Toronto Blue Jays

On a sunny, but slightly nippy Saturday in Toronto, the Blue Jays lost their second straight to the Baltimore Orioles, despite a late-game rally. R.A. Dickey started for the Blue Jays but was ineffective early on, walking three in his first two innings. He would finish 6.2 innings, responsible for six earned runs on nine hits. Danny Valencia and Adam Jones had homers off of him. Manny Machado was largely silent in the game, going 0-for-5 with a couple of strikeouts, but Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy, driving in two runs each. Dickey settled down from the fourth to the sixth but in the seventh, Jones hit a solo shot--a no-doubter to left field--and that was the difference in the game. It seems to me that this season, Dickey has had problems commanding his knuckleball early on, but does tend to settle down after a while. The bullpen did some great work, good work with Brett Cecil and Aaron Loup combining for 1.1 innings of perfect baseball, with Cecil recording three strikeouts out from the four batters he faced. Once again, the Blue Jays were down 3-0 before they got a chance to bat. But like Friday night's game, they scored one right back in the first, this time on an Adam Lind single to score Melky Cabrera. Lind had a heck of a day, going 3-for-5 to push his average up to .299. Cabrera, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI-single to score the Jays' last run, had a memorable day on defense too. He gunned down Chris Snyder on an attempt to stretch a single into a double in the second inning, then in the fourth, he had a fantastic catch to retire Jones, crashing up against the Plexiglas portion of the left field wall that covers the videoboard. The Blue Jays had a rally in the bottom of the eighth, started by a Brett Lawrie double. Colby Rasmus then hit a liner down the right field line that was just foul by a centimetre or so. It was so close that the umpires agreed to huddle and discuss when John Gibbons came out to ask for a second opinion. Later in the inning, Maicer Izturis hit a rocket into the second deck, again just foul. He walked, putting runners on first and second for Munenori Kawasaki. Instead of pinch hitting for J.P. Arencibia, Gibbons decided to let Kawasaki hit, and the MLB All-Star Game write-in candidate delivered: singling home Lawrie on the first pitch to bring the score to 6-4. Cabrera followed with his RBI-single but then Jose Bautista hit a weak grounder to Hardy to end the threat. The other two Jays runs were scored on a solo homer by Emilio Bonifacio in the second, and what was ruled a throwing error by pitcher Freddy Garcia in the fifth, although replays showed that Brett Lawrie was running outside the running lane. Jim Johnson had a 1-2-3 ninth to record his first save after blowing three straight. Nobody got hurt, or ejected. Jays of the Day! Brett Lawrie (+.134 WPA). Suckage Jays: R.A. Dickey (-.302), Edwin Encarnacion (-.288), Colby Rasmus (-.211) I am now off to meet Tom at the Bluebird Banter Toronto Meetup at Elephant & Castle! Do stop by and say hi if you're around!

TORONTO (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles placed right-hander Pedro Strop on the 15-day disabled list with a strained lower back and recalled right-hander Steve Johnson from Triple-A Norfolk before Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays. View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Toronto Blue Jays News

Well, if we remove the damage inflicted upon Sean Nolin in his MLB debut, then last night doesn’t look so bad. There were some positives, y’know, like Brett Lawrie hitting a home run, and pretty much everyone not named DeRosa or Arencibia collecting a hit. Then there was Lawrie getting #umpshow’d following a gentle (by his own acrimonious standards) discarding of his batting gear. Crew chief Wally Bell told reporters that Lawrie was ejected for violating “baseball etiquette”. A 10-6 loss to the Orioles, compounded by Lawrie and John Gibbons getting tossed – and Sean Nolin’s 1.1 inning premature shitstorm of a debut – made for a frustrating night of Blue Jays baseball… But hey, R.A. Dickey takes the ball today and he’s had three nice starts in a row, so let’s pick ourselves up from last night and hope the bats come out for a feast of Freddy Garcia. Scuttlebutt John Lott’s excellent game story features quotes from both Brett Lawrie and Wally Bell. FWIW, Bell’s explanation of the ejection comes across as forthright as a DJF author claiming he didn’t know carrying open alcohol was against the law. If you’re into such things, Brooks Baseball‘s pitch f/x tool shows Bell made the right call on the third strike. Ok, last bit on the Lawrie ejection… The umps these days in @mlb can suck it… Some of the worst calls I have ever seen have been this 2013 season #callthegamerightdouches — Danielle Lawrie(@DanielleLawrie5) May 25, 2013 Shi Davidi serves up some quotes from Nolin and Gibbons. Thad Weber will join the Blue Jays to take Nolin’s spot, according to this Mike Wilner tweet. No teenagers playing hockey this afternoon, yet the game is on Sportsnet ‘Nis. TV: Sportsnet One And now the lineups, by way of the live box score at theScore.com. And for those of you who’ll be out and about, be sure to follow all the action on your phone with theScore app… Toronto Blue Jays LF Melky Cabrera (S) RF Jose Bautista (R) DH Edwin Encarnacion (R) 1B Adam Lind (L) 3B Brett Lawrie (R) CF Colby Rasmus (L) 2B Emilio Bonifacio (S) C Henry Blanco (R) SS Munenori Kawasaki (L) R.A. Dickey RHP Baltimore Orioles LF Nate McLouth (L) 3B Manny Machado (R) RF Nick Markakis (L) CF Adam Jones (R) 1B Chris Davis (L) SS J.J. Hardy (R) DH Danny Valencia (R) 2B Yamaico Navarro (R) C Chris Snyder (R) Freddy Garcia RHP

The Blue Jays have called up Thad Weber to take Sean Nolin's roster spot. Thad has pitched once for the Bisons since being picked up for waivers from the Padres. He went 2.2 scoreless innings for Buffalo. Nolin has been optioned and is on his way back to New Hampshire. UPDATE (Minor Leaguer) It appears that Thad Weber may have been brought up to start next week vs. Atlanta. Looks like one of Ramon Ortiz or Thad Weber starts Wednesday in Atlanta. #SNBlueJays @sportsnet — Jamie Campbell (@SportsnetJamie) May 25, 2013

Journeyman right hander Freddy Garcia goes up against R.A. Dickey this afternoon. Garcia, who's 36 years old, has allowed 12 earned runs in four starts this year with Baltimore (he started the season in the minors) He's also allowed six homeruns in only 22.1 innings with the big club this season. Garcia throws (prepare yourself): four-seamers, sinkers, cutters, sliders, curveballs, changeups, and splitters. Other than the cutter, all of these pitches have been thrown at least 10% of the time this year. His hard stuff stays around the 88MPH mark and surprisingly Garcia has hardly lost any velocity over the course of his 14 year career. The Blue Jays right handers have had huge problems with sliders moving out of the zone against them and that's exactly what Garcia tries to do. The well located slider is one of the ways Garcia continues to stay in the major leagues with a below average fastball. via www.fangraphs.com Should Lind Play: YEP Over the course of his career Garcia has a .329wOBA against him by lefties and a .318wOBA against him by right handers. He's got so many different weapons at his disposal that it's not surprising that he is about as effective against lefties as righties. His slider is used heavily against right handers, while the splitter and sinker feature against left handers. Lind is 4 for 8 with two walks against Garcia over the course of his career if you were wondering and he will likely play today. My preferred lineup for today's game: Gose LF Bautista RF Encarnacion 1B Lind DH Lawrie 3B Rasmus CF Arencibia C Bonifacio 2B Kawasaki SS "Find the Link": Find the link between Freddy Garcia and #59 of the Philadelphia Phillies. This looks like a good opportunity for the Blue Jays tonight, so we'll see what happens.

GAME RECAPS Blue Jays: Call-up Nolin knocked around by O’s in big-league debut | Toronto StarThe Star's Recap: Double-A call-up Sean Nolin lasts just 1.1 innings in 10-6 loss to Baltimore; Lawrie, Gibbons ejected early Toronto Blue Jays’ Sean Nolin rocked in debut, while umpire ejects two | Sports | National PostThe Post's recap: Rookie pitcher Sean Nolin was hit hard, while Brett Lawrie and John Gibbons were ejected in a 10-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles Friday night Orioles bash four homers in 10-6 win over the Blue Jays - baltimoresun.comA Happier Recap: In their third victory in four games, the Orioles hit four homers, including J.J. Hardy's three-run blast to left off Blue Jays rookie Sean Nolin just three batters into the game. JAYS LINKS The Blue Jay Hunter: Flashback Friday: A Tribute to Epy GuerreroIan looks at the life of the former Jays Superscout. Blue Jays mailbag: Anthony Gose boosts confidence, thrills fans with his play this week | Toronto StarAlways amusing: In this week’s edition of Richard Griffin’s mailbag, fans are getting restless as they question why former Jays are doing so well and wonder if it’s the coaching across all levels. Blue Jays: The six Jays who must step up to turn 2013 around: Griffin | Toronto StarGriff day continues: The month of May has seen some improvement from the Jays, but if they really want to turn their season around, a half-dozen key members of the team have make a greater contribution. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion take us to a different type of driving range (Video) | Big League Stew - Yahoo! SportsFrom the blog Big League Stew: You've gone to the driving range before. But have you ever gone to the driving range the way Toronto Blue Jays sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion recently went to the driving range? MLB LINKS Florida Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia claims ignorance about spitballs | Sports | National PostMiami Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia said he didn't know it was illegal to spit directly onto a baseball. Links note: Yeah sure. Indians manager Terry Francona and Red Sox announcer Don Orsillo engage in playful wrestling match (Video) | Big League Stew - Yahoo! SportsFrom the blog Big League Stew: Poor Don Orsillo. All he wanted to do was get a word with former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona, who now holds the same position with the Cleveland Indians Bizarre play and blown call leads to phantom 3-6-3 double play for Rangers (Video) | Big League Stew - Yahoo! SportsFrom the blog Big League Stew: Weird baseball reached a whole new level on Friday night in Seattle. Links Note: Yeah Bud, no one is clamoring for instant replay at all because umps never blow calls. The Juice: Professional spoiler Joe Mauer ends Anibal Sanchez’s no-hit bid with ninth inning single | Big League Stew - Yahoo! SportsFrom the blog Big League Stew: Well played Mauer, well played. It continues: Yankees lose Curtis Granderson (again) to broken knuckle on left hand | Big League Stew - Yahoo! SportsFrom the blog Big League Stew: As the old, unfortunately fitting cliche goes, Curtis Granderson and the New York Yankees can't catch a break when it comes to injuries this season. Links note: At least it wasn't the Jays this time. The Worst of the Best: The Week’s Wildest Pitches | FanGraphs Baseball3rd place belongs to "Hungry Like the Wolf" The Worst of the Best: The Week’s Wildest Swings | FanGraphs BaseballCongrats to Brett for inducing the wildest swing of the week. TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY Baseball History May 25th - National Pastime - Baseball History1922 After being called out for trying to stretch a single into double, Babe Ruth throws dirt the umpire's eye, then goes after a heckler in the stands, and finishes his tirade by standing on the dugout roof calling the crowd "yellow" cowards. These actions will result in a one game suspension, a $200 fine, and will cost the 'Bambino' his Yankee captaincy, a position

I know the rent is in arrears, the dog has not been fed in years, it's even worse than it appears but, it's all right. In a battle of greybeards, 36 year-old Freddy Garcia (0-2, 4.84) goes for the O's. 38 year-old R.A. Dickey gets the start for the Jays (4-5, 4.50) at 1:07 pm Eastern.

TORONTO (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles are bashing home runs at an impressive rate right now. View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Toronto Blue Jays News

Recently our pal Jay Floyd of PhoulBallz.com chatted with New Hampshire Fisher Cats hurler Tyson Brummett. Claimed off waiver by the Blue Jays from the Phillies organization last off-season, the 28-year-old was a veteran addition to the system, but hasn't had much luck this season. Through 10 outings with the Double-A Fisher Cats, Brummett has a 0-3 record with a 5.59 ERA. Here are some highlights from Jay's interview with Tyson... On the differences between the Toronto and Philadelphia organizations- There's always a lot of differences. I was in that organization for a long time. I grew up with a lot of those guys, you know, roommates and people like that, coming up through the ranks. This is my first time in a different organization, obviously there are new people, new faces. At the end of the day, it's still baseball. You've gotta go out there and perform and do all those fun things on the field. On pitching against the Phils' Double-A team in Reading and putting forth his best effort of the season, with six shut out innings- I mean it's always...you get up to face your old organization. I know there's guys that jump around and have played for three or four different organizations. I think there's that kind of connection there. They know you and you know them and things like that, but you always want to go out and put on a show for the team that you used to be with and obviously the team that you're with against your old team. Kind of like giving a message like, "Hey, I can still help a team win." On who has been the biggest help to him with the Blue Jays- I mean, honestly, there's a lot of veteran guys both here, in Double-A and at Triple-A. I think I probably learned the most, it was my first big league (spring training) this year, I had a lot of guys that I played with and Northwoods League and collegiate leagues. Once you've played this game and you move around, it's hard to not run into somebody you've played and vice versa. It's just really good communication over here. Lots of friends. They went out this year and picked up a lot of veteran guys, so it's a lot of guys that have been all over the place, so you feel like you have an instant connection with them, 'cause they're kind of in the same boat you are. I think overall it's pretty welcoming. To read the full interview with Tyson, including details on his time playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, click here.

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