Now THAT was a Baseball Game!

The Blue Jays grabbed their gloves and turned in a defensive gem versus the Orioles (orange) on Sunday, June 9, at Avenel Park.

The scorebook suggested that the game should not have been competitive.  The Orioles struck out just four times in 34 plate appearances (88% contact).  Uncharacteristically, the Blue Jays swung and missed their way to twelve strikeouts in 26 plate appearances (58% contact).  As a result, the Blue Jays had to execute 14 outs in the field while the Orioles needed to complete only six put-outs.  That type of disparity typically results in disaster.

Yet the Blue Jays had a chance to win it at the end because they played awesome defense for six innings.  It took a fantastic backhanded stab by the Orioles' pitcher's helper on a low line drive to thwart the Blue Jays' two-out rally in the bottom of the final frame.

The "win" last week wasn't nearly as good as the "loss" this week!  The final score was Orioles (orange) 4, Blue Jays 3.

June 9 Game Report

After surviving a grueling Saturday workout under the tutelage of his older brother, Clark Roggie produced a 2-for-2 batting line and drove in two of his team's three runs in Sunday's game.  Clark now leads the team with nine RBI for the season.  He also claimed the team's Contact Award, outlasting some very capable teammates by putting the ball in play in each of his 22 plate appearances through seven games.  In other words, Clark is the last Blue Jay without a strikeout.

Like many of his teammates, Clark took a huge leap forward defensively in the rematch with the Orioles.  He made an incredible stop in the 5.5 hole from the shortstop position in the top of the 2nd, made an unlikely shoestring catch for an unassisted put-out on a low line drive to shortstop in the fourth, and put his body in front of the ball to complete an unassisted put-out on a grounder at 1st base in the sixth.

You know you've had a great season at the plate when you go 2-for-3 and your batting average goes down.  That's what happened to Jacob Carle.  After hitting into a fielder's choice in the bottom of the third inning, Jacob's batting average dropped to .750.  He went on to score a run, his seventh of the year, on a day when nothing came cheaply.

Jacob finally had his first career opportunity to be the catcher.  After proving he was more than up to the task behind the plate, he continued his habit of making huge outs at 1st base.  Jacob singlehandedly prevented what looked to be a huge inning for the Orioles in the top of the third.  With bases loaded and none out, Jacob speared a line drive and outran the baserunner back to the bag at 1st to complete an unassisted double play.  He then put the rally to bed for good when he handled a grounder and stepped on the bag for an unassisted groundout to end the inning.  For good measure, Jacob started the next frame by catching a fly ball in foul territory for yet another unassisted put-out.

Brody Gottfried did something that few players on either team managed to do in this game.  He scored a run!  Above, Brody crosses the plate and puts one on the board for the Blue Jays after slapping a base hit to the opposite field in the bottom of the third inning.

Brody demonstrated strong fundamentals at 2nd base when he fielded a well hit grounder between his two feet in the top of the sixth inning.  We also noticed that Brody was quicker to cover the bag at 2nd this week when the ball was hit to the left side of the field.  Above, Brody shows off the well honed catcher's stance that he utilized in multiple games this season.

Seamus Bain hit the ball well but had little to show for it due to the spectacular play of the Orioles' pitcher's helper.  Seamus' hard grounder to the left side in the bottom of the fifth inning would have been a clean hit in most games.  Unfortunately, this one happened to feature some opposing fielders who proved to be a few levels better than what we've seen in most games this year.

Seamus stayed after practice on Friday and worked to develop his backhanded catching skills.  In Sunday's game, he put in a workmanlike performance at catcher and continued to focus on charging the ball from the 2nd base position.

Niara Gupta was one of only six Blue Jays to hit safely in the game with the Orioles.  Using her elite speed to good effect, Niara beat the throw from the pitcher's helper after knocking a solid grounder to the left side in the bottom of the third.  Niara's base hit started the rally that produced all three of the Blue Jays' runs.

Niara contributed one of the Blue Jays' three infield assists.  Playing at pitcher's helper in the top of the second inning, Niara ranged to her left, fielded a grounder that had been hit down the 1st base line, and then turned and delivered an accurate throw in plenty of time to get the runner.  Niara's 1-3 assist was an early defensive highlight.

Yet another hitter who was victimized by the Orioles' outstanding infielders, Adam Farber smashed this pitch up the middle in the bottom of the first inning.  This was yet another example of contact that almost certainly would have resulted in a base hit versus a lesser opponent.  Good teams turn good contact into outs.  In this games, both teams did plenty of that!

Adam played heads-up baseball at 3rd base in the third, fourth, and sixth innings.  His solid stop on a blistering grounder in the bottom of the sixth denied the opponent extra bases and most likely kept an insurance run off the board.

Sebastian Bloomberg experienced the highs and the lows of baseball in Sunday's game.  His clean base hit up the middle was key to the Blue Jays' rally in the bottom of the third.  When Sebastian crossed home plate, he gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead and notched his team-leading twelfth run scored on the season.  That was the high.  The low came when the Orioles' pitcher's helper caught Sebastian's hot shot to the left side, ending the game and robbing Sebastian of extra bases in the bottom of the sixth.  Sometimes, you do everything well and things still don't work out.  That's baseball, and that's what happened to Sebastian.

The head coach finally made good on his promise to give Sebastian another opportunity to play the catcher position.  Sebastian sported the gear in the top half of the sixth inning.  Above, he warms up at shortstop in the top of the first.

Noah Solovey was yet another Blue Jay who was robbed by one of the Orioles' many excellent pitcher's helpers.  Above, Noah prepares to pound a hard grounder near the 3rd baseline in the bottom of the fifth.  Unfortunately, the pitcher's helper made yet another spectacular play, ranging far to his right and delivering a perfect throw to thwart Noah's best effort.  Noah won't join the Blue Jays for the make-up game next week.  He ended the season with eight RBI, good for second on the team through seven games.  His .476 batting average is the team median.

A blue collar guy, Noah took the coach's words to heart and worked on catching after Friday's practice.  Noah then proceeded to make an incredible catch at 2nd base on a hard and long throw from the shortstop in the top of the second inning.  Although the play did not result in an out, it did serve as an example of the type of effort we will expect to see consistently throughout the fall season.

Dominic Delgado hit the ball hard and discovered some hard-to-find holes in the Orioles' defense.  His 2-for-2 afternoon included an RBI that put the Blue Jays on the board in the bottom of the third inning.  Dominic ranks among the team leaders with seven RBI this season.

Dominic contributed to the Blue Jays' list of defensive exploits in the top of the fifth inning.  Playing at shortstop, he charged a grounder, got a handle on the ball, and tossed an excellent throw that arrived just in time to get the runner at 1st base.  Dominic handled the Blue Jays' final put-out of the game on his own, fielding a grounder at shortstop and beating the runner to the 2nd base bag for an unassisted force play in the top of the sixth.

Josh Porter is an aggressive batter who tends to be a little streaky at times.  Above, he sets his eyes on a pitch that he had hoped to deposit in the outfield.  Josh took some mighty hacks but had trouble keeping his head still.  As a result, he was not able to put the ball in play as he had in his breakout performance a week earlier.

Good players play good defense even when things aren't going their way at the plate.  Josh contributed unassisted force plays on grounders to 3rd base in the first and fifth innings that were key to keeping the Blue Jays in the game.  Had Josh not made those plays with the glove, this game might have gotten out of hand rapidly.

Henry Goldstein gives excellent effort and puts a charge in the ball whenever he makes contact.  The coaches know that the consistency will come given Henry's work ethic.  He was not alone in having difficulty making contact in Sunday's game.

Henry came up with a huge defensive highlight in the top of the fourth inning.  Playing at pitcher's helper, he fielded a grounder, made the 270 degree turn, and delivered the lefthanded throw to 1st base just in time to get the fleet-footed runner.  Henry's play enabled the Blue Jays to get off the field without allowing a run.

Reto Lamparter has missed some time at recent practices and games.  Success in baseball, particularly as kids get older and competition gets better, is made possible by repetition and rhythm.  Reto wasn't able to shake off the rust in his two trips to the plate.

Reto did contribute some outstanding plays defensively.  A naturally gifted glove man, he completed two unassisted force plays at 1st base that shut the door on the Orioles' attack in the top of the first inning.  Reto also ended Orioles' rallies in the fourth and fifth innings when he caught good throws from teammates to complete assisted put-outs at 1st base.

This game produced handshakes and congratulations all around.  Both teams played extremely well.  The Orioles struck out only five times; they needed only six put-outs in the field and got them in spectacular fashion, robbing the Blue Jay of multiple hits.  The Blue Jays executed 14 put-outs in the field, easily a team record and a number not often needed early in the machine pitch experience.  The Jays' defense was more than good enough to win with just a little more contact at the plate.

In other words, this was a real baseball game!

Pitching In

Here's Eric Delgado helping the players get lined up in the field.  He also led pregame fielding warm-up and coached from the bench during the game.  Eric will make his head coaching debut next week.  We encourage all to do whatever they can to make the transition easy.

As an example, we REALLY need a scorekeeper if we're going to have reliable end-of-season stats for each player.  If you have any idea how to keep score well enough that the head coach can read the book and figure out what happened, then please volunteer!

Lance Bloomberg had been scheduled to coach in another BCC game on Sunday.  It was our good fortune when that game was canceled for reasons unknown.  Lance has been a fixture helping out at Blue Jays' practices and games this season.  We appreciate it!

Yvette Quintela, Sebastian's mom, offered to help, so we put her to work as the bench coach at Sunday's game.  Yvette's efforts freed Sarah to keep the book as meticulously as possible, a happy occurrence given the number of great plays that we were able to record and report here for posterity.

Thanks, Yvette!

This effort drew smiles all around.  Focusing, playing hard, and doing your best is FUN! We trust that the Blue Jays will do it again next week and end the season on a high note!

Coach Steve