By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

A game inning by inning ...

Singing our national anthem to get things started will be by Carly Rae Jepsen, flown in at great expense:

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First inning:

The first pitch at Tropicana Field Park is scheduled for 6:40 as RHP Charlie Morton starts for the Tampa Bay Rays in what John Gibbons always called “our house of horrors.”

A few minutes later, LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, the best-paid starter on the Jays roster will take over in the bottom of the first, pitching the first of 60 straight road games.

Now Ryu, signed to a four-year $80 million deal in the off-season, may replace Hall of Famer Roy Halladay in the hearts of Jays fans. Or he could be as dominant as Roger Clemens his two Cy Young Award seasons. Maybe the actions on his pitches could be as nasty as Dave Stieb in his prime.

Yet, there is one segment of the Canadian diamond population which won’t be rooting for Ryu. The Jays? Yes. Ryu? No. Let’s go back to the 2008 Olympics in Bejing. Pitching for South Korea, Ryu beat Canada and Mike Johnson (Edmonton, Alta.) 1-0 before 1,500 at Wukesong Field.

It wasn’t that Ryu wasn’t good, it was that he was sneaky good. At the back of the mound were two resin bags. One was the kind pitchers use in North America containing resin. The other from Korea was strictly chalk. The rule was if a pitcher went to the resin bag he then had to wipe off the resin/powder/chalk on his uniform.

Ryu didn’t wipe and often a pitch would emerge from a puff of powder.

“I remember that game,” said Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) Mr. Canada on the international scene, now the first base and infield coach with the St. Louis Cardinals. “I remember arguing with the umpire. You couldn’t see the pitch out of the hand because of the puff of resin. It was not only illegal it was completely dangerous. That’s how bad it was.”

Clapp was one of eight left-handed hitters manager Terry Puhl (Melville, Sask.) sent up to face Ryu. The hitters included future and past major leaguers OF Michael Saunders (Victoria, BC), Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.), OF Ryan Radmonovich (Calgary, Alta.), Adam Stern (London, Ont.), Clapp, plus minor leaguers Nick Weglarz (Stevensville, Ont.), Matt Rogelstad (New Westminster, BC) and Emmanuel Garcia (Montreal, Que.).

“I remember a good young lefty that kept us off balance most of the game,” said a player who didn’t want his name used. “We were accustomed to seeing left-handed starters as we had more lefties than righties in our lineup.

“Early in the game he threw a change up “puff” ball that seemed to explode out of his hand. I remember being stunned by the pitch because I hadn’t seen anything like it. I turned to speak to the plate ump to let him know I didn’t think it was a legal pitch. He told me that it is allowed in international play.”

Except it wasn’t. Hitting coach Rob Ducey (Cambridge, Ont.) remembers telling his hitters “we know the rule, they know the rule, the only person in the ballpark who doesn’t know the rule is the plate ump. We have to forget about it.”

Except 1-0 losses in the Olympics are not easy to forget. One player even remembered the plate ump’s name: Fabrizio Chirici of Italy. Canada outhit Korea 5-3 but wound up with the 1-0 loss. Jimmy Van Ostrand (Vancouver, BC), Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.), Saunders, Weglarz and Rogelstad had the singles for Canada.

“One thing was his size, he was so imposing,” said Canada manager Terry Puhl of the 6-foot-3, 255 pounder. “Our guys can usually handle left-handed pitchers who threw hard. He was the best we’d seen. Greg (Hamilton) and I decided to go with our best hitters.

“Ryu was an up and comer with an above average fastball. Our guys were either not picking up the ball he had so much giddy-up on it we couldn’t catch up to him.”

Puhl noted that that Los Angeles Dodgers “don’t let pitching get away.”

Ryu walked three and struck out six. Canada loaded the bases with two out in the ninth after Saunders and Weglarz had singled and Rogelstad worked a walk. Ryu retired former Minnesota Twin Radmanovich on a fly ball to centre.

“Powder is what they use in the KBO,” said Johnson, who worked seven innings, leaving with his team down 1-0. RHP T.J. Buton (Ottawa, Ont.) and LHP David Davidson (Thorold, Ont.) each had scoreless outings.

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Second inning

For Johnson pitching against Ryu (one run in seven innings) was one of his best outings ever:

“Ryu led the majors in stuff last year, so maybe it was an excuse,” Johnson said. In 2009, Johnson was with SK Wyerns in the Korean.

One day a player approached him “Remember me?” It Keun-woo Jeong who had homered in the third inning for the 1-0 2008 Olympic win.

Signed by Bill Byckowski (Georgetown, Ont.) Johnson had some memorable outings:

_ Johnson started against Ryu in the 2008 Olympics, a 1-0 loss.

_ He got the ball to start for the Montreal Expos on Don Mattingly Day at Yankee Stadium against Andy Pettitte in front of 55,707 fans in 1997. He allowed two runs, including a solo homer to Bernie Williams, in six innings and was charged with the loss in the 3-2 setback. It was his 15th game in the majors and fourth start.

_ He started for Canada in the most exciting game of the year -- and that includes the Jays 75 wins, including 44 wins at Rogers Centre -- facing Team USA. Johnson wound up with the loss in a 6-5 World Baseball Classic loss to Team USA before 42,314 fans.

Johnson gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in four innings facing a lineup of Dustin Pedroia, Derek Jeter. Chipper Jones, David Wright, Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn, Ryan Braun, Brian McCann and Shane Victorio. He allowed solo homers in the fourth to Youkilis and McCann.

But as they say in the dugout after wins “What a game.” Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) went 4-for-5, including a solo homer against Jake Peavy and Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) went deep with a solo shot against Scott Shields and a minor leaguer named Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.) pitched out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam. Votto doubled with one out in the ninth to put the tying run in scoring position.

“I still watch it,” Johnson said. “The TV showed Adam Dunn in the dugout in the ninth after Votto’s double, after Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) pinch ran with Justin Morneau and Jason Bay coming up and he is in the dugout taking his pulse.”

J.J. Putz got the save and while he had never been in the playoffs before imagined the same with the same intensity of an October game.

_ He also pitched seven scoreless as Canada blanked Chinese Taipei 7-0 in the 2004 Athens Olympics Athens. He allowed a double and three singles, while walking one and fanning three. Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.) and Chris Mears (Victoria, BC) each put a zero on the board.

Canada went 5-2 before losing to Cuba despite Kevin Nicholson’s bid for a pinch-hit, three-run, game-tying homer. Off the bat the third baseman hangs his head. He knew the ball was gone. Except it wasn’t.

Johnson has operated the 5 Tool Fieldhouse in Edmonton for the past three years looking for the next Mike Johnson. They will be big shoes to fill.

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Third inning

When the Buffalo Blue Jays were here last week for summer camp, players who were here a year ago didn’t notice much of a difference when in the Toronto clubhouse.

However, for players like Randal Grichuk, Lourdes Gurriel, Billy McKinney, Danny Jansen, Jonathan Davis and Anthony Alford, who were there in 2018 noticed a difference. One end of the clubhouse leads down the hall to a lunch room and the showers.

The hall used to contain items like the lineup card from opening day 1977 when Doug Ault homered twice, Cy Young replica trophies won by Roger Clemens (twice) and Pat Hentgen. Then, there were replica World Series trophies from 1992-93.

When the Jays returned home to start the 2018 season against the New York Yankees the pictures were gone. Something about the third floor thinking that the organization “lived too much in the past.”

Well, a trip to Yankee Stadium can be filled with clips of Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit, Chris Chambliss game-winning homer, David Wells no hitter or Jeter’s final hit -- a game-winning drive of course. And that’s only by the fifth inning.

Jays fans normally reactionary were becoming anticipatory like Yankee or Red Sox fans when clips were shown. The inning would end and there was Jose Bautista in the batter’s box. Fans immediately cheered knowing that they were seconds away from seeing a bat flip.

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Fourth inning

Umpire Joe West, 67, starts the season with 5,312 regular-season games 65 games shy of Bill Klem’s record of working 5,375 games. The 60 game schedule means he will be back for 2021.

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Fifth inning

If everything goes as planned and the Blue Jays make Sahlen Field in Buffalo their home away from home, will T.J. Burton (Ottawa, Ont.) and his soundtrack go too? He handled crowd noise for intra-squad games at Rogers Centre.

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Sixth inning

Today is opening day (lower-cased). A year ago today the Jays fell 4-0 as the Cleveland Indians’ Shane Bieber pitched a one-hit shutout (Eric Sogard had a double). Marcus Stroman took the loss.

Two years ago the Jays were shut out 5-0 by the Minnesota Twins to fall to 46-54. Jose Berrios, Trevor Hildenberger and Ryan Pressly combined to limit the Jays to four singles and a double. Ryan Borucki took the loss.

Three years ago on this date the Jays beat the Oakland A’s 4-2 increasing to 45-54. Francisco Liriano pitched five innings. Joe Biagini and Ryan Tepera had scoreless outings before Roberto Osuna, picked up his 25th save.

The Jays have a 19-inning drought going into July 24 ... the last run being a Justin Smoak bases-loaded walk to bring home Jose Bautista.

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Seventh inning

Now that we have almost reached almost the end of Netflix ... The wise man making decisions in the 13-episode, 15-year Michael Peterson trial in North Carolina with is Judge Orlando Hudson.

Could it be?

“Not my father,” said Orlando Hudson, the former Jays 2B. “I’ve heard of the judge, but we’re not related.”

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Eighth inning

Cut outs of fans are the norm during these pandemic times. Yet it is odd to recognize someone. Or at least a cut out of someone in his usual seat in the first row at Dodger Stadium: former super agent Dennis Gilbert, who co-founded the Beverly Hills Sports Council, which represented the likes of Hall of Famer George Brett, Barry Bonds, Danny Tartabull, Bret Saberhagen and Jose Canseco. Now Gilbert works for the Chicago White Sox as an assistant to co-owner Jerry Reinsdorf and as well as heading up the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation with Roland Hemond and ex-Jays scout Dave Yoakum. The foundation helps laid off scouts with medical costs for their families.

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Ninth inning

Black Lives Matter.

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10th inning

I have utmost confidence of beating The Star’s Gregor Chisholm in the attendance pool this year.