The Price Was Definitely Right: Jays Win with New Ace as Advertised.



I noticed a few things in David Price's first start as a Blue Jay. I've seen him pitch often as a member of the Tampa Rays but today was different. I wasn't sitting there wondering why the baseball gods were punishing us.


The first thing I noticed was how nervous Price was. It was rather charming how the crowd cheered him on (all 45,766 of them), but it looked like Price felt it. Which isn't to say this is a bad thing, as energy from a crowd can be harnassed. But he was taking a lot of deep breaths, especially in the first few innings.

The second thing I noticed was that Price works really deliberately. He's kind of the anti-Buehrle. Buehrle works quickly and throws soft. Price works slowly and throws hard. Price has also got a really compact delivery, and I'd be interested to hear how he developed that. He's got a lot of length in his arms and legs, which can make it difficult to repeat mechanics. Repeatable mechanics, of course, are the key to throwing strikes and avoiding injury. 

The third thing I noticed was the most interesting. It was very clear that Price was working one way for the first part of the game and then adjusted his game plan. In the early innings, he had a fastball/cutter going. The Twins started to make the adjustment, were fouling a lot of pitches off and Price was having a little bit of trouble putting them away. He then expanded his offerings to include a changeup, for which the Twins had no answer. Most of Price's 11 strikeouts came off that changeup. I know pitchers make adjustments within games all the time, as do hitters, but I haven't seen such a clear and obvious change in a while. 

His parents flew in for his Jays debut. Price looks a lot like his dad, for those wondering. 

“That was the best atmosphere I’ve ever been in,” Price said after the game. “I’ve pitched in really big games . . . but that atmosphere today, that takes the cake.”

The super charged crowd probably reminded Twins manager Paul Molitor of the olden days. Molitor, of course, played for the Jays from 1993-1995 and won the WS MVP in '93. And Molitor was one hell of a baseball player. 


Price went eight innings, gave up three hits, one run and got 11 strikeouts. Torii Hunter scored the only run off a solo homer in the second.

"One solo home run is not going to do it," Hunter said. "Those guys know how to hit over there. Josh Donaldson is as hot as a firecracker. So we knew we had to battle out there. We had the bases loaded, but he struck out the next few batters. David Price. Josh Donaldson. What a show."

What a show, indeed. Josh Donaldson, who heard loud MVP chants after his two run homer to break the tie, is as hot as a firecracker. That's a good call, Torii. 

After the game, John Gibbons had this to say:

“He’s a different cat. He’s a fun-loving free-spirited guy but he’s got tremendous focus. Totally different personality Josh has when the game starts. It’s push, push, push. He’s not afraid to fail. That’s why he’s so successful and that’s why I think he’ll continue to be successful until he gets old. But I think he thrives on that. He’s been doing it all year. It’s not like we’ve seen it a couple times . . . he’s been doing it all year.”

Until he gets old.

John Gibbons needs to do more press conferences. I mean, he called Ryan Goins "Go Go".  He also did Go Go a solid by reminding the press corps that it wasn't just Donaldson and Price today, Goins was the one who tied the game in the first place. That's a manager that's down for his team, making sure all his kids get some love.

Marcus Stroman watched the Price start from class. Because it's what the kids do today.

If you're feeling low, just go read that kid's Twitter feed. 

It was also Russell Martin bobblehead day. This was my favourite tweet about it.