Tampa, Fla., February 28, 2013 – The Thursday 1-0 Yankees loss to the Blue Jays offered a lot less for fans’ viewing pleasure than the 10-7 defeat at the hands of the Orioles the day before. The blue skies, with lots of sun and low-70s temps both days, had less cloud cover, so breaking into a busy day with a reverie about what cloud banks resembled between innings was a non-starter. “Just beautiful” was about all I could come up with.

Today’s game was a full 66 minutes shorter, the teams pounded out six less hits between them, and the Yankees committed four fewer errors; they made poor throws six times on Wednesday, and not at all today. The cumulative runs scored total came in at minus-16 from the day before, even if the latter game included one more home run.

Righthanders Brandon Morrow and David Phelps each have a genuine shot to start for their teams in the upcoming season; between them they set the tone for what would be a briskly played, low-scoring affair. Blue Jays southpaw A.J. Happ followed and, while throwing a quiet third inning, managed not to repeat his Sunday work, where he broke Curtis Granderson’s forearm in the latter’s first at bat of the Spring. An additional three lefties, Aaron Loup, Brett Cecil, and Evan Crawford, came next and held the Yanks to two hits over the fifth through the seventh innings, the point of the game when the Jays scored the run that would win it for them.

Phelps went three innings to Morrow’s two, and looked season-ready. David Aardsma, who missed last year after arm surgery, and Clay Rapada, who excelled as a lefty specialist, sandwiched young Brandon Pinder’s one-hit fifth between them, delivering a 0-0 tie to Chase Whitley to start the top of the seventh. But Andy LaRoche, a five-year vet from a baseball family trying to latch on in a backup role with the ’13 Jays, homered off Whitley with two down, and the game’s only run scored.

The Yanks stroked seven hits, with left fielder Juan Rivera, trying to earn a spot in the Bronx, getting two safeties and their only extra base hit, a leadoff double in the second. It was an inning that held lots of promise, as catcher Chris Stewart followed with a grounder deep into the shortstop hole. Ex-Met Jose Reyes made a fine play snagging it, and lofted a soft but accurate fly throw toward first. Stewie is not fast, but he had easily cleared the bag when the Jays shortstop’s rainbow toss arrived.

But one thing that holds true for all these games, the high- and the low-scoring; the crisply played beauts and the badly marred battles, is that everyone invloved is in “training” mode, and veteran first-base ump Marty Foster is no exception. He had already bungled a swing-or-not call on Toronto’s Jose Bautista in the first. Bautista has become a premier home run hitter because he swings hard. He actually landed on the DL last year because he hurt his wrist trying to hold up on one of his violent swings. He had unleashed his bat on a 1-2 pitch, then thought better of it after the lumber crossed home plate, but Foster, with the job of making the call at first, ruled “no swing.” And now in the home second he incredulously called Stewart out, then compouded his error by tossing Stewart from the game after a protest. The call blunted the first of two Yankee chances; another on-the-field ruling would stop the other.

The only two-hit inning the Yankees managed was the sixth; it started well when speedy Brett Gardner singled off Cecil. Brett broke for second on a 2-2 pitch to Ichiro Suzuki. The throw to Maicer Izturis produced a bang-bang play, but Gardner’s foot had touched by the time Izturis tagged his shoulder. Second-base ump Mark Carlson signaled “out,” a bad call, but not as egregious either of the two Foster decisions – too often umpires rule on which object arrived first, the player or the ball, and not when the tag occurred. One out later Mark Teixeira single hard to left, but the inning ended with no score.

Toronto threatened to enlarge its lead in the eighth when Ryan Goins singled off Whitley. Manager Joe Girardi brought in lefty Juan Cedeno, whose 23-pitch struggle (he missed the zone 12 times) slowed a speedy game down. He notched five- and six-pitch strike outs, but in between issued two six-pitch walks that loaded the bases. But if Juan’s struggles extended the game, late Yankee late rally attempts did not. They started the eighth and ninth innings as you would want, with leadoff hits. But each was followed by a fly out and a double-play grounder, and the game was over.

Almost the entire game matched that template. Only two of 18 half innings lasted more than four at bats. Jays pitching allowed seven hits, the Yanks six, while the only Yankee miscues were a harmless bobble by shortstop Gil Velazquez, Cedeno’s back-to-back walks, and, of course, the one big hit Whitley allowed in the seventh. The crisp play allowed for a quick game but, ironically, two of the three umpire mistakes on the day not only cost the home team a chance at a rally, but they sped things along as well.

On February 28, 1989, umpire Al Barlick was one of two guys inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. If today was any guide, don’t expect to see Foster joining him any time soon.

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!