The Jays Played A Game Against Team Canada Today: Tuesday, Match 7th
By Cam Lewis
7 years agoApparently Team Canada is, in fact, the true Team Canada! Since they beat (quite handily, I’ll add) the sort of Toronto Blue Jays spring squad in a World Baseball Classic tune-up today, they’ll represent Canada in the upcoming Major League Baseball season.
Not actually, but damn, did this rag-tag group of random Canadians ever give this rag-tag group of random Blue Jays a firm beating today. 7-1 at the hands of a team featuring a 42-year-old Eric Gagne, a completely broken Justin Morneau, and names pulled from a random name generator? It’s not like spring games really matter, or anything, but yikes!
Some thoughts!
- J.A. Happ got the start and had a bad time. He allowed three earned runs (a couple were inherited by T.J. House) over just one-and-one-thirds innings. He was apparently working on his breaking ball, rather than using his fastball, which is generally his most effective pitch, which is basically why his results were poor. Spring! Training!
- J.P. Howell pitched a full inning, his first showing of the spring (because apparently today was abbreviated names day) and also didn’t have a good time! Nobody on the broadcast said anything about Howell working on different pitches, or anything, but it was his first go of 2017, so I wouldn’t read into it. Anyways, he allowed a couple of runs on four hits and a walk in just one inning of work.
- Danny Barnes and Ryan Borucki, both pushing for the few depth spots in the Jays bullpen behind those who’ve already been established, had excellent outings. Barnes pitched a spotless inning with a couple of strikeouts, and Borucki tossed two frames, scattering a couple hits and a walk with two Ks. Both haven’t allowed a run in spring, which is a good thing! (Because when players are playing well, it means something, but when they aren’t, it’s only spring!
- Also, random: But what the fuck jerseys were Team Canada wearing? Grey? What? Why?
- Conner Greene was hitting 100 on the radar gun, which got the fans giddy. He had a solid inning, allowing one run on one hit and one walk.
- The Jays only managed TWO HITS off of Team Canada’s pitching (LOL), but they did muster seven walks!
- Matt Albers, former Cy Young winner who hasn’t picked up a baseball in like five years (that isn’t true, but ya know) Eric Gagne, former Jays draft pick Ryan Kellogg, and a bunch of other guys who apparently play for professional indy league teams and not beer league slow pitch teams completely shut down a Jays offence which featured real MLB players like Kevin Pillar, Kendrys Morales, Justin Smoak, Troy Tulowitzki, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Melvin Upton. The only run the Jays scored came on sac fly by Anthony Alford in the seventh inning. Yikes!
- But Dalton Pompey, though! Let me tell you! Despite the fact the limp Jays had a rough time today, Pompey gave us a reason to feel good, smacking a couple of hits and picking up a walk in four at bats, while also making a great grab in centre field. Free him, goddamit! Also, John Stilson, a Blue Jays farmhand, pitched a clean ninth inning for Team Canada! So there’s that!
- That tweet below with Pompey’s nice catch should be centred, but it isn’t, and WordPress won’t let me centre it! Ahh!!!
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