A Jays Fan Suffers. Part 3: The End
By Derek Bunker
To the Yankees, playing the Blue Jays is just an opportunity to raise their BA. Well, on Monday, the New York Bombers got a bomb of their own.
In just the third game of his major league career, RF Gabe Gross connected off Esteban Loaiza for a two-run shot, and the Blue Jays went on to beat the bad boys 5-4. Jays‚ starter Josh Towers took a three-hitter into the seventh as he increased his win total to seven (7-4). This was Towers‚ fifth win in six starts (he lost to Cleveland on August 4th).
Loaiza, in his second start with the Yankees, displayed yet another dismal performance. While Jose Contreras, who New York traded for Loaiza, is 1-0 with the White Sox, Esteban is 0-1 with his new team. With NY pitcher Mussina about to return to the lineup, Loaiza's spot is in question. I mean, if he can't beat Toronto, who can he beat, right?
As Loaiza was struggling in the sixth, New York fans gave him an encouraging boo. In fact, the fans were so supportive that they continued booing until he was finally taken out of the game. Boy, if I only had fans like that.
On another satisfying note, John Gibbons, Toronto interim manager, notched the win for a career record of 4-0 as manager (Gibbons replaced former Jays manager Carlos Tosca for three games last season, winning all of them), although this was considered his major league debut.
Note: Concerning Loaiza's start in Seattle, New York manager Joe Torre gave us these few words of wisdom: "He's going to start Saturday and we'll see what we see."
We'll see what we see. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll see what we see.
