventh Inning - Bottom Half

D'oh!

Double D'oh! Now we've got third and second, no outs. Lilly, you've got to keep the ball on the ground, and maybe we can get away with only one run scored.

Yes! A groundball! ADAMS!!! WHY?!? NOT NOW, NOT NOW!

I can't watch this anymore. I'm going to go play Golden Tee.

Posted by Pepper Moffatt on Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 09:40 AM EDT.

A's 5, Jays 2 - The I Couldn't Pay Attention to the Game Report | 16 comments | Create New Account

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

Pistol - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 10:16 AM EDT (#118667) #

http://torontosun.com/Sports/Baseball/2005/06/05/1072353-sun.html

As for moving Wells to #3 and Hill to #6 in the lineup, that was Gibbon's decision prior to leaving the park.

---

Bob Elliot wrote today that the Jays would take Ryan Zimmerman if they had the first pick in the draft. Someone's apparently feeding him bad info - there's no way the Jays would pass on Upton or Gordon.

He also has the Jays taking Clement over Romero.

After the first blurb I'm not sure what to make of the second one.

mathesond - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 10:20 AM EDT (#118668) #

And to think I skipped the 5th inning on to watch this on TVO.

Well, I guess they had a couple of things in common, including unsatisfying endings, and rather wooden leads (if a pitcher can be considered to be a "lead").

Somebody (I forget who, I think it may have been Billy Beane or someone of that ilk) once said that, given two pitchers with mediocre numbers, he would prefer the one that alternated great starts with shoddy ones over the one who was consistently mediocre. I wonder if that holds true with offences - is it preferable to have a team that is equally capable of slugging away to 10 runs as being held to 1 or 2, or is it better to have a singles/doubles team that hovers around 4-5 runs per game most every game.

A little frustrated with this road trip - two series that looked eminently winnable just a week ago are not going to turn out that way. But I tell myself, the Jays are a .500 team (give or take a few games), and as such cannot be expected to dominate supposedly lesser competition.

Does Ted Lilly ever get angry? With himself, or his coaches? What little I have read regarding his and Arnsberg's relationship makes him seem like a bit of a cold fish. Then again, perhaps he's from the Adam Dunn school of How To Deal With Coaches And Managers.

Ernie Whitt - decent manager? Too soon to tell?

BallGuy - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 10:29 AM EDT (#118669) #

It is too soon to tell if Ernie will be a decent manager or not. I liked him as a player but am not sold on him as a manager. I know his goal is to be a manager in the majors and he has been working towards that for a long time but I wonder if his main priority is his own success and not the success of the team. I don't know what that is based on, just a feeling I have developed over the years.

Keith Talent - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 10:31 AM EDT (#118670) #

Second that on Bailey Quarters.

I think it's either a lack of imagination or a juvenile aesthetic sensibility that make Jennifer (Loni Andereson) or her clone, Pamela Anderson, sex symbols to so many men.

Men who find these women attractive probably don't get much out of music or reading either.

fozzy - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 10:54 AM EDT (#118672) #

I missed much of the game last night as I was watching this last night.

It seems to be where Mr. Faulds came up with his infamous (and my favourite) line "whaddya think about that?" As far as baseball movies go it's not that bad, especially as the make fun of the use of stats. Ah, good times.

Brett - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 10:54 AM EDT (#118673) #

Mind you, I could never figure out why so many people thought Jennifer was more attractive than Bailey

Because we're all Herb Tarlek's, of course.

Remember the episode where Herb and his family do a reality TV show? Or the "Christmas Carol" episode where Arthur visits future; Herb is the only employee left at the station, and he just reads Playboys while computers do all the sales.

Why did the (Decepticons) keep (Starscream) around? I mean, did he have any uses whatsoever?

You could insert many teams and ballplayers into that question.

mathesond - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 11:02 AM EDT (#118674) #

Bailey Quarters - the first big crush of my teenage years.

I still can't get over the fact that Jan Smithers and I lived in Halifax at the same time and I never knew it. I may have even cooked dinner for her at MacAskill's or the Upper Deck. Instead, I had to settle for Tom Landry - an an Eagles fan, it wasn't as quite a thrill as it might have been (also, the manager didn't tell me until after he left - probably afraid I would get him to autograph my fedora. Now that would have been cool)

Keith Talent - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 11:12 AM EDT (#118675) #

I loved it how Mr. Carlson could never remember Bailey's name.

bird droppings - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 11:56 AM EDT (#118676) #

Shea Matthew Hillenbrand was once a short stop and a very good soccer player.

Mylegacy - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 12:12 PM EDT (#118677) #

Pistol, with almost no good bats in the minors and now with Quiroz's second lung collapse, I predict we'll take Clement or Zimmerman based on who's available and which ever one they think is the better hitter.

Obviously, they'd take Upton or Gordon if available. Maybin may be available, he's the wild card. Personally, I'm not completely sold on him.

I've been predicting we take Clement since mid-winter.

bird droppings - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 12:18 PM EDT (#118679) #

I don't know if this has been mentioned but as Fox News would say, 'some people are saying' that Cordel Koskie might be out for two months. That is a long time. That's like one month but twice as long.

Also, I wonder if any of Lilly's problems stem from his start of the season DL stint... I haven't seen him pitch so I have no idea.

Flex - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 12:24 PM EDT (#118681) #

I've also been predicting a Clement pick, though I can't remember the start date on that - it may not have been as early as the winter.

And BallGuy, I'm with you on Whitt. I turned off him and his it's-all-about-me ego ever since that day against Baltimore when the Jays set the record with ten home runs. Ernie hit three that day, and his third, which was the ninth for the Jays, broke the previous record. Then Fred McGriff put the capper on with his home run, which made it an even ten.

Ernie Whitt was actually ticked off. His quote after the game was something along the lines of "My home run was the one that broke the record. We should've left it at that." But no, McGriff had to come along and steal his limelight.

Since then I've been hyper alert to Whitt's me-first attitude.

Thomas - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 12:55 PM EDT (#118683) #

Baseball America says that Zimmerman to the Nationals is all-but written in stone. They are the most confident of that prediction of any for the entire draft.

Magpie - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#118684) #

I used to think I was strange for preferring Bailey. Clearly, I had just fallen in with a bad crowd.

doctor_payne13 - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 02:32 PM EDT (#118685) #

Dude... NEVER disrespect Starscream...

HollywoodHartman - Sunday, June 05 2005 @ 02:49 PM EDT (#118686) #

How could you dis him, he had the eternal spark? How do you kill something with an eternal spark?

A's 5, Jays 2 - The I Couldn't Pay Attention to the Game Report | 16 comments | Create New Account

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