Balanced Attack: Jays Handle Orioles (for the most part)



(Please note: this is an attempt to recreate a previous version of this post, which died a tragic death. When reading this, try not to imagine the previous version, because it was much, much better than this. I kind of want to die.)

That was overall a great series versus the Orioles. I was at the game on Friday night, in the fanciest seat I've ever purchased. This was my view, pre-game:


And this was my view mid-game: 


Though the view was obviously great, my experience was mixed. I'll elaborate later.

The Orioles beat the Jays 10-2 on Friday, giving them a little spring in their step. (I also had a great view of the Oriole dugout. They were awfully skippy.) Chris Davis went large twice, despite the fact that I warned them well in advance. 

By Saturday, laughing time was over. David Price pitches for the Toronto Blue Jays and he earned his 100th career win on Saturday in a 5-1 victory. He allowed three hits and a run over seven innings while walking two and striking out eight. 

Price also made a standout defensive play, snaring a hard come backer from Manny Machado in the sixth. This was his reaction



To answer Mr. Hunter, yes. David Price smiles that much every single day. Because he's David Price.


“I’m pitching to what I see,” he said. “I feel like I’m continuing to evolve. I’m not going to tell you guys what I’m doing differently, but I know, and Russell knows. This is a game, if you don’t evolve, it’s going to leave you in the dirt behind it. So you’ve got to continue to change. You’ve got to continue to look for ways to get better.”

Russell knows. 

Another notable event was Cliff Pennington being randomly asked to vacate the premises. It wasn't clear what happened as it was during a commercial, but clearly Dickey was tickled.

Sunday, Marco Estrada had basically nothing, but somehow managed to hold the Orioles off the board for most of his five innings.

Many pitchers talk about how over their 35 or so starts in a year, they feel excellent only about six or seven of those times. The rest they try to battle with mediocre feel, and sometimes they get rocked and sometimes they manage to battle through it and triumph. This, for Estrada, was one of the latter. He sounded hilariously Eeyore about it post-game.

“Effectively wild, I guess, especially that first inning,” Estrada said. “I had no idea what I was doing out there. Everything was up. Somehow got out of the inning. Got a little bit better as the game went on, but it was one of those days where I didn’t have my stuff. I wasn’t locating at all.”

Helpful in these battle games is having a ridiculous offence. And the Jays have that. They have also killed Chris Tillman this year.

(Seriously. He's their bitch.)

Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki and Kevin Pillar all went deep. The Jays had 15 hits and 10 runs. It was their 22nd game with double digit run total, a franchise record.

Troy Tulowitzki attempted a smile:

“I don’t think it matters or not if we’re playing at home or on the road,” said Jose Bautista, who hit his 33rd home run. “We’re playing good baseball. We’re gelling. We’re having fun. We’re enjoying ourselves when we come in to the clubhouse. It’s fun to get out of bed in the morning and show up to the yard, even though it’s September and we’re all tired. It seems like we’ve found renewed energy in the fact that we’re in first place and we’ve got a chance.”


So, Friday I sat in my fancy seat. And I didn't have that great a time. There was a vibe. Maybe I'm just not used to such big crowds (though I've been to several this season) but the whole thing felt a little off. I'm willing to concede that the Jays playing like crap probably added to this feeling.

Normally, if I'm by myself, I like to watch the starting pitcher warm up- I like to watch his stretching, how he interacts with those around him, etc. I also like watching them pitch from above, as it's a view I don't normally get to see. I normally tuck in to the right hand side of the section behind the pen- there is a little corner where the stairs angle away from the seats. It doesn't block the view from any of the seats or the stairs, someone can actually fit past me. I've done this a dozen times. For the first time, I was asked to vacate the area- it was well before the anthems, Russell Martin hadn't even gotten back there yet. This was especially vexing because I had sat in those seats the previous weekend after selling 50/50 tickets (which was totally awesome, by the way) and dudes were returning to their seats mid-inning, including once during a Josh Donaldson at bat. Which I find to be far ruder and more disruptive than being tucked away in a corner pre-game. Where was the overly involved usher then?

People were kind of hostile in the section where my seat was, yelling at other people. The crowd also did the Wave right before and during the Adam Jones homer. That's just gauche. By the time the paper airplane floated to the third base line late in the game, I had completely given up. I took pictures of Jose Bautista perpetually stretching on the on deck circle. And observed Russell Martin's rather well shaped forearms.

The best part was seeing a little mohawk of blonde curls attached to a grin pop his head out pre-game to take in the crowd. Stroman starts for Buffalo on Monday.




“No one’s going to feel sorry for you,” Stroman said. “I try to make the best out of every single situation, I always try to spin a positive from a negative … I’m more confident now than I’ve ever been in my life.”

Here is Kevin Pillar getting completely ignored after his homer this afternoon.






My baseball homegirl Alexis Brudnicki wrote about Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista's charitable efforts from Donaldson's BaseBowl event benefiting the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Toronto.


"I grew up in a single-parent home, and it's something where, as a child I realized there are restraints when that's going on," Donaldson said. "Now I've been able to be put in a position to where I can give back to the community, and give back to children who are in need. [BBBST] is a very well-run organization, and it's important to give back.

"I was fortunate enough to have a mother [Lisa] who was able to provide. That being said, I know some kids aren't as fortunate and they need help and they need some assistance and guidance. These organizations do that."




Here's Ryan Goins with a Care Bear:



This baby. Destined for greatness.