July 19, 2007

HESITANT JAYS SHRIVEL UNDER THE LIGHTS OF BIG DADDY’S DEN

       The turning point in perhaps the season’s key series for the Blue Jays came in the first inning at Yankee Stadium when Alex Rodriguez came to the plate with two men on and one out.  Rodriguez, expecting retribution for the childish and classless act he perpetrated in the final game of a series in Toronto in June, was off balance the entire at-bat as he waited for the expected ball in the ribs.  That pitch never came however, and although Rodriguez hit into a double play he, and his Yankee teammates, realized that a timid Blue Jay club would, surprisingly, not seek vengeance. The next time up Rodriguez hammered a two run homer that set the tempo for a series that saw the Jays finally wilt away from contention.

       By not attacking Rodriguez to make him, and the Yankees, aware that his previous behaviour would not be tolerated the Jays, ironically, played the part of consensual mistress to the Yankees dominant male.  The series then deteriorated for the Jays into a frustrating exhibition of timidity as the entire club faltered under the pressure of important games and the noise and the glare of Yankee Stadium.   It took them until the seventh inning of the fourth game to assert any character, and though that three run rally saved them from a disastrous series sweep it merely prolonged the inevitable agony of watching a season, already gone awry, swirl down the drain.

       So, did the Jays obvious retreat from punishing Rodriguez turn the tide of an important series?  Absolutely.  The Yankees, A-Rod, major league baseball, and the fans of both teams expected some form of retribution.  Even if baseball ordered the umpiring crew to warn both teams, and especially the Jays, that any attempt would result in expulsion and perhaps suspension, the Jays owed it to themselves, to the organization and to the fans of the team to make a point.  They needed to show the Yankees, and everyone else around the league, that they would not be pushed around.   

      In the 2000 World Series Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens supposedly threw a broken bat at Mets catcher Mike Piazza after the bat broke during a Piazza at bat in the first inning of game two.  The Mets vowed revenge, but they did not get an opportunity to face Clemens again until midway through the following season.  The build-up was tremendous.  Everyone knew that the Mets were going to seek retribution against Clemens, and the first time Roger stepped into the batter’s box Mets pitcher Shawn Estes took dead aim. Even though Estes missed the mark--his pitch actually went behind Clemens--the point had been made.   It is part of baseball that if an opponent throws at one of your players a pitcher has to protect his teammates and show that that behaviour will not be accepted, and to be wary that further incidents could result in further actions. 

       When the Jays did not throw at Rodriguez they in fact failed to protect their players.  It may be that the player affected most by Rodriguez’ childish catcall, spare part Howie Clark, isn’t important enough to the team to risk the expulsion of a pitcher, but their failure to protect a teammate will no doubt resonate across the baseball landscape.  Teams will not fear taking advantage of the Jays in any regard since there will likely be no retaliation.  The Jays lost a ton of respect from not only the other teams, but also from their own players and their fans. 

       For his part Rodriguez saw that the Jays were not going to come after him so he decided to go after them.  In the first three games of the series the Yankee third baseman proved to be a key element in all three wins as he drove in five runs and scored the game winner in extra innings of game two.    

      That second game was critical to the series, and to the Jays season.  Clinging to a one run lead, largely because of Toronto’s continuing inability to drive in runners, closer Jeremy Accardo entered the game to begin the ninth inning. It became fairly obvious that as soon as leadoff hitter Miguel Cairo reached base, and with the Yankee crowd noise reaching a zenith, Accardo was becoming unsettled.  Instead of going out to calm down his young pitcher manager John Gibbons chose to remain in the dugout with the hope that Accardo would settle down on his own.  A couple of batters later, with runners on first and third, Accardo lost his composure completely and committed a balk.  Any chance of victory ended when Melky Cabrera sauntered across the plate.

            The Jays organization still believes, at least publicly, that injuries are at the root of this disappointing season.   While there is some truth in the fact that there is a negative effect on a club when they cannot put its opening day line-up on the field until the end of June the larger truth lies in the fact that this club, built to hit, has major troubles hitting in pressure situations.  With a line-up that boasts several established major league hitters the Jays have a .220 team batting average and are 28^th out of 30 teams in major league baseball in scoring with two outs and runners in scoring position.   Moreover, the Jays are 21^st in team batting average with only three teams lower in the American League.   In is an indictment against this club that second baseman Aaron Hill, a solid and developing hitter, is second on the team in RBI’s and has more runs driven in than any of the power guys that make up the supposed meat of the order. 

      The Jays don’t hit in the clutch because of one main reason—they are nervous when faced with these situations.  Instead of believing that it is the pitcher who is in trouble the Jay hitters feel the pressure as they approach the plate and proceed to watch hittable pitches pass and then swing at tougher tosses.  Typically teams have a tendency to follow a specific player—one hot hitter can relax everyone in the entire line-up.  The problem with the Jays is that their best hitter—Vernon Wells—is having probably his worst season since establishing himself as a world-class player.  The Jays, for their part, seemed to recognize that Wells, hitting .121 in those crucial situations, was struggling and had the forethought to move him up to the leadoff position.  It is here that Wells, without the pressure of having to be the main RBI guy, seemed to relax and began to find his comfort level again.  But instead of leaving him there—the club went 10-6 with Wells hitting at the top—the club was anxious to put him back in the third hole where he has failed miserably all season.  It would behoove them to simply put him back at leadoff and leave him there for the foreseeable future. 

       Wells’ anxiousness when presented with a key situation has, like a virus, infected each of his teammates.  The Yankee series was simply the worst instance of this—the club went three for thirty-two hitting with runners in scoring position in the first three games.  Accardo’s nervousness in the ninth inning was understandable—Yankee Stadium is a difficult place for an opposing player—and as such the coaching staff should have been there to support him before he completely fell off the beam.  The Jays should have made a statement to the Yankees and to baseball that they will not be made to look like fools.  Unfortunately the Jays looked like fools more than once in this series. 

      The entire team failed to respond to the situations that were presented to them.  Instead of being confident and aggressive they were passive and tepid, hesitant and uncertain.  And in the end they were defeated.

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