Please visit our new site for the April 18 Minor League Report.
Friday, April 19, 2013
www.bluejaysfromaway.com
We are pleased to announce that you can now find us at our brand new home - www.bluejaysfromaway.com.
We'll keep tweaking a few things, but we're pretty happy with the way everything looks and functions so far. This site will remain active as our "archive." So if you're looking for something in particular that we've published on Blue Jays from Away, this is where you should come att least until we're done linking everything. If you notice, on the new site, we have a page where we're archiving our interviews. We'll continue to do so. We'll also republish our top 20 prospects page so you can have it handy while you're following along with how they perform in 2013.
Please leave us your comments and send emails if you have any WordPress tips to help make the site even better.
We're going to have news of some other changes to the blog very shortly, so it's an exciting time for Blue Jays from Away.
To celebrate the new digs, we are proud to present the first edition of the Blue Jays from Away Podcast which you can find HERE.
This week’s features include:
We'll keep tweaking a few things, but we're pretty happy with the way everything looks and functions so far. This site will remain active as our "archive." So if you're looking for something in particular that we've published on Blue Jays from Away, this is where you should come att least until we're done linking everything. If you notice, on the new site, we have a page where we're archiving our interviews. We'll continue to do so. We'll also republish our top 20 prospects page so you can have it handy while you're following along with how they perform in 2013.
Please leave us your comments and send emails if you have any WordPress tips to help make the site even better.
We're going to have news of some other changes to the blog very shortly, so it's an exciting time for Blue Jays from Away.
To celebrate the new digs, we are proud to present the first edition of the Blue Jays from Away Podcast which you can find HERE.
This week’s features include:
- The minor league roundup
- The Audio Essay: My trip to Buffalo
- A conversation with Dunedin Blue Jays radio announcer Tyler Murray
Thursday, April 18, 2013
April 17 Minor League Report
Buffalo Bisons (7-4)
Game 1
The Buffalo
Bisons scored four runs in the fifth and hung on to beat the Syracuse Chiefs
4-3 in game one of a double header.
Justin Germano started out strong, facing the minimum through four
innings and just sixteen batters through five.
In the sixth, Germano was roughed up for four consecutive hits after
striking out the leadoff batter and left the game still up 4-3. Those four runs were produced by a big two
out rally in the top of the fifth via consecutive singles to Jim Negrych,
Anthony Gose, and Moises Sierra (bringing home Negrych), a wild pitch (bringing
home Gose), walks to Mauro Gomez and Luis Jimenez and a two-run single to Ryan
Langerhans.
Roster Notes: Jeremy Jeffress was outrighted to Buffalo, but will be sent to extended spring training for work with instructors. On the 15th, P Bobby Korecky was activated from the DL.
Hitting:
Jim Negrych
– 1/4, R, 2 K
Anthony Gose
– 1/3, R, K, 2 SB
Moises
Sierra – 1/4, R, RBI, K
Mauro Gomez
– 0/2, R, 2 BB, K
Luis Jimenez – 0/2, BB, 2 K
Ryan Langerhans – 1/2, 2 RBI, BB, K
Josh Thole –
1/3
Lance
Zawadzki – 0/3, K
Ryan Goins –
0/3, K
Pitching:
Justin
Germano – W, 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Neil Wagner –
S, 1 2/3 IP, K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Justin Germano
Game 2
The Buffalo
Bisons swept the doubleheader by winning game two in extra innings, scoring a
go-ahead run in the top of the eighth on a Ryan Goins single to score Eugenio
Velez (yes, that’s extra innings. Minor
league double headers are seven innings each).
Reliever Juan Perez came on to pitch a shutout bottom half to give the
Bisons the 5-4 win. Miguel Batista
(although the lineup in Syracuse had him listed as “Bautista," see above) had another poor
start, but managed to pitch into the third inning this time before being picked
up Mickey Storey, Brad Lincoln and Juan Perez who combined for 5 2/3 innings of
1-run ball.
On the
offense, the hero of the night was Ryan Goins, who went four for four with two
RBI (including the game winner) and a run scored. He had a rough night on the bases though as
he got picked off and caught stealing.
Mauro Gomez continues to mash as he accounted for two of the other
Buffalo runs with a home run in the third inning.
Hitting:
Mike McCoy –
0/4, BB
Anthony Gose
– 0/3, R, BB, K, OF Asst.
Mauro Gomez –
1/4, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K
Luis Jimenez
– 1/2, 2 BB
Andy LaRoche
– 0/4, K
Ryan Langerhans, 0/4, K
Eugenio
Velez – 1/4, 2 R, K, SB, OF Asst.
Mike Nickeas
– 1/3, BB, K
Ryan Goins –
4/4, R, 2 RBI, PO, CS
Pitching:
Miguel
Batista – 2 1/3 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Mickey
Storey – 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Brad Lincoln – W, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3
K
Juan Perez –
S, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Ryan Goins
New
Hampshire Fisher Cats (7-7)
It was as if
the pitchers beat the hitters out of bed for Wednesday’s 10:35 AM start time
for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The
game was 1-0 for the Fisher Cats until the 9th inning. After tacking on an insurance run in the top,
closer Chad Beck couldn’t get it done in his second inning of work and gave up
two runs on four hits to send the game into extra innings. When the dust settled, New Hampshire evened
their record at 7-7 with a single off the bat of Clint Robinson (Tuesday's
hero) scoring Ryan Schimpf and a lock down inning from Tommy Hottovy for a 3-2
victory.
Hitting:
Kenny Wilson
– 1/5, K, E
Kevin Pillar
– 1/5, RBI, K
Ryan Schimpf
– 2/5, R, 2B
Brad Glenn –1/5,
2B
Clint
Robinson – 2/5, R, 2B, RBI
John
Tolisano – 2/5, 2B, RBI, PO
Kevin Ahrens
– 0/4, BB, K
Jack Murphy
- 2/5, R, K
Amadeo
Zazueta – 1/4
Pitching:
Tyson
Brummett – 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Matt Wright
– 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Chad Beck –
2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Trystan
Magnuson - W, 1 1/3 IP, 1 H,
Tommy
Hottovy - S, 2/3 IP, K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Tyson
Brummett
Dunedin Blue
Jays (9-4)
Starter
Efrain Nieves was chased early, giving up seven runs in the second inning and
the Dunedin Blue Jays were never able to come back, falling 9-4 to the Tampa
Yankees. Ajay Meyer relieved Nieves and
gave up only a two-run home run to SS Ali Castillo in his three innings of work
while Evan Crawford and Tony Davis combined for three and two thirds innings
with both of them really impressing by registering eight strikeouts over the
eleven outs they recorded. 3B Andy Burns
had the big stroke for the D-Jays, hitting his second home run of the year in
the fourth inning, while SS Peter Mooney had a three for four night with a
double, the Blue Jays only other extra base hit.
Hitting:
Jon Berti – 1/5
Peter Mooney
– 3/4, R, 2B
Andy Burns –
1/3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Kevin Patterson – 1/4, R, K
Gabe Jacobo – 1/4, 2 K
Matt Newman – 1/4, R, RBI, K
Marcus Knecht – 0/3, BB, 2 K, E
Nick Baligod – 0/4, E
Aaron Munoz – 1/4, RBI
Pitching:
Efrain
Nieves – L, 1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Ajay Meyer –
3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
Evan
Crawford – 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Tony Davis –
1 1/3 IP, 3 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Evan
Crawford and Tony Davis share the award.
Lansing
Lugnuts (4-6)
Game postponed
due to weather.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
April 16 Minor League Report
Buffalo Bisons (5-4)
Postponed
due to rain.
New
Hampshire Fisher Cats (6-7)
In a game
where each team matched the other step by step, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats
came out just on the wrong side of a 7-6 loss to the New Britain Rock
Cats. Deck McGuire recorded another
solid start, throwing six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks
while striking out five, but Tommy Hottovy couldn’t get more than one out in
the bottom of the seventh, immediately after the Fisher Cats opened a four run
lead in the top of the inning. The score
remained tied until the bottom of the 9th, when Joel Carreno, one of
the most reliable pitchers for New Hampshire this year, was small-balled to the
loss. He gave up a single to leadoff
batter James Beresord who was bunted over to second and moved up to third on a
ground out. Then, with two outs and
Beresford on third, Carreno threw a wild pitch past catcher Sean Ochinko to end
the game on a sour note.
1B Clint
Robinson led the attack with three hits, including his first home run of the
year, Brad Glenn slammed a triple, while doubles-machine John Tolisano hit his sixth of year with Amadeo
Zazueto and Ryan Schimpf also doubling.
Kenny Wilson had what one could say was a mixed day. He went one for four with two stolen bases,
but was caught stealing and made an error in the field.
Hitting:
Kenny Wilson –1/4, R, BB, K, 2 SB, CS, E
Kevin Pillar – 1/4, R, RBI, BB
Ryan Schimpf – 1/4, R, 2B, RBI, BB, 3 K
Clint Robinson – 3/5, R, HR, 3 RBI, K
Brad Glenn –1/4, R, 3B, BB, K
Sean Ochinko
– 1/3, BB, PO
Adam Loewen
– 1/4, RBI, 2 K
John
Tolisano – 1/4, 2B, K
Amadeo
Zazueta – 1/4, R, 2B, 2 K
Pitching:
Deck McGuire
– 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Tommy
Hottovy – 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB
Fernando Hernandez – 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3
BB, 1 K
Joel Carreno
– L, 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Clint
Robinson
Dunedin Blue
Jays (9-3)
Four was the
number of the night for the Dunedin Blue Jays as they maximized their
hits and pulled out an 8-6 win over the Tampa Yankees. Starter Aaron Sanchez had a rough outing as
the 20 year old gave up six hits and three earned runs over his four innings of
work. Catcher Aaron Munoz had a big
night, going three for four with two runs scored. Gabe Jacobo had the biggest hit of the night,
hitting a three-run double in the third inning.
Hitting:
Jon Berti –
0/5, 2 K
Peter Mooney
– 1/4, R, 2 RBI, BB, K
Andy Burns –
0/4, R, BB, K, CS
Kevin
Patterson – 0/5, R, RBI, 3 K
Gabe Jacobo – 1/3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K, E
Matt Newman – 0/3, BB
Marcus Knecht – 1/4, R, K
Nick Baligod – 2/4, R, RBI, K
Aaron Munoz –
3/4, 2 R, RBI, K
Pitching:
Aaron
Sanchez – 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 3 K
Scott Gracey
– W, 2 IP, 3 K
Dustin
Antolin – 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 5 K
Blake
McFarland – S, 1 IP, K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Aaron
Munoz
Lansing
Lugnuts (4-6)
Another
outstanding pitching performance got the Lugnuts back on the right track on
Tuesday as Javier Avendano went six innings, giving up only a hit and two walks
against four strikeouts in a 4-0 win over the West Michigan White Caps. Avendano was followed out of the pen by Wil
Browning for an inning and Tucker Donahue for two innings, all of shutout relief. The offense, despite being held in check to
only four hits and one walk, scored four runs by taking advantage of a couple
of West Michigan errors. Gustavo Pierre
led the way with a two for four night with two doubles.
Hitting:
Ronald
Melendez – 0/3, R, K
Dalton
Pompey – 0/4, RBI
Gustavo
Pierre – 2/4, R, 2 2B, 2 K
Christian
Lopes – 1/4, RBI, K
Balbino
Fuenmayor – 0/4, K
Santiago
Nessy –0/2, R, K
Chris
Hawkins – 1/3,
Emilio
Guerrero – 0/2, R, RBI, BB
Jorge Flores
- 0/3, K
Pitching:
Javier
Avendano – W, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
Wil Browning
– 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Tucker
Donahue – 2 IP, 1 H
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Javier Avendano
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
April 15 Minor League Report
Buffalo
Bisons (5-4)
The Buffalo
Bisons rebounded from Sunday’s game 2 pounding with a 6-1 win over the Syracuse
Chiefs on Monday. The herd not only got
an excellent pitching performance from veteran Claudio Vargas, but they got a
big top of the eighth from the hitters to take the lead and build a five-run
cushion that they would not relinquish.
Building their rally on home runs from Eugenio Velez and Mauro Gomez
(his second of two on the night), the Bisons sent eight batters to the plate
and got singles from Ryan Goins and Mike McCoy and a double from Jim Negrych on
top of the two homers.
Roster
Notes: On Sunday, the Bisons activated
IF Lance Zawadzki and P Edgar Gonzalez and are now available to the team. Monday had the Blue Jays calling up pitcher
Ramon Ortiz to take DFA’ed outfielder Casper Wells’s spot on the 25 man roster.
Hitting:
Mike McCoy –
1/4, R
Jim Negrych – 1/4, R, 2B, 2 RBI
Moises Sierra – 0/4, K
Mauro Gomez – 4/4, 2 R, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Andy LaRoche
– 0/4
Josh Thole –
0/4
Eugenio
Velez – 2/4, R, HR, RBI, K
Mike Nickeas
– 0/4
Ryan Goins –
1/3, R
Pitching:
Claudio
Vargas – W, 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Bobby
Korecky – 2 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Mauro Gomez
New
Hampshire Fisher Cats (6-6)
The Fisher
Cats attempted a comeback in the 9th, but were only able to get two
of the four runs they trailed the New Britain Rock Cats and the final score
ended up 5-3 New Britain. Starter Marcus
Walden struggled, giving up 11 hits in his five innings of work while the
bullpen was outstanding in keeping the New Hampshire squad close. Joel Carreno, Clint Everts and Chad Beck
combined for three scoreless innings and Carreno and Beck each struck out the
side. Clint Roinson and Sean Ochinko had
two hits each, including Ochinko’s two-run blast in the ninth for his first
home run of the year. John Tolisano had
a quiet game, and made his sixth error of the season, resulting in one of the
runs against Walden being unearned.
Hitting:
Kenny Wilson
– 1/4, 2B, BB, K, CS, PO
Kevin Pillar
– 0/4, K
Ryan Schimpf
– 1/4, R, 2 K
Brad Glenn –
0/4, 2 K
Clint
Robinson – 2/4, R, 2B, RBI, K
Sean Ochinko
– 2/4, R, HR, 2 RBI, K
Adam Loewen
– 0/3, BB, 3 K
John
Tolisano – 0/3, BB, E
Amadeo
Zazueta – 2/4
Pitching:
Marcus Walden – L, 5 IP, 11 H, 5 R (4 ER),
1 BB, 1 K
Joel Carreno
– 1 IP, 1 BB, 3 K
Clint Everts
– 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K
Chad Beck –
1 IP, 1 BB, 3 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Sean
Ochinko
Dunedin Blue
Jays (8-3)
Brett Lawrie
contributed to the Dunedin Blue Jays’ victory over the Tampa Yankees on Monday
as he played second base and hit a triple in his second rehab start for the
D-Jays. The real star was starting
pitcher Scott Copeland who threw a complete game six-hitter, giving up one run while
striking out six as the Blue Jays won 3-1.
It was a well pitched game on both sides, as the D-Jays only managed 7
hits, two of them by Matt Newman (including his 5th double).
Hitting:
Jonathan
Jones – 0/5, K
Andy Burns –
1/4, R, BB
Brett Lawrie
– 1/3, R, 3B, RBI, BB
Jon Berti PH, 2B – 1/1
Kevin Patterson – 1/5, 2 K
Gabe Jacobo - 1/4, RBI
Matt Newman –
2/4, R, 2B
Pierce
Rankin 0/3, BB, K
Derrick Chung – 0/3, BB
Nick Baligod – 0/4, RBI
Pitching:
Scott
Copeland – W, 9 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Scott
Copeland
Lansing
Lugnuts (3-6)
Off day
Monday, April 15, 2013
April 15 Weekly Minor League Roundup
Welcome to the first Blue Jays from Away weekly minor league roundup.
Buffalo Bisons
3rd in International League North (4-4)
Leaderboards: 2B Jim
Negrych – 1st AVG, 1st SLG, 1st OBP, 1st
OPS
3B Andy LaRoche – 10th SLG, 7th (tie) HR
OF Ryan Langerhans – 8th OBP
3B Andy LaRoche – 10th SLG, 7th (tie) HR
OF Ryan Langerhans – 8th OBP
The Buffalo Bisons are producing numbers just like you’d see
in when the Jays had their AAA affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. Every regular except for SS Ryan Goins and 1B
Luis Jimenez have batting averages above .300, and only regulars CF Anthony
Gose (.778) and Goins (.667) have an OPS below .800. Leading the way are minor league free agents
Jim Negrych, who leads the International League in four important offensive
categories, Andy LaRoche, and Ryan Langerhans.
On the pitching side, there is a different story. Veterans Dave Bush and Claudio Vargas have
had excellent starts, but because of a major league call up (Bush) and lack of
games played (Vargas), they have each made only one start. The bullpen has put up PCL-like numbers with
only Juan Perez appearing to be a reliable go-to guy for manager Marty Brown.
Player of the Week: Blue Jays from Away Jim Negrych
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
4th in Eastern League Eastern (6-5)
Leaderboards: 2B John
Tolisano – 7th 2B, 7th, OBP, 5th, SLG, 5th
OPS
3B/OF Ryan Schimpf – 2nd HR
OF Kevin Pillar 1st (tie) SB
OF Kenny Wilson – 2nd (tie) SB
1B Clint Robinson – 4th OBP
OF Brad Glenn – 10th OBP
SP Austin Bibens-Dirkx – 3rd Ks
SP Deck McGuire – 9th Ks
SP Ryan Tepera – 7th WHIP
RP Chad Beck – 1st (tie) SV
3B/OF Ryan Schimpf – 2nd HR
OF Kevin Pillar 1st (tie) SB
OF Kenny Wilson – 2nd (tie) SB
1B Clint Robinson – 4th OBP
OF Brad Glenn – 10th OBP
SP Austin Bibens-Dirkx – 3rd Ks
SP Deck McGuire – 9th Ks
SP Ryan Tepera – 7th WHIP
RP Chad Beck – 1st (tie) SV
The Fisher Cats have seen a strong opening to the season
from several of their players, including highly-considered prospect Kevin
Pillar who leads the club in batting
average and stolen bases. Suprisingly, 24-year-old
2B John Tolisano, who was drafted in 2007, will be opening some eyes with his
outstanding start, in which he has hit 5 2Bs, 1 3B, and 2 HRs in the first 11
games of the season. He has also walked
more than he has struck out (8 BBs and 6 Ks).
If he can keep that up, it would be a complete reversal of what he has been
able to do over his minor league career.
Waiver claimee Clint Robinson has been an on-base machine having a .500
OBP without much power behind it, while Brad Glenn and Kenny Wilson are also on
fire out of the gate (although Wilson is a speed guy, so his SLG percentage isn’t
particularly high). Finally, while Ryan
Schimpf’s batting average is languishing at .212, he has a .395 OBP and a .545
SLG (based on his team leading 3 HRs). A
lot of good stuff is happening on the offensive side of the ball with the
Fisher Cats.
The veteran pitching staff has been seeing some solid
performances (and some poor ones too). In
the starting rotation, Ryan Tepera, Deck McGuire and Austin Bibens-Dirkx have
been very good, while Marcus Walden has been solid in his two starts. Out of the bullpen, Fernando Hernandez has
been very good in his 4 innings, Matt Wright has been excellent, pitching 8 1/3
out of the pen, Chad Beck has been a shutdown closer and Joel Carreno has been
fantastic with 4 2/3 IP, 9 strikeouts and no runners allowed.
Player of the Week:
John Tolisano
Dunedin Blue Jays
First in Florida State League North (7-3)
Leaderboards: OF
Jonathan Jones – 2nd SB
3B Andy Burns – 10th OBP, 8th SLG, 7th OPS
SP Efrain Nieves – 5th ERA, 6th, WHIP
SP Jesse Hernandez – 4th Ks,
SP Aaron Sanchez – 4th WHIP
RP Blake McFarland – 4th (tie) SV
3B Andy Burns – 10th OBP, 8th SLG, 7th OPS
SP Efrain Nieves – 5th ERA, 6th, WHIP
SP Jesse Hernandez – 4th Ks,
SP Aaron Sanchez – 4th WHIP
RP Blake McFarland – 4th (tie) SV
One of the biggest surprises that I’ve had this year from
the Dunedin Blue Jays is how well Matt Newman has done so far. Granted, it’s in only 17 ABs (although he
stands to gain the most playing time with Michael Crouse on the DL), but he’s
hitting .412 with a 1.212 OPS through the first week and a half of
baseball. Why is this a surprise? Well, last year, Newman was playing in
Vancouver where he hit respectably – an .813 OPS with 16 2B, 5 3B and 6 HRs in
221 ABs. But I saw Newman take BP in
spring training, and while he made a lot of solid contact, he really didn’t hit
the ball with much authority. It’s nice
to see him producing some good numbers so far.
Andy Burns is also producing the way we would like to see
for a guy that several writers are calling a sleeper prospect. Burns, hitting .359/.432/.590 through 39 ABs
also has 3 SBs to his credit. That said,
there really isn’t a lot of power on this Dunedin team, especially with Michael
Crouse on the DL. The team has only hit
2 home runs (one from Burns, one from 2B Jon Berti), and the team isn’t hitting
particularly well overall, with only 3 regulars (Burns, 1B Gabe Jacobo, and RF
Jonathan Jones) with an OPS over .800.*
While the bats have been cold, the pitching has been
hot. Only two pitchers have ERAs over
3.00 and the starters have been outstanding.
Leading the way are starters Efrain Nieves, Scott Copeland, Jesse
Hernandez, and Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez
has limited his baserunners against in a huge way but hasn’t really gotten strikeout
numbers up just yet. It’s hard to really
single out any of these four starters because all have done extremely
well. Hernandez has been the only one to
really struggle with control, walking 7 batters in 17 innings (so not “bad” at
all). The bullpen was been incredibly
reliable. Combined, Dustin Antolin and
Ajay Meyer have thrown 9 1/3 innings allowing only 6 batters to get on base
with 11 strikeouts while Scott Gracey has thrown six innings with only 1 run against. This pitching staff has been outstanding.
Player of the Week: Efrain Nieves
Lansing Lugnuts
6th in Midwest League Eastern (3-6)
Leaderboards: C
Santiago Nessy – 5th (tie) 2B
3B Gustavo Pierre – 5th (tie ) 2B
SP Roberto Osuna – 5th Ks
3B Gustavo Pierre – 5th (tie ) 2B
SP Roberto Osuna – 5th Ks
The Blue Jays lack of depth in their A-ball batting really
comes to the fore when we look at the Lugnuts.
Only two regulars are hitting above .265 and only one Lugnut has an OPS
over .800. 2B prospect Christian Lopes
leads the team with a .333 batting average, but has only taken one walk this
season. Canadian OF prospect Dalton
Pompey has batted .250, but has an OPS of only .554 with only one
extra-base-hit in 32 ABs to go along with 13 strikeouts and one walk. Slugger Balbino Fuenmayor started the season
hot, clubbing 2 HRs in the first 3 games, but has since cooled considerably,
having his average drop to .222 and leads the team with 15 strikeouts. One of the bright lights has been 3B Gustavo
Pierre who has two HRs to go along with four doubles. He has had his issues though; he has been caught
stealing twice (with only one successful swipe) and has struck out 12 times without a walk.
The pitching for the Lugnuts is another story. With 18-year-old #2 prospect Roberto Osuna
anchoring the staff, the team has gotten some great pitching performances in
the first two cycles through the rotation.
Both Javier Avendano and Taylor cole impressed in their first starts
before getting hit hard in their second (although Cole’s numbers are better
oveall) while Alonzo Gonzalez leads the starters in ERA (1.64) and has only
given up two runs in his 11 innings.
Finally, highly regarded prospect Daniel Norris continues to struggle
posting a 12.38 ERA and 2.25 WHIP through his first 2 starts and 8
innings. Standouts in the bullpen
include Wil Browning, Andrew Sikula, Griffin Murphy and Ben White, who have
thrown 25 combined innings without an earned run (there are 5 unearned runs
there which speaks to a lot of sloppy fielding). Tucker Donahue and Ian Kadish have both been
solid in the pen while Chuck Ghysels has struggled with control (4 BBs in 3 2/3
innings) and Matt Johnson has been hit hard (9 H in 4 IP).
Player of the Week: Roberto Osuna
--------------------------------------------------------------------
* Newman and Crouse both have OPSs over 1.000, but in far
fewer ABs than can be considered “every day” at-bats.
Don't forget to follow on Twitter: @Jaysfromaway
April 14 Minor League Report
Today was a very busy day for the Jays’ minor league
affiliates and for me. I took the trip
down to Buffalo (where I joined Bluebird Banter blogger Minor Leaguer to watch
the games), as all
four of the full season ball clubs were in action, with double headers in
Buffalo and Lansing. I’ll be putting
more details about the experience of going down to Buffalo in our
upcoming Blue Jays from Away Podcast that we should have up later this week (technical
details are being worked out).
Buffalo
Bisons (4-4)
Game 1:
The first
game action the Buffalo Bisons have seen since April 9th culminated
in an excellent victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (the NY
Yankees AAA club) 6-1. Going up against
6’8” 260 pound flame-throwing prospect Dillin Betances, Bison’s starter Dave
Bush (who we last saw getting destroyed by the Boston Red Sox last Sunday at
Rogers Centre) had a fantastic start, confounding the Railriders at every step,
throwing 5 innings, giving up only 1 unearned run on three hits. Brad Lincoln had a rough inning of his own
while Juan Perez threw a clean 7th to finish the game (minor league
double headers are only 7 innings each game).
Bush warming up in the pen |
Bush warming up in the pen |
Gose putting a ball in play (note the splash of dirt in front of the plate) |
Jim Negrych putting the ball in play |
The offense
was driven by 3B Andy Laroche, C Josh Thole and SS Ryan Goins who drove in the
six runs in the bottom of the first inning, with LaRoche and Goins hitting
doubles. Anthony Gose went three for
four, but really didn’t look great at the plate. He struck out in his other plate appearance
and seemed to have trouble recognizing off-speed pitches and didn’t really hit
the ball hard all day. His first hit was
an infield single, the second was a roller though the 5-6 hole, and the third
was an opposite field single on a breaking ball that he was fooled on and just
made contact with a defensive swing. He
also had a rough day on the basepaths, getting caught stealing and picked off. Moises Sierra gunned down Don Adams at the
plate to cut down a run, but made a bone-headed play in the second game,
forgetting how many outs there were after making a catch and continuing to run
towards center field while a runner on second tagged up and took third.
Hitting:
Jim Negrych –
1/4, R
Anthony Gose
– 3/4, R, K, CS, PO
Moises
Sierra – 0/3, R, BB, K, OF Asst.
Mauro Gomez –
0/2, BB, K, E
Josh Thole –
1/2, R, 2 RBI, BB
Andy LaRoche
– 2/3, R, 2B, RBI
Ryan Langerhans – 1/2, R, 2B, BB
Eugenio Velez – 0/3
Ryan Goins – 1/3, 2B, 3 RBI, K
Pitching:
Dave Bush –
W, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 K
Brad Lincoln
– 1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Juan Perez –
1 IP
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Dave Bush
Game 2:
The second
game of the double header was a much less satisfying outcome for the Bisons, taking
a 12-5 loss on Sunday. 42-year-old Miguel
Batista, still firing in the low 90s and making his first appearance of 2013,
couldn’t make it out of the first inning, giving up three runs (only one
earned) in two thirds of an inning, throwing a lot of pitches, and struggling
to throw strikes (although, he didn’t have much help from the defense). The
other four pitchers who pitched in the game (pretty much everything the Bisons
had left in the bullpen) also pitched poorly, with only Alex Hinshaw avoiding giving
up runs. Hinshaw walked four in one and
a third innings, so we can hardly call that a successful outing.
The two
unearned runs in the first came from first baseman Mauro Gomez’s second error
on the day. Gomez looked downright awful at first base, showing absolutely no
ability to get to a ball hit outside of arm’s length, and no ability to catch a
ball hit directly at him. He MUST be
better than he showed today, but I would expect to see Luis Jimenez playing
first and Gomez DHing a lot more in the future.
Hitting:
Mike McCoy –
2/2, 2B, RBI, BB, CS
Anthony Gose
– 1/4, R, K
Moises
Sierra – 1/4, 2B
Mauro Gomez –
1/4, R, 2B, RBI
Ryan
Langerhans – 2/3, R, BB, K
Andy LaRoche
– 0/4, 2 K
Jim Negrych –
2/2, R, BB
Eugenio
Velez – 1/2, R, 3B, 3 RBI, BB
Mike Nickeas
– 0/3
Pitching:
Miguel
Batista – 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 0 K
Mickey
Storey – 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Buddy
Carlyle – 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 3 K
Alex Hinshaw
– 1 1/3 IP, 4 BB, 1 K
Neil Wagner –
1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Mike McCoy
New
Hampshire Fisher Cats (6-5)
The
Binghamton Mets picked away at starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx to score six runs
over the first five innings while the New Hampshire Fisher Cats only managed to
scratch out single runs in the third, fifth, and eighth innings to fall
6-3. Matt Wright and Trystan Magnuson
finished the game strong while Brad Glenn hit a solo shot in the 5th
inning for his first home run of the season in the loss. Kevin Pillar and Kevin Nolan had two hits a
piece (including one double each) while Pillar contributed with an outfield
assist, throwing out Allan Dykstra at the plate.
Hitting:
Kenny Wilson
– 0/3, 3 K
Kevin Pillar
– 2/4, 2B, RBI, OF Asst.
Ryan Schimpf
– 1/3, 2B, BB, K
Clint
Robinson – 0/3, BB, K
Adam Loewen –
0/4, 2 K
Kevin Nolan –
2/4, 2B, E
Brad Glenn – 1/4, R, HR, RBI, K
Sean Ochinko
– 1/4, R, K
John
Tolisano – 1/4, R, 2B, K
Pitching:
Austin Bibens-Dirkx – L, 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 6
R, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 HR
Matt Wright –
2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Trystan
Magnuson – 1 IP, 3 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Kevin
Pillar
Dunedin Blue
Jays (7-3)
The Lakeland
Flying Tigers were finally able to get to starting pitcher Jesse Hernandez with
a run in the seventh inning, and it was enough as the Dunedin Blue Jays only
managed three hits in a 2-0 loss.
Hernandez was outstanding, scattering eight hits and one walk before
exiting with two on and one out in the seventh, and reliever Tony Davis couldn’t
shut the door on the Flying Tigers, allowing the eventual winning run. The biggest news from this game came from
major leaguer Brett Lawrie who picked up two of the three hits for the D-Jays
while playing second base.
Hitting:
Jonathan
Jones – 0/4
Andy Burns –
0/3, BB
Brett Lawrie
– 2/4
Kevin
Patterson – 0/3, K
Marcus
Knecht – 0/3
Pierce
Rankin – 1/3, 2B
Jon Berti PR – 0/0
Nick Baligod – 0/3
Derrick Chung – 0/3
Peter Mooney – 0/3
Pitching:
Jesse Hernandez – L, 6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1
BB, 2 K
Tony Davis –
1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB
Blake
McFarland – 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB
Marco
Grifantini – 2/3 IP
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Jesse
Hernandez
Lansing
Lugnuts (3-6)
Game 1:
The Lugnuts
wasted a great pitching performance from 18-year-old Roberto Osuna, getting
no-hit by Southbend Silver Hawk starter Kyle Schepel in a 1-0 loss. Osuna, most likely on a pitch limit, threw
four and two thirds innings, giving up only one run on four hits and walk while
striking out six, again, showing why he’s one of the top young arms in the
system. He was picked up by Griffin “Rollie”
Murphy for two and a third innings of great relief.
Hitting:
Dalton Pompey
– 0/1
Chris Hawkins – 0/2, 2 K
Gustavo
Pierre – 0/3, K
Christian
Lopes – 0/3, K
Balbino
Fuenmayor – 0/3, 2 K
Kellen
Sweeney - 0/2, K
Santiago
Nessy – 0/1, BB
Emilio
Guerrero – 0/2
Ronald
Melendez – 0/2
Pitching:
Roberto
Osuna – L, 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Griffin
Murphy – 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Roberto Osuna
Game 2:
The second
game wasn’t much of an improvement for the Lugnuts as they fell 8-2 to South
Bend. MLB.com #3 prospect Daniel Norris
got hit hard again, going only four innings and giving up five of the eight
runs. While he only walked one batter
(and struck out five), he threw two wild pitches on the evening. DH Christian Lopes rapped two hits for the
home side while Gustavo Pierre hit a double and 1B Balbino Fuenmayor and SS
Jorge Flores each drove in a run.
Hitting:
Dalton Pompey
– 1/3, R, BB, K
Gustavo
Pierre – 1/4, 2B
Christian
Lopes – 2/4, K
Balbino
Fuenmayor – 0/3, RBI, BB
Kellen
Sweeney – 1/2 , R, BB
Carlos
Ramirez – 0/3, 2 K
Chris
Hawkins – 0/3
Seth Conner –
0/2, K
Jorge Flores
– 0/3, 2B, RBI, E
Pitching:
Daniel
Norris – L, 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Matt Johnson
– 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, K
Ben White –
1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Chuck
Ghysels – 1 IP, K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Christian Lopes
Sunday, April 14, 2013
April 13 Minor League Report
Buffalo
Bisons (3-3)
Games
postponed due to rain. Again. Is there an echo in here?
New
Hampshire Fisher Cats (6-4)
The Fisher
Cats rebounded from a horrible pitching night on Friday with a dominant
performance by the hurlers against the Binghamton Mets on Saturday
culminating in a 6-1 victory. Starter
Ryan Tepera went 6 strong innings, giving up only one unearned run on three
hits and two walks while striking out four.
The 25-year-old Tepera is now 2-0 in his two starts for the ‘Cats and is
looking strong. Meanwhile, Fernando
Hernandez earned himself an old-fashioned three-inning save, allowing the rest
of the bullpen to rest after Friday’s 15 run shellacking by throwing three innings
of shutout ball.
Clint
Robinson continues to swing a hot bat getting two hits for the Fisher Cats,
while the rest of the club made the most of their seven hits and nine walks,
scoring six on the Mets. On the
interesting side, Fisher Cats manager Gary Allenson was ejected in the sixth
inning but we couldn't find any more information on that before posting. An excellent example of the Fisher Cats’
patience at the plate was the 6th inning. The club scored three runs on one hit, one
hit-by-pitch, and four walks.
Hitting:
Kenny Wilson
– 1/4, R, BB, K, CS
John
Tolisano – 0/4, BB, 2 K
Kevin Pillar
– 1/4, R, RBI, HBP, SB
Clint
Robinson – 2/5, 2 K
Brad Glenn –
1/3, 2 R, 2 BB, K
Ricardo
Nanita – 0/2, RBI, 2 BB,
Kevin Ahrens
– 0/2, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Jack Murphy
– 1/2, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
Amadeo
Zazueta – 1/4, RBI, K
Pitching:
Ryan Tepera – W, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2
BB, 4 K, E
Fernando
Hernandez - S, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Ryan Tepera
Dunedin Blue
Jays (7-2)
Chalk up another
victory for the Dunedin Blue Jays as they scored all the runs they needed in
the first and second innings while getting a strong start from Casey Lawrence
in a 7-3 win over the Lakeland Flying Tigers.
Lawrence threw 6 2/3 innings giving up only two runs on four hits and a
walk while Andy Burns continues to swing a hot bat. I wrote about Burns here back in January as someone to watch, and he has definitely lived up to that
label so far this season. With another three
for four night, Burns has brought his batting average up to .389 and hit his
first home run of the season. Also
having a great start is 1B Gabe Jacobo.
Jacobo, who turns 26 tomorrow, is a player who (in my opinion) should
really be playing at a higher level.
Unfortunately, in remaking their depth at first base this year, there
really isn’t much room in AA or AAA with Clint Robinson, Adam Loewen, Luis
Jiminez, and Mauro Gomez ahead of him. All
he did on Saturday night is hit another double (his third of the season) and
drive in two more runs. Jonathan Jones
is another player making some noise early in the year, hitting his third double
and stealing his fifth base of the year Saturday night.
Hitting:
Jonathan
Jones – 2/4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, SB,
Jon
Berti - 1/4, R, 2 K,
Andy Burns –
3/4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, K
Gabe Jacobo – 2/4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
Marcus
Knecht – 1/4, SB
Matt Newman
– 0/4, RBI, K
Pierce
Rankin – 1/4
Peter Mooney PR – 0/0
Aaron Munoz –
1/3, R, BB, K
Nick Baligod
– 2/4
Pitching:
Casey
Lawrence – W, 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Evan
Crawford – 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Ajay Meyer –
1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Casey Lawrence
Lansing
Lugnuts (3-4)
Game
postponed due to rain.
-----------------------------------------------------------
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-----------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to follow us on Twitter: @Jaysfromaway
42: A Review
Before I get to my review of 42, the bio-pic of American legend Jackie Robinson that arrived in theatres on Friday, I'll just have some housekeeping to let all you loyal readers know what's coming up in the next few days.
Tomorrow, I'll be down in Buffalo for their double header against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and I'll be looking forward both to seeing Coca-Cola Field as well as the Bisons actually play this week. If you're in the Toronto/Buffalo area, you'll know that the weather has not been, um... spring-like, and the fellows down the QEW have not been able to get any games in.
While I'm down at the ball park, I'll be taking notes and hopefully have some great information about the Jays' AAA affiliate for all of you.
Tomorrow and Monday, I'll be working on a couple of things for all of you as well. I'll try to get my Pitching edition of "Streak or Trend?" up for Monday and I'll also have a wrap up of the first week and a half of Jays' minor league ball on Monday. This will be a weekly feature that will look at who's hot and who's not, and what's going on with the Jays farm clubs.
Finally, the first edition of the Blue Jays from Away Podcast is in the works. What I hope to be a weekly feature will involve interviews, and updates on the world of the Blue Jays. There's lots of stuff going on in Blue Jays Land, from the disastrous Jose Reyes injury to some outstanding performances by Jays prospects.
I'll also be providing a review of Out of the Park Baseball 14 when I've gotten around to playing it enough to have opinions. As you can see, it's a busy weekend, so that review won't come out for at least a week.
And now, the review.
42 is a difficult film to review for someone like me. As a serious baseball fan who is interested in the history of the game, I know Jackie Robinson's story. I know how heroic he and Branch Rickey were. I know what kind of response he got and the taunting he had to endure in order to stick around. And I know how difficult it is to make an inspiring story like this without making it sappy and maudlin.
Trying to see this film with fresh eyes, I can see that it accomplishes exactly what it set out to. It presents Jackie Robinson's story to a new generation of people who may not even know who he was and it dramatizes the story to show him and his wife Rachel overcoming the segregation, marginalization and flat out racism that they faced.
42 also shows the divisions in the Dodgers' clubhouse that the black man's presence sowed. While some players eventually welcomed Robinson to the team, others could not get over their lifetime of prejudice and were eventually traded away by General Manager Branch Rickey who wanted unity on the team.
Chadwick Boseman was a great choice for Robinson. Serious and earnest, Boseman portrays Robinson as a man who is tired of accepting the second rate status that the colour of his skin affords him, especially in the deep south where he played often as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs. A highlight of the film is Robinson's breakdown after being taunted to the brink of his self-control by Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman (played chillingly by Alan Tudyk). Boseman plays the scene with necessary restraint while he's on the field but explodes in frustration after retreating to the tunnel underneath the stands where he is eventually counselled by Rickey (Harrison Ford).
Playing Rickey, Ford shows more interest in actually acting (that is, in creating a character apart from himself) than he has in years. Adopting some of Rickey's mannerisms and speech patterns, Ford portrays Rickey as a religious man who truly wants to make a societal change but covers his tracks with stories of wanting to take advantage of the spending power that the Brooklyn's black community had or being able to exploit a "market inefficiency" (to use Moneyball terminology) by tapping the huge reservoir of talent playing in the Negro Leagues.
I found Nicole Beharie's performance as Rachel (Rae) Robinson to be somewhat mannered and forced. There are actors who have certain facial mannerisms that take me out of the moment: Beharie is a mouth actor. For every emotion crossing her face, her mouth moves three or four times, making me watch the actor and not the character.
Not that the script really helped her out. The characters don't really develop in 42. Robinson is the stoic, serious ballplayer who breaks the colour barrier with the weight of the entire race on his shoulders. Rachel is his loving, supportive wife. Rickey is the white innovator. It's the story that's the biggest selling point here, but it tries to insert a love story on top of Robinson's baseball story. This love story isn't really a story. There's no arc to it. Jackie and Rachel are in love. He gets his chance to make a secure living in the (white) Major Leagues. They get married. They have a child. At the end of the film, they're still in love. No real story here, it's just a part of Robinson's life that is depicted the same way throughout the film. In a film that runs 128 minutes long, this could have been cut back considerably.
Another criticism that I have is that he direction and the music score are a little bit ham-handed to unnecessarily call attention to the drama. Heroic horn melodies underscore the moments that writer/director Brian Helgeland wants to bring tears to our eyes. The enormity of Robinson's accomplishments and the way that he wins over his teammates by his on-field success are highlighted by Hollywood obviousness. I'm sure that this film is directed at the wider American public who doesn't have the fanatical interest in baseball that I do, but still, it would bother me even if it was a film about soccer.
I actually don't really mind the fact that Jackie's year in Montreal was simply skipped over in between the time Rachel discovers that she's pregnant and the birth of their daughter and replaced by a title that reads "8 months later." I get it. It's an American film about a great American legend. Let's not let a little old (much more progressive) country like Canada get in the way. It's fine. (But if it's not fine, read here for a great article about Robinson's time in Montreal.*)
The one really annoying thing about this film was the way that I'm sure all baseball films will be made going into the future. With a digital ball. When the digital ball flies out of a real actor's hand and a real actor swings a bat and the digital ball goes flying unnaturally, it looks horrible. Yes, a pitcher pitching to a batter who needs to hit the ball a certain way is probably the most difficult and uncontrollable part of making a baseball movie. But hey, Mr. Helgeland. We can tell it's fake.
Charlie Sheen looked like a power pitcher in Major League. He even admitted to doing steroids while shooting to get his fastball into the mid-80s. The film was edited to look like Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn was a real flame thrower. While Tim Robbins was utterly unconvincing as a power pitcher in Bull Durham, at least Nuke LaLoosh is actually throwing the ball. Kevin Costner was certainly passable as a veteran catcher gunning for the minor league career home run title in Major League AND as an aging pitcher in For Love of the Game.
They had real minor leaguers playing the ball players in the movie. Teach your actors to play, or at least use editing tricks to fool us. A digital ball is just cheating.
So, all in all, 42 is not a bad film. Heavy-handed? Yes. Too Hollywood for my taste? Yes. But it's entertaining, has a charismatic lead, a very good performance from Harrison Ford, and it tells an important story that everyone should know about. Without baseball's colour barrier being broken, who knows how much longer the civil rights movement might have taken. The symbol of baseball as America's game being integrated after World War II, where black soldiers had fought and died for their country, was extremely important to the country's psyche. And it's about time that a major motion picture told that story to contemporary audiences.
----------------------------------------------------------
* Start reading about half way through the article: The Essay.
Tomorrow, I'll be down in Buffalo for their double header against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and I'll be looking forward both to seeing Coca-Cola Field as well as the Bisons actually play this week. If you're in the Toronto/Buffalo area, you'll know that the weather has not been, um... spring-like, and the fellows down the QEW have not been able to get any games in.
While I'm down at the ball park, I'll be taking notes and hopefully have some great information about the Jays' AAA affiliate for all of you.
Tomorrow and Monday, I'll be working on a couple of things for all of you as well. I'll try to get my Pitching edition of "Streak or Trend?" up for Monday and I'll also have a wrap up of the first week and a half of Jays' minor league ball on Monday. This will be a weekly feature that will look at who's hot and who's not, and what's going on with the Jays farm clubs.
Finally, the first edition of the Blue Jays from Away Podcast is in the works. What I hope to be a weekly feature will involve interviews, and updates on the world of the Blue Jays. There's lots of stuff going on in Blue Jays Land, from the disastrous Jose Reyes injury to some outstanding performances by Jays prospects.
I'll also be providing a review of Out of the Park Baseball 14 when I've gotten around to playing it enough to have opinions. As you can see, it's a busy weekend, so that review won't come out for at least a week.
And now, the review.
42 is a difficult film to review for someone like me. As a serious baseball fan who is interested in the history of the game, I know Jackie Robinson's story. I know how heroic he and Branch Rickey were. I know what kind of response he got and the taunting he had to endure in order to stick around. And I know how difficult it is to make an inspiring story like this without making it sappy and maudlin.
Trying to see this film with fresh eyes, I can see that it accomplishes exactly what it set out to. It presents Jackie Robinson's story to a new generation of people who may not even know who he was and it dramatizes the story to show him and his wife Rachel overcoming the segregation, marginalization and flat out racism that they faced.
42 also shows the divisions in the Dodgers' clubhouse that the black man's presence sowed. While some players eventually welcomed Robinson to the team, others could not get over their lifetime of prejudice and were eventually traded away by General Manager Branch Rickey who wanted unity on the team.
Chadwick Boseman was a great choice for Robinson. Serious and earnest, Boseman portrays Robinson as a man who is tired of accepting the second rate status that the colour of his skin affords him, especially in the deep south where he played often as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs. A highlight of the film is Robinson's breakdown after being taunted to the brink of his self-control by Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman (played chillingly by Alan Tudyk). Boseman plays the scene with necessary restraint while he's on the field but explodes in frustration after retreating to the tunnel underneath the stands where he is eventually counselled by Rickey (Harrison Ford).
Playing Rickey, Ford shows more interest in actually acting (that is, in creating a character apart from himself) than he has in years. Adopting some of Rickey's mannerisms and speech patterns, Ford portrays Rickey as a religious man who truly wants to make a societal change but covers his tracks with stories of wanting to take advantage of the spending power that the Brooklyn's black community had or being able to exploit a "market inefficiency" (to use Moneyball terminology) by tapping the huge reservoir of talent playing in the Negro Leagues.
I found Nicole Beharie's performance as Rachel (Rae) Robinson to be somewhat mannered and forced. There are actors who have certain facial mannerisms that take me out of the moment: Beharie is a mouth actor. For every emotion crossing her face, her mouth moves three or four times, making me watch the actor and not the character.
Not that the script really helped her out. The characters don't really develop in 42. Robinson is the stoic, serious ballplayer who breaks the colour barrier with the weight of the entire race on his shoulders. Rachel is his loving, supportive wife. Rickey is the white innovator. It's the story that's the biggest selling point here, but it tries to insert a love story on top of Robinson's baseball story. This love story isn't really a story. There's no arc to it. Jackie and Rachel are in love. He gets his chance to make a secure living in the (white) Major Leagues. They get married. They have a child. At the end of the film, they're still in love. No real story here, it's just a part of Robinson's life that is depicted the same way throughout the film. In a film that runs 128 minutes long, this could have been cut back considerably.
Another criticism that I have is that he direction and the music score are a little bit ham-handed to unnecessarily call attention to the drama. Heroic horn melodies underscore the moments that writer/director Brian Helgeland wants to bring tears to our eyes. The enormity of Robinson's accomplishments and the way that he wins over his teammates by his on-field success are highlighted by Hollywood obviousness. I'm sure that this film is directed at the wider American public who doesn't have the fanatical interest in baseball that I do, but still, it would bother me even if it was a film about soccer.
I actually don't really mind the fact that Jackie's year in Montreal was simply skipped over in between the time Rachel discovers that she's pregnant and the birth of their daughter and replaced by a title that reads "8 months later." I get it. It's an American film about a great American legend. Let's not let a little old (much more progressive) country like Canada get in the way. It's fine. (But if it's not fine, read here for a great article about Robinson's time in Montreal.*)
The one really annoying thing about this film was the way that I'm sure all baseball films will be made going into the future. With a digital ball. When the digital ball flies out of a real actor's hand and a real actor swings a bat and the digital ball goes flying unnaturally, it looks horrible. Yes, a pitcher pitching to a batter who needs to hit the ball a certain way is probably the most difficult and uncontrollable part of making a baseball movie. But hey, Mr. Helgeland. We can tell it's fake.
Charlie Sheen looked like a power pitcher in Major League. He even admitted to doing steroids while shooting to get his fastball into the mid-80s. The film was edited to look like Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn was a real flame thrower. While Tim Robbins was utterly unconvincing as a power pitcher in Bull Durham, at least Nuke LaLoosh is actually throwing the ball. Kevin Costner was certainly passable as a veteran catcher gunning for the minor league career home run title in Major League AND as an aging pitcher in For Love of the Game.
They had real minor leaguers playing the ball players in the movie. Teach your actors to play, or at least use editing tricks to fool us. A digital ball is just cheating.
So, all in all, 42 is not a bad film. Heavy-handed? Yes. Too Hollywood for my taste? Yes. But it's entertaining, has a charismatic lead, a very good performance from Harrison Ford, and it tells an important story that everyone should know about. Without baseball's colour barrier being broken, who knows how much longer the civil rights movement might have taken. The symbol of baseball as America's game being integrated after World War II, where black soldiers had fought and died for their country, was extremely important to the country's psyche. And it's about time that a major motion picture told that story to contemporary audiences.
----------------------------------------------------------
* Start reading about half way through the article: The Essay.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
April 12 Minor League Report
Buffalo
Bisons (3-3)
Game(s)
postponed due to rain. Again.
New
Hampshire Fisher Cats (5-4)
The Fisher
Cats had a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning when nine batters
came to the plate and neither Tyson Brummett or Clint Everts could get any of
them out. Tommy Hottovy was the
third Fisher Cat pitcher of the inning and managed to get Rhyne Hughes (who led the inning
off with a HR) to strike out. A couple
of fielding errors led to the extension of the inning that finally resulted in
eleven runs crossing the plate for the Binghamton Mets who won the game by a
score of 15-7 when all was said and done.
While the
pitching was off its game Friday night, the hitting was just fine as they
scored seven runs on thirteen hits.
Leading the charge was CF Kenny Wilson who is now hitting .361 on the
season after a 4/5 night with a double.
2B John Tolisano is also off to a hot start with the bat, htiting .414
after a 3/5 night. Tolisano and Wilson
are both former second round draft picks and have been in the Jays system since
2007 and 2008 (respectively) and now
appear to be breaking out in this young 2013 season.
Hitting:
Kenny Wilson
– 4/5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
Kevin Pillar
– 2/5, R, 2B, RBI, SB, E
Ryan Schimpf – 2/5, R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K
Clint
Robinson – 2/6, RBI, K
Adam Loewen
– 1/6, 5 K
Kevin Nolan
– 0/2, 3 BB, E
Ricardo
Nanita - 2/4, R, RBI
Sean Ochinko
– 2/5, R, 2B, RBI
John
Tolisano – 3/5, R, 2 2B
Pitching:
Tyson Brummett - L, 3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 3 BB,
2 K, 1 HR
Clint Everts
- 0 IP (4 batters), 1 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, WP
Tommy Hottovy - 2 IP, 3 H 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB,
5 K
Trystan
Magnuson - 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K
Joel Carreno
- 1 IP, 1 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Kenny Wilson
Dunedin Blue
Jays (6-2)
The Dunedin
Blue Jays scored in pairs four times and the outcome was never in any doubt due
to the strong pitching from starter Efrain Nieves who, along with Scott Gracey
and Dustin Antolin held the Lakeland Flying Tigers to one run on six hits in an
8-1 victory on Friday night. The hitters
slammed four doubles and a triple (3B Andy Burns had one of each) while Gabe
Jacobo drove in four runs for the D-Jays.
Matt Newman,
who is taking over a regular role in the outfield with Michael Crouse on the DL
upped his batting average to .538 on the season with a 2/3 night while Andy Burns
is now hitting .344 after a 3/4 evening.
Hitting:
Jon
Berti - 1/4, 2 R, BB, K
Peter Mooney
–0/3, R, 2 BB, K, SB
Andy Burns –
3/4, 2 R, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB
Gabe Jacobo – 2/3, 2 R, 2B, 4 RBI
Kevin Patterson - 2/5, 2B, RBI
Marcus Knecht – 0/3, BB, K
Matt Newman – 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI, K
Aaron Munoz - 0/3, BB
Jonathan Jones
–1/4, R, K, 2 SB
Pitching:
Efrain
Nieves - W, 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Scott Gracey
- 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Dustin
Antolin - 1 IP, K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game: Andy Burns. Honourable Mention to Efrain
Nieves and Gabe Jacobo.
Lansing
Lugnuts (3-4)
Nine innings
weren't enough for the Lansing Lugnuts to finish their game Friday night before
the rain delayed and caused its suspension after the top of the 12th inning in
a 4-4 tie. The Lugnuts have announced that the game will be resumed at 2:05 pm on Saturday, followed by the regularly scheduled game against the South Bend Silver Hawks. The team led 4-2 going into top of the 9th of
the Lugnuts' home opening when the Silver Hawks scored two runs with two outs
of Chuck Ghysels on consecutive doubles followed by a passed ball, a walk and
another single. With the Lugnuts unable
to answer, the game went into extra innings.
The Lugnuts
got a second great start from Alonzo Gonzalez, giving him the distinction of
being the first Lansing starter to get two consecutive good starts. He was followed by Wil Browning and Tucker
Donahue who combined for three more scoreless innings and following Ghysels,
Andrew Sikula and Ian Kadish have combined for 3 1/3 more scoreless. With the bats, Dalton Pompey is 2/5 while
Gustavo Pierre and Carlos Ramirez have a triple each.
Hitting:
Dalton
Pompey – 2/5, 2 R, K
Gustavo Pierre – 1/5, R, 3B, RBI, K, E
Christian
Lopes – 0/4, RBI, 2 K, E
Balbino
Fuenmayor – 1/4, K
Chris
Hawkins - 0/5
Santiago
Nessy – 1/5, PB
Kellen
Sweeney - 1/3
Carlos
Ramirez – 1/4, R, 3B
Jorge Flores
– 1/4, RBI, CS, PO
Pitching:
Alonzo
Gonzalez - 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, WP
Wil Browning
- 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, WP
Tucker
Donahue - 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Chuck
Ghysels - 2/3 IP, 3 H 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Andrew
Sikula - 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Ian Kadish -
1 IP, 2 K
Blue Jays
from Away Player of the Game:
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