Looks Like Last Year...

One Week, Some Things

1. Been a horrendous week for the Jays, but there were signs of what was coming in the White Sox series. Yes, the Blue Jays won all four games, but the Chisox are terrible, and the Jays were making their pitchers look much better than they are. The fact is that the bats have gone silent in the clutch. As it stands, the Jays are hitting about .100 the past week with runners in scoring position. Vernon Wells is hitting about .160 on the year with men in scoring position. The key this past week is that Lind has hit a mini-slump. Wells may hit fourth in the lineup (can you say, Big Papi) but Lind and Hill are the engine on this team. Just a quick note about the batting order because it's been done to death, and people have asked why it matters where Wells hits in the order. The difference is what we saw last night. Hill gets a double in the ninth, and Wells leaves him stranded at third with a chance to tie the game. If Lind is hitting fourth, where he should be given the OBP of both Scutaro and Hill, the jays have a much better chance to win the game. As it is, Lind has spent the majority of the year driving in runs with two outs, because Wells has been consistently out in front of him.

2. Kawakami did not "out duel" Halladay! Who writes these dumb ass headlines, anyway? (This was the lead for the Toronto Star's Sports Section this morning.) Halladay pitched seven scoreless innings and then left for a pinch hitter in the eighth. How was he outduelled? He didn't give up any *(*(&& runs? Can we please have people who know something about sports doing the headlines? The Blue Jay hitters didn't show up. The loss had nothing to do with Halladay.
Note to headline writers: A pitcher is "outduelled" when they give up one run (sometimes two, usually one) and the other pitches a shutout. Not when they both throw shutouts.

3. The unbalanced schedule is unfair.
Jerry made a good point during the broadcast last night, it's simply not fair that teams in the east in both leagues have to play their divisional opponents 19 times. It's blatantly unfair. Why do you think the Dodgers have the best record in baseball? Because they're THAT good, even without Manny? San Francisco is above .500? Do they even have a major league hitter on that team? It's garbage. Selig needs to wake up and even things out for the teams in the East (both the NL and AL).

4. Remember that this is the point last year, when the Jays were making a run, that they blew up, no matter what Wilner says about them having only two bad months. Let's see if they can get some clutch hits the next two games before they go back to Boston. this thing could get ugly in a hurry.

-Steve

All About Adjustments

1. What makes a player great in any professional sport is not simply talent or even hard work. The essence of games is adjustments. Case in point, the AL Rookie of the Month, Scott Ritchmond. He's had problems his last two starts, and last night he didn't get out of the second inning. He couldn't locate his slider, and he had nothing else to fall back on. The Yankees ripped his fastball, as well they should have, because without the threat of the slider his fastball is very average. Over the course of the year Richmond will have to make adjustents as the hitters adjust to him. What will he do if he can't locate a certain pitch? What happens if he is having an "off-stuff" night?

Incidentally, this is what makes Halladay one of the top two pitchers in the game. Kevin Cash, the backup catcher for the Yankees who caught Halladay when he won the Cy Young in 2003, noted after Tuesday's game that Halladay can now throw his cutter and sinker to both sides of the plate. That is, he's a better pitcher now than he was when he won the award for the league's best pitcher! When people call Zach Greinke, who is having an unbelievable season with the Royals, the best pitcher in the game, baseball purists should be objecting to that kind of hyperbole. Yes, he's a great talent, but when he is able to do it year after year, when the hitters are consistently behind and off balance, well, we check back. Until then, recognize the great players, like Albert Pujols and Doc, have been great for a long time. And it's all about their ability to make adjustments.

2. What happened to the fans on Wednesday night? Where did everyone go? To watch the Leafs? We're a fickle town, Toronto...

3. I'm glad Jay Triano got the head coaching gig for the Raptors. Very good news for Canada basketball. However, I'm not convinced the Raptors will be any good next year. Get us a wing, Brian!

-Steve

Manny + Steroids = NO BIG DEAL

One Weekend; Some Things

1. That was an impressive series win for the Blue Jays this past weekend. The West Coast has rarely been kind to them, and to think they won yet another series without Halladay pitching, has frankly surprised me. What this means in terms of playoffs has yet to be determined, because I believe the Jays will have to split their season series with Tampa Bay to get in. Too many good teams in their division. For now, the Jays roll along a series at a time.

2. Cecil was unbelievable. That is, I can hardly believe it. Who thought the Jays' pitching staff was this deep?

3. The Yankee series is just another series. Sportsnet is promoting this as the first "test" for the Blue Jays, and its good to see the fans excited, but in reality, it is just another series. Everyone keeps insisting the Yankees will be there come September, and perhaps they will, but the real tests for the Jays will be the Red Sox and the Rays.

Manny and Steroids?

Manny Ramirez and steroids? Not many people saw this coming, but I fail to see the big deal. (Except for the Dodgers, who lose their best bat for 50 games) Every sportswriter out there seems determined to brand the guys who use steroids as cheaters. I don't see it that way. Perhaps it is because I work so closely to a field that requires steroid use. (Competitive bodybuilding) Even using the word steroid is a misnomor and speaks to ignorance. It's like using the word "beverage" to describe every drink. "Oh, he's taking a beverage." "Oh no, a beverage!"

Baseball had no policy for years about certain drugs, so how can there be backlash against the players now? Most of this is fueled by sportswriters who never played the game, and were not good enough to compete at a high level. Remember, sports writers need their stories too. And yet they remain mystified why the fans don't care. Selena Roberts has been all over the news promoting her book, talking about A-Rod as if she was talking about the economy. Please! Who cares?!

I'm not promoting drug use, and as someone who has lifted weights for twenty years, I have never touched more than protein powder. As a trainer, I would never recommend my clients to use them because they can be extremely dangerous. That said, I am not a professional athlete. I do not put my body on the line for a living. I asked someone the other day if they knew what "steroids" did. He said, "yeah, they make you bigger." He was surprised when I told him that he was wrong. Steroids, again it feels ridiculous to use such a catch-all term, are used for recovery. A profesisonal bodybuilder is able to work out harder and longer, but he still has to work out. And as for hitting a baseball, drugs can't help you with that. They can help you stay healthy. They can give you a bit more pop in your bat. But they can't hit the ninety mile an hour slider or make a running catch in the outfield. Baseball is not football. I wish the white socked reporters in smoking jackets would step away from their keyboards for a minute and go field a few grounders. Either that, or report on another topic you know nothing about. Like field hockey.

-Steve

One Weekend, Some Things

Blue Jays Dominate Orioles, Split with Cleveland

Note: This title has been borrowed from the Globe and Mail's Michael Grange, for my money the best beat writer the Raptors have, and by far the most insightful. Too many blogs by burgeoning sports writers such as myself merely repeat things they hear on the raido or TV or read in the newspapers. The best blogs, the best columns, try to find the little nuances we sometimes miss as fans. Michael Grange is terrific at it, and this blog is my own humble attempt at the same.

1. Sweeping the Orioles: This was probably a more important series than people realize. Coming off the first series loss of the year in KC, there was concern that the Jays would 'settle down' to 'who they really are'. Building a winning team has a lot to do with attitude, and the transition years can be very tough. Last year, there was a sense the club was not mentally tough, as exemplified in those categories, such as hitting with runners in scoring position, come from behind wins, and batting average with RISP and two outs. The blown save in late spring last year to the Angels was the catalyst, and the Blue Jays never recovered. Baseball and golf are very similar in that they are both uniquely skilled sports that place a high value on the mentality of those who play them. In other words, they're "head" sports. Basketball and football and hockey require less in that fashion, and athleticism is generally more important than the inner psyche.

2. Rios is coming around. This is obvious, but from all the postings, please stop talking about Rios, his swing is coming around and he's been seeing the ball much better. The same is true of Wells. Better at bats. Better pitch selection. Better focus. The same can't be said for Overbay.

3. The lineup will probably hit well all year. I wasn't convinced of this in April, but to have a great hitting team means you need about six or seven of your hitters going at once. Not all nine. This never happens. Besides, when the Jays' get their arms back we will probably forget they survived the first two months on hitting. When healthy, this is a deep and well stacked pitching staff.

4. The importance of their start can not be overstated. For people who think 19-10 is no big deal, let me explain it this way: The Blue Jays could lose their next nine, three-game series, win only one game in each series, and be a .500 ball club in the middle of June. This is their best start since 1992, the year they won the World Series. My prediction: if they have the same winning percentage in May that they had in April (which would work out to about 18-11), their record would be 33-20 going into June, and they will be a playoff team.

5. My MVP's so far for this club, in order:

1. Roy Halladay - (5-1) The stud on which the whole thing hangs.

2. Adam Lind - 29 RBI's. More clutch hits than anyone on the team. Vital, especially during the struggles of Wells and Rios.

3. Mitch Richmond - (4-0)AL Rookie of the Month for April. Righties are hitting the now No.2 starter to the tune of .111. Completely unexpected.

4. Scott Downs - Simply "the man" in the bullpen.

5. Aaron Hill & Marco Scutaro - Setting the table at the top of the order. Scutaro leads the league in walks, and Hill has been the driving force of the offence.


Note: Send me your top MVP's so far this year, and I will post them on the site.

-Steve