A Love Letter to Luis Perez

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Dearest Luis, my left hander,

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways, it begins with your zero, zero ERA.
When you jog out, its all good, be it Yankee, Oriole or Ray.

Runners in scoring position? Whatever the situation,
It always ends in a celebration.

You get the job done.
And the opposing batters never score a run.

Lots of Love,
A Jay Fan

A Good Old Fashioned Cock-Up

An accidental photo from spring training

In my blog absence a lot has happened. The Blue Jays swept the Royals. They turned a triple play. Colby Rasmus hit two home runs. Bautista hit a homerun. Aren't we all ready, for the home run king to return to the plate? I sure am.

But I want to take it back. To the last series at home against the Rays (April 17, 18, 19), most specifically that painful game on the 18th. Yes that one. You know the one. We've all tried to forget it in the euphoria of sweeping the Royals. But here's the reality folks. The Jays and the Royals play two series. The Jays and the Rays play six.

Buster Olney over at ESPN has recently written a little expose that could have been done by anybody with a calculator. And something we all knew to begin with. The scheduling is unfair. Teams in the AL East have to play the best teams, the most often. And sadly, the Jays are not quite at the point that they are considered the best.

So back to the fateful night. I have recently decided that this is the summer I get my friends to love baseball. One friend at time. So that night, I convinced my best friend to come down to the dome and sit in the 500s with me. I was already sleeping on her couch, so it was an easy sell.
It started off well! We went for batting practice and got schooled by an usher how to bat our eyelashes to Rays trainers in order to get balls. It worked. It worked so well that we got a ball and in the little eight year old beside me DIDNT. Sometimes its fun being a girl.

I saw my former favorite Blue Jay, Jose Molina. (Yes, seriously. Don't laugh) I even got a wave and a big cuddly bear smile. I miss that man. And his strike calling. But I digress.

We hiked up the ramp, took our seats. And my friend started asking questions. Awesome. I answered them in a fun and quirky way, in order to best help her develop some baseball love.
Then came that question,
"Man, why are they always touching themselves?"
"Look at the Jay at third base. He's obsessed! He's going to give himself a rash."

You can probably guess what happened next. I was such a girl that day. I feel sorry for the guy sitting in our row with us. Yup, you guessed it. We watched Lawrie touch his crotch for an hour, which is pretty much the same thing as watching the game.

Let's talk about that ninth inning. I really like Carlos Villeuneva. I really do. I saw him jogging out of that left field bull pen, and I said to my friend, "He's good. He'll shut them down. Jays might be able to score a couple of runs in the bottom of the inning." Maybe not enough to win it, but enough to make it respectable.

But he didn't shut them down. And John Farrell didn't seem to care. A HBP, an error, a force out, a wild pitch, a walk. It was time to take him out. Instead they watch him issue an rbi walk. Watch him allow a bases loaded single. Somewhere between the single and the grand slam they roused young Crawford to get warm, but really what's the point? The damage was done.

I don't know what was going on down there player-wise, management-wise. But this is what it looked like to me from the 500s: Management gave up. They watched Carlos Villeneuva get hung out to dry, because they knew they were going to lose and didn't feel like using another pitcher. The game wasn't over. A good team dosen't give up, and I think the Jays could be a good team, which is what pissed me off. This is baseball. Anything could have happened, the Jays could have scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth. But they didn't get the opportunity, because when a player walks up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, you can bet your ass they don't play their best when they are down by ten runs. 

The Blue Jays play in the AL East. They have to play the best teams all the time. I love this team. And I will support them regardless, but the entire team, players, coaches, manager need to go out every day and play their best. They can't give up, they won't win if they give up.

Eddy's Big Year

Alright, and I may regret this later, but i'm calling it. Edwin Encarnacion is going to have a big year.

He's clearly baffled at his own awesomeness

Edwin Encarnacion has played with Blue Jays fans hearts the past few years. The errors at third base, the sluggishness on the field, the big bat they never seemed to materialize, a body we all assumed was five years old then it actually was.

The boos, the E5 jokes, the general disappointment.  I think we've seen the end of it.

Have you seen what i've seen this year? Edwin dancing in the dugout. Hustling. Stealing bases? Two home runs? Three doubles? In seven games?

Edwin has always played the hot and cold game. But i'm venturing out there and saying he's never going to go north of luke warm. He's going to hot and warm. But he's not going to go tepid this season. Playing DH agrees with him. His skills as a backup first baseman surprised us all (certainly after the many incidents across the diamond). Baring injury and position switching, I think Edwin could bat over .300 this year. I see him batting fourth for the majority of the season.

Here is my line for Encarnacion: .304 AVG, .345 OBP, .550 SLG .895 OPS.
25 doubles, 32 HR, 10 SB.

Maybe i'm out to lunch, but you know what, it never hurts to be optimistic early on. And i've got high hopes.

Home Opener Heartbreak

I love me a full dome

Baseball season is here. The dome was full and excitement was in the air. The home opener series against the Boston Red Sox, a perfect opportunity to demonstrate that this year, really is, the year.

 

Instead what the fans got was an exercise in how to suck all the air out of a concrete dome with 49,000 people in it in the span of four batters. The first game ended in heartbreak. I think everyone can admit to that. And suddenley there was a lot of hate. Chants of "Santos Sucks" followed me down the ramps from the 500s and all the optimism and hope that had been floating around seemed lost.

But i'm not worried.

Bautista can't seem to hit the ball, Edwin wants to steal bases, and Sergio blew two saves.

I don't have a select memory when it comes to the Blue Jays. Bautista went through several of these stints last year, several game long stints in which he struck out, popped up the ball and got angry. He recovered each and every time. And this year, will be no different. Just you wait.

As for Sergio. Compared to last year, the bullpen is better by leaps and bounds. If the bullpen only blows half the amount of games as last year. The Jays could finish well over the 500 mark. It is early days.

In a wonder of alliterations, Rajai, Rasmus and Romero all did wonderfully and reminded me as to why I love going to ball games. Who wasn't on their feet screaming when Rajai hit that triple? Rasmus hit the triple and made that catch? Romero allowed one run in NINE innings of work? There is a lot to be excited about this year. I'm sticking with it.

 

Home Opener Bound

Photo: Mike Cassese/Reuters

Tomorrow I'm headed to the home opener (and the rest of the series) and I thought I would celebrate by ruminating on my favorite player, Yunel Escobar. And Yunel Escobar's tattoo.


I'm a fairly observant person, and I like to read (falsely) into ball player's lives. While I was in Florida, I caught the Blue Jay's 30 Clubs in 30 Days and noticed in one shot that Yunel had a big tattoo on his forearm. Hmm, don't remember seeing that one before (then again he usually wears a long sleeved compression shirt, or double arm bands on his forearms). Was he hiding something?

No, he wasn't. This beaut, seen above, is new.

What does it mean Yunel?

Yunel loves Jesus?
Yunel is Jesus?
Yunel wants to be Jesus?

Well Yunel, Jesus doesn't hit bouncing balls to short. You might need to work on that.

Alternatively, Jesus could be the name of a father, friend or lover. Let's not discount anything.

Happy Easter (On the Third Day)

Because nothing says Easter like Brett Lawrie in a gay pride parade and JP Arencebia as the ring bearer. I just about busted a gut when I saw this picture.

Today is the closing game of the series against Cleveland, and tomorrow the Blue Jays head home to play one of their AL East rivals, the ever hated BoSox. (I'll be there! Will you??)

I've been loving these Cleveland games - who dosen't love extra innings, big hits and unlikely heroes? Rajai Davis and Colby Rasmus (and the Orange Man himself) with big hits for the club!

I read an interview with Brendan Morrow around the time his contract got extended and he said that he learned that he pitched better if he thought like an asshole. Yesterday, Morrow was pitching like a drunken man beating his wife. He only relented and gave her flowers (walks) twice, and then he went right back to beating her. They took her away from him and put her in a shelter (home run) but he stalked her, found her and struck her down. I like this asshole mentality of his.

That metaphor probably went over the line. Its true. I'm about be descended upon by a house full of sugar crazed children and I'm TAPING the game this afternoon, just when the real dice are about to be thrown. Joel Carreno with his first big league start. I saw his major league debut back in August 2011, squatting illegally in 100s seats with a 500s ticket and I was impressed. Power, control, velocity. Let's see if he brought the good stuff to Cleveland?
You want a job, Joel? Let's find out.

And so it begins. Blue Jays vs. Cleveland 5 April '12

Jason Miller/Getty Images

 The season is officially underway, and the Blue Jays and Indians started it off with a bang. A prolonged bang. In what ultimately became a 16 inning, 5 hour game the Blue Jays incorporated everything I love about baseball: home runs, bench clearing, drama, heads up play, shake your head errors, intrigue and Latino men in baseball uniforms.

Around the 8th inning, I remember thinking to myself. "this is going to be a two and a half hour game." Little did I know that the game was only half over. When the Indians replaced the masterful Masterson with their closer Chris Perez in the ninth, things proceeded to get ... interesting.

The Good, the Bad, The Fantastic:

Can you say home run? Jose hit his first bomb of the year, and JP kept up the trend of hitting a home run for the start of his season. Edwin just missed a home run on a bases clearing 2rbi double.

A five man infield? Has anybody ever seen that before? What's perhaps most shocking, is that IT WORKED. When it seemed hopeless, a five man infield with veteran Vizquel, constructed an inning ending double play. Substitutions brought Bautista to play first (for the 8th time in his career) and later for Vizquel to play first (for the second time in his career).

Walks, Strike outs. The pitchers combined dished out 11 walks. The hitters combined struck out 16 times. But it's early in the season, and the Jays likely won't be facing Masterson anytime soon.

Gigantic fumble: Rajai Davis bunted into a double play when he didn't run in the 15th inning. My Mom hysterically asked, "can they charge a batter with an error?" He certainly deserved one.

Ricky Romero lost his shit, but didn't throw shit. Ricky Romero threw 40 odd pitches in the second inning, as well as issuing two walks and allowing two doubles and a home run. I, along, with the TV announcers expected Ricky to issue some expletives while leaving the mound and possibly whipping his glove, jacket and anything in arms reach around the dug out. But he didn't. Buddy kept it together, and took the mound in the 3rd with poise. He pulled it together for his remaining three innings before being replaced in the sixth.

Speaking of shit, Shin-Soo Choo lost his after being hit by a pitch, thrown out at the plate, he somehow perceived a wild pitch in the 15th as intentional. I'm sorry, Choo did you not notice that Perez didn't have complete control up there for, I dunno, the last four innings? A small bench clearing pursued. Nobody got punched.


Player of the game: JP Arencibia (7Ab, 1 h, 1 r, 3rbi, 3 so)
The numbers don't look fantastic. After the game, an interviewer congratulated JP on his game winning HR to which he replied, "Yeah, well my previous six at bats were kind of bad." His HR did win the game, true. But his heads up defensive work at catcher saved the game long before the 16th inning. His defense was fantastic. Blocking balls, tagging out Choo at the plate, throwing out Choo at second, and throwing canons down to first base behind the batter. He also worked with eight different pitchers, put himself between Perez and Choo and caught 13 straight scoreless innings. Well played J.P, well played.