Hill returns to where it all ended in '08

Blue Jays 2nd basemen Aaron Hill has said that Toronto's first game in Oakland is "just another game", but that simply isn't the case. His disastrous injury, leading to the untimely end of his 2008 season undoubtedly must be in the back of his head.

On May 29th, Hill collided with teammate David Eckstein, leaving the game with a concussion. The team initially diagnosed the injury as being "day to day." Those days turned into a week, and then another. That turned into a month to month proposition, and before time, he was shut down for the entire season with concussion like symptoms.

There's no telling how much success the club could have had in 2008 (They were 18-9 in May before Hill went down) had the freak injury not occurred, but one thing is certain, his 2009 numbers prove his great value to the team; 8 long balls, 28 RBI, a hefty .357 batting average, ranking first in MLB with 51 hits. His importance to the squad was never more clear after that fateful day in May last year.

Richmond's brutal inning leads to first loss

The Blue Jays gave Scott Richmond a 3 run edge in the 2nd frame of the opener against the Athletics, courtesy of a Kevin Millar RBI single and a Rod Barajas 2 run home run. It didn't take long for the 29 year old rookie to throw away the lead, and it cost him his first loss of the campaign.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; My number one pet peeve with pitchers is when they immediately cough up an advantage that was handed to them the following inning. Richmond did just that, surrendering 5 runs as soon as Toronto put up a 3 spot. That demoralized the club, and their bats fell silent the rest of the contest.

Let's give Richmond the benefit of the doubt. Aside from getting lit up in the 2nd inning, he allowed just 1 hit in the other 7 innings, leading to his first career complete game. I have to give him credit for bouncing back, he definitely showed a lot of resolve.

Just no more of this Richmond, or else you'll be in the doghouse.