Let’s start with a tip of the cap to Jackie Robinson, who changed everything, and to Branch Rickey, who made it happen. Somehow, Rickey’s role in the integration of MLB, which stemmed, as we understand it, not so much from a stirring call to social justice, as from a burning desire to make his team the best possible team he could, means more to me for that very distinction. You have to love an old baseball guy who was willing to buck the biggest tide ever in the sport, just because talent matters, and it’s about putting the best players you can on the field.
One more thought on Jackie Robinson Day: In accordance with recently-established tradition, all players and coaches on all teams wore Jackie’s number 42, and it didn’t matter a whit to following the game. I love that baseball players are always identifiable people, and because you do recognize them, you never forget their stories while you’re watching them play.
Okay, on to the game. Or perhaps all of the above is just my way of suggesting that there’s not much to say about the Jays’ loss to the Bosox last night. I mean, leaving aside the very important double breakout of the parrot for the first time this season, what kind of a game is it, in which the most notable feature was Manager John Gibbons raising both arms to call Pat Venditte in from the pen, possibly an MLB first. (Calling all Oakland fans: what was Bob Melvin’s bullpen call for him last year?)
The story of this game is really two ongoing ones: first,the typical early-season shakiness of R.A. Dickey, whose knuckler is equally as hard to control as it is live. He goes four and two thirds, throws 105 pitches, gives up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, and two unearned due to a passed ball strikeout of Hanley Ramirez, who makes first and scores behind David Ortiz on a double by Travis Shaw when the inning should have ended on the strikeout. He also walks four and strikes out three.
The second is the Jays’ continued hitting doldrums. Despite the fact that Rick Porcello was not much more than kind of good at best, he no-hit all the Jays except Edwin, going six and a third, giving up three runs on 2 hits, Encarnacion’s two dingers,with one walk and six Ks on 96 pitches.
Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, and Craig Kimbrel brought it home for the Sox, with Encarnacion’s bloop single off Kimbrel in the ninth the only hit. On the other side, Pat Venditte, Joe Biagini, and Jesse Chavez go three and a third, and give up only one less than spectacular run when Boston gets one legitimate hit and two infield singles, Joe Biagini yielding the second cheapie, allowing an inherited runner from Venditte to score. The mid-game hold pitchers for the Jays, like the starters, and the late inning guys, for the most part, are doing well. A little run support would go a long way to improve the record.
One question about the scoring: in the bottom of seven, Ortiz leads off with a walk. After two strikeouts, on a two-two pitch, Biagini ignores him and he takes second. Neither middle-infielder moves an inch toward the bag. It looked to me like defensive indifference, though of course the defence was not playing with the lead, yet Ortiz was credited with a stolen base. Having read the rule on not crediting a stolen base because of defensive interference, the only justification I can see for giving Ortiz the sb is that, being behind 5-3, “the score of the game” was a factor—the Jays could not have been “indifferent” to Ortiz advancing into scoring position.
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