Camp left in too long; Jays lose in extras

What a tough loss after an otherwise outstanding performance by Shawn Camp. When he came back out in the 12th inning after already hurling 2 solid frames against the Yankees (where he struck out 4 without giving up a hit) my initial thought was "uh oh", and it proved correct.

With the score tied at 5, Cito Gaston sent Camp out for a 3rd frame despite the fact he had Jason Frasor, B.J. Ryan, Brett Cecil and Dirk Hayhurst at his disposal. I'm sure he wanted to hold onto Frasor in case of a save situation, had zero confidence in Ryan, was reluctant to put in Cecil because he's a rookie, and didn't entertain Hayhurst because he's more of a mop up pitcher.

In this case though, Ryan should have come in with mostly all left handers batters due up (other than A-Rod) It's tough because Blow Jay Ryan is, well, Blow Jay Ryan. Still, Camp should've been lifted for the former closer. The decision proved costly, as Mark Teixeira doubled to lead off the inning and eventually scored the winning run.

I've heard some Jays fans previously lament Cito Gaston's use of the bullpen. Almost every time, I've backed up Cito for sticking with pitchers who may be struggling or perhaps thrown too many pitches. Hindsight is 20-20, however there may be some merit to that argument.