Tuesday, June 11, 2019

#66 - Toronto Blech Jays (23-42) at Baltimore oriLOLes (20-45)



Tuesday, June 11, 2019 | 7:05 pm
Oriole Park at Camden Yards | Baltimore, MD

Trent Thornton (1-4, 4.73, 1.36) vs. John Means (5-4, 2.67, 1.07)


PREAMBLE:

After a day off yesterday, the Blue Jays start a 16-game stretch with 12 of them on the road, facing the Orioles, Astros, Angels, Red Sox and Yankees.  Nothing builds character like taking almost-nightly thumpings.

Trent Thornton takes the ball for the Jays with John Means doing the same for the Orioles.  Both starters will be facing their opponents for the first time in their careers.


 NOTES:

So... how bad have the Jays been?  They've lost 14 of their past 17 and have a record of 9-28 since they were last at the .500 mark (14-14).  In their last 112 at-bats with RISP, they've hit .161, including a 1-for-16 mark while being swept by the Diamondbacks over the weekend.

Essentially, the Blue Jays have been looking like this since the calendar turned to May:

And now they get to pad the oriLOLes stats in the battle for the first overall pick!

Speaking of the draft, some news... the Jays have been busy signing their picks from last week's draft, 20 of them so far:

Here's what the second pick, Kendall Williams, thinks:


 BLUE JAYS HISTORY:

Since we've been talking about the draft... can you name the first player ever picked by the Blue Jays in the June amateur draft?

Not sure if anyone knows the answer, but ... if you do, major kudos.  I didn't know the name until now.

Who, you ask?

He's the subject of today's one-time Blue Jay of the Day, even if he never actually played a major league game for the Jays (or anyone else).... Tom Goffena!

Years as a Jays minor leaguer:  1977 - 1979
Stats as a Jays minor leaguer:  .238/.325/.255 with 0 HR, 51 RBI, 18 SB in 559 plate appearances (145 games)

  • Selected 25th overall in the 1977 June amateur draft
  • Shortstop/third baseman from Sidney, Ohio
  • Was elated to be picked by the Jays, figuring he'd have a quicker shot at making the majors than with most teams
  • $38,000 signing bonus
  • Assigned to short-season Class-A Utica
  • Was once a road roommate with Jesse Barfield
  • Promoted to Class-A Dunedin in 1978, but injured his back soon after moving up
  • Returned to Dunedin in 1979 where he played alongside Lloyd Moseby and some guy named Stieb
  • Never fully recovered from his back injury and had lost significant speed by this point in time
  • Eventually asked for an unconditional release in 1980 and returned to his hometown to become a golf pro for a short time and then joined the highway department for a 30-year stint
  • Visited the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 and donated his first contract and a game-used bat to the Hall's collection

Goffena at the Canadian Baseball HOF in 2008

LINEUPS:


This is your "may the worst team win" game threat.  The two teams suck big time, so here's a doggie pic to entertain you in the meantime:

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