Bee Gees vs Atlatls (Aug 9-12)

Post #1 » by **Schad** » Wed Aug 7, 2013 11:25 pm

Aug 9th: Jarrod Parker (7-6, 4.02 ERA) vs. Esmil Rogers (3-6, 4.67 ERA).

For a brief, shining moment in June, Esmil Rogers was our best starter. By far. We won four of his five starts, all but one of which came against highly competitive teams, and his punchy little reliever's delivery seemed to be surprisingly good at inducing groundballs from competent hitters, even as his strikeout rate faded.

Reality then set in, like gangrene in a poorly-tended wound. Suddenly swings that had been grounders were turning into rocketed line drives a ridiculous 28% of the time, and his ERA began to climb. Though it's not entirely his fault (relievers have done their part) we've surrendered 7+ runs in five of his last six starts, and it's rather difficult to win baseball games that way.

None of which is really Rogers' fault. On any other team, he'd pick up a couple spot starts, and when results began to go against him, he'd be shuffled back to the 'pen where he belongs. But we're not any other team; if you can lift you arm above your waist and make a throwing motion 50+ times without dying, you're needed in the starting rotation, so there Rogers will remain, his numbers regressing back to his career marks all the while. Your only mistake is that you didn't suck for a few games, Esmil, and now we expect more than the guy with a career ERA located somewhere north of Iqaluit.

Aug 10: Sonny Gray (1 career start, 4 scoreless IP with a 6:1 K:BB and two hits) vs. Mark Buehrle (7-7, 4.41 ERA).

In a season of tumult, Mark Buehrle is comforting. The comfort comes not from consistent results, but from the fact that Buehrle is essentially a bit player in the drama of a Buehrle start. He'll never leave the mound with anyone in the stadium thinking "he just didn't have his good stuff today", because Buehrle doesn't have stuff. If the Jays roster was a twelve-step program -- and we all need one by now -- Buehrle would be the bit about surrendering one's self to a higher power. His job is just to get the ball in front of the hitter...from there, it's out of his hands, literally and figuratively.

The gods have been fickle, transforming his starts into chaotic and uneven results. But Buehrle is not chaotic, he is consistent and bland and unflinchingly mediocre. He is a cheese sandwich on white bread with extra mayo. He is a pair of $30 stain-resistant khakis. He is the eye of the storm of his own creation. He'll lob somewhere between 80-100 slow-motion pitches in the general direction of the plate, and they'll get hit, or they won't. And he'll be chased in the fifth inning, or he'll still be there at the end of the game. No matter.

Wo1verine · Post #2 » by **Wo1verine** » Thu Aug 8, 2013 2:22 am

Santoki · Post #3 » by **Santoki** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 1:39 am

Can we get some pitching matchups at least?

Post #4 » by **Schad** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 2:12 am

Santoki wrote:Can we get some pitching matchups at least?

I'm actually doing something of a writeup for it, but the series doesn't start 'til tomorrow.

Tyrone Slothrop · Post #5 » by **Tyrone Slothrop** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 2:14 am

Schadenfreude wrote:
Santoki wrote:Can we get some pitching matchups at least?

I'm actually doing something of a writeup for it, but the series doesn't start 'til tomorrow.

I expect a 1500 word essay on Colby Rasmus' hair.

Santoki · Post #6 » by **Santoki** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 2:19 am

Schadenfreude wrote:
Santoki wrote:Can we get some pitching matchups at least?

I'm actually doing something of a writeup for it, but the series doesn't start 'til tomorrow.

Go on...

Post #7 » by **Schad** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 2:21 am

Tyrone Slothrop wrote:
Schadenfreude wrote:
Santoki wrote:Can we get some pitching matchups at least?

I'm actually doing something of a writeup for it, but the series doesn't start 'til tomorrow.

I expect a 1500 word essay on Colby Rasmus' hair.

How about 500 words that start rationally enough before descending into an expletive-filled rant about our pitching staff? Because that's probably where it ends up.

C Court · Post #8 » by **C Court** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 7:54 pm

For some unknown reason, I'm actually going down to Rogers Centre to watch this game live.

Someone told me Rogers was pitching, so I assume Steve Rogers is making a comeback, no?

s e n s i · Post #9 » by **s e n s i** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 9:35 pm

i have seats to both tomorrow's and sunday's matinees, and while most might think there are better things to do on a weekend afternoon in august (if i didn't have tickets i'd be at home watching the PGAC anyway), i'm actually looking forward as i always do to just hang out, watch some ball and back some beers. the weather is supposed to maintain it's perfection through the weekend so i'm happy win or lose (as long as it's somewhat close affair)

jaymeister15 · Post #10 » by **jaymeister15** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 10:17 pm

s e n s i wrote:i have seats to both tomorrow's and sunday's matinees, and while most might think there are better things to do on a weekend afternoon in august (if i didn't have tickets i'd be at home watching the PGAC anyway), i'm actually looking forward as i always do to just hang out, watch some ball and back some beers. the weather is supposed to maintain it's perfection through the weekend so i'm happy win or lose (as long as it's somewhat close affair)

yep, going to a game is definitely my favourite way to spend a Saturday afternoon during the summer. Obviously it'd be nice if they were in the playoff race, but it's still a good time.

BigLeagueChew · Post #11 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 11:02 pm

1. Jose Reyes (S) SS
2. Maicer Izturis (S) 2B
3. Jose Bautista (R) RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion (R) 1B
5. Adam Lind (L) DH
6. Colby Rasmus (L) CF
7. Brett Lawrie (R) 3B
8. Josh Thole (L) C
9. Emilio Bonifacio (S) LF

Davis > Bonafacio

BigLeagueChew · Post #12 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 11:15 pm

Rogers throwing meatballs again.

Dan2087 · Post #13 » by **Dan2087** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 11:15 pm

Ball
Game

Maybe tomorrow...

ThereIsNoSpork · Post #14 » by **ThereIsNoSpork** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 11:16 pm

Lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Randle McMurphy · Post #15 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 11:16 pm

They might want to get Esmil out of the rotation at some point. Perhaps for Redmond. He's been awful for over a month.

Post #16 » by **Schad** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 11:43 pm

For those curious, our all-time-worst starter's ERA is 5.23, posted in 2000. That was the height of the juiced era, a time when numbers were so comically inflated that our team ERA of 5.14 was just a hair below league-average. Hell, that team was 83-79, thanks to having eight players with 15+ home runs.

2013 is a more sedate time, but so bad have we been that the 2000 record is in jeopardy. We entered today with a 5.15 ERA from our starters, and it's pretty safe to say that it'll get worse after this game. So while we're not watching the season that we'd hoped for, at least we're watching the Jays make history.

11x · Post #17 » by **11x** » Fri Aug 9, 2013 11:44 pm

Thought I'd catch the start of the game at a bar in between grocery stops. What a mistake. Seems like 50% of their games are done after the 1st inning.

Wo1verine · Post #18 » by **Wo1verine** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:07 am

Rogers is winless in his like what 9-10 starts now? I am betting he makes his next schedule outing :lol:

Post #19 » by **Schad** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:08 am

If that's the end of Esmil's night, our starter's ERA is up to 5.22. We're almost there!

Wo1verine · Post #20 » by **Wo1verine** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:11 am

Schadenfreude wrote:If that's the end of Esmil's night, our starter's ERA is up to 5.22. We're almost there!

I hope we break it only because the media will bring it up during the winter putting even more pressure on AA to upgrade the rotation.