Inside Pitch

Blue Jays going back to old look for 2012

The Toronto Blue Jays are returning to their roots of the 1970s, 80s and 90s with new uniforms and logos that were unveiled today during a ceremony in the Rogers Center. The new look is returning the blue and focusing again on the red maple leaf, just like the original logo did in 1977. Check out the team's video introduction.

---Mike Harrington
(twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Bulletin: Mariano gets No. 601 in Yankees win

TORONTO -- Legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has tied the all-time record with his 601st career save today, pitching a perfect ninth inning to wrap up a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Rogers Centre.

Rivera got Colby Rasmus to take a called third strike and got Brett Lawrie on a broken-bat grounder to first. With the Yankees fans in the crowd of 39,288 urging him on, Rivera got Eric Thames on a lazy fly ball for his 42nd save of the season and 13th in a row.

The Yankees trailed through five innings, 6-1, and were largely a trainwreck in the first half of the game. Bartolo Colon had very little in his four innings and light-hitting Toronto leadoff man Mike McCoy had three RBIs.

The New York offense failed to get a man in from third base five times -- five times! -- and Robinson Cano ran into a double play to end the fourth when he passed Mark Teixeira at third base. Cano, running head down from second, either thought Nick Swisher's liner to Corey Rasmus in center was either the third out or was dropping in. When Rasmus made the backhand catch, Teixeira retreated to third to tag up but Cano blew right by him.

The Yankees finally got it together in the sixth with four runs -- three on a first-pitch laser over the left-field wall by Alex Rodriguez, his first home run since Sept. 4.

They took the lead in the seventh on Curtis Granderson's 40th homer of the season, a two-run shot to dead-center off Carlos Villanueva. That was the at-bat of the game, as Granderson fouled off seven straight 2-2 pitches before finally connecting.

The New York bullpen set a remarkable red carpet for Rivera. Scott Proctor, Aaron Laffey, Hector Noesi and Rafael Soriano threw four hitless innings. In fact, they retired the final 11 in that stretch. Proctor gave up a leadoff walk to Jose Bautista in the fifth, but he was quickly erased on Adam Lind's double-play grounder and the Blue Jays never had another baserunner.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Around the horn: Mets, Meals, mound magic

Lots of tasks cluttering my mind that include (gasp) a Bills column for Friday's paper. I'll have some thoughts on free agency, especially how Darcy Regier simply has a much easier road than Buddy Nix at this point in time. But there's never "out of time" when it comes to baseball and I've got a few thoughts here:

---Wish the Mets could have gotten more help for the '12 Bisons in exchange for Carlos Beltran. That said, the word is that Zach Wheeler is a solid pitching prospect and GM Sandy Alderson said today they went for one high-ceiling prospect (Wheeler was the No. 6 pick in 2009), rather than a package of three-lower prospects. Maybe he sneaks to Buffalo in the second half of next year. We'll see. 

---Wonder what, if anything, the Yankees do this week for pitching. Especially since Phil Hughes couldn't even beat the 17-loss-in-a-row Mariners in yet another game that showed the Yankees could use Felix Hernandez.

---How about a suspension when umpires make an obvious mistake? Can't think of any candidates offhand .... Can you, Jerry Meals?

---I love this MLB.com collection of calls on the Meals video from both teams' crews. ROOT Sports Pittsburgh's Greg Brown -- the former Bisons and Bills announcer -- goes utterly ballistic around 27 seconds. Classic.

---What a crazy couple of days in Syracuse. Columbus pitcher Justin Germano tossed just the fifth perfect game in IL history Tuesday over the Syracuse Chiefs but the Chiefs nearly got revenge Wednesday as Brad Peacock took a no-hittter into the eighth before a Beau Mills double broke him off. That was the only Columbus hit in a 2-0 Syracuse win. Crazy year in the Cuse. Ex-Bison Michael Aubrey had a four-homer game in June against Durham and now a perfect game.

---Courtesy of the Clippers, here's the final out of the perfecto and the clubhouse scene as Germano comes off the field.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

 

Yankees growing more suspicious of Jays' sign-stealing

TORONTO -- Yankees catcher Russell Martin said the Blue Jays were stealing signs from second base during Toronto's 16-7 win here Thursday night. The Yankees changed their signs so much Friday night they think it caused a big distraction for pitcher Freddy Garcia in their 7-1 loss. (I say Garcia had nothing but that's just me).

Now comes a ramping up of this chatter prior to today's 1 p.m. game on YES: Manager Joe Girardi actually said the Blue Jays might be doing it from somewhere off the field in Rogers Centre. Seriously.

"We're going to protect our signs and I told the guys there's things you have to do at certain ballparks," Girardi said.

Now, this isn't a new accusation. In the glory days here, Cito Gaston was one of the best sign stealers there was and plenty of teams have worried about the hotel rooms that overlook the field housing a potentially clandestine operative.

But come on. The Jays are 21-22 at home. Last night was the fourth game I've covered here this year -- and the first one the Jays have won! A team stealing signs would not be below .500 at home.

Yankee beat writers left Girardi's pregame meeting in the first-base dugout and bolted over to John Farrell's scrum in the third base dugout with Girardi's words and I'm told Farrell was baffled because of his team's home record. (Disclosure: I was not there as I was working on my Sunday Inside Baseball column).

Part of me tells me Farrell is involved because he got very familiar with the Yankees during his time in Boston. But a bigger part of me says the Jays probably will have a lot tougher time stealing signs today with CC Sabathia on the mound than they did with Garcia or Bartolo Colon.

Always some sort of sideshow when the Yankees are in town. Great stuff for reporters to chew on.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

A Jays-Yankees update, post-traffic jam

TORONTO -- Live long enough in Buffalo and you'll deal with a whopper of a traffic jam sometime in your life coming up here. Be it the bridges or the QEW, you'll get yours eventually. I got it tonight. Because of a family obligation, I left my house at 3:30. Figured some extra bridge time and traffic would have me safely in the Rogers Centre press box in the 6-6:15 range. Heh. Next case.

I sat down in the press box here at around 8 p.m. after an epically nightmarish drive. Only 40 minutes at the Rainbow Bridge. Just traffic, accidents, traffic and more traffic. Followed by filled parking lots.

Haven't even filled out a scorecard yet. Trying to keep tabs and do a couple things. The Blue Jays lead the Yankees, 3-1, in the bottom of the fifth. Good friend of the blog Chad Jennings of the Westchester Journal-News, my former IL cohort from his days covering the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons and Yankees, was kind enough to give me a catchup on some of today's pregame chatter:

---Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is not playing after twisting his ankle last night. It looked mighty serious but was much better today and he didn't even need an MRI. Jays manager John Farrell said Bautista might play Sunday but almost certainly would be ready Tuesday against Seattle here. So bummer for all you folks coming up this weekend that you probably won't see the big-league home run leader.

---Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Bartolo Colon, the ex-Bison of about 100 pounds ago, is physically fine in the wake of his eight-run blowup in the first inning last night. The Yankees were concerned about a leg issue as Colon continues to struggle covering first.

"I talked to him today and I said, ‘Do you feel anything?’ And he assured me that he didn’t," Girardi said. "So I went and watched the tape and looked for things that would tell me if he felt it or not. Did not see anything. Watching the tape, he threw much better than what we saw. We didn’t play defense behind him, which really hurt him."

---Yankees catcher Russell Martin said after Thursday's game and again today that he felt the Blue Jays were stealing signs last night, tipping off batters when there was a runner at second base. Martin changed the signs in the fourth inning but his team was already in a 9-1 hole.

"Teams have been giving locations and stealing signs forever, and it’s something that we guard against and we’ll continue to guard against it," Girardi said. "...They’re more famliar with you, you’re more familiar with them. It’s all part of the game.”

Girardi went on to say sign-stealing is part of the game, so long as it's not done in an extreme way, such as with binoculars from the bullpen (see Phillies) or the stands. Did he notice it last night?

"I’m not going to comment on that," he said. "But believe me, we pay attention to it.”

---What was Farrell's take on the sign-stealing? He tended to plead ignorance but everyone here knows better. Farrell just spent four years as the pitching coach of the Red Sox so you know he has some pretty intimate knowledge of the Yankees.

"If it’s taking place, in the times when we’ve felt like it has, that’s where you shift to a secondary set of signs, always trying to stay one step ahead," he said. I don’t know if that was actually taking place last night. [Martin] has a right to his own opinion. I don’t know if that’s what was going on last night, but we’ve been in games where you kind of sense it. You’ve got to be equipped to adjust.”

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Doc makes his house call to Toronto

TORONTO -- I'm on the scene at Rogers Centre for a game I've had circled in my mind for two years. It's the return of Roy Halladay to Toronto to meet the Blue Jays as the Phillies are in town for a 1:07 first pitch. This was, remember, supposed to happen last year but the teams' interleague series had to be moved to Philly because the G-20 Summit was in Toronto and the ballpark was within the security perimeter.

So MLB, in a wise move, granted the Jays' wish of a rematch series against the Phils. To top it off, they gave it to them on a holiday weekend. So more than 45,000 packed the park on Canada Day for yesterday's 7-6 Phillies win and a similar throng should be in the house today.

Halladay got a huge ovation (see the MLB.com video here) and doffed his cap as he took the lineup card to home plate yesterday. There was a video tribute and the whole thing was done at the Blue Jays' request. He should get plenty of rousing cheers again today. While many ex-Jays have heard it here when they returned, Halladay was a beloved figure and almost no one blamed him for asking out in 2009 to try to get on a winner. 

Halladay went 21-10 for the Phillies last year and then, of course, threw his playoff no-hitter against the Reds. He's 10-3 with a 2.40 ERA this season.

In the National Post, Jays pitcher Ricky Romero said, "He was the face of this franchise for such a long time,” Romero said. “He deserved a standing ovation. But as of [Saturday] I think he’s our enemy."

In the Toronto Star, veteran columnist Richard Griffin tells fans they should definitely stand and cheer when Halladay takes the mound.

In the Toronto Sun, Hall of Famer-to-be Bob Elliott has a neat read on several folks earliest recollections of Halladay.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Report: Herd veteran Adams retires

Still trying to get out of hockey mode, here's another item that I just learned about on the Bisons' beat: Veteran utility man Russ Adams has suddenly retired, according to ESPNNY.com. 

(The Bisons are not confirming that report. They are simply saying that Adams has been placed on the restricted list and is not with the team.)

Adams had a good season for the Bisons last year, especially in the second half, and finished at .264-16-58. This year, however, he was hitting only .180 but did belt a 10th-inning home run to provide the margin in Monday's 6-4 win at Lehigh Valley. 

But Toronto's former No. 1 draft pick apparently has had enough at age 30. Adams had appeared in 23 of Buffalo's 27 games, including 14 appearances at third base. 

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

It's Opening Day II

The season openers continue Friday with a 3:05 first pitch in sold-out Progressive Field for the Indians and White Sox and a 7:05 first pitch in the sold-out Rogers Centre for the Blue Jays and Twins and the managerial debut of ex-Bison John Farrell.

Check out the Cleveland Plain Dealer's preview section here. The Toronto Star has several stories looking ahead to the Blue Jays' season at this link

Cleveland.com will be hosting a live chat during the Indians' game. They also have a live Webcam into the Winking Lizard, a great pub on Huron Street by the ballpark that this corner has often frequented over the years. An odd little Opening Day addition (place opened at 9 a.m.!)

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

The Mets, meanwhile, open the Terry Collins era tonight at Florida (7 p.m. on SNY). The Daily News' Mets section has all kinds of stories on the Amazins' season, both Madoff and non-Madoff variety. I like Andy Martino's look at how Collins and GM Sandy Alderson have quite a mess to fix. In terms of early impact on the Bisons is the fact that Jason Bay's trip to the DL means Lucas Duda has made the big club and won't take his big bat to Buffalo to start the year.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Around the horn as spring training winds down

Lots of news coming out of Florida as camps are starting to break up today:

---Just as the Mets get Carlos Beltran back in their lineup, they have a new injury crisis to deal with. It looks like Jason Bay is going to start the season on the disabled list with a rib cage strain suffered in batting practice. That could have big impact on the Bisons, allowing the Mets to keep Lucas Duda on their Opening Day roster rather than sending him to Buffalo. The Amazins have Nick Evans on waivers and he could get back to the Herd if he clears today. Duda was expected to split time in Buffalo between first base and the outfield.

---Speaking of the Bisons, they hosted a media briefing yesterday on changes to Coca-Cola Field for this season and the highlight was when they turned on their new HD board. The thing is gigundus and you will be blown away.

---The Blue Jays are moving 54-homer man Jose Bautista back to right field from third base because they're pleased with the improvement Edwin Encarnacion has made at third. Dangerous. The guy's initials are EE, not the best for a third baseman, and he often lived up to them last year with some shoddy glovework. But Encarnacion reportedly came to camp lighter and has shown improvement. We'll see.

---It looks like the Yankees are going to put Brett Gardner in the leadoff slot for Opening Day Thursday against the Tigers and move Derek Jeter to the No. 2 hole. This is definitely not the same Derek Jeter we've been used to seeing.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

World Series: You make the call