Today I went to Dunedin to see the Blue Jays host the Cincinnati Reds. I was especially excited about seeing two phenoms, Jay Bruce outfielder for the Reds (Baseball America’s #1 prospect) and outfielder Travis Snider for Toronto. Went to the bathroom before the game and there was a Cincinnati fan a few feet away commenting how the weather today was a whole lot better than the other day in Clearwater, yes 73 is much better than a brisk 53. Turns out this gentleman, Joe Bruce, was from Texas and his son plays for the Reds, none other than Jay. I commented on how his son was the next big thing, he kinda shrugged it off, and said how Jay had passed up a full ride to Tulane, the Reds signing bonus was too much to pass up. Joe then told me his boy was starting today in centerfield. I wished him well and told him to let Jay know I wished him nothing but the best. It’s always good to see good people in the game.
The 2nd time up Bruce rocked an A.J. Burnett pitch into left-centerfield for a two run double. It was good to see the kid patient enough to wait for a pitch he could handle in an RBI situation, and then do something with it. I had to be a little patient myself, waiting for Travis Snider to hit. Snider’s having a little leg issue, so he had to wait till the Big Hurt got his three AB’s before pinch hitting. As luck would have it, Travis stepped to the plate against a veteran lefty reliever, yet he took a couple of strikes before lining a single the other way into left-center, for an RBI base knock.
It’s always good to see the ballplayers interacting with the fans. In Dunedin today they had a BBQ after the game where the Blue Jay players served up the grub to the fans. Then they hung around to sign autographs, chat, and mingle with the crowd. Cito Gaston threw out the first pitch and would be on hand for the BBQ, he’s popular enough to win an election for mayor among Toronto fans.
Jay Bruce slugged his 21st and 22nd homers and knocked in five runs in Tuesday’s triumph over the Cardinals. Meanwhile, Bruce has made some adjustments since returning from an eight-week disabled list stint with a broken right wrist. Since being activated on Sept. 14, he is batting .375 (12-for-32) with four homers and 12 RBIs. He’s batting .224 for the season. After avoiding the long ball virtually all season, Joel Pineiro was reached for three homers Tuesday. Jay Bruce hit a three-run shot in the second inning and a two-run jack in the sixth, and Joey Votto added a solo homer in the third. Pineiro had not given up even two homers in a single game all year, and had been reached a total of seven times in his previous 30 starts.
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