So because of things happening in Toronto, Major League Baseball had to move what would have been a homecoming for Doc Halladay at
Yeah. The home team. In front of a sea of rabid Phillies fans (who, by the way, I don't like).
Needless to say, Doc murdered the Jays. And I still hate seeing him in red.
But the Jays got a little of their own back the next day (yesterday). Shaun Marcum struck out 6 guys (including Jayson Werth twice; once looking and once swinging). And then some guys decided to tune Cole Hamels up to back up Marcum: Yes, John Buck (2 run homer), Aaron Hill (solo homer), and Alex Gonzalez (2 run homer), I'm talking about you guys. Final score, 1-5, Jays. I love it. And the best part was... I saw a good number of Jays jerseys and Jays shirts amidst the Phillies red of the stands... I love seeing Jays fans because you know they've gotta be hardcore. :) Even seeing Jays fans in Atlanta makes me happy. (But I know that Atlanta would crush Toronto. I may love the Blue Jays, but I love the Braves way more.)
Aside: I don't know why I particularly like to pick on Cole Hamels... but I really really do.
Today it'll be Moyer (8-6, 4.43) vs. Cecil (7-4, 4.06). MLB.tv? You are my new friend. Moyer is about location and pitch control... but as long as the Jays aren't fooled... well, they've got this old man.
In other news... the Braves. I mentioned yesterday in my toned-down-not-as-furious-as-I-would-have-liked-to-have-sounded text post that we won. 3-4. This time, it wasn't a run support issue, nor was it an issue with Kawakami's start. No, no. This time, it was the bullpen, in the ninth inning, doing their absolute damnedest to give away Kawakami's hard-earned win.
And yes, I realize that we still won. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we won and that we're still on top of the NL East. But it came down to chance and luck. We got lucky that the umpire called the last pitch that left Peter Moylan's hand a strike. Because it was most assuredly outside. It should have been a ball, and the game should have been tied... with the bases still loaded. But instead, the plate umpire, who had been making strange calls all night (I'm talking calling pitches that were CLEARLY strikes balls, and pitches that were clearly outside or inside or whatever strikes... it was insane... like the strike zone was some squiggly Nickelodeon logo) happened to call a full-count pitch a strike... and by the sheer luck of this call, we got out of a nightmarish situation. If the Tigers had managed to tie the game with another run walked home (and the bases still loaded, mind you), then Kawakami would have lost his first W (again). Please note that if the Tigers had tied and then taken the lead from us, I have no doubt we would have still won... but it is absolutely ridiculous that we could blow a 3 run lead while loading the bases by walking 4 consecutive men with 2 outs. And yet... we did. I suppose I should also mention that part of the trouble was also a homerun... sigh.
A few other less rageful Braves-related items:
Chipper Jones had himself a big night. First, he made a nice snag of a pop up in foul territory. (And did you see Johnny Damon over there, helping Chip out? Adorable. I love it when players are nice to each other.) And then, in order to back up Kawakami, he launched a 100 mph pitch into the stands to give us a 1-3 lead. Did I ever say I wasn't a fan? Well, I lied. [Also, please note the giant smile on KK's face (about 47 seconds in). There will be no loss for him! A no-decision, possible, but a loss? Get out of here.] Also worth mentioning, that was a one-hundred mile per hour fastball, by Zumaya, who hasn't given up a home run this year... until he met Larry Wayne Jones, Jr., resident Braves badass.
Melky Cabrera. He's totally underrated. So his April sucked. And then suddenly, he came out of nowhere and started destroying his at-bats. And he makes great catches. He runs the bases as hard as he can (looks like he's ready to bowl you over if you don't get out of the way even if he's going BMac-speed). He's got a good throwing arm. AND he's nice to the fans. He will often throw it into the stands if he catches a fly out (obviously if it's the third out). So as far as I'm concerned, I know why Melky's got a loyal fanbase in New York. And I think he should start getting some fans here. He's a good player.
Check this out. If Ross is put on the DL, and BMac is out for a game, then we can use Brooksy or Yunel as catcher! My only question is: Why did we remove Clint from the 40 man roster? And why did we designate him for assignment, where he cleared waivers... so that we could make room for Diory Hernandez? As far as infielders go, we've got the aforementioned Brooks Conrad (2B & 3B), Omar Infante (2B, SS, 3B), and Eric Hinske (1B & 3B), who have got all the positions infield covered. I suppose we want to make sure... in case both Yunel and Omar go down, we'd have a SS? I guess we'll see. Too bad about Clint... he's adorable.
Max Scherzer of the Tigers is a good pitcher, but I really really REALLY do not approve of you hitting MY GUYS, Max. Nailing Troy Glaus in the hip really infuriated me, and I had to try really hard not to shout at the television in front of my customers.
IN SUMMARY: Braves rule. Jays = Love. And we'll both win this afternoon. Tommy's on the mound for Atlanta and Cecil for Toronto. :) PS--I called KK's win last night. Just look at item 5.
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