Now that's a ballgame
It was nearly perfect-it came against the hated Red Sox, who probably have more players I dislike than the Yankees, it featured a late, improbable, home-run filled rally against good pitching, it was about as well-pitched a 7-6 game as you're ever going to see, and finally, there was a bit of poetic justice, as Beckett's deliberate drilling of Aaron Hill sparked the Jays' eighth inning rally.
Beckett has already shot to the top of the long list of Bosox I Dislike-only Schilling beats him-and it was such a bush-league thing to do that I'm delighted it came back to bite him immediately. And I have absolutely no doubt that the plunking was intentional: Beckett had had great command all evening, it came on the first pitch of an inning following an inning that a Bosox player had been hit (with a curveball, for god's sake) and it was a textbook purpose pitch-a fastball right between the shoulder blades.
So why was it only nearly perfect? Well, A.J. Burnett is hurt again. For those of you keeping score at home, he's now been hurt twice in the first month of a five year contract worth an awful lot of money. He was obviously always the highest risk of this offseason's acquisitions, but the nightmare scenario might be unfolding a lot faster than anyone anticipated. The Jays can contend without Burnett this year, but the long-term outlook without him contributing is decidedly grim.
But for now, I'm happy-they won in dramatic fashion, send Halladay out against the immortal Lenny DiNardo today, and look like they can make some noise. We'll worry about those storm clouds a little later.
posted by Ian Gray | 10:17 a.m.
2 Comments:
So if Burnett gets seriously hurt and can't play for a couple of years, do the Jays have to keep paying him, or is there a clause where they can release him from his contract or pay him less? I would imagine they have to pay him, but...well, my knowledge of these things is limited.
Well, Mysterious Commenter, baseball contracts are guaranteed, so the Jays are on the hook for the full five years regardless of whether he pitches like Cy Young for all of them or never throws another pitch. It's for this reason that a lot of people (read: everyone not in the actual suite of offices occupied by Toronto's brain trust) thought that this contract was a huge gamble-Burnett hasn't had a fully healthy season since...well, ever, really.
There are exceptions to the guarantees if both parties agree to them-for example, Burnett himself has an out clause three years into the deal, and so-called "option years," where an extra year is tacked on to the end of a deal if one side or the other (or both) chooses to exercise it, are common. Generally, though, baseball contracts are the most straightforward in sports-team pays x dollars for y years that the player will be under their control.
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