Shades of Spring in Fall

Do mine eyes deceive me, or are these the Toronto Blue Jays that we saw much earlier this year? For the second night in a row, the offense was firing on all cylinders and the starting pitching put forth a great effort to keep the team in the ballgame.

First off, Adam Lind is a beast. If it wasn’t for Jonathan Papelbon’s plunking in the top of the 9th, Lind had a legitimate shot at hitting four home runs in one game. Good for you Papelbon – you will now be remembered in my mind as a pitcher who refuses to let opposing players hit milestones while you are on the mound. Just remember that karma is a bitch and I hope it comes back to bite you in the ass in the ALDS or the ALCS.

Next, let’s address Kevin Millar. Is it just me, or did he look like an entirely different player last night? He was confident, secure and graceful at the corner all night long. An assist from Rod Barajas and a leaping play showed that Millar maybe has a little bit of gas left in the tank.

For the second night in a row, Jose Bautista went yard which now makes that seven home runs in the month of September alone. Would you be shocked if I told you his OPS this month was .932? I can’t believe it either. All year long, I’ve flipped back and forth on whether or not Bautista was worth the $2.4 million and I’m beginning to warm up to the idea of having him back next year as well. I think Bautista is worth his weight in gold in the outfield, as he’s tied for fourth in the American League with 11 outfield assists.

Lastly, Jason Frasor nearly gave us all a heart attack but he shut the door on the late-charging Red Sox to save the game. As I sighed in relief at that called strike three, I couldn’t help but notice how similar that pitch and situation was to the Brian Fuentes/LA Angels ordeal just a few weeks ago at Fenway Park. I guess the umpires learned their lesson on that one.

It was a roller coaster game the whole way through, yet the Blue Jays managed to win their fifth straight game and delayed the BoSox from winning the Wild Card for at least a few hours. It’s games like those that show this team really does have what it takes to compete in the American League East. It’s just unfortunate that they didn’t show it till the final week of the season.