GETTING HIS HACKS IN
Tulo returns in Jays’ win
A loud knock on the office door interrupted the manager’s pre-game media session. “Enter,” John Gibbons said. David Price stepped in. “I need Thole behind the dish,” he said. “He got me locked in today.”
This, it turns out, was a lobby effort to put a third-string catcher on the Blue Jays’ playoff roster, Price said. Josh Thole had caught Price in the bullpen that afternoon, and again when Price came to pitch to Troy Tulowitzki in a simulated game.
Thole also served as the plate umpire in the simulated game, and in Tulowitzki’s last at-bat, Thole caught a pitch, stood and theatrically rang up Tulowitzki on a third strike.
Price liked that. It probably had something to do with his appeal on Thole’s behalf.
Gibbons grinned and went along with the gag, then said, “I’m not quite sure if he’ll be active for the playoff roster.”
“There’s loopholes,” Price deadpanned, and left.
Such is life when the Blue Jays are newly minted division champions, when David Price is at his jesting best and when Tulowitzki is back in the lineup at shortstop after three weeks away recovering from a cracked shoulder blade.
Tulowitzki had four hits, including a homer and two doubles, in seven at bats during the afternoon simulated game at Tropicana Field. A couple of minor-leaguers pitched to him first, and then he faced Price twice.
Tulowitzki was delighted with his session. “Bad call on the 0-2,” he joked, referring to Thole’s strike zone. “We had fun with it. David is a good friend of mine obviously. He’s a great competitor. Even when we’re out there playing a sim-game, to be honest, you want to perform well. That’s what we’re going to be talking about in the clubhouse the whole time, so we’ll have fun with it.”
Price: “That ball was more middle than it was in.”
Naturally, as the Jays prepped for their final series of the regular season, the focal points were the return of Tulowitzki and the decision to rest Price until the first game of the division series next Thursday in Toronto.
Some critics have questioned whether he can remain sharp over the 11-day layoff. His teammates are ribbing him about not risking a blemish on his gaudy qualifications for the Cy Young Award. He’s 18-5 with a 2.45 ERA.
“These guys are telling me I’m sittin’ on my numbers,” Price said, straight-faced, as a nearby teammate echoed the mocking accusation. “Yeah, that’s me. Sittin’ on my numbers.”
He reiterated what he’d said the previous day: that he’s fine with the decision, unworried about rust setting in and happy for the rest. He was pleased with his work on Friday and will throw another bullpen in a few days to tune up for the playoff opener.
“I went through all my pre-game training stuff,” he said. “I got in the hot tub in the training room. I treated it like I was starting (Friday’s) game. I felt good before. I felt good on the mound. I’ll feel good tomorrow. Everything is good.”
Price has pitched 220.1 innings, including 74.1 in 11 starts for the Jays. He is not at all tired, he said.
“This is the best I’ve felt for an entire season in my big-league career,” he said. “I did not expect to feel this good now as I did in spring training and through the course of this season after the workload I had last year,” which reached 256.1 innings, including eight in a playoff game for the Tigers.
He said the rollicking, full-house crowds at the Rogers Centre since he arrived on July 30 have contributed to his general well-being. Early-arriving fans have made a habit of cheering him from the moment he heads for the bullpen to warm up before a start.
“Even on days I’m not pitching, just sitting in that environment, you want to be on the mound,” he said. “When you have 48,000 fans all on your side the way they are, just being loud from the moment I walk out there an hour before the game — they’re already in there, 20,000 deep, just cheering, just ready. That is special.”