Game #12 - New York Yankees (5-6) vs Toronto Blue Jays (5-6) - Wednesday April 14 @ 1:07pm EST

 New York Yankees (SP Corey Kluber - 0-1)

Yankee Scumbag Roughned Odor

vs.

Toronto Blue Jays (SP Ross Stripling - 0-1)

Jim Clancy

There's something we don't talk about enough here at JITH - a topic near and dear to my heart and one that I strongly feel deserves some extra attention today.  Roughned Odor is, as a ballplayer, absolute garbage.  Trash!  Given his comportment on the field, we can all also draw our own conclusions as to his character or lack thereof!

If Odor were in the Harry Potter world, Lord Voldemort would fatally attack him, disgusted at his lack of courage and production.

Lord Voldemort performs the Avada Kedavra curse on Roughned Odor

It is my contention that Odor will play himself out of the lineup.  I don't know who the Yankees have to replace him (and I assume it must be "nobody" for them to have picked him up in the first place) but that unnamed 2nd baseman will kick Odor out for good in the near term!

Now, for some Jays I've loved over the years:

George Bell

Dave Stieb

Fred McGriff

To be continued.......

Scuttlebutt

The Jays, coming off a solid outing against the hated Yankees, look to take the series victory in an early game (10:07am Pacific!).  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continues to own a hot bat to start the season and is taking his share of walks, all while providing steady defense at 1st base.  He is doing the splits a lot and I'm not sure if that's good or indicates that his positioning or footwork could be improved.  He seems to be very flexible (I would pass on, triggering a transfer of my baseball cards to Smasher/Catcher from my estate, if I tried to do the splits).

Meanwhile, Bo Bichette is having a decent campaign but has struggled a bit at times - nothing to worry about and he is producing at a satisfactory rate.  I'm hoping to see more from Biggio and Gurriel Jr - it's time for them to heat up!

In sobering news, Teoscar Hernandez has tested positive for Covid-19 and is out for 10 days minimum.  It sounds as though he has symptoms but is doing fine - we hope for a speedy recovery and also hope that it did not spread to any of his teammates.

Let's Play Ball - Go Jays Go!

Game #10 - New York Yankees (4-5) at Toronto Blue Jays (4-5) - Monday April 12 @ 7:07pm EST

 New York Yankees (SP Gerrit Cole)

vs. Toronto Blue Jays (SP Robbie Ray)

Good afternoon baseball fans and welcome to Harlans Point Stadium, where the Toronto Blue Jays begin their home schedule after a long layoff due to the pandemic of 1918.  The visiting Yankees, having only changed their name a few years back (they are the formerly hated Highlanders) will be trying to avenge the series win the Jays took in the first week of the season.

Excitement abounds to see the wonders in store at newly renovated Harlans Point Stadium - I have obtained an unreleased photo showing some of the new features:

Moving on to some history, let's take a look back at the first great Highlanders star, Hal Chase.  Chase was almost unanimously  regarded as one of the greatest 1st basemen of his generation and even of all time.  In true Yankee fashion, though, he was a degenerate scumbag, cheater, and a gambler.  He was widely known to gamble on his own games and was believed to have regularly thrown games due to his ongoing affliction.  I imagine being one of the greatest fielding 1st basemen of all time and then throwing games on purpose makes it sort of obvious.  Perhaps this wasn't the smartest approach but I suppose there was no real way to stop his nefarious behaviour in the early part of the century.

Hal Chase - First in a long line of Yankee Scumbags!

It wasn't known at the time but Chase couldn't help himself, as he was the first in a long, long line of degenerate, Yankee scum!

Scuttlebutt

The Jays started the year with a series victory over the Yankees, proving that they would be a playoff team.  They then scuffled a bit, proving that they would not make the cut.  However, the last game against the Angels, where the Jays scored 15, proved that they will not only break offensive records but will be a modern day Murderers Row, despite missing several key pieces.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has started the year on fire, hitting .379 with a .538 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.159.  He's taking walks, scorching the ball (often up the middle or to right) and has shown vastly improved defensive play at first base.  He is also noticeably quicker on the base paths, having reportedly dropped 40 pounds over the winter.  He's playing at the level we all thought he would and if he can keep up anything close to it he'll become the superstar we thought he would be.

Robbie Ray has been cleared to play and will reportedly make his season debut Monday.  He showed increased velocity this spring and was highly effective. His signing took a lot of heat in these parts but if he can be a serviceable starter all will be forgiven.  The great news that relates to his return is that failed starter Tanner Roarke will move to the bullpen, where he can hopefully either improve or else provide mop-up duty in games that are already a lost cause (Dabbles would say all of them are!)

If Pearson can get healthy and come back to have a solid year then the rotation will be shaping up nicely and this squad could content for the postseason.

Rougned Odor was inexplicably claimed by the Yankees and immediately went on to drive home the winning run in extra innings.  I firmly believe that this will be the pinnacle of his Yankees career and the club will quickly tire of his poor attitude and poor play!

Let's Play Ball!

#149 - New York Yankees (97-52) at Toronto Blue Jays (58-90)

Saturday, September 14, 2019 | 3:07 pm

Rogers Centre | Toronto, Ontario

James Paxton (13-6, 3.96, 1.31) vs. Jacob Waguespack (4-4, 4.55, 1.33)

PREAMBLE:

After yesterday's marathon extra-innings thriller that had a little bit of everything from a Bo Bichette walk-off to a devastating injury to Tim Mayza, the Blue Jays look to take advantage of an overworked Yankees pitching staff (doubleheader on Thursday, extra innings on Friday, losing Happ to injury) and aim for a series win in this afternoon's second game.

Jacob Waguespack takes the ball for the Jays as he looks to bounce back from a rough outing against the Rays his last time out.  James Paxton is his counterpart on the mound for the Yankees; even with his no-hitter last year, Paxton is 3-3, 5.44 in eight starts against the Blue Jays for his career.

#148 - New York Yankees (97-51) at Toronto Blue Jays (57-90)

Friday, September 13, 2019 | 7:07 pm

Rogers Centre | Toronto, Ontario

Masahiro Tanaka (10-8, 4.53, 1.25) vs. Anthony Kay (0-0, 3.18, 1.24)

PREAMBLE:

After doing Yankee fans a big favour in defeating the Red Sox 2 out of 3 in their last series, the Blue Jays get set for their regularly-scheduled beatdown by the Yankees as the mighty New Yorkers roll into town for a three-game series.

Anthony Kay makes his Rogers Centre debut for the Blue Jays as he makes his second major-league appearance.  No pressure, kid... you're only going up against a noted Jays-slayer in Masahiro Tanaka, who is 13-5, 2.69 in 20 career starts against the Jays.