Fundamentals

This won't take too much of your time.

Fuck.

I was looking at Facebook last night after the last out and saw lots of people posting kind messages about the Jays, the season, get 'em next year etc.  I didn't I post anything.  I couldn't quite get past my rage.

Fuck.

There were so many ways that the Jays could have lost that game that I would have tipped my hat said nice job.  I get it.  And don't get me wrong, I DO tip my cap to Kansas City.  They played great baseball.  Fundamental, proper, smart baseball. Even the stupid Greek.

Fuck.

So, when I cool down a little I'm going to talk about awards, rosters, off season moves etc...but right now.  This is all about how the Jays completely fucked up that game and who I blame.  You can call this sour grapes or being a suck.  Whatever.  The game, as quoted so eloquently in Bull Durham is simple.  "This is a very simple game.  You throw the ball. You catch the ball.  You hit the ball"

Still fucking livid.

The Blue Jays were 5-6 in the post season.  Five and fucking six!!!  You know the last time the Jays lost 6 out of 11 games?  July 8th - July 23rd.  Want to know who they played in the middle of that?  Kansas City.  Want to know what else happened in that stretch?  Osuna lost his 1st game.  Dickey got his only loss of the 2nd half.

Last night's game was not "Nice Try".  Not for me.

David Price.  Two home runs (solo) are hard to digest.  I get that.  But his Game Score for the game was 59.  What does that mean?  It was the 3rd best start of the series.  Estrada's game 5 and Volquez' game 1 were the only ones better.  I have no issues with Price.  Particularly after the way he reeled it in after giving up 2 homers after only 4 outs.

Josh Donaldson?  He may win the MVP.  But his is probably most responsible for that loss.

Inning one

Revere leads off with a double down the line.  Hits are fucking precious in post season.  NEVER assume you'll get them.  A lead off double is a gift from the baseball gods.  Do you know what it gives you?  It give you an opportunity to score a run without the benefit of hit.  Does life get any better than that?

Donaldson up.  He has one job.  Advance the runner.  A home run will do it, a single, double, a ground ball to the right side, a fly out to deep right or right center.  If you're not going to man up and be the team guy instead of the "ME" guy then you damn well better succeed.

Foul ball.  Foul ball.  Strike out swinging.

Thanks.

If he moves the runner there is zero pressure on Bautista to get a hit, he just needs a ball in play.  Not that Bautista bows from pressure, but its the tone it sets for the game.  Jose to his credit tried to go to right, but it wasn't his job to do that.  It was like he was trying to do Donaldson's failed job AND his own.

What should have happened:  Revere single, Donaldson fly out to right moves the runner to third, Bautista fly out scores the run 1-0 Jays.

Inning five

This one will haunt me.

Russell Martin walks to lead off.

Why is he still in the game?  Someone with speed, Cabrera or Pompey or Latroy fucking Hawkins needed to be in and take second.

Kevin Pillar follows with a walk.

Two on, nobody out.

Okay, you dodged the keeping Martin in bullet.  But refer back to inning #1, you have been blessed a second time in the same game with an opportunity to score a run without a hit.

And this time, we've got Goins up who can handle the bat.  A bunt will do it.  Strike looking, the bunt wasn't on.  You've got to be kidding me.  Then he bunts foul.  So.....was the bunt on with the first pitch and he didn't like it?  I don't think so, he didn't square to bunt.  Here's what I think happened.  With Martin and Pillar walking there was a reasonable chance that Ventura was starting to unravel, maybe he'd walk 3 in a row. Lets take one.

Good idea, but you have to square to bunt just in case its a strike.

Goins ultimately flied out to center. No runners advance.  Again.  Revere flied out to left.

Then Donaldson.

For fucks sakes.

The game is 2-1 for KC.  The only offence in the game, because of your failure to execute is Bautista's solo home run.  He lines out to 3rd on the 1st pitch of the at bat.  Joe Buck will tell you he hit it hard.  I don't really give a shit. He was out.  He didn't try to work anything.  I'm not saying Donaldson is a shitty player.  He just picked a bad time for a shitty game.

What should have happened:  Martin walks (replaced by Cabrera), Pillar walks, Goins sacrifices the runners up a base each, Revere's line out to right scores Cabrera.  Jays 3, Royals 2.  The Jays have now left 2 free runs on the table.

Inning nine

The score was 4-3 for Kansas City heading into the 9th.  After Bautista's home run the score SHOULD have been 5-4 for the Jays.  This isn't hoping people got hits.  This is scoring runs by playing little league fundamental baseball.  Something every major leaguer should know how to do in spades.  No sympathy for this shit.

The 9th was the worst.  Martin singles.  Martin replaced by Pompey (nice call).   Pompey steals 2nd.

Guess what?????

3rd time with a runner on 2nd and nobody out in the same game.  Surely to god they'll get it right this time, right?  Pillar will bunt, right?

Pillar, after a 7 pitch at bat walks.  On the 6th pitch, Pompey brazenly stole 3rd base!

So now we have runners at 1st and 3rd and nobody out.

Inexplicably, Navarro pinch hits for Goins.  I hate the call.  I would have played for the tie and got the bunt down toward 1st.  Or let him swing away, he's unlikely to hit into a double play. Fuck it.

Narvarro strikes out but Pillar steals second.  Still.  Only one out, a fly ball ties it!

Revere strikes out.  Again. A ground ball or fly ball would have scored the run.

Then Donaldson.  Donaldson who was zero for four.  Donaldson who had left 4 runners stranded already.  Donaldson who had seen all of 9 pitches in 4 at bats.  He comes up with the tying run at 3rd and the go ahead runner at 2nd.   Behind him is ALL of your offense.  You NEED to get to Bautista to the plate.

To his credit, he saw 4 pitches.  Almost half the total of his first four at bats.  0/5, 6 stranded runners.  I didn't hear the MVP chants.

What should have happened:  Martin singles, Pompey runs and steals 2nd, Pillar bunts him to 3rd, Goins scores him on a Sac fly, but or hit.  6-4 Jays.

Look....I don't honestly expect anybody to get  two out hits.  It is the hardest thing to do in baseball. What I do expect, not hope for, but fully expect is for teams to take advantage of their opportunities to score without a hit.

Before last night KC had 6 runs scored in the series on sacrifice flies.  That is scoring without benefit of a hit.

I'm still pissed.  That was a completely winnable game.  I'm not talking about "if someone came up big".  They left 3 runs on the table that should have scored with outs.  Robbie Alomar would have advanced runners in the 3 hold.  So would Molitor.  This team can mash with legendary teams.  They can defend well.  They can pitch well enough and better than most.

But fundamental baseball is absent and a championship will be too unless they figure that out.

Hopefully some of you will watch KC in the world series and you'll watch a little less as a fan of the Jays and little more as a fan of the game.  I do not like the Royals very much right now, but I do appreciate their ability to play fundamental baseball.

That was the difference.