August 31: Tampa 1, Blue Jays 2

Practice makes perfect as Mathis and outfield connect to save the game

The Jays are looking like a team again. With their offense still being inconsistent, the pitching and defense would have to be fantastic to beat the Rays. But the Rays offense hasn't exactly been consistent either. This afternoon, before batting practice, John Farrell had his outfielders out there throwing balls home in order to improve the throws into the infield, which have been pretty poor as of late. Turns out that the training was timely.

Brandon Morrow started the game, his second game back, and this outing was very good, not lights out by any stretch, but very good, getting key outs when required. In all, Morrow went 6 2/3rds, throwing 102 pitches, striking out 5 and walking one. All of his pitches were working. He sprinkled 8 hits in the inning, and the only damage done was Desmond Jennings home run to open the top of the third to give Tampa a temporary 1-0 lead.

Steve Delabar was perfect coming on with two out in the bottom of the 7th to induce a grounder, and then to pitch the 8th to strike out Zobrist, Longoria, and Joyce on a very nasty combination of changeups and fastballs that just fooled the Rays.

Tampa's Hellickson was much better on the mound, but two home runs by Moises Sierra (to reply, opening the bottom of the 3rd), and Edwin Encarnacion (in the bottom of the 4th, bases empty, one out) to the 200 level in centre-left was enough for the Jays to win it tonight. Hellickson walked 1, struck out 2, and surrendered 2 more hits (a single to Encarnacion to open the 7th, and an Adam Lind single after the Encarnacion home run).

Off the hit sheet was Colby Rasmus (again, now not hitting in 4 games), now hitting 0-12 in his last four games with 4Ks and a walk. Yunel's hitting streak also ended. Rajai, Mathis, and McCoy also did nothing offensively.

Defensively, in the first, McCoy bobbled a Ben Zobrist double play ball but managed to get the speedy Zobrist out. And, in the top of the fourth, Colby couldn't outrun a Ryan Roberts hit into centre-left, which I think he catches if his groin was completely better. And in the top of the 7th, Rajai went all out to catch a Desmond Jennings line drive into left which ended up going to the wall for a double. It would have been nice to catch that. None of these, thankfully did no damage.

Jeff Mathis tags out Matt Joyce at home
(Rogers SportsNet)

But there were two fantastic defensive highlights in the game. The first was in the top of the 2nd with Keppinger on 1st and Matt Joyce on 2nd with one out. Ryan Roberts hit a single to left, and with Matt Joyce running, typically, Rajai makes a throw that ends up bouncing a few times or is 20 feet left or right of home plate. Not this time. Rajai throws a single bounce strike to the plate which Mathis picks up, blocks the plate, and tags Matt Joyce who barreled Mathis at home. Out!!!



Jeff Mathis tags out Elliott Johnson to end the game
(Rogers Sportsnet)



The last defensive play ended the game. With pinch runner Elliot Johnson on 2nd and pinch hitter Carlos Pena up with two out, he lined a Janssen 1-1 fastball single to Moises Sierra. With Elliott running home, Moises picked up the ball and fired a one bounce strike to Jeff Mathis, just in time for Mathis to once again block the plate and apply the tag to a diving Elliot Johnson to record the out and end the game and secure the 19th save of the season for Casey Janssen.

Well, this series is a guaranteed push for Toronto. It would be great to see the bats come out tomorrow, and with an Alvarez coming off of two very poor starts and Jeff Niemann making his first start for Tampa since Adam Lind broke Niemann's ankle with a sharp comeback to the mound on May 14th. Look for a high scoring game.

August 30: Tampa Bay 0, Jays 2

Brilliant pitching efforts set the tone

Carlos Villanueva has been a welcome addition to stabilize the starting rotation. While a couple of his outings have not been quality starts, he has given his team the opportunity to win. Some of his stuff is electric. Certainly, he has been performing as a number 3 starter this year. He wants to start next year, and I think that as long as his arm can remain healthy through the year, he should be given the chance. As a starter now, over 11 starts, he is pitching to an ERA of 3.03 and a WHIP of 1.08. Over 65 1/3 innings, he has struck out 65, for a rate of 8.95K / 9 and 2.3 BB/9. Certainly, this is starter stuff.

The Jays are capping him at about 100 pitches, which for Carlos, works out to about 6 innings. His outing against the White Sox where he threw 85 pitches over 7 was his most recent best outing. He's pretty good.

Tonight was no exception. Tampa pitching since the all-star break has been phenomenal with an ERA of 2.91 for starters and a ridiculous 1.21 ERA for relievers. And August has been tighter with a pitching ERA of 2.82 for starters and 0.93 for relievers. So, for the Jays to win, pitching would have to be very tight. And it was.

The sum of Toronto's offense was a Kelly Johnson double in the bottom of the 1st with the bases loaded and two out as Moore was a little bit wild. After that point, the Jays threatened a couple of times with two outs but wasn't able to put any insurance on the board. The Jays did not have any real baserunning errors or offensive gaffes. Colby, Edwin, Mathis, and Hechavarria were kept off the hit list. Escobar reached base three times out of four with two singles and a walk. Kelly Johnson also went two for four.

Carlos Villanueva only really got into trouble in the 2nd with two singles to open the frame. A sac bunt put Tampa's two runners in scoring position with one out. Then, a short pop out and a strike out ended the inning. Carlos then proceeded to strike out 5 more in a row, tying the franchise record for consecutive strikeouts at 6 (JA Happ also struck out 6 in a row a couple of weeks ago) before Matt Joyce ruined the party with a pop out to left.

Darren Oliver, Brad Lincoln, and Casey Janssen were perfect in their final three innings of relief, striking out 4, walking none.

So, a great opener to the series. For tomorrow's tilt, it's a battle between Brandon Morrow, on his 2nd start after being injured, and Jeremy Hellickson.

I really feel that the Jays are starting to turn a corner now, having won 3 of the last 4. Let's hope they can wrap August on a positive note. The Jays pitching staff seems somewhat rejuvenated with Morrow back in the clubhouse. Romero pitched great on Tuesday night. JA Happ pitched well enough. Carlos pitched great. And the bullpen is also pitching well again.

Even with Bautista out, there is enough offense there to be potent. Only Hechavarria and Moises are the rookies remaining in the line up. Escobar has woken up finally. Lind is not looking foolish at the plate.

August 29, Jays 8, Yankees 5

Jays take a series for the first time in August

It looks like the Blue Jays may have turned a corner offensively as the Jays took two of three. Today's win, however, was due mainly to Escobar's offense Yankee poor defensive play. Combine that with timely Blue Jays pitching and a sub-par outing by CC Sabathia.

Not that the Jays didn't have some defensive gaffes of their own.

Also something to look forward to, perhaps was a repeat of the pitching duel between JA Happ and the opposing ace. Happ performed pretty much in step with Verlander last time out, and it would have been great to see Happ perform in step with the great CC Sabathia.

Happ did not start off well and it turns out he hurt himself at the bottom of the first inning running over to the bag to take a Lind throw on a Cano grounder. The Yankees opened the bottom of the 1st with two runs. The first run was due to an opening single to Jeter and a walk to Swisher. Cano's out moved Jeter and Swisher up, and Jones allowed Jeter to score with a single. A slow enough moving ground ball allowed Swisher to score on a double-play ball that was just not converted quickly enough. 2-0 after 1.

But CC didn't do well either. After Happ struck out the side in the 2nd, the Jays struck for three in the top of the third. The Jays loaded the bases with none out (Mathis single, Hechavarria reach on error, Rajai Davis single), but Mike McCoy hit into a double play to take out Hechavarria running to third followed by a tag out at home, leaving runners on 1st and 2nd with two out. Edwin then stroked a single to centre to score Rajai, Lind then singled home McCoy, and Escobar doubled home Encarnacion. Great job against Sabathia with two outs.

The Yankees struck for another two in the bottom of the 3rd on a Granderson double that should easily have been a caught ball had Rajai read the ball correctly. Granderson hit the ball fairly hard, but Rajai broke forward first, then started running backward. Rajai stretched but he was about a half step short. Two runs scored. 4-3 Yankees after 3.

Happ got himself out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth as Happ was stuck with 2nd and third with none out (walk, Ichiro double). He popped up Chris Steward, then walked Jeter intentionally, then struck out Swisher and Cano to wrap the inning. JA Happ did not pitch particularly well today, lasting only 5 innings. He threw 100 pitches, walked 5 and struck out 6. He was not effiicient with pitches and got into alot of trouble.

To the top of the sixth, where the Jays struck for two with a Lind single and an Escobar home run to left-center. 5-4 Jays after 6.

Delabar pitched 1 2/3rds and gave up two doubles but no runs scored. Aaron Loup came on with two out in the bottom of the 7th for a batter.

The Jays got an insurance run in the top of the 8th with a Yunel double, a Johnson single, and a Mathis safety squeeze to score Yunel without a throw.

The Yankees got one back against Brandon Lyon in the bottom of the 8th with a couple of doubles, but couldn't convert the tying run as Lyon got the three next hitters out.

The Jays then added some insurance for Casey Janssen as McCoy reached on a missed ball by Nix at third which allowed McCoy to get all the way to 2nd. Eppley then intentionally walked Edwin, and Clay Rapada came on against Adam Lind for the lefty-lefty matchup, but Lind walked. Joba Chamberlain then came into pitch against Escobar. Escobar then pulled a high inside fastball to right field, and Andrew Jones, who had already dropped one ball today, made a dive for another out, caught the ball, then it dribbled out of his glove, resulting in a double for Escobar and two runs scored. It's especially satisfying when none of the pitchers that Girardi puts in the game gets their desired goal.

Casey Janssen then got Swisher to ground out, mowed down Cano and got Jones to pop out to end the ball game.

Yunel is now boasting a seven game hitting streak and went 4-5 this afternoon with three doubles and a home run. Adam Lind went 2-4 with a walk. Kelly Johnson went 2-4. But Colby Rasmus went hitless for the 2nd game in a row (he did not start however against the left handed pitching CC Sabathia). Hechavarria is also running a 5 game hitting streak at 7-22.

Finally, a series win against the top-placed Yankees in Yankee stadium. The Blue Jays will enjoy their trip home with something positive as they open a home stand against Tampa tomorrow night. And why not? Two wins against the top team in baseball, and a great start by their once-ace, Ricky Romero. Despite the end of the road for Bautista this season, things are looking up. Where else could they be looking?

Are the BooJays coming to Buffalo?

Las Vegas mocks, Coca-Cola field rocks

Coca-Cola field, in downtown Buffalo

A major problem with the Jays this year has been the location of the farm team at Cashman field in Vegas. Generally speaking, the park is a hitter's paradise. Breaking balls don't break. The heat of Vegas allows balls to fly out of the park, and the infield is so hard that alot of balls that would be easy put outs streak out of the infield.

The result of all of this is that the batter's numbers are very much inflated, and the pitching numbers are very much deflated to the point where the AA club in New Hampshire is being used as the primary home to check pitcher's and hitting abilities, making the AAA club virtually useless to assess talent. The primary use of AAA Vegas is really a storage place for those Blue Jays whose talents are known. As well, planes fly anywhere from Vegas, and you can get to any major league ball park on a single flight in under 5 hours. However, due to the time difference, a player needed for the following day's game outside of Pacific time (12-15 games) must use the red-eye to get to the ball park in time for the afternoon warmups. That results usually in a game lost or poor performances due to lost sleep.

The Mets affiliation with Coca-Cola field in Buffalo is due to end this year. Minor league affiliates are not allowed to discuss affiliation switches before September 16th. The manager of the Bisons stated to the Buffalo news that  "I would guess that's true. It's a shame for us, really. Buffalo is a great city but I don't envision us coming back, from the things I've heard from the grapevine."

Minor league teams are not owned by the major league affiliates. The Toronto Blue Jays do not own the Las Vegas team. There is a very explicit contract maintained between the major league team and the minor league club. The Player Development Contract, governed under Rule 56 of the Major League Rules, are what defines the relationship between major league and minor league teams.

To end an affiliation, the minor league team or major league team must make written notice to their league's commissioner/president by September 11 (or the PDC continues), and the notice must be kept secret. September 16 to 30 is the window of time available for minor league and major league clubs to discuss agreements. If an agreement hasn't been signed by October 7th, the Commissioner and president of the minor leagues will determine affiliations based on factors such as location, player age, fan support, etc.

Of interesting note is that the benefits that a minor league club can receive from a major league affiliate are well defined. A team cannot provide economic benefits to the minor league club beyond what is provided for in Rule 56, which are summarized below.

• Major League team must provide roster and player lists and all players must be affiliated with the major league club.
• Promotional appearances and pictures of players
• Assignments and transfers to be executed by Major league team.
• Manager, training, instructors, coaches to be determined by Major league team. All salaries and benefits to be paid by major league club to these individuals.
• All player compensation and benefits to be paid by major league team.
• All spring training expenses to be be paid my major league team.
• All travel expenses related to transfers and assignments to be paid by major league team.
• Minor league club responsible for uniforms and their quality.
• Bats and balls to be paid by major league club (2/3rds or 3/4th depending on league)
• Minor league to pay for equipment manager (2/3rds or 3/4th depending on league)
• Minor league to pay for up to 17 hotel rooms per night (13 double rooms for the team members, and 4 rooms for the managerial staff).
• Transportation of team members to their homes or for other leaves to be paid for by the major league team in accordance with their player contract.
• Airfare for up to 30 people to be paid by Minor League club.
• Local phone calls to be paid by Minor league club. Long-distance and other features to be paid by major league club.
• Minor league club to pay for hydroculator and whirlpool.
• Minor league club to provide playing facility in accordance to rule 58.

So, the Blue Jays really can't make any promises beyond what is defined in the contract. It can't hold extra exhibition games, can't provide the minor league club with extra money, and can't otherwise woo the minor league team to use Toronto with financial benefits. This makes negotiations fair.

Alot of the reasons being bounced around for the Mets being kicked out of Buffalo is the quality of the team, the age of the players, the revolving door of players, and declining attendance (down 1,200/game since 2010).

When the Jays got the boot from Syracuse after 30+ years, it seemed like the Syracuse club was tired of the relationship and the 9 years of sub-.500 baseball. They felt that another team would be able to get them into the playoffs. So they signed with the Nationals.

However, of course, this is just a guess, as nothing really can't be said until the middle of September when the discussion window opens. The Mets, if they don't renew with Buffalo, would be forced into the Pacific Coast League as all International league affiliations have been renewed. The choices are pretty much limited to Oklahoma City (Houston) or Las Vegas. Both of these would really be terrible for the Mets. Therefore, I believe that there will be great pressure to renew, and Buffalo will have to end up making a choice between the Blue Jays and Mets.

However, because of the nature of the contract that is signed under Rule 56, the amount of pressure a team can exert on its minor league affiliate to renew is very limited. The Bisons, under the Mets rule, can determine from experience of its four years with the club of how the Mets will treak the club. Because the rules are defined so tightly, the minor league owner's decision to renew a PDC would be based purely on its ability to get people through their doors (attendance). These factors would include the quality of the team (which can only be determined by the major league team) which can be judged through the strength of the prospects (Toronto has a very strong minor league system), the popularity of the major league franchise in its home town (Toronto would be very popular and would attract some Canadians to the facility). The relationship itself to the MLB team (how fast are bills paid, how do they get along, other intangibles) is also a factor. Minor League teams want some stability on the team and some exciting players to draw players to the park. If the major league club is good and remains relatively injury free, the minor league club would also be stable and draw more fans. Playoff games are a huge bonus for the minor league affiliate.

Buffalo of course would be much easier for the Jays when they are at home. I live in the Falls, and my mouth is salivating at the chance to take the 20 minute drive (plus 10 minute border wait) to see the Buffalo Bluebirds in action. At $12 / game it's well worth the price. On the road, getting places would be harder with players connecting.

And of course, to the team, it would have the benefit of seeing talent in a realistic stadium where the pitching and batting talent could be accuratey assessed. For the fan base, it's great as well to take in the AAA club without having to worry about downtown Toronto parking and rush hour on the QEW / Gardiner / Don Valley on the way in to home games. As well, the presence of the BlueBirds in Buffalo would have the benefit of reconverting some New York fans back into Blue Jays fans.

The stadium itself is lovely. It's easy on and off to the I-190 in downtown buffalo and about a 5 minute drive from the Fort Erie border crossing. The food options are supposed to be excellent and the stadium holds 18,000.

Buffalo rocks, and I hope that the rumours are absolutely true.

August 27: Blue Jays 8, Yankees 7

Colby Rasmus the hero, Jays only blow save once



Colby's 3 run home run in the top of the 9th
Kathy Kmonicek / AP



I love, absolutely love to see the Yankees lose.

There are lots of things going on with the Jays these days. The litany of injuries continue. Will Lawrie come back? What is the extent of Jose's new injury? How will Hechavarria play? Will Rasmus continue to strike out incessently? What about the rumours around Farrelll and the Red Sox?

Well there was a game to play, and with long man turned starter David Phelps in his third start in a row and the Jays riding a 7 game losing streak and Henderson Alvarez on the mound, things did not look good for the Jays tonight.

And it started off as a bit of a duel, with Cano's first two at bats and two runs being solo home runs. Adam Lind, in his first AB after rehab, also homered pretty much to the same place Cano did, to the bullpen just right of centerfield. Cano's second home run was to the short porch in right to open the bottom of the fourth. Then, the Yankees scored their third run off a deflection off of Henderson's foot that took him out of a game as the ball bounced into right field, scoring Teixiera from second who walked. On came Laffey.

With runners on 1st and third with one out, the Jays conceded a run on a Chavez fielder's choice. After four, it was 4-1 Yankees.

Onto the top of the fifth as a Torrealba hit a two run shot to the short porch (again, in rightfield) to score Johnson who walked to open the inning.

Then Laffey had a terrible bottom of the fifth, walking Jeter, then a Swisher HR (into the second row of stands in left), then got an out, walked, got an out, walked, and then got an out to end the inning. After 5, it was 6-3 Yankees.

Hechavarria got one back at the top of the seventh on a solid single on a low pitch down the third base line to score Torrealba who was on second from a fielder's choice by Moises. 6-4 after 7.

Laffey left the game at the end of the sixth with another injured leg off Jeter. Hopefully, he will be all right as will Alvarez, because the Jays six man rotation would be solved if one of these two got injured.

The Jays kept it clean in the 7th (Delabar / Loup) and 8th (Loup / Lincoln) as the Yankees threatened in the 8th with two out and a runner on third with Ichiro out, but Lincoln induced a ground ball to Escobar.

But going into the 9th inning with closer Soriano coming into the game facing Torrealba / Sierra / Hechavarria, things looked bleak. But Moises managed a base hit and Hechavarria did not hit into a game ending double play, but with two out, things still looked bleak. Rajai hit a single into left with Moises running on the pitch putting runners on first and third with two out and Colby Rasmus up. 

Colby's troubles have been well documented here. Since he injured his groin in Oakland, he's gone .123 over 57 at bats and has not recognized some pitches. However, he had no problem recognizing Robertson's hanging curveball, and did this, a three run home run to deep right centre. Welcome back, Colby, welcome back. And a very rare blown save by Soriano, who had not let in a run in 10 appearances and got seven saves in a row. This was his third blown save this year. And Colby Rasmus was the hero.

But the game wasn't over yet. On came Casey Janssen against Derek Jeter, who, on the 2nd pitch of the at bat, hit a deep fly ball that just went over the wall in deep right field. Cheap home run, but it tied the game. Blown save for Janssen, and Jays fans all over the nation probably sighed with despair.

But the Jays perservered, and the Jays caught a lucky break. Torrealba singled to open the 11th (after a clean 10th inning by Oliver), and Mike McCoy came on to pinch run. But Derek Lowe threw a ball into the legs of McCoy in a pickoff attempt and the ball went into right field, and McCoy advanced to third with none out. Sierra struck out, but Hechavarria hit a slow ground ball that froze McCoy off third. Nix threw out Hechavarria but McCoy went home on the throw to first and easily beat out the throw home. 8-7 Jays.

Oliver came on for a second inning of relief. He walked Ichiro with one out, but was forced out at second by a Jeter fielder's choice. Olvier then faced Swisher and got him into a full count before Oliver froze Swisher with a 75 mph slider for a called strike 3. Win for Oliver.

So, all in all, a very entertaining game. Torrealba went 3-5, and Rasmus, Lind, and Hechavarria went 2-5. It remains to be seen whether Rasmus will continue his slump-breaking behaviour.

Both Laffey and Alvarez are day-to-day and should be able to continue in their starting and relieving roles.

Tomorrow, it's Ricky Romero off his 2nd worst outing ever vs Phil Hughes.