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        <title><![CDATA[Stealing Home - A Blue Jays Blog]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.metronews.ca/blog/179664]]></link>
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                      <title><![CDATA[Adam Lind needs your help!]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[Adam Lind's having a great season, most would even call it an all-star calibre season. So it's too bad he was left off the all-star team. But he still has a chance! All-star rosters feature 33 players per league and although Lind wasn't named to the 32-man roster, he is one of five players nominated for the final spot on the American League team. That 33rd spot? Determined by you, the fans. So if you want to help Lind get to the All-Star Game, click the button below and vote for him as many times as you can! &nbsp; (If for some reason the button doesn't work, you can go to bluejays.com or mlb.com and vote on those sites. H/T to the Blue Jay Hunter for the button.)]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/257289</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[Adam Lind, Blue Jays, All-Star Game]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:19:09 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Chris Clements</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/257289</guid>
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                      <title><![CDATA[Why wins don't matter]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[When the Jays called up Brad Mills to make his first major league start (which he's doing a very good job of as I type this) it would have been easy to criticize the move. &quot;But he's 1-8 in AAA! His ERA is almost four-and-a-half! If he's no good in AAA, he won't be able to cut it in The Bigs.&quot; This is just the latest example of why wins are not a good way to judge a pitcher's ability. Mills' numbers in AAA are not great, but they're very comparable to those of Brett Cecil, and Cecil (despite one bad start in Boston) has been pretty good in his limited Major League opportunities so far. Wins, and to a lesser extent, ERA, are no way to judge a pitcher. Wins are a stat which is representative of the team as a whole. Just think of how many times last year a Jays pitcher would give up one or two runs and, because the offence was just horrid, would take the loss. The pitcher gets saddled with the stat, but really he's likely the person (especially in the AL) who's least likely to be responsible for the loss if he's pitched well. ERA can be pinned to a certain extent on the pitcher, but the defence behind him plays a big role in that particular stat as well. A contact pitcher can be very effective, but not if the defence isn't stopping the balls in play from becoming hits. I don't know enough about the defence of the Las Vegas 51s to make any claims as they relate to Mills, but I can say that other than Fabio Castro, the ERAs down there seem to be on the high side, so maybe the 4.48 shouldn't be held against Mills.]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/247936</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[Brad Mills, Brett Cecil, wins don't matter]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:17:28 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Chris Clements</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/247936</guid>
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                      <title><![CDATA[J.P. surprises everyone]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[First B.J. Ryan is taken off the DL without being returned to the closer’s role, now Ricky Romero is taken off the DL and, instead of bumping someone from the big league rotation, he’s being sent to Vegas . The last couple of weeks seems to have been a constant debate about who’s headed to the minors when Romero and Jesse Litsch and Casey Janssen get healthy. Rob Ray was the consensus choice, with Scott Richmond getting some recent shoves toward the door (even though he’s only had one bad start). But instead of doing any of that, J.P. just sent the first healthy guy down to the minors. As great as Romero’s been, I’m cool with the move. Sure, there’s a good chance that Ray’s start tomorrow will be his last, but maybe not. All the arms in the rotation are doing good right now, so why screw with it?]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/229738</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[J.P. Ricciardi, Jesse Litsch, Las Vegas 51s, Ricky Romero, Rob Ray, Scott Richmond, Uncle B.J.'s wild ride]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2009 18:47:49 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Chris Clements</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/229738</guid>
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                      <title><![CDATA[The sky is not falling]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[Yes, Scott Richmond had a bad start last night. That doesn’t necessarily mean his luck’s run out . So far this season, Richmond has struggled against left-handed batters. Righties are hitting him for a .172 batting average and an OPS of .419, while lefties have a .304 BA and a 1.020 OPS. So Richmond dominates righties and gets shelled by lefties. Facing most teams, this is not too much of a problem.The lefties hit Scott, then he works out of trouble by slamming the door on the righties. The Yankees are a different story. As MLBastian tweeted: “Yanks had 7 LH hitters (4 switch) in the lineup vs. Richmond tonight. They combined to go 7-10 with 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR against him.” How many lineups can throw seven lefties at you?]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/228861</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[Scott Richmond, Yankees]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 12:01:14 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Chris Clements</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/228861</guid>
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                      <title><![CDATA[Canada's team again?]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[I wasn’t at the game last night, so I’ll leave the telling of that story to those who were. The above picture did catch my attention though. I know the pre-game video showing at the SkyDome this year likes to claim that the Jays are Canada’s team, but in the last few years it would seem that’s only true based on the fact that the Jays are Canada’s only MLB team. There was a time (see early 1990s) when the claim was true and people across the country followed every pitch of every game played by your Toronto Blue Jays. During last night’s game, I was getting texts from friends across Canada. Some guys who drove to Toronto from Nova Scotia — just to see this game before going to Alice Fazooli’s and driving home again — called Wilner last night. Then there’s the guy in the picture at the top of this post. So is the claim to being Canada’s team slowly starting to be valid again? Is the incredible start to the season winning fans nationwide? Or is A.J. Burnett just that widely loathed?]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/228275</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[AJ Burnett, Canada's team]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 13:09:51 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Chris Clements</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/228275</guid>
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                      <title><![CDATA[Showdown at the SkyDome corral]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[A wild, immature pitcher with an &quot;electric arm&quot; travels north following the money. When he arrives in the baseball's hinterland, he meets an almost mythical talent , a man who, despite residing in said hinterland and having no real exposure to the American masses, has managed to become widely accepted as one of, if not, the best pitchers in the game. After three mostly disappointing years in the hinterland, the &quot;electric arm&quot; cites some contractual mumbo jumbo to leave and again chases the money. This time it takes him to the bright lights of the big city; a place where the sense of entitlement is such that a championship is expected every year. But a funny thing happened after the wild one left in search of even greater riches: The team from the hinterland improved by leaps and bounds, while the pinstriped lads from the big city are struggling to even win as many games as they lose. And so it comes to pass. Tomorrow night, the pinstriped boys from the big city will arrive in the hinterland to do battle with the squad that has assumed the leading role of the league. And the man with the electric arm is scheduled to take the mound. Too bad for him. AJ, the Doctor will see you now.]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/227036</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[AL East, Yankees, Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2009 12:33:56 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Chris Clements</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/227036</guid>
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