Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Out of the Blocks....
Sprinters know that
you must get out of the starting blocks quickly in order to win races. By no
means is the baseball season a sprint, with each team playing more than 160
games. But it never hurts to get off to a good start, and that is exactly what
the Toronto
They began a brief
visit to Detroit for three games last night,
then return home to play the St. Louis Wellington
A special tip of the
ball cap to Edwin Encarnacion. He has simply played the best baseball of his
life, so far this year. He registered 16 home runs in May. In 1956, Mickey
Mantle also homered 16 times in May. In May, 2001, Barry Bonds hit 17 homers.
In 1998, Mark McGwire had 16 dingers in the month of May. Understandably, the
totals for Bonds and McGwire are suspect, due to the whole “performance
enhancing drugs” scenario. Consequently, Edwin tied the record of one of the
greatest hitters in baseball.
Babe Ruth hit 17 home
runs in September, 1927, plus one game in October. That was the year he
surpassed the totals of Lou Gehrig, and went on to hit 60 home runs.
Encarnacion’s production moved him ahead of teammate Jose Bautista, who had 14
home runs in June, 2012.
As we witnessed last
weekend, Bautista can also play a little defence. A line shot was hit to him in
right field. Instantly, he decided to make a play. He realized that the batter,
Billy Butler of the Kansas City
Billy Butler is a big
lad, standing a little over six feet. But he tips the scales at almost 250
pounds, and usually is the designated hitter for the Royals. Consequently,
Bautista knew he had a shot at him, with the perfect hit. I do believe that his
play was not instinctive, but well thought out in advance. He made the kind of
play that will be etched in the minds of Blue Jay fans for a long time.
Bautista has also
contributed with his bat as well. For that matter, most of the Blue Jays have
done what it takes to provide the offence required to win games. Many of us do
not get a chance to attend a lot of games during the season. We might also have
other things on the go: jobs, Stanley
Mark Buehrle pitched
a gem last Sunday, giving up six hits in eight innings. He is a workhorse, and
his style is appreciated by his teammates. Ken Fidlin talked with Bautista
about Buehrle’s style: “It’s not a surprise that when he pitches, there are
plenty of defensive plays made. He keeps everybody engaged in the game because
he works quick. He gets everybody to relax, and that allows us to execute our
game plan.”
A quote from Billy
Butler: “He frustrates you. He feeds off your over-aggressiveness. And he’s got
a really good changeup. He’s always had that. Back door cutters, front door.
Pounding you with it. Throwing two-seamers, running them back. He’s
crafty.” It appears as if Buehrle has Butler
OK, Blue Jays. Let’s
play ball!
James Hurst
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:21 PM 
