Wednesday, May 13th Pettitte vs. Richmond

(view from my hotel room)
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Before I post pictures from last Wednesdays game, I think it is important to mention today's game from the Rogers Centre. While Richmond struggled last week against the Yankees, is appears from the box sore that he showed dominance against the Chicago White Sox. He pitched 7 scoreless inning, giving up only 5 hits and striking out seven. While he didn't receive a win due to Carlson blowing the save, it still was a good outing from Richmond and a nice bounce back from his previous one.

Can I assume fellow Canadians that watched the game that his curveball was working quite well? The analysis I made from the outing against the Yankees was that he just didn't really have that curveball working very much and it really hurt him.
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Anyhow, here are some pictures and also some events that happened during the game I was at in Toronto on Wednesday.

• The first inning was trivial for both starters. Andy Pettitte labored and Richmond struggled a little after striking out the first two batters.

• Richmond struggled in the second and was taken out after only 1 and 2/3 inning. I was disappointed that he wasn't able to go deep as I was looking forward to seeing the stuff that he had. He lacked a good curveball from what I could while in the stands.

Batting practice was great. Andrew was screaming at the players and they all seem to know him by name, especially Damon and AJ Burnett. (Below: Reporters were interviewing A.J. before batting practice began . The perks of being able to see the field from my hotel)

• Alex Rios is starting to heat up. I told you to give him time to heat up. Plus, its not as if he was hitting nearly as bad as Mark Teixiera was (and even he is heating up as of late).
• The guys dressed up behind home plate as umpires were hilarious. I mentioned them in this previous post, and I was surprised to see them doing their thing at another game. I guess if you are going to pay 210 dollars for those seats, you might as well make yourself know (if you sit 2 rows back, the price is over 100 dollars cheaper).
• Another thing to note: At around 6pm during batting practice, this annoying high-pitched alarm went off. Apparently some type of alarm went off in the hotel. This announce of beeping and some automated lady screeching lasted for a majority of batting practice. It was comical and annoying to say the least. If you watched the batting practice show on the YES Network you can hear the insanity of it.
• The dome was closed for a second straight night which I heard was due to it being broken. Luckily on Thursday, I woke up to see the sun from my hotel room as the dome was wide open!

Tuesday, May 12th: Burnett vs. Halladay

I know this is a few days too late, but I didn't have a computer on me at the time and its been crazy lately. Anyhow, here are some notes and pictures from Tuesday's game in Toronto.

Here are some pictures that were taken before the game during batting practice.

• First of all, a huge crowd was on hand for this game. It was probably one of the largest crowds that the Jays have had since opening day. There were 6 sections upon in the tiers up until the 3rd inning and after that point they were packed and pretty much sold out.
• The fans in Toronto were pretty brutal. I heard of people throwing stuff from the bullpen and throwing bottles and things at each other in the stands. That is what the hate for AJ will do and when people start drinking alcohol.
• Above is a picture of Girardi as he is walking out to the mound to take AJ out. He was serenaded with loud cheers (i mean very loud boos).
• Aaron Hill and Adam Linbd are off to an amazing start. Rios has been getting hot and Vernon is doing pretty decent also.
• Johnny Damon and Vernon Wells before the game during batting practice.
• The crowd was insane. They were after AJ Burnett on every pitch (AJ Sucks) and A-Rod too (chanting A-Roid and steroids).
• Overall, it was a great game, despite the Yankees losing. I love Roy Halladay and he was absolutely dominating. It seems Johnny was one of the few who can actually hit Roy and everyone else was basically left looking clueless.
• Seats were amazing; 4 rows behind the Yankee dugout. Never sat in these seats before and so close. Was fun to see the guys come back into the dugout after striking out and whatnot. The fans were getting on them good.
• Pictures of Wednesday and Thursday's games will go up soon! Along with some cool shots from BP up in my hotel room!
  

Jays

Roy Halladay is going for his 8th win today against the Chicago White Sox

Scouting Report:
White Sox: For the fourth time in seven trips to the mound, Floyd failed to post a coveted quality start. Monday's start against the Indians was actually well below the quality cut-off, as the right-hander gave up eight runs on 11 hits over five-plus innings, including two batters faced in the sixth. Floyd has a 0-2 record with a 9.74 ERA in his past four starts and has allowed more double-digit-hit games this season (two) then he did in all of 2008. Floyd already has a 0-1 record with a 10.38 ERA against the Blue Jays this year and stands at 0-2 lifetime against the Blue Jays. But Floyd has never worked at Rogers Centre.

Blue Jays: Halladay threw his first complete game of the year against the Yankees at Rogers Centre on Tuesday. He gave up one run on five hits -- matching his lowest total this season -- and struck out five. For the third time in his eight starts this year, he did not walk a single batter. He got 16 outs via ground ball, and gave up only two extra base hits, both doubles.

Scouting Report:

Twins: Slowey had to labor a bit through his last outing against the Tigers, throwing 98 pitches in six innings while allowing just one run. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in five of his six innings, which included Jeff Larish'’s solo home run to start the sixth. The home run was the lone run that Slowey allowed in his outing. He scattered eight hits to the Tigers and also issued two walks in the contest, equaling his total for the season. Slowey next will face the Yankees. He is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three career starts vs. New York.

Yankees: Burnett took his first loss of the season on Tuesday, facing the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. He gave up five runs on seven hits and lasted 7 2/3 innings. He allowed four walks while striking out three. Of the 110 pitches he threw, 66 were strikes. Burnett has not faced the Twins this year and owns a 1-1 record in four career starts against them, putting up an ERA of 4.21 in 25 2/3 innings.

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I am going to be posting some of the pictures from the games I was at so check back later. If you're in Toronto, enjoy that game! I wish I could watch the Jays game on tv. That link I was using for the us steam doesnt seem to be working anymore.

Baseball Notes from Toronto

• Brian Bruney apparently shaved his head. I noticed this when I was sitting in my hotel room watching the Jays warm up during batting practice. When I looked down I saw this guy running back and forth on the warning track and I had no clue who it was. After looking at it closely, I figured out it was Bru. I can't even tell you how many times he ran back and forth, but I will say he was out there for a good 30-45 minutes.

• Nick Swisher also found himself a barber. It's quite an interesting style. You could tell he was loving it as during batting practice, as he kept the helmet off so that he could show it off to the crowd.
• From a bunch of fans at the stadium, apparently Alex Rodriguez is still hanging out bad people. He was seen with some sketchy hockey player in Toronto which had many wondering if he still is back to his old ways. I am not sure if its more intriguing that people are following his every moves or why Alex only seems to find himself around sketchy people. Does he not have any "good" friends to hang out with?
  
• Saw Andrew during batting practice. I posted how he was able to get Derek Jeter's baseball bat last year when I was there. Well on Tuesday, guess who gave him another bat? Robinson Cano. And Mark Teixiera gave him his batting gloves. It wouldn't bum me out as much that he got the stuff is he wasn't selling it all for money. I either keep the stuff for my own collection or give it to the kids I tutor. In regard to my last post, Fernando, I just want a Louisville slugger model bat that is black and from one of the players. It doesn't have to be used and can be cracked, as was the case of the Robinson Cano bat. I have to figure out what Andrew does to get the players to give him these bats. I guess being a girl doesn't work in this case. One day i will get that bat, I just will have to try harder or something.
  
• On Wednesday before the games opened (about 330 or so in the afternoon when I was sitting in my hotel room), I saw this guy on the field stretching for a good 25 minutes. I zoomed my camera in as much as I could, but I am not sure who it is. What do you guys think? I was thinking it was possibly Rivera, but I am not certain. Regardless, he was really working out and stretching the entire body.
• This guy stands outside gate 5. I have no idea what his name is, but he is there every single year and he is the world's most annoying man to sell Blue Jays gear. I took this picture for my brother, who really seemed to enjoy standing around him last year while waiting for the gate to open.

The lonely 7 hour drive....

I picked a perfect day to travel as the weather was gorgeous and made for a pretty uneventful trip. The bridges you have to drive on as you are approaching Canada are quite scary and for some reason I felt compelled to take a picture as I was driving (not a smart idea, I understand that).

Bruno: You asked the difference between upstate NY and Toronto. Basically everything. For such a large city, Toronto is insanely clean and the people are genuinely nicer. I can guarantee when people walk around Albany, the last thing they think about is how clean the area is. It is a different atmosphere in general, but I guess it all really depends on where you are in NY and where you are in Toronto. I will say this though, I feel 10X more safer going on a subway alone than one in NYC.

I guess the Bills are coming to Toronto in December. They had stuff all over the stadium and during game time in which they were promoting the game and the "newly reduced prices." I guess the tickets aren't selling that fast. But they do have all of 6 months or so left to sell....They did have cheerleaders for the Bills show up during the game in their skimpy little outfits so they have possibly gained an extra fan or two from that. Plus, they also had players from the Bills at the Jays game on Thursday and they kept showing them on the outfield screen.

Back from Toronto!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates for the past few days but I didn't' have a computer with me when I went to Toronto. I think it's the longest I have been off the computer and facebook in forever. Well, I have so many different things to write about, but I am not sure where to start. I wish I could have posted things after each of the games, but since I had no computer I will go over each game at some point this weekend.

First off, it was a great trip. Coming home, the 7 hour drive turned into a 5.5 hour drive (Don't ask how fast I was going). It is always interesting to cross the border as I was able to realize how easy-going and nice the people are going into Canada and how tough the people are when you are entering the United States.

As I was driving home today, the guy at the border was asking me all these questions (what is your citizenship, where are you from, etc). He then proceeds to ask me what I was doing in Canada. I was like well, the Yankees were in town so I went to see the games. He was like "you drove that far for a game?", as if if was making up a story about why I was in Canada. Regardless, I explained to him that i make this trip every year and he was like oh wow, interesting. You are crazy. Yep, not the first time I have heard that I suppose.

Anyhow, I love the city of Toronto; it is so beautiful and easy going. The only thing I despise about this city is driving around, which I only did when I arrived. I can't stand the tracks that are on the street and the people walking around makes for a very aggravating time.

I am going to load all of my pictures from the game. I have some great stories also about A-Rod and other players. My hotel was facing the field in the Rogers Centre which was super cool and I got some nice shots from there too.

One more thing I must add. I am amazed at how fan-friendly the Blue Jays organization is. Each day they had things going on for the fans before the games began and they even allow their fans to go down to the lower level for batting practice. What a concept??

More stories and pictures later :)

Toronto, Here I Come!!!!

A warning to my fellow Canadian friends: Christina is crossing the border tomorrow!! That's right, I am heading to see my beloved Yankees take on the Toronto Blue Jays. I am excited for this trip as I absolutely love the city of Toronto. Its fun to walk around and just tour the city. I hope the weather is decent for my arrival though as I am ready to sport my new summer attire.

Anyhow, I am so freaking thrilled for the match-ups. Tuesday (Halladay vs. Burnett) should be amazing and I am thrilled to see Scott Richmond pitching on Wednesday. I have my score card all ready to go like the loser I am. I love pitching duels and they don't get any better than the one on Tuesday.

So what is the deal with the Rogers Centre. How often is the dome closed? Since I generally go to Toronto in July and August, I am used to the dome being opened. I am assuming there is a certain temperature to which they decide it is too cold and needs to be closed? In my opinion, I think the game has a whole different feel to it when the dome is closed. I wonder if they will have it open during batting practice?

So does anyone know that kid Andrew that goes to every single Jays game... Is he still around? The last time the Yankees were in town, Derek Jeter gave him his bat. For anyone who knows me, my obsession for the past 5 years has been to get a real, black, Louisville Slugger bat. It was ironic that Andrew was able to snag that bat. He is a lucky guy.

Well, onto packing. You would never know I am going for 3 days as I have packed my entire wardrobe. I am not sure how this always happens. I guess it is because I am a girl.

Preview: Roy Halladay vs. AJ Burnett

Tuesday, the Yankees make their way to the beautiful city of Toronto. They are playing a somewhat hot Blue Jays ball club that has won 7 of their last 10 games. The first games of the series should be quite an interesting match-up as this is the first game Burnett will be visiting his old ball club and will be pitching against his former teammate. Below is the scouting report for this upcoming game:

A.J. Burnett, RHP (2-0, 5.26) Yankees (15-16)

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Roy Halladay, RHP (6-1, 3.29) Blue Jays (21-12)

Scouting Report:

Yankees: Assuming the Yankees don't alter their rotation with Monday's off-day, Burnett will face his former team for the first time this season. The right-hander is coming off Wednesday night's no-decision to Tampa Bay, in which Burnett allowed three runs over six innings. While not his best performance, Burnett did strike out eight Rays and was optimistic in his performance going forward.

Blue Jays: Toronto's ace was dominating in his last effort, reeling off eight strong innings in a road victory over the Angels on Wednesday. Halladay blanked Los Angeles for seven frames before allowing one run. The right-hander scattered six hits and ended with six strikeouts, two walks and 13 outs induced via ground balls. Halladay has six wins in seven starts, marking the fastest he has reached that many victories in a season in his career. In 32 games against New York in his career, Halladay has gone 15-5 with a 2.86 ERA. He went 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA against the Yankees last season.

It should be a great series to watch, as these are two great pitchers that have the ability to be dominating. As for which team has the advantage, I probably would say the Jays have the edge as their offense has been more consistent than the Yankees, and well Halladay is just Halladay. We all know the type of command he has and his record of 5-1 with an ERA against the 2008 Yankees was surely not a fluke.

Back from the country

Since Mother's Day is today, my Mom and I went to visit my Grandmother and the rest of my family out in Elmira, NY (actually Horseheads, but few, if any have actually heard of that town).
If you haven't heard of it, its basically located in the middle of nowhere. While there is no internet out there and I couldn't watch the Yankees game (which was probably a good thing from what I hear), it was nice to be able to forget about things and just sit outside to reflect on life.

Since I haven't been able to keep up with the real world, I don't have very much baseball to add. I heard Joba had some issues with his finger and a popped blood vessel, but I hear he is going to pitch today, despite this injury.

Big news though. I am heading to Toronto to see the Yankees play the Jays. I decided last night that I just need to get away and enjoy myself for a change. Baseball is something that makes me happy in life where I feel the most comfortable, so despite the cost and long travel, I am just going for it. I am thrilled to see Halladay and from what I project, I *think* and I hope, that Richmond will be pitching on Thursday. I would love to see the stuff he has in person.

For those of you that read and live in Toronto and go to Jays games, I have a question about the seating. While I have been to games at the Rogers Centre before, I never really have tried moving up before. Are the ushers very strict in letting people move up to closer sections? I really want to see Halladay pitch close up, but the prices of tickets have soared this year for some reason, and I notice they are more expensive when the Yankees are in town.

This trip is costing me a crap load of money, so I would rather not spend as much if I can try to just move closer. From what I can project, I cant assume they have going to have a packed crowd at the Rogers Centre. I could be wrong though.

Any other suggestions you guys might be have would be great.

Welcome home, A-Rod

First pitch, first at-bat back from having surgery, HOMERUN! You can't write it any better than that.

Side note: It appears as if Ian Kennedy has an aneurysm that will require surgery on Tuesday. Apparently the guy operating on him is the same surgeon who operated on David Cone when he had his aneurysm back in 1996. All the best to Kennedy with a speedy recovery. He was off to a decent start too in AAA.

Update: Scott Richmond is pitching tonight for Toronto against some dude on the A's named Outman. I will be keeping up with that game on gameday for sure!

The Yankees are a mess

• Posada--- injured
• Mariano--- injured??
• Molina---- injured
• Wang----- injured
• Teixeria---stinks
• Bruney----injured
• Marte---- injured
• Nady----- injured
• bullpen----stinks

1. I can't wait to see the catching situation for tomorrow. Should be great now that Molina is hurt and Girardi stated that he will be out for definite tomorrow. This team needs to learn how to develop young guys. They knew Jorge wasn't getting any younger, didn't they??? Perhaps they were too busy building that sham of a stadium to worry about the important things.
2. Lets hope Mariano isn't hurt or this team is going to look even worse than they already do look. The bullpen is atrocious and the team has very little degree of situational hitting. They are terrible with RISP.
3. The last thing we need is A-Rod trying to do too much. It all eventually has to come together.

Roy oh Roy

Roy Halladay is amazing. Need I say more?

Another terrible loss

The Yankees are brutal lately. Phil Coke has looked dreadful. As well as Teixeira. I wish I could pinpoint why they are so terrible. I hate to sit here and use injuries as an excuse as every team has their share of injuries. They just seem so lifeless. I know I bring up the Jays too much, but I while I see a team that also struggling with injuries, I see a team that also has heart. At this point tonight they are winning 7-0 to the Angels. My boy Roy is pitching tonight too!

The Yankees should be getting A-Rod back, but I don't think he is going to be an immediate savior, unless he can pitch in the bullpen. At least an addition of A-Rod will make our bench look a tad stronger.

I am tired, so my sentences are short and choppy. I have this dreadful project for my Master's due that I have no desire to write.

But anyhow, what do you guys think about the team?

Football??

I am already tired of this Brett Farve nonsense. It's all over ESPN and reminds me of Roger Clemens.

On another note, the Yankees stink. I have one last project for school that I am procrastinating and I must finish. The blog will continue once my life returns tomorrow I hope.