AL East Round Up: Opening Week Edition

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Toronto Blue Jays:

The opening game of the season did not look pretty…at all. Some would say the Blue Jays lost badly to the Rays 9-2. I argue that the Blue Jays actually won the game…for the Rays. With R.A. Dickey losing control of his knuckleball and walking 6 and a defensive nightmare in the 8th, the Blue Jays had no chance against Price and the Rays. The rough start to the season was wiped out when Drew Hutchison chipped in a nice start and Mark Buehrle struck out 11 the next night. Brandon Morrow gave up 4 runs in a loss to the Rays that evened the series. Then the Jays came home to face the Yankees for their home openener. Dustin McGowan made his first start of the season to mixed reviews. But, he is not showing ill effects from it, so we celebrate. Dickey followed his first outing with a gem of 6 2/3 shutout ball. It was nice to see his knuckleball whirling through the Yankee strike zone. Offensively, the Jays are being led by Melky Cabrera (.346/.346/.577) and Jose Bautista (.222/.722/1.162) Bautista leads the league (Yes, it is EARLY) with 3 HR and 7 walks. 7! The surprise contribution of the week is coming from Jonathan Diaz (.273/.333/.364). He was called up to replace Jose Reyes, who is trying to come off the DL (hamstring) by mid-April. Diaz was expected to be a solid defensive replacement for Reyes. Who knew he’d come in and give some clutch hits? Tuesday night he got his first MLB hit, RBI and stolen base against the Rays. Celebratory butt pat for Diaz!

NOTES

It was admitted by Paul Beeston that the Blue Jays players were so desperate to land Ervin Santana that they offered to defer some of their own salary to clear some payroll. Wow. Is Rogers really that hard up for money? This whole saga is odd and frustrating that you may want to just block it out.

Roy Halladay threw out the opening pitch at Rogers Centre. It was an odd moment of nostalgia mixed with longing as fans remembered his glory days, but wished he could still be part of the Jays rotation.

-Apparently, Dioner Navarro is fitting in nicely with his new club. It is a love fest for Navarro in the Jays club house.