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Orioles 10, Blue Jays 6 Well, I said before the game that I wasn’t confident in Sean Nolin succeeding in his first start above Double-A, and sadly, I was correct. I’m not taking pride in this, as I was cautiously optimistic I’d be wrong and Nolin’s K:BB ratio and plus curveball could carry over to the majors, but some pitches caught too much of the plate and the Orioles weren’t wont to let those go by unpunished. And so it was that Nolin managed to get just four outs, surrendering six runs on seven hits and a walk without striking out a single batter. Perhaps most disappointing was that he managed just a single swing and miss in his 35 pitches, 22 of which went for strikes. His release point was exceptionally consistent, which I guess bodes well for the future potential of his multiple-pitch repertoire, as he should keep batters guessing what’s coming (unless there’s another tip off). The issue was more that he had some "control" but not "command," a kind of Joe Blanton-itis where the strikes he threw caught too much of the plate This is especially true in the final pitch of at bats, although it’s really tough to fault him for that J.J. Hardy home run, which he golfed out of the park. Nolin didn’t show much, but it’s not like Ramon Ortiz made a claim for that rotation spot in his relief stint, giving up three runs in two and two-thirds. He also gave up two tasty dingers, which is kind of his thing. Nolin might get another chance on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves if Josh Johnson isn’t ready to go. Johnson, by the way, is starting at Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, so the Jays would need to shuffle the rotation to fit Johnson back in when he’s next ready to go. Furthering the relief effort were low-leverage specialists Brad Lincoln and Esmil Rogers, who combined to throw five decent innings giving up just a run. Rogers, in fact, has now thrown 7.1 straight shutout innings, work that’s come against the Giants, Yankees, Rays and Orioles. He has a 5:1 K:BB in that time, too. He could be turning a corner against some decent bats, but it could be influenced by the low leverage he’s been allowed to work under. Oh, and then there’s the Brett Lawrie thing. Lawrie was tossed in the third inning for tossing his gear aside and somewhat in the direction of the umpire. It seemed, and still seems, a ridiculous overreacting from Dan Bellino. Yes, Lawrie has a reputation and had argued earlier calls, but replays show he said nothing and just tossed his gear. There was no need for him to be kicked out, let alone to toss John Gibbons for arguing in his player’s stead. There are arguments for kicking him out, I guess, but you'd have trouble convincing me this was justified. This probably wouldn’t have made a four-run difference, especially with Lawrie’s current sub-Mendoza hitting (though he did hit a homer in the second). The Jays’ line-up hit well, smacking 17 hits off of Chris Tillman and company, but couldn’t string enough together to come back. The Jays stranded nine runners, lost one on the basepaths (when Emilio Bonifacio was caught stealing to end what had, to that point, been a solid rally) and hit into a pair of double plays. It’s good to see the bats swinging, though, and everyone but J.P. Arencibia managed to reach base at least once. And boy, Jose Bautista is in the zone. There has been a lot of talk of late as to whether "being in the zone" exists for hitters, but Bautista is certainly doing his best to prove that it does. He had three more hits tonight, making him 9-for-15 in his last four games with two bombs and four walks mixed in there. Yeah, he’s hot. Adam Lind also chipped in three hits, including his fourth homer of the year. Lind looks like a different hitter so far this year, and while I’m still withholding judgment on whether the new patient approac

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If you are the Indiana Pacers, how can you not be feeling good about yourselves right now?

We need a spot for off topic, or even random hockey banter. Saturday is a big day for hockey, as the Bruins and Red Wings (hells yes) try to finish off their foes. I hope the Sharks can push a Game 7 on Sunday. It appears that Nucks Misconduct member Nathaniel Perlow came across an attractive celebrity recently. The one pictured at the top of this post. Lucky dog. It got me thinking...how many celebrities have I met? Well, no Hollywood celebrities. I could have met Liam Neeson If I was frequenting the local bars when The Grey was shooting here. But no. I do regret that. The only celebrities I have met are hockey players. They would be: Dave Babych (twice), Bryan Trottier, Ken Morrow, and Pavol Demitra. It was ironic to meet Demo of all people because I always slagged him when he was a Canuck. However, the previous night he did this: Easy pass to KABOOM Salo, but it was a good time. Now that he has passed on, I am glad that I had that brief encounter with Demitra and his son. R.I.P. So let's hear it: What celebrities have you met? Any you want to meet? Of course there is! I hear Salma Hayek has a great personality! Enjoy your weekend, folks!

He didn’t crack under the enormous pressure to make him pack it in and quit.

It was an early night for Sean Nolin and Brett Lawrie. Nolin, the Blue Jays ’ starter who was making his major-league debut, was in the showers before the second inning was over. Lawrie would be in the clubhouse himself a little over an inning later, courtesy of a questionable ejection. They may have made early exits but the Baltimore Orioles just wouldn’t go away Friday night, pounding Nolin and his mates for four homers and 16 hits in a wacky 10-6 victory over the Jays at the Rogers Centre. PHOTOS : Blue Jays vs. Orioles Nolin was clearly nervous as he headed into a debut outing that had gathered a lot of hype locally in the past 48 hours. The six-foot-five, 235-pound lefty was a marvel in the minors the past two seasons. His call to join the Jays from Double-A New Hampshire was accompanied by the high expectations often associated with a “next one” type of pitcher. What if the 23-year-old with the sweet delivery and quality arm could explode onto the major-league radar with a memorable performance? It wasn’t to be. With his father Ed and mother Patricia driving in from Long Island, N.Y., to witness the big day, Nolin was gone with one out in the second, after allowing seven hits and six runs. Nolin would be given the lineup card and scoresheet to commemorate his first major-league appearance, but the reality was that it was over after 35 pitches. The Jays were getting clobbered by that time and when Lawrie slammed his helmet to the ground and discarded his batting gloves in disgust after taking a called third strike to end the third, it touched off a controversy that would see the Jays third baseman and manager John Gibbons ejected for, really, next to nothing. After striking out, Lawrie slammed his helmet down half- heartedly and began strolling down the third-base line, his back to home plate umpire Dan Bellino the whole time. As he walked away, he peeled off one glove, flipped it to the ground, then peeled off the other and flipped it as well. Bellino, apparently deeming that disrespectful, ejected him as the second glove hit the turf. Lawrie wasn’t sure what had happened; he looked to the bench, and Gibbons was on his way to confront Bellino. A few seconds into that conversation, the ump ejected the Jays manager as well. With the crowd of 25,184 going ballistic, media types began debating the severity of Lawrie’s actions and whether they deserved an ejection. Social media followed, mostly with condemnations of Bellino’s decision. Lawrie has certainly forged an undesirable reputation with umpires, having been ejected for a demonstrative helmet slam in 2012 that resulted in called strikes against him long after the incident. The question Friday night was whether Bellino was suspending the player or the reputation. The Jays were also being questioned for their promotion of Nolin, who hadn’t lost a minor-league game since 2011 but had never pitched above Double-A. The debate over his promotion echoed the one last season surrounding highly touted pitchers Drew Hutchinson and Kyle Drabek, both of whom rose from Double-A, ended up underperforming, and ultimately suffered major elbow injuries that required Tommy John surgery. Nolin was returned to Double-A after the game. Down in Buffalo, the Jays have several veteran pitchers, some of whom might be considered more suitable candidates to fill the role of spot starter. Toronto is still without Josh Johnson, who is rehabbing in Buffalo, and J.A. Happ, who placed on the 60-day disabled list Friday morning. Chad Jenkins will start Sunday in the series finale against Baltimore, but he has not pitched in almost two weeks. Nolin certainly deserved a reward, having gone 13-0 since 2011. But he clearly was overmatched Friday, nervously getting his fastball up in the zone. He was clobbered, giving up three r

Starting in December, working off a launch platform set up 25 metres down a deep shaft, work crews have been boring seven smaller tunnels under the lake

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