About Last Night
First things first. Thanks to everyone that attended last nights liveblog over at TheScore. I had a great time. Extra thanks to the many commenters throughout the game.
Romero now the Jays #3
I may have to change my stance on Ricky Romero. You see, I’ve been pretty hard on him for a few years and especially since he was touted for a rotation spot in the off-season. My line of reasoning was “what has he done to earn a spot?” He did plenty last night.
If I can take only one thing away from his start last night it’s that he’s a battler. Ricky was behind early in the count roughly half of the time last night, yet he didn’t surrender a walk. And he really manned up in the bottom of the 6th. With the bases loaded and none out Romero was able to get a much needed strikeout (his first of the night) and they force Crede into hitting a comebacker to the mound that resulted in a double play.
Romero’s GB to Flyball ratio wasn’t spectacular numerically speaking, at 12 – 9 but the majority of those 9 flyball were softly hit and no real threat.
With the injury to Litsch, Romero jumps up into the #3 spot in the rotation. The Jays could have a VERY nice rotation towards the end of the season if Cecil joins the club in a couple of months.
Cito
I also have to give some props to Cito. He was really a players manager last night, letting pitchers stay in the game and finish what they started. I also liked his insertion of Johnny Mac into the game to pinch run for Rod Barajas in the top of the 7th.
Cito is now 57 – 40 in his second stint with the Jays.
Fight Fight Fight
The Jays aren’t going to lie down for anyone this season, that much is clear from the early going. This is a great sign for a team that was 24 – 32 last season in one run games.
Romero really, really impressed me last night. He’s a gamer.
The Tao of Stieb is on Cito for not bringing in Snider. Hard to argue with. The Franchise vs Crain would have been our best shot to win the game. I won’t hold it against Cito though. I just can’t stay mad at him.
I’d have to agree with the Tao. I went back and checked the liveblog and I said:
“Snider time? Why the hell not. If Nathan (RH) is still in, which he should be, I’d put Snider in.”
Then I went on to say Crain a RH is in, wtf?
Whether it makes a huge difference in the grand scheme of things is questionable. I would rather have the Snider match-up.
After thinking things over for a minute or two I’ve come to conclusion that fans may be nit-picking. I think this decision comes down to each fans personal opinion on the following matter:
A) Jays need to win as many games as possible now for a possible playoff run
B) Jays need to continue developing this club for a 2010 run
Now Jose Bautista is a professional. But what message would Cito be making by taking out the Vet for a young rookie with minimal experience? Sure, its not the end of the world but what is the goal of this season? Has the goal changed? I’m sure everyone has their own opinion on this subject.
…while I’m here:
a) johnny mac is going to set the slow-white-guy record for pitch-running appearances in a season.
b) I’m A-OK with Cito babying the hell out of Travis. I’d be okay taking tiny-little-itty-bitty-baby-steps, all year long.
c) The jays are like a disobedient girlfriend: all they need is one swift punch in the mouth to put them in their place, and then they’ll lie down for anyone — anytime — anywhere except, maybe Kansas City.
Is it just me or does Cito like to “party”? I am sitting here watching the game between the Jays and the Twins, when they gave Cito a close-up. His eyes screamed 420. Is the use of reefer prevelent in the Majors?