7th Inning stretch

This is the first installment of a new weekly feature here at Eh Team Sports. A week-in-review for the Toronto Blue Jays, in a style similar to Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts. Look for this feature on either Sunday nights or Monday mornings, although usually it will be up on Sunday night. I start work full-time in two weeks and won’t have the luxury of waking up at 11 am on Mondays and posting by noon. So here we go.

1. Much has been made of attendance at the SkyDome (I’m fully exploiting the fact that this is not a professional news service so I am not obligated to call it the Rogers Centre). Opening Night drew a huge sellout crowd, but then it dropped off dramatically, including the lowest recorded attendance in the history of the park on Tuesday night. There was an article in a Chicago paper suggesting baseball is dead in Toronto and the team needs to be moved. I could not disagree more. People are not willing to pay big bucks to go sit inside a concrete stadium in the beginning of April to watch a mediocre baseball team when the Stanley Cup playoffs are on. As Canadians, we complain about hockey teams in the Sun Belt and their poor attendance. I’m sure Americans feel the same about us as baseball fans. But rest assured, when the team gets competitive again, the fans will return. Even this year, once the weather warms up and the lid gets rolled back on a consistent basis, you’ll see an average of 20,000.

Lyle begging for fans' forgiveness? Or perhaps something else ...

2. It is beyond me why Lyle Overbay is still in the lineup everyday right now. On Sunday he went 0-for-3 with another strikeout, dropping his average to a terrible .080. He just looks completely lost at the plate right now. Travis Snider is also struggling, hitting .108, but at least he’s making solid outs. He drilled one to first right at Kendry Morales on Sunday. Overbay is either striking out or flailing awkwardly and popping out. I understand Cito’s position that you need to be in the lineup to break out of a slump, but if that’s the case, at least move him down in the order. Granted there aren’t many better options to hit fifth, but the team can’t afford to have Overbay failing in key RBI situations like Friday night in the 8th inning.

3. On the note of Overbay, it was great to see his teammates support him on Sunday. At a season ticket holders BBQ after the game, five Jays came out sporting different jerseys of Lyle’s to show they’ve got his back. While it’s easy for fans and media to rip on him, his teammates need to show that they’re a united front. Class act from an organization that is gaining a reputation for doing things the right way under their new general manager.

4. Ricky Romero is showing everybody why the Jays picked him ahead of Troy Tulowitski, 6th overall back in 2005. Through three outings this year he’s 1-1 with a 1.57 ERA. He flirted with a no-hitter on Tuesday night against the White Sox, and yesterday he threw 8 innings allowing only one run against a tough Angels lineup. A losing effort in a gem like that will remind Blue Jays fans of Roy Halladay’s fortunes over the last couple of seasons. With that in mind, why on earth is he third in the rotation behind Brain Tallet? Romero is the perfect left-handed compliment to go after ace Shaun Marcum. Hopefully Cito will wise up soon and get those two young studs throwing on back-to-back days.

5. Speaking of Tallet, fans have to hope his leash is getting shorter by the start. He hasn’t looked sharp in any of his three outings this year, including his debut in Texas. He did make it to 7.1 innings in that star, but it was a battle. The last two starts have been rough. I was at the game with Brock Smith on Saturday afternoon and he got lit up for three runs in the first two innings on massive home runs. That sucked the energy out of the sparse crowd, which the Jays can little afford this year.  Brett Cecil is first in line for a promotion, and he’s looked sharp in AAA Las Vegas so far this season. He’s 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts with the 51′s.

6. As mentioned, we were at the game on Saturday afternoon. We bought tickets off a scalper for the 500 level, and they were good seats, between home and third base. After the third inning, we tried to move into the 100 level down the first base line. We must have looked really out of place because about 10 seconds after we sat down (in a section that was almost completely empty I might add), an usher approached us and asked us for our tickets. We didn’t put up much of a fight and left the section right away, walking around the stadium and settling for seats in the 100 level in left field. I understand that there’s a difference in the price people pay for tickets, and they pay more to sit closer. But once the game is already a third over, and there are clearly a multitude of seats available down there, what is the harm in letting fans move up? For a team that can’t afford to lose any spectators this year, I would think that they’d allow the fans to enjoy the game from wherever they want. With under 15,000 people in attendance, everyone can probably fit in the 100 level. Let the fans grab better seats if they so desire. … One final note on the at-game experience. Saturdays are Jr. Jays days, and there’s a long-standing tradition of having a young fan introduce the Jays batters for an inning. Saturday had youngster Hanna calling the team up to the plate in the third inning. She must have been about 6 or 7, and was absolutely adorable. She did a fantastic job and the Jays put together their only rally of the game in that frame. Great job Hanna!

7. Finally, I want to address the batting order. As I mentioned, I don’t think Overbay is going to be removed any time soon, but he should be moved down the lineup. Fred Lewis, who was acquired from the Giants on Thursday, possesses great speed, which is something the Jays need at the top of the order. Jose Bautista became the leadoff man by default, but Lewis is the kind of player the team has been looking for. Unfortunately, he doesn’t look like he’s going to get to play everyday, especially once Edwin Encarnacion comes back to the lineup. I don’t think EE (or E5, as some are starting to call him), is an everyday third baseman in the American league. He’s got decent pop in his bat, but he’s a liability defensively. If he can develop his game and became a more well-rounded player, insert him into the lineup. But until then, I’d like to see the Jays bat like this:

1. Lewis LF
2. Gonzalez SS
3. Hill 2B
4. Wells CF
5. Lind DH
6. Bautista 3B
7. Overbay 1B
8. Buck C
9. Snider RF

I know some people won’t be crazy about having Lind hit so low, but having Gonzo-Hill-Wells in front of him will give him plenty of RBI opportunities. Ideally he’d be hitting 4th and Wells 5th to have more alternation of lefties and righties, but Adam just really doesn’t like hitting clean-up, so Cito isn’t going to make him. Having Bautista 6th gives him a chance to be a run producer instead of a table-setter. Overbay gets out of high-pressure situations until he can prove he can handle it, and Snider gets to bat at the bottom of the order until he hits his stride, and then he’ll be allowed to move up.

Those are my thoughts about the Blue Jays this week. Feel free to argue mine, and add your own.

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