Results tagged ‘ Travis Snider ’
‘Graphing the Jays’ power
During last night’s 11th inning win over the Tigers, the Jays got home runs from Jose Bautista (who else?) and Adam Lind. Right now, there are eight guys on the team who’ve hit at least 10 home runs this season, and two guys stuck at eight. This team has a real shot at getting 10 guys with double digits in home runs, which is amazing.
Here’s how I’ve done in getting autographs of these guys:
1. Jose Bautista (42): I sent to him during Spring Training, and haven’t received anything back yet. Here’s hoping!
2. Vernon Wells (23): Doesn’t sign TTM, as I found out back in the summer of 2006 when I first started this hobby. But I have a handful of certified auto’d cards of him.
3. Aaron Hill (19): I have four cards signed TTM from him. Two back in 2006 and two in 2008. I’ve got another couple out to him now, and hope to get them back this fall.
4. Adam Lind (18): Doesn’t sign TTM, but before he made it to the Bigs, I loaded up with a dozen or so of his certified autograph cards.
5. Alex Gonzalez (17): No longer with the team. I don’t have anything of his.
6. Lyle Overbay (16): After a horrendous start to the season, Overbay has been one of the club’s best hitters. I’ve got him three times over the years — once on a ball, once on a Topps card and this year on an 08 Ginter card.
7. John Buck (14): I don’t have anything of his.
8. Edwin Encarnacion (13): In addition to being unable to hit, he’s also unable to sign. He hasn’t responded to two TTM requests in the last two years.
9. Fred Lewis (8): I finally found a card of his (a rookie card, when he was with SF) and sent it off a couple weeks ago. He’s shown to be a good signer to other collectors, so I hope I get it back. He’s become one of my favourite Jays this season, and also one of the most exciting to watch.
10. Travis Snider (8): Snider goes through stages in which he signs, then goes a stretch without signing. I have one of his certified autos, but sent to him TTM a few weeks back on a Topps rookie card.
The offence returns
What another great pitching performance by Dana Eveland, who moves to 2-0 on the season. The Blue Jays were powered by three runs in the third and three again in the fourth to beat Chicago 7-3 and win the series. Eveland gave up just three hits and two earned runs over six innings of work.
It was nice to see Travis Snider hit his first home run of the season, and let’s hope he’s out of his early slump. You had to love the way he tossed his bat after launching that blast; it’s nice to see someone still appear to have some confidence after struggling early. It’s also encouraging to see Alex Gonzalez continue to swing a hot bat. He banged four hits and drove in three.
Yesterday, I wrote about my concerns about the bottom five batters in the order. They didn’t exactly prove me wrong, either. The bottom five had four combined hits in 18 plate appearances. Much of that futility was led by the still-struggling Lyle Overbay, who went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. And his lone non-strikeout was a groundball that should’ve resulted in a double play, if not for a hard slide by Vernon Wells. Overbay is a veteran and will get through this, but Cito Gaston sure has to be nervous. Overbay’s now hitting .077: Three hits and 11 Ks.
Buck Watch: Buck’s call as Adam Lind hits a ball on a one hop over the outfield fence, resulting in a ground rule double: “A ground rule double by Aaron Hill!” Hill, of course, hasn’t played in more than week due to injury and is currently on the 15-day DL.
Romero’s no-no bid fails; Jays roll 4-2
How much do Jays fans dislike Alex Rios now?
He didn’t come through in the clutch much when wearing the Toronto colours, but Rios was huge for the White Sox last night, breaking up a Ricky Romero no-hitter in the eighth inning. It was the only hit given up the Romero, and by any Jays pitcher, for that matter. Romero was in double digits in strikeouts by that fateful eighth inning, but started it on shaky ground by hitting the first batter he faced, A.J. Pierzynski. With Pierzynski on first, Rios stepped into the box and blasted a pitch for a home run. The no-hitter was done. Either way, it was a huge confidence boost for Romero, who could be the gem of this rotation. He received a nice ovation from the 12,000 fans in attendance before Kevin Gregg closed out the game in the ninth inning.
The Good:
Ricky Romero: Ohhh so close. But 12 strikeouts, a career high, in eight innings of work is a solid day on the bump.
Kevin Gregg: He’s saved three of Toronto’s six wins thusfar. Any bets he’ll be the true closer before long?
Edwin Encarnacion: Did what he’s supposed to do. We’ve already seen we’re not going to get Gold Glove defence from him at third, but with two hits, two RBI and a stolen base, it was a good day for that guy whose name Buck Martinez can’t pronounce.
The Bad:
Travis Snider: How much longer is he going to stay in the lineup? Batting just .107 now, he’s got three times as many strikeouts (nine) as hits (three). I know you have to give a young hitter like Snider patience and the freedom to make mistakes, but if things don’t change in the next week, I think he’s due for a short trip to Vegas.
Buck Watch: Buck didn’t get much airtime in my house last night. I listened to the first three innings on the radio on the way home (which included an awesome interview with Alex Anthopoulos) and watched the majority of the rest of the game on mute.
Watchability: This one was a nail-biter, like all no-hit bids are. Any time a Toronto pitcher is this close to a career accomplishment, you can’t turn away. (Even if you’re watching the game with no volume.)
Game 1 notes
Final score:
Rangers 5, Blue Jays 4
This was a game of ups and downs, just as the Blue Jays season will likely be. But given the loss, were there more downs in this one? Not really. The late innings were frustrating, but Toronto did a lot of things well and despite moving to 17-17 all-time on Opening Day, this was a good showing.
The good:
Shaun Marcum: With a no-no into the seventh, Marcum left little doubt he’s no longer feeling the affects of his Tommy John surgery. He looked in control with six strikeouts and
Vernon Wells: V-Dub was clutch with a first-inning two-run home run with two outs. In the eighth, he added a clutch RBI to restore Toronto’s lead after Texas had made it 3-3.
Adam Lind: 3-for-3 with a home run. About as good an Opening Day as you can ask for.
The bad:
Travis Snider: 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Yikes.
John Buck: 0-for-4, but the real problem was his leaving four runners on base.
Jason Frasor: He gets the loss after his blown save, but I thought his pitch selection was good. He battled well in the ninth and will hopefully be better next outing.
Numbers Game: Frasor’s ERA on the day ends up the same as his jersey number: 54, ugh.
Buck Watch: What did anyone think of the debut of Buck Martinez? I didn’t understand Sportsnet’s decision to “reassign” Jamie Campbell, as I always thought Campbell made for a good call and had a natural play-by-play voice. Martinez, on the other hand, has a grating voice that gets under my skin. Sure, he’s got great knowledge of the game, but his mispronounciation (“Jason Frazier?”) and head-scratching comments (“Marcum had a Tommy John injury?”) make me wonder if it’ll be a long season. I don’t know what the over/under on me muting my TV and tuning into the Jays’ radio broadcast is, but it might be before long.
Watchability: This game was exciting, with a potential no-hitter going into the seventh inning and late-game heroics. I give this four baseballs out of five.
Cards, volume II
It’s Thursday again, which means it’s time for another update of what Jays cards I’ve picked up in the last week. This week was another good one for discount cards, and here’s what’s either in my possession or on the way.
Let’s start with Brandon MaGee. He’s a prospect, but because he’s a prospect, I can get his cards for a low price. I’m not sure what kind of Major Leaguer he’ll turn out to be, but a Jays autograph card for a couple bucks is always worth grabbing.
Next up we have one of the top young hitters in the MLB — Adam Lind. Luckily for me, I’ve been collecting Lind for a few years, and already have about 10 of his autograph cards. They’re climbing in price but I still managed to pick up this Topps Moments & Milestones auto. That’s the thing about prospecting; sometimes it turns out, and other times, it doesn’t. That’s the fun of the hobby, though.
Next, we’ve got a Vernon Wells autograph, which is only my second auto card of V-Dub. It’s back from the 2000 season, and even though he’s struggling right now, he’ll turn it around and have a great season.
Last, but not least, is an awesome card on its way to me. I can’t wait to get this one in my collection. It’s a Bowman Sterling dual auto of Alex Rios and Travis Snider. It’s my first autograph card of Snider, and because he’s a very hot name in baseball today, his stuff’s going for a fair bit of money. This one was my most costly eBay acquisition this week, but I’m glad I picked it up.
malcolmmacmillan
Recent Comments