JULY THIRTY-FIRST, ORIOLES 6, JAYS 2:
OUCHY IN EXTRAS
We've reached the last day of July, and as we approached today's game we couldn't help but feel that finally all the stars were aligned, and the universe was unfolding as it should: the Blue Jays are in first place. When Robert Browning wrote “God's in his heaven/All's right with the world!” he was talking…
JULY THIRTIETH, JAYS 9, ORIOLES 1:
IT’S HAPP-ENED, JAYS IN FIRST PLACE!
Beating a dead horse as I am wont to do, let me say one more time that I was quite pleased when the Blue Jays brought Jay Happ back to the nest last November, and I refused to utter a word about the significance of his signing vis-à-vis the inevitable departure of David Price to…
JULY TWENTY-NINTH, JAYS 6, ORIOLES 5:
HERE’S A LONG BALL STORY FOR YA!
In reflecting on Wednesday night's loss to the Padres, I spent some time discussing what we talk about when we talk about losing. The underlying theme of my musings was that everything is relative, and losses have to be taken in context. So, to be sure, do wins, like the exciting 6-5 nail-biter tonight over…
JULY TWENTY-SEVENTH, PADRES 8, JAYS 4:
HALF EMPTY? HALF FULL? WHATEVER!
In some ways it's easier to be a fan of a mediocre team, one that is playing below the.500 level. Because losses come more frequently than wins, each one doesn't take on quite the same emotional weight as a loss like this afternoon's to the Padres does for Blue Jays' fans. They're spared the existential…
JULY TWENTY-SIXTH, JAYS 7, PADRES 6:
MIDNIGHT MADNESS IN THE BIG SMOKE!
Well, that was an exciting day, and night! If people weren't feeling much of a buzz about the pennant race so far this summer, the tectonic plates of Blue Jay fandom started to shift today, and a subterranean rumble can be felt. In mid-morning the announcement was made that the Jays had indeed acquired Melvin…
JULY TWENTY-FIFTH, JAYS 4, PADRES 2:
READ MY LIPS:
NO BULL ABOUT SANCHY TO THE PEN!
Here's an important message for Blue Jays' General Manager Ross Atkins: Put down that phone, back away from your desk slowly, and no one gets hurt. And don't talk to Manager John Gibbons about anything other than the weather, either. I am getting tired of all the talk about the trade deadline and roster moves,…
JULY TWENTY-FOURTH, JAYS 2, SEATTLE 0
A ONE-HITTER? THAT’S THE TICKET!
This morning was a tense time for the Blue Jays' faithful. Going into today's series closer against the Seattle Mariners, here's where we stood: we'd lost four of seven since the All-Star break. We'd been stifled for two straight games by strong Seattle pitching. After a classic Friday-night pitchers' battle, the loss of which could…
JULY TWENTY-THIRD, SEATTLE 14, JAYS 5:
MAILING IT IN
For the first time this season, having gotten all the way to game 98 of a 162-game schedule, I am going to write about a game that I did not watch, and that's probably a good thing, because this 14-5 drubbing by the Mariners, in which Victor Cruz single-handedly out-produced the entire Blue Jays lineup,…
JULY TWENTY-SECOND, SEATTLE 2, JAYS 1:
OH, THAT JAMES PAXTON!
In the run-up to tonight's first game of a three-game weekend set with the Seattle Mariners at the TV Dome, I thought that the pitching matchup looked pretty favourable for the home team. Marco Estrada got the start for the Blue Jays, which always promises an interesting, even compelling drama unfolding between pitcher and hitters.…
JULY TWENTIETH, JAYS 10, D-BACKS 4:
FLYING HIGH OVER THE DESERT
The Blue Jays needed a win today to come back from their short post-All-Star western road swing with a winning record, and they got one, big time and easy-peasy, dumping the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 in an afternoon game that was effectively over after the first two batters in the top of the first. Or, if…