Oriolitis.

What the hell was that? The ending was alright but the beginning? Bah. The beginning was terrible.

Hopefully, they're just trying to get all the suck out of them before they get to the play offs and they haven't contracted a severe case of Couldn't-pitch-tee-ball, otherwise known as Oriolitis (named after it's discoverer the recent Baltimore Orioles). The disease is slow progressing and they've been exhibiting an early symptom, Finds-grounding-into-double-plays-extra-fun, since early days. Unfortunately for a team hoping to win baseball games (as a team on the verge of making the post season would be looking to do), the prognosis for Oriolitis is not good. It's just not easy to do when you suffer from those symptoms.

So is there a cure? How does one overcome Oriolitis? Well, Eli Lilly is hard at work modifying E. Coli bacteria for injection but is yet to have any success against Oriolitis-it's quite virulent. The only known course of treatment is to go home and wait until next year and even that's not always effective.

So, fingers and toes crossed that they're just in a little funk right now and that when it really matters, they'll be able to get it together again.

The Not Ready for Primetime Pitchers.

Michael Bowden breezed onto the scene last year and did well. And maybe it's because of the Steve McQueen resemblance and the cute little accent or maybe because well-regarded pitching prospects have done well for the Sox or maybe because their names both start with B and so he was paired with Buchholz in Pawtucket and often mentioned in the same breath but regardless of how it came about expectations were high for Bowden this season. He has not met those expectations.

But that's not to say that he's useless. He has shown signs of being the pitcher he might very well become; he's k'd Jeter a couple of times, he was making some good pitches today and not getting the call. Mostly it's because throughout his minor league career Bowden has been a guy who's struggled right after a promotion before settling down (not that he doesn't battle bouts of inconsistency afterward). The kid has the mentality of a pit bull and he's not done yet.

Hunter Jones, meanwhile, came out gangbusters in April, hit a really rough patch in May, and hasn't been hugely successful in September but if he could get his control back, there would be something to like there.

Dustin Richardson could possibly be the most exciting of all of them. He was a starter until this year, he's not unhittable, and control can be an issue, but his strike out numbers are mind-boggling. In 10.2 innings at Pawtucket this year, he struck out 16.

Point Me Toward Tomorrow.

True story: There's this blue jay (at least I think it's a blue jay; it's looks like a blue jay except that it's feathers are duller than you would expect. And if it's not a blue jay, then the story is irrelevant.) that lives near my home. It is a rather bird-brained bird. It's been known to fly into windows--which is quite frightening when you're sitting there eating your morning Wheaties. It's also fond of perching on the front doors of my car to admire itself in the side-view mirrors. Which...okay fine; birds do that, you get a parakeet as a pet and you put a little mirror in the cage so that it can look at itself. The problem with this stupid bird is that it ends up crapping all over my car doors while it sits there. Makes me wish that I had a garage.

So...Kiss today goodbye/And point me toward tomorrow.

Not that tomorrow is looking all that bright. I'm not entirely sold on the idea of John Smoltz versus the Rangers. But hopefully he'll prove me fantastically wrong. I'm not concerned about Beckett--hopefully, that doesn't equal bad things. But then the series ends with the Fabulous Adventures of Tim Wakefield in Arlington. Maybe I'm remembering Wake's record in Texas as being more horrific than it actually is but it seems like you would do your best to avoid having him pitch in there.

Apologies to Bad.

Today's loss may have been on me. You see, I wasn't paying much attention to the game at all (which is rarely a good thing). And to top it off, much of my attention for the game was directed at trying to find a clip of Mr. Unpronounceable from The Road to Wellville in honor of the Blue Jays starter. Clearly this was taken as a show of support for Toronto by the baseball Gods. And, in order to appease me, they made the hitters once again struggle. It's the only explanation I can think of for their performance today.

Five.

Not to gloat or anything. Well, maybe just a little bit.

Nicely done, boys. Hitting (Pedroia went 3 for 6. Youkilis went 2 for 5. Jay Ray Bay went 4 for 6. And Ellsbury went 4 for 4), defense (Mike Lowell and Nick Green both turned some nice double plays), and not terrible pitching--What more could you ask for? A repeat performance tomorrow?

I find myself hoping that Toronto can just hang in there. Not only because I'd like to be proven right but also because the Yankees in third place would make me very happy.

Will No One Rid Me of These Meddlesome Jays?

I will take this opportunity to pat myself on the back and point out that I called the Jays being in a good place this season. Did I think that they would be this good? Well, no. But I figured that with the way Cito Gaston kept them in it until the last series with the Red Sox last season, they'd only be better with a full year with him at the helm. Plus, they've got Millar.

You look at the rotation for this series and think: Woot! No Roy Halladay! It's true, but it's not necessarily all good. The Jays pitching is looking good this season and it's not just the starters, the bullpen is in good shape as well.

Brian Tallet pitches tomorrow. The big lefty is better known as a reliever but he's made six starts this season, five of which have been decent. He throws a low-nineties fast ball, a slider, and a change up. Walks have been a problem for Tallet (he walked five in his last outing against the Yankees) but he does well after he puts people on. In limited exposure, Dustin Pedroia and Julio Lugo have both had success against him (they're both two for three). David Ortiz is two for five but his two hits were a double and a home run; he also drew two walks. Jason Varitek is two for six with a home run and two walks. JD Drew (3 AB), Mike Lowell (2 AB), Rocco Baldelli (2 AB), and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 AB) have never gotten a hit off Tallet. JD does have a walk, though.

Brett Cecil is Toronto's new prize pig. Granted that the teams the baby lefty has faced haven't been all that impressive (Cleveland, Oakland, and Chicago), he has impressed in his three major league starts. He throws a low-nineties fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a change up. More often than not, the first pitch he throws will be a strike. He gets a lot of ground ball outs but also has really pretty strike out numbers (15 so far, 6 against Cleveland, 6 against Oakland, and 3 against Chicago). He also doesn't walk anyone. He has hit three batters but they were all in his first start against Cleveland. He is absolutely dominating against lefties.

Robert Ray is scheduled to pitch the last game of the series. Ray is another baby pitcher but this time he's a righty. Ray throws a high-eighties fastball, a slider, a cutter, a curve ball, and a change up. He does throw strikes and doesn't give up too many walks (with the exception of his first start against Baltimore). He doesn't have huge strike out numbers. He also gives up a displeasing number of flyballs, which might not play well in tiny Fenway Park.

Offensively, they're swinging for the fences and succeeding; they lead the league in hits and doubles, and are third in home runs. They won't strike out a lot and they will take a walk. They don't run a lot.

Shiny, Happy Blue Jays.

The Kevin Millar show is, according to Carfado, likely headed north.

"I think this has been the most fun I've had in any camp I've ever been in. I guess they haven't seen anyone quite like me here. I think there's been quieter guys in this room, so I'm probably considered a little different."

I don't know if having Kevin Millar on your team actually means anything in terms of wins or losses but good for Kevin and good for the Blue Jays, at least they'll have a lot of fun this year.

September in the Rain.

I would suggest that Tim Wakefield's mother didn't allow him to play in the rain. Maybe she thought that he would get a cold or maybe she was worried that he would trek mud onto her clean floors but any game (let alone a Wakefield start) that begins an hour late and manages to finish at a reasonable time is alright by me. Clearly, the man wasn't messing around: eight innings, no walks, and only three hits on ninety-four pitches. There's nothing like a deeply ingrained fear of one's mother to get you to do the right thing.

Or he's made of sugar.

And Away We Go.

And we turn to the immortal work of Meatloaf to serenade them the hell out of Canada. Forgive the Meatloaf-iness of the whole thing.

Burnett v. Wakefield (Game 30)

Wakefield pitched pretty well. You know what you're going to get when Wakefield takes the mound and a haul of seven innings with only three runs (all of them earned) isn't too bad. Normally, I would say it would be an easily surmountable obstacle; as it is, they still aren't hitting well and the Jays were in get-on-base-any-way-you-can mode-including not making any real effort to get out the way of errant pitches, so what are you going to do? Wakefield losses are always easier to dismiss then losses from other pitchers. Any fan who goes in expecting Wake to pull out a win probably also expects them to win 162 games on the season.



During his six innings, Wake gave up six hits (including a home run), walked four, hit two Jays with a pitch, and didn't strike out anyone. He had nine ground outs and fourteen fly outs. He was also aided by some good defensive play. Manny made some good grabs out in left, Coco was Coco in center, there was a lousy throw down by Cash but he also had one that succeeded and had the added bonus of embarrassing David Eckstein.


[Aside: I've recently developed an extreme distaste for the man. Most things about him rub me the wrong way-the way he chokes up on the bat, the excessive fidgeting entailed in his batting stance, but mostly it's the way he sprints to first base when he draws a walk. Just jog, man. It's like he thinks they're going to change their minds and make him go back. I can easily imagine him to have been a combination of the teacher's pet and the classroom snitch in elementary school. I'm really glad their gone for awhile now.] The play went like this: Eckstein (who had reached on a double) stood on second and Scott Rolen (who had been hit by a pitch) stood on first. Matt Stairs hit a double off the wall in left center but Eckstein didn't get moving until it was too late. Once the ball hit the wall he took off for home but the ball got there before him. So, he turned around to go back to third but because Stairs was on second, Rolen was on third, and Eckstein was caught in the run down.



Aardsma, Lopez, and Timlin finished off the game for Wakefield. And while it wasn't pretty, they did their job. Aardsma got the first three outs but not before he gave up a double. Lopez struggled to get the next two outs. He gave up two hits but then got a nice pick off at third by Cash for the first two outs. He then got the next batter to ground out. Timlin got the last batter to ground out, as well.



As for offense, there really wasn't any. Ortiz continues to claw his way out of the hole he dug for himself (he was two for four tonight.) Mike Lowell hit a double and Coco got himself a single at the end.

McGowan v. Matsuzaka (Game 29)

That was eerily similar to last night's game. A very good performance by a somewhat iffy pitcher, followed by ninth inning heroics, and ending with a throw home from Vernon Wells in center (or not.)

Especially compared to what we've seen from him so far this season, Daisuke pitched really well. He lasted through seven innings and worked relatively efficiently-he only threw 111 pitches. During that time he gave up just two hits and, surprisingly, walked only two batters. He also struck out four.

He was replaced in the eighth inning by Manny Del but he only got to throw two pitches before he was pulled from the game. The first one he threw was a called strike and the second one was a base hit to center. He was pulled so quickly because before he went out to pitch the plan was to keep him out there until there was a base runner. It, presumably, happened much more quickly than anyone had anticipated. Manny Del was none to pleased with the situation, either.

Okajima was brought in instead to pitch the eighth inning. He seemed to also be struggling when they brought him out. On a two-two count he gave up a double to the first batter he faced. The first out of the inning came on a sacrifice fly that was impressively caught by a diving Brandon Moss (Manny Del's runner scored but the Okajima's runner stayed on second.) Now with a tied game, one out, and a man in scoring position, Okajima got his act together and struck out the next two batters on seven pitches.

Papelbon was the last pitcher they needed for the game (which was a very good thing. As much as I like the idea of Mike Timlin, seeing him out there warming up still gives me the willies.) With Pap on the mound, the Blue Jays became a pretty free swinging club. The first batter hit the first pitch to center for a base hit. Much to Vernon Wells' disgust the pinch runner was picked off on a two-one count. Wells then grounded out to short and Overbay grounded out to second to end the potential rally.

The game didn't start out looking like it was going to need ninth inning heroics to get them out of it. The game was love-love until the seventh inning when David Ortiz hit a homerun (his fifth of the season-he's creeping up pretty quickly on Manny) to right. The Jays answered with a point of their own in the eighth, which led to a tied game going into the bottom of the ninth. Ortiz started off the inning with a single to right (he was eventually pinch run for by Jed Lowrie.) Manny walked. Brandon Moss hit a single to center and Jed Lowrie headed for home. Not willing to let what happened yesterday happen again, Vernon Wells got to that ball, got a good grip on it, and threw it really well home. Thanks to a good block of the plate by their catcher, Lowrie was out. And the game went on. Jason Varitek sidled up to the plate. "Let's see you try that again," he thought. He got a ball, he swung and missed, got another ball, and then sent another single out to center. Manny trundled around the bases, beat the throw, and then triumphantly threw his batting helmet into the dirt. As if to say: "Ha! I knew you couldn't do that again."

And the Moral of the Series (Toronto: Games 5-7) is...

Pretty simple, really. If you play that badly, then the only way you are going to win is if the other team plays just as badly. Which didn't happen. The bullpen couldn't handle the job given to them, the defense really struggled, and the offense had a difficult time as well.


Drew is swinging the bat really well, though; as is Jason Varitek. The starting pitchers, for the most part, turned in decent performances. That's all I can come up with for positive things from this series.

Beckett v. Halladay (Game 7)

The much awaited return of Josh Beckett to the rotation started out well enough. His first three innings went well. In the first inning, he gave up a base hit to the first batter that was aided by an error on the part of Mike Lowell and a double to the third but got out of the inning without allowing any runs. The second inning he got a line out to Drew and two strike outs. The third inning ended after a line out to Pedroia, a walk, a strike out, and a pop out.

As his pitch count started to climb, his performance started to slip. He walked to the first batter he faced in the fourth and then gave up a two-run shot to Vernon Wells. Manny made a nice defensive play on a line drive to left to keep Thomas, as the next batter, from getting a double. They got a put out at first on the next batter but the fifth batter of the inning got a base hit. Finally, he managed to strike out the last batter of the inning but the Jays were up 1-2.

He was scheduled to throw around eighty pitches today and when he came back in for the fifth inning he had already thrown seventy of them. He got two quick outs to start the inning-both put outs at first-but gave up a base hit to the third batter. Then, he proceeded to walk the next two batters before Francona pulled him.

He was replaced by Manny Del who threw one bad pitch to one very good hitter; which resulted in the Jays being up 2-6. He did end the inning by striking out the next batter. If I was the type to question the decisions of the manager, then I would wonder about the choice to go with Manny Delcarmen after he gave up a two run home run to Thomas the other day; but I'm really not so I won't. David Aardsma came in for the sixth inning. He gave up a base hit to the first batter (aided by an error by Lugo), struck out the next two batters, walked a batter, allowed a base hit (score 2-7), and got a pop out to end the inning.

Okajima came in for the eighth and had a one-two-three inning, even though he gave up a base hit to the first batter. They managed to turn a double play on the next batter and got a put out at first on the last batter. Papelbon came in for the ninth and struck out the three batters he saw.

Defensively and offensively, Lugo really had a rough game. He committed three errors and missed some plays. He had four at bats and made contact with the ball each time but failed to get to first each time. Hopefully, with some rest he can get over this and it doesn't become a problematic slump of sorts.

There was some good news to come out of this game, though. JD Drew continues to swing the bat really well; he had two hits (a single and a home run), he only struck out once, and he popped out in the ninth. Varitek and Ellsbury both hit home runs. Youkilis hit a triple and Ortiz had a base hit. And they very nearly came back in the ninth (not that I saw it what with NESN going black and all.)

Buchholz v. Litsch (Game 6)

Well that sucked. What happened to the spectacular bullpen of last season?

For the most part Buchholz pitched well. He faced twenty-four batters and struck out seven of them. He allowed eight hits, only one of them for extra bases. He was mostly in control of his pitches, walking only two. His breaking stuff was a little high in the early going but he settled down as he got deeper into the game. He did allow four runs but they were greatly aided by less than stellar defense. What was good to see from Buchholz was that after a rough fourth inning he came back in the fifth with a one-two-three inning (two put outs at first and a strike out.)

Other good things to come out of this game: Drew and Manny are swinging the bat really well. Pedroia is starting to find his swing. He had a base hit in the third, did some nice defensive base running on his way to second, and hit a double in the seventh that was very close to being a home run.

And then there was the bullpen. Snyder (who according to Boston.com has been DFA'd) came in for the seventh inning and faced three batters. He walked two of them (one who advanced to second on a wild pitch) and got a put out at first. He was replaced by Bryan Corey who had a terrible third of an inning. He gave up four hits, including a two-run home run by Thomas, and allowed four runs of his own and two runs for Snyder. Corey was pulled after the home run and replaced by Tavarez who ended the Blue Jays efforts at scoring.

The bullpen wasn't totally to blame for the debacle, though. The defense that the Red Sox put up was spotty at times. They committed two errors (a throwing error by Lugo and a fielding error by Casey) and they failed to make a couple of routine plays. They just seem tired.

Hopefully, tomorrow's game will have a more positive result. Josh, having not left Florida until a few days ago, should be well rested. I, also, don't imagine that all of this losing is sitting well with him.

Wakefield v. Marcum (Game 5) or Opening Day: Take 3

It wasn't really that bad of an outing for Tim Wakefield. He pitched five score-less innings to start the game. During which he gave up only two hits and one walk. To start the sixth inning he threw a knuckle ball that didn't appear to do anything and Stairs knocked it back for a home run. He followed that up with a walk, a strike out, another walk, and three base hits before inducing a double play off Zaun.

What the Jays did (and what the Red Sox failed to do) was to beat up the bullpen. The three runs off Wakefield were answered almost immediately by three runs off Marcum and things were all tied up heading into the bottom of the seventh. David Aardsma came in, in relief of Wakefield, and walked Eckstein. Lopez came in, in relief of Aardsma, and gave up a base hit to Stewart. Manny Del came in, in relief of Lopez, and got two quick outs before throwing a bad change up to Thomas that resulted in a two run double. He got the last out as a put out at first.

The Red Sox answered those two runs with a pop out, a strike out, and another pop out. Manny Del came back in and promptly gave up a base hit before getting a put out, a strike out, and allowing another hit (that knocked in the last Jays run.) Manny Del was relieved by the cartoon-ish Corey who struck out the last batter.

In the ninth inning, the Red Sox bats couldn't come up with anything useful against Accardo. Youkilis flied to right and Ortiz was put out at first. Manny did get a base hit but Lowell popped up for the final out.

The bright spots of the game were J.D. Drew's three run homer and Kevin Cash's double. I think I must have really low expectations of those two guys. Cash's double was less useful production wise but it was good to see. He should be careful though I might start expecting him to be able to hit and not just be any easy out. Drew's home run was both useful and a pretty thing to see-especially since he had struck out twice earlier in the game.

Next Up: the Toronto Blue Jays

Pitching tonight against Wakefield is Shaun Marcum. He's got only two full years in the majors and he's spent that time bouncing between the 'pen and the starting rotation. In May of last year, though, they moved him to the starting rotation and there he stuck. He pitched 159 innings and gave up 149 hits. He struck out 122 of the batters he faced (roughly 18.5%) and he walked only 49 batters (7.4%). He gave up 149 hits, resulting in 76 runs. His battery of pitches includes a change-up, a curve ball, a low nineties fast ball, and a good slider. Lefties have a better average against him (it might be David Ortiz' night.) He's got decent control but starts to fall apart as the pitch count gets higher.

On Saturday, Clay Buchholz is scheduled to face Jesse Litsch. Litsch is a baby pitcher. He pitched 111 innings in 20 games last year. He gave up 116 hits (or just under 6 per game on average.) He allowed 56 runs (or just under 3 per game.) He gave up 14 home runs ( or just about 3 for every 4 games he started.) He walked 36 batters (or just under 2 per game) and he struck out 50 (2.5 batters per game.) He has a sinking fast ball that's pretty good and that's about it. He is a good defensive player, though.

On Sunday, Beckett is scheduled to face Roy Halladay. Halladay is a very good pitcher with a reputation for being on the fragile side. He has excellent command of the strike zone. He works quickly and induces a lot of ground outs (rather than strike outs.) He throws both a four seam and a two seam fast ball, and has a very good knuckle curve. He gave up just 15 home runs last year (about 1 every other start.) He walked only 48 batters he faced last year (about 1.5 per game.) He struck out 139 batters last year (about 4.5 per game.) He allowed 232 hits (about 7.5 per game) but only 93 of them turned into earned runs (3 per game.)

Their best hitters are probably Shannon Stewart, Vernon Wells, and Frank Thomas. Stewart is not a particularly patient hitter. He strikes out more often than he walks. He's not a real power guy, with only 12 home runs last season, but he is quite speedy. Vernon Wells is a power guy, though the home runs were down last year. He tends to hit line drives and knock in a good number of runs. Frank Thomas started out as a short stop but as age has caught up with him lives in the role of designated hitter. He can't hit lefties or finesse pitchers. He can't run. But last year he hit 26 home runs and knocked in 95 runs. Both his OBP and SLG were above league average.

Alex Rios could very well prove to a threat offensively, as well. He's a very streaky hitter and right now is on a hot streak.

The Blue Jays are a tough opponent. They have good pitching (especially in Halladay and Burnett), backed up by good hitting.