Well, the Jays certainly made it interesting in the 9th inning with Encarnacion and Lind hitting solo bombs to close the gap from 8-4 to 8-6 in Arizona. Fred Lewis looked like he almost hit one out of the park. But Aaron Hill couldn't connect off Chad Qualls. It was a great game down in Phoenix tonight.
The Jays hit 6 home runs in a game for the first time since 1998. Unfortunately, they were all solo blasts though. Brandon Morrow had one bad inning, but otherwise, the pitching was decent.
I was down at the Jays game this past Tuesday. Four home runs in that game for the Jays, as we beat Minnesota 11-2. Got to see Joe Mauer in action-that was pretty cool. It was school day so there were A LOT of kids around. The weather was gorgeous though!! But I am a bit sad that they moved the Toronto-Philly series to Philadelphia because of the G20. I was really hoping to go see Halladay's return but I guess I'll have to wait one more year. Can't wait to go to more games at the ballpark though!!
-D
Friday, 21 May 2010
Friday, 14 May 2010
Woah!
Woah...what a game tonight at the Rogers Centre!
The Toronto Blue Jays hammered the Texas Rangers by a score of 16-10. By the end of the third inning, the score was already 11-9. The Jays alone scored 8 in the third frame, en route to a win that was highlighted by 4 home runs from Overbay, Wells, Hill, and Lind. That is a very positive sign as the Jays absolutely need those four guys to produce if they want to have a great year. Overbay also went 3 for 3 today, raising his average to .189. He's still one of my favourite Jays and I'm still rooting for him every time up! Mendoza Line, here we come!
Didn't have a chance to talk about Dallas Braden's perfect game yet. There was a great feature on him in today's SI issue. The 26 year old lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school and he was raised by his grandmother, who was down at the game in Oakland when Braden tossed the Mother's Day gem. It was just one of those touching moments in sports last Sunday afternoon.
The Tampa Bay Rays, the team that Braden tossed the perfecto against, had the best record in baseball at the time and interestingly, they have been perfecto'd for a second year in a row now. White Sox ace Mark Buehrle threw one against them last July 23. As well, I learned that 6 of the last 8 perfect games have been pitched by lefties on the mound! So watch out for those southpaws!
How 'bout 'em Montreal Canadiens?! Underdogs once again vs. Boston/Philadelphia? Well, if they keep playing the way they do with that never die attitude, they could very well win it all! Haven't been following the NBA playoffs lately. It's just been a lot of baseball for me!
Going down to the Minnesota Twins game next Tuesday! Very excited to see Mauer and Morneau!
-D
The Toronto Blue Jays hammered the Texas Rangers by a score of 16-10. By the end of the third inning, the score was already 11-9. The Jays alone scored 8 in the third frame, en route to a win that was highlighted by 4 home runs from Overbay, Wells, Hill, and Lind. That is a very positive sign as the Jays absolutely need those four guys to produce if they want to have a great year. Overbay also went 3 for 3 today, raising his average to .189. He's still one of my favourite Jays and I'm still rooting for him every time up! Mendoza Line, here we come!
Didn't have a chance to talk about Dallas Braden's perfect game yet. There was a great feature on him in today's SI issue. The 26 year old lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school and he was raised by his grandmother, who was down at the game in Oakland when Braden tossed the Mother's Day gem. It was just one of those touching moments in sports last Sunday afternoon.
The Tampa Bay Rays, the team that Braden tossed the perfecto against, had the best record in baseball at the time and interestingly, they have been perfecto'd for a second year in a row now. White Sox ace Mark Buehrle threw one against them last July 23. As well, I learned that 6 of the last 8 perfect games have been pitched by lefties on the mound! So watch out for those southpaws!
How 'bout 'em Montreal Canadiens?! Underdogs once again vs. Boston/Philadelphia? Well, if they keep playing the way they do with that never die attitude, they could very well win it all! Haven't been following the NBA playoffs lately. It's just been a lot of baseball for me!
Going down to the Minnesota Twins game next Tuesday! Very excited to see Mauer and Morneau!
-D
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
That's More Like It
The Jays have again found their winning ways, capturing 6 of their last 7 and improving to 16-13. We are 2 up on Boston and just 4.5 back of the red hot Tampa Bay Rays.
Today's win was one that you should put a star beside for sure! Down 4-3 in the top of the ninth, with an 0-2 count and two outs, Aaron Hill shot a sharp grounder that Cleveland shortstop Balbueno missed. Then, Adam Lind came to the plate and crushed a two run bomb to the opposite field to take the lead! It was just a beautiful comeback win!!
A couple days ago, Brett Cecil took a no hitter into the 7th inning before giving up a clean single to Jhonny Peralta with one out. That marks the fourth time that a Blue Jays starter has taken a no hitter into the 7th inning this season! It's almost so exciting and nervewracking to watch one of those in action and you know what, I'm gonna be bold and say one Blue Jays starter will pitch a no-hitter sometime this season!
We'll wait and see!
-D
Today's win was one that you should put a star beside for sure! Down 4-3 in the top of the ninth, with an 0-2 count and two outs, Aaron Hill shot a sharp grounder that Cleveland shortstop Balbueno missed. Then, Adam Lind came to the plate and crushed a two run bomb to the opposite field to take the lead! It was just a beautiful comeback win!!
A couple days ago, Brett Cecil took a no hitter into the 7th inning before giving up a clean single to Jhonny Peralta with one out. That marks the fourth time that a Blue Jays starter has taken a no hitter into the 7th inning this season! It's almost so exciting and nervewracking to watch one of those in action and you know what, I'm gonna be bold and say one Blue Jays starter will pitch a no-hitter sometime this season!
We'll wait and see!
-D
Friday, 30 April 2010
Crack of the Bat
I was scorekeeping at a school baseball tournament today. Felt so good to be back on a diamond, close to some real baseball action. And it felt amazing to hear the cracks of the bat every time the batter made contact. The weather was BEAUTIFUL too. Absolutely GORGEOUS day for baseball!!
The roof was open for last night's Jays game for the first time!! The Blue Jays performance this season has been up and down, much like the weather here in TO these past few weeks. This hasn't come as a surprise to me. They got good players, but are very scrappy. Really, I didn't have much expectations for them coming into this season so I'm just enjoying whatever they do. That 13-12 game against the Red Sox was freakin' fantastic!! I am, however, itching to get down to a game this season!
How 'bout the Padres eh? Every pundit in the country said they would be dead last in the NL West and would be one of the worst teams in the NL. Low and behold, they are first in their division. But hey, the Jays got off to a 27-13 start last year too...
Tonight, two MLB stars return to their line ups from injury. Cliff Lee will make his much anticipated debut with Seattle and second baseman Ian Kinsler is slated to return to the Texas batting order. I like both guys a lot, especially Kinsler. So I'll be excited to see what they got this season!
All those changes to the All-Star Game, they're alright. I don't like the ineligible-if-pitched-on-Sunday rule though.
-D
The roof was open for last night's Jays game for the first time!! The Blue Jays performance this season has been up and down, much like the weather here in TO these past few weeks. This hasn't come as a surprise to me. They got good players, but are very scrappy. Really, I didn't have much expectations for them coming into this season so I'm just enjoying whatever they do. That 13-12 game against the Red Sox was freakin' fantastic!! I am, however, itching to get down to a game this season!
How 'bout the Padres eh? Every pundit in the country said they would be dead last in the NL West and would be one of the worst teams in the NL. Low and behold, they are first in their division. But hey, the Jays got off to a 27-13 start last year too...
Tonight, two MLB stars return to their line ups from injury. Cliff Lee will make his much anticipated debut with Seattle and second baseman Ian Kinsler is slated to return to the Texas batting order. I like both guys a lot, especially Kinsler. So I'll be excited to see what they got this season!
All those changes to the All-Star Game, they're alright. I don't like the ineligible-if-pitched-on-Sunday rule though.
-D
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Wild Night in Baseball
First there was Ubaldo Jimenez, hurling the first no hitter in Rockies history, despite a plethora of walks and a couple of close plays. Then there was the 6 hour 53 minute duel between the New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The two rare feats made for a great night in the MLB. Ubaldo Jimenez, the Rockies ace who came into the season with ample expectations jumped in celebration as the game finished with a ground out to second. He was throwing heat all night long, with his fastball still blazing at 97 miles per hour in the 8th inning. There have been quite a few flirts with no-no's this season by various pitchers. CC Sabathia carried one with 4 outs to go. Ricky Romero set 21 down before giving up a home run to Alex Rios last Tuesday. And on Opening Day, Shaun Marcum kept the Rangers hitless until 1 out in the 7th.
Later in the night, a friend of mine instant messaged me and told me to tune into the Mets-Cardinals match up. It was the bottom of the 19th inning, with the score tied at 1. Amazingly enough, neither team had scored until the Mets struck first in the top of the 19th inning. All in all, the Mets used 24 of their 25 players, while the Cardinals used 22 of 25. The Cards also used 2 position players on the mound, and put starting pitcher Kyle Lohse out in left field to finish the game. In the end, the Mets won 2-1 in 20, almost 7 hours after the first pitch! Amazing!
-D
The two rare feats made for a great night in the MLB. Ubaldo Jimenez, the Rockies ace who came into the season with ample expectations jumped in celebration as the game finished with a ground out to second. He was throwing heat all night long, with his fastball still blazing at 97 miles per hour in the 8th inning. There have been quite a few flirts with no-no's this season by various pitchers. CC Sabathia carried one with 4 outs to go. Ricky Romero set 21 down before giving up a home run to Alex Rios last Tuesday. And on Opening Day, Shaun Marcum kept the Rangers hitless until 1 out in the 7th.
Later in the night, a friend of mine instant messaged me and told me to tune into the Mets-Cardinals match up. It was the bottom of the 19th inning, with the score tied at 1. Amazingly enough, neither team had scored until the Mets struck first in the top of the 19th inning. All in all, the Mets used 24 of their 25 players, while the Cardinals used 22 of 25. The Cards also used 2 position players on the mound, and put starting pitcher Kyle Lohse out in left field to finish the game. In the end, the Mets won 2-1 in 20, almost 7 hours after the first pitch! Amazing!
-D
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Jays Rollin' Along
4-1.
First in the AL East.
Bet none of the pundits expected that!
Vernon Wells has been hot-4 home runs in the first three games. Adam Lind has been smokin', lining singles and doubles left right and centre. Edwin Encarnacion has been on a streak. The starting pitching has been wonderful-fifth starter Dana Eveland hurled 7 and 2/3 innings of shutout ball.
The hitting has been there too. Yea, they only scored 3 runs tonight but look at the two 9th inning rallies! Tomorrow Shaun Marcum gets back on the mound as the Jays attempt to sweep the O's at Camden Yards. His fabulous outing on Opening Day got lost amidst the hoopla over Frasor's blown save. The man took a no-hitter into the 7th inning for God's sake! That doesn't happen everyday, surely not on Opening Day, and even rarer for a pitcher who was making his first start after Tommy John surgery.
Keep the hits coming boys!! Can't wait for the home opener Monday!!
-D
First in the AL East.
Bet none of the pundits expected that!
Vernon Wells has been hot-4 home runs in the first three games. Adam Lind has been smokin', lining singles and doubles left right and centre. Edwin Encarnacion has been on a streak. The starting pitching has been wonderful-fifth starter Dana Eveland hurled 7 and 2/3 innings of shutout ball.
The hitting has been there too. Yea, they only scored 3 runs tonight but look at the two 9th inning rallies! Tomorrow Shaun Marcum gets back on the mound as the Jays attempt to sweep the O's at Camden Yards. His fabulous outing on Opening Day got lost amidst the hoopla over Frasor's blown save. The man took a no-hitter into the 7th inning for God's sake! That doesn't happen everyday, surely not on Opening Day, and even rarer for a pitcher who was making his first start after Tommy John surgery.
Keep the hits coming boys!! Can't wait for the home opener Monday!!
-D
Monday, 5 April 2010
Opening Day
Well, for 28 teams in the MLB at least, it is OPENING DAY!
Last night, the oldest rivalry in baseball, the defending World Champs New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, opened the 99th season at Fenway Park, the first opener played at night. The Yankees opened up a quick 5-1 lead before the Red Sox stormed back to win the opener 9-7.
Today in Washington DC, President Obama trotted out to the mound to throw the traditional presidential first pitch on Opening Day. Though he wore a bright red Nationals jacket, Obama still had that ubiquitous White Sox hat. The pitch was apparently high and wide.
Down in Arlington, Texas, the Toronto Blue Jays just wrapped up their season opener against the Texas Rangers. Our big hitters produced just like we expected they would. Wells hit a two run bomb in the 1st inning. Lind followed it up with another homer in the 3rd and Wells drove in the go ahead in the 8th with the bases loaded. It's also worthy of noting that Shaun Marcum took a no hitter into the 7th inning before Vladimir Guerrero singled and Nelson Cruz homered. HOWEVER, our newly appointed closer Jason Frasor could not hold the line in the 9th, squandering a 4-3 lead, giving up 4 straight hits. It was obviously not how the team wanted to start the season, but there were a lot of positives out of this game.
Can't wait to see Rich Harden on Wednesday.
-D
Last night, the oldest rivalry in baseball, the defending World Champs New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, opened the 99th season at Fenway Park, the first opener played at night. The Yankees opened up a quick 5-1 lead before the Red Sox stormed back to win the opener 9-7.
Today in Washington DC, President Obama trotted out to the mound to throw the traditional presidential first pitch on Opening Day. Though he wore a bright red Nationals jacket, Obama still had that ubiquitous White Sox hat. The pitch was apparently high and wide.
Down in Arlington, Texas, the Toronto Blue Jays just wrapped up their season opener against the Texas Rangers. Our big hitters produced just like we expected they would. Wells hit a two run bomb in the 1st inning. Lind followed it up with another homer in the 3rd and Wells drove in the go ahead in the 8th with the bases loaded. It's also worthy of noting that Shaun Marcum took a no hitter into the 7th inning before Vladimir Guerrero singled and Nelson Cruz homered. HOWEVER, our newly appointed closer Jason Frasor could not hold the line in the 9th, squandering a 4-3 lead, giving up 4 straight hits. It was obviously not how the team wanted to start the season, but there were a lot of positives out of this game.
Can't wait to see Rich Harden on Wednesday.
-D
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Gorgeous Weather
It is the 2nd of April and here in Toronto, the thermometer hit a gorgeous 23 degrees today. Tomorrow, the forecast high is 24!! You know what I have on my mind when days like these come by? SANDLOT BASEBALL!!
Went out with a few friends today and hacked at a few balls. Also pitched a little and did a little fielding. It felt so good to get some outdoor exercise after the winter, especially with the sun not too hot and a warm breeze. Can't wait for more days like these during the summer!
I recently became a subscriber of Sports Illustrated magazine. The latest issue, featuring the magazine's prediction for the 2010 baseball season, had Roy Halladay on the cover page. Inside, there was an absolutely fantastic feature on Doc, talking about his worth ethic and his journey as a Blue Jays ace. I definitely recommend all Jays fans give it a read-and Phillies fans too-I really want to go see his return to the Rogers Centre on June 20. But that's also the day that the G20 summit opens in Toronto, just steps away from the stadium. Security will be HELL, so we'll see.
NCAA Final Four matches tomorrow. Duke v. WV and Bulter v. MSU. Who are you cheering for?
-D
Went out with a few friends today and hacked at a few balls. Also pitched a little and did a little fielding. It felt so good to get some outdoor exercise after the winter, especially with the sun not too hot and a warm breeze. Can't wait for more days like these during the summer!
I recently became a subscriber of Sports Illustrated magazine. The latest issue, featuring the magazine's prediction for the 2010 baseball season, had Roy Halladay on the cover page. Inside, there was an absolutely fantastic feature on Doc, talking about his worth ethic and his journey as a Blue Jays ace. I definitely recommend all Jays fans give it a read-and Phillies fans too-I really want to go see his return to the Rogers Centre on June 20. But that's also the day that the G20 summit opens in Toronto, just steps away from the stadium. Security will be HELL, so we'll see.
NCAA Final Four matches tomorrow. Duke v. WV and Bulter v. MSU. Who are you cheering for?
-D
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