Series Thread: Blue Jays @ Yankees (Mar. 31 - Apr. 3)

Post #181 » by **Geddy** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:54 am

Ump just wanted to go home.

Kosta · Post #182 » by **Kosta** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:55 am

Never get caught looking on the last out of the game, never.

asif9t9 · Post #183 » by **asif9t9** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:55 am

Caught looking!!!!!!!

Kosta · Post #184 » by **Kosta** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:56 am

Carlos Beltran says wazzup!

raps4life~ · Post #185 » by **raps4life~** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:57 am

our offense has been pretty bad the last three games. never had an "explosion" in an inning. 2, 5 and 2 runs just isnt going to do it. all of our runs seem to come of 1 or 2 run innings.

pitching has been very solid though. batting must improve.

Post #186 » by **OldNo7** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:58 am

asif9t9 wrote:We might have a chance. Rivera isn't getting those outside strikes called.

Nope, just the inside ones

But hey, this is the American League, you arent going to win many games scoring 2 runs. Dont peg this loss on Downs or the pen at all, peg it on the offense. If you hold the Yankees to 3 runs, you feel pretty darn good about yourselves.

Post #187 » by **Schad** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:59 am

Just like the first game, this will be our fate much of the season: close games determined by a single mistake/good play either way. With our weak offense, we'll need near-perfect play on many nights to beat good teams. That didn't happen here, and another decent pitching performance was wasted.

Oh well; at least Scrappy has upped his OBP from .000...

Post #188 » by **spykelee** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 2:30 am

Meh, a dissapointing loss, but it was a close, tightly contested series the whole way. The yankees had all sorts of momentum and such with it being there home opening series and the jays where more than competitive, potentially it could have been a sweep. All things considered I am happy with this opening series and I think it outlines the fact that our pitching staff should be more than solid. Once our offense starts clicking the jays should be as good as anybody.

Post #189 » by **Geddy** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 2:50 am

In both losses the Jays held the Yanks to 3 runs which is pretty good considering their lineup.

Now on to the Boston series. If the offense doesn't start up this series, then it might get ugly.

Post #190 » by **SmallTownJournalist303** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 4:29 am

asif9t9 wrote:I never feel good when Downs comes on to pitch.

Really? I used to feel that way, but I've actually become quite comfortable with Downs.
Disappointing loss, but hopefully we can rebound against Boston. I wouldn't mind going 3-3 against those teams to start the year.

vaff87 · Post #191 » by **vaff87** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 4:37 am

Frank Thomas was pretty angry after the game about that strike call that he got kicked out for arguing. He said it was one of the worst calls he's seen in a "long, long time". Frank's a guy who's been around for almost 20 years, is likely going to the Hall of Fame, and is widely recognized as having one of the best batters eye's in baseball. I think he probably holds some credibility on this issue.

s e n s i · Post #192 » by **s e n s i** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 5:44 am

Welcome to the Toronto Raptors board.

Griff83 · Post #193 » by **Griff83** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 6:03 am

vaff87 wrote:Frank Thomas was pretty angry after the game about that strike call that he got kicked out for arguing. He said it was one of the worst calls he's seen in a "long, long time". Frank's a guy who's been around for almost 20 years, is likely going to the Hall of Fame, and is widely recognized as having one of the best batters eye's in baseball. I think he probably holds some credibility on this issue.

It was a strike

youreachiteach · Post #194 » by **youreachiteach** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 7:59 am

Griff83 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

It was a strike

Gameday disagrees with you. Check Battersbox.ca for a better look at the pitch. And that pitch almost hit him, I don't care what Tabler thinks.

asif9t9 · Post #195 » by **asif9t9** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 11:53 am

SmallTownJournalist303 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Really? I used to feel that way, but I've actually become quite comfortable with Downs.
Disappointing loss, but hopefully we can rebound against Boston. I wouldn't mind going 3-3 against those teams to start the year.

I don't have anything against Downs. And I agree, he has this way of getting strikeouts in key times. But it's just something about the way he pitches. His motion. Looks like he'll have trouble hitting the strike zone.

And I always notice, he'll come in and strike out a big bat, but then walk the next guy. Feast or famine with him.

And in baseball, I think a big part is intimidation. When Rivera comes up, or even a young guy like Joba Chamberlain, the Jays look scared. Fighting off pitches. Scott Downs....I wonder how intimidated hitters are of him.

Post #196 » by **Schad** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 1:57 pm

asif9t9 wrote:And in baseball, I think a big part is intimidation. When Rivera comes up, or even a young guy like Joba Chamberlain, the Jays look scared. Fighting off pitches. Scott Downs....I wonder how intimidated hitters are of him.

Hitters against Chamberlain fight pitches off because he is really, really good. His stuff is the reason hitters look terrible against him, not some intimidation factor (remember how much less intimidating Billy Koch became when he was grooving fastballs?). Take a gander at Chamberlain's release points, velocity and break from 2007:

Release Point

Break

Break/velocity

Basically, he's throwing three pitches. Roughly 10 mph difference in speed between his fastball and slider, and his slider and curve. His fastball tails well, his slider has good break (and looks rather like his fastball out of his hand), and his curve is nasty though rarely needed.

Most importantly, they are all released from exactly the same arm angle. That's why hitters are taking bad hacks...they have no idea what he is throwing 'til it is too late. There's really no substitute for a 98 MPH fastball and great off-speed pitches; if you're suggesting that we could really use a few pitchers with top-10 stuff, I don't disagree...but other than that, I can't see how the Jays staff is to become 'intimidating'.

Post #197 » by **OldNo7** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 2:16 pm

chocolateSens1 wrote:Welcome to the Toronto Raptors board.

Sorry but I really dont see that here. We dont have to get people suspended by the hour and I can probably count on one hand the threads I've locked in the last year. Its awesomeness.

Holmes · Post #198 » by **Holmes** » Fri Apr 4, 2008 3:27 pm

Not too impressed with the first series. The pitching was just decent. The Yankees offense was absolutely horrendous last night leaving 20 men on base. But keep in mind we won't be seeing many games where A-Rod goes 0 for 4 leaving 6 guys on base.

I feel McGowan was just ok. Still a little out of control at times with 3 walks and a critical wild pitch. But in true McGowan fashion a la last season, he allowed few hits and that's good to continue to see that.

Either way, I thought both offenses were atrocious the entire series but you'd know that won't continue for the Yankees with that awesome Yankees lineup. Scutaro is a major problem but we have absolutely nobody decent to replace him with. With a weak spots at 3rd and Dh it's going to kill us in the first month.