...and Adam Lind hits walk off homer in the 11th against Baltimore
Following are my notes from the Blogger Baseball Scorecard live scoring of last night's game at Rogers Centre:
From Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Baltimore Orioles (30-33)
Manager: Buck Showalter
@
Toronto Blue Jays (32-34)
Manager: John Farrell
Game 1 of 3
First pitch: 7:07 PM EDT
Starting Pitchers
Baltimore - Chris Jakubauskas
Toronto - Carlos Villanueva
Umpires
Home - Brian Knight
3B - Hunter Wendelstedt
2B - Bob Davidson
1B - Jerry Layne
Weather
Clear
Temp: 16°C | 64°F
Wind: South-West at 10 kph | 6 mph
(home plate to right-centre field)
Notes
On the Boston brutalization over this past weekend, Jays' Play by Play man Jerry Howarth says, '..the 35 to 6 runs scored tally was the biggest run differential in a 3 game series in Blue Jays' franchise history.'
'The Jays didn't lose,' says Howarth, 'the Red Sox beat them.'
And but good.
Reading the Toronto papers last night, no one had that as their take home message. Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star choose to pick on team management (link) - and Jeff Blair of the Globe wrote about a team in a rebuilding year, Drabek's ball to strikes ratio (and pointedly I think, not mentioning the gazillion balls in the dirt that Arencibia was seen running to the back stop to pick up while Bostons circled the bases), and didn't give a second thought to the idea that Boston has what may be the best line up in that franchise's history - and that they came to town in the midst of a hot streak.
In my opinion, this is an example of a failure by the hacks in the day to day trenches of sports copy writing to see the forest for the trees. But there was no excuse for that this time, with the day off Monday both writers had 24 hours to come up with something a little more insight-full.
My take during the game here and afterwards was that over the weekend we were lucky to have witnessed possibly a Great team in the history of the game, a Great team on a hot streak - one of the most awesome displays of hitting and running I have ever seen. The Red Sox took advantage of every opportunity offered - the way you're supposed to.
The take home message for this young Blue Jays team should be: 'Look! That's how you play baseball, That's how you hit the cut-off, That's how you play station to station, hit and run, and That's how you work the count - That's how you pitch strategically. But learning from the experience how the game is supposed to be played is a lesson that is not being head around here in baseball media so far this week.
And now the news that the Jay's are sending Drabek to AAA Las Vsgas. Sending Drabek down at this time - after this Boston juggernaut has just past - is a blink in a staring contest - a strategic mistake. Looking at their belly buttons when they should straighten their collective shoulders, admit that they had just witnessed a first division team firing on all cylinders, get up off the turf and get back in there. Drabek's next start would have been on the road against a National League team, where he would be a relative mystery - and not facing Boston.
The team won't admit that this is what they're motivation is at this time - in fact they undoubtedly aren't thinking this; they're lost, they're still in shock, they're knee-jerking - reacting.
Of coarse a lot depends how this plays in the club house - but I doubt, looking back on this season come October - many will say this was a good move.
Anyway, that's all I'll say on that.
Now we can get back to some competitive baseball, against a team in the same division, the same universe - the Baltimore Orioles first of three - Yay! - I can smell a win.
11th Inning
I thought I saw a bunny rabbit... I did, I did!
mh
