From May 21:
It was an interesting roster move made by the Blue Jays on Monday in time for the Victoria Day game against the Rays, promoting struggling centre-fielder Anthony Gose
as an extra bench player to fill in late inni...
From May 21:
It was an interesting roster move made by the Blue Jays on Monday in time for the Victoria Day game against the Rays, promoting struggling centre-fielder Anthony Gose
as an extra bench player to fill in late innings defensively for the
hobbled Melky Cabrera in left field and, perhaps, as a pinch-running
threat off the bench. Interesting because even Gose himself was shocked at the move.
Suspicions are that
the Gose move may be short-lived, with Rajai Davis soon ready to return
from the disabled list. However, the stint, no matter how brief, was not
a bad thing for the 22-year-old speedster in terms of clearing his head
of hitting woes at Triple-A Buffalo, reuniting him briefly with hitting
coach Chad Mottola who was with him at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2012 and
spring training this year.
“It’s like a fresh
start,” Gose said. “You wake up and it’s like a new scenery,
everything’s new, you-start-from-scratch type deal. It’s one of those
things that kind of erases everything, start fresh, deep breath, let’s
go. That’s over, it’s done, let’s move on, we’re here, let’s play and be
ready to go.”
At the end of the
Jays’ season last year, Gose, following a dramatic September improvement
at the major-league level, must have, deep in his heart, considered
that he had an opportunity in 2013 to take the next step and play in the
majors. Then the Jays went out and signed Melky Cabrera to a two-year
deal and with Davis already on board as the fourth outfielder and with
the versatility of Emilio Bonifacio, that door quickly slammed in the
face of the confident California native.
The body blows
continued. On Day 1 of camp, the GM Alex Anthopoulos and manager John
Gibbons told Gose emphatically that he would be Buffalo bound, barring
injuries. After the Jays obtained Gose from the Astros in July of ’09,
they suggested publicly that he needed probably another 1,500 plate
appearances before he was truly prepared to play in the major leagues.
Gose is close to that total, sitting on 1,362 minor-league PAs in the
Jays’ system. He’s very close, but Anthopoulos has emphasized all along
that when he finally arrives, it’s not to sit on the bench. He will
play. This is not that time. Gose needs to understand, but it’s tough
for someone that has not suffered failure very often.
“I knew this year
because of everything that had taken place, that there wasn’t a spot for
me, I didn’t do enough last year,” Gose admitted. “I wasn’t just going
to double-jump Triple-A (in 2012). I was going to go there. When I left
(last) season, I thought I probably had a chance to compete, then
obviously things happened. There was not a spot. I obviously didn’t do
enough.”
It was a good thing on
a personal basis on Monday for Gose to not only get in the game
defensively, with a four-run lead in the eighth, but also to draw his
first at-bat as the inning stayed alive with a Mune Kawasaki triple.
Even a short fly ball to left field by Gose did not curb his enthusiasm.
“I think that setting
in there today, getting that at-bat it was like Opening Day again for
me,” Gose said. “Somewhere new, like a fresh start. It was really good
for me. It was like something different, something new, let’s pick it
back up and let’s go. We’ve got good crowds in Buffalo, but obviously
everybody knows there’s nothing like being in the big leagues.”
If this indeed turns
into a short term move for Gose, which is likely, it may pay off for him
and the organization simply in being able to press that reset button to
a staggering season.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
From the Giants to the Rays: It
was the best of times, it was the worst of times. After crushing the
World Series champion Giants in consecutive interleague games on Tuesday
and Wednesday, the Jays travelled on another off-day Thursday to New
York, where they looked weak and