Elliott's 9 innings: Beeston, Bichette, Brock, Montoyo, Stottlemyre

Manager Charlie Montoyo deserves credit for the Blue Jays season.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

There are at least nine innings in most games, unless it is the second game of a doubleheader ... this year.

We’re going to try going through a game one inning at a time.

Singing the national anthems will be legend Tony Bennett, who will stick around for the seventh inning to look for his heart.

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First inning

Enough ... It’s about time. Time to get off the back of manager Charlie Montoyo. Blue Jays fans are constantly complaining about the skipper for his lineup, for lifting his starter too early, for walking to the mound like former manager Jimy Williams ... Fans have stopped short of second guessing why Montoyo had the tuna sandwich at lunch instead of the grilled cheese.

Let me ask you ... if some time during spring training I had told you that Your Toronto Blue Jays would be ahead of the New York Yankees in September -- would you have howled, told me to go back to a sandlot diamond or turn up your hearing aid?

Montoyo is doing a good job. The evidence is in the standings. Sure it is a 60-game sprint under strange circumstances with home games in downtown Buffalo but it is what it is: if the season ended today Your Toronto Blue Jays would be in post-season play.

It would not be the same as 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2015 or 2016 since there are zero tickets to buy, but there would be the Jays in October to watch.

The Jays brass, like a lot of other teams, do not want starters going through a lineup a third time. Too much damage is done.

Starting with Monday and moving backwards

_ Hyun Jin Ryu went six batters into the third time through the New York Yankees lineup in Buffalo.

_ Robbie Ray went two batters into the third time through the lineup at Fenway Park on Sunday.

_ Chase Anderson faced three hitters for a third time on Saturday in his 69-pitch outing.

_ Ross Stripling also faced three in the second game of the doubleheader.

_ Tanner Roark faced 20 Bosoton hitters, throwing 79 pitches.

_ Taijuan Walker pitched to four batters a third time in the Boston opener.

_ Ryu went three hitters into the third round.

_ The Jays went with opener Julian Merryweather in the Miami opener. He faced seven hitters in his two innings.

_ Anderson faced 18 hitters against the Baltimore Orioles. Anderson had allowed one earned run, was leading 2-1 and fanned eight in five innings. Anderson had thrown 84 pitches when Montoyo went to Wilmer Font.

Five Font pitches later -- a Hanser Alberto single and an Anthony Santander double -- and the game was deadlocked. The Jays lost 4-3 in 11 innings and saw their record fall to 18-15.

Montoyo removing Anderson was almost akin to Cito Gaston or John Gibbons hooking one of Roy Halladay, Roger Clemens or Pat Hentgen with one out to go in the ninth for a shut out bid from the fan’s reaction. Shoemaker wasn’t far behind.

Analysts throughout the game think twice through the order is the limit unless their name is Kershaw or Verlander. The idea came to light when the Los Angeles Dodgers lifted Rich Hill after 55 pitches in the 2016 NL Division Series. The end result was a bullpen collapse. And in other years too. Not one Jays starter has thrown over 100 pitches this season.

After the game writers were grilling Roberts. The next day on Intentional Talk Kevin Millar made a good point: “If the decision is made in the afternoon by an analyst and not the manager -- the analyst should be there to answer questions post game”.

Still the 2020 Blue Jays are better than expected and Montoyo should get some credit for that.

Montoyo’s team is high above the clouds from where most thought it would be coming off a 67-95 season in which they finish fourth, 36 games out. And this would be despite their wild stallion run-until-you-are-out approach on the bases. Last year, the club was the tied for the fourth lowest win total over a 162 games. And a tie for the sixth worst winning percentage.

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Second Inning

You expected this during summer camp? ... The 1992 Blue Jays began as the script was written. Jack Morris pitched an opening day complete game throwing 144 pitches as the Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2. Free-agent sign DH Dave Winfield had three hits and drove in a run.

The Jays took the next two games of the series, returned home to sweep a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. The Jays lost the first game of a four-game series playing the New York Yankees and won the next three.

In the loss, the Jays had the bases loaded in the eighth with the score deadlocked 2-2 and left-handed hitting John Olerud at the plate. Yankee manager Buck Showalter lifted Rich Monteleone for lefty Steve Howe, who only needed two pitches to retire Olerud on a ground ball.

Not pinch-hitting for Olerud was considered a worse crime by the Jays fans than not getting Baltimore Orioles’ Mike Mussina into the 1993 all-star game at Camden Yards.

So, the 9-1 Jays headed onto the road. The Toronto Star’s Dave Perkins, always perceptive, always with a major league sense of humour, and I were on the same trip. We heard fans grumble about not pinch-hitting for Olerud in line at customs, at security, on the plane and at the baggage carousel.

Perkins looked at me asked, “Is this team 1-9 or 9-1?”

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Third Inning

Missed it by that much ... Often you hear coaches or pitching coaches say he wanted his “team, his player ... to compete.”

Todd Stottlemyre always competed, whether it was for the last sandwich in the lunch room or the final out of an inning. Now from the TV or the 500 Level you may have thought Stottlemyre was a hot head. A lot of players are.

We asked him once the most angry he had ever been on the ball field. We figured it would be Dave Parker taking a stroll almost through the dugout on a slow home run trot, or a bench clearing brawl. Nope. And nope.

“Syracuse,“ Stottlemyre said. He then explained how he had a shut out going in the second game of the doubleheader. Two were out. The count was 1-2. Toronto had Stottlemyre on a strict 100-pitch count. He was at 98 pitches.

His 99th was on the corner and adjudged a ball. His 100th was fouled off. And out came manager Bobby Bailor. Stottlemyre pleaded “just more pitch, I’ve never had a shut out.”

Bailor said, “if you throw one more pitch and get hurt, I get fired.”

Stottlemyre stomped off and admitted that he was more upset at the ump than Bailor as he clumped through the dugout and into the clubhouse.

Stottlemyre won 138 games and three more in post-season in his 14-year career with the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s and the Texas Rangers.

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Fourth Inning

Name change requested ... It was either the spring of 1989 or 1990, the Blue Jays were in Bradenton for a spring contest. Walking past the box office I saw president Paul Beeston and said hello.

Suddenly a woman interjected -- I found out later, it was Cindy Rich, wife of Bob Rich. At the time the Rich family was trying to gain a National League expansion franchise.

“Paul, will you vote for Buffalo when it comes expansion time?” Cindy asked.

Beeston shook his head no and Cindy asked why.

“I’m not voting for you until you change the name of the team,” Beeston said. “from the Buffalo Bisons to the Buffalo Beestons.”

The National League spurned Buffalo in its 1991 expansion and picked Denver and Miami for its new teams.

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Fifth Inning

Father and son day ... Dante Bichette, Bo Bichette’s father, has made an impact on the Blue Jays hitters.

When Dante, then a Colorado Rockies outfielder, made the 1994 All-Star game at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Paul Molitor of the Blue Jays was on the AL roster.

Dante, teammates with Molitor at Milwaukee in 1991-92 said he was “excited to be in the same game as Molitor, Paul and I are from the same school ... we’re old school.”

When Molitor was told of Dante’s compliment he jokingly asked “they have schools on Mars?”

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Sixth inning

R. I. P. Lou Brock ... Early in Hall of Famer Tim Raines’ career, the former St. Louis Cardinals OF visited Olympic Stadium.

What did the man with 938 career steals think of Raines?

“Raines will be OK ... as long as he does not become afraid,” Brock said.

Afraid of getting hurt?

Brock shook his head no and asked if I had ever played. I had been asked that before by big leaguers and always said no. Like I am going to tell a big leaguer about Kingston’s Kingscourt Little League Tigers or Pirates.

This time -- for some reason -- I said “a little.” Brock asked if I ever struck out.

“Oh yeah, it’s why I always wanted the third base dugout rather than first base, it was 17 steps to one dugout after a strikeout compared to 19.”

Brock laughed and said, “Well, think about how many steps it is for a second to walk from second base (after being thrown out) to the dugout ... it’s not a fun walk. Long as he doesn’t become afraid of that -- he’ll be fine.”

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Seventh inning

Make sure you let the catcher know what’s coming ... Houston Astros RHP Zack Greinke signalled to his catcher Martin Maldonado what was coming any time there was a man on second, essentially tipping off San Francisco Giants’ hitters last month.

Was Greinke helping out the Giants hitters due to the sign-stealing controversy the Astros were involved in which cost three managers their job. The calls were picked up on the microphones.

Something you have never, ever heard of or seen before? Well, we didn’t see it but we heard of the Hamilton Astros playing in a tournament at East Cobb, Ga, RHP Corey Berneski had not pitched in months but know the Bayside Yankees were rallying.

Berneski (Mississauga, Ont.) rushed to warm up and then coach Brock Marshall (Hamilton, Ont.) brought in his reliever with the bases loaded and a one-run lead.

Like Greinke, Berneski signalled what was coming. Again and again. Meanwhile his father Steve Berneski was down the line his heart in his throat. Berneski struck out the first hitter even though he knew what was coming.

Next, he continued to give signs and popped up a man for the second out. One to go. Berneski got what looked to be the final out when the third-place hitter bounced to first. Except the ball took a bad hop and instead of the game being over the bad hop skipped into right for a two-run base walk-off hit.

* * *

Eighth inning

Bad time of year ... Former Seattle Mariners scouting director Tom MacNamara was let go as well as Tom Allison, Greg Hunter, Taylor Cameron, Amanda Holkins, Alex Ross and Les McTavish were all let go.

Hunter worked on the pro side and a very good employee and scout, as well as being Benny Looper’s assistant in the farm department. Also, Hunter played second base on John Olerud’s Washington State teams and he was on the summer Cougars team Jays scout Don Welke followed to Hawaii and Alaska scouting Olerud and had worked for the Mariners over 20 years.

McTavish (Vauxhall, Alta.) runs the Vauxhall Academy Jets program.

Ninth inning

Baseball America’s college rankings for 2021 draft: RHP Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) of Mississippi State ranked 28th on their top 100 prospect list ... Perfect Game has Cerantola listed 44th on its top 200, as the only Canadian.

Perfect Game’s top high schoolers for 2021: LHP Mitchell Bratt (Newmarket, Ont) Toronto Mets, No. 196, RHP Simon Lusignan (Varennes, Que.) Okotoks Dawgs, No. 223, Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) Ontario Terriers, No. 328 and RHP Loreto Siniscalchi (Burnaby, BC) Langley Blaze, No. 370.

Perfect Game’s top 100 collegians for 2022: Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.) Alabama, No. 26.

Perfect Game’s top 1,000 HSers for 2023: Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays, No. 193.

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10th inning

More coming ... Walt Burrows, former boss of the Canadian arm of the Major League Bureau (which meant he covered the country) and now a scout for the Minnesota Twins, picked his all-time BC Premier League team.

He excluded Jason Bay (Trail, BC) and Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, BC) who didn’t play in the league.

Now we have more lists coming: Claude Pelletier (Ste-Lazare, Que.) will pick the all-time Quebec team and Burrows will do a similar list for Ontario.