Jays won 6-4. Shaun Marcum is looking shakier and shakier with every outing, but he got the job done tonight. Brian "chinny" Wolfe gave up a two run pesky in relief that gave up the lead and put the Jays down a run. Chinny's done so much for us this year that he gets a pass on that one. Jaime Campbell (who is really starting to grow on me) sang sweet caroline along with the crowd. Rulliniks was on fire tonight. First, his "I couldn't call a hog to a trough" line when Gingerbread tried to get him to sing along was pure gold. Then he called Vernon's two run deep center seconds before it happened. He also has found his niche by continuing to let the audience in on the thinking and guessing games that pitchers and batters go through when facing each other. In something that would make my new best bud John Brattain smile, Johnny Mac laid down a sac bunt in the ninth (right guy, right scenario John). Casey Janssen left with an injury after taking a liner off the foot. Brandon League walked a guy on four pitches. Accardo got the last five outs for the win. Good game all around so razzer has less venom to spew. (Officially doing the third person now, sweet!)
After the game on WWJP the GM let us in on these nuggets.
-Aaron Hill feels comfortable at second and will stay there.
-The Jays will try to resign Stairs and if successful it most likely means Lind goes to AAA (because he can)
-The Yankees payroll is 100% more than the Jays, the Red Sox 50% more, and that doesn't include posting fees, and money spent on international signings and the draft.
-Casey Janssen and Brian Wolfe will be stretched out in Spring Training to see if they can start. If League is back to full strength there is a greater chance Janssen starts.
-The team plays hard for Gibby as evident in their comebacks the last three games in Boston, and the last one in Oakland.
- There is no excuse for the line-up gaff. "We screwed up" said the GM He didn't say "they" or "he", what a soldier.
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4 comments:
I was going to say that Marcum might be gassed, but looking at his minor league #s, he's pitched this many innings before. Starting in the pen this season reduced his load a bit. As we've discussed, he's probably not as good as he looked earlier this season, but I think he'll be solid at the back-end of the rotation next year, and certainly a huge step up from Tomo and Towers.
Hill is undoubtedly a better 2B than he would be a SS (he has to be one of the best defensive 2B in the majors at this point) but not moving him makes the middle-infield hole that much more difficult to plug: it would be easier to find a decent 2B than a SS this off-season. I think this also suggests that JP doesn't hold out much hope for a Russ Adams renaissance; judging by Adams' performance in AAA this year, I have to agree.
I would like to see both Lind and Stairs on the team next year. It would be 5 players (Reed, Lind, Stairs, Thomas, Overbay) for 3 spots (LF, 1B, DH), but I don't have a problem with that. All five players will have some question marks next season, and it will be good to have platoon options and the ability to ride the hot hand. Also, Johnson could get a few additional games in spelling Wells or Rios when they need days off.
I'm sick of hearing JP talk about the Sox and Yankee payrolls. Who gives a fuck? He knew what he was getting into when he took the job. The economics are looking a lot better for the Jays now than they were a few years ago, with the rise in the C$ and the bigger Rogers' payroll. Frankly, the real crunch is for the tiny-market teams who could never have kept their Roy Halladays or V-Dubs, or signed Frank Thomas. The marginal utility of the extra payroll decreases with its size. I think the experience of other mid-market AL teams (DET, OAK, MIN, CLE) shows that it's possible to compete in that price range. It's the TBs and PITs who are really fucked.
In fairness to JP he did say that when he took over the gap between the teams was closer to 25% percent increased payroll. He also said that he feels like they can win but unlike the Yankees and Sox the Jays can't afford serious injuries or players to have sub par years. Basically, nothing can go wrong for the Jays to win, but the team he has can win. I have to agree with him.
Yeah, I probably agree with that -- we need to catch a few breaks to win. I'm just not into the "we have no chance to win" school of thought.
Payroll disparities may be increasing, but at some point that basically moots itself. The Yankees have already got players at the top of the scale at almost every position (for the ones where they don't, like 2B, it's not clear that paying more would be an improvement). So even if the Yankees continued to add 15% to their payroll every year, and we only added 5%, I'm not sure it would make that much difference.
In something that would make my new best bud John Brattain smile, Johnny Mac laid down a sac bunt in the ninth (right guy, right scenario John).
:-D
Best Regards
John
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