The Toronto Blue Jays: Time to take back the east!!

[Stephen19]

I'd support a Reed Johnson trade. Trouble is, who'd want him? Every time I put a guy on the trading block he just sits there and I get no offers. I think the computer just likes to mock me.
Your middle infielders are sucking bad to, that's a tough spot for Toronto if Hudson isn't hitting much either.
You can always fiddle with your batting order. Sometimes that works for me. At least for one game and then it goes back to it's usual crap.
Are there any useful players in the free agent pool or waiver wire?
I can see it would be tough to have to move Delgado, but I can only imagine what kind of money he'll want if he keeps hitting well. You could put him on the trade block and see if anyone bites. Might get lucky and get something useful for him.
Since it's early in the season you have have lots of time to do that.
Try not to smash your computer the next time Reed Johnson strikes out.

[JoshiQ]

Toronto signs free agents:

The Toronto management has quickly become rather worried about it's very young and inexperienced bullpen.

In being worried Toronto made several deals on the 14th of April before their game. Free agents Victor Alvarez (3.5 stars) and Mark Guthrie (3.5 stars) were both signed to 1 year contracts. It took $650,000 to sign Alvarez, and $840,000 to sign Guthrie. These men will hopefully help the rather weak bullpen. They have been sent to AAA, but management is ready to send them up. They will give Valerio De Los Santos only a couple more chances before they demote him and promote Guthrie. The same can be said about Jason Frasor and Kerry Ligtenberg. If either of them faulter it will be Alvarez getting the call up. They have around a week to prove themselves before things are put in motion.

In doing these moves, Toronto released MR Bruce Chen and MR Bob File to make spots for them on the AAA roster.

[JoshiQ]

Originally Posted by Stephen19

I'd support a Reed Johnson trade. Trouble is, who'd want him? Every time I put a guy on the trading block he just sits there and I get no offers. I think the computer just likes to mock me.
Your middle infielders are sucking bad to, that's a tough spot for Toronto if Hudson isn't hitting much either.
You can always fiddle with your batting order. Sometimes that works for me. At least for one game and then it goes back to it's usual crap.
Are there any useful players in the free agent pool or waiver wire?
I can see it would be tough to have to move Delgado, but I can only imagine what kind of money he'll want if he keeps hitting well. You could put him on the trade block and see if anyone bites. Might get lucky and get something useful for him.
Since it's early in the season you have have lots of time to do that.
Try not to smash your computer the next time Reed Johnson strikes out.

I really appreciate your feedback. Makes things a lot more fun when posting. Do you have a dynasty currently being run? I'd be interested in checking it out.

Yeah, I have a chance of picking up Kenny Lofton or Paul Quantrill off of the Yankees for Reed Johnson. Neither one am I too excited about. Especially with Quantrill's contract. I could also pick up Tim Wakefield from Boston for him, but I don't think I'll do that.

Hudson is a black hole of offense. He provides no hits, no RBIs, no walks, no nothing. He sucks.

I signed a couple of middle relievers for my bullpen, but I feel bad if I don't let Santos and several others prove they suck before I replace them.

I have quite a bit of money left over for resigning people, but if I can get a guy even close to Delgado for half the price I'll definitely take it. But I do have a lot of left over money. I just don't want to use it overly fast.

Reed Johnson has become my least favorite player and I don't even know if I've ever noticed him playing. I'm sure I've seen him, but not cared too much. Now all of a sudden he leap frogs Jim Edmonds as my least favorite player.

ARGH!!!

Hopefully the second game with Detroit goes better.

[JoshiQ]

Game 2 of Toronto @ Detroit:

Ted Lilly (1-0 1.00) @ Jason Johnson (1-0 6.75)

Well, after a very upsetting game 1 of the series, we're ready to pounce on the Tigers with Lilly pitching. His first game was very impressive, and I think it's time for a whooping of some sort.

The line-up is the normal line-up we use against righties, except I gave Reed Johnson the day off to let Alexis Rios a chance in left. Who am I kidding? REED JOHNSON SUCKS!!! Rios, despite being a rookie, is probably 6 x the player Reed Johnson is.

Anyways, so the line-up looks like:

AVG HR RBI
RF Frank Catanalotto .267 2 5
CF Vernon Wells .313 0 3
1B Carlos Delgado .400 4 10
DH Josh Phelps .222 2 4
3B Eric Hinske .440 3 9
2B Orlando Hudson .167 0 2
C Greg Myers .387 1 7
LF Alexis Rios .000 0 0
SS Chris Woodward .174 0 2

Not a horrible line-up, but not that great either. It's too bad we have to have Woodward and Hudson in our line-up. Come to mention it, it's too bad stupid Josh Phelps has to bat as well. Luckily since Ted Lilly is left-handed we wouldn't have to face that son of a ***** Roberto Alomar. Fernando Vina would get the at-bats instead.

Catanalotto restores my faith in him as a lead-off man as he singles to right-center and immediately I feel good about tonight's game. It might just be the 8 beers I drank, but nah. I know we are going to win. I debate with myself over rather I should sac. bunt with Vernon Wells, but I decide to let him swing away and on a full count he lines a double to left-center that sends Catanalotto to third. Both runners in scoring position, no outs, and Delgado up? This is going to be a great night!

The count goes to 2-0 and I have high hopes....but then I realize that my team sucks. Yet somehow Delgado takes the next pitch and hammers it....it's going to the track...the right-fielder Inglin goes to the wall, and it sails over!!! THREE RUN HOMER FOR DELGADO! His fifth! YAY!!!!



And to make it even better, Phelps hits a double to left! Phelps got a hit! That makes me almost as happy as the three run homer! Hinske knocked him to third on a groundball to second. Hudson took a walk, (WHAT? HE WALKED!?! Where am I?!?!) and that sent Greg Myers to the plate. All he had to do was hit a flyball...and he did it! A deep fly to center scored Phelps and we had a 4-0 lead in the top of the first! Alexis Rios almost had his first major league hit, but it was stolen away from him by centerfielder Alex Sanchez and we went to the bottom of the first.

Ted Lilly pulled out a 1-2-3 inning, and the Blue Jays came back up to bat. The Blue Jays continued to pound on Johnson as Woodward of all people lined a double down the left field line. But about halfway to second he started to llimp and as soon as the play was over out ran the doctor and Woodward had to come out. In came Chris Gomez to run for him and probably stay in at short. Nobody had any idea what was wrong with Woodward, and although I hate the guy, I hope it isn't too bad. And even with the leadoff double, Catanalotto, Wells, and Delgado all failed to drive him in.

Lilly continues his domination of Detroit in the bottom of the second and doesn't allow a baserunner. In the top of the third Hinske and Phelps both struck out, Hudson walked for the second time (why are they pitching around that loser?), but it all led up to Myers striking out. Johnson strikes out the side and I want to cry. Lilly though continues his kickass pitching and I wonder who abducted Lilly and replaced him with Randy Johnson as he completes his no-hit bid through 3.

Alexis Rios does not impress anybody as he bounces out to second and I start to dream of the days of Reed Johnson. Gomez and Catanalotto can't do anything with Johnson either and we goto the bottom of the fourth. Lilly finally allows a couple of hits to Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez, and it ends up rather costly when Dmitri Young hits a two run double over Hinske's head. He is able to get Rondell White to ground out to third, however, and keep the Blue Jays lead. A Wells infield single looks like it won't matter as Delgado and Phelps both strike out, but Hinske comes through with a single that rolls through the legs of Rondell White and leads to Wells at third and Hinske at second. Unfortunately it's up to Orlando Hudson to knock them in with two outs. And par for the course, he grounds a very slow grounder to second, yet somehow he is able to out run the throw! He's safe! WELLS SCORES!!!! YES!!!!

Detroit had seen enough of Jason Johnson by this point and brought in Chris Smears to pitch to Greg Myers. Myers sucks it up and grounds out to Smears to end the inning. Lilly, although he allows a single to Fernando Vina, continues to impress as he gets through the bottom of the fifth with no troubles. Alexis Rios actually pulls through for the first hit of his career as he lined a hit over the shortstop, Danny Klassen. Rios was apparently a little antsy, however, as he tried to steal second and was caught by Ivan Rodriguez. From there nothing happens of much notice as Smears continues to hold Toronto's offense.

Lilly, although allowing a single to Inglin, and a walk to Young, continues to be my favorite and most reliable pitcher as he gets out of the inning without allowing a run. In the top of the 7th Josh Phelps helps increase our lead with what we pay him to do, hitting a homerun to right. 6-2 Toronto. Hinske can't hit the curve and struck out, but Hudson kept the inning alive with a double. I'm starting to not hate Hudson. I still don't like him, however, but a Greg Myers single knocks him in, and now I don't know what to think.

Alexis Rios then hits a single and almost cements himself in place of Reed Johnson. With two outs, however, Gomez is not the guy you want up. Still, somehow he is able to stay alive long enough to bloop a single and knock in Myers. I'm more than happy by this point, I could care less what happens. We should have the win well in hand, but Catanalotto guarantees it with a deep double to center that scores both Rios and Gomez. Brian Schmack comes in to try and put an end to things, but Vernon Wells hits a ball so hard that it looked like it would be his first homer of the season, but it hit the top of the wall and a stand-up double scored Catanalotto. Delgado grounded out to finally end the inning.

Toronto is now up 11-2 and things are looking rather exciting. Lilly is able to get through the first batter in the bottom of the 7th before I bring in Valerio De Los Santos. I figure he needs a confidence booster and there should be no worries with a 11-2 lead. And he strikes out Klassen no problem before allowing Vina to reach base with a triple. But he strikes out Sanchez to help himself and allow him to stay in the majors for another day.

It looked like a Hinske double would be the only high point of the top of the 8th, but a Myers walk led to Rios getting an at-bat, and he singled Wells home. That leaves him 3-5 with an RBI to help secure his positioning at left. A Gomez strike out led to the bottom of the eigth where Santos would be left in until he got in trouble. Andreas Torres came in to pinch-hit for Carlos Guillen and did a good job as he hit a single. But Santos faked him out and was able to pick him off base without even throwing a pitch at Ivan. That ended up being a good thing as IRod hit a single to left. But from there Santos shut down the Detroit offense.

Danny Patterson came in to finish things off in the top of the 9th, and that left us with a 12-2 lead going into the bottom of the 9th. I decided to let Santos stay in the game to try and increase his confidence, and that he did as he got White to ground out to second, and then Petrick and Klassen to both strike out. And that's all she wrote.

Toronto 12 Detroit 2

(W: Ted Lilly 2-0 1.76)
(L: Jason Johnson 1-1 7.94)
POG: Frank Catanalotto

Frank Catanalotto went 3-6 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. That easily made him the player of the game as he made the best of being the leadoff hitter once again.

Ted Lilly had a great game as he went 6.1 innings pitched, allowed 5 hits and 2 runs, striking out 4 and walking only 1.

Jason Johnson, on the other hand, had a pretty bad day. He pitched 4.2 innings, gave up 8 hits, and allowed 5 runs. He also struck out 6 and walked 2.

Valerio De Los Santos improved on his stats as he went 2.2 innings, only giving up 3 hits and striking out 5 to reduce his ERA to 6.00.

The main thing to worry about right now would be Chris Woodward. Although he has sucked lately, it'll be hard to find a replacement short-stop on short notice. Chris Gomez will be able to fill-in with Hudson playing constant second base, but that's not something I want to happen for very long. Hopefully we will soon know his condition.

[darkcloud4579]

I'm a huge Jays fan IRL, so anyone wanting to bring them back to prominence is a big fan in my book.

Best of luck to you. I'll continue to tune in!

[Stephen19]

I don't mind Lofton. Not sure what his salary or ratings are at this point in his career.
Since Rios had a good game I guess you have to give him a shot before you look for a replacement.
Lily is doing good so far and if he can keep it up and you can get a typically good year from Halladay that should keep you in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Of course you will need some help from the other starters. They are going to have to play well over their heads to have even .500 records, but if they can do that, you should be okay.
Hopefully the Jays will have some hits left in their bats after 12 run outburst and get on a bit of a winning streak here.

[JoshiQ]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

I'm a huge Jays fan IRL, so anyone wanting to bring them back to prominence is a big fan in my book.

Best of luck to you. I'll continue to tune in!

Thanks a lot. So far it's not going too badly. I still have a long ways to go to catch the Yankees. Maybe a Wild Card is in the future?

[JoshiQ]

Originally Posted by Stephen19

I don't mind Lofton. Not sure what his salary or ratings are at this point in his career.
Since Rios had a good game I guess you have to give him a shot before you look for a replacement.
Lily is doing good so far and if he can keep it up and you can get a typically good year from Halladay that should keep you in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Of course you will need some help from the other starters. They are going to have to play well over their heads to have even .500 records, but if they can do that, you should be okay.
Hopefully the Jays will have some hits left in their bats after 12 run outburst and get on a bit of a winning streak here.

Eesh. Never mind about Lofton. With the roster set I am using he is making $3,500,000 for the year. And in 30 at-bats with the Yanks he is only hitting .233 with a .303 OBP. He does have 3 SB's however. Still, unless I could get the Yanks to eat some salary, no way.

Rios will get a tryout here for several games and see how he does. He had a good game so I'll give him a lengthy look.

Yeah, Lilly has really impressed me. With him and Holladay pitching I should be okay, but the rest of my rotation sucks the big one. I'll probably end up trying to sign a FA at low cost and hope for the best if one of them fails miserably.

Thanks a lot for the reply.

[JoshiQ]

Chris Woodward Out for the Season!!!

In shocking news, it was revealed today that Chris Woodward, starting shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays, would be out for the rest of the season. He ruptured his achilles tendon in the top of the second inning in a game against the Detroit Tigers. He was legging out a double and it appears it happened right before hitting second base.

This comes at a rather bad time as there isn't a whole lot of options left on the open market. The Blue Jays are already in talks trying to bring somebody over, but there has been no mentioning of who. There are, however, rumors that Mark Bellhorn or Geoff Blum might be making their way to Toronto. Both men would be a large step down from Woodward's defense, but a step up from his offense.

For now Chris Gomez will step into the role of starting shortstop and will end up batting around the 8th spot.

Dave Berg, a utility player that can play anywhere on the field except for catcher, (1 star, 33 years old), who was hitting .333 in AAA will be called up to take the roster spot. That .333 AVG. was, however, in only three at-bats.

[canadiancreed]

Well I"ve been watching this thread for a while now (go figure, its' the hometown team and my avatar pic), and also have been playing this team with the real world rosters. I'll give some thoughs from my end on this.

First off, I perosanlly think this is a blessing in disguse. Woodward, IMHO, is a waste. He strikes out too much, he's not that great of a hitter, and for being such a bad offense threat, i'd demand Mark Belanger or Ozzie Smith type defense. This guy has neither.

Unfortuenatly you're right, the Jays left side of the infield sucks ass. Chris Gomez I found wasnt any better, Dave Berg, although a better hitter than Woodward or Gomez, sucked jsut as bad at defense (eventully I threw him into RF, then traded him for a five star OF prospect....silly Diamondbacks).

My advice, if he's ready, would be to try out Russ Adams. I had him replace Woodward and Gomez, and he did a bangup job. This worked until I was able to upgrade to a better UI guy (some guy from the Royals, I forget his name but he can field six poistions and all ebtter than Berg), than put him back in the minors to work on his eye, as he was striking out too muhc for my liking.

I eventully traded Woodward, Douglass and another pitcher to Tampa Bay for Upton and another prospect, this should relieve the SS debate once and for all. but again, jsut my opinion.

[JoshiQ]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

Well I"ve been watching this thread for a while now (go figure, its' the hometown team and my avatar pic), and also have been playing this team with the real world rosters. I'll give some thoughs from my end on this.

First off, I perosanlly think this is a blessing in disguse. Woodward, IMHO, is a waste. He strikes out too much, he's not that great of a hitter, and for being such a bad offense threat, i'd demand Mark Belanger or Ozzie Smith type defense. This guy has neither.

Unfortuenatly you're right, the Jays left side of the infield sucks ass. Chris Gomez I found wasnt any better, Dave Berg, although a better hitter than Woodward or Gomez, sucked jsut as bad at defense (eventully I threw him into RF, then traded him for a five star OF prospect....silly Diamondbacks).

My advice, if he's ready, would be to try out Russ Adams. I had him replace Woodward and Gomez, and he did a bangup job. This worked until I was able to upgrade to a better UI guy (some guy from the Royals, I forget his name but he can field six poistions and all ebtter than Berg), than put him back in the minors to work on his eye, as he was striking out too muhc for my liking.

I eventully traded Woodward, Douglass and another pitcher to Tampa Bay for Upton and another prospect, this should relieve the SS debate once and for all. but again, jsut my opinion.

Always interesting to hear from somebody that's already done it or is in the process of doing what I'm doing. The leftside of the field does really suck. Woodward was horrible, Gomez will probably suck, and like you said, I don't have a whole lot of expectations towards Berg.

Russ Adams seems pretty far away. He will eventually be my starter probably, but right now he's in AA. He's hitting .385, but I'd hate to take time away from his growth just to have him hit .250 for me in the majors. I think Bellhorn for a year or somebody like that just might be the ticket. As long as the defense doesn't suffer horribly for it, obviously.

Douglass sucks also. Even though he hasn't pitched yet I just assume he is going to suck. I would love to have Upton on the roster, but at the same time I'd like to give everybody a shot. And I don't want to take advantage of OOTP's AI. But if I need to I will. Still, with my roster set, I don't think Douglass, Woodward, and anybody will get me Upton.

Thanks a lot for the reply, I appreciate it. Hopefully the next game will be posted tonight.

[canadiancreed]

well it wasnt jsut woodward, and douglass, i rememer i traded Lilly as well. For soem reason Tampa in my league needed almsot everything.

Perosanlyl I cant stand Lilly, and since Halladay, D. Oliver (nice free agent pickup), Z. Day (trade with montreal, traded Lilly, Lidle, Phelps, and another decent player for Day, L. Broadway, Izturis, and Echols) were doign well, and i had a glutt of pitches in AAA, Lilly, and his chocking, overpaid butt were expendable Doesnt hurt to try

[JoshiQ]

Game 3 of Toronto @ Detroit:

Roy Halladay (1-1 5.51) @ Mike Maroth(1-0 5.40)

Grrr....this angers me. Everytime I try to start a post and preview the changes it posts it somehow. I don't know why or how come, but it does. Anyways, the game will be posted tonight, but I'll have to continue to edit it to post it.

Our lineup looks like:
AVG HR RBI
RF Frank Catanalotto .306 2 7
C Greg Myers .382 1 9
1B Carlos Delgado .355 5 13
DH Josh Phelps .250 3 5
CF Vernon Wells .342 0 4
LF Marvin Benard 1.000 0 1
3B Eric Hinske .433 3 9
2B Orlando Hudson .238 0 3
SS Chris Gomez .250 0 2

Their lineup:
AVG HR RBI
2B Roberto Alomar .444 0 3
CF Alex Sanchez .200 0 5
DH Dmitri Young .333 1 6
C Ivan Rodriguez .324 1 5
1B Carlos Pena .360 0 5
RF Jeff Inglin .290 0 3
3B Carlos Guillen .242 2 6
LF Rondell White .286 0 6
SS Omar Infante .063 0 1

With Gomez taking up the shortstop spot things were going to be interesting. Not only that, but Greg Myers, the catcher, and Marvin Benard, the left fielder, would be in the spotlight here against the left-handed pitcher Mike Maroth.

Greg Myers is a normal starter, but he was moved way up in the batting line-up, while Marvin Benard didn't get a whole lot of at-bats, but against left handers he is known as a killer.

Catanalotto popped out to short to immediately end the thread in the first. In some ways he really impresses me as the lead-off hitter, in others, he really pisses me off. Luckily Greg Myers hits a single to right to give us some momentum and also prove he is capable of hitting second. Unfortunately, Delgado hits third and he strikes out rather fast. I'd really like a #3 hitter that doesn't strike out. That leaves us with Josh Phelps who I figure will strike out. Amazingly he grounds out to Roberto Alomar. What a great talent, yay!

I am an awe-struck as Halladay strikes out the Blue Jay killer in Roberto Alomar. I am, in fact, in so much shock that I don't even notice him strike out Alex Sanchez and Dmitri Young. After I hear about this I start to love Halladay even that much more. With him as my #1 pitcher, all I need is a little offense. And with Wells leading off I start to think that maybe I might be in luck as he singles to center. I even let Wells try to steal second and he is successful despite it being IRod behind the plate as he throws it high. That leaves us with Marvin Benard, who kills left handers, but he grounds out to Almoar, but advances the runner to third. With one out it looks like Hinske should easily plate the runner, but instead he strikes out and I throw a fit. I mean, it's Hinske! He's supposed to be my best hitter! What a loser! I hate him! And who is left? Orlando Hudson!!! I HATE HIM!!!! If there is one guy I hate worse than Reed Johnson it would be Hudson. Unfortunately I have to let him swing and the result is....a strikeout. I'm so surprised since Hudson is such a great batter....

Even despite the huge dissapointment of the top of the second, Halladay is able to dispose of IRod, Carlos Pena, and Jeff Inglin. That leads us into the bottom of the second where Chris Gomez strikes out. Great way to make yourself look like you belong as a starter. I can't wait until he starts for the Blue Jays for years to come. What a great guy. Up came Frank Catanalotto who walked and made me a very happy guy. He's a lead-off guy and that's what I want him to do....walk. And it proved right as Greg Myers hit the third pitch of the at-bat to deep center and there is nothing Sanchez could do about it as it sailed over the fence for a homerun. Myers with a two run homerun! Not much more I could hope for. It's a good thing that I at least had two good hitters under contract. Delgado and Phelps both had no luck and that led us into the bottom of the third.

Carlos Guillen took control here as he led off with a double to deep left for the first hit of the game. A wild pitch to Rondell White sent Guillen to third and I that was the point I started to get angry. Rondell White then sent a pitch to deep center and I didn't know what to do. Throw the keyboard? The mouse? The speakers? Somehow though Vernon Wells was able to rob the homer and get an out. Guillen tagged up and scored, but I could care less as it saved us the lead. With an out Infante knocked a single and that was the pointed I started to once again grow angry. Alomar hit a liner to the gap in right-center and that led to a double that scored Infante. And now I'm just hoping we can get out of this inning all tied up. At this point I started hating anybody even close to the Blue Jays. Sanchez flied out to right which led to Alomar tagging up and going to third, but I didn't care. I hate Detroit. That's all there is to it. I could walk Dmitri Young and IRod to get to Carlos Pena, but I decided against it and let Dmitri hit. Somehow he popped out and I became very happy with a tied game. Well, not happy, but at least I'm not suicidal...yet.

Wells was up first for the Jays, and he hit one to deep left-center. ALRIGHT! That's what we pay you for, Wells! Or maybe not as White makes the catch on the warning track. Benard, who supposedly crushes lefties, hits a weak grounder to short. Thanks, Marvin. Hinske, on the other hand, continues to hit everything in sight and lines a double down the rightfield line. We might just get the lead back! We mi...Orlando Hudson is up? EEK! And he lines out to the shortstop. I HATE HUDSON!!! I really do!

IRod, Pena, and Inglin can't get anything going for Detroit in their half of the inning and with the score tied 2-2 we go into the top of the 5th. Of course, my side of the offense does little better as Gomez, Catanalotto, and Delgado all ground out to an infielder, doesn't really matter which one, does it? Myers did take a walk in there, but who cares? My team stinks.

Halladay continues to pitch pretty well as he gets Guillen to ground out to short, but he does give up a single to White. Infante, though, flies out to center and it looks like we are going to get out of the inning when...Roberto Alomar steps up. If there's one guy on this team I hate it's Roberto Alomar! He just kills us! And what do you know? He lines a single right down the middle. Where's my gun?

Oh, he also steals second. Great. Myers's arm sucks! Luckily the next guy batting is only Alex Sanchez. Halladay can handle him, right? Right? It turns out that, yes, he can. He grounds out to short to end the inning. If the Jays offense doesn't wake up this inning, though, somebody is going to die. Phelps gets it off to a good start with a single and then Wells hits it in the same exact spot. I think I should threaten death more often. And here comes Benard! Lefty crusher! Show him what you got, Benard!!! ... He grounds the ball to the pitcher! THE PITCHER! Double play and now I'm left with a measly runner on third with two outs.

MARVIN BENARD HAS A STUPID NAME!

HINSKE GOES DEEP!!! BACK!! BACK!! Caught. %$&%^#&^%&#$*

I'm nervous in the bottom of the sixth because I think this might just be the time that the Tigers score on me. Dmitri hits a flyball to right and we have one out. IRod, a guy I hate facing in an inning like this, lines a double to the gap in left-center. I decide to intentionally walk Pena to get to Inglin. DP BALL! PLEASE!!! Of course, a strikeout will do too and that's what Halladay gets. He then turns around and pisses me off by walking Guillen. Not good. Bases loaded, two outs, and Rondell White is up. I'm scared.

*&%#@*

White lines a single to right that scores IRod and Pena. Runners on first and second and two outs. And I hate myself. I hate Rondell White. Halladay comes back to strike out Infante, but it's a little late to be happy with that. Detroit up, 4-2.

I'm tempted to pinch hit for Hudson, but screw it. We're probably going to lose anyways, and somehow Hudson does not strike out! Or ground out! He grounds a ball down the first base line and Hudson rounds two and tries for three! He makes it!!! TRIPLE FOR HUDSON!!! Is the world ending? It must be as Gomez hits a soft single to left to score Orlando! Gomez and Hudson just combined hits to score a run! WOW!

Catanalotto continues to have a bad day as he pops out to short and that would be all for Maroth. Not a bad game for him as lefty Jamie Miller comes in. Miller hasn't done anything yet this season, so hopefully we can get to him with Myers coming up. But we don't. Myers and Delgado both strike out. Worthless. That's what my offense is.

I think about taking Halladay down with 107 pitches, but instead I keep him and he retires Jay Killer, Alomar. He then strikes out Sanchez! And young pops out to right-center! YES!!! Now, please! Somebody hit the ball!

Phelps hits it, but grounds out to second. Wells does the same thing, only to short, but Infante air mails the ball to first! Wells takes second! Yes! Runner in scoring position! I love it! And they walk Benard to get to Hinske? Uhh....That's not smart. And then bring in Ugueth Urbina? Why not bring him in to face Benard who sucks against righties? Then I have to goto my bench. Stupid Detroit. Or maybe they aren't that stupid as Urbina easily strikes out Hinske. And who do I have up now? Hudson! That bugger. He always has to come up in clutch situations....I decide to give the at-bat to Alexis Rios who had a great game last night.

AND RIOS HITS A LINE DRIVE DOWN THE MIDDLE!!! NOBODY WILL GET TO THAT!!! ... Except for frikkin' Roberto Alomar who makes a diving catch! I hate him!!!! I HATE HIM!!!!

Recent callup Dave Berg comes in to play second. I decide to relieve Halladay by bringing in Ken Ligtenberg with a 12.00 ERA. To face Pudge. I must be stupid. And Pudge, of course, answers my move with a single to center. And then he steals second?!?! PUDGE STOLE SECOND!?!? Myers! What's the matter with you?!? And then Ligtenberg walks Pena. I've got a lot of bald spots by this point from pulling out hair. This is ridiculous. A ground ball to third off the bat of Inglin gets us an out as Hinske steps on the bag. Guillen becomes the key guy in the inning, and Ligtenberg apparently is up to the challenge as he gets him to ground out short. We almost get two, but Berg, that oaf, can't turn it in time. I decided to intentionally walk Rondell White to load the bases for Omar Infante. Detroit didn't like the matchup so they brought in Ben Petrick as a pinch hitter. So I bring in closer Jayson Durocher.

AND PETRICK GROUNDS OUT! I got out of it! Whoo! And now we need to score some runs.

Down 4-3, top of the ninth and Chris Gomez is up. A quick thought enters into my head about pinch hitting with Reed Johnson, but I tell that thought to shut up as it's stupid. Still, Urbina is able to get Gomez with a fly to center and now it goes to the top of the order. Catanalotto finally does something good today as he singles between short and third. And a wild pitch sends him to second!!! RUNNER IN SCORING POSITION! For Greg Myers! He hits a hot grounder down the middle...ROBERTO ALOMAR WITH A BACKHANDED STOP! That *&$*%*! And gets Myers at first, but Catanalotto goes to third. Two outs and it's up to Carlos Delgado! Nobody else I'd want up in this spot. Hopefully he can come through...

"Carlos Delgado up, the count is 0-2, and here comes the pitch from Urbina! It's a fastball...on the outside corner?!?! Delgado watches strike three? This is so stupid! Delgado, swing the bat! YOU BIG LOSER!

Detroit 4 Blue Jays 3

(W: Mike Maroth 2-0 4.85)
(L: Roy Halladay 1-2 5.40)
POG: Rondell White going 2-2 with 3 RBI's, and a walk.

Maroth went 6.1 innings, allowed 8 hits and 3 runs. He struck out 5 and walked 2 men.

Also for Detroit was Jamie Walker going one hitting, allowing one hit, striking out two, and walking one. Ugueth Urbina went 1.2 innings, allowed one hit, and struck out two while walking none.

The Blue Jays didn't have quite as much luck as Roy Halladay went 7 innings, allowing 7 hits, 4 runs, struck out 8, and walked 4.

Also for the Jays, Ken Ligtenberg went 0.2 innings, allowed one hit, and walked 2. Jayson Durocher went 0.1 innings and didn't allow a hit, a walk, and didn't strike out anybody.

This makes me very angry. I must leave now.

[JoshiQ]

Tim Hudson's Career Is Over!


Tim Hudson tore his bicep today, and now will no longer be able to pitch. This is a huge blow to the Oakland Athletics and, of course, Tim Hudson. He is signed for $3,500,000 for this year and next year. What a horrible, horrible day. Hudson didn't have a win or a loss yet this year, but had a 2.75 ERA over 19.2 innings. Hudson had struck out 18 and only walked 5. It's such a shame to lose such a great, young pitcher.

Rookie Adam Pettyjohn will now take his place in the rotation.

[canadiancreed]

Delgado, swing the bat! YOU BIG LOSER!

This pharse msut have been echoed along my walls many a time, although usually with mroe explenatives added to it. I swear for a guy that has 100 rating for eye, he strikes out WAY too much.

If there is one guy I hate worse than Reed Johnson it would be Hudson

I'd have to disagree with that one, I've foudn he's decent on mine. No Alomar in his prime, but he's decent or platoon duties as he cant hit LH worth s**t.

As for Benard, IMO, decent for late game defense, useless for hitting. I've seen hitters that hit better than him. However he's not a guarenteed out (like Hudson and Gomez for example) so at least the speed will get some use.

Also did you ever notice that Halladay seems to have a dual personality going? I've found myself that one game he'lll strike out ten, give up two hits, and totally dominate. The next game he'll give up five, pitch from behind the whole time, and make "elite" pitchers such as Douglass and Towers(household names I know) look like Cy Young. Very weird.

[UngratefulDead]

Originally Posted by JoshiQ

Phelps digs in, with two strikes, and he looks ready to smash the ball. He's going to kill it, I can just feel it. Phelps is pissed and you don't want Phelps pissed. He's looking m... Oh. Strike 3.
-
Next up, my favorite player, Eric Hinske, grounds out to third. He's no longer my favorite player
-
And he grounds out to third. REED JOHNSON MUST DIE NOW!
-
It is now my goal to trade away Reed Johnson for anything. Maybe even for Rey Ordonez. I don't care. I just don't want him any more
-
MARVIN BENARD HAS A STUPID NAME!
-
AND RIOS HITS A LINE DRIVE DOWN THE MIDDLE!!! NOBODY WILL GET TO THAT!!! ... Except for frikkin' Roberto Alomar who makes a diving catch! I hate him!!!! I HATE HIM!!!!
-
This is so stupid! Delgado, swing the bat! YOU BIG LOSER!

The specific instances where I burst out laughing so hard I almost awoke sleeping members of my family. Great work on this dynasty, not many people have the dedication to do play-by-play wraps like that.

[pat]

play-by-play dynasties are few, and this one probably is the funniest..

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by pat

play-by-play dynasties are few, and this one probably is the funniest..

I definately second that

[JoshiQ]

April 16th:

Game 1 of Baltimore @ Toronto:

Miguel Batista (0-1 13.00) @ Eric Dubose (1-1 5.06)


Well, I'm not really afraid of Dubose, too bad I'm afraid Batista. And he's on my team! I'm afraid he's going to give up 30 runs this game and totally make us look like a laughing stock.

The lineup is the same for the Blue Jays and perhaps on the second game I'll post the Orioles lineup.

Regardless, Batista gets through the top of the first with no problems. Catanalotto takes a walk in the bottom of the first, but Greg Myers says, "What? A possibility of scoring in the first? Not when I'm around!" and he promptly grounds into a double play. And, of course, Delgado pops out.

Batista continues to perform exceptionally well as he gets Palmeiro to pop out. He then gets Karim Garcia to ground out to Hudson at second, but immediately after it is seen that something is wrong with Batista. Batista has to come out due to a tight shoulder that will keep him out at least 5 days. In comes David Bush and I start cursing my luck. Seriously, Batista finally looks good in a game and he gets injured? What a load of crap.

However, David Bush starts right off where Batista left off, however, by getting Tejada to fly out to left. Phelps, Wells, and Benard don't do anything and that takes us to the top of the third. Newhan, Bigbie, and Segui also can't do anything for the Orioles. It looks like a pitcher's duel! In fact, if Bush keeps this up, he might just work his way onto the rotation.

Nothing of note even happens until the top of the fifth when Tejada nails a double to the gap in left-center. It looked like things would be okay when Newhan grounds a ball to third, Hinske made a diving stop, and on the throw...oh, wait, our first baseman isn't 9 feet tall. Too bad, because that what it would have had to take for him to catch it. Tejada scored and Newhan got to second. And then Bigbie knocked Newhan in with a single....this is so stupid. We had such a good chance. And these blowhards screw it up. Stupid Blue Jays. Bigbie tried to steal second, but Myers actually finds enough arm strength to throw him out. Wow! I'm surprised. The rest of the inning goes off without anything worse happening. Thankfully.

Phelps came through with a single to start off the bottom of the fifth. Wells knocks into a force play, but is safe at second. I decide to send him on the first pitch just to get something going. But he doesn't go...stupid...stupid....I send him again and again he doesn't go. He really should pay attention when I'm giving out the signs at the start of the game. Still, Benard comes through with a single to accomplish the same thing. And I then try and send both at the same time...double steal...And it works! Great thing Javy Lopez has a little girl's arm. That leaves us with two runners in scoring position and only one out. With Hinske up. My best hitter! YAY!!! And he walks. Ho-hum.

And I almost cry as I realize that leaves us with Hudson and Gomez to knock in the runs. And the printer goes out the window as Hudson grounds it hard to second, and it all leads up to a double play. WHAT THE HECK!??! What is this?!?! Hudson will be on the first bus out of here, I promise!!!

Well, maybe not. But still, he sucks! Bush finally gives up his first ER in a Palmeiro solo homer in the top of the sixth. And then Karim Garcia knocks another pitch out in back-to-back homers! CRAP! I hate this crap. Bush is able to get over it, however, and get the third out. A Gomez single starts off the bottom of the sixth, and now might be the time to get to Dubose. I mean, come on. He sucks and we are being shutout by him! How bad can it get?!?!

Catanalotto even comes through with a liner down the first base line for a triple that knocks in Gomez! YES! Now all we need are 3 more runs and we get two of them rather quickly as Myers, next up, hits a homer to right! GREG MYERS! Catcher of the century! WAHOO!!! That leaves it up to Delgado who smashes a single. Phelps knocks into a fielder's choice, Wells does the same, but this time it is Wells who is out and that leaves Phelps at second with two outs. Of course, supposed lefty smasher Marvin Benard weakly flies out to left. What a scumbag. I hate him.

A sac. fly for the Orioles leads to the score 5-3 in the top of the 7th. Bottom of the 7th has Hinske fly out to center. Hinske is falling down the ladder faster ... than somebody that falls down a ladder really fast. Hudson continues to prove that, yes, you can suck as bad as he does and stay on a major league roster as he strikes out looking at a fastball. Geesh. And, of course, Gomez pops up to short to complete waste the inning. GUYS! IT"S ERIC DUBOSE! I don't even know how say his last name!!! And we're 2 runs down! AGAINST THIS LOSER!!! Maybe I should trade for him?

Palmeiro leads off with a double down the right field line, and I think that's all for Bush. A good game for him, surprisingly, and a great job of stepping in for Batista. I'm actually happy with one of my pitchers. Go fig. Oh, and that double? I guess it was actually a single because Palmeiro is FAT! Haha! Fat boy.

And then I screw up again by allowing Bush to pitch to another rather obese individual in Karim Garcia. Bush gets him to fly out though and so it was all part of my master plan. I'm a genius! Man, my bullpen sucks. All I see are 6's and 9's for ERA. Why must my bullpen suck? Huh? I don't know. Lefty Kevin Frederick comes in because I'm basically going to just pull names out of the hat for my bullpen now. I don't care who comes in. They all suck. Case in point, Kevin Frederick who gives up a single to Tejada. Now we have runners at first and second and the go-ahead run batting. And it'll be Marty Cordova pinch hitting for David Newhan. Yeah, I'm confused to. The rookie, who is batting .405, being pinch hit for Marty? These Orioles are going places, I tell ya! And my insulting of Cordova does not come back to bite me as he flies out to left. Just one more out, Frederick! Blow this and I'm trading you to Montreal. And he gets Bigbie to ground out to second! YES!!! WE ARE WINNING THIS GAME, DANGIT!

Lefty John Parrish comes in for Baltimore to finally get that annoying Dubose off of the mound. And Jerry Hairston goes in to play second. Catanalotto surprises everybody by actually getting more than one hit this game. Has this happened before? And didn't I like Catanalotto a few games ago? What happened? Why do I hate him now? I think it's his name. Freaking too long to write out. From now on I think I'll just call him Otto. Or Catan. Lotto? Ugh. I'll have to think of something. I don't like hating my guys for no good reason.

Okay, so picture this. You're down 5-3, bottom of the 8th, and you'd like some runs. Your lead-off hitter hits a single. Your catcher, who normally does okay comes up to bat. The count gets to 3-1. So your expecting a walk...but Myers, great catcher and all with a little girl arm, decides, hey, I'm a big star now! I want to swing the bat! So he does, and he grounds it to short. And he hits into a double play. Now imagine me stepping in and SITTING HIS BUTT ON THE BENCH FOR THE REST OF THE GAME! YOU FILTHY LITTLE BUGGER! And, of course, Mr. 18 Million Dollars, who hasn't hit a homerun in QUITE A FEW GAMES, flies out to right-center. What a stinking load of puss he is.

Bobby Estalella comes in to backup Myers and hopefully give him some time to think about what he has done to me, the fans, and the Blue Jays organization as a whole. Luckily I can bring in Jayson Durocher, my closer, and my only good arm in the pen to take over for Frederick. He did a great job, but I still hate the guy, and you want to know why? I'll tell you why. HE SUCKS!

Ugh. And he walks Segui. Yes, that Segui. The one that sucks. He walked him. And Jay Gibbins singles. Didn't I just say that Durocher is the one guy that is good in the pen? The one that will easily hold this game? DIDN'T I? Well, I didn't mean it! My fingers were crossed! Clay Bellinger comes in to pinch hit for Luis Matos, and Durocher is actually able to get an out! Wow! He got him reaching at a ball in the dirt, and now maybe he can finish things. I'd love to not get completely whipped every game, you know!

And now Javy Lopez is up. He's only batting .188. He has no homers. Only 3 RBIs so far. And you know what? I'm scared of him. Because my bullpen sucks! You shouldn't be afraid of a .188 hitter! BUT I AM!!! Oh, and to make things even better, Durocher throws a wild pitch. Yay! Drinks all around! But Durocher comes back to strike out Lopez!!! I still don't like Durocher. He sucks.

The intentional pass is given to Palmeiro, leaving us with the match up of Durocher vs. Garcia. This is world series material here folks. Two of the biggest names in baseball going head to head! This is what's it is all about. And he gets him on the high-heat!!! WAHOO!!! Now all we have to do is score two runs! Against lefty closer, BJ Ryan. That'll be easy for our offense. I mean, we got Phelps (eww), Wells (eh), and Benard (lefty smasher my butt) up.

And you know what? I'm bringing in Reed Johnson. Phelps sucks the big toe against lefties, and I think Reed has it in him. I mean, the guy can't be that bad, can he? AND HE GETS A HIT!!! REED JOHNSON HIT THE BASEBALL!!! He got a single!!! Reed Johnson is so the man right now!

And Wells hits a rocket between first and second! Palmeiro dives? And he catches it? THAT PIECE OF LARD DOVE!?! Hey, where's Reed? Reed? Aren't you supposed to be on first? Why are you on second? Palmeiro steps on first and that's it. REED JOHNSON!!! YOU BIG PIECE OF CRAP!!! I hope you fall off the plane! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON SECOND!?!?! HE CAUGHT THE FRIKKIN' BALL!!!

So, now, with two outs....and Reed Johnson being dealt with...we have lefty smasher, Marvin Benard, up. You know, I love having these guys that hit lefties really well. So while they can't be used in most situations, they can come in and totally change the course of the game in one at-bat. One swing. And Benard does just that....by grounding out to short and ending the game.



Baltimore 5 Toronto 3

(W: Eric Dubose 2-1 4.59)
(L: David Bush 0-1 3.68)
POG: Rafael Palmeiro...what, Reed Johnson doesn't get it? Afterall, he did win the game...for the OTHER TEAM!

Rafael Palmeiro went 2-3, hitting his second homer of the season, taking two walks, and that's about it.

Eric Dubose went 7 innings, gave up 6 hits, 3 runs, struck out 3 and walked 2. Also for Baltimore was John Parrish going 1 inning, allowing a hit. And BJ Ryan going one inning, also allowing just one hit, and saving the game.

Miguel Batista went 1.2 innings, didn't give up a hit or a run, struck out 2 and walked nobody. Looked like he would have had a good game. David Bush came in after that to pitch 5.2 innings, gave up 10 hits, 5 runs, but only 3 earned. He also struck out 3 and walked 2. Kevin Frederick pitched 0.2 innings, allowing just one hit, and Jayson Durocher pitched an inning, allowing one hit, striking out all three batters, but walking two.

Miguel Batista is out for 5 days with a tight shoulder, so that might mean David Bush will get a start. But that's probably unlikely since neither of last two pitchers in the rotation have even gotten a start yet.

[JoshiQ]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

This pharse msut have been echoed along my walls many a time, although usually with mroe explenatives added to it. I swear for a guy that has 100 rating for eye, he strikes out WAY too much.

I'd have to disagree with that one, I've foudn he's decent on mine. No Alomar in his prime, but he's decent or platoon duties as he cant hit LH worth s**t.

As for Benard, IMO, decent for late game defense, useless for hitting. I've seen hitters that hit better than him. However he's not a guarenteed out (like Hudson and Gomez for example) so at least the speed will get some use.

Also did you ever notice that Halladay seems to have a dual personality going? I've found myself that one game he'lll strike out ten, give up two hits, and totally dominate. The next game he'll give up five, pitch from behind the whole time, and make "elite" pitchers such as Douglass and Towers(household names I know) look like Cy Young. Very weird.

Delgado is really blowing right now. He's 2 for his last 15, and has already struck out 14 times in 40 at-bats. Seems like a lot. And especially in situations where I could use a basehit.

Hudson shows a little flash of brilliance, and then the very next at-bat goes back to sucking. The guy is batting .222 with a .276 OBP. He is never on base it seems. Not something you want from your second baseman. Hopefully it's just a little early and he'll get back into things.

With the roster set I'm using it says that Benard kills lefties. So I use him strictly against lefties for hitting....yet he's only hitting .250. What a waste.

Roy has also shown me that. The guy can't be consistent. There are those games where you feel like he'll throw shutouts every game, and then he goes out and gives up 5 runs in the first 3 innings. It blows my mind. I hate him for that.

Thanks a lot for the reply. Definitely makes this more fun to do.