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Quick Recap: Blue Jays Beat A's In Extras

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August 4, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Kelly Johnson (2) jumps over Oakland Athletics shortstop Adam Rosales (17) after making the double play ahead of Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar (5) during the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Blue Jays 3 A's 1 (11 innings)

Second day in a row that we tie a game in the 9th, this time we win it.

Great to see the home run by David Cooper to tie it up with 1 out in the 9th.

Then in the 11th, Edwin Encarnacion singles, to start things off, one out later he steals second. After Rajai Davis walks (good job Rajai), Edwin and Rajai run on the full count pitch to Jeff Mathis. Mathis struck out, but the throw to 3rd went into the outfield and Edwin scored. A Moises Sierra double scored Davis. Unfortunately Sierra was tagged out at the plate trying to score from 2nd on Anthony Gose's infield single.

Ricky Romero had himself a good game. 7 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned, 4 walks, 5 k. Not great, but good.

John Farrell's use of the bullpen drove us all to drink, yet again. Being fair, it isn't hard to get us to drink.

Steve Delabar pitched a great 8th inning and then, after we tied, Farrell left him out for the 9th. I could understand the decision, we were going to extras, best not to burn through the arms too quick. But then he gives up a lead off walk, gets a fly out and then we get Janssen. Casey gets a double play ball after pitches.

I figured Casey would come back out, but no, Farrell calls on Jesse Chavez, easily the worst arm we have in the pen.Chavez was called up, we were told, to eat innings. Chavez loaded the bases, with a single and 2 walks, but made it out of the inning. More by luck than good pitching. In extras you don't go to your worst arm early.

Anyway, we won.

Jays of the Day: Edwin (.432 WPA), Cooper (.223), Romero (.182), Chavez (.127, I don't think he deserves it, but that's the number) and Casey (.126). Suckage: Johnson (-.214), Yunel (-.132), Mathis (-.131) and Gose (-.130) but I can't give one to Gose, he made a couple of good catches and hit one to the wall.

I'm late for supper. Have a good night.


View From The Other Side: Tampa Bay Rays Questions For Jason Collette of DRaysBay

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The wonderful room of Tropicana Field, where a popup can become a home run. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

I sent some questions off to Jason Collett from DRaysBay in anticipation of our series at beautiful (yeah right) Tropicana Field.

With Longoria missing so much of the season (back for this series, gee, thanks) who has been your MVP?

Ben Zobrist -- He has been the one guy who has remained healthy and has produced this season while playing his usual solid defense. It isn't a great Zobrist year, but he has clearly stood out from the class this year.

Any chance of you getting a new ball park in the near future? Would that fix attendance troubles or is baseball just something that folks around there don't want to pay to see?

There is action in that the Tampa side of the bay is becoming more aggressive in wanting to have discussions while skirting around the ridiculously restrictive use agreement that the former ownership signed when moving into the place. It is the theory of many around these parts that if there is not a new stadium in the next five years, there will not be a team in this area by then. The lack of attendance due to location combined with the extremely poor corporate support as The Trop lacks luxuries that companies dole out that type of money for. We at the site even put together our proposal.

Your closer, Fernando Rodney, has been out of this world great. What is he doing different than in the past, when he was pretty average?

R.J. Anderson, our former E-I-C, wrote a piece at Baseball Prospectus outlining what Rodney has done. Moving him over on the rubber was a big help but they also tightened up his delivery so he did not fly open as quickly as he did in the past.

Could we have a quick scouting report on the starting pitchers we'll see?

Shields --- which guy will show up? Until his last start, he was looking like the mess he was in 2010 where he got cutter happy and was letting hitters beat him on his worst pitches. In his last start against Seattle, he went back to the FB/CH/CV mix that helped him be very successful last season and stuck with it. Teams tend to get to Shields later in starts when he tends to scrap the fastball for a cutter which then shrinks the differential with his changeup and lessens the pitch's effectiveness.

Cobb is a groundball machine that throws a fastball, split-change, and a curveball that he struggles to locate. He gets himself into trouble when he struggles to locate his fastball but has no qualms throwing that split-change at any point in the count and will double-up on the pitch when needed.

Moore is turning yet another corner this season and is now throwing all of his pitches for strikes and mixing them up well in the count. When he struggles, he tends to do that early in the game rather than later.

With Matsui released, who's the DH now?

Longoria is going to DH most of the time. This injury thing can't get any worse, but it also isn't likely to get any better. Our friends at The Process Report broke this down last night.

Being just a couple of games out of the Wild Card, are Rays fans feeling confident they'll make the playoffs?

Coming off back to back shutouts at the hands of the Orioles, there is no confidence in this area right now. Frankly, it is a day to day thing. The Rays offense has been poor all season, especially at home. The pitching has been amazing of late, especially the bullpen which has done incredible work since the start of last month. It is tough to get a true gauge on this team because it has only had 8 games all season where the projected 9 have been on the field at the same time. Simply put, there's a larger sense of disappointment on what could have been before the loss of Longoria than confidence right now.

Anything else we should know about the Rays?

Rays are awful against all forms of left-handed pitching, so there is hope for Happ and Romero. When I say awful, I mean truly horrendous as in a .225/.313/.348 slash line and a .293 wOBA.

Series Preview: Misery Loves Company

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ST. PETERSBURG - JUNE 10:  Infielder Evan Longoria #3 of the Tampa Bay Rays watches his team from the dugout against the Toronto Blue Jays during the game at Tropicana Field on June 10, 2010 in St. Petersburg, Florida.  (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

The Rays have certainly had their share of injuries this season, but they welcome in a team can shares their pain in many ways. Toronto currently has seven pitchers on the 60-day disabled list including 3/5ths of their pre-season rotation and their closer. Add to that losing their opening day catcher, first baseman, and their franchise player, and it is no wonder the Toronto Blue Jays have fallen below .500 after being competitive for most of the season.

In all,the Jays have used ten different starting pitchers this season and 30 different pitchers have taken the mound.That includes a completely retooled bullpen after additions at the trade deadline to replace some of the injured relievers. One of the new faces to Rays fans will be J.A. Happ who takes the mound tonight as one of the two lefties the Rays will face in this series. The Rays have had their fare share of offense struggles this season which have been exacerbated when they face left-handed pitchers of any shape and size. Hopefully, tonight's return of Evan Longoria will help that situation.

Longoria was sorely missed as the team went 41-44 without out and scored just 3.86 runs a game. Before the injury, the team was 15-8 and scored 4.61 runs per contest. How much has Longoria's bat been missed? In his extended absence, the 3rd and 4th hitters in the lineup have gone 146 for 643 (.227) and have hit just 12 home runs and driven in 55 runs (from Rays communications department)

Stats Rays Blue Jays
wOBA 0.300 0.323
wRC+ 91 102
BB% 9.7% 8.1%
K% 21.4% 19.3%
BABIP 0.274 0.281
FIP 3.67 4.67
xFIP 3.74 4.24
SIERA 3.61 4.15
K/9 8.42 7.12
BB/9 3.17 3.60
BABIP 0.285 0.292

Regressed ZIPS RoS batter platoon splits (sortable):

Player Projected wOBA vs. RHP Projected wOBA vs. LHP
Edwin Encarnacion (R) 0.361 0.393
Brett Lawrie (R) 0.338 0.361
Colby Rasmus (L) 0.343 0.304
Yunel Escobar (R) 0.310 0.320
Kelly Johnson (L) 0..321 0.333
Jeff Mathis (R) 0.265 0.286
David Cooper (L) 0.302 0.279
Anthony Gose 0.289 0.316

I answered some questions for our SBN friends at Bluebird Banter today and their site manager, Tom Daker, answered some for us:

DRB: I've been on record saying Edwin Encarnacion had a 40 home run season in his bat but I am a renowned E5 fanboy. Did Jays fans ever think they'd see this kind of season out of him?

BB: As always, it depends on the fan, I've always thought he could be good, but I didn't expect 40 home runs this quick. The average Blue Jay fan hated him, he was called lazy and worse. Even the team lost faith in him, letting him go to Oakland, on a waiver claim, back in 2010. Fortunately the A's didn't realise what they had either. He has always been a streak hitter, prone to long slumps, but this year he's been very consistent. If he has had slumps, they don't last long. He goes up looking for his pitch and if he doesn't get it, he's willing to take the walk.

DRB: Has the Jays' training staff run out of ace bandages yet this season? The amount of injuries the team has dealt with has been unreal. Any updates on health status and who may be back in this series?

BB: Man, I hear the M*A*S*H type in my head at the start of every game. It is possible that Brett Lawrie and/or Colby Rasmus could be back this series, both are listed as day-to-day, Lawrie with a muscle strain in his side and Rasmus with groin tightness, but every injury we've had has turned out to be worse than first expected. As for the rest:

Brandon Morrow should be back in the next couple of weeks, he is rehabbing in the minors from an oblique strain.

Jose Bautista hurt his wrist or forearm on a swing, he went on the DL, but we were told he was progressing 'better than expected'. Well, his 15 days were up last week and he's not back. They have given us no suggestion of when he might be back. The injury is apparently worse than what we were led to believe.

Adam Lind is on the DL with 'back tightness'. At first we were told he was only on the DL to open a roster spot. Since we were running with an 8 man bullpen, bench spots were at a premium. His 15 days are up at the end of the week but it sounds like he might be out longer

. • J.P. Arencibia broke his hand, he might be back in September.

• The others: Jason Frasor, Kyle Drabek (Tommy John), Drew Hutchison (Tommy John), Sergio Santos, Luis Perez (Tommy John), Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch will not be seen on a playing field again this year.

DRB: When the Rays do get on base, they do like to run. How are the Jays doing in controlling opponents' stolen bases this season?

BB: Our new full-time catcher (see injury list), Jeff Mathis has been very good at cutting down base stealers, catching 38% of those trying to take a base on him. I'd be careful about running on him. Yan Gomes, who'll likely catch one of the games, hasn't been run on yet in his 6 games behind the plate. I'd think you would want to run on him

DRB: Are things really that bad that Yunel Escobar has to hit cleanup vs. LHP as he did Sunday against the A's? How has John Farrell been putting lineups together with all of the injuries?

BB: It isn't the way I'd do it but Farrell has had as many as 5 recent call ups in the lineup. Add in that Jeff Mathis has been the main catcher and there isn't much that Farrell can do to make it look like a major league lineup. Pity us. On the flip side of that, Anthony Gose, Moises Sierra and David Cooper have added some life to the team.

DRB: Romero had his best start in eons his last time out but still walked four batters. In fact, it was his second straight start of allowing 3 runs or less. Was this from improvements or just a side effect of pitching at Seattle and at Oakland?

BB: Yeah, he has looked better the last couple of starts. I guess he best was to say it is that he went after the batters. For the longest time, he seemed to be afraid to throw strikes. He'd get himself behind in the count and either give up a walk or serve up a batting practise fastball right down the middle. The last two starts, for the most part, he was getting ahead of batters and then having them chase his pitches. I wouldn't say that he is 100% back, we are moving in the right direction.

DRB: The bullpen had to throw over 17 innings in the series against the A's and now the team is flying from coast to coast adding jet lag issues to the arm slag issues. What is the state of bullpen these days and what is the pecking order in front of Casey Janssen now?

BB: The pecking order is something that Farrell is still working out. We've made a couple of trades, that have added some arms to the pen, and I think Farrell is still trying figure out where everyone fits. Casey has been great in the closer role, but we haven't had many chances to make use of a closer for the last couple of weeks. Darren Oliver has been great in the 8th inning slot. I think Farrell is going to have Brad Lincoln share that role with him. Earlier innings will go to some combination of Brandon Lyon, Steve Delabar and Aaron Loup. The bullpen is greatly improved, and much deeper, than what we had earlier in the season.

DRB: Anything else Rays fans should know about the Jays?

BB: A season that started with so much hope has disintegrated into a mess of injuries and inconsistent play. The fun part now is watching the young players. Adeiny Hechavarria, Gose, Sierra and Cooper have given us something to watch, as we try to fight our way back to .500. We've been .500 19 times this season. If we can pick up a couple of wins, we'll be there yet again. It really feels like the Jays are underdogs right now, so any win feels that much sweeter.

Drew Carpenter Elects Free Agency

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Right-handed pitcher Andrew Carpenter has declined an assignment to Class Triple-A Las Vegas from the Toronto Blue Jays and has instead decided to elect free agency, as first reported by Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The team had designated Carpenter for assignment on Saturday and wanted to outright Carpenter to Class Triple-A this morning.

The 27-year-old Carpenter is now free to sign with any team and will be looking to join his fourth different organization. However, I am somewhat surprised by Carpenter electing for free agency, since it is unlikely a team will offer a major league deal to him for this year.

In six appearances this year, Carpenter posted a 5.00 ERA across 9 innings of work along with a 9.0 K/9, 6.0 BB/9 and 4.0 HR/9.

J.A. Happ Comes Out the Loser In His First Blue Jay Start.

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August 7, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus (28) runs around the bases after he hits a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Blue Jays 1 Rays 4


We just couldn't hit James Shields. 2 hit and a walk against him in 8 innings, with 6 strikeouts. The only offense we got was from a Colby Rasmus home run. Adeiny Hechavarria had the other hit against Shields. Colby singled against Fernandez Rodney in the 9th, to raise us to a total of 3 hits.

J.A. Happ was ok. He kind of got nickled and dimed. There wasn't much hit hard against him but there were a number of seeing eye hits. In all, 7 hits, 4 earned, 1 walk, 5 k in 4.1. We would have liked him to go a little deeper into the game, but 82 pitches was enough, since he hasn't started since July 16th.

Brandon Lyon got the last couple of the 5th inning. Then we got our first look at Chad Jenkins. He pitched the final 3 innings, only allowing 2 hits, with 2 strikeouts. He did have a few hard hit balls, one that ended up in his glove, a great/lucky catch on a line drive up the middle. He did throw strikes, which was nice to see.

Jay of the Day is Colby (.106 WPA, 2 of our 3 hits, plus our only walk of the day). Happ gets Suckage for a -.253.

We had a few first's today. Happ's first start. Hechavarria's first hit, a nice line drive up the middle. Chad Jenkin's first appearance for the Jays and his first strikeout.

I really don't understand why we are playing Rajai Davis over Anthony Gose. Gose should play every day that he is up here. He's the future.

Tomorrow Carlos Villanueva (6-1, 3.19) goes up against the Rays, who have Alex Cobb (5-8, 4.60) starting for them.

HE HAS RISEN; Longoria Beats Blue Jays, 4-1

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Making his triumphant return, the "Face of the Franchise" gave the Rays a victory by simply stepping onto the field. Batting cleanup, even eight-hole hitter Jose Lobaton felt 'protected' by Longo's presence. When the Unshaven-Evan grounded out to the pitcher in his first at-bat, the Trop swelled with the pride of 1,000 fathers of Military, First-Responding, Firefighting, Concert Pianists.

That swelling turned into a palpable throb in the third inning when Longo came to the plate with the bases loaded. When he drove a ball deep to the opposite field, 10,000 fans drew in their breath in an attempt to suck the ball over the fence. Alas, Evan would merely sac fly out to the track. It was as if 10,000 voices cried out, "TURNING POINT," then were silenced. Then said, "Aw, screw it," and kept up the narrative anyway.

Longo would get a hit on a soft single up the middle in his final at bat before being lifted for pinch-runner Sam Fuld. 1-for-3 with an RBI isn't the worst way to play your first Major League game in three months.

Was there more to this game? Find out after the jump...

While it wasn't a 11K complete game shutout, James Shields delivered eight strong innings of one-run baseball to lead the Rays over the Blue Jays tonight. Shields allowed just two hits and one walk to the powerful, albeit Bautista-less, Jays lineup. He K'd six and induced 14 swinging strikes on 116 pitches (12%). He worked right at 50% fastballs on the night, and varied the offspeed pretty evenly between the change, curve, and the cutter/slider.

Shields' only mistake on the night was in the fourth inning, on a 3-2, D-Hole change-up that Colby Rasmus crushed into the right-centerfield stands. Shileds had K'd him in the first on the same pitch, but missed up with it the second time around.

Fernando Rodney nailed down the ninth for his 33rd save and his 22nd consecutive scoreless inning (a new Rays record.) He did get chided by the home plate umpire for wiping his face on the mound, but that seemed to blow over. He also did something you rarely see: he threw a wild pitch into the stands. He actually bounced the ball and it ricocheted off of Jose Lobaton's shin guards and went over the net behind the plate. Always fun to see.

But, who cares about Shields having another good start, Rodney nailing down a save, or the fact that other boring-blooping offense actually won this game? We all know the real hero of this game was Evan Longoria.

Unfortunately, Longo can't pitch, so Alex Cobb will take on Carlos Villanueva tomorrow @ 7:10 PM.

Roto Roundup: Cole Hamels, Miguel Cabrera, Chris Johnson, and Others

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August 7, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) hits a home run during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

The Diamondbacks traded for Chris Johnson about a week ago, and all he has done is hit for them. Johnson settled the third base carousel in Arizona and is making Kevin Towers look smart for dealing for him. Johnson went 2-5 with 2 HRs and 5 RBI last night. Since the deal, he is 10-29 with 5 HRs and 15 RBI. For the season, he is hitting .284-.333-.465 with 13 HRs, 41 runs and 56 RBI. He could flourish hitting the Chase Field, a park that is quite friendly to fly balls.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera is having a typical Miguel Cabrera season. Or is he? Cabrera went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI last night in the Tigers 6-5 win over the Yankees. Cabrera is now hitting .326-.386-.592 with 29 HRs, 29 doubles, 73 runs, 95 RBI and has thrown in 4 stolen bases to boot. He is having his best power season of his career, as he is on pace to hit 43 home runs and drive in 140 runs, well above his 38 HR, 126 RBI season in 2010.

i haven't written about Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis in quite awhile, and after looking at his monthly stats, now I know why. He started the season hitting for good power and stealing a ton of bases, as he had 11 HRs and 19 stolen bases through June 30th, but since then he has slumped. He hit just .250-.373-.321 with no home runs, 9 RBI and just 2 stolen bases in July, and is hitting just .125-.125-.167 in 7 August games. After going 0-1 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored, he is hitting .261-.336-.389 with 11 HRs, 60 runs, 57 RBI and 21 stolen bases. Solid across the board, but down from his pace at the end of June.

More Roundup after the jump:

Rangers starter Ryan Dempster bounced back after a rough first start in Texas to limit the Red Sox to 3 unearned runs on 6 hits, a walk and 6 strikeouts to win his first game of his American League career. I think Dempster was a good pick up for the Rangers before the deadline, but think they will need to deal for another starter, if possible, in August if they want to go far in the playoffs.

Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus is enjoying a solid power season hitting second in the Toronto lineup this season. Rasmus went 2-3 with a HR and an RBI last night, and is now hitting .251-.315-.469 with 20 HRs, 56 runs and 66 RBI this season. He is on pace for a 30 HR and 98 RBI season. Quite a surprise after his dismal 2011 season.

Phillies starter Cole Hamels just signed a very nice deal that will pay him $144 million over the next 6 years. He is getting paid for the ace that he is, and I think come December 2012, he will look at the contract that Zack Greinke signs and feel like he left a few million on the table. Hamels tossed a complete game shutout vs the Braves last night, giving up just 5 hits, walking none and striking out 6 to win his 12th game of the season. He is now 12-6 with a 3.14 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and an excellent 153-40 strikeout to walk ratio in 154.2 innings pitched.

Moving In the Fences And Other MLBullets

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The New York Mets have been pleased with their decision to move in the fences at Citi Field.  Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Anyone else wish there was Olympic baseball going on?

  • After moving in the fences at Citi Field before this season, the New York Mets are apparently thrilled with the result, which saw their park move up from the third lowest home run rate last year to the seventh lowest this year. "It's changed the mental attitude of our hitters, made it a far less of an issue," says Mets general manager Sandy Alderson. "It certainly hasn't been a topic of conversation since early in the season, which means it's probably gone pretty well." Thanks in large part to that success, the Padres and Marlins are also thinking about moving in their deep fences. I can understand that the change would be enjoyed by the fans (in the aggregate, fans tend to prefer more offense - yes, there are exceptions). But, when considering both sides of the ball, why would a team be pleased by it, or suggest that it made their team better? Unless you've constructed your team to play to a certain park, the size shouldn't matter - either it helps your pitchers and hurts your hitters (and does the same for your opponent), or it hurts your pitchers and helps your hitters. In other words, I don't see why a change from one year to the next would make much of a difference in the overall production of a team, unless they had already been built for the wrong ballpark. Consider Petco, where the Padres have shied away from left-handed power-hitting players, because they tend to struggle there. If the fences come in next year, it's not like the Padres will suddenly generate left-handed power at a rate better than their opponents - indeed, the opposite is more likely to be true, because the Padres intentionally don't have a lot of left-handed power.
  • Toronto Blue Jays' outfielder Jose Bautista is still experiencing pain in his wrist, an injury originally termed mere inflammation when the slugger went down after a mid-July swing. He'll go in for a second MRI to see if there's anything more serious going on.
  • The Padres' sale to a group led by former Dodgers' owner Peter O'Malley (and which includes pro golfer Phil Mickelson) is now finalized and in place. All that's left is MLB approval, which is expected not to be an issue. The sale price is believed to be about $800 million, which would put just under the Cubs' sale price from a few years ago.
  • The Dodgers, the most recently sold team - at a crisp $2.15 billion - are getting praise for their newly-found free-spending ways. Although the new ownership group took over mid-season, the Dodgers have still managed to increase their payroll from around $90 million to more than $110 million. They've signed big extensions, taken on big contracts, made a big international signing ... I can only imagine what their offseason is going to look like. Good luck to the team bidding against them.
  • FanGraphs looks at whether Yu Darvish's command issues - because of his great stuff, he strikes a lot of guys out, but he also walks a ton of guys - are correctable, or whether he's going to deal with them for the rest of his career. Based on precedent, the latter is far more likely, which isn't great news for the Rangers or their $100 million investment.
  • Roy Oswalt and Ron Washington have talked out the pitcher's bullpen issue (in short, he isn't thrilled to have been moved to the pen, and recently declined to continue a relief outing after two innings). Oswalt simply didn't want to throw more than 200 pitches in a week (which is reasonable), but it seems like that's the kind of thing that could have been discussed before it became an issue.
  • The Blue Jays' efforts to wait out and rehab a Drew Hutchison elbow injury have failed - after not pitching since mid-June, Hutchison is finally undergoing Tommy John surgery.
  • A humorous take on Mike Trout's dominance of the American League at such a young age.

Brett Taylor is the Lead Writer at Bleacher Nation, and a Contributor here at Bleed Cubbie Blue.


Baby Bomber Recap 8/7/12: Nik Turley and Tampa Win Big

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AAA Empire State Yankees: W 3-1 vs. Rochester Red Wings

Chris Dickerson 3-5, 2 RBI, BB, K, 2 SB - 16 for his last 41, should probably get a promotion when rosters expand

Corban Joseph 1-5, BB

Eduardo Nunez 1-4, BB, K

Ronnier Mustelier 0-5, BB, K

Brandon Laird 1-5 - 11 for his last 40

Francisco Cervelli 1-4, 2B, K

Melky Mesa 1-4, 2B, BB, SB - 5 for 24 since being promoted

Adam Warren 8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K - threw 69 of 108 pitches for strikes in a bid for a no hitter

Cory Wade 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, BB, K

AA Trenton Thunder: W 4-3 vs. Reading Phillies

Abe Almonte 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 K

Jose Pirela 1-3, BB - 12 for his last 36

David Adams 2-4, RBI, K

Zoilo Almonte 2-4, RBI, K, E9 - 12 for his last 38 with four home runs and three doubles

Addison Maruszak 1-4, K, E6 - 16th error of the season

Adonis Garcia 0-4

JR Murphy 0-3, BB, K - batting .214 with Trenton

Rob Segedin 0-3, BB, 2 K - activated from the DL

Dellin Betances 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K - only one walk is good, only going 5 innings is not

Mark Montgomery 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K - first runs given up since his promotion, but 17 strikeouts (6 games)

High A Tampa Yankees: W 9-3 vs. Clearwater Threshers

Ramon Flores 0-5, 2 K, SB

Slade Heathcott 3-5, 2B, HR, SB - 15 for 40 in his last 10 games with two homers

Tyler Austin 1-4, RBI, BB, 2 K, SB

Kyle Roller 2-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, K - 8 for his last 19 with three homers, 5 game hitting streak

Gary Sanchez 1-4, 2 K - has a hit in 7 of his last 8 games

Zach Wilson 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K, 2 E5 - 16th and 17th error of the season

Nik Turley 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R/2 ER 2 BB, 6 K, HBP - 8th win, 1.71 ERA in his last 10 appearances

Rigoberto Arrebato 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER

Low A Charleston RiverDogs: Off

Short Season Staten Island Yankees: L 2-5 vs. Connecticut Tigers

Taylor Dugas 1-3, BB, K - batting .319 this season

Claudio Custodio 1-2, RBI, BB

Matt Snyder 0-3, K, E3 - still 13 for his last 37, snapped an 8 game hit streak, though

Ravel Santana 1-4, K

Peter O'Brien 1-3, HR, 2 K - first professional home run

Matt Duran 0-3, BB, K

Danny Oh 0-4, 3 K, CS - 6 for his last 34

Andrew Benak 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R/1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Charles Haslup 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K, E1

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees: W 2-0 vs. GCL Blue Jays

Mikeson Oliberto 1-4, 3B, K

Austin Aune 0-3, BB, 2 K, CS - 9 for his last 35

Yeicok Calderon 1-4, RBI, K

Miguel Andujar 0-2, BB

Jerison Lopez 1-3 - batting .328 this season

Angel Rincon 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 K - 3 ground outs, 1 air out

Caleb Frare 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K

Cesar Vargas 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K

Dunedin Blue Jays 2012 8-Bit Play-Off Clinch

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Dunedin Blue Jays produced this video showing their 2012 Play-Off Clinch in 8-Bit style.

Bluebird Banter Mid-Season Top Prospect Review: 36-40

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Let's finish this by the end of the week.The earlier pasts are here:1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16 -20, 21-25, 26-30 and 31-35.

36. Griffin Murphy: Murphy has been pitching in relief in Bluefield and doing a really good job of it. In 10 appearances, he has a 1.54 ERA, 23.1 innings, 16 hits, 8 walks, 23 strikeouts. 21 year old left-hander, he started last year, I'm not sure if the change is to manage his innings or if the Jays figure relief is the role for him. Most of the time he's been pitching 2 or 3 innings at a go. Griffin has only had 1 really bad outing, giving up 5 hits, 5 runs (only 2 earned), 2 walks, 2 k in 1.1 innings on July 5. He's on a 14 inning shutout streak.

37. Mark Biggs: Mark is pitching in the GCL and not having the best of times in his first pro season. In 8 games, 4 starts, he is 1-4 with a 6.38 ERA. 24 innings, 26 hits, 4 home runs, 8 walks, 17 strikeouts. He's just 19, an 8th round pick from last year's draft, who we paid well above slot.

38. Eric Arce: Our 25th round pick in 2011 is playing in Bluefield. Hitting .256/.419/.489 in 90 at bats, with 5 home runs, 23 walks and 38 strikeouts. He's been playing mostly left field. 20 year old, left-handed batter, lots of power in a 5'9" body. If he had a defensive position, he'd be a better prospect. He's small for a first baseman and not athletic enough to be more than an average (at best) corner outfielder, so it is all on his bat.

39. Mike McDade: Mike moved up to Las Vegas last week, he was having a pretty good time of it in New Hampshire, hitting .275/.354/.437 with 15 home runs, 43 walks and 85 strikeouts in 100 games. He has a .290/.324/.419 line at Vegas. He's a 23 year old switch-hitter with a good glove at first base. I think he is one of those guys that are built for Vegas, he should do well there. Whether he can do the job at the major league level is a different question.

40. Danny Barnes: Barnes has been the closer for our Dunedin Blue Jays, and it seems like a good role for him. He has 28 saves with a 1.66 ERA. 43.1 innings, 34 hits, 3 home runs, 16 walks and 51 strikeouts. He's 22, just in his 2nd year of pro ball, after being drafted in the 35th round of the 2010 Draft. If he can move up a level, and keep up to good work, he'd have a shot at a call up. It worked for Sam Dyson. He gets a lot more strikeouts than Dyson.

Blue Jays 10, Yankees 7: Phil Hughes Crushed by Light-Hitting Jays

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You gave up a hit to "#6 hitter" Jeff Mathis, Hughes. There are no excuses.

Outside of slugger Edwin Encarnacion, the Toronto Blue Jays lineup used by manager John Farrell today did not have much offensive prowess, so Yankee starter Phil Hughes was presented with a good chance to win. Not much was working for Hughes though, and he was slapped around for nine hits and seven earned runs in just four innings of work. The Blue Jays batted around in the fourth inning, scoring six of their seven runs against Hughes in the frame, highlighted by RBI doubles from human punchline Jeff Mathis and Rajai Davis (really) and a monster two-run homer by Encarnacion that hit the big Honda sign in left-center field. His 30th homer of the season made the score 7-0.

Hughes departed after the inning in favor of the recently-recalled Ryota Igarashi, who joined the team when CC Sabathia went on the Disabled List. Yankee manager Joe Girardi decided to bring Igarashi in rather than David Phelps, who he wanted to keep in the running for starting tomorrow's game against the Texas Rangers. It was a move in the idea of "sacrificing the battle to win the war," and Igarashi pitched about as well as 99% of fans expected. Toronto rallied for three more runs against him in the fifth inning, as Mathis, third baseman Yan Gomes, and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria all scored on a three-run double by Davis, who did very mean things to the Yankees today. The score was Blue Jays 10, Yankees 1 entering the sixth inning.

Down nine runs with their win expectancy at 0.3% though, the Yankees made it interesting. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano blasted homers against Toronto starter J.A. Happ. The former Phillies and Astros pitcher departed after Cano's prodigious two-run shot deep to the second deck in right-center field, but he fared pretty well against the Yankees, retiring 12 batters in a row at one point. The Yankees beat up on relievers Brad Lincoln and Darren Oliver in the seventh inning, courtesy of three doubles and a pair of singles. The three-run rally brought the score to 10-7, and Oliver loaded the bases with two outs for Andruw Jones. The big left fielder scorched a pitch down the third base line, but right to Gomes, who stepped on third base to end the inning. The game might have been closer, but Davis made an amazing leaping catch to scale the 10-foot wall in left field and rob Casey McGehee of a two-run homer. The Yankees went down in order in the eighth and ninth against Oliver and closer Casey Janssen.

Flying Falcor of the Day goes to Jeter (3-for-5, 2B, HR).

Kangaroo Kick of the Day goes to Hughes (4 IP, 9 H, 7 ER).

Box score. Graph score. Highlights.

Rajai Davis Drives In 5 Runs and Makes An Amazing Catch, Blue Jays Beat The Yankees

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We didn't have a picture of Rajai's catch, so we'll game do with a hit. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE

Yankees 7 Blue Jays 10

A Win! Yay! And Runs. Who figured we'd score 10 runs in a week?

That catch by Rajai Davis must have been the best catch by a Jays' outfielder since Devon White. Climbing the wall, Rajia? Timed it perfectly. Pulled back a home run.

J.A. Happ was having a great start, at least until he tired in the 6th. He game up a single to start off the game, erased it with a double play and then didn't allow another base runner until the 5th. He gave up a run in the 5th and 3 in the 6th, helped along by homers by Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. His totals, 5.2, 6 hits, 4 earned, 0 walks, and 4 k don't look great but I thought he looked pretty good.

Brad Lincoln came in to finish the 6th. He had troubles in the 7th, giving up 4 hits and 3 runs before Farrell mercifully pulled him. We really didn't need him to make a game of it. Thankfully Darren Oliver too over for him and got us out of the 7th, and then pitched a perfect 8th. Casey Janssen threw a quick 9th to get his 15th save.

The big news is that we got some offense. 10 runs, 14 hits. Everyone in the starting lineup had at least 1 hit except for Anthony Gose, who did take a walk. Highlights include:

Jays of the Day are Happ (.214 WPA) and Davis (.095). I'm going to give one to Oliver too, I'd have cried if we blew that one. And let's have one for Edwin as well. No Suckage Jays, Brad Lincoln gave it a run, getting a -.063.

Tomorrow we start a series against the Chicago White Sox. Carlos Villanueva (6-2, 3.30) and Jake Peavy (9-8, 3.08) are the starters for game one.

Roto Roundup: Stephen Strasburg, Jesus Montero, Jon Lester and Others

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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 05:  Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park on August 5, 2012 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Remember last week when wrote about the keeper league trade where I traded Bryce Harper for a boatload of players to help me in my attempt win the league this year? Well, when I wrote the piece, I was 12 points out of first place (after gaining 3 points the night of the deal). As of today, I have chopped 9.5 points off my deficit and am only 2.0 points out of first place. Things are looking good as I can still make up a few points in RBI and BA, while the the first place team's pitching staff is starting to unravel and could lose a few points in WHIP, BA and steals. I had a hard time dealing Harper, but could not turn down the offer I received. I just wish I could have included Chase Headley in my haul.

It took Dodgers starter Chris Capuano 33 starts to win 11 games in 2011, and he has now won his 11th game this season in just 23 starts. He shutout the Marlins for 8 innings yesterday, giving up just 2 hits, walking 3 and striking out 10, and is now 11-8 with a 3.11 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 3.86 xFIP, 1.20 WHIP and an excellent 135-45 strikeout to walk ratio in 150.1 innings pitched. He is having his best season as a big league starter, yet when you compare his peripheral stats to 2011, they are virtually the same, except for his HR/FB rate and his BABIP. HIs K rate is 8.08 vs 8.13 and his BB rate is 2.69 vs 2.56 in 2011.

Red Sox starter Jon Lester has underperformed his expectations this season. By a wide margin. But, on Sunday, he had one of his better outings of the season, as he limited the Indians to just one run on 3 hits, 2 walks and striking out 12. He won for just the 6th time this season, and now owns a 5.20 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 129-44 strikeout to walk ratio in 147 innings pitched. He owns the worst strand rate amongst qualified starting pitchers this season, and is giving up home runs like never before. He has already given up 18 home runs this season, two off the 20 he gave up last season.

More Roundup after the jump including on some news on Stephen Strasburg's innings limit, and Cliff Lee trade rumor:

Nationals beat writer Bill Ladson reported last night via Twitter that Stephen Strasburg will make just 5 more starts and will not pitch in the playoffs:

I am not sure why they didn't shut him down in July around the All Star break so he could pitch in the playoffs, but shutting him down and starting him up again may not be the best idea for an ace a year removed from Tommy John surgery.

Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is doing his best to make fantasy owners forget about his awful first half of the season, as he went 2-3 with a double, HR, 2 runs and 4 RBI on Sunday. He raised his triple slash line to .309-.354-.478 with 13 HRs, 61 runs and 80 RBI, and now has multiple hits in 15 of his 28 games since the All Star break.

Those of you who had questions about whether Carl Crawford could bounce back from his terrible 2011 season, worry no more. Crawford went 3-4 with 3 doubles, 2 runs and 3 RBI yesterday, and is now hitting .280-.306-.505 with 3 HRs, 20 runs, 16 RBI and 3 stolen bases. He left Sunday's game with soreness in his left wrist. He is considered day to day at this point.

Blue Jays first baseman/DH Edwin Encarnacion is having a breakout year in 2012, currently third in the American League in home runs. Encarnacion went 3-4 with a double, home run, 2 runs and 2 RBI and is now hitting .293-.389-.571 with 30 HRs, 71 runs, 79 RBI and 13 stolen bases. He has already posted career highs in HRs, RBI and stolen bases with a month and a half left in the season. He has always limited his strikeouts and this season he is walking more than ever, increasing his BB rate from 8.1% in 2011 to 12.4% this season, and is hitting for more power as a result.

Orioles rookie third baseman Manny Machado continues to hit for power in his first 4 games of his major league career. Machado went 1-4 with his third home run in four games on Sunday, and is now hitting .375-.375-1.125 with 3 HRs and 7 RBI thus far. Five of his six major league hits have gone for extra bases. I think the Orioles rushed him a bit, but Machado is proving mighty quickly that he can handle big league pitching.

Mariners catcher Jesus Montero was known to start off slow at each new level, and he did just that in the big leagues this season, his first full season in the majors. Since the All Star break, Montero is hitting .344-.404-.452, raising his batting average from .242 to .272. On Sunday, he went 2-4 with 2 HRs, 2 runs and 3 RBI and is now hitting .272-.315-.412 with 12 HRs, 37 runs an 45 RBI. His home ball park in Seattle limits home runs at an extreme rate and he has hit just 4 of his 12 home runs at home. On the road, he is hitting .320-.354-.448, so he gives us a glimpse into what type of hitter he could be if the Mariners do in fact decide to move in their fences in 2013.

Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is over his two month long slump, it appears. He went 2-3 with a HR and 3 RBI yesterday, and has now homered in 3 of his last 4 games. He raised his slash line to .291-.357-.587 with 32 HRs, 70 runs and 99 RBI. Does he re-sign with the Rangers, or does the team allow him to walk?

The Rangers need pitching help, and I could see them dealing for a starter in the offseason. One of the Phillies beat writers wrote yesterday that the Phillies could look to deal Cliff Lee to the Rangers in return for a third baseman. And he's not a prospect. The beat writer suggested the Rangers could deal Adrian Beltre to the Phillies for Lee, and make Mike Olt their opening day third baseman. Interesting.

Neil Walker had himself a great day at the plate on Sunday. Walker went 5-5 with a HR, double, 2 runs and 2 RBI and is now hitting .294-.358-.460 with 14 HRs, 60 runs and 67 RBI, and is on pace for a 20 HR - 95 RBI season. He ranks second amongst qualified fantasy second baseman in RBI and is 6th in batting average.

Monday Morning Media Mashup: The Catch Edition

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Due to a technical problem, Minor Leaguer is unable to make any posts himself. He has asked me (Tom) to help him put this one up. (So errors, blame Tom)

Good morning everyone! We Blue Jays fans had an admittedly horrible couple of weeks since the last edition of Monday Morning Media Mashup, but yesterday's win against the Yankees definitely helps us momentarily forget how bad things are right now for our team. The Blue Jays are now 54-60 (.474) and are in last place in the American League East, but just 2 games back from the Boston Red Sox for 4th, despite regularly fielding a starting lineup that has more players who began 2012 with the AAA Las Vegas 51s than the Major League Toronto Blue Jays.

Unfortunately, I must announce that the regular Monday Morning Media Mashup will be going into hiatus for the next four Mondays or so, as I will be travelling halfway around the world. If I get a chance I will certainly check in now and then and even try to write some posts (if the technical problems are fixed by then!). But before I leave I give you some links to go with your Monday morning coffee:

Blue Jays Related

Davis makes historic catch - Sportsnet.ca

Mike Wilner says that no Blue Jay, before Rajai Davis, has ever taken a home run away from an opponent at the SkyDome/Rogers Centre. He thinks Devon White's catch from the 1992 World Series topped this one. Let us know what you think in the poll below!

@james_in_to's Blue Jays photos - Updated with Carrie Underwood, yesterday's game, and the annual season ticket holders' event
I shared this link a few months ago: James has amazing seats, an amazing camera, and amazing skills. He captured some pictures from yesterday's win over the Yankees as well as the Blue Jays' season ticket holders' event after the game. Pop over to take a look at his professional-quality photos!

Alex Anthopoulos with Mike Wilner - sportsnet.ca
Blue Jays General Manager, Alex Anthopoulos joins Mike Wilner.

Toronto Blue Jays’ GM lauds his team’s ‘championship-calibre’ core (excluding the rotation) - National Post
GM Alex Anthopoulos believes that the core of the Blue Jays is as strong as it has ever been since he joined the team. He acknowledged what most of us already know: the area that needs most work is the rotation. No one has a rotation spot secured for 2013 besides Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow.

Short shopping list - Sportsnet.ca
Mike Cormack covered the same press conference and includes a quote from Anthopoulos: "Trade someone up here for a prospect? That's not where this team is at right now. We're trying to get better and that's going to be with scouting big-league players. From that standpoint, we've definitely allocated more man power in that area." I wonder what starting pitchers are on his wish list for this offseason?

Flashback Friday: Glenallen Hill's Freak Injury - The Blue Jay Hunter
One of my favourite stories about a former Blue Jay, and one of the best freak injuries to happen to a baseball player ever. (Best as in funniest, at least to parties not involved). Also: much thanks to Ian for his kindness last Friday!

More Links after the Jump.

On The Farm

51s hanging tough amid rampant roster turnover - Las Vegas Review-Journal
The view from the other side: the Las Vegas 51s are suffering from the gutting of their lineup thanks to callups, trades, and injuries.

O'Sullivan stabilizes 51s pitching rotation - Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Blue Jays purchased Sean O'Sullivan from the Kansas City Royals in June and now he, along with Shawn Hill, anchors the depleted 51s rotation.

Relief pitcher Tyler Ybarra from Wellington, Kan. - MLive.com
Lansing Lugnut Tyler Ybarra talks to Larry Hook about the great Lansing fans, the Lugnuts Booster Club, and a bit about himself.

Around The League

Team Home Run Records: American League - Baseball Nation
Jim Baker looks at the franchise home run leader of each of the American League clubs. For the Blue Jays, it is Carlos Delgado (336 HR). Jose Bautista is at 140, needing 197 homers to top the record. He has 4 more years under Blue Jays control and would need to hit 49 a year in order to tie Delgado. Do you think he'll stay around for long enough to supplant Delgado from the throne?

Overthinking It: What Happens When Starters Get Sick - Baseball Prospectus
Ben Lindbergh (Lindblergh?) looks at starting pitchers who have made a start while under the weather.

A Long Season - Baseball is Magic
A baseball season is a long grind, writes Greg Wisniewski, so sometimes one just has to have some fun as Munenori Kawasaki did last week.

DH? What DH? - Hot Corner - Baseball Nation
Relief pitcher Clayton Mortensen batted for the Boston Red Sox in yesterday's game against the Cleveland Indians when DH Jarrod Saltalamacchia was asked to catch in the blowout win. It is the second time this month where a pitcher had batted in an all-AL game (remember when Aaron Loup had to bat in extra innings?).

Ben Sheets an accidental savior for Atlanta Braves - ESPN

It would've been fun to see Ben Sheets in a Blue Jays uniform this year.

FOX-iest baseball fans - Fox Sports
Fox Sports has a Bleacher Report-esque slideshow of baseball's "FOX-iest" fans. For reasons unbeknownst to me, 97% of the girls featured are white.

Poll
What is the greatest outfield catch in SkyDome / Rogers Centre history?

  76 votes | Results


Monday Morning Question

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We've looked at the AL East and Central, so let's ask the same question about the AL West. If you could take one player off each of the AL West teams and put him on the Jays, who would you pick? Don't worry about contracts, we'll figure how to pay them later, but future value would be something to consider.

So pick a player off the Rangers, A's, Angels and Mariners. Be warned, if you pick Michael Young, I'll make fun of you. The guy is having a rough year, .271/.303/.346.

Walk-Off Hit for David Cooper: Blue Jays Beat White Sox

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August 13, 2012; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Moises Sierra (14)  hits a home run in the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE

White Sox 2 Blue Jays 3 (11 innings)

Nice to get a walk-off win. It would have been nicer to have the win in 9, but Casey Janssen had his first blown save since April 14th, after 15 straight saves. I guess we can forgive this one. Adam Dunn had two home runs, a massive shot off Carlos Villanueva in the 4th to tie the game 1-1 and the one in the 9th to tie the game again.

We didn't get much offense, just 7 hits, 2 for Moises Sierra, who had his first major league home run, as well as his first major league walk, 2 for Edwin Encarnacion, getting an RBI and an important hit in the 11th to set up Cooper's heroics. And 2 for Cooper. Omar Vizquel had our other hit.

On the pitching side, Carlos Villanueva was great. 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts, with the only blemish the longball served up to Dunn. A really good start for Carlos. If he can continue like this he might pitch his way into having a shot at our rotation next year.

Brandon Lyon pitched a quick 8th, getting 2 ks. Then Casey gave up the opposite field homer to Dunn. Steve Delabar was amazing in the 10th, getting 4 strikeouts (Tyler Flowers reached on a wild pitch on strike 3). Delabar then got 2 more strikeouts in the 11th.

Jays of the Day are Carlos (.342 WPA), Delabar (.294), Edwin (.202), Moises (.182) and Lyon (.126). Suckage to Casey (-.180), Rajai (-.169, 0 for 5), Yunel (-.104, 0 for 4, 2 k) and Mathis (0 for 3, walk, and allowing 2 wild pitches in the 10th).

Nice to start the series off with a win. Tomorrow We have Henderson Alvarez (7-9, 4.58) starting for the Jays, Jose Quintana (4-2, 2.78) for the Pale Hose.

Blue Jays 3, White Sox 2 (11 innings): The dreaded one-out walk

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The White Sox brought plenty of defense tonight, but the bats were lacking.

Robin Ventura has been reluctant to use Leyson Septimo in anything resembling an important situation. With four pitches, Septimo proved Ventura correct. Now, the question is whether Septimo will pitch in another game for the Sox this year.

With one out and nobody on in the 11th inning, Ventura called on Septimo to face Kelly Johnson for a classic LOOGY situation. Septimo walked him on four pitches, none of them even causing home plate umpire Brian Knight to flinch.

That was it for Septimo, but the damage was done. Nate Jones came in, and gave up an opposite-field single to Edwin Encarnacion to put runners on the corners. Jones then went full to David Cooper, getting two swinging strikes on off-speed pitches. Jones bet that Cooper was sitting fastball, but Cooper adjusted to a get-me-overish slider, and roped it into right field, where it short-hopped Alex Rios and brought the winning run home.

Usually, reliever wins and losses feel arbitrary. This one didn't, because a four-pitch walk isn't even giving anybody a chance to do something.

Then again, the Sox weren't going to score anyway. They struck out 16 times over 11 innings, and at an increasing frequency as the game turned over into extra innings. Steve Delabar struck out four in the 10th -- the first time any pitcher had done it during free baseball. Then he struck out two more in the 11th. There were sad swings aplenty from the start, as the Sox seemed to have problems picking up breaking balls.

The only guy who didn't have a problem: Adam Dunn, who generated all the offense with two impressive solo homers. The first was remarkable for its distance; at 469 feet, it was the longest White Sox homer since Jim Thome on June 4, 2008.

The second homer was more routine in size, but not its timing. He went the other way on Casey Janssen's first-pitch fastball and tied the game at 2. Too bad nothing else worked. Even when they reached base, they were 1-for-3 in trying to steal. Dunn was one of two White Sox to avoid striking out, which is weird.

At least Jake Peavy didn't throw his fourth eight-inning complete game this year. Dunn got him off the hook, so Peavy settled for a hard-working no-decision. He allowed just two runs on five hits and two walks over eight innings, even without a reliable slider. The lack of a breaking ball did result in two HBPs and 124 pitches.

His teammates had his back in terms of defense. Alex Rios erased a single when he made an outstanding throw from right to get Cooper at second, and Tyler Flowers prevented a bad situation from getting worse when he came up with a late Rios throw home on an RBI single, fired to second and started an inning-ending 9-2-6-4-2-5-1-5 pickle (there was a runner on third, which complicated matters).

Gordon Beckham made a great play on a grounder hit toward second, turning a hit-and-run into a 4-3 double play. And Peavy also pitched in with a fine play of his own, fielding a swinging bunt and firing to second in time for the out, which kept a leadoff walk from advancing into scoring position.

Flowers was 1-for-2 behind the plate when speedy rookie Anthony Gose tested him. Sure, Mark Wegner made the incorrect call on each attempt, but ... Mark Wegner.

Bullet point:

  • Usually the White Sox are the ones called for batter's interference on stolen base attempts, but this time, Rajai Davis was called out for holding his bat in front of Flowers after his swing while Flowers threw to second, almost like a tollgate. Oddly enough, Flowers' throw was terrific, but Wegner blew the call at second. There'd be a makeup call in store later, when the Sox correctly called a pitchout.
  • After a shaky outing on Saturday, Brett Myers returned to dominant form, striking out two batters over a 13-pitch 1-2-3 inning.
  • Dunn's two solo shots resulted in his 999th and 1,000th career RBI.

Record: 62-52 | Box score | Play-by-play

Adam Dunn's monster home run long overdue

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"It's time to crush baseball and chew bubble gum. The bubble gum is plentiful, but I can multitask."

After failing to connect for a home run in any of the nine games during the recent homestand, Adam Dunn figured it out in Toronto. He went 3-for-5 with two homers, including one that tied the game in the ninth inning, and an earlier one that was the longest drive hit by a White Sox player in three years.

Moreover, the White Sox struck out 16 times on Monday night, but Dunn did not contribute to that total. Weird, huh?

Dunn's homers were the 397th and 398th of his career. Had he hit them in Chicago, the camera would turn to the relatively new "Get 'R Dunn" sign in right field to watch employees flip the number ever closer to 400.

I'm guessing that's what it would look like, anyway. We don't know for sure. The Sox made that big, bold sign when Dunn came within a Mike Cameron/Mark Whiten game of 400, but it spent the entire nine days stuck on "396."

That made me wonder if the sign had adverse affects, although more from the bad juju of having Larry the Cable Guy's catch phrase embedded in my ballpark, and being the centerpiece of a potential celebration. I wasn't really considering whether the sign created any addition pressure, because how the hell would I know?

But while my objection was rooted in my preference of comedy, Chris Rongey had similar thoughts for a different reason:

Thinking back to the other recent milestone homers, Konerko hit Nos. 398, 399 and 400 during a West Coast swing, which is kind of a coincidence. On the other hand, Jim Thome hit his 500th at The Cell, and in highly memorable fashion. Then again, his home run counter was much more modest -- a simple three-digit display on the bottom of an advertising panel behind the right-field concourse. So good luck spotting a trend.

If I had to bet on it, I wouldn't think a sign would have any significant effect on a player's in-game efforts ("'Hit it THERE?' That's gotta be at least 500 feet away, and that girl keeps putting the sign down! Make up your mind!"). But players who slowly approach milestone do get tired of thinking and talking about it, so it can't completely be discounted. Here's hoping he swats another two homers at Rogers Centre tonight and I can stop joking/making completely valid points about this.

In the meantime, let's talk about that first dinger.

The great thing about Dunn's 397th homer is that he finally has a true tape-measure shot to call his own as a White Sox. Last year was the first time in the six years of Hit Tracker Online that Dunn didn't hit his team's longest homer, and Kevin Youkilis had a two-foot lead in that department this season.

Dunn definitely raised the bar. The Blue Jays estimated a distance of 469 feet; HTO shortened it to 460. That's slightly disappointing for those who like their emotions reflected by science, but here's where the exact number wouldn't capture it entirely, anyway. Dunn finally hit a homer that required multiple cameras to follow. He hit one to a place that can only be reached by a select few, leaving no comparable blasts for immediate, credible distance estimates.

Or, just judge it by the sounds. The explosion off the bat. The crowd's collective gasp. Tom Paciorek's demented laugh:

It looked awesome. It sounded awesome. Judging from Dunn's reaction, it felt awesome. It probably smelled great, too. Like, a hint of mesquite or something.

Three-true-outcome players aren't a whole lot of fun to watch, because nothing happens a good chunk of the time. When it comes to Dunn, the something is supposed to be something. That blast fits the bill. Jaws dropped and syllables spilled out, to be rearranged into meaningful thoughts at a later date.

It wouldn't suck if Dunn came through with a few more of these to make up for lost time. Three more before the end of the road trip, I'm thinking.

Hey, You Should Bring that Louisville, Yeah Man, I'll Know Where: How Much Do Park and League Factors Impact wOBA?

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About a month ago, we looked at the magnitude of park and league effects on raw pitching statistics, including ERA, FIP, and xFIP. Along the same lines, I was interested in how much context may impact raw hitting stats. To determine the magnitude of park effects on hitting stats, I decided to compare Fangraphs wOBA (weighted on-base average, essentially a measure of overall offensive production) to Fangraphs wRC+ (a park- and league-adjusted measure of overall offensive production relative to league average, which is standardized to 100).

I used SigmaPlot to estimate the relationship between wOBA and wRC+ for all 2011 hitters with at least 200 plate appearances (R = 0.98, p

Woba__medium

Next, based on the estimated relationship (wOBA+ = 0.1738 + 0.0015*wRC+) and each player's actual wOBA, I calculated the magnitude of each adjustment (Adjustment = wOBA+ - wOBA). I sorted by team and found the average adjustments to be as follows (first, the American League, then the National League):

Woba__al_medium

Woba__nl_medium

Of course, it's important to note that these league- and park-adjustments do not account for specific player attributes. Power hitters stand to gain the most from playing in hitter-friendly parks and may actually be slightly undersold by park-adjusted stats in pitcher-friendly parks. Conversely, park-adjusted statistics may assume that singles hitters who play in spacious ballparks would produce more than they actually would in neutral parks. Anyway, we all knew that Petco is pitcher-friendly and Coors is hitter-friendly but I would not have expected that a wOBA of .302 would be league-average in San Diego and a wOBA of .330 would be league average in Denver.

Finally, this is a Toronto Blue Jays blog after all, so note how the American League figure shows Toronto to be an essentially neutral hitting environment. Considering that pitching in Toronto causes a pitcher to yield roughly 0.20 earned runs per nine innings more than he would in a neutral run environment, it is interesting that it does not seem to help hitters. My guess is that this is just another hardship to chalk up to playing in the toughest division in baseball, what do you all think?

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