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| Home plate on the original site inside the Mall of America. |
Wednesday, May 2nd | 1:10 pm | Target Field | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Marcus Stroman (RHP, 0-3, 8.88 ERA) v. Fernando Romero (MLB debut)
PREAMBLE:
The Jays go for a series sweep in today's game as they try to put further distance between them and a potential competitor for a post-season berth. Also, can Marcus Stroman get off the schneid and be the Stroman we all know he should be? Will Kendrys (Speedy) Morales steal another base today after stealing his first base since 2009 in last night's game? Will we see May Morales this month and will JITHers follow through with a card of apology for previous comments on this site? Tune in to find out!
For the Twins, Fernando Romero is making his MLB debut. Why don't we give him a proper Blue Jay welcome with a sound beating, instead of making him look like Cy Young Jr.? Romero is the Twins' #2 prospect, 66th overall on MLB.com, so he's not as highly regarded as, let's say, the Jays' 2nd ranked guy, whateverhisname(Bo)is.
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| Fresh meat. Om nom nom. See the red splotches coming from his glove? That's the fresh, juicy meatballs he's going to be serving up today. |
HISTORICAL NOTE:
On December 16, 2002, the Twins released David Ortiz after a season where he hit .272/.339/.500 (466 PAs, 120 OPS+) with 20 HR 75 RBI. Yes, really, he was non-tendered and released after that type of a season. The Boston Red Sox scooped him up and Ortiz became an instant Red Sox legend after belting 31 HRs and driving in 101 runs in his first season there before going on to hit dramatic HRs in the post-season.
So... what the hell were the Twins thinking?? Yeah they did have an up-and-coming Justin Morneau ready to be called up from the minors to take over at first base, but you're telling me they would rather be cheap fucks to save $2M to use elsewhere than to spend it on a 26-year-old Ortiz coming off his best season to date?
More importantly, I blame the Twins for helping create a holy-shit-outta-control monster called Red Sox Nation, that hyper-level of Massholia who think they're superior to everyone else, because Ortiz was allowed to break out and hit clutch walk-offs, which of course led to their 2004 World Series championship (and subsequent titles in 2007 and 2013). These three titles may never have happened without Ortiz's key hits in critical moments.
Now? Massholia is full of smug, smarmy pricks who feel entitled to all good things in baseball, mainly because the Twins fucked up and allowed David Ortiz to get away for nothing. Hey, Twins? Fuck you. Yeah, fuck you. We're the ones who had to play them 19 times a season with Ortiz, not you guys.
Sorry, blood pressure returning to normal now.
OM NOM NOM TIDBITS:
From ErnieWhitt on Tina's game recap thread from last night:
"Teoscar Hernandez is the leader in MLB for Barrels / Plate Appearance, Barrels / Batted Ball Event, and Hard Hit %. Many know this already (but just in case) Barrels are those "whose comparable hit types (in terms of exit velocity and launch angle) have led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage since Statcast was implemented Major League wide in 2015" (statcast). Small sample, and regression qualifications acknowledged, if Teoscar Hernandez can maintain a K rate of somewhere close to 20% he is going to be an All Star and may go down as one of the great "garbage for gold" trades the Blue Jays have ever made. He crushes."
Morsel last night: 3 for 3 with 2 HRs, 2 walks (including an intentional one !!) and a stolen base (!!!!!!!!!). Easily his greatest game as a Blue Jay. Sustainable? We'll see, but enjoy it while you can.
LINEUPS:
Blue Jays
LF Granderson
RF Hernandez
1B Smoak
3B Solarte
CF Pillar
C Martin
DH Morales
2B Gurriel Jr.
SS Diaz
Twins
2B Dozier
1B Mauer
CF Kepler
3B Escobar
LF Rosario
RF Grossman
1B Morrison
SS Petit
C Castro
Let's finish the sweep, boys. Doooooooo it.
