It was a weird night tonight. First, I never thought I'd see the day that Felix Escalona would make YES' Yankees Classics. And Mo had another bad outing tonight. Weirdest of all was seeing Al Leiter out there in the 7th. For a second I thought it was Game 5 of the 2000 World Series all over again.
The Blue Jays are just not a good team. This is a team that has built a winning record on Roy Halladay and smoke and mirrors. Now, with Halladay on the shelf, it's all smoke and mirrors. With Delgado gone, there's no real scary bat in the lineup. Maybe Vernon Wells, but he's nowhere near the slugger Delgado was in his prime. And guys like Hudson, Hillenbrand, and Russ Adams are good players, but not so reliable for the big hit. And aside from Halladay, no one on the pitching staff is that great. Guys like Towers and Lilly are serviceable, as is closer Miguel Batista. Serviceable, yes. Good, no.
At least the Indians won again. Seems like they're the team to root for, especially with the A's starting to revert to May form. If their hitting stays hot, the Indians can go a long way. Hafner provides them with a big bat, Martinez has gotten better as the season's gone on, and guys like Peralta and Sizemore are solid. They're not quite the 1990's Indians, but they're a solid team through and through. And their starting pitching may be better, especially with Westbrook recovering from a dreadful start of the year. And if they make the wild card, Mark Shapiro ought to be mentioned along with Beane and Epstein as one of the game's better GMs. Heck, in my book, he's up there for dumping Robby Alomar on to the Mets. But then again, Alex Escobar went about as far as Shawn Abner. So go figure.
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3 comments:
I thought at the beginning of the season that the Jays were on their way, but still about a year removed from making a serious run for the postseason. They've been pretty good overall, I think, especially with Halladay gone since the ASB, but I think my earlier assessment was right. I'd keep an eye on them next year for sure, though.
Would be nice if they didn't roll over and die for the Yankees, though. The Jays have a winning record against every AL East team except the Yankees. Terrible job, Jays.
Cleveland is a more solid package. They have decent pitching and some guys who can rake. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them in the playoffs over the Yankees or A's. They've been a pleasant surprise.
I'm thinking that JP Riccardi, along with Paul DePodesta are vastly overrated. These guys were Beane disciples, and they have nothing to show for it. Riccardi has to realize that he is not winning pennants with Shea Hillenbrand, Frank Cattalanato, and Corie Koskie. Likewise, the Dodgers traded away Paul LoDuca, signed Derek Lowe and JD Drew for ridiculous amounts.... Come on.
Like Y.D., as he says in his bio here, I'm a Mets fan, but it takes a back seat to my hatred of the Yankees. Anyway, as a Mets fan, thanks for reminding us all about the fiasco that was their acquisition of "Future Hall-of-Famer" (there's a term that's way overused) Roberto Alomar. I'm just hoping that Carlos Beltran, who had a knock-out audition for his free agency with his late-season and post-season performance last year, doesn't wind up as a more costly version of that mistake.
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