Rockies 14, Blue Jays 5: Ah Yes Well Nevertheless

 

well that ain't good

As my friend Andrew recently noted, on my most nights, five runs is really good! Alas that this was not the case here, as, not all that long after Cody Ponce rolled his ankle and hurt his knee en route to first base on what a lot of players seem to just call a "PFP" (even though that stands for "pitcher fielding practice," though I suppose we could consider "practice" more broadly here [fielding does indeed constitute a part of their practice; in fact I withdraw this whole observation]), having already tumbled to the ground ingloriously on an especially awkward balk earlier in that same inning (the third). Not great, especially after having used just about everybody out of the bullpen in these early days of the season. The seven-run sixth was really the killer, you'd have to say, and while nobody acquitted themselves all that well out of the pen (aside from the underhanded Tyler Rogers, in whom I have limitless faith, and would actually probably use to close, were it my call [which it is not {yet}]), things went especially poorly for Brendon Little, for whom things are beginning to look a little grim, maybe? This may be the kind of shellacking that gets you sent down to Buffalo for a little bit, one fears. 

None of this is to say that this lopsided loss to last year's worst team was entirely without its pleasures, though, as dingers were dung by George Springer, Kazuma Okamoto (who looked great in the field, too!), and Davis Schneider, and for the ten-thousand-or-so fans that remained out of the original 35,490 (that's a wild amount for a Monday in April against the Rockies), there was also the true treat of backup catcher Tyler Heineman pitching two full innings (five runs on seven hits, sure, but just one walk, and just one homer). The people loved it! There really is a lot of fun to be had watching bad baseball, even from a really good team—maybe especially from a really good team, as it has the added benefit of novelty?—and the true sickos who stuck it out to the end were clearly alive to these odd pleasures. That the Blue Jays' first loss of the season would come in such a wild blowout to such a bad team, on the same day that all of the other three-and-oh teams in either league took their first loss, too, was a worthwhile reminder that baseball is hard, and weird, and often a little silly.

KS