So that didn't go the way we hoped it would.
I have a Gibby rant all bubbling to get out. I wish Gibby would get that, while R.A. Dickey is a knuckleball pitcher, he's not the normal knuckleball pitcher. He throws harder than most (or at least when things are good he throws harder than the normal knuckleball pitcher), and of course, he tires quicker than the normal knuckleball pitcher. So if it is, just hypothetically, the 7th inning and Dickey has thrown over 100 pitches and guys are hitting him hard, IT IS TIME TO PULL HIM. Don't wait until just after he give up a, hypothetical, 3-run homer. Pull him when it is clear he is tiring.
Anyway....Dickey was doing pretty good tonight, before the 7th inning. He had allowed just 2 runs, off a Robbie Grossman home run. Then in the 7th, he starts things off by giving up a pretty deep fly out. Then a double over Jose Bautista. And a walk. At this point he's at 111 pitches and clearly tired. Anyone else we'd take out of the game, but since he's R.A. Dickey, Knuckleball pitcher, we leave him out there to give up a 3-run homer to Jonathan Villar, that put the game out of reach. Changing a tight 2-1 game to a 5-1 game, making a comeback win much tougher.
Not that the Jays didn't try. They did get 3 runs in the 9th: Dioner walked for the first time this season. Colby Rasmus singled (giving him a 3 hits game, one of the hits his first homer of the season). Adam Lind doubled home Rasmus and Navarro. An Anthony Bass error brought home Lind, making it a 6-4 game. But that's as close as it would get.
On offense, we didn't do enough. Rasmus had the 3 hits, Melky Cabrera was 2 for 5 with 2 doubles Lind had a pinch hit double and Bautista 2 walks.
The loss drops us back to .500 at 5-5, and we are tied with the Yankees and Rays for the lead in the AL East.
Jay of the Day is Rasmus (.143 WPA for his 3 for 4 night, with a home run and double.
Suckage goes to Dickey (-.166, but give an assist to Gibby on that), Maicer Izturis (-.151 for his 0 for 4) and Edwin Encarnacion (-.129 for his 0 for 4).
Our GameThread had 1162 comments. Hathorian pretty much lapped the field with 141 comments, a great effort in a losing cause.
| # | Commenter | # Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hathorian | 141 |
| 2 | mbristol | 76 |
| 3 | Pikachu | 72 |
| 4 | Kraemer_17 | 70 |
| 5 | Maninwhite | 62 |
| 6 | Redonred | 61 |
| 7 | Gerse | 55 |
| 8 | e&n4e | 51 |
| 9 | MjwW | 51 |
| 10 | MapleMan | 48 |
| 11 | fishedin | 48 |
| 12 | ABsteve | 45 |
| 13 | Diamond_D86 | 39 |
| 14 | spockster | 33 |
| 15 | publius varrus | 31 |
| 16 | Bowling_Guy25 | 25 |
| 17 | PFHLai | 24 |
| 18 | DaaaBearz | 23 |
| 19 | Janz_V84 | 22 |
| 20 | TFSML | 21 |
| 21 | Playoffs!!!!1 | 18 |
| 22 | Shift | 17 |
| 23 | pashwell | 14 |
| 24 | hansdampf | 13 |
| 25 | canuck89 | 11 |