A few random thoughts on Game 1:
There's your running game for ya: Given all of the criticism the Jays received last year for not being the 1985 Cardinals, it's worth noting that the three bags that they swiped and the one runner that Zaunie cut down (Derek Jeter, no less) didn't automatically add up to a W. It's only one game, but the Jays' inability to cash in the runners that they put in scoring position with timely and effective hitting remains a problem. You have to feel for Marco Scutaro, who hit a laser the other way at a drawn in Jason Giambi, who miraculously came up with the grab.
Aaron Hill is frickin' wicked: Hill made Melky Cabrera work in centre field last night, and might have had three doubles instead of one if Johnny Damon were patrolling that position. Dude is dialed in, and we're guessing that he's hitting regularly in the two, five or six spot in the lineup by the end of the month. (And by the way, one of those Melky catches was a Jim Edmonds fake-hustle special, where he dove after the ball was in his glove. Poncey bastrich.)
Doc is an intense, angry man: Roy Halladay pitched last night as though it were Game 1 of the World Series. When things go wrong for Doc, we usually get the sense that he's swearing at himself on the mound. Last night, though, he glared in at home plate umpire Gary Darling (who was ridiculously awful), swore at the bogus dimensions of Yankee Stadium (314 feet my ass), and generally looked as though he was about to scale the outside of the Empire State Building and swat away at fighter planes.
David Eckstein can make poor decisions with scrappy heart: Little X didn't win us over with his dopey decision to try for the most arduous route to a double play rather than just tagging out Giambi and keeping the double play in order. He did make a nice play up the middle earlier, for whatever that's worth.
Up next: A.J. versus Mike Mussina, who we still hate from the 1993 All Star Game when he got up in the bullpen to embarass Cito Gaston. Yeah, we can carry a grudge for 15 years.
Tao, you don't need to hold a grudge for 15 years. You could have renewed it four years ago when, on Tom Cheek Day at the ballpark, Mussina blamed his poor early performance on the start time of the game being pushed back 8 minutes or because of the ceremonies to honour Tom.
ReplyDeletetotally with you on that jackass Mussina, on both counts - the Cito Gaston episode and the shameful Tom Cheek grousing. First class jerk.
ReplyDeletedidn't know about the TC slur, but I remember the a**hole from the All Star game. I also remember the TV commentator siding with Mussina, but the jerk's name escapes me !
ReplyDeletehere's a quote I just dug up from that whiny douchebag Mussina:
ReplyDelete'I congratulate the man who got 4,300 games, but sitting for 15 extra minutes before the game was supposed to start - that was worse,' said Mussina, whose second pitch of the game was hit over the centerfield fence by leadoff hitter Reed Johnson. 'When they say 2:15 and it's 2:25 and they're still on the field ... I don't want to take anything away from him. That's a tremendous accomplishment. But tell us 2:30 instead of 2:15. That's all.'
Forgot all about the Tom Cheek tribute debacle. That was absolutely rank.
ReplyDeleteWe don't care how many crossword puzzles Mike Mussina does. He's still a cretin.
"I congratulate God on blessing America, but those extra three minutes between the top and bottom of the seventh inning, it really effects me, especially at such a critical juncture in the game. That's all." - Any reliever visiting Yankee stadium, except they wouldn't say it because they'd end up accused of being in the Taliban.
ReplyDeleteYikes! I hadn't heard the Tom Cheek quote! All these years I'd hated Mussina because of the All-Star game, as well as my abiding hatred for Orioles' players in general (I dislike Blue Jays' rivals circa 1989).
ReplyDeleteI dislike Jay's rivals circa 1977-present.
ReplyDeleteIf they can start later because of rain delays, they can start later for Tom Cheek. 15 minutes is nothing. In conclusion, shut the fuck up, Mike.
ReplyDeleteand hahaha Lloyd. I get the sense that we bloggers are going to be aggressive and perhaps a little bitter this summer.
i didn't know that about tom cheek, either...mussina is a douche, wow.
ReplyDeleteMussina will also routinely call out teammates for making errors and will say shit like "I did my job" after losing a 2-1 LCS game.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think he should be kicked in the nuts for the stupid way he winds up from the stretch.
Mike Pussina is a fuckin douche bag. we've been cursed since signing the sob as we've never won a world series since. but its cool, i hate pussina more than i love the yanks. wouldnt want that douche to win a ring. i hate pussina, but i dont hate puss.
ReplyDelete