The path of least resistance
is the dead end of the road
I hate to say I told you so
But hey, I told you so

This was a game that the Blue Jays needed to win.

The Jays had the day off yesterday, but it has been 2 weeks since the last bullpen report, so it's that time again. No rest for the weary.

On May 29, Roy Halladay took the mound against the Minnesota Twins in the Rogers Centre. Two hours and eight minutes later, Matt LeCroy swung and missed at Halladay's 99th pitch, completing the two-hit shutout. Halladay's game score that game was 93, the highest game score to date this season. Halladay is also in a tie for second-highest game score this season (with Brad Radke), from his complete-game 3-hit shutout of the Yankees on April 29.

Well, that Halladay didn't show up yesterday. Just like his last game, Roy struggled to shut out his opponent. Unlike in Oakland, though, Roy received no run support from his 7 batters and Huckaby, and he get saddled with the loss.

This afternoon, the baseball world paid rapt attention as Day One of the draft unfolded. Where would Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, and all the other Highly Touted prospects wind up? Who would fall from first round glory, through the cracks, to be snapped up in the second round? And so on and so forth.

Whenever Gustavo Chacin faces a team for the first time, he pitches well. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Let's see if it's true:

A game and a series to forget.

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

When Frank Catalanotto hit his lead-off homer in the 4th to open the scoring, somehow I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one thinking “OK! This game is now ours, babies!”

Or, as Vince Carter once said in happier times, “IT’S OVER!”

Prologue

At 3:00 am this morning, little Theodore woke up and decided he wanted to play. For two hours. So he and I played. I figured when he went back to sleep he'd be out for at least three hours and I could get enough sleep to cope with the day. Instead, he woke up again at 6:30, raring to go.

It's okay, I thought, I'll just nap when he does. Well, he napped, but never for longer than 15 minutes at a stretch, and every time he woke up full of beans and energy.

As 10:00 pm approached, I knew I'd need a little extra to get through the game, so I purchased a magic elixir known as the Red Eye: a cup of dark roast coffee with a double shot of espresso in it.

This should explain some of my game notes.

And my season's record drops to 0-5. Have I mentioned that I'm the only member of the Roster who hasn't written up a Game Report for a win yet? And that includes two losses in spring training.

Okay, I'll stop whining now.

As most of you surely know, the Big Bang Theory explains the origins of the universe. Which is no doubt a good thing to know, but the Big Bang Theory has also been proposed to explain just how baseball games are won and lost.

I said this before, but I really dislike soft-tossing lefties. And thankfully, there's only one more 10:00 start on a Monday this season.

Yesterday's game got me thinking about West Coast road trips, and how the Jays always seem to suffer through the first game. Is this true? Read on to find out.

You know I think this Halladay guy might be a keeper.

I don't want this
remember that
I'll never forget where your at
don't let the days go by

Well, the first thing I heard when I took my seat tonight was the voice of the handsome and talented Spencer Fordin. Spencer said: “Hey, Magpie, you doing the Game Report tonight?” And when I affirmed that indeed I was, he cackled that in that case, the home team didn’t have a chance.