Whoever Said Big Guys Can't Run...

...Well, they just might be right.

Troy Glaus getting thrown out at 2nd last night on Frank Thomas' deep fly ball to centre wasn't pretty. I was really surprised that he was running, but that doesn't mean I don't agree with it.

Yes, Troy was running from 1st to 2nd. Yes, he's a big guy with a bone spur and not the healthiest legs. But, he forced the throw. Sure, he got out. What if he had been safe? He would have been in scoring position in a game the Jays were trailing 2-1 in the late innings. At some point, and I think they might be getting there soon (considering Alexis stole a base last night), the Jays are going to have to start forcing the issue instead of relying on the homerun. As Gibbons said on the Jays website,

'"Troy's a smart player," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, defending Glaus' decision to run. "I didn't mind that. It's a big ballpark and it took a perfect throw, and that's what they got. He was just trying to make something happen. We weren't scoring."

He's right. It takes a perfect throw to get him out, and that one time there just happened to be one. Not every throw is perfect, nor is every tag. Forcing the other team to make the plays and putting pressure on them that way is a way to score runs and win games. The rest of the AL has been applying that philosophy against the Jays this year, it's about time they start pushing back.

For me, it's in the same family as striking out swinging and striking out with the bat on your shoulder. Yeah, they show up the same in the box score, but you can't put the ball in play with the bat on your shoulder. That's not to say you should swing at everything when you're up there, but why not take a hack when you think you're gonna get a good pitch? There is a point where you can be too selective. It's that fine balance of "agressive/patient" the Jays displayed on Monday, but lacked last night.

My point? You never know what will happen when you put the ball in play or when you force the defense to make a play.

Dustin "Chops" McGowan performed kinda like I expected him to last Friday. He went from really bad (against LA), to incredible (against Colorado), to okay (against Seattle). Like Doc Halladay once said, 1 out of 5 starts you're not going to have your best stuff. Okay, that's cool. I'm still waiting for Dustin to be a little more consistent. If he can minimalize the "really bad" and "okay" outings, and average somewhere in between "incredible" and "okay"...Well, I think that's all I'd ever ask for, and really...what I expect from him now.


Refreshing...
"I was getting kind of antsy, because you're at the ballpark, where these guys are getting ready to go to battle and you're kind of like, 'Good luck. I'm worthless right now.'" -- Overbay

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Chops goes for win #5 today against Joe Kennedy. The Jays scored 4 in the top of the 1st on a bases loaded walk by Hill, a double by Stairs, and a sac fly by Zaun. McGowan went 3 up-3 down in the bottom of the 1st. So far...so good.

Enjoy the game, although it's not on TV.
Thank god the Jays are home again this weekend. Four 10pm games in 5 days is a lot.
JaysGirl5