If there is one thing that every ballplayer loves - more than cussing, or farting, or swinging at that same seductive pitch he just can't resist - the one thing every ballplayer loves is routine.
By its own nature, baseball is a game of routine. Three strikes. Three up, three down. Nine innings and home. Game after game.
When the routine is altered, that's when all hell can break loose. And that has been evident in the past couple of games for Toronto Maple Leafs pitchers. Making a starter out of the closer may have worked once, but not twice, as we saw in London on Friday night.
This afternoon at Christie Pits, bringing a starter in to close out a game had a similarly bad outcome. Sure, a good teammate will put himself in any situation to help. But ballplayers love their routines...
...Then again, one of the Maple Leafs' relievers started today's game against the Barrie Baycats and he held his own into the 5th inning, so what the hell do I know?
Anyway, as the sun fought an ongoing battle with the clouds high above the Pits this afternoon, the Maple Leafs battled the Barrie Baycats almost to a draw through eight innings, until they came undone at the end. The 8-3 final score is not indicative of how closely-fought the game was.
Jas Shergill was the starting pitcher for Toronto - their tenth different starter this season. (Have they shattered the IBL record for starters by now?) Shergill was "effectively wild" as they say, walking eight batters over 4 1/3 innings, but surrendering only 2 runs. Adam Garner was solid as always in middle relief, giving up just one run over 3 2/3 innings. Troy Marks, who has quickly established himself as the ace of the squad, didn't have it as a reliever today. He gave up 4 hits, 3 walks and 5 runs in the top of the 9th inning. The Leafs weren't able to respond, and Barrie won the day.
With every club assured of a playoff spot, and Toronto with a firm lock on fifth place, they can afford to experiment with starters and relievers. Today wasn't a disaster, more like a lesson learned. Then again, I'm full of pills and alcohol while doing this writeup, so what the hell do I know?
Recap:
Jas Shergill took to the mound for the Toronto Maple Leafs against Chris Kemlo and the Barrie Baycats, but only one starter would make it past the 1st inning.
Shergill allowed a leadoff single to Barrie rightfielder Ryan Spataro, but Spataro got caught leaning too far off first base and was tagged out. Shergill finished the inning with no damage.
Kemlo struck out centerfielder Glenn Jackson to start the bottom of the 1st, then came out of the game. He only faced one batter by design, to ensure that he qualifies for postseason. But I hold by my theory that he suddenly decided that baseball wasn't for him. Adam Hawes came in to pitch. He got the next two batters out and it was scoreless after one inning of play.
Shergill pitched scoreless innings in the 2nd and 3rd. In the bottom of the 3rd with one out, catcher Damon Topolie hit a single to shallow right. It was fielded quickly by Spataro, and Topolie made a headfirst slide to avoid the tag at first. The folks on the hillside loved it. Topolie advanced to second on a putout by second baseman Dan Marra, then scored on a double by Jackson to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead.
Barrie got the run back in the top of the 4th. Rightfielder Ryan Asis drew a walk, stole second, stole third, then scored when second baseman Jonathan Fernandez hit into a double play. 1-1 after four innings.
Shergill gave up a one-out double to former Maple Leaf Jordan Castaldo in the top of the 5th. Castaldo stole third, then Shergill hit third baseman Kevin Atkinson with a pitch. Adam Garner came in to relieve Shergill. A sac fly by shortstop Jason Coker brought Castaldo in to score and the run was charged to Shergill. 2-1 Barrie after the 5th inning.
Garner and Hawes pitched scoreless innings in the 6th and 7th. The Leafs made a stellar defensive play in the 7th: With Spataro on third base, DH Kyle DeGrace hit what looked like a sac fly to right field. However rightfielder Rob Gillis threw a bullet to home, where Topolie made the catch and hung on to the ball despite a collision with Spataro.
Atkinson hit a one-out triple off Garner in the 8th inning, and scored on a single by Asis that made it 3-1 Baycats.
Another former Maple Leaf, Brett Lawson, came on in the bottom of the 8th and held the Leafs scoreless.
Troy Marks relieved Garner to start the 9th, and got knocked around. With one out, he gave up two walks and a single to load the bases, then DeGrace drove in two runs with a single. The next man up was Castaldo, who hit a three-run bomb over the left field fence. Just like that, five runs were on the board and Barrie had an 8-1 lead.
Shortstop Branfy Arias hit a two run homer to left in the bottom of the 9th, but that was all the scoring that the Leafs could muster and Barrie won with an 8-3 final score.
The Maple Leafs are now 16-20 and they may in fact have clinched fifth place already. They are five games away from the team above them, and four games away from the team below them. Overall, they are 15 games behind the Brantford Red Sox. Half a game separates London, Barrie and Kitchener in the 2-3-4 spots, so the playoff picture is still completely up in the air.
The Leafs' next game is back at Christie Pits on July 31 against the Kitchener Panthers.
No comments:
Post a Comment