In The Camera Bay

A little bit o' awesome...

2012-01-25T15:56:00.003-05:00

1) BMorrow's gonna be around for a while! Just announced yesterday that Mr. Morrow is signed to be around for the next three (possibly 4) years. Bringin' some heat behind RickyRo with a little added "a**hole" to boot! Gotta love his lovely wife's celebration of the signing.

2) E.T. is tweeting home! Err, wait. E.T. is now on Twitter! Check him out at @EThames14. Twitter highlight so far? Last week he put out an open call for questions, any questions as he "lust[ed] for entertainment." And believe me, ask Twitterverselings did.

JaysGirl5

Baseball Bookshelf Recommendation #5

2012-01-25T15:44:00.002-05:00

We live in a world withincredibly high access to the baseball players and teams we root for. Fromwebsites, Twitter, MLBFanCave and even a show ("The Franchise) goingbehind the scenes with the Giants - we can almost get to know players off thefield more than on the field now.

But despite all this access, most of us will never really know orunderstand what it's like in the Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players.We'll never really be able to know what it's like behind the clubhouse doors orin the dugout as an insider.

Part of that brotherhood is "The Code". You know, theunwritten rules about not running up a score in a blowout, not mentioning ano-hitter or perfect game while it's underway, and many other intricate,debatable rules that govern the game of baseball on the field andunofficially.

For an excellent sneak peek behind the clubhouse curtain, checkout The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign stealing and Bench-clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules ofAmerican's Pastime by Jason Turbow.

Whether you believe in the existence or relevance of "TheCode", Turbow offers some great anecdotes about the different aspects andexecutions of players policing themselves. He definitely also offers some greatmaterial to spark debate about the place of "the code" into today'sgame of baseball.

Above all, TheBaseball Codes is an enjoyable read filled with great stories from thelast fifty years of baseball from the player perspective.

Definitely passes the I.T.C.B. Baseball Bookshelf reading-worthytest.

Can you smell Spring Training yet fellow fans?

JaysGirl5

Ready, Set...MEET!

2011-12-05T00:56:00.001-05:00

Early December is always an interesting time of year on the baseballcalendar. Most players start getting back to their workout routines, if theyhaven’t already. The new baseball season seems so much closer than it did whenthe World Series ended. And, oh yeah, there’s this little matter of the yearlyGM meetings taking place.

This year’s festivities are set to start today in Dallas,Texas. I’m always intrigued to see what might come out of them, but this yearseems a little different. A lot of that has to do with the new CBA that hasofficially been ratified between MLB and the MLBPA. (In general, I have aninterest in collective bargaining agreements and employer/union relations. It’sthe nerd in me, and my past experience I guess.)The other part of me is justthe continual curiosity I have about what creative move AA is going to pull outof his bag o’ tricks next.

Other than the new CBA, the offseason to-date has beenpretty quiet. Sure, Papelbon signed with the Phillies (thoughts onoverpaying/not overpaying?) and there have been numerous rumors about wherePujols will end up. On the Jays front, it’s definitely been quiet. A few smallmoves (Brad Mills to Anaheim for Jeff Mathis, Luis Valbuena from Cleveland forcash) have been made, but all’s quiet on the blue bird front. Until now.

By all accounts, AA is looking to make some majorish moves,or at least start the ball rolling on the “big” moves we’ll see coming out ofToronto this offseason. I refer to them as “big” because I don’t see any ofthem being huge blockbuster deals like we’ve seen in the part. Looking aroundthe roster, there are some key spots to be filled (2^nd base,closer), but nowhere near the amount of holes we’re seen before. Our coreroster is strong and young, will a whole host of awesome guys working their wayup through the minors.

The one “move” I will comment on that a lot of Jays fanshave been backing is bringing Prince Fielder to Toronto. Especially now with anunconfirmed report that Toronto’s on Fielder’s short list for places he’d like to play. Notsurprising as from all accounts I’ve heard, he enjoyed visits here while hisdad trolled the outfield for us.

I wholeheartedly do not support this move. Part of it is hispossible asking price, but on within the context of his role on the team. I ama LindyHop enthusiast. I have enjoyed watching Adam Lind grow as a player sincehe made his debut back in Sep ’06. I like him at 1^st and believedfor a long time before he moved out of the DH spot that he would find a homethere.

Not all Jays’ fans share my Lind love, and that’s okay. Butwhat I don’t get is the call to heave him out of 1^st after only onefull season (minus a month missed for back issues). Some point to his defensiveskills, some to his drop off at the plate. Well, you try playing a fieldingposition for a full season for the first time in the Bigs after being apart-time outfielder/mostly DH for your career, then see if YOUR productiondoesn’t suffer. Adam said as much near the end of the season. It’s a moredifficult physical and mental grind having to transition to playing every day,instead of just walking to the plate 3+ times in a game.

There’s no denying that Fielder is incredibly productive atthe plate. It’s an attractive, attention grabbing quality on his résumé; havingthat much homerun power could be a great protective agent behind Bautista. But,what about the possible hit we’d take in the field? Maybe this is a reflectionof me being a pitching and defense kind of person, but I’ll take Lind’s defenseover Fielder’s any day. For those statistically inclined readers, here’s mybacking to that statement.

In 2011, Fielder had the lowest fielding% among all 1^stbasemen, at .990 (159 games). Lind was 6^th at .996 (109 games).Remember, this was Adam’s first full season at an infield position. I will alsoconcede that Fielder did play 50 more games than Lind, with 411 more totalchances. But, I’ll still take Lind. You can also compare both their first fullseasons at first, in which Fielder did have more games, but I didn’t want tooverload with numbers here. If you’re interested, just search Fielder and Lind’sstats on the MLB site. I will note however, that Prince has had only one seasonwith a fielding percentage over .996 (2010; .997) and I foresee LindyHopgetting better next season.

There’s also talk about bringing Prince to Toronto to DH,but I also balk at that idea. He’ll only be 27 as of opening day 2012. That isso incredibly young to move someone into the DH spot, and part of the reasonLind (28) is now at first. The Jays didn’t want to make him a career DH beforehe hit 30. Fielder might not be my favourite option as a new team member inT.O., but I also don’t think it’s time for him to leave the fielding part ofhis game behind.

I honestly get the draw and (some) of the reasons whybringing Prince to Toronto is being so highly talked about, and not justbandied about in the fan world. But I honestly don’t see the fit. We haveother, more pressing concerns (see above) to worry about without getting intoreplacing guys that have/will contribute to the team’s success.

I am an Adam Lind fan, just as I am a Travis Snider, EricThames, and Edwin Encarnacion fan. We have an overabundance of guys that couldplay great roles filling places in the roster where we need them.Unfortunately, that doesn’t apply to all positions, but we’re in a pretty comfy(and soon to be very successful) place right now Jays' fans. Obviously AA isaware of that and is about the start workin’ his GM magic.

Pull up a chair Jays fans. It’s going to be a pretty neatnext couple of days at the Winter Meetings.

Just wanted to send out some congrats/ROCK ONs to:

- Arencibia and Lawrie being named to the 2011 ToppsAll-Star Rookie Team
- And the following guys for being chosen by theBWA’s Toronto chapter Award winners:

o RickyRo – Pitcher of the Year

o JoBau – Player of the Year (Neil MacCarl Award)

o JPArriba – Rookie of the Year

o Janssen – Most Improved Player

o McGowan – John Cerutti Award (given to a personwho shows the cooperation, goodwill and character Cerutti was known for.)

Happy Early Holiday Season readers! I wish you and yourloved ones the merriest, baseball filled (as much as possible in Dec/Jan) times!

JaysGirl5

P.S. the 2012 season is getting closer!

Werk It Boys!

2011-11-20T01:04:00.001-05:00

In case you’ve been living in a sports world blackout thepast two days, the Jays introduced their new logo and jerseys on Friday. Theyalso introduced some very snazzy looking major league models, too.

I’m sure when @RickyRo24, @jparencibia9, @JoeyBats19,@blawrie13, @2Morrow23, Yunel Escobar and Adam Lind all became members of theJays, they didn’t imagine they’d be putting on a fashion show someday.

Well, obviously they thought wrong. Sportsnet has been kindenough to host the whole thing online for those of us who couldn’t be there. (Scrollahead to around the 10 minute mark to see the new jerseys.) Also check out someof the tweet histories for the guys above to see some pretty cool candidphotos.

For all intents and purposes, I’m not really sure whatnumber logo to call this. Technically, the first two logos of the organizationaren’t really that different from each other. Plus, the current logo is anamalgamation of those two with a little updating. There’s also the one we justgot rid of, and the bird of steroids that was an “interim logo”.

Regardless, this new logo and return to blue jerseys ispretty much a no brainer. The more the change settles in, the more it feelslike the last piece to cement the AA years. (Although, I’m sure he wouldn’twant them to be called that.)

I’ll admit that nearing the end of the JP years,specifically around the time of Docgate, I had some pretty harsh words for andabout the previous GM. I totally stand by them, but time (and a great somewhatrealistic look at a GMs life in Moneyball)has a great way of allowing me some perspective. But here’s the best way Ithink I can describe how I feel about now (AA years) versus then (Ricciardiyears) - They were like a jersey that just didn’t fit. For a multitude ofreasons it was never right, and no amount of trying was going to change that. Itfinally feels like the Jays-verse can breathe again and has gotten back tohaving the right fit. I swear, Scott Carson explains it better than me.

This may not be the best summation of my reaction to the newlogo, but I’m still kind of in the middle of it, you know? I love it, can’twait to see it at the Home Opener and think it’s about time. I also can’t waitto get my new hat and jersey.

There’s change and excitement in the air, Jays fans!

Here’sto wishing the boys “werk” it on the field next year as much as they “werked”the new jerseys yesterday.

JaysGirl5

Reality Check

2011-11-15T09:45:00.001-05:00

Amidst the wonder and joy of being a sports fan, there aretimes when we get a cold, hard dose of reality.

For hockey fans this year, it was the deaths of threeplayers in a very short span this off-season.

For us baseball fans, it’s the recent kidnapping and rescueof the National’s rookie catcher Wilson Ramos.

As news broke early last Thursday morning, the wholebaseball world started holding its collective breath. Outpourings of wellwishes, prayers, and tweets went around the world hoping that Ramos would bereturned safe and sound.

As we now know, Ramos was taken at gunpoint in front of hisfamily’s home on Nov 9th. His kidnappers eventually came to rest at a secludedhouse in the mountains of Venezuela’s central Carabobo state. Ramos was told hewould be ransomed and was left alone. Almost three days later, and after a 15minute gun battle, Ramos was able to return to his family physically unscathedand overcome with appreciation to everyone who played at part in his return.

This isn’t the first time baseball and kidnapping havecrossed paths, although to MLB’s knowledge this is the first time a player hasbeen taken. Mothers and children of pro baseball players have been taken; one’scousin was killed a few years ago. And there are more stories.

As lovers of the beautiful game, it’s easy for us to getcaught up in enjoying what happens on the field, and the rumours/drama/gossipthat happens in the off-season surrounding free agents and whatnot. We forgetsometimes that the guys we enjoy watching so much go back to real lives. Welose sight that making it to “The Show” doesn’t mean life just turns into afairy tale or that all problems go away. In some cases, like that of WilsonRamos, it can actually make you a target. And in the end, he was lucky.

I’ll admit to having a very slight, general knowledge of thecrime issues in South American states, but my eyes were blown pretty open whenreading about the current state of things throughout the Ramos story coverage.If you haven’t read any, start. Read from the beginning to get a glimpse ofwhat I’m talking about.

I know that baseball is only a game and am very aware of therole professional sports play and should play. But when the inevitable splashof reality comes in, I’m reminded of how lucky I am in general. My love ofbaseball (for many, many reasons) affords me an incredible love andappreciation of life in general.

Every day, I think of how lucky I am to have baseball in mylife. Every day. And days like last Wed and Sat…they just put it all inperspective.

Be grateful and thankful fellow fans.

JaysGirl5

Sharing the Wealth

2011-11-09T00:10:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, I was telling someone about the initial reason I started blogging...so many summers ago now. At the time, I wanted to offer my friends and family a break from the single-mindedness that consumes me during baseball season. I freely admit my posting record has been inconsistent, but I'm proud of how I.T.C.B. has evolved and grown over the years. Along the way, I like to (or choose to?) think I've offered at least a chuckle, a grin or maybe some thought provocation to anyone who's taken the time to stop by. (Which, by the way, THANK YOU for doing!)

But back to my original direction...

My online Camera Bay still offers my loved one a reprieve, but I'm also lucky to have friends and family who are supportive enablers of my love of baseball. They come to games with me, talk Jays with me, and best of all...somehow anything baseball that crosses their paths gets sent along mine. (This has happened many times with free tickets and memorabilia, and it's awesome!)So, here's where I send some of what this blog's title implies to you. In the last couple of months my mom, dad and brother have all sent me some pretty neat baseball videos, which now I'm sharing with you. The first three were the ones my family loving sent, the rest just some fun added by me. Enjoy!

Now, I'm still not 100% convinced about this one, but it's still really cool.

By following the link below, to the best of my knowledge and investigation, no harm will come to your computer. The website's embedded video player has some great black and white footage with a really old "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" track. Be warned, the video quality is a little low.

The Roots of Baseball

I found this extended video of Josh's trick from above, with a little somethin' extra.

And no baseball video collection would be complete without...

I loved getting to sit and watch Abbot & Costello on repeat while I was in the Wax Museum in Cooperstown last summer. Anyone who calls themselves a baseball fan should watch that video at least once in their lives.

That's about it for me folks. A little delayed, but congrats to the Cards for winning it this year. I don't think I've ever watched a better playoffs and World Series. Only good things are coming for baseball, I think. Speaking of good things and sharing the wealth...Mactastic has left the Dome for good, but has signed a very nice 2yr contract in Arizona. Love him well DBack fans. He's one of a kind. Although, I think you know that by now.

Happy off-season so far baseball fans! (Is it February yet?)

JaysGirl5

Endless Possibilities in the shape of a Diamond

2011-10-25T23:49:00.001-04:00

If the last month of the regular baseball season taught us anything, it's that anything really is possible. I don't feel it's necessary to hash out the (quite) ugly collapses or the amazing triumphs. I will say...someone in the scheduling office sure is channelling some divination skills or something. The match-ups near the end the last couple of years have been amazing.

Getting back to my point. Any given game of baseball has the possibility and even the probability to show you something you haven't seen before. Putting 18 players out on a field during any particular full inning, for 9 innings (give or take a 1/2) means that the opportunities for things to happen are, let's just say, exponential. (This is a baseball blogging, not math blogging.) And that's what we saw in September. That's what we've been seeing throughout the League Championship Series and now into the World Series.

I think it's amazing to follow baseball fans, reporters and players on Twitter and to see just how many of them consider this past month and a half of baseball as the perfect example as to why it's the best game ever. I don't think anyone would be surprised to find I agree.

To be fair, I am a sports fan in general. I do respect that there are many fans of other sports that would disagree with the interpretation and offering of proof mentioned above to show why baseball's the greatest. You might think hockey's the best, or football, basketball, cricket or anything other sport with a following. That's cool, and awesome, and dandy and I absolutely respect that. But, I can't think of another sport where your fortunes can change so much in a day, or even a few hours.

I happen to believe baseball mirrors life that way. Actually, there are many ways that I think baseball can and does mirror life. (Another blog for another day perhaps?) It all comes down to this: There are no "guaranteed" wins or "can't" wins in baseball. You can't rely on the notion of a "favoured team". Once the ball is thrown 60'6'', there is no way to know what's going to happen, even when you try to influence outcomes.

Forget roller coasters or scary movies to get the adrenaline pumping...give me September baseball any day! And the World Series. Even though my team might not be in it (this year), I am more than happy to cheer on as many more baseball games as I can get. I mean, once it's over...it's a very long wait until February.

<Enjoy the time we have left with the beautiful game dear readers. I think we can all agree it's going to be exciting!
JaysGirl5

Random Thought

2011-10-04T13:03:00.003-04:00

Baseball is the introvert of the sports world.

No wonder I love it so much. Innies unite!

Hope you're enjoying the playoffs thus far fellow fans.
JaysGirl5

Dancing Around .500

2011-07-27T01:01:00.017-04:00

So here we sit with only 56 games to go. (Is that all, really?)

Through 106, I’d say the Jays' season has been a success so far. I realise that there are many sports fans who would disagree with me, pointing to the Jays current position in the standings and high probability of missing the playoffs. I suppose this discussion comes down to the definition of success one is acting under.

From the get-go, I wasn’t thinking that we’d with the whole caboodle this year. We’re just weren’t there at the start of the season with our starting rotation and line-up, but things are coming together. I always knew we would end up at least 4th in the division with the possibility of making some upwards moves. We had an outside shot at the Wild Card, but it was a long one and currently there are just too many good teams between us and the W.C.

The Jays play in the AL East. (Well, duh!) I’m not saying it as an excuse, but as the reality based starting point for what the Jays are working towards overcoming.

There’s a common thought that the biggest difference between big market/budget teams and small to medium market/budget teams is that the big guys have a wider margin for error in their free agent signings. In my humble opinion, a larger budget can also extend the winning window opportunity. The small to medium market teams have to rely more heavily on building from within and timely free agent signing.

Using the last paragraph as the background, let’s paint a picture of the AL East, in no particular order:

New York – I will not say they have bought championships. No matter how much money you spend, you still have to play high-calibre baseball and win the X number of games it takes to get into the playoffs to begin with. However, their famously large budget allows them more freedom in their signings. If they sign someone in the off-season for a couple million and he doesn’t pan out, the Yankees are crippled by being on the hook for the salary and the cost of having to find someone to fill the vacant role.

Boston – Much the same as New York. Of the two big budget teams in the East, Boston does seem to be the only slightly shrewder in its spending. I think they’ve gotten to a point with a solid core of a team (à la ’92-’93 Jays or late ‘90s Yanks), where it’s more a point of filling a key role or two year after year. Now, that’ll change as their core gets older and starts to wear down, but they do have a pretty solid Minor League system. And that’s the difference, at least as I believe, between Boston and New York. Although from my understanding, the Yanks have made concerted and successful efforts to rebuild their farm system.

When New York had that great run in the late ‘90s, they had a solid core of guys that were there year after year. You had some small turnover, but for the most part the roster remained the same. But eventually their rotation started to fall apart, their key guys, their heroes started getting older and losing their edge, and even though they had money they also depleted their system of high level prospects in making trades to be perpetual winners. But I digress from present day…

Tampa Bay – We all know that before the Rays had their great run a few years ago, they were the perennial losers; the team in the East that everyone should beat up on. They didn’t and still don’t have a lot of money to spend. But their farm system was/is stacked. The one benefit of losing continually, you get high draft picks every year. It’s only a matter of time, it was only a matter of time, before those picks start making it to the Show and having an impact. Good luck keeping them all for a long time once they do though. That’s the other issue with smaller budgets…you can’t always afford to keep your core roster of guys once the pass their club controlled years, if you don’t sign them to extensions early. That just means that the years you have with any particular winning squad is limited even more because you just can’t spend the cash to keep ‘em.

Baltimore – I think the Orioles are just a little lost right now. There are some exciting, young pieces, but their overall picture as an organization seems directionless, for lack of a better description. Although facing different issues, they feel like the Rangers did when they would just go after big hitters and not really concentrate on pitching; they just couldn’t seem to put the whole thing together. Well, look at Texas now. They finally got it. Baltimore will, too. I’m not accusing anyone in the organization of “not getting” baseball or anything of that nature. It’s more just an overall feeling of no defined path or overarching mandate of approach on how they’re going to build their team.

Toronto – We’re in the middle. Yes we have more money to spend than Tampa or Baltimore, but nothing like New York or Boston. We still have to be careful in our signings, but we do have freedom and ability to sign home-grown guys and keep them around. Not to mention we have a kick-ass farm system again. We’re not extremely far removed from being like Baltimore – without any direction. The last couple of years before A.A. got here, it seemed like the organization was whole-heartedly committed to sticking to a style of playing and team/farm system building that never really worked and didn’t fit with the Jays. That’s not to say nothing good came of that time, but that feeling left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of Jays fans.

As for where that leaves the Jays now, we’re in a good place. No we’re not in the playoffs again yet and we may or may not make run in the last two months-ish of the season, but we are starting to see the future of the team come together. Are line-up is coming together and so is our starting pitching. True, the backend of our relief pitching needs some more consistency, but who (other than a handful of teams) isn’t looking for their own Rivera or Bell?

A lot has happened over the course of 102 games that I witnessed, but didn’t blog about. Highlights for me:

JoBau’s incredible season at the plate. Hitting for a higher average when being pitched around? Yup, that’s awesome enough to be known as Bautastic.
Eric Thames has just been a delight and a treat to watch the second time ‘round.
Travis Snider is looking like he did when he first came up, only leaps and bounds improved defensively.
J.P. Arencibia doing a great job behind the plate in his first full season so far. To think we might finally have a true everyday catcher again…yay!

The hazy days of summer are upon us. Not long until the brisk breezes of fall and September baseball are upon us. Enjoy them baseball fans, and stay hydrated out there. It’s hot out there and not only in many of the divisional standings!
JaysGirl5

Baseball Bookshelf Recommendation #4

2011-06-13T01:34:00.012-04:00

Of all the reccomendations I've made thus far, this one is probaly my least favourite. Well, you might ask, why are you recommending it? Because I believe a baseball outlook (or any outlook) should be well rounded.

So, Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame by Zev Chafets is worth the read. I will admit that at times the way Chafets presents his information is organized by the merest threads of commonality between stories/facts.

I did enjoy the blunt truth approach to what getting into the HoF can mean for a player other than just emotionally. Chafets freely admits he's not a sportswriter (outside of this book) and I think that's part of the reason I really did find his approach to baseball stories and the Hall quite refreshing. He doesn't pull any punches describing some of the not-quite-so-wholesome characters in the Hall (ex. Ty Cobb) and the very subjective Rule 5 (a.k.a. the "Character Clause") when looking at inductions. Chapter 4, "A Question of Character" was probably my favourite to read.

I will say though that the most thought inducing part of the book was the last chapter, "Mitchell and Clemens". Although I don't agree completely with Chafets view on steroids and PEDs in the game, he did make me consider the other side. Like I said, well rounded outlook = good.

An interesting read for beach or deck this summer.
Enjoy!
JaysGirl5

P.S. Not that this should be a reason for you to read this book, but I definitely got some more additions to my baseball reading list.

Baseball Bookshelf Recommendation #3

2011-03-11T23:08:00.004-05:00

Apart from being one of the books Doc's read to become, well, Doctastic, The Mental ABC's of Pitching: A Handbook for Performance Enhancement by H.A. Dorfman is an effective breakdown of how to improve perfomance. Obviously, it's geared towards pitching and all the physical, psychological and emotional pieces that come together within that context. However, many of the lessons and recommendations are incredibly transferrable for general performance enhancement or specific goal-related enhancement.

Part of the reason I like this book so much (and plan on reading its hitting and baseball counterparts) is because it's all set in baseball terms. As a platform for information delivery, whether situational or anecdotal, baseball is easily relatable and understandable for me. I never played at a very high level, but even with my limited experience as a baseball player, the player-centric approach in the way Dorfman goes through all of the points in the book is still easily accessible. Each topic's main body explains the role it takes in the pitching process and is followed with "What the Pitcher Should Do...". Some of my favourite topics were "Confidence", "Negativism", "Poise" and "Positivism".

As a baseball book, it gives a nice behind-the-mental-scenes look at just what can be going/does go through the mind of your favourite (or not-so-favourite) pitcher when he's on the mound. There are some great stories about players Dorfman has worked with in his career that add a nice real-life connection to the information he presents to the reader.

20 days and counting 'til the Home Opener in Toronto!
Enjoy the countdown,
JaysGirl5

P.S. Along the lines of books using baseball as a delivery platform, Management by Baseball: The Official Rules for Winning Management in Any Field is another great example. Jeff Angus does a great job in that book taking the management playbook from baseball and applying it in non-sports workplaces. I had to read it for a management course I took a few years ago and really, really benefitted from it. It also expanded my understanding of baseball managers and all that the manager side entails when in the baseball world.

Baseball Bookshelf Recommendation #2

2011-03-06T17:44:00.003-05:00

It's impossible not to be taken in by the view of baseball that former Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatte gives in his various writings on the sport. In the small collection of his essays, A Great and Glorious Game, there are pieces he wrote before entering the Commissioner's office and after.

I really don't want to over-write about the essays in this book. I found reading them to be very personal, as there were many times where the feelings baseball evokes in me were captured in words and scenes created by Giamatti's writing; to the point that sometimes it feels as if I could have written them (if I were anywhere near as accomplished a writer and academic as Giamatti was.)

There are in total nine essays, with very helpful summaries by editor Kenneth S. Robson, that help set the timeframe and atmosphere in which Giamatti wrote each piece. David Halberstam precedes the essays with a thoughtful and sincere foreword for the book and the man behind the words. To quote Halberstam, Giamatti "...loved baseball, he loved history, he loved ideas, and he loved words" (p. IX). My kind of Commissioner.

Read this book or try and find the different essays online somewhere and read them. They are definitely worth your time. I'll list them all at the end of the post to help in your searching.

Hope you enjoyed the Jays 2011 return to TV broadcasted baseball today! Watching baseball or reading about it (or writing about it) is definitely the best way to spend a Sunday in March.
Until soon,
JaysGirl5

P.S. For another great baseball book, check out David Halberstam's The Teamates: A Portrait of Friendship. Again, you won't be sorry.

Essays by A. Bartlett Giamatti:

"The Green Fields of the Mind", from the Yale Alumni Magazine, 1977
"Tom Seaver's Farewell", from Harper's Magazine, 1977
"Recall as the Series Ends, the Afternoon of the Fall", from The Hartford Courant, 1978
"Men of Baseball, Lend an Ear", from The New York Times, 1981
"Baseball and the American Character", presented to The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1985
"Decision in the Appeal of Kevin Gross", presented to The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 1987
"To Sports Fans: Clean Up Your Act", from The Boston Globe, 1987
"Baseball as Narrative", from Take Time for Paradise, 1989
"Statement Released to the Press on the Pete Rose Matter", from The New York Times, 1989

Life Happens

2011-02-22T03:03:00.009-05:00

In the months since my last post, life took some interesting turns that kept me away longer than I would have liked. The lure and love of blogging and baseball took a backseat to the everyday. But just like baseball (and Backstreet), I'm BACK!

Obviously, notable things have happened since November:

We wished Marcum well on his way to the Brew Crew,
Everyone's favourite Garfoose became a Ray,
We signed Bautista for the next few years, and
We bid fareWells to the longest tenured Jay.

I'll admit I was a little surprised with the Marcum deal, but not the saddest to see him go. I did enjoy his pitching skills and I think he was a really good testament to not having to overpower hitters, but there was always something that didn't seem to quite fit for me, something that rubbed me the wrong way about his attitude towards the atmosphere after Doc left. I don't know. But still, I wish him well and am excited to have a high ranking prospect in the Jays system who's (possibly) being groomed for 3rd and, oh yeah, is CANADIAN!

Dirk Hayhurst will always be a favourite for me. The window he offers into the world of baseball is an incredible peek for those of us on the outside. Plus, I just happen to think he's a damn good writer. If you don't already, make a point to read his blog. Good luck with the Rays Mr. Hayhurst. Hope to see you in Toronto again someday.

As for the Bautista deal, it's been oddly comical to me hearing and reading comments about how he's being overpaid. I do get the argument because it's true he's only had one massive year and that most of the totals he produced last year blow any previous combined totals out of the water. It's a gamble, but pretty much any contract offered and signed nowadays in baseball (and most professional sports) is. You're basing a contract on past performance with no guarantee for that same perfomance to occur again. Sure, you can look at the historical data, the work ethic of the player in question, service time, and whatever else you want to use to create a deal. But in the end, it's a crapshoot.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the deal. When the amounts and terms were just rumors, I was fondly reminiscing about when King Carlos signed his (then) massive contract of $68M over 4 years in 2000 and how much people thought he was being overpaid. At the time it made him the highest paid player. Wow how contracts have changed in a decade...

If feels like AA is trying to build a team where they look at the player as a whole person, not just a number. I like that. I think it's important to get players that fans can invest in and get to know, and part of that is signing guys that are more that just number producers. It's part of the reason I loved the Winter Tour 2011. Watching the video footage, it was awesome to see fans (mostly young kids) across Canada coming out and getting to interact with the players they see on TV. It makes it more personal when you watch them play in a game. It makes the Jays and baseball more personal. And baseball being more personal with the youth of Canada is awesome in my book.

The actual mechanics of the Wells deal are still...surprising to me and AA deserves another round of applause for his creative style towards trades and team building. I am sad to see VDub go. Not in the same way as Doc last year, but it is hard to fathom that in the past two off-seasons we have lost 2 of the longest tenured Blue Jays. I wish Vernon all the best, I really do. I think a lot of times fans didn't always get him or appreciate his consistency away from the plate. He made covering CF at the Dome look easy. Frighteningly easy sometimes. I've written before about how I feel about Wells. I honestly think fans won't realise the place he held in this organization until the season is underway. That's not to say the Jays won't go on without him, but he was so much more than just our CFer or cleanup guy. And for that, he will always be one of top 3 favourite people who just happen to play baseball. I'll stand and cheer (or watch and cheer) when he comes back to TO and I hope Jays fans will join me.

Pitching is an interesting area this spring so far. Lots of competition goin' on in the bullpen and a little for the back end of the starting rotation. I hope RickyRo gets the season opener start. If you haven't checked ou his Nike commercial yet, get your butt to youtube. Same goes for the segment ESPN did with Ricky during an off-season workout. The link is on Ricky's twitter (@RickyRo24) or his official Facebook page.

I hope everyone is as excited for Grapefruit League games as I am and for the regular season. I'll be posting a little more often now, and I'm still going to posting about baseball books I've been reading this off-season. Former Commissioner Giamatti's collection of essay and The Mental ABC's of Pitching will be up in the next couple of days I promise. Also going to finish working on the third (and last) installment of the Portrait of a Fan (As A Young Woman) series I started posting last year. It's taken me a while to get it right.

Stay warm in these pre-baseball season days friends.

JaysGirl5

November, all ready? You lie sir!

2010-11-16T22:10:00.006-05:00

Okay, so there's no arguing with the calendar, which clearly says it is in fact November.

Although it's slightly overdue, congrats to the Giants for winning the series. Yay for the San Fran fans (say that 5x fast) and the city by the Bay. I got the feeling this year that it was almost unanimous across the baseball board just how wonderful it was to see a showdown between two teams not in the east divisions. Although, I would have been just as happy with a Phillies/Texas series, just to give Doc the chance to compete. But, as the Dodgers fans used to cry...there's always next year.

Speaking of Doc, congrats (and ROCK ON!) for winning the NL Cy Young. As well as Lincecum pitched this past season as well, how can you compete with the stats that Doc put up. Doctastic as usual.

In the limited amount that I got to see him play, I was impressed with Buster Posey this season as well. Congrats to him for his Rookie of the Year award. Could the kid've had a better rookie season?

Also, it's great to see more of the Jays players getting into the Twitter swing of things. Travis Snider (@Lunchboxhero45), Ricky Romero (@RickyRo24) and Jesse Litsch (@Jesse Litsch) are all now happily tweeting. They Join Dirk Hayburst (@The Garfoose) to represent the boys in turqoisy-blue on the web. I really do think it's so cool to have this kind of opportunity for interaction with the guys. As fans we get to know their personalities and character as players on the field. It's kind of nice to be able to round them out more into real people, at least a little.

In bittersweet news, Jordan Bastian will not be writing about the Jays anymore. He's going to be covering the Indians. And even though I wish him well (as I'm sure everyone who enjoyed reading his articles and blogs), I can't help but be a little jealous of the Indians fans. Good luck in Cleveland Jordan. I will say I'm excited to start reading whoever it is going to be replacing you.

Lastly, the next installment of Baseball Book Reccomendations will be coming shortly. Keep an eye out for The Mental ABC's of Pitching by H.A. Dorfman and A Great and Glorious Game, a collection of writings by former MLB Commish A. Bartlett Giamatti.

Stay dry in S. Ont and I hope you're enjoying the off season wherever you are!
JaysGirl5

Portrait of a Fan (As A Young Woman) Pt. 2

2010-10-13T00:30:00.011-04:00

What is cheating? In the context of baseball and performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), where is the line drawn? Before, during or after the League banned PEDs?

Technically (and logically speaking), if a substance wasn't banned, then a baseball player wasn't cheating if he chose to use it. The Major League rules didn't say anything about steroids or other PEDs yet, so according to the rules players could juice up all they wanted. It's not a far stretch to say the MLB turned a blind eye to it all while watching on-field offense grow, and with it the popularity of professional baseball across North America. We'll talk a little more about the times and what it's possibly led to, after we've established some perspective on cheating.

As we looked at the different types of fan (gamer, teamer, leaguer) in the first part of this series, the teamer and leaguer in me completely agrees with the assessment of banned substances and cheating above. As members of the Major Leagues and following their rules, players who bulked up with a little help didn't do anything wrong. (I will qualify that by saying they probably did some damage to their personal health, but we're talking about them in the context as baseball players in the MLB for the moment.) Okay, that's cut and dry. Not surprisingly, I've written about some of this before, particularly when Barry Bonds was getting close to breaking the homerun record. Coming from the perspective of a leaguer, who wouldn't want to watch in awe and celebrate when an incredible feat like that happens? True, I'm glad the steroid stuff was out in the open before, but as long as it came out sometime. Looking back at some of the great stories and feats in baseball history, we really have no way of knowing what those guys might have been using to get ahead.

Let's break it down a little. There are at any given time 750 men playing at the major league level. That number can go as high as 1200 when September 1^st rolls around and rosters expand. It's not hard to understand the competition inherent in trying to crack one of the 30 major league rosters (and staying there.) (Read The Bullpen Gospels if you want some more understanding.) It's also not hard to understand the determination of some players to get every single opportunity to succeed, even if it's not the wisest choice. Hindsight's 20/20, and there will always be people who try to skirt the rules (and not just in baseball).

The truth is taking any kind of PED can't make you a baseball player. They're performance enhancing by nature, not performance creating. They can't make you have consistent mechanics, a good batter's eye or proper fielding basics. What they can do, from my understanding, is produce more strength and help lessen time spent recovering from injury (among some other not so nice side-effects [i.e.: backnee and temper flares, etc.]). With more and more pressure put on players to produce big numbers in the last 20 years-ish and those numbers being rewarded with huge-sometimes-bordering-on-ridiculous-no-salary-cap contracts, why wouldn't a guy try to improve his numbers by juicing up? Or, why wouldn't he try to lessen the time it takes him to come back from injury, so some other player doesn't get a shot to take his place on the roster?

All in all, the connection between competition to crack into/succeed in the majors, pressure to produce great numbers, growing popularity, MLB's (ignorant or ignored) blind-spot of PEDs and the financial boom in baseball in the late '90s can be logically tracked.

But here's where it gets dicey. Baseball isn't just logic or reason. It's guts and emotion, too. More often than not, a fan's devotion to their team or given sport is quite illogical. And the gamer in me, well, she can't help but feel a little hurt and betrayed by PEDs in pro baseball and everything that has ensued because of them.

I'll be the first to admit that the gamer in me is a little…naïve, and idealistic. Truth be told, that part of me feels like a little girl balancing on her toes, raring to get to the baseball diamond (be it real, on TV or imaginary). This baseball-loving little girl me can never really understand how anyone who plays any kind of baseball could ever want to sully the game of baseball by using steroids or anything else. She's constantly in awe of having baseball in her life; being able to watch it, play it, learn about it; love it. It's hard to understand that anyone else could feel differently about it, especially if it's what they did for a living. Because in her mind (and mine), more than anything it matters that the game was played to the best of everyone's natural abilities. In the end, baseball doesn't care if you have the most homeruns or the fastest fastball. All that matters is that you picked up the ball and gave it your all. (Apologies for the rhyme.) You can say or think what you will about the gamer in me, but I think she can be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her outlook on baseball.

The adult in me understands that playing professional baseball is at its core a job, while still acknowledging that it's a lot more than that, too, to those whose profession it is. Not everyone who plays pro ball looks at it wide-eyed and bushy tailed. Not all players count their lucky stars because they get to play baseball for a living, with total disregard to the other benefits of the gig. Some players star count because of the by-products playing pro ball has brought them (i.e. ensured financial safety and stability for them and their families, etc.) Some wanted to be famous, others might've just gotten lucky. The point is, adult me accepts that not necessarily every pro baseball player (or baseball fan) feels the same way I do about baseball. Little girl me, a.k.a. gamer me, still hasn't quite grasped all that yet.

There's something else in all this that worries all three types of fan in me. It has more to do with the effect of the offensive boom and how it's affected the appreciation and expectation of other fans of my generation. I won't get into this too far, but I'm sometimes a little scared that fans over the last 20 years have been bred to expect high scoring routings and tickertape length homeruns all the time. This past season was amazing for pitcher accomplishments, but I worry that appreciation for small ball, pitcher duels and 1-nothing games is only currently a very small part of baseball appreciation as a whole. Who knows…maybe the time of the pitcher is coming once more and fans will be bred to appreciate that part of the game again, along with their offensive output love. I guess only time will tell.

JaysGirl5

Update

2010-10-11T00:06:00.003-04:00

I am not suprised by Doc's awesomeness this year in Phillie. Happy and thrilled for the Halladay family and friends, but never surprised. And thanks to iTunes, I will be the proud owner of a copy of both of Doc's historic games this year.

I haven't been able to watch much of the playoffs yet, but from the highlights I've seen they've been good. I'm looking forward to watching the League Championship series soon.

The next part of "Portrait of a Fan..." will be up in the next two days, with part 3 to follow shortly after. I'm also hoping to get the second Baseball Bookshelf Recommendation up soon. I'm reading The Mental ABC's of Pitching right now, as I continue my off-season personal challenge of getting through all the baseball books I picked up in 2010 that I haven't read yet.

If you're in Ontario, I hope you're enjoying the amazing weather. Anywhere else in the world, hope things are pretty there right now, too.
JaysGirl5

Baseball Bookshelf Recommendation #1

2010-10-11T00:04:00.005-04:00

As humans, we like to be able to define things, to give them a name. We attribute labels to the people around us to eliminate the unknown, to make them known to us. In our attempt to understand and know them we take them down to the human version of the lowest common denominator, which narrows our view to only the label they were given. All the while, we forsake the rest of the person behind the label. Nowhere do we do this more than with people in the public eye.

It's understandable. The lives of movie stars, rock stars, sports stars all have situations and experiences that are very different from the lives of the majority. They're so foreign to us, that sometimes we elevate those labels to the levels of superheroes or gods. We think their lives are perfect because they're a movie/rock/sports star and it can be very easy to forget that there's a real, live human being behind that character on the screen, that amazing guitar solo, or the professional jersey. It's refreshing (and sometimes rare) to get a clear view of the person behind the label.

From the opening pages of Dirk Hayhurst's The Bullpen Gospels, you can tell that the jersey will be coming off and that in its place you're going to get an incredibly open look at the person behind the "baseball player". From his struggle with making his career and how it should/shouldn't define his life to contemplating the role of baseball and the baseball player in society, you're absorbed in a world that few ever get to see. The stories from the clubhouses, buses and hotels will touch your heart, make you laugh out loud, and bring a tear to your eye. The only thing better than Hayhurst's humour and humility, is his honesty.

He clearly paints how plenty of men try to make it to the elusive "Show"; they want their cup of coffee, a decade long career, a great multi-year deal. That's the goal. But it's presumptuous for us as non-pro ball players to reduce it all down to a goal; a dream; a life; a job. It's so much more and so much less than that.

The Bullpen Gospels is a great starting point for readers to look at their own lives, their own careers and expectations, and their own definitions and labels that they attribute to themselves and to others. After all, at its heart, this book is a young man's journey of growing up and coming to terms with the expectations and labels set on him by the world and by himself, set to a colourfully described baseball background.

By book's end, readers will have a new appreciation for achieving their goals, they'll have begun to understand the struggle between success and failure of a dream, and "baseball player" will no longer be a one-dimensional label. After reading Hayhurst's gospels, you'll never be able to forget about the human behind the baseball jersey again.

Happy reading and Thanksgiving!

JaysGirl5

6 Game Round Up

2010-09-27T14:21:00.004-04:00

Some thoughts from the last 2 series, as we head into the last home series of the season.

It was nice to see Chris Woodward back in Toronto last week when Seattle was here. I have always liked Chris. He made one of the sickest plays I've seen (definitely Mactastic caliber) when he got to a ball hit into short left field and was able to make the throw to first to get the out. This was a ball hit well, well past the infield line. Did I mention his momentum was taking him towards the 3rd base side stands on the play? Yeah, pretty frickin' great.

But more than that, I remember Woody for being my first in person Blue Jays autograph and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I also saw him pull over to the side of the road near the exit for the Dome's underground parking and sign autographs for over a half hour, with his wife, daughter and another lady in the car. His wife was even helping facilitate the signings by passing things over from her side of the vehicle. Not mention his wife Erin is from Toronto. I always thought it was cute Chris met his wife while playing here.

I was once told a story of why Chris is so giving with his time for autographs that involved his childhood favourite, Cal Ripken Jr. and waiting for his autograph. Because it was a secondhand telling, I've always wondered about the truthfulness of it, but the person who told me the story said I should ask Chris about it if I ever for the chance. Sadly I didn't get to before he left the Jays. If you ever get a chance to ask him yourself, you should. It's an incredibly sweet story.

ROCK ON Bautista. 'Nough said. Except, it's insane that reportedly hit a foul ball out of the Dome on Friday. Insane!

Talk about Oriole domination this season. True, it's not nice to see you team get swept, but when you look at the fact the Jays went 15-3 against the Orioles this year...I think the bigger picture is pretty great. As for Bautista getting plonked twice yesterday, I'll agree the first time wasn't intentional. Marcum retaliated, case closed. But to hit him again, (more than likely) intentionally this time, especially after the benches were warned is just stupid. It's not like the games in the series had been super heated or anything previous to that play. Plus, it's not like either team was fighting for a playoff spot. I think I'll just have to chalk it up to a play I'll never really understand.

Thank You Cito Night's on Wed and building will be a rockin'. Regardless of the lack of playoffs in Toronto, I'm pretty sure the last home game of the season against the Yankees and a glorious sendoff for the most loved Jays manager will be well attended. I just hope by more Jays fans than Yankee fans. I'm also hoping the Jays will be able to help out the Rays by kickin' some pinstriped butt.

Stay tuned for "Portrait of a Baseball Fan...Part 2" coming soon. I'm also going to be starting my off-season challenge of getting to all the baseball books on my shelves I haven't yet. Between the ones I picked up in Cooperstown and ones I hadn't read yet, I have about 8-9 to get through. Technically I've started my challenge already because I just finished Dirk Hayhurst's "The Bullpen Gospels" which deserves a post by itself. So look for that as well.

Get your butt down to the Rogers Centre over the next three days. You won't regret it.
JaysGirl5

Rock On!

2010-09-19T14:28:00.003-04:00

Just a quick Rock On to Jose Bautista for becoming the new homerun king in Toronto. After hitting #49 yesterday, I'm pretty sure that magical 50 mark will be reached and surpassed by JoBau by the end of the season.

Bravo Bautista. Bravo.

JaysGirl5

Portrait of a Baseball Fan (As A Young Woman)

2010-09-17T21:46:00.020-04:00

First and foremost, I am a fan of the game of baseball. I love it more than anything. Secondly, I'm a Blue Jays fan; I'm a die-hard. Thirdly, I'm a Major League Baseball fan. I enjoy following the highest level of play of my favourite game. At times first and second are very closely intertwined, as the Jays are my main source of watching baseball being played, but there always remains a line between the three.

Now some may say that a baseball fan is a baseball fan is a baseball fan. Okay, that's fair. But the term "baseball fan" doesn't begin to cover the differences in the population that makes up that group. So sorry to burst any bubbles, but a baseball fan is not a baseball fan, etc., etc. There's gamers, teamers and leaguers and sometimes the types overlap, work together or go head-to-head, but they're still there. They do exist even if the dividing lines between them are hard to see or comprehend. For better or worse, or complete neutrality, all us "baseball fans" were not created equal.

Before believing that I've gone off the deep end, stop and think about what I'm about to explain. Really think about it. I guarantee you won't think I'm so wrong by the end.

At this point you're probably starting to ponder exactly what the differences are between the three types of fan I named above. (Which is should state may not be the only three, but I believe they are the basis for any fan you could find.) Maybe you've guessed by now or maybe they were obvious to you before I even wrote about them.

But, to make sure we're all on the same page going forward, here are the types of fan as I see them:

Gamer: A lover of the game of baseball, no matter its form. Be it hardball, softball, slow-pitch, lob ball, three pitch, professional, pick-up, little league; it doesn't matter to a gamer. They love the actual game of baseball, whether it's playing or watching it. As long as there's a bat, ball, batter, and pitcher, they're in. The outcome doesn't matter, only that the game existed. They truly love and understand the game.

Teamer: Loves and follows a particular professional team. Falls somewhere on the level of fan spectrum from casual to die-hard. Isn't automatically a gamer or a leaguer. Is mainly concerned with the wins and losses of their particular team, and any post-season success. Ex. John Smith is a huge Dodgers fan and only really cares if they win and make the playoffs. He doesn't really care what else happens around the Majors.

Leaguer: Loves and follows the Majors Leagues, both American and National. Can have a preference between the Leagues, but at least slightly follows both. A leaguer can just root for the Major Leagues in general, but most will have begun as a Teamer and their support/interest has grown and led them to be a Leaguer.

Just to clarify a little more before we go any further. You don't have to be one of the above things to be another. You can be just a gamer, teamer, or leaguer or any mix of the three. Just because you're one doesn't mean you're the other two. These definitions (teamer, leager) can be applied to those who don't follow a Major League team or MLB, but do follow another team and/or the league they play in.

From my experience, the most common mixes are gamer-teamers and teamer-leaguers. But, and this is an important disclaimer, that doesn't mean there aren't a whole bunch of other mixes of fan out there; varying degrees in each type, varying degrees of seperation between types, varying orders of importance of types or that there aren't other master or sub-types that I haven't encountered yet. Even though I'm trying to make sense of "baseball fan", I recognize and respect that we all come in different levels and kinds of love and appreciation.

So, where do we go from here? Well, even without my declaration above, I'm sure it's no great suprise that I'm all three types and which order they fall in. Some of my previous entries make it pretty obvious where my heart truly lies in baseball, when you take into account the definitions above. But I felt it was important to explain all this, to put it out there to be thought about, discussed, dissected. I think this is an interesting/important point to look at in general, without taking into consideration the effects (if any) all this might have on the way fans look at baseball or the future of baseball itself. I also think clarifying how I see "baseball fans" will serve as a buoy when jumping in to the PEDs/cheating discussion. Not only will the definitions above serve as a starting point, but they'll also be a lifeline to avoid getting too lost or far from home when navigating the messy waters of the steroid era and post-steroid era.

They say you should wait an hour after eating before swimming. Well, I think the same thing about thought and discussion. Take some time to digest what I've written, think about it, then get ready to dive on in to steroids and cheating.

Your faithful gamer, teamer, leaguer and blogger,
JaysGirl5

T.B. Shout Out!

2010-09-13T22:23:00.008-04:00

A few notes from the weekend series against Tampa...

Even though the recent successful years for the Rays have made the AL East an even tougher division for my Jays, I still have a soft place in heart for them. I'm not sure if it's because they seemed like the eager little brother trying to impress their older sibs for so long or what...but I like 'em. What can I say?

There are a lot of guys on their team I enjoy watching. I loved the area when I stayed in Tropicana territory in '07 for Spring Training and I really love Joe Maddon's themed team trips. Plus, one of their upcoming giveaways is a superhero cape. It's only for kids 13 and under though. But still, how cool is that?

I will honestly say that I don't begrudge them their success. If I can't have my Jays in the playoffs from the East I want it to be Tampa, instead of those other two (usually) contending teams. I will be so happy someday when it's Rays vs. Jays for the division lead and the Wild Card. Imagine that series...

I should also mention that I really enjoy listening to their broadcast team. Most of the time when the Rays come to town I'm treated to listening to the easy banter between Dewayne Staats and Brian Anderson. I've actually put a lot of thought in to why I enjoy listening to them so much and I can never really figure it out. Part of it is you can clearly hear the fun they have commentating on a baseball game, but even more so the fun they have just talking to each other. I don't always get that feeling when listening to all broadcasting duos.

Speaking of Brian Anderson, he celebrated the 17th anniversary of his MLB debut last Friday. Which oddly enough had him coming out of the bullpen in Toronto to face Paul Molitor in 1993. Apprently all he kept thinking was how much he didn't want to hook a spike in the old astrofurf and fall on his face. Gotta love it.

Best quote of the weekend, courtesy of Mr. Anderson..."[The pitcher] puts one in your happy zone and you come out of your shoes." He was talking about getting a great pitch to hit from a pitcher, in case you needed the clarification.

One quick mention of Jaysland stuff...how awesome was JoBau's homerun on the 2nd pitch of his AB on Friday night after not getting the time-out call? I thought it was great that he kept his composure (again). You could just tell that something great was going to happen on the next pitch, and BLAM! He tied the game. If only it could have ended there. At least LindyHop hit the walkoff on Sunday. Too bad they couldn't win in extras tonight in Baltimore.

Look out for Kyle Drabek's debut on Wed night, although it's going to be on Sportsnet One. I was sure that game was listed on being on Sportsnet as of this weekend, but oh well. Call and harrass your cable providers (not Sportsnet please!) about getting the channel. Trust me on this...

I'm working on my piece about the murky waters of cheating and steroids, but I'm trying to make sure I get my exact point across so I'm taking my time with it. The end of the regular season countdown is on my friends and I'm starting to get the blues. As much as I love the smell of fall in the air, my hearts dims a little every year around this time as baseball season gets ready to end. But, I still got to enjoy this season and there's always next year.

Enjoy the games we have left everyone!
JayGirl5

"Touch 'em all..."

2010-09-06T22:50:00.006-04:00

As it nears the end of baseball season, the fan portion of deciding who receives the Ford C. Frick award is upon us. Now, I'm not going to say much on the topic. I believe Tom Cheek deserves to be on the list of recipients that hangs in Cooperstown. For pretty much every Jays fan across the country, he was the voice of baseball in Canada (along with Jerry Howarth.)

I'm still undecided if I will be getting involved in this year's voting. I agree with The Tao of Stieb. I urge all Jays fans to decide for themselves if they will vote. Just remember...even if the rest of the baseball world never knows of Tom Cheek, we were lucky enough to have him for over 4000 consecutive games and as the soundtrack for one of the greatest moments in Blue Jays history.

On another small side note, two things that stood out about Jose Bautista recently for me:

His composure while arguing the strike-that-wasn't-a-strike over the weekend in New York. By the end, he did start finger pointing at the ump, but he started arguing by clasping both hands behind his back and not getting in the face of the ump too much. I've never seen a player react like that in that situation before and I think it speaks to JoBau's professionalism and maturity.
While watching his interview on Jays Connected today, I absolutely loved when he said "It's not fair to me" when discussing the steroids stuff that's been going around. It wasn't said egotistically or with any malice. But, it was nice to see a definitive stand. We're all familiar with the stereotypical platitudes and responses in the pro athlete's media repetoire. But sometimes it's nice to hear a guy say exactly what he feels/means, instead of saying something meant to be placating and to put an end to the question.

They say things are bigger in Texas, but lucky for us you can't get any bigger than Toronto when it comes to homeruns.

Enjoy the rest of the series against the Rangers!

JaysGirl5

Pilgrimage by Picture

2010-09-04T00:39:00.023-04:00

I had planned on putting these up with my post about my trip to Cooperstown. But I took over 500 pictures and it took me longer than I thought to condense my trip to under 10 pictures.

Original All-American Girls Professional Baseball League uniforms. Go Peaches!

Ted Williams' hot zones, according to Ted Williams.

World Series Champs

Doc's game cap and ball from his perfecto.

Baseball Legends

Fergie Jenkins...only Canadian inducted in the HOF so far.

Hopefully you enjoy this very small taste of Cooperstown. If you've never been, get to it!
JaysGirl5

P.E.D.s = S.U.C.K.

2010-09-02T23:28:00.020-04:00

I hate steroids. I accept that in some medical instances, they're awesome. But within the context of professional sports, I HATE STEROIDS!

Now, the following comments might come a little late after the mention by a sports writer in Toronto that Jose Bautista must be on the juice, or at least should be considered to be drugged up until he proves otherwise. Well, I didn't have internet for a while, was too busy to sleep, then got my ass kicked by a cold. So, forgive my tardiness.

Before I get into the heart of my post, let me just say that this isn't going to be about whether or not using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is cheating. That's a whole post by itself. It's more about what the public acknowledgment of PEDs in professional baseball has done to us as fans.

First some basics statements to get us started.

- Whether we as fans like it or not, PEDs have played a role in the history of professional baseball. Hell, illicit drugs and alcohol have played a part as well.

- The guys who play the game are only human and can make questionable decisions like the rest of us.

- We can all agree that they work in a more highly competitive environment than a huge portion of the population.

- In every kind of competition some individuals will look for any way to get a leg up, or in baseball's case, production numbers up.

- If someone was so inclined to research it, I'm sure there could be a direct correlation found between the rise of PED use and the importance placed on power numbers in both pitching and hitting when negotiating salaries.

I'm not naïve enough to think that there hasn't been circumventing of the rules in professional baseball since it started over 100 years ago. I think any fan who has lived through the steroids era and the Mitchell report release looks at most (or all) records and stats with a grain of salt; still in awe of them, but realistic enough to know that there might have been some help along the way.

Skip ahead some decades, and now we're living in the post-steroids era.

It's sad for me to think that a time in baseball where more fans are watching and attending games and the players and teams have a strong agreement, that we're still overshadowed by drugs. All of the things that have come out since the League (and Congress) started cracking down on this whole mess have served to shake the integrity of the game of baseball and the faith/confidence fans had in the professional sport as a whole. Sure, it's more than likely that the additional interest in pro ball is the result of the crazy offensive numbers put up throughout the '90s and the early part of this decade. Which, let's be honest, in a lot of cases (some confirmed and some not) are a direct result of the use of PEDs or some type of substance that wasn't banned at the time. I believe that and even accept it.

But now what I seem to be left with is the constant question: When will it end? When will the stale taste of the steroid era be allowed to leave the game of baseball? By no means forget is happened; it IS A PART of the game now. But will there ever be a time when a guy can put up a career year, and he's not marred with the mention of PEDs?

Don't get me wrong, if a guy is using and it comes out, that's his own damned fault. But are we now, as fans, spectators, commentators (even bloggers) conditioned to always question whether a player having a good year is using? Is that the view we're forced to take now? I hope to hell not. I want to believe in the integrity of the game again. I want to have faith that players and the League are doing their best to respect the idea of fair play, even if there might always be a few who don't. I have blogged about some of these sentiments before, and they seem as true now as they were then.

But this is where I'll stop because I'm starting to get into the murky waters of the game's integrity and whether PEDs are cheating. And it is incredibly murky. Steroids, banned substances and performance enhancing drugs have stirred up the muck something fierce, and it still hasn't settled back down again. I do plan on writing about this, but the post is currently brewing in my slightly-still-cold-foggy brain.

_______________________________________________

Brandon Morrow makes his last start of the season against the Yankees tomorrow. I don't completely disagree with the notion of shutting him down. He's been a very pleasant surprise and addition to the starting rotation this year. No sense pushing him too far this season and risking his possible contribution next year. Of course, if the playoff picture in Toronto was more realistic, this would probably be a moot point.

Enjoy the long weekend Jays fans. Tampa's in town starting Monday and is should be a great series.

JaysGirl5

P.S. Anyone else not that shocked that Strasburg has to have surgery? Can we say "rushed to the majors?"

The disclaimer that now appears in the HOF records room.

Pilgrimage

2010-08-06T19:28:00.005-04:00

Hello Friends.

In the time I've been away, I got to make my first (of hopefully many) trips to the Hall of Fame. For four days, I got to make my way through the streets of Cooperstown and walk the hallowed halls of the home of baseball history. (Say that last part of the the sentence 5x fast.)

There are really no words to describe the experience of walking through the Hall for the first time or visiting a town that has embraced baseball so much. Everywhere you look in downtown Coop you'll see something relating to baseball; to the shops, the window dressings, the jerseys - it's amazing. Everywhere you go someone has a story to tell you about the Hall or baseball in general. I could see Doubleday Field from the window in my room where I stayed and believe me it's pretty.

Seeing the plaques of all the guys that have been inducted was a little surreal. The names of people everyone knows whether their baseball fans or not; the names that baseball fans know; and, the names that only the hardest of hard core baseball afficienados will know; it's amazing to stand in the same room as all of them and to know at some point, most of them stood in the Hall just like you were.

The most special part of the Hall for me was the Diamond Dreams exhibit in the museum. It shows and celebrates women's part in the history of baseball; from owners, managers, announcers, fans, players (especially the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League). I have dreamt of seeing that exhbit since seeing A League of Their Own when I was younger, and even more when I did an independent research project on the League in the 8th grade. Dirt in the skirt, ladies and gentleman. Dirt. In. The. Skirt.

Two other, smaller highlights from the Hall were the 1/2hr video link to learn how a bat was made at the Louisville Slugger factory in Kentucky and seeing Doc's perfect game hat and ball on display. It was a little emotional to see him where he belongs. It almost goes without saying that the day Roy Halladay is inducted into the Hall of Fame (as he should be), nothing save death or incapacitation will keep me from being there.

Another small highlight...sitting in a café and watching the Jays beat the Yankees on Mon and Tue while in Yankee territory. I can even deal with giving up #600 since we won the series.

Back in Jays Land, Litsch and Buck are DLed. Yes, it's cool Arencibia is going to get his debut. I'm interested in seeing his catching ability, as catcher is one of the positions where I'll take defense over offense (even though he has great numbers in AAA offensively.) Luckily though Buck's great season won't be interrupted for too long. Litsch won't be so lucky. He's got a tear in his hip and will miss the rest of the season. It hasn't been a lucky stretch for Jesse the last 2 seasons, but at least this season ending injury has nothing to do with his arm. You never know the affect of surgery can have on a body, but legs are better than arms for pitchers. Just as Jesse was starting to get into a nice groove coming back from Tommy John.

That's all for now folks. I highly recommend you make your own trip down to Cooperstown someday and not just for the Hall of Fame. It's a really pretty village.

Enjoy the series against Tampa. Hopefully this can be the first in 10 series we win.
JaysGirl5

P. S. While trolling the shelves of a used book store in Cooperstown, I landed upon a book by none other than Buck Martinez about the Jays' 1985 season, when they captured their first pennant. I wonder if I can get him to sign it...

Wouldn't It Be Nice...

2010-07-09T20:10:00.004-04:00

Yes, strains of the Beach Boys are currently going through my head. And, there are some things that I think would be nice...

Like the Jays getting out of the top of the 3rd right now...since it's 2 out and Boston have already scored 10. Here I was hoping that the Jays might be able to beat up on the Sox this weekend, since they're already kinda beat up as it is. Nothing saying that it can't still happen, but with Lester on the mound tonight it's not very probable. Still, it's only the bottom of the 3rd now and there's two more full games to be played in the series. Don't forget Mr. Sub Sports Bag day on Sun! This girl might getting her first bag in about 6 years.

Anyone else "Hmmm..."ing that RickyRo hasn't made it past the 4th in his last couple of starts?

So I've been thinking about the fairness of the schedules and everything for awhile. I think I'm stuck on not being sure if the teams that make it to the playoffs are indeed the teams that should be there. Here's what finally got me to this conclusion...

Earlier this season, the Jays had the 5th best record in all of baseball. That's right, all of baseball. But, had the season ended then, they still wouldn't have made it into the playoffs. You can guess why...we play in the AL East behind NY, Tampa and Boston. No one can deny that they're hard teams to beat and I'm not blaming the Jays lack of playoff action on our division. I'm not even really throwing out any blame here, just...questioning, because I'm not sure what solution would work.

On one hand, there is the argument of going back to a balanced schedule where we wouldn't see the other teams in our division as much as we do. That might slightly help. But, more than likely since baseball loves divisional rivalries (in both leagues), the unbalanced schedule is more than likely here to stay. There's been mention of getting rid of divisions and then it would just be the top 2 or 4 teams that play in each league at the end of the season. But, I still don't really seeing that working because people like to be able to identify who the are as baseball fans. The team they follow, the division they belong to, their favourite player; it's all a part of who they are as baseball fans and who their team is.

Where does this whole thought leave us? I'm not sure. But it does seem a shame that teams with the best records in baseball might not be the ones that make it to the playoffs. And I think I would feel this way even if it wasn't the Jays that spawned this thought for me. Although it definitely has roots in the fact from seasons past that the Jays ended with records equal or better to other teams that did make it to the playoffs.

The whole thing doesn't feel fair to me, in an age where baseball has tried to move towards being as fair as possible. Luxury taxes, revenue sharing, eradicating (or at least trying harder to than even before) performance enhancing drugs, homerun call replay; all things that I've seen take hold in Major League Baseball in my years to attempt to level the playing field. Maybe some day the fairness of who gets into the playoffs will be looked at.

As for me, the nice thing is I have a new computer! Now that I have a computer that works correctly and isn't more than 5 years old, I'll be able to spend more quality time with the blog. Colour me elated and excited!

Casey's on the mound now...and didn't let a run score is his portion of the 4th. Please, please Casey...don't let Boston score any more. Please?

Talk to you soon Jays fans,
JaysGirl5

P.S. ROCK ON and Congrats to John Buck and Jose Bautista for being named to this first All-Star teams. Rock on VDub for making it again and for being asked to be a part of the homerun derby. I think everyone was a little surprised you were asked, over the MLB HR leader (JoBau), but...congrats and have fun all the same!

P.P.S. Jays bats...WAKE UP!

Rewind...and check it!

2010-06-14T19:29:00.004-04:00

So, here's the thing I have with instant replay:

Where do you draw the line?

Seriously, I'm asking. Because right now you can only review homerun calls for whether the ball stayed fair and for those stadiums that have (what I'll call) homerun lines in their outfield in fair territory. Cool, awesome. Clearly defined situations in which the replays can be used. But if the use is extended, then what? Once per game per team to ask for a reviewed called; only once per type of play?

Not long after the whole debacle happened in Detroit, I got into a discussion about replay with the members of the press box for the Hamilton Thunderbirds games. One member of the discussion was all for instant replay, others not so much. We talked about what the constraints could be, what it would mean for single game, what the introduction to extended use could mean to the game in general, etc. Personally, still stuck on "Where do you draw the line?" over here.

I understand that blown calls suck. Really, no one wants their team to be on the receiving end of a blown call. And, depending on the size of the blown call, sometimes even the team its favours might not feel all that great about taking it. But, I'm a strong believer that most things like a blown call at first, a swinging strike that wasn't a swing, and a tag that wasn't a tag even out over the course of 162 games. Sure everyone once and a while there's a call that won't be evened out, but thems the breaks. In that case, I still believe that over the course of a team's history things like that with balance out. Big proponent of balance over here as well.

Obvisouly this isn't going to resolved by me blogging about it and it's certainly not going to be an issue easily solved even before the All-Star break. Though most may or may not put faith in the Commissioner's office, I believe that regardless of what they decide they will look into this from every angle they can before making the ultimate decision. The nice thing about all this? They could try it, find out it doesn't work and get rid of it to go back to just homerun calls. Major League Baseball (now) doesn't seem like an organization completely unwilling to try something after due diligence in their research and scraping it if it completely doesn't work.

Yay Jesse Litsch for working his way back, boo for the sweep in Colorado. That higher altitude has never been kind to the Jays. Here's hoping they can pull a win or two (or three!) together while in San Diego. Shaun Marcum's up tonight and it's the ace's job to stop the bleeding, right? He hasn't done too bad in that job so far this season, so please Shaun...

Up next for thoughts...roster moves with player returns (although Jesse has already come back) and the fairness of the schedule.

Time to conserve energy for the 10pm start tonight...maybe a nap is in order.
Happy viewing Jays fans!
JaysGirl5

P.S. Yours truly did the colour commentary for the Thunderbirds this past Sunday. Other than needing to slow down my speech (I speak quite quickly naturally), I think it went quite well. Hopefully...so I get to do it again!

Round Up

2010-06-06T01:49:00.004-04:00

So in a effort to catch up with some of the things I've missed on my impromptu hiatus, here goes:

- I wish the happiest of happy retirements to Ken Griffey Jr. No one can deny the amazing career that Junior had or the place that he will hold in the history books about this era in baseball.

- Rock On Vernon for reaching #2 on the all-time HR list for the Jays. Only about 120ish to go before you pass King Carlos for the all-time lead. It's been talked about a lot around the Jays, including in previous posts of mine, but Vernon is having some kind of season at the plate and it finally feels like he's getting back to normal. Phew...

- Biggest of ROCK ONs to Roy Halladay. No picher in baseball deserve to have a perfect game more than you.

- I agree with the lineup change to move Overbay farther down the order...but more importantly giving Vernon more protection now that Bautista is hitting behind him. Good things all around for the most part. Isn't it nice to have relatively the same lineup each day for once? Gone are the days of a new lineup everyday...and I can't say that I'm completely sad to see them go.

- As for the giveaway games this past week...the game on Tue can be expected. Sometimes...a game you should win will slip away from you. The key to being successful despite that fact is making those instances few and far between. Two games in a row given away in the ninth isn't the greatest way to show that you're actually be able to contend. However, I must say that from what I saw Tallet did look good in his return from the DL.

- Speaking on contending, YAY for winning the 14 inning game today. Sure they had some chances before Hilly drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 14th, but they won. So they've shored up the series win for the first matchup with the Yanks this season and I think today's game is going to be a really good confidence builder.

- Lastly the sweep of the Orioles last weekend was a good thing to see. The Jays need to beat the team that they can beat. They've had issue with this in season past recently, but it's a key component to stacking up wins for when you face the tougher teams (like Tampa, NY, Boston, etc.).

That's it for now I think. There are a couple things I've been pondering and want to expand on futher, but I'll get to them at a more reasonable time of day in the next couple of days. In light of the situation in Detroit this past week, I want to take a look at instant replay. I'm also going topontificate about Snider's and Litsch's respective eventual returns, the Jays' attendance to date and fairness in relation to schedules, standings and the post-season.

Until then, enjoy tomorrow's (well, today's now) game against the Yankees. I hope Brandon Morrow can pull it out for the Blue birds and give them a decent shot at the sweep.

Night Jays Fans,
JaysGirls5

Say It Ain't So!

2010-05-11T20:10:00.002-04:00

The Phillies will not be making their trip north this summer. Oh sure, the Jays will still get home field advantage in the city of Brotherly love...but I don't think Jays fans here at home are getting much love out of this deal.

Believe me, I understand the logistic concerns and all the things you can imagine would be considered in making this decision. I also believe that it wasn't made lightly by anyone involved in the process. But this still sucks.

Who knows the next time the schedule will align for Doc to make his way up here again. Or if inter-league will still be around. (Obviously the former is more likely that the latter.) Maybe we were never fated to see Harry around these parts again...you know, the whole once and future thing. We will know him again someday, but he will never really return.

Maybe I'll just have to see how serious my mom was about taking a baseball roadtrip this summer...

Now I need a win from the guys tonight to cheer me up. Help a girl out, huh guys?
JaysGirl5

ROCK the eff On!

2010-05-11T20:07:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Dallas Braden...here's your Rock On! dude. You deserve it and so does your team for the awesome defense they put up behind you for you to get your perfect game.

Not to take anything away from Dallas' amazing Mother's Day performance, but Kevin K. gets a secondary Rock On for that leaping grab into the A's dugout in the 8th inning.

Happy Belated Mother's Day folks.
JaysGirl5

Tuesday Chuckle

2010-05-04T23:31:00.002-04:00

While looking through the favourites of my internet browser, I came across this gem. Do not ask me where I found this link originally. I have no idea.

It might be old, but it's still quite entertaining.

The Jays 2k6: The Movie

Who do you think would play the 2010 Jays?

JaysGirl5

P.S. Woo winning!

Standings Are Fun

2010-05-02T20:31:00.002-04:00

I'd say taking 3 of 4 is a great way to have spent the end of a homestand. Wouldn't you? Especially because the one loss of the series wasn't all that terrible. They still lost and that sucks, but it wasn't a blowout or anything. I will say this for the Jays' losses this season...they haven't been the ultimate embarrassment that most of the baseball world thought the Jays would suffer. Although, the 5 game losing streak wasn't fun.

I remember looking at the lineup at the start of the game on Thu and seeing 4 guys that were hitting under the Mendoza line and a couple that weren't that far from it. Specifically John Buck wasn't so hot. Then dude goes and has a 3 homerun night that night. I'm happy to see (especially after today's win) that the whole lineup seems to be waking up a bit more again. Not to say everyone's belting it out of the park or driving everyone in, but at least guys seem to be present during their at bats and don't look completely lost (i.e. Overbay earlier this season). Speaking of Overbay...way to get a a hit to drop in on Sat and wind up at second with a RBI. Me thinks Mr. Bay of the Over is slowly but surely finding his way with the bat again.

The only non-positive thing I'll say about the hitting...I'm still a little uneasy with the reliance on the homerun. But I'll take it while I can get it. We're in 3rd afterall and ahead of those guys from Beantown.

The Jays start their series in Cleveland tomorrow as I have my first day as a member of the unemployed, at least as far as full-time employment goes. Wish the Jays (and me) luck this week. The Jays to win the series and play well...and for me not to go nuts being so idle. Time to start in on the pile of books, some baseball, that I have waiting to be read.

Take it easy Jays fans and catch the guys as they take on the Tribe for the next 3 days.

Happy Sunday...
JaysGirl5

Rock On...

2010-04-21T12:52:00.005-04:00

Congrats to VDub for getting the first "Rock On" off the 2010 season.

Vernon hit career doubles #300 and #301 last night. He also passed Joe Carter for 3rd place for most RBIs in Jays history, with #737 last night.

Rock On, Vernon. Rock On.

And again...welcome back!
JaysGirl5

P.S. It seems extremly fitting for some reason that Vernon's getting the first RO of the year.

All The Small Things...

2010-04-21T10:48:00.002-04:00

I am a fan of small ball. Yes, I love a homerun as much as the next person, but you can’t always rely on power. You have to create run opportunities where you can.

So I was very refreshed watching at least 3 or 4 of the Jays bunting before the rest of the team took regular batting practice yesterday. That’s right, bunting. Now, the guys do usually do 2 cursory bunts before they start their regular round of hitting during bp, but this was actual bunting. That’s all they were doing. We probably haven’t seen that much bunting around these parts since Reed Johnson, or well…as decoration on Opening Day.

To this point, most of the production has come from the middle of the lineup. Well, that is kind of where you stack your power…but in order for the Jays offense to succeed this season I believe it’s going to have to be a full lineup kind of thing. So bunt away Blue Jays I say! At least if the situation calls for it.

Speaking of small things…yay Fred Lewis tagging up to get to third on Alex Gonzalez’s fly out to center in the bottom of the first. Yes it was sort of a close play at 3rd, but for how deep the hit was you’d need a perfect throw for the out and you won’t always get it. So then the situation became 1 out, runner on 3rd with the heart of the order coming up. Had Lewis stayed on 2nd the inning would have been completely different. I think the possible out was worth the risk, especially because it was only the bottom of the 1st.

It’s the little things that can make a game. Things that don’t always show up in the boxscore or highlights for the important part that they played for the outcome of the game. A held runner here, moving up on a fly ball there…

Baseball is the game of inches. The best (and sometimes most frustrating teams to face) take an inch for all its worth when they can. You know, the whole “Give ‘em an inch, they take a mile” adage?

I’d love to see that become the Jays’ unofficial motto.

Is it too early to suggest pulling out the brooms?

JaysGirl5

Ask, and ye shall receive!

2010-04-14T15:40:00.006-04:00

I'm thinking I might need to ask for more things this baseball season. Vernon was so kind as to grant my request on Monday...

Last night's game was amazing and congrats to Ricky R for the almost no-no. I gotta say that I had the feeling as the game went on that if anyone was going to break it, it was going to be Rios. Toronto fans never seemed to understand Alexis. Leave him sleeping, 'cause he'll go all "Hola, Alex!" on your ass if you make him pay attention.

Two links that I wanted to share for just general awesomeness...
- Baseball gets greener
- And he used to be ours... I just ordered my copy of The Mental ABC's of Pitching. It's not supposed to come in for 3-5 weeks, but I'm excited. Next up after that will be The Mental ABC's of Hitting.

Not only do I absolutely have get the back issue of that SI, but it'll be the first issue I ever buy. The cover is also my desktop at work. He was ours folks for 14 glorious, amazing, jaw-dropping, mystifying years. And now...here's hoping he does make it to the post-season. I don't always buy into a guy deserving to make it to the post-season, but I'm on the front lines of hoping Doc makes it. He does deserve it.

Moving on...

Kevin Gregg looked good last night. It's the first time I've seen him pitch in person (as far as I can remember) and I liked the speed he worked at. Nothing against Frasor who I've enjoyed since his Jays debut, but I kind of enjoyed not thinking "You're killing me Smalls!" last night. (No offense intended.)

On a personal note, it looks like my summer of baseball really is going to be the summer of baseball. I've been given the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the radio broadcast team for the Hamilton Thunderbirds. Intercounty Baseball League, here I come!

Lastly, I'm hoping the attendance will pick up. From 46,000 to 12,000 in a night...I realise that first number is from the home opener. But come on people...enjoy the good games while the games are good. ____________________________________________________________
Brandon Morrow starts in front of the home crowd for the first time. Cutting down the 9.00 ERA would be nice. I hope I end up more confident in him than the Brandon he was traded for. John Danks is on the hill for the White Sox. His 1.50 ERA might be a little tricker than Morrow's, but at least they're both recordless.

Let's go 7-2 guys. And yes...I'm asking, so you better deliver. That's how this is going to work from now on. Don't worry. I'm not asking for the Series. (Not yet anyway.)

Hi hope hat hook, we team up again.
JaysGirl5

Wells and Good

2010-04-12T11:43:00.004-04:00

Nice to see you again, VDub.

Not to say I expect homeruns like those of last week all season, but it's nice to see you looking healthy and comfortable again.

I have such high respect for your consistency in approach and attitude about the game. Regardless of your struggles or success, we as Jays fans can always know what we're going to get with you. I know not all of them appreciate that or understand it's value. But I do and I know there are more Jays fans out there like me who do.

I can't wait to watch you troll centre again this season.

Welcome back VDub. Now how 'bout a homerun tonight?
JaysGirl5

AL Leaders

2010-04-12T10:58:00.011-04:00

I don't think anyone could argue that the past week has been pretty great in Blue Jays baseball.

A couple of things that have impressed me so far have been the production and contributions from the bottom of the lineup and the pitching. Throw out two bad innings and the pitching has kicked ass so far. And, how awesome was the first full rotation of the rotation? Pretty fricken' great!

Congrats to Casey Janssen for being the winniest pitcher in baseball so far (3 wins) and having the best innings pitched to wins ratio (1:1). Not bad for a guy who was dealing with subpar health all last season. So I say...Yay Casey! and yay Jays pitching in general!

Going a little further along the hitting line though...I will say that the Jays have had some pretty good timely hitting. Now, let me temper that by saying that it's almost slightly naive to believe the Jays will be able to keep up with this homerun hitting pace. (Not that I would mind if they did!).

Now, my definition of timely hitting has always been this: the ability to get a hit (any kind of hit) when it's needed to either extend the inning or the game, score the tieing or go-ahead run, or scoring a run in a very, very low scoring game/pitcher's duel. Basically, being able to put lumber to leather and not make a out when your team needs it the most.

So what point am I trying to make about this past week of Jays hitting? True, without the number of homeruns they hit they probably wouldn't be 5-1 (woooo!) right now. But, they got the hits to win they needed when they needed them. There have been some situations (bases loaded) that haven't been capitalized on as much as everyone would like, but the offense is still managing to find a way to get things done and a put a check in the win column. Personally, I don't need a blowout every game or ever really. Just enough runs to put you ahead by a comfortable margin* and to secure the win is all I'm lookin' for.

I'm headed to the HOME OPENER tonight...sportin' the retro Jays jersey. I'm so excited and glad that it's going to be nice out. I might be pushing my luck for the Dome to be open tonight, but...who cares! I'm hoping the Dome's open tonight. What's a little lakeside breeze in a enclosed field compared to the open field in April at the Ex? Nothing...that's what I thought.

Good or bad Jays fans, I think this season is going to be a special one; whether for individual player stories and accomplishments or for the Jays as a whole is yet to be seen. Either way, we're in for a treat.
___________________________________________________________
Brian "Wolverine" Tallet heads to the mound tonight for start #2 against Jake Peavy and the Chi Sox. The Sox are currently 2-4. It should be interesting to see the reaction Rios gets in his '10 return to Rogers Centre. Game time is 7:20 with plenty of fanfare going on before.

GO JAYS!
JaysGirl5

*A comfortable margin: this can vary depending on who's pitching for us, who we're playing and where. Obviously playing teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, Texas, etc. you'll need a larger margin especially on the road. In these cases a blowout's not a bad idea.

P.S. Anyone else thinking Tallet might be the tallest pitcher to ever start a home opener for the Jays? Hmm...I just might have to look in to this.

It's baseball season. Everything's gonna be okay.

2010-04-06T22:37:00.017-04:00

And this my friends, is going to be the summer of baseball. (All thanks to my full-time employment status changing from employed to not.)

I’m choosing to look on the positive side of things. I really am going to have more time for baseball this summer, and also have more access to watching it. The wonders of having all the Sportsnets except Ontario. (Don’t ask!) I’ve already been treated to Oak vs Sea, and the Red Sox/Yanks game that was on Sportsnet West tonight of all channels.

This should all in turn mean more blogging, which I couldn’t be happier about.

Other things I couldn’t be happier about…Shaun Marcum’s performance yesterday. True he gave up 3 runs when the Jays had the lead, but could you expect any more than an almost no-hit bid for the guy's first major league start in 18 months? Add on the fact he’s the first guy not wearing #32 to start the season in the last 8 years and well…I think we can all agree that Marcum was in awesome form. Good ol’ #28 will have a no-hitter under his belt someday, mark my words.

I’m also very excited that Adam Lindy(Hop) will be here for a while. I won’t go into the logistics of the deal or how it’s just another organization friendly contract from our new GM (woo!). What I will comment on is the qualitative factor to this deal. He fits in with the picture the Jays are trying to create in terms of player attitude, game approach and overall chemistry. Whereas others who might’ve had more natural ability *cough, Rios, cough*, you can tell that Lind (along with the other young guys the Jays have signed recently and probably will sign before the end of the season) pay attention and are attentive to what’s going on. They give a damn and are present in the direction the Jays are going.

I like Adam Lind. I always have. I think he is an amazing talent at the plate and a good backup option in the outfield. He's proven he's willing to work hard to be the best player he can be (i.e. his improved defensive skills). He has always seemed incredibly affable and I couldn’t be happier for him, the Jays and us Jays fans that he’s with us for a while. I don’t think last year at the plate will be a fluke for him.

I’m glad Doc had an amazing start in Washington. Seeing him play in red instead of blue? Well…let’s just say I might have to imagine that it’s Canada Day every time he’s pitching. I’m sure that’ll wear off soon enough. A girl’s gotta do what she can, which will more than likely end up with me bying a Halladay jersey tshirt before June. (Go Phillies!)

I'm excited for every baseball season. The title of this post is a sentiment I have every year on Opening Day (even more so this year. Reason, see first paragraph of this blog.) But there's another piece to the excitement this year. We're standing at the beginning of a new era in Jays history. It's palpable. Part of me is more excited than ever to be at the home opener next week and feel this in person. You can hear it in the voices of any of the Jays when they speak, including Cito and the new boss (who's name I'll be able to spell without help by the end of the week. I have mastered Rzepczynski afterall...)

I love Doc, I always will. He will always be one of the most special pieces of my being a baseball fan and a Jays fan, but I can't deny that his leaving and our having a new GM led to an interesting fork in the road. And now, we're taking the road less travelled (at least in the last 8 years). And isn't that supposed to make all the difference?

I have this inescapable feeling that something incredible is going to happen soon in Jaysland and I'm going to be around to see it from the beginning. Actively and awakenly there. After all...I was not far removed from having just entered double digits when the Doctastic era started. And being the biggest Jays fan I knew at that age didn't really lend itself well to staying as well informed about the team as I am now.

It's the dawning of a new day Jays fans. You ready?

I am. Bring on the close games, the blown saves, the youngsters maturing. Bring it all.

This season is going to rock!
JaysGirl5

P.S. I realise the possibility of growing pains =ing losses (some quite frustrating) will suck, but it's baseball season. Baseball season is finally here again. Really, what else matters?

It's The End of An ERA, Folks!

2009-12-17T10:11:00.011-05:00

There is absolutely no need for me to add to the many articles, posts, comments written about Roy Halladay's stats, his many accomplishments in Toronto, or what this means for him and the Jays moving forward (on their seperate paths).

But I can say that even though I knew this day was coming and have even accepted it, I still have the overwhelming feeling of the end of Roy's time at Rogers Centre, and even my childhood. I grew up watching Roy Halladay. I grew up watching his incredible career unfold. Part of me thinks that I will cherish that more than anything else about the Jays, including any future possible World Series wins. After Delgago left, Roy was the last serious tie to the Jays I grew up watching and the teams that kicked off my die-hardness. This doesn't mean I'm not a Jays fan anymore...it's just pushing home the realisation that I'm not a kid anymore.

Be proud Jays fans, Canadian baseball lovers, city of Toronto, and all of Canada...for too short of a time we got to call the hardest working, best pitcher of the past decade ours. If we ever see someone around these parts of his caliber again, it will be a long time coming, if ever.

There is only one person who can be Doctastic and he's left the Centre.

Bye Doc. And thank you...
JaysGirl5

Round Up

2009-09-17T10:07:00.004-04:00

Just a quick highlight of points...

- Boston was awesome, even though we were swept. I got to see Doc pitch at Fenway as a Blue Jay. Also got to sit through rain and watch a baseball game for the first time. Woo! I might be the only one, but I still prefer the Rogers Centre/SkyDome to Fenway and Yankees Stadium. Yes, I'm aware I'm nuts.

- Congrats Derek Jeter on passing the mark for most hits by a Yankee. This is going to be a record that sticks for awhile, non?

- Yay Adam Lind for not only achieving your goal of staying with the Big Club all season, but wooooo for hitting 30 hrs and reaching 100 RBIs. You have had an amazing season (like I always knew you could). But, I'm not sure who I'm rooting for to with the RBI contest...you or Hill.

- Let me get this straight...you hit 6 our of our guys in 4 days, including 1 in the face. You hit 2 more of our guys in the same game. A pitch goes behind the back of one of your players (doesn't hit him and no where near close to him) and he proceeds to elbow our pitcher. I don't blame Carlson for standing up for himself or for his team either, whether the pitch behind was intentional or not. NO ONE from the Yankees was hit with a ball and this fight broke out. Sorry...I have a hard time respecting the Yankees for that one. I do, however, think the Jays would have been justified if one of the Yanks had been hit in the leg/lower back. (As much as I think retaliation is justifiable.)

- It looks like I might miss being at Doc's last start in the RC this season...which means I might miss his last start at home as a Jay. I don't feel good about this. But, thems the breaks I guess.

Like Tao, I'm hoping for the little things.

Have a great off day today and enjoy the series in Tampa.

There's only *gulp* two weeksish left in the Jays 2009 season. At least the 2010 schedule has been released already. Ah, small comforts.

JaysGirl5

OMG GUYS!!!! OMG!

2009-08-27T08:43:00.002-04:00

The Jays won last night...

And not only did they win, they TIED AND WON IT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 9TH!!!

Sad to say I saw them tie it, but fell sleep for the minutes it took to win it. Normally I would feel kinda bad about that, missing out witnessing my team winning. But due to the record over the past little while my apathy is slightly higher than it ever has been.

BUT THEY WON!!!

Now, here's me hoping they don't get embarrassed when I go to see them in Boston. I'm heading to Saturday's game and probably Sunday. It's a dream of mine to see Doc pitch in Fenway, and I'd prefer to see this dream realised while he's still a Jay. So I'm deeming this trip "Two Dreams, One Trip". Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Also, keep your fingers crossed that this (*cough* miraculous *cough*) win will give the guys a little bit more hop in their step. It did keep them from getting swept and is a good, if not small, morale booster going into a day off before heading to Fenway.

Enjoy the weekend ladies and gents, I know I will!
JaysGirl5

Sick Day

2009-08-20T08:54:00.003-04:00

Is there a doctor in the house? Oh, he's taking a night off? Sure, yeah. I'm okay with that. The guy's only human after all.

What did last night teach us? That without Doc, the Jays would suck (even more than Baltimore or the Nats...sorry.) Because let's be honest...that my friends was not Doc last night. He just wasn't locating and wasn't getting some borderline calls.

Last time I had this feeling about a Doc start was the last one before he had his appendix out. I'm not saying anything's wrong with him so please don't read that. But it's almost sad that I've come to expect at least 6 innings from Doc so much that anything less than that has me worrying if he's okay. It's just...out of character.

But still, I will stand by the thought that every once and a while a guy's gotta be allowed a start where he doesn't reach the 6th inning. No starting pitcher can be at their best every single start. Last time we saw Doc go less than 6 innings was actually against the RSox in July...of '07! That's something like a span of 72 starts against the AL where he's made it past the 6th inning. Best pitcher in baseball indeed.

The best thing about last night? Watching Rob Barajas trying not to crack a grin/smile after watching Francona yell at the homeplate up after he warned the benches. Too awesome.

I'm hoping the Jays don't get swept. I really do. I'm also really hoping that my calculations are correct and I'll get to see Doc pitch in Fenway next weekend when I'm there. 2 dreams with one trip? Excellent!

Stay dry in S. Ontario today sports fans,
JaysGirl5

Stupid Hillenbrand.

2009-08-11T12:23:00.006-04:00

I agree with what Scott has to say on the matter.

I have a feeling...we're almost akin to the Titanic. Does that make JP the iceberg? Or is that the AL East?

Sinking ship indeed. Does this mean Hillenbrand might've had skills in divination?

Must go and lay down. I'm getting the spins just thinking about it.

JaysGirl5

P.S. No offense Pittsburgh...but I don't wanna end up like your team.

Adios Rios!

2009-08-11T08:50:00.002-04:00

So here's the thing...

Even before the whole Trade/No-Tradegate thing (remember those weeks of hell when we couldn't get away from the Doc trade "rumors"?) I have always been very weary about sports reporters/media for their lovely (*cough* annyoing as hell *cough*) knack for making a mountain out of a molehill. Part of the reason I haven't tried harder than blogging to join their ranks. I don't think I would have the patience to do it.

But anyhoo...at the time when it came to light that Rios had cleared waivers and been claimed by the ChiSox it felt like it was going to be another fabricated mountain. Well...isn't hindsight 20/20. Not to say that the actual way Rios left is/isn't a big deal...waivers happen and sometimes "big names" get taken. Personally what I think needs to be made a big deal of is that we got nothing in return.

Zip. Zilch. Zero. Rien. Nada. Nothing. A big fat doughnut hole, and not a yummy tim-bit like one. (Get my point yet?)

Now, granted this means that we're off the hook for Rios' paycheck. Wouldn't it be nice if that were the case with BJ Ryan? After all, he left the Cubs 'cause he just didn't think his velocity/location were going to come back. Beej...you couldn't have figured that out before you parted ways with TO? But I digress. My problem here (again) is with the way JP responded to the whole thing. According to him, from footage of his press scrum that was shown on Sportsnet last night, this is not a salaray drop. But, it does free up some money for next year.

Again, I'm slightly worried. I realise that a salary drop (even though that's not what this is) serves two ends: 1) to clear money for next year or 2) to lower payroll. Since we're not in the first 2 years of JP's era anymore, I think we can all safely presume that #2 is the least likely explanation for Rios leaving and us getting nothing in return.

Granted, the economy isn't what it used to be and with the (very sad) passing of Ted Rogers this past winter...the grandeur and freedom in the spending column for the Jays might not be exactly what it used to be. Still...if the Jays were cutting corners because their budget was getting scaled back, I'm sure JP would have mentioned it. Unless somehow things are flipped for him and he doesn't say the things he should and does say the things he shouldn't (Doc doesn't want an extension.)

Bye Alexis, please don't hit the crap out of us when we play against you. Like so many ex-Jays have a want to do. Take solace that you weren't just a salaray drop, but that you did free up some money for next year.

JaysGirl5 over and out.

P.S. I apologize for my extensive use of brackets this post. They just felt necessary.

Oh Lindy!

2009-08-05T12:30:00.004-04:00

Heeheehee...apparently Adam's uniform hides his muscles. And after seeing his tattoos along his ribcage (on both sides) on Jays Connected last season I can attest to the fact that he does in fact have muscles. Quite nice ones actually.

Man, I wish I had caught all of his time on Baseball Today from 12-12:40. I only got to hear the last 15 minutes. He was much more articulate than normal. Most of the time, I get the "I still can't believe I'm in the bigs and can't find the words to express myself 'cause I'm in shock" feeling from him. He was also nicely candid.

I really am entertained by him and am so glad he's had the great season he has.

Rock on Lindy...just 'cause you're cool.

JaysGirl5

P.S. So...I guess Doc is human afterall. Still, I take solace that he's only given up 2 homeruns back to back twice in his career. Last night and back in 2007 against the (then) Devil Rays.

A Class on Class

2009-07-27T01:55:00.008-04:00

Are you paying attention? 'Cause if not, you really should heed this lesson in class, respect and tact.

After his team couldn't win a 9 inning, 10 strikeout night Doc still sat down with the media for (gasp!) 20 minutes to discuss the whole "Trade/No-Trade Gate" (as we could call it.)

Read the highlights here. Thanks JB.

Saturday sucked. An 8 run lead wasn't enough? That's scary. At least we won today. It'll be interesting to see how the Boys do on the road. I'm praying it's not complete torture.

Keeping hoping Jays fans. What are we if not a nation that knows how to keep the hope alive.

JaysGirl5

Post All-Star

2009-07-24T10:06:00.003-04:00

I have been somewhat quiet about things since the All-Star game.

I completely respect the way Doc handled things about the possible trade rumors and such while he was there. For a player who doesn't like to have a huge amount of media attention on him (part of the season I think New York/Boston would never be a good fit for him) he did incredibly well.

I think we all knew this day would come and maybe have been preparing for a Doc-less team for awhile now (try a year or so). But I don't think any of us expected it to be like this. And if you ever needed any more reason to admire/respect/love/adore Doc than you do, just read the very last part of this.

We played well against the Sox, not so great against the Indians. With Tampa Bay coming in this weekend, it could go either way.

Enjoy Doc's start tonight and cherish it for the wonderful sight it will be.
JaysGirl5

P.S. I guess the only consolation with this whole storm is...the suckiness of the Doc business softens (at least a little) the ultimate suckiness that has become the Jays season as of late.

Seriously? Seriously.

2009-07-24T09:51:00.003-04:00

Let me get this straight....in hopes of (I don't know) casting yourself as the good guy in all of this you're willing to go up against a pillar of the Blue Jays history? You honestly think you can tar the loyalty we feel for Harry Leroy Halladay III by telling us that he plans on doing what he has the right to do?

Mr. Halladay owes this organization nothing. We're in the loss column here and I don't mean because when his current contract was signed we got a deal (and therefore owe him more money.) We have NEVER delivered on the vision he was sold on to stay long-term. Your 5 year plan is blown out the door at this point and frankly I really can't understand why you do still have your job. Whiteout trade, sharpie in fire.

I'm concerned about the mental state of the person calling the shots on the business side of Jays baseball. I think all Jays fans should be, too.

I'm also concerned about the classlessness of his move to make the "announcement" he did. Smells like he knows he's goin' down and wants to take people with him. Maybe I'm just being cynical. But seriously, what was the point otherwise?

Take a page from Mr. Halladay and learn some class. Wait...you can't. His tact, class and respect are so far out of your atmosphere of ability you'd be completely lost. You won't win. You're not the good guy in Blue Jays fan hearts. Never have been, never will be. I honestly do worry if you believe the delusion that you ever could.

JaysGirl5

Rolen, Rolen Rolen...Scott just keeps on Rolen.

2009-07-09T09:22:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Scott Rolen...for his general awesomeness and hitting lately.

I have always maintained that the Glaus for Rolen trade made sense for every party involved, even when Rolen was having issues last season.

As someone who tinkered at 3rd whenever she played softball it is awe inspiring to see him play the position.

I happen to agree whole-heartedly with Todd over at the The 500 Level. It makes me kind of sick to think that the All-Star game is supposed to be about the best players from both leagues and it really doesn't live up to that completely anymore. It's not just the best offensive players (isn't that the role of the HR Derby), but the best all-around players. That's part of the reason that I think the voting system the way it's set up now is slightly broken. I've always thought that the votes of players and managers should account for more than they do.

But alas, I'm getting away from my point for this post.

Scott Rolen, thank you for coming north of the border. You man the hot corner like no one else could.

JaysGirl5

Throat Obstruction

2009-07-09T08:44:00.006-04:00

It's not been the easiest week in Jays fan land.

Tuesday night's loss was so incredibly hard to bear. The Jays should have won. There's no question. They had the opportunities to score to break the tie (before extras) and they fell flat.

Last night's loss...well at least they managed to score runs to come back and tie a couple times. I can take solace in that.

Russ Adams is no longer a Blue Jay. Not to say I'm too surprised and I wish him the all the best out there in the limbo land that is not having a job/trying to find a job.

So the Jays are on their 3rd guy trying to find someone that can hit for power from the left side. How many ABs has Dellucci gone without a hit now?

BJ Ryan is also no longer a Jay, but I can't say that announcement was very surprising to me or really causing any kind of sadness. He just wasn't performing anywhere close to what he was signed for. Now, why the Jays haven't done something with Brandon League I don't know. I have been over him and his "stuff" for a couple seasons now and the more and more I watch him this season, he's going the way of Kelvim Escobar. Great potential, but never can seem to put it together in a Jays uniform. Sometimes that happens for whatever reason and I think the Jays need to look at cutting their losses. I realise with the way injuries have decimated their pitching staff this season getting rid of League just might not be an option right now (depending on how they would go about getting rid of him), but I hope it happens sometime in the near future.

I agree Tao. I don't even know if I can type the words out. I know I would follow him anywhere, even to pinstripes (although I doubt he would agree to go there). I could never hold wanting to go somewhere where he can win quite soon against him. He's given more than any Jays land resident ever had the right to ask for. Joanna put it beautifully as well.

As for my team, I would be hard pressed to be very happy any time I had to be in the Dome. I can deal with losing him to free agency, but just not because of a tr***. See...I can't even type it.

Congrats to Doc and Hill. You are All-Stars and always will be. Hopefully everyone has Linded their vote to get Adam to the game, too. Gotta love the promo campaign. And Rance was right...Lind should win the vote...he's got a whole country behind him (at least he should).

Here's hoping the actual game starts before 9pm this year. I have somewhere to be that night, but I'm not missing Doc starting (because really, how could anyone choose anyone else) or Hill in his first (of I'm sure many) All-Star appearances.

This is video gold. Not only do we get to see Hazel Mae, but we actually get to see Doc smile. Yes, he's actually smiling! "I think any time you lose it's embarrasing." I can only imagine how embarrassed he's been lately then.

Watch closely when Doc starts tonight. Not that we shouldn't have been cherishing every start he's made for us, but whether it's through free agency or tr*** Doc's not going to be here forever. (If only!)

JaysGirl5

MACTASTIC!

2009-07-06T15:04:00.005-04:00

John McDonald just hit a homerun in Yankee Stadium off Andy Pettitte. Johnny Mac...he of the Mactasticness who hardly ever gets a start...just hit a homerun!

Yes, I realise that the Jays are only (probably) going to salvage one game out of 4 inteh Bronx, but Mactastis is playing AND hitting...and I couldn't be happier for him.

What a glorious day...
JaysGirl5

P.S. Enjoy this for a little chuckle today. I don't think any of us would mind Aaron giving Vernon some tips.

Awesomeness

2009-06-22T15:31:00.003-04:00

This almost borders on being Mactastic. Yes, I have nothing but appreciation for Marco Scutaro and have had said appreciation for him even before he moved north of the border.

But Johnny Mac still is the Mactasticness master.

JaysGirl5

Homecoming

2009-06-22T15:20:00.003-04:00

Welcome back Russ Adams. I'm sure your hubby missed you, and so did I. You're attitude is great by the way.

Anyone cringe when they saw Accardo getting taken out of the game? Thank the Baseball Gods it was just dehydration. But seriously...dude you're a pro athlete and I don't think it was that hot in Washington on Sunday. But make sure you drink your fluids!

After a sweep of the Phils and almost getting swept by the Nationals, coming home to Toronto couldn't be better timed. Sure, Sunday's game was pretty convincing after the 4 runs in the first, but nothing is ever easy especially with the Jays pitching working as much as they have lately. Good on Romero for fighting to go back out in the 7th.

Enjoy the series agaisnt the Reds this week. Hopefully being back on Canadian soil will mean the Baseball powers that be will be merciful to our pitching staff.

JaysGirl5

First of the Season...

2009-06-17T15:51:00.002-04:00

"Rock On" Randy Johnson for winning start #300.

I realise I'm a little late, but congrats Big Unit. I hope you aren't the last 300 game winner, but I'm enough of a realist to accept that you probably will be. At least in my life time.

JaysGirl5

Say It Ain't So(re)!...2009 style

2009-06-17T14:10:00.004-04:00

Casey, Casey, Casey…on the DL again. Makes me sad. Here’s hoping they can get some parts for your shoulder, since they’ve got some parts on order for Doc's groin area already. Yeah…I’m jumping on the Doc’s a cyborg bandwagon.

As a side…even if Doc can go on Saturday, doesn’t mean he should. It’s a groin injury. One of the most lingering injuries in baseball. Just ask Vernon. Why not rest him on Sat so he doesn’t have to run the bases, and let him start when they get back on AL ground? What’s missing one start for caution instead of who knows how many for the DL. Which incidentally…will also be Scott Downs’ home for a while. You’d have to be blind to not know he hurt himself in the top of the 10th last night.

Interleague needs to end.

Check out a thought provoking piece by the Tao of Stieb. Yours truly even left a comment. Makes me sad that King Carlos is mending his hip right now and not getting chances to hit #500. But, check out this incredibly awesome article/interview about/with the King himself. I agree with him that the fact he played in Toronto was a detriment to him getting the recognition he deserved for his play. Makes me love him all the more for staying for 12 years. I realize a part of that could probably be the contract they gave him, which was huge for the time he signed it…but I don’t really think so.

Yes, it came at the cost of losing Downs but at least the Jays won on the road, in an NL park.

Let’s go for the 2 game win streak tonight boys!
JaysGirl5

P.S. I guess this means no BP air guitar for awhile. Sorry Dirk.

Doctastic

2009-06-09T11:57:00.006-04:00

Yes...I've given Doc the highest moniker I can. Feel free to use "Doctastic" to describe something that is consistently out of this world. Other than this, I have run out of things to use to desribe Roy Halladay. He is an awesomeness all unto himself. Much like Johnny Mac.

I'm not the only one feeling the love for Doc...Scott Carson is, too.

My fave Roy quotes from the past week all come courtesy of Lyle Overbay:

"Day in and day out, everybody that gets on first base says he's the best ... The Yankees, the Red Sox, they're like 'It's not fair.' I'm glad I'm on his side, not the other side."

"I don't think he's had his best," Overbay said. "These last couple of ones he has, but even before that. ... He hasn't had his stuff yet, and he's still able to dominate. It's scary, because he can dominate. With the bases loaded and one out, he just stepped it up another notch. It's scary what he can do."

"We've got Doc [Halladay] over here that we've got to get into the Cy Young [Award]," Overbay said, suppressing a smile. "So that's what it's all about. We've got to represent and take [Greinke] down."

'Nough said.

As for the game last night, Casey wasn't his sharpest at points, but he still made it through. Adam Lind...I'm so glad you're here. Not just 'cause you won the game for us runs wise last night, but just because you are a joy to watch.

Speaking of joys to watch...seeing Dirk Hayhurst and Casey air-guitaring to "Teenage Wasteland" this weekend was awesome. Plus from the TV booths behind homeplate they look eerily twinish, especially 'cause Casey wasn't sporting high socks during BP this weekend. Still, too funny.

Here's hoping Tallet can pull out the win tonight. I think he can. Let's get a win streak going!

Enjoy...
JaysGirl5

My Letter to the Rogers Centre

2009-06-09T11:55:00.003-04:00

I was lucky enough to be with you when you turned 20 this past weekend. It was a memorable experience. It saddens me that just over 15,000 turned up for Friday night’s game (which was exactly 20 years since the Jays’ first official game in you), but everyone there had a grand time.

Anyone who is a Jays fan has mentioned something about your big day leading up to it, so I will try to keep this short.

You are my favourite place. I still flash back to the first time I visited you every time I see the field. Who wouldn’t remember the neon green AstroTurf surrounded by blue seats. Sure, you have FieldTurf now and it’s a little darker, but it’s still beautiful. You’ve also had a couple facelifts over the years, but honey you look fantastic! I haven’t been to many other fields where pro baseball is played, but I don’t know if there are any that exude as much home team pride as you do. It’s a feeling I get every time I’m there and maybe it is just me, but I don’t think so.

I know you’re name has changed and I have no problem calling you Rogers Centre because it is an homage to the man who very well might have saved MLB baseball in Canada. For that I, and every Jays fan in Canada (whether they realise what exactly Ted Rogers did when he bought the team or not), should feel proud to call you by your new name. After all…other than the Jays, Canada only has 1 minor league team that is affiliated with MLB (Vancouver’s Canadians, Single-A for the As.)

I’ll admit though, in my heart of hearts…you’ve always had a different name. DreamDome. Because that’s what you are. Whether it’s rock star dreams, athletics dreams, fan dreams of seeing their favourite rock star or athlete…you’ve made them come true. At the time you were built you were an engineering and construction dream. There are other parks that have retractable roofs now, but you were the first. And it doesn’t matter how many times someone may have seen your top slide back; it never gets old.

I can't imagine the day when you are no more and I feel deep empathy for those who have had to say goodbye to the park they grew up in (Tigers' Stadium, Candlestick, etc.). You are the only place I ever want to call home of the Jays.

I consider myself lucky to have spent the time with you that I have. Mostly baseball, but a few concerts along the way. Most memorable would have to be Roy Halladay’s 22 season win and his 100 career victory, Vernon Wells’ walkoff against Mariano Rivera, throwing out the first pitch against the Yankees (even though we lost), walking on the field for the first time for work.

I love you Rogers Centre, SkyDome, DreamDome…whatever you want to be called. I smile every time I see you, or even see the CN tower from my balcony because I know you’re right beside it. Thank you for being where baseball dreams (and dreams in general) come true every year for a small-town Canadian girl and everyone else whose dreams have come true in you.

Love always,
JaysGirl5

A Fresh Start

2009-06-01T13:52:00.008-04:00

Two months have officially gone by in the '09 baseball season.

The Jays stand 1.5 games back of first place and 1 game back in the Wild Card...not too shabby for a team a lot of people thought would end up 4th in the division. (I realise there's still 4 months left, but I'm being optimistic!)

Things are lookin' good in Blue Jays land...

Sure, yesterday's loss wasn't so much fun. But good pitching will always beat good hitting and it was about time for Lester to start being the pitcher he is again. We still won the series and ended the losing streak. I'd call that a good weekend.

As for being happy the Red Sox are gone, I am. I will say though it was very heart warming to see Kevin Youkilis (mainly) and a lot of other Sox clapping along with a fan in the stands as he was calling out their names. The Sox were doing their pre-batting practice stretching and it was actually pretty awesome to see.

Day off today, and then Doc heads to the mound against the Angels. I always hope my Jays win (of course), but it would be great to put a nice winning streak together before heading back out on the road next week to play in Texas. At least it's not another interleague road trip. We've been swept enough in NL parks this season.

And on the girlie side of being a baseball fan, I agree with Jennifer Rolnik, except for me it remains a tie. I also agree with Joe Torre that Manny should not play in the All-Star game. As much as I love that the fans get a say in the starting roster, I've always thought the players/managers should have more say who the starting 9 is and the fans get to vote on filling out the rest of the lineup. 'Cause really...how can fans of teams in smaller markets compete with fans in larger markets to get their deserving player in the starting 9? That's right, they really almost can't.

Not completely sure how I feel about Cito putting Johnny Mac in late in the game yesterday. Not that I don't love to see Mac play. I do. It was even awesome to see him playing catch with Janssen before the game yesterday and to stick the gear on and catch Janssen's bullpen session.

But, by putting Mac in late...are you admitting defeat because you took Wells and Scutaro out? So, you'll only use Mac as a pinch runner or give him some playing time when it doesn't mean anything? I'm not saying replace Scutaro with Mac all the time or anything, but this is the only situation that I haven't been impressed with Cito's ability to get everyone some playing time. Sure, Mac's bat is not the greatest to begin with. But I never expect anything of him at the plate now (except his best effort, which he would always give anyway) because how can you expect the guy to hit when he hasn't seen in-game pitching in a week? I would be very sad to see the Mactasticness leave Toronto, but it's not like he's doing much from the bench anyway. And this is why I don't want Cito's job...

Enjoy the off day today and seeing the Doc pitch tomorrow.

Go Jays!
JaysGirl5

P.S. I can add Paul Beeston to my list of people I've almost run into in the media area...and add another two notches in the J.P. Riccardi column. One of these days there is going to be a collision. It will be interesting to see who I actually do end up running into.

The End of the World As We Know It

2009-05-26T10:54:00.006-04:00

...and I feel fine.

This, May 26th...is not the end of the season.

Yes, we're in the midst of a 7 game losing streak. No, this is the not the worst streak we've seen in the last 5 years. *cough* 9 games *cough*.

If you need to take solace, take it in the fact that even with the bad record this past week, we're only 1 1/2 out of first place.

I will point out...it always seems the bats are a little funky for a day or two after facing Wakefield and we get swept A LOT in NL parks. Bart Given agrees with me...at least about the NL parks.

As always, I'm just glad I get to watch them play.
JaysGirl5

Pre-game ramble

2009-05-12T18:50:00.005-04:00

Just a few quick thoughts before the pitching showdown of the season so far gets underway tonight...

- It's nice to see Al Leiter back around the Dome, even if he's here broadcasting for the Yankees. Odd fact...he was traded for Burnett (apparently.)

- King Carlos is only 27 homeruns away from 500. With his hip acting up this season, who knows how many chances he's going to get at the plate. I'm pretty sure there's not a player I will want to root for more to reach that # than him, even if he won't be doing in any where near Toronto.

- Isn't it nice to not have to depend on one player to carry the offence, or even the rotation anymore? As much as I loved King Carlos growing up, I'm not sad to see that era go.

And, if you'll excuse me as I step up onto my soap box quickly...

Jays fans aren't stupid. We know it's still only a month and a half in to the season. We realise that the Jays' schedule to this point might not have been the hardest. But who cares? When was the last time that any of the big teams in TO were this much fun to watch?

I get a little scared to wonder sometimes just what it will take for people to think the Jays are the real thing. Making it to the playoffs? Making it to the Series? Winning the whole thing? Because I'm sure even if they did win the whole caboodle, there would be sports fans in the Toronto area that would try to downplay it and equate it to a fluke. I'm sad for those people and I don't know if I can call them sports fans, not really.

In these hard economic times (and even in good ones) I understand wanting to get bang for your buck if you make the trek to see your team play. That's fine and good. So why are the Jays still only averaging in the mid-20,000 in attendance? WAKE UP Toronto fans! If you keep sitting on your asses for the Jays (or any team in Toronto) to prove themselves the real deal to you, you'll miss everything worth watching. And what happens if it does end? You'll say you knew it would and you'll be glad you didn't make the effort to go out and see the Jays play. You'll gloat that the team did exactly as you said they would. Not because you were right, just because you were too lazy to care. (Excuse my sarcasm, but thank you Leafs. Your years of cuplessness have taught those who bleed you how not to give a crap. Congrats. What an accomplishment.)

For those of us who make the effort to be there to enjoy the Jays play, we'll be sad to see this ride end, if it does. Do I think playing the Yanks, Sox and Rays could be very telling if the Jays can keep this up? Yes. Am I optimistic and believe they will play well? Absolutely! Will I be sad if things start going not so well at any point this season? Of course I will, I bleed Jays turquoisy-blue. But if it comes to an end...what a ride it will have been. No true Jays fan or baseball fan for that matter could ever regret watching the emergence of Adam Lind, the glimpse of the Travis Snider's bright future, Doc's yearly awesomeness, Aaron Hill's return and hitting sickness at the plate, and all the other amazing things that have happened so far this season other than the Jays win-loss record.

I'm hangin' my Jays hat on hope this season. Hope that they can keep this up; hope that I'll see my team get the attention it deserves; hope that sports fans around Toronto will actually start to care again before it's too late; hope that by the end of the season I might not be the only die-hard Jays fan I know. Sure, hope might not be the sturdiest hat hook, but I'll take my chances. And if my hat should fall, I'm more than willing to pick it up, dust it off and hang it right back up again.

Enjoy the game ladies and gents. It will be a good one.
JaysGirl5

P.S. GO DOC!

P.P.S. Wouldn't it be awesome if the Jays still had the chilli races, and if tomorrow night AJ ran it in? Yeah I thought so, too.

P.P.P.S. I love my job.

Two Weeks Notice

2009-04-18T12:31:00.003-04:00

Okay, so it hasn't been exactly two weeks since the season started yet. That'll come in two days, but what a season it's been so far.

Already, the Jays have had to put two players on the DL. Jesse Litsch for a forarm strain and Michael Barrett for a shoulder injury, that as far as I know hasn't been specified yet. I'm not doubting the injury...I watched Barrett being taken off the field last night after he got hurt in the 4th and dude looked like he was trying not to cry a river. He was obviously in pain...but I haven't heard whether anything is broken or it's a strain. He did go for Xrays, so here's hoping he'll get better fast.

As for Jesse, here's hoping he comes back faster than Accardo. I think they're going to take their time with Litsch and not rush anything, maybe partially because of how things went with Jeremy last season.

But, all that aside...let's get to the super fun part of the season so far: the offence!

Let's be honest...on paper, the Jays do look like a team that should be able to hit well. It's been that way for at least the last three seasons, if not longer. But, voila! Now, they actually are hitting. I'm not surprised, though. Looking at three guys that have been hitting really awesome (Hill, Lind, and Snider) I knew it was only a matter of time before they started showing what they could do.

In Hill's case, I was here when he got his first hit. It was impressive. Over the years he's been here, I've believed he be able to hit like this. Last season, that's a write off. He went down only 2 months in and never came back again. He never really had a chance to get hot or get into a solid groove. Before that, he jumped around a lot in the lineup and on the field. I've never played pro ball before, but I have to believe the constant changes like that can take their toll. I've always believed that Aaron would be really good in the two hole. I understand getting a rookie acquainted with the majors and taking pressure off them by slotting them low in the lineup, but I'm glad to see Cito is giving Aaron the chance to be the #2 guy everyday. Hell, he must of been given his uni number for a reason when he first came up (lol).

I'm excited to see Lind get the chance at a full season in the majors. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that I've been a Lind supported since the get-go and believed that he'd been an awesome hitter in the majors. When he first came up, his defense was sub-par (just being honest), so he went back down to triple A and worked on it. When he came up again and got his shot to play in the field, it was incredible to see the changes and just how much he had improved. It's a little bit of a shame that he won't see much playing time this season in the outfield with Snider being almost everyday and Bautista as the backup.

And for Snider...what can I say. It's awesome to see him doing so well, and I agree with what Cito's doing for the early part of the season by sitting him against tough lefties. Why shake the kid's confidence so soon in? He's hitting well right now, playing a nice leftfield...why screw with him? True, you can't baby him forever and I don't think Cito will. It's like Cito not taking a veteran for a rookie late in a game. It might lose you that game, but win you one down the road. You can never forget as watchers of the game that we can't know the personalities of the guys in the clubhouse or the delicate mix a manager's got to have to make sure everyone can play their best. So, if Cito thinks he'll get the best out of Travis overall in the season by spelling him against tough lefties, so be it. We can never forget that we're still not even a month in of a six month season. Lots can happen.

That being said, if only the season ended today. The Jays would make the playoffs. They're a game up on the Orioles, and they won't face a team in the AL East for another 2 weeks. Smells like ground grabbing time to me!

Odd scheduling note...any one else notice the Jays have 3 four game series this month? I can't even remember the last time that happened. If it has happened before...

One more quick note. I wanted to comment on Brad Arnsberg's stand on BJ Ryan. Sure, Ryan's not the closer we once knew. He's having some issues...what pitcher doesn't every once and a while. Yes he blew his first two saves, but they might be the only two he blows for months. You never know. But I do LOVE that Arnie defended Beej and pretty much told the press at one point to screw off (in more words and more politely of course.) To paraphrase, he would let the press know when/if they did know anything and to quit making a huge story where there isn't one.

I agree Arnie. I get so fed up with sports press making a story where there really isn't one. There has the be SOMETHING worthwhile to talk about instead of just tonnes of speculation.
___________________________________________________________________
Brian Tallet makes his first start since 2006 in place of the injured Jesse Litsch. He's up against Oakland rookie Trevor Cahill who took a no-hit bid into the 7th in his first start of the season. Tallet will be on a 70-75 pitch count so here's hoping it'll last him awhile. With Purcey going out in the 4th last night, the bullpen got quite a bit of work.

Enjoy the game!
Here's hoping the Jays can win this one, and keep their series winning streak alive!
JaysGirl5

A new year, a new layout...

2009-04-06T12:00:00.004-04:00

Let’s face it. The baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. I could come up with many excuses as to why I didn’t post that much last season, but really…who cares?

It’s Opening Day today, and even thought the weather here in Southern Ontario is SUPER crappy, nothing can squash my joy that the baseball season is upon us once again. I wrote last year about the loveliness that is Opening Day, and nothing has changed.

It’s been a long offseason. Quite a bit happened in Jays land, and at the same time not much did.

We said goodbye to AJ Burnett. I wish him well in NY, I really do. Maybe not if he ever pitches against the Jays, but I think time will tell how he manages the press in NY. It’s nothing like Toronto, and he had issues with the press here. I think something the NY press will have to learn is that AJ is who he is. I don’t know if all Jays fans realised that, never mind accepted it, but it’s true. He’s got the potential *gasp* and the intelligence to put the plan in place to maximize his pitches, he just doesn’t always do it. It can be frustrating as hell, but I think we started to get a glimpse of him adding the plan in last season. Will he be able to do that right off the skip in pinstripes? I don’t know. We haven’t heard too much about him on Yankee way in Jays land this Spring Training, so I’m not sure how the media coverage has been for him. Obviously, it’s not the same as during the season and I think it will be interesting to watch.

We also said goodbye to Gregg Zaun. I will never again not think of Zaunie when I hear a Rush song, or see Geddy Lee sitting behind home plate. I’m happy that he’s in Baltimore (if he’s not in TO) for two simple reasons: we’ll get to see him a lot because he’s still in the AL East and he gets to be close to his uncle, Rick Dempsey. Bye Zaunie. Thanks for representin’ the high socks while you were here. No one rocked out like you did.

Now, the biggest question of the season is definitely the rotation. I will admit I’m not as confident in this rotation as I was last year’s, but oh well. I’m intrigued by the mix we’ll be throwing out there during the season and I’m glad that the Jays brass is giving the young kids a chance. For so long it seemed like the Jays didn’t really have that many options pitching wise, or specifically starting rotation wise, coming from the farm teams. It’s nice to see that’s changing. The reality is we don’t have the money to go out and always sign expensive players. We have to build from within. That being said, I am aware that two of the highest paid Jays this season are homegrown.

But back to the rotation. We will be without the M&M boys (Marcum and McGowan, not Mantle and Maris) for most of the season. McGowan’s facing setbacks and Marcum wasn’t scheduled to come back until around August anyway. Why not just shut them down so they’re extra fresh for 2010. True…by the time we get in the season we might desperately need them, but I don’t think so. Afterall, we still have Accardo in the minors to come up and help the bullpen and Janssen is still an option for the rotation as long as he’s cleared from the soreness in his pitching shoulder.

The season will be what it will be. In the end, I’m just happy to be able to see my team play. I’m also REALLY happy that Aaron Hill is back manning second base. I think being without him for most of last season showed Jays fans just how integral he is to what the Jays are trying to build. Even though I think any Jays fan is crazy for not knowing that before his concussion.

In honour of Hilly's return to the field at the RC, one of my favourite signs from the last few seasons...

_______________________________________________________________

Roy Halladay will make his 7th consecutive Opening Day start for the Jays tonight. Game time's 7:15 and Doc will be facing Justin Verlander for the Tigers. It should be a good game.

Enjoy the game tonight everyone!

If you're heading to the game, stay dry...

If you're staying in the dryness of your own home, don't laugh at those of us who will look like drowned cats.

Woohoo for Opening Day!

JaysGirl5

Here's hoping...

2008-07-07T10:24:00.003-04:00

Needless to say, this last road trip was a disappointment. Thanks to the Jays losing the series to the Angels, I now have to buy and Angels hat. No wonder I don’t normally bet on sports…

My betting woes aside, it’s said that over this past weekend I got the same feeling I used to get about the Jays 2-3 years ago. Their only chance to win is when Doc is on the mound. Granted, that’s not because he’s the only real starter in the rotation anymore (it’s completely a lack of run production), but he seems to be the only starter who can consistently work with no margin for error.

DO NOT get me wrong, I love our pitching staff. But that doesn’t change the fact that Litsch is always going to give up hits because he’s around the plate so much, Burnett’s always going to be inconsistently brilliant/consistently wild, and McGowan seems to be going through a slight rough patch. Parrish made a great start in place of Marcum, and it was nice to see a leftie on the bump for the Jays to start the game. I’ll still be glad when Marcum’s back, considering he’s still in the top 5 in the AL for E.R.A.

In regards to my last post and my comments about buses…upon further reflection, I realized that I was way harsher than I intended. That doesn’t mean the sentiment isn’t true, but the wording I used wasn’t the best. It was definitely a result of my frustration with my team.

Looks like Accardo will me making his return to the Jays by Augustish. His blog for Sportsnet was slightly entertaining. Maybe his time in FL will help the Jays when they have to face the Rays.

Obviously, the main goal of every season is to make it to the post-season. Sure some teams their main goal is a winning season or improvement from their youngsters (if they’re rebuilding). I think right now, a winning season would be a good idea for a goal for the Jays. Never give up on the post-season until you’re eliminated, but for god’s sake…instead of going two steps forward, three back, could we switch to 3 forward, ½ back? With every loss, the attempt to be at .500 before the All-Star game is becoming farther and farther away. They would have to go at least 5-1 to be at .500 before the break. They’re 4-7 against the Os and Yanks so far this season. As much as I love my team, this homestand ain’t gonna be easy.

Congrats to Doc for making it to another All-Star game. You entirely deserve it, and I think you deserve to start the game as well. PLUS…with the rumors that C.C. Sabathia might be headed to beer country, it’s one less pitcher Doc has to contend with for “Best Pitcher in the AL”. I know it’s still early, and I’m *slightly* biased…but I think Doc really does have a fantastic shot at the Cy Young this season.

Enjoy the off day and the beginning of the homestand.
I don't work 'til Wed, so I'll be rooting the Jays from the comfort of my own couch.
Good luck Dusty!
JaysGirl5

"Hello, and you are?"

2008-06-24T20:51:00.003-04:00

Saying it's been a while doesn't even cover it.

It's been so long...well, insert any kind of "It's been so long" joke here you want.

I even missed my 1 Year Blog-aversary. So, happy belated one to me. But I'm back now. Hopefully blogging more often...

The only explanation I have for my absense is I don't have one. I could have found the time, but instead I spent my time getting my heart broken more and more watching the games every night. I suppose that's the only reason I can offer then...my sometimes sleep-deprived broken heart just couldn't take spending any more time contemplating the fall of my fave team. My only fave team, really.

A lot has happened since I last blogged. I won't cover it all, but I will put a few thoughts out there into the blogoshere.

It was great seeing the Cubs in town again. I was at the game when Reed Johnson lead-off and walked-off the game with homeruns a few years ago. It was Father's Day then, too. Kind of fitting the way things worked out, and the way the Cubs worked over the Jays this season over Father's Day weekend. Reed, you are missed. But as always, glad to see you're doing so well. You deserve it.

Thank you Cubsters for welcoming another fave ex-Jay to your side of Chi town with open arms. I have a very soft place in my heart for the Cubs for their welcome to Gonzo many years ago. Their fans deserve the success they're having, and although part of me believes they're more successful being the lovable losers, here's hoping their success this season plays out well for them. Like I've said before, maybe Reed "Billy-Goatee" Johnson is just the goat they need to break the curse. If you believe in those sorts of things...

Amazing how times have changed. Last time the Cubs were in town, Sammy Sosa was suspended for using a corked bp bat during a game. At the time the Jays were more worried about the absense of a very popular/successful at the time Japanese player who was on the DL while the Cubs crossed the border and how that would affect attandance instead of Slammin' Sammy not being around. For the life of me, I can't remember his name and neither can anyone else I mention this story to. I do know he played first base and was very tall...like that helps.

Congrats to Ken Griffey Jr. on reaching 600+ homeruns. It's an amazing feat and you deserve it. (Kind of neat I'm writing this as the Jays are playing the Reds.) I can't believe he's 39. It's weird...but he's always going to be the Junior he was in "Little Big League". You know, the one who stole the post-season from the Twins by catching Lou's would-be homerun to centre. I know, I watch too many baseball movies and remember too many details. I might also be slightly one dimensional in my main interests, but honestly, if I spent as much time on other things as I do on anything baseball/Jays, I wouldn't have time to sleep, let alone eat or work. Sad, pathetic, whatever you want to call it, but it's true. So shoot me...

Continuing on...

Roy Halladay was drilled in the head with a sharply hit ball, but is fine. The same can't be said for Aaron Hill (even though his was an elbow to the head). I think out of all the injuries the Jays have had the last few years, this is one that scares me the most. Same with Casey Janssen's, although his not as much. Both injuries could have great impacts on the futures of both players. From all accounts, Casey's rehab is going well and there's no cause for concern. That doesn't change the fact that a torn labrum in a pitcher's pitching shoulder can be severely detrimental. However, I'm not really fearing with that injury anymore. Hilly's, well...at least in Cory Koskie's case he had had a career before his concussion. By no means do I mean that Koskie was ready to retire had he not been injured, but...

I have every faith that Hilly's going to be fine. It'll take time and I don't think anyone is anxiously awaiting his hasty return. As much as I'd miss seeing him play, if it takes until next season for him to be okay to play ball again without any worry for his health, well I don't think anyone could say they're a true Jays fan and not be alright with that.

On to the biggest thing...I am sad John Gibbons was fired. Did he deserve it? No, I don't think so. But, the risk of being accountable when those you manage don't perform is inherent in being a manager. Gibby seemed like a smart guy, so I'm sure he knew that. There's been a lot written about the whole situation, but all I'll say is that Gibby's .500 winning percentage as the Jays manager is not totally indicative of his tenure here. Being able to lead the Jays to a winning record last season (even if they ended up 3rd) amidst all the injuries is something he should be very proud of and Jays fans should applaud him for.

I'm not against the change in hitting coach however. Obviously the approach coming from that area was not working with the Jays. True, a team's overall philosophy for how they play the game usually comes from the manager (or in TO's case the GM), but still. Club's not hitting when they should be (according to guy's career numbers, etc.)...my mind points to the hitting coach. Just like if a team that should be defending well in the infield when they should be can go back on the infield instructor. (I've got much love for Butterfield, so that's just an example.) Needless to say, the story about my encounter with the old hitting coach is a moot point now.

So long John Gibbons. You're departure from the Jays is no indication of your time here.

Welcome back Cito Gaston. Let's hope your calm demeanor and steady patience can help lead the Jays to the level they should be competing at.

It might be just me, but it feels a lot lighter in the Rogers Centre tonight. Yes, I'm at work. Taking some time between innings to put my thoughts down because it's a relatively quiet and easy night for me. Although, the 18 hits and 12 runs the Jays have gotten in 4+ innings could also point to a lighter mood and a weight off the collective Jays' shoulders. Everyone say it now..."Ahhhh....".

Now being honest, this offensive outburst could be a fluke. It could be the Jays hitting it lucky against another last place team and 2 pitchers who just aren't performing. But the optimist and die-hard Jays lover in me won't even let me rationally accept that thought. Already, the Jays have been more agressive. Sure, fouling off pitches, taking balls...but not taking pitches that they should be swinging at. Rolen's homerun was off the first pitch for pete's sake! Plus, Rios doesn't look as lost for a purpose at the plate as he has previously this season.

In all fairness, it's too soon to attribute this to the changing of managerial staff. But, I don't think it's too soon to say that regardless of whether the firings/hirings were right or wrong, the Jays' hitters finally seem to be able to do what comes naturally to them. Hit the ball.

I think that's it's for me now. There's still one change that I think needs to be made. And although I don't want to comment or speculate on the comments coming from Ernie Whitt since he was let go by the Jays on Friday, there are two things I do want to say.

Ernie please don't hold this departure against the Jays fans who love you. Just like Gibby, you're departure is not an indication of your time here or the place you hold in the hearts of Jays fans across the country; and,
You're not the only one who doesn't understand the disconnect between responsibility and continued employment. I guess there are some things in life we're just not meant to understand. But throwing people under the bus doesn't sit well with me either and I'm sure many Jays fans can say the same.

Farewell for now. I don't know if I'll get back into updating every day or every second day again this season. Two jobs will do that. But I do promise to make more time to update, even it it's only once or twice a week. I miss it like hell and totally appreciate why I started in the first place.

Oh, here's hoping Shaun Marcum heals well. If the Jays do start hitting more (and taking pressure off the pitching staff), I don't think his arm will be missed nearly as much as if the Jays still couldn't get a run to save their or their families' lives.

Enjoy the rest of the game and the series against the Reds.
The Braves coming in on Friday should be fun, especially because I get to rockl my new retro jersey on Flashback Friday for the first time when I'm at the game with my mom.

Yay powder blue!
(Anyone else looking forward to seeing Cito in the powder? lol)
JaysGirl5

P.S. Completely off topic side note...it's nice when guys walk by and smell very nice. Thanks Rance. It's also nice when away team broadasters ask me if I need anything to drink. So, thanks away broadcaster who's name I don't know. You can drop the "ma'am" next time, though.

These are a few...

2008-05-23T17:00:00.003-04:00

Of my favourite things.

Doc wearing the retro jersey tonight;
VDub stickin' with the club and being a fan in the dugout;
Hill liking no;
Casey Janssen opening the wallet schedule (that folds out like 12 times) so he knows when he gets to see the team;
the fact the Jays didn't get swept last night;
AJ using NKOTB's "Hangin' Tough" as his warm up music for the last couple starts at home; and,
OverFence calling AJ a dork for his song choice. Welcome to the Dork Club AJ.

I gotta say, as frustrating as AJ Burnett can be with his inconsistency on the mound, he seems like a baseball player who knows how to find the fun. Maybe a little too much sometimes, but at least he seems to be enjoying himself. From the funky Vanilla Ice style mohawk/'do to NKOTB to chilli races to pieing Doc last season (braver man than me!), I like the fact that he doesn't seem to forget that he gets payed a lot of money to play a game for a living and enjoys doing so.

That being said, I'd totally trade some of the fun for some more consistency. Last's night start wasn't too, too bad I guess.
___________________________________________________________________
Doc Halladay (4-5) hits the hill against Zack Greinke (5-1). Should be a pretty good pitcher's game. Anyone else feel like Doc's record should be close to or better than Greinke's? Note to the offense...continue what you've been doing this week as far as hitting runners in from scoring position. You can quit leaving the bases loaded so much without scoring any runs, though. Check out Numbers Game in Bastian's blog.

Enjoy the series against the Royals.
Here's hoping the Jays can put a few wins together back-to-back.
With Doc on the mound, there's a good chance.
JaysGirl5

P.S. Don't worry...the team's back on the television airwaves starting tomorrow. Maybe they finally took Scott Carson's words from a few years back to heart. If you want more people to watch your team play, make them have to come out to the ballpark when the team's at home...Wonder if it worked?

Rome Wasn't Built in A Day...

2008-05-21T17:45:00.013-04:00

And I think we should keep in mind that this early in the season, the division can't be lost in a day yet either. It's getting close to that point, but the fact that no one's run away with the AL East or Wild Card is helpful.

I'm at work right now watching the Angels take batting practice, so I thought it might as good a time as any to finally update again.

A lot's happened since I last blogged. We lost the Mactasticness, Eck, VDub and Squirrel (a.k.a. Jeremy Accardo. The nickname comes via my roomate.)

As much as last night's loss sucked (bases loaded 3 times and NO RUNS!!!), the Jays haven't faltered as much as many thought they would when Vernon went down on his wrist. Scutaro has been playing well as short in the absense of Eckstein and McDonald, so I applaud him there.

The Kevin Mench and Brad Wilkerson signings, well...I'll just leave those alone. I was having a Facebook wall post sessions with someone about the Jays. I'll summarize it for you because I think it makes sense. My comments will be in purple.

- When Vernon went down I thought if only Reed were still here. Reed doesn't do any one thing exceptionally, not enough to be an everyday player. You don't need all-stars at every position, but a nice mix of all-stars and regular joe work horses.

- Enough bargain bin shopping, and start using what you've got. Adam Lind not being called up to play in the outfield everyday (at least while Vernon's on the DL) shows a lack of direction and bad management. I blame J.P. Riccardi for the lack of depth in position players in the minors and we need to have a manager with more presence, instead of a GM.

There was more, but that sums most of it up. I know I was echoing thoughts from Jamie Campbell, but I do whole heartedly agree. If Adam Lind is supposed to be the left-fielder of the future (which pre-season signings and in season moves have set up nicely for him to be so), why not get him more service time the majors? He's proved he can play here before and not giving him the chance shows a complete lack of faith. If I were Adam Lind, even though baseball's a business and not personal, I'd have a hard time believing anything Riccardi or Gibbons say to him about him being the everyday LF in years to come.

I should get back to work. I'm trying to post most and keep on top of the things that happen between posts so I can comment on them if I feel the need. It just seems like when I have the time, there's not much to say and when I don't have the time there is.

Jon Lester for pitching a no-hitter.
Rod Barajas for driving 5 runs in one game via the long ball; and,
Doc and Jesse for coming in an pitching some great relief over the weekend. Too bad only people with Sportsnet East got to watch you, Doc. Stupid hockey.

___________________________________________________________________

Shaun Marcum takes the mound against Jon Garland. This should be a pretty good pitching match up. Both pitchers come in with 4 wins, but Garland has 3 losses to Shaun's 2. By far, Shaun's 2.50 ERA blasts Garland's (4.32) out of the ballpark.

Enjoy the game, even though it's not on TV. Try not to freeze or get soaked in the crappy weather in S. Ont tonight.
JaysGirl5

P.S. I've just gotta say...I finally figured out the sentiment I was trying to capture about Yankee fans last year. It's the same mentality that Canadians seem to have about hockey. Entitlement.

So to all the Canadians out there, just 'cause hockey's our sport doesn't mean we're entitled to anything. Yankee fans, same deal different sport. Just 'cause your team has one of the most documented franchises and largest fan bases, doesn't mean you're entitled to squat. You're a baseball team just like the rest of us.

May is a new month...

2008-05-02T20:41:00.009-04:00

And THANK the baseball gods for it. April sure brought showers...showers of crapiness.

I think this is the first time I might be able to slightly understand why Leaf fans get so frustrated the years their team has the talent to win. To watch the Jays as much as I do and to see them not win the way they have...it really is heartbreaking. At least last year you could explain the lack of production on the injuries and playing time to those who might not have been the best to help up the teams offensive numbers. Scott Carson says it much better than I here. I will say that I agree about the Mickey Brantley move. Not that I dislike Denbo, but hey...dude...if you're M.O. isn't working, try something else. I do have a sort of funny experience with the new job, Denbo and some of the Jays...I might get to it later in this post, but I'll share it eventually.

I will say that I've been happy with the Jays playing more small ball this season so far. True, this might be because they have to try and get something going more to score runs, but hey...I'm just hoping that if somehow they do start hitting for more extra bases and/or power, they don't forget how to use their speed. With Rios now hitting at the top of the order, there's more speed up top to be used. I've been liking Hill in the 2 hole, but it does seem like he starts to press when he's in that slot for too long. I think changing him out of the 2 for lower in the order, and putting Eck up in the 2 could be a nice (small) tweak to the lineup to keep everyone on their toes. At this point, I don't think anyone's done enough offensively (except maybe Rolen) to be guaranteed a certain spot in the lineup.

Rock ons...

to the return of Mactasticness in the top of the 5th inning tonight. On Johnny...how I've missed your pretty skills;
Shaun Marcum for 4 out of 5 quality starts this season, which I think it being 5 of 6 after tonight's game;
Shaun Marcum for being a strikeout pitcher (2 outings with 8 strikeouts this year, tonight's with 9); and,
Roy Hallaway for having 32 complete games in the last few years. More so that some whole pitching staffs in the MLB.

As much as Eckstein can be entertaining to watch and all...anyone else see an argument being made for Mactastic to get more playing/starting time? Considering all the low and close scoring games the Jays have played so far, you can't really take the defensive hit at short for the offensive boost (HAHA!) in the lineup. Yeah, really...what offensive boost. Both guys that were brought in to lead off...one's hardly seeing any action except from the bench and the other's been demoted in the lineup for someone the Jays already had. Anyone else missing Reed?...At least the Cubbies have kept up the tradition of being nice to ex-Jays.

The one thing I've been really happy with since my last post is the return of Lindy (Hop). Yeah, yeah...stupid nickname for Adam, but deal with it. I always figured that he would come up in September, and would take over LF from Stairs next season and Stairs would move (pretty much) into full-time DH mode once Thomas left. Stewart's only here a year, so he wouldn't be in the mix. I'm proud to say...it seems like the Jays have just moved up the plan I forsaw them following. I've always liked Lind. His defense was lacking when he first came up in Sept. a few seasons ago, but he's worked on it and he's gotten a lot better. Sure...he might never be as good as Toronto's favourite billy goat, but still...he has a really nice,natural swing, and is another left handed bat in a pretty right-handed heavy 25 man roster.

This just thought...maybe Reed Johnson will be the goat that brings the Cubs to the Series, instead of keeping them from it. Here's hopin' for them...

I think that's about all for me tonight. I'm at a retreat and I want to get back to actually watching the game. I'm going to be working the whole Tampa series so it should be interesting.

Mactasticness AGAIN tonight as Johnny grabs the ball deflected by Rollie's glove and gets the out in the top of the 8th. Dude...you're Mactastic. No other word covers it.

Enjoy the rest of the series against the Sox. I'm not sure how much I'll actually get to watch, but it should be good.

___________________________________________________________________

Jesse Listch goes tomorrow against John Danks. Good luck Pinky...getting your 4th win. Keep the score down, let your d go to work like we know it can...and you just might get it.

Stay dry this weekend, and keep hoping the Jays can win as much in May as they lost in April. So far...so good, I guess?

JaysGirl5

P.S. I'll tell the Denbo story next chance I get.

Long Time Coming...

2008-04-18T00:03:00.006-04:00

Needless to say, posts have been few and far between lately. It's not for a lack of wanting to post...mainly a lack of time to do so.

See...this lucky girl started a part time job for MLBAM this season. Dream come true, get to be in my fave place every home game, etc., etc....but let's just say that dream job + regular day job = hardly enough time to sleep. It doesn't help that it's year end time at the reg. job...so it's pretty hectic. Things will quiet down soon, so I hope to be posting on a more regular basis.

As for the season so far...

I can't say 100% that I'm completely convinced the '08 Jays have gotten rid of all the ghost of '07. Sure, no massive exodus to the DL or anything like that...but does anyone else see the inconsistency of play that the Jays have showcased, not just last season, but season's past? I don't think it can be just me. A lot has been said about not playing down to teams and such, but a big part of that (and maybe the whole part) is just being consistent. No 11 runs one game and 1 run two games later kind of thing.

Okay...the small concession I'll make on that last point is that if one night you need 11 to win and the next 1's all you can get (to win) in a great pitcher's duel...that happens. But I have a hard time not believing that if the Jays could manage to be more even-keeled over the course of the season, October baseball would come north again. Sweeps are nice and all, but I'm more concerned with winning series.

I can't get past the look on Doc's face tonight after the loss...I wanna say it was a "what more can I do?" look...because you know Doc's thinking it, but it's not true. In none of the losses the Jays have had this season can you pinpoint it on one person. Last night's 14 inning showcase of the Jays inconsistent play is a perfect example. I commend and respect Zaunie and AJ all the more for both taking the blame for the loss, but I think I put the blame on the offence. Had they managed to score even 1 run in the multitude of chances they had up until AJ's wild pitch, that situation would have never happened. Sure if Zaunie hadn't let that ball go by, the Rangers might not have scored. But...then we still might be playing the game...so...

What I will say about the '08 Jays is that there are a few pleasantries so far. I've always loved watching Eckstein play, even though he was a pain in the collective Blue Jays ass before be became a Jay. I think he's fitting in nicely so far and starting things at the top of the order. Also, one of the perks of the part-time gig is that I get to watch batting practice every day (sometimes even a little on the field) and I think it's awesome that Eck wears a helmet even during BP, then uses it as a basket to gather balls with when his BP group's session is done. Yeah, small and weird fact, but oh well.

As for the pitching, I will say that I've been quite impressed with Jesse Carlson. I must say that striking out the side with the bases loaded was awesome and he seems to have a good idea what he's doing. I want to say I'm surprised by Shaun Marcum, but I don't really think I can. Last season I saw in him a good example of the even-keeledness (is that a word?) that I wish the team as a whole could have. He seems to have a good ability to stay within himself on the mound, and seems to slot in really nicely in the back end of the rotation. My only concern with him last year was endurance, as he never had pitched that many innings in a season before. It seems that might not be an issue this year as he worked hard on conditioning in the offseason, but it's early days yet.

Just some random thoughts before I catch some sleep...
- Yay for Doc making it out of Texas without some kind of freak accident and with a win!
- I really am enjoying the powder blues the guys will be doning on Friday night.
- It was pretty cool when I walked into work today and saw Pat Hentgen hanging out in the media area at the Dome. It was also pretty cool when I almost bumped into him on the way to the washroom. I seem to do that a lot, as I almost completely ran into J.P. Riccardi on my second day as I was exiting the ladies. _______________________________________________________________________
Kenny Rogers (0-3) and his Tigers come to town to face David Purcey, who is making his major league debut. Detroit comes to town with a 5-11 record, the second worst record in the majors (Washington is last at 4-12). Hopefully the Jays can get back to winning ways against the Gambler. Good luck David on your debut!

That's it for me. Tomorrow's my first night on the baseball gig by myself. Wish me luck, and enjoy the game.
JaysGirls5

The game that never was...

2008-04-01T13:33:00.004-04:00

It’s easy to wax poetic about Opening Day, or…the makeup game because Opening Day was rained out. There really is nothing like knowing that after weeks of games that don’t mean anything, that it’s time for meaningful baseball again. For one day of the season, every team and every player is perfect.

That’s not to say that to die-hards players and teams aren’t perfect in their own way throughout the season, but at least on opening day they don’t have the baseball world and stats telling them otherwise.

All of the baseball previews I’ve seen have ranked the Jays 3rd in the AL. Nothing new. So what. I think other than roster changes, two of the biggest things to hit this team this season are attitude adjustments.

A lot has been said about Doc speaking out not quite as vaguely as usual. Aaron Hill said it right on Jays Connected/The Season: ’08 Jays this past Sunday…Doc leads by example. He’s not very vocal, so when he does say something, you listen.

I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to see that last year (and even years before) the Jays didn’t always take all their opposition seriously. Sure, the Yanks and Sox they had to beat. Those games are must win every time. What about the other 120ish games you have to play? That’s where the other attitude change comes in.

Scott Rolen got it right* when he said it’s not just about beating the Yankees and the Red Sox, it’s about winning enough games to make it to the post-season.

My take on it…if they happen to be 2 of the teams you have to play a lot to play in October, okay, but you still have to win enough games to get there (somewhere higher than mid-80s). True, as a Jays fan, any time you can stick it to the Yanks and Sox it’s great, but that doesn’t win you the division or the wild card. At the end of the season when other teams are staying warm in the autumn air still playing baseball, memories and gloat-worthy victories don’t really keep you warm.

The Jays have the talent to win the majority of the games they play. Is that being cocky? I don’t think so. Biased? Don’t think that, either. I don’t think every game is going to be a blowout or a sure win (since there really isn’t such a thing), but that doesn’t change the fact that the scale might be slightly tipped their way going in. True, there might be some chinks in the roster, but what team doesn’t have some? But you look around at the lineup and pitching staff, and you know they can do it. (Okay, so that last sentence might be a teensy bit biased. I love my team, so kill me!)

Still, in the end it doesn’t really matter to me what happens. I’m just glad they’re back. I’m looking for Doc to have another great year. It’s kinda cool to see Stew back, even though Reed had to go to Chicago. Shannon was a part of the Fab 5 Jays when I was younger and I have fond memories of watching them play. The Windy City was good to another Fab 5er (Gonzo), so here’s hoping they’ll be great to Reed.
____________________________________________________________________
Doc faces off against Chein-Ming Wang tonight at 7:05. The actual game probably won't start closer to half past, since this is the last Season Opener at the current Yankee Stadium. Reports are that Stairs won't be in the lineup today and might land on the DL. Bad things happen in 3s and Stairsy would be Jay #3 on the 15-Day DL this year (if it happens).

Enjoy the game!
I'm SO Glad the baseball in BACK!
JaysGirl5

*Another quote from JaysConnected this past Sunday. I really do love that show.

"6 Days To Wait...I loooooove you..."

2008-02-21T15:17:00.029-05:00

Okay, so that's a really sad rendition of "Eight Days A Week" by the Beatles...but like everybody else in baseball, I'm just getting back into the swing of things.

There's only just over 6 days left until the first Grapefruit/Cactus League games. It's kind of weird because this time last year, I was preparing for my first Spring Training trip. Even though this season is shaping up to be AMAZING for me personally, it's strange not going back. Someday I will make the trip every year. Someday.

But, back to actual baseball business. Today was the full team's first workout. Big reports from yesterday included David Eckstein and Matt Stairs.

So far everyone who had surgery last year is looking good. Vernon's getting back to full strength, Rolen feels better than ever, Lyle's been working well, BJ's been pitching great. Even Chacin seems to be making a pretty good impression post shoulder surgery.

I thought this article about BJ's surgery was pretty cool. Arnie talks about what it was like when he had the same surgery in '89. Give it a read.

Another article from the MLB site that I highly enjoyed was about this upcoming season, reviewing how the Jays are looking in all areas. I'm already looking forward to this season more than I ever have before, but having it all laid out there in the article makes the prospect of this season even greater.

As per the Mitchell Report and Roger Clemens, part of me does feel that he's almost not even worth the typing anymore. I kind of considered that Roger Clemens left the game when he retired, then signed with Houston. The Clemens since then is just some...I don't know, clone or droid.

It's one thing to be a player-in-demand or a successful player who plays with a lot of teams, but that's not what Clemens has been since after the '03 season. I have a hard time believing that someone is actually interested in being a professional baseball player when they don't travel with the team on road trips they're not playing in. I guess I kind of have a problem with someone being a baseball mercenary. In my heart of baseball hearts I realise I might be an idealist and expect that everyone wants to play because they love the game. I'm not saying I don't get going to the highest bidder, but at least when A-Rod did, you can't really doubt his desire to win a World Series, to be the best player he can be, and to compete and win at all costs. (Hence his "Mine!" shenanigans from last season.) It's not just all about the money. With this Rocket Roger clone/droid, I have those doubts. I have since he left New York for big ol' Texas and I always will. And it has nothing to do with the findings of the Mitchell Report.

Do I believe Roger Clemens used HGH or steroids? I don't really care. His career is what it is. Everyone's career that was a part of the "Steroids Era" is what it is. We can't go back and change it. It's stupid to * everything, all the numbers, all the records. It happened. Live with it. Can we please stop standing still, still? Let's stop looking back and pointing fingers and FINALLY move forward from this whole thing. Steroids already claimed enough time in baseball, why let it have any more?

With attendance and revenue steadily growing season after season things are only looking up for Major League Baseball. So...keep it going. With the climate the way it is, drug testing getting better and more reliable, and testing for HGH hopefully going to be incorporated soon, I would think any baseball player would be dumber than a post to take anything banned or illegal.

On the other side of things, it might only be my personal belief, and not be able to be backed up by anything concrete, but it's not hard to see why pro baseball players would juice up. As contract amounts steadily grew, more importance was put on the kinds of numbers you put up every season. In guys who I would believe are naturally competitive, is it so hard to believe that even though they're teammates and union members they would be competitive with each other for how much money they got? So, if the option was available to you to boost your performance, that wasn't against any rule, and the only place it was illegal was in the court of baseball traditionalism...why not? If it wasn't banned and wasn't tested for, who would know? How would you get caught? And all the while...you'd be smiling all the way to the bank. Part of me would hope there would be at least a little piece of them felt a little guilty for (yes I'm going to write it) sullying the purist competition of the game of baseball.

By no means am I saying it's okay or that I would even do the same thing myself, but I can't hate the players who did it. I can't even be mad at them really. It might be an ugly part of the game's past, but so was pre-integration. All that's really left now is moving forward. Can we just get on with it, please!

I must say, I've never really been the biggest Jason Giami fan, but I do respect him for his comments towards the whole Mitchell Rreport/Andy Pettitte situation.

And as usual, I agree with Mr. Carson. Same with Mr. Campbell. Especially with Mr. Campbell.

YAY!

Enjoy Spring Break next week if you're so inclined. Otherwise, enjoy the countdown to Spring Training Games like I will be.
Bye for now!
JaysGirl5

P.S. Looks like the Jays will win the World Series again...I posted again. WOO! lol.

There's Always Next Year!...and now it is.

2008-02-11T12:16:00.001-05:00

Considering pitchers and catchers report in less than 5 days, I thought it was about time I (gulp!) acknowledged the end of last season.

I know, I know. It’s been…almost 5 ½ months since the 2007 regular season ended, but it’s a hard thing to type aloud to cyber space for me. As long as I don’t admit that the season is over, a part of me can get through the wonderful Canadian winter and hockey season. Mind you, neither one has been terribly bad so far.

It’s winding up to be an exciting season. The lineup is looking good, and although I have some questions regarding Mr. Johnny Mac and his playing time, I’m really, really looking forward to seeing what this team will be able to do.

I must say, I pretty much agree with all the deals that were made this winter for the Jays. Yes, I was looking forward to having Mactasticness in every game, but Eckstein does give a slight offensive boost without losing too much defence. If the lineup can produce like it was designed to, even before the Rolen and Eckstein additions, you could take the average hit where Johnny is concerned. I realise it’s hard to say whether Johnny Mac’s clutch hits (especially with the bases loaded) will continue this season, but considering he was training with Travis Hafner (I believe) this off-season, you gotta believe he’s been working hard-core on his batting.

As for the Mitchell Report, well, hallelujah! I don’t mean that for the results or for the names mentioned, but just for the fact that the thing is finally released. Now the baseball world can quit concentrating on who’s name is going to pop up next in the investigations to put the report together, but can move forward to dealing with the whole steroids era and move forward from it. I’m going to have some more personal thoughts on the whole “is taking steroids, etc. when they weren’t illegal in the game still cheating” question later. I figure for my first post, post season 2007 I’ll take it easy. All I will say, is that once I again I totally agree with Scott Carson. I'll also have some more thoughts on Clemens, too...but not many. Don't really know if he's worth it anymore.

Let the countdown official begin and continue for Spring Training, the Regular season, and my first/last pilgrimage to the House that Ruth Built later this summer.

Just a note, I do believe Dustin McGowan has shaved the chops. I saw him at the Flex Pack autograph signing, and although I wasn’t specifically looking for them, I don’t recall seeing them either. Who knows…maybe he’ll grow them back throughout the season. Or…maybe he’s just waiting for some March Mustache Madness. Stranger things have happened.

I’ll post again soon, cross my heart, hope to die, may the Jays never win the Series again if I don’t!
JaysGirl5

In this "Happy, happy, joy, joy" week...

2007-09-26T11:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, so maybe the last week of the season as a Jays' fan isn't exactly as the subject line suggests...because, well, they're not in the playoffs. But I think we're finally getting a look at the very bright future the Jays have to look forward to. Yes, a lot of everyday guys are gone right now...which makes the fact they played the way they have in the last week even better.

Granted, this past weekend in NY (except for Monday) was almost an abomination. Read here for more on this topic, by the wonderful Scott Carson. I agree whole-heartedly, and for more reasons than Scotty mentions in his column.

Two "Rock On"s to distribute today:

Jesse Litsch for making a great spot start on Monday; and,
Aaron Hill for tying Roberto Alomar's 17 homerun mark for a Jays' second baseman.

I should mention here that math and I are not friends. In my last post, I said there were 7 surgeries this year, but listed 9 names who've gone under the knife. Yeah...I can't count. But it doesn't matter because the surgery total has gone up again. It's now at 11 surgeries during the season, and 12 during the 2007 calendar year for the Jays.

To review, the following Jays have had or will have surgery by the end of the 2007 regular season: Johnson, Ryan, Zaun, Overbay, Halladay, Glaus, Chacin, Wells, Overbay again, Marcum, Fasano. You can add Johnny Mac to that list to make it an even dozen before 2007 is through, as he'll be having surgery to repair a sports hernia.

As my sadness settles in because there's only 5 games left (2 of which I'm attending against the Rays), I start to think back to something I wrote about in July which makes me very excited for next season. This last little while, even though it's been mainly pride on the line, I think everything has been coming together enough for the Jays that we're really starting to get a look at the what this team will be able to do. I realise they've been playing with quite a few rookies and 2nd stringers, but look what they're done. They swept Boston, held their own in an incredibly long weekend in the Bronx, and convincingly beat the Os last night. I see good things on the horizon of next season for the Jays.

Also, consider this: even with all the injuries and man games lost, the Jays record for this season won't be that much worse than last year. And in case you forgot, they managed to beat Boston for 2nd place in the AL East last year. The first time they've been higher than 3rd since 1993. Maybe it was a fluke, maybe it wasn't. Heck, they had only won 3 more games by this date last year than they have this year.

All in all, it was a great season. And of course, I would say that about any season...'cause I got to see my Jays play. Win or lose, I'm not going anywhere. But I'm getting a funny/happy feeling that things will be even brighter next year. I can't wait!

Hey, just for kicks...head on over to the Jays site and vote for your fave Jays moment from this year. I had a hard time picking 'cause they're all pretty fricken great.
______________________________________________________
Doc makes his last start of the year in Baltimore tonight against Victor Zambrano. I'm quite sad Doc's start isn't in Toronto, but that' s just how the cookie crumbles. Look for Frank Thomas to continue his quest for 100 RBIs (he's only 6 away). Hopefully the Jays can wrap up the series win tonight.

I was just thinking, maybe I shouldn't have said anything about crumbling where the Jays are concerned.
JaysGirl5

Over the past Fortnight...

2007-09-21T13:13:00.000-04:00

I went to 3 games. I saw my Jays beat the Yanks in the bottom of the 9th to avoid a sweep, look lackluster in the opener against Baltimore, then watched them sweep Boston out of town on their way to NY for a 4 game set. All in all, not a bad 3 games.

More injury stuff, and the surgeries just keep climbing. At last count, I believe it's at about 7 surgeries on the year...Johnson, Ryan, Zaun, Overbay, Halladay, Glaus, Overbay again, Wells, Chacin. Plus, not to mention Scott Downs might have a case out gout? Gout, seriously? I remmeber a clip of VDub from JaysConnected talking about how it's just a comedy hour with everyone dropping like flies. I think at this point, you can't do anything but shake your head and chuckle about all the injuries.

"Rock On" to...

Matt Stairs for becoming #2 on the Most-Games-Played-by-a Canadian list;
Roy Halladay for being all-around awesome (more on this in a sec);
Russ Adams for making it back to the big leagues and showing everyone you can still play here. I'm sure your hubby Aaron is proud; and,
John McDonald for being Mactastic, re-signing so us Jays fans get to witness your Mactasticness for another year, and even though you won't qualify for the fielding% title, you'll always be the most exciting shortstop I've seen play in a Jays uni.

Speaking of unis...this is a pretty cool idea. I would be all for it.

As for Roy Halladay, this just warms my heart and is just another showing of why I adore and respect him so much. He really is one of the only Jays I could never see playing for another team.

The only thing really left up in the air for me at this point is when Matt Stairs will sign with the Jays again. I'm about...85% sure he will, but we'll see how things pan out. You never know in baseball, you can never really know.

Three and 1/2 more things I enjoyed this week, and one of them is not baseball relately:

Scott Carson's latest column, down near the end all about Russ Adams and Jordan Bastian's Russ write-up.
Scott Carson's take on a tradition, and
Mike Toth's take on "Football and Faith".

_______________________________________________________
Doc's on the mound to start the 4 game set with the Yanks against Chien-Ming Wang. Here's hoping Doc can get complete game #8. Too bad he didn't win even 1 or 2 more games so far this season, 'cause my money would have been on him for the Cy Young. I still wouldn't be surprised if he's in the top 5 voting for it. Hopefully the Jays will continue to play spoiler, and take at least 2 of 4, if not 3, from the Yanks. As much as I'd like to see the Jays atop the AL East, if I have to pick NY or Beantown...I'll wear red all the way.

Enjoy the game, and the series.
Try not go get too down that the regular season is almost over. I know I'm not.
So far, so good on that venture.
JaysGirl5

I think I suck at resolutions...

2007-09-04T16:48:00.000-04:00

Because I'm doing a great job keeping up with posting...

Truth be told, things got a little hectic in the last weeks leading to September, but now they've somewhat calmed down.

Again, though, it seems I'm feeling there isn't much to be said about the Jays that isn't already being discussed. There are 1 or 2 things, and I'll elude to those later.

"Rock On"s go to...

Gregg Zaun for playing in career game 1000;
Mike Timlin for becoming only the 13th pitcher in MLB history to appear in over 1000 games. (I think those stat numbers are right. He's been around long enough.);
Clay Buckholz for becoming the first RSox rookie to throw a no-hitter; and
Pedro Martinez for getting career strikeout #3000 in his return to the Mets last week.

I must say, I don't dislike Pedro as much as I used to. Probably has something to do with the fact that he's with the Mets, and not the RSox anymore.

I will admit what Roger Clemens has done over his career is incredible. I have very certain feelings about him being a baseball mercenary, but those aren't the point here. A few days ago, I heard that Clemens might now make his next start because of pain in his elbow...and blisters on his right foot. Maybe the media outlet was trying to make a subtle joke of Clemens. I can understand not pitching with elbow pain or with blisters on your pitching hand. But blisters on your foot? There are ways to treat those and make them pain free, you know. But, he's only making around $18 million for four months of work. What's a little time off for blister healing...

By no means do I think the Jays are dead in the playoffs. They're still hungry. Even though they lost last night, I think coming back from a 10-1 deficit, instead of throwing in the towel, shows they want to compete. Zaun's unassisted put out in the 5th at home showed that they're not ready to fall asleep for the rest of the season. It's nice to see the offense finally waking up.

For everyone who thought the Jays should just write off their season, I'd just like to point out that as off September 1, the Jays had the exact same record they did last year at that time (69-66). I don't think I need to remind people that the Jays ended up 2nd in their division at the end of the season last year, and finished with a final record of 87-75. Considering all the injuries this season and all the man games lost, I think if the Jays can get close to that record...I'd be incredibly proud. Their schedule won't be the easiest, as the rest of September could be called the East Showdown month. Six games against the RSox, 7 against the Yanks, 6 against the Os, and 6 against the Rays. There is one game against Detroit on the 10th to make up for a previously postposed game. But still...a total of 14 games against teams ahead of them in the schedule...

Which, leaves me to a very special "Rock On" before I head out...

To whoever the hell made the schedule for this season,

Either you've been syphoning off Seeer skills from the Trelawney's or you just got lucky, but you've done an incredibly job with the schedule and playoff showdowns. Rock On, annonymous scheduler, Rock On.
________________________________________________________
Contrary to last night's game, tonight's match-up between Josh Beckett and Roy Halladay should be lacking a little more in the hits department. Hopefully Doc can get his 15th win, after pitching 2 complete games, and not getting a thing.

I think that's it for today.
Enjoy the game tonight.
JaysGirl5

And before I forget again...

2007-08-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

3 "Rock On"s to give out...

VDub for surpassing Joe Carter as 5th all-time on the Jays hits list, with 1058 career hits as a Jay;
Roy Halladay for becoming the 5th Jays pitcher to reach 1500 innings while playing for the Blue Birds; and,
Russ Moore Adams for making it back to the bigs. After the debacles last year, I think your performance in the minors showed you can be a good utility guy. Sorry I missed your debut at 3rd on Sat. However, I'm sure hubby Aaron is glad you guys don't have to do the long distance thing anymore.

JaysGirl5

So, it's kinda like that New Year's Resolution...

2007-08-20T15:08:00.000-04:00

You know the one...you promise yourself you're gonna do it, and you never really do?

Well, that's me with updating more frequently. Honestly, I've just been enjoying watching the guys to much, playing with my baseball team and a little busy to update.

That stops now. There's only a month and a 1/2 left of the season. I'm starting to freak a little. That's right...I'm starting to freak. Once baseball season is done (whenever the Jays' season ends and then the World Series) I have to live through hockey season. At least I'm trying to plan to go to Spring Training again. I'm already working on my mom to go...wish me luck.

But now, back to my Boys of Summer.

I don't think a somewhat long homestand could have come at a better time. Sure, they've only gone 4-2 (should be 5-1, stupid errors on Sat.), but it's still good. They're still above .500 and not completely out of it in the Wild Card.

As much as this season might be a disapointment to some, there are some really awesome things that I will forever cherish. I'll touch on them more as the season wears down (tear!), but I will say...Shaun Marcum, Casey Janssen, Jeremy Accardo, and John McDonald especially have been incredible surprises. It's to the point that you don't want to expect them to perform that way all the time, but you can't help it. They've all now set a new norm to be expected. Here's hoping the Jays do sign Mactastic Johnny back.

Props for Johnny for admitting he's a baseball dork. You know VDub only said it out of love. But Johnny...aren't we all? Aren't we all...

Last point before I go...how awesome was it that Frank Thomas (for all intensive-purposes) had a sac bunt yesterday? Yeah...pretty frickin' awesome.
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The Jays start the last series of their homestand against the Athletics tonight. Having gone 2-1 in Oakland last month, I'm expecting the Jays do to at least that, if not sweep, this time around. Shaun Marcum takes to the mound against Joe Blanton. Look for Marcum to try his best Doc impersonation again, after admitting he tried to emmulate Doc in his last start. He's a smart man, that Shaun Marcum.

Enjoy the game, and try to stay dry.
JaysGirl5

P.S. Check out Jamie Campbell's blog about our home/favourite place. You never know who might stop by and leave a comment.

"Johnny Mac you are AMAZING!"

2007-08-09T16:20:00.000-04:00

Looks like everyone's hoppin' on the Mactastic train...

And they just keep coming.

Not that I'm minding the company.
JaysGirl5

Félicitation!

2007-08-09T15:27:00.001-04:00

This past week was a great one for professional baseball accomplishments, and I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations, as well as "Rock On", to the following:

Tom Glavine, for career win #300;
Barry Bonds, for homeruns 756 and 757 and becoming the new homerun king;
Alex Rodriguez, for hitting career homerun #500;
Hideki Matsui, for hitting career homerun #100, and becoming the first Japanese player to do so in the MLB; and,
Joba Chamberlain, for becoming the first Native American to play in the MLB (as far as I remember hearing this week).

"Rock On"s also go to the Jays for scoring 15 runs without a homerun, and tieing a franchise record with 9 doubles in 1 game.

As for what happened between the Jays and Yanks this week, personally I think it's over. Yeah, Clemens hit Rios, but he got tossed along with Torre. I know it's not forgotten, but I think it's over.

I really enjoyed the interview "The Best Damn Sports Show" showed with Barry Bonds last night. It's wasn't surly Barry, it was just Barry. I wasn't alive to watch Barry's dad, Bobby Bonds, play. However, I've heard that he and the media didn't have the most amicable of relationships. Apparently Barry is a little...bitter (for lack of a better word) towards the media for that. I don't know. I'll be honest when I say that I'm not really on the fence anymore when it comes to Barry...and the show last night helped.

There was a good interview with Johnny Mac on the FAN 590 on Wednesday morning. He talks at the end about playing/wanting to play everyday. Take a listen, if you think Johnny Mac is as Mactastic as I do. Just scroll down 'til you find it.

Last night was my first game in over a month. I'll admit I was so excited I had trouble falling asleep and had a big grin on my face as I left work to head to the game. It had been too long, and I can't say as I could have asked for a better outcome. Especially because I'm pretty sure with career win #108, Doc has surpassed another fave Jays pitcher of mine (Pat Hentgen) on the all-time Jays wins list. Congrats Doc.

Here's hoping a 15-4 wint can send the Jays off to KC in winning style. It's only 4 games on the road, but with how dismal they've played away from Rogers Centre, any away games are too many.

Enjoy the off day. I'm going to try to update more often.
JaysGirl5

The Devil Wears Tampa Pt. 2?

2007-07-30T12:54:00.000-04:00

So...The Jays are off to Tampa. Their record against the Rays this year is...3-3. Not surprising, considering the Rays are a team the Jays "should" beat, but usually end up being even with.

However, since almost getting swept in 4 games in NY, the Jays have gone 7-3. Their pitching has been stellar, their defense consistent, and finally, FINALLY the offense has shown some life. Sure, over the weekend in Chicago it seemed to go take a kip, getting up a little on Sunday afternoon. But it's nice to see what this lineup can do...and it gives me high hopes for next year when they have a full season to gel together.

It was also nice for Shaun Marcum to get a win after pitching a stellar game. How many incredibly pitched games by Shaun this year has he not gotten the credit for because the offense couldn't score a run while he was on the bump. Imagine what his record could be...

To celebrate Shaun's success a little more...in the AL, he's 14th with a 3.67 ERA, 6th with a .244 opponent avg., and 10th with a 1.11 WHIP. Go Shaun Go. I think his emergence as a quality starter is one of the brightest silver linings to all the injuries.

Speaking of starters...Chacin is down in Triple-A for more rehab. I guess Chacin really doesn't smell like victory after all...at least not right now. AJ is set to make his first rehab start. It's up in the air how many he'll make, but I would like to see him go at least 2. Three might be overkill, but the guy hasn't pitched in a month...2 seems like a nice round number, especially because he's making his first start in the Gulf Coast League.

I've decided to not read the comments Josh Towers made about his team after Friday night's game. Partially, 'cause I don't like hearing team members bash each other. And partially from what I've heard, there are times I agree. Still, take care of it internally. Don't air dirty laundry in public. Just sayin'...

______________________________________________
It's the Rays/Jays showdown pt.3 for the season. Dustin "Chops" McGowan looks to win 3 starts in a row for the first time in his career. Going up against Andy Sonnanstine (1-6), it might not be the hardest matchup Chops has faced. But don't think I'm counting out the Rays. Like I said before...sometimes the Devil really does wear Tampa.

Enjoy the game!
JaysGirl5

The True Meaning

2007-07-19T11:12:00.002-04:00

A part of this post was originally part of my last post, but I decided to make it a stand-alone.

Disclaimer: I may get a little ranty again. I can't promise anything. I've always thought about this, and I kinda feel like sharing. Also, I realise this might now just apply to Toronto, but it's the only city/area I can talk about.

Maybe sports fans in Toronto have become so conditioned to losing thanks to the Leafs, that they're too sceptical to support anything that might be better than mediocre. Maybe they've become so cynical to winning that they can't innocently support it. That now instead of being supportive, they sit back and wait. They hold out their support to see how the team will actually do. When they win, they're all over it. They walk the walk and talk the talk of someone who's been a fan from the start. But as soon as the team falters a little or stops winning/being impressive, they're gone. Their support completely forgotten, and in most cases they'll start talking about how all along they alone knew that the team wasn't going to do any good.

I realise I just described bandwaggoners. I don't consider them fans, but sadly without them...fan bases in Toronto might realistically be ever so tiny.

It's possible things weren't like this 40 years ago when the Leafs weren't so far removed from a Stanley Cup win. I don't know. I've only ever lived in a Toronto sports world where the Leafs dissapoint every year, and that gloom seems to become a cloud over any other sports success no matter how good. In this instance, and only in this one instance, I absolutely loathe that Canada is hockey country, and that my favourite team and I live in Leaf country.

This is not to say that I don't cheer for other Toronto teams to win. I think it sucks when they lose, and rocks when they win. But I do my best not to bandwaggon. I pay attention to sports, I love them, but everyone knows plain and clear the Jays are my passion, followed by sports in general. I don't really like hockey, but have enough Canadian pride that I want a Canadian team to win. I have enough Torontonian sports pride to want a Toronto team to win when there isn't another Canadian team. I don't think that's bandwaggonning, just being a hometown/country sports fan.

It's great to win, but in the end if you love a sport and/or a team, shouldn't you just love to watch them...no matter how painless or painful? Maybe I'm a naive sports fan. Maybe having become a Jays die-hard during their *ahem* not so good seasons after the World Series has conditioned me to love my team no matter what. I realise being a die-hard Jays fan and baseball fan in general first and foremost makes me a minority in Canada. I'm okay with that. I came to terms with that a long time ago. Personally I think I'm incredibly spoiled to love a team that won the championship twice early in both of our lives, and I that I fell in love with them not because they won, but indifferent to it*.

I just think...if you're a fan, you're a fan. Bandwaggoning, no. Questioning and being critical of your team, yes. Saying you're a fan, but never enjoying, embracing or celebrating your team even in the bad times, no.

At the end of the game, day, and season...having a smile on your face and in your heart because you just got to watch your favourite sport/team play win or lose, championship or not, yes.

That is the true meaning of being a fan.

JaysGirl5

*Note: To clear up, I am the biggest sports fan in my family and didn't really start enjoying following major league sports until my teens, after my Jays die-hardedness had started. So that really meant that being under 10 when the Jays won the World Series and no one else in my family following sports, I wasn't really aware. Frankly, I fell in love with being in Rogers Centre (SkyDome) in '93 and watching Joe Carter, Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green play in the mid-'90s. Yes, I'm defending being a Jays die-hard. I really didn't become one because of the World Series. At the time, I didn't really know it was going on. I just really loved watching them play, win or lose.

And on the 8th Day...

2007-07-19T10:12:00.000-04:00

I will be honest. Lately I have been finding it hard to blog the Jays. Yes, I'm incredbily happy that the lineup they wanted to have coming out of Spring Training is back, minus BJ Ryan. Other than that, well...

I'm not going to say this season was a loss or is lost yet, but I don't think it's gone any way anyone thought it would, even once they got everyone back. Well, except for maybe the fans who say they're fans, but just talk bad about the team no matter what happens. (Someone will have to show me the definition of "fan" that includes people like that.)

These past 7 games against the Yankees and the RSox have been a little tough to watch/listen to, but watch/listen I have. I still get itchy if I'm not watching/listening to the game, but there hasn't been much to say about the team that hasn't already been said, you know?

Except this...

I realise the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and a sign of a good team is how they hang in when things don't go as planned. In that measure, I think the Jays did admirably.

The injuries the Jays suffered this year aren't little ones like pulled hamstrings, to paraphrase Gregg Zaun on JaysConnected. They've been major, resulting in 5 surgeries and over 500 man-games lost (at least). Not to mention, not having anywhere near the team that was built to compete everyday.

In 162 games, it's bound to happen that the everyday squad an organization puts together can't be on the field everyday. Whether it's because a player becomes day-to-day, needs a day off, or has a small injury. That understandable. That's expected, but not what the Jays have suffered. Yes, everyone suffers injuries, but how many other teams this season haven't been able to put their everyday squad on the field until after the all-star break? Some will mention the Yankees. Yes, their starting rotation was decimated by injuries. Sure, they're on their 3rd or 4th 1st baseman. But they got their team back together a lot sooner than the Jays. It's not close to what the Jays suffered.

I'm not trying to downplay the contributions of the guys who filled in for the Jays. Casey Janssen, Jeremy Accardo (balk aside), Shaun Marcum, Adam Lind, and Matt Stairs had break out contributions for the Jays and did way more than was expected of them before the injuries. Not to mention the great contributions of dependable guys like John McDonald and Howie Clark.

But at the end of the day (or the season), there's still a reason the everyday lineup is the everyday lineup. And the truth of the matter is, we have yet to see what this everyday lineup can do.

To prevent myself from blogging forever, here's my best attempt to condense my point.

I get the arguments people are making that the Jays should just call it quits or they're not good enough to win, but I don't agree. We haven't been able to see this team* in action. I don't understand how the Jays can have been expected to make great leaps and bounds in at least the Wild Card in 10 games since getting their everyday squad back, when other teams haven't been able to do it all season with pretty much their every day team.

Is it because: they spend more money now; they're always compared to the Yankees and RSox; for whatever reason, people* in/around Toronto don't want them to succeed?

Who knows. I sure don't, and it's frustrating as hell.

End of rant. There's more I wish to say, but I think this gets my point across.
JaysGirl5

Notes: When I say team, I mean the everyday lineup the Jays originally designed. When I say people, I also GREATLY include the Toronto media that covers the Jays.

1 Down, 1 Up, 1 Back...1 Real Fake Marriage?

2007-07-12T15:17:00.000-04:00

It's 7:43pm, the Jays are down 4-1 in the top of the 2nd. Aaron Hill just hit an infield single. Yes, Hill is in the game. Needless to say, a large majority of the rest of this post is false. However, I leave it for 2 reasons: 1) To remind myself never to believe anything Jays related until it's released by the Jays, and 2) 'Cause the joke about a fake marriage is kinda funny. So read on...if you want.

Looks like the soreness won out. The National Post, Toronto Star, and now Sportsnet.ca are reporting that Aaron Hill will indeed be starting the 2nd half on the DL. The move is retroactive to the 8th, so he's eligible to come off on the 22nd. I realise the Jays haven't release anything officially on this yet, but I think it's only a matter of time. More than likly by game-time tonight, it'll be up on the website. Get better Hilly.

So...it appears with Hill going on the DL, Russ Adams gets his chance with the big club again. Personally, I hope he does a lot better than last season, but nothing's really going to lose Aaron his job at second. If anything, Russ could prove he's either a really good backup or something that could maybe be offered in a future trade. I think Johhny Mac and Howie Clark have proven themselves as excellent utility guys...so I don't know if Russ would take one of their spots. Only time will tell, but good luck Russ Adams. My mom will be happy you're back.

Lyle Overbay also makes his return to the lineup this weekend. More than likely it's going to be tonight, but you never know. As glad as I am that Lyle and Reed are back, it does mean getting to see Matt Stairs on the field a little less. I know this will make him happy, as he's said many times he'd rather be on the bench and everyone healthy, than playing because of injuries.

Lastly...It would seem the fake wedding teamates threw for Aaron Hill and Russ Adams sometime in '05 actually did unite something for real: their careers. Since the momentous, catered (apparently) occasion...the two good friends haven't been able to be successful for that long together on the field.

Hill and Adams were looked to be the double play combo for the Jays for the next couple of years. Russ starts having fielding problems at short, leading to confidence problems, and eventually problems at the plate. He goes down to Triple A. Aaron meanwhile continues to get better at second, but with Russ's departure, is flip flopped back between short and second. Russ is moved to second in the minors, and eventually works his way back to Toronto. So now it's still tag team Hill and Adams up the middle, but the positions are reversed. Russ continutes to have problems at second, and is eventually sent down pretty much for good. Hill is moved back over to second base where, up until his DL stint, he was making plays, turning heads, and marking his Gold Glove territory left, right, backhand, deep in the hole, and centre.

Needless to say...their marriage has been anything but smooth. At least with Russ coming up, it won't be a long distance relationship for awhile.

_________________________________________
Doc goes for #11 against Tim Wakefield for Boston. This season against the Knucleballer, Clayton leads the team with a .333 AVG. in 9 at-bats. Vernon Wells is next at .275, followed by Johnny Mac with .263. The Jays might have caught a break against Boston as David Ortiz might not be playing tonight. He has to get an MRI done on his knee. It's up in the air if he'll play in the series, probably depending on the results. I'm not saying I like guys being injured, but I'll take all the breaks I can get when we play the RSox.

Enjoy the beginning of what should be an interesting (hopefully great for the Jays) 8 game road trip.
Until tomorrow,
JaysGirl5

Note: I've always thought the fake wedding story hilariously awesome, and always wanted a chance to talk about it in a blog. Hence, the possibly going a little overboard with the joke.

Say It Ain't So(re)!

2007-07-11T15:43:00.000-04:00

This little tidbit from Scott Carson's latest doesn't shock me, saddens me a little, but doesn't shock me...

"That's why the whispers that Aaron Hill will be put on the DL to start the second half with a sore knee just makes you shake your head."

Sportnet first mentioned the sore knee in the wrap-up article about the Jays win over the Indians on Sunday. I mentioned it in My Pre-"All-Star Break" Break.

One of the greatest things about being a diehard is that when you watch them every game (or almost every game)...you learn their idiosyncracies. As I've now found out, it can also be a sucky thing 'cause you can tell when something's not on (i.e. Hilly's knee.) Here's hoping he can avoid his first DL trip, but I have to wonder what's caused the soreness.

However, in happy Hill news, I have to agree with Jays beat writer Jordan Bastian with this prediction:

"Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill didn't garner much attention in terms of All-Star votes, but his steady glove work has turned heads throughout the first half. When the season's all said and done, the young infielder will have a Gold Glove Award to add to his mantel."

Keep your fingers crossed.
JaysGirl5

Ri"Ohs Canada"

2007-07-11T12:57:00.000-04:00

So, okay...I didn't watch the All-Star game last night. I wanted to, but considering the game actually didn't start until almost 9pm, and I had midnight movie plans...it just didn't happen.

Rock on to Ichiro for getting the first ever inside-the-parker in All-Star history. I'm really not that surprised it was him who did it first.

I did get to see some of the pre-game ceremony with Willie Mays. Very classy...and I loved that he was throwing balls into the stands while being driven around. Imagine growing up watching him, then catching a ball he threw out. How cool would that be.

I'll admit that although I respect Willie Mays, I don't revere him because I never saw him play. But it got me thinking about who my Willie Mays is, or my Mickey Mantle...my Babe Ruth. You know, the player that is more than just a player, more than a memory, more than an athlete you enjoy watching. The player that for inexplicable and intricate reasons is so wrapped up in your love of the game, that it's somehow gotten bigger than you and them.

It doesn't take me long to come up with the answer, a very short list. Carlos Delgado, Roy Halladay, Joe Carter; in that order. I won't bore you with the details, but those three players for me are bigger than the game especially King Carlos. Joe Carter will forever be the strongest memory I have of my first major league baseball game.

My roomate recently asked me why I didn't get the players to sign the bat I have displayed in my room. It's one of the silver bats the Jays gave out at the '05 home opener to commemorate King Carlos blasting 4 homeruns in a game in his last season with the Jays. I'm saving it. I might be saving it in vain...but alas, I'm still saving it in hopes that one day I can get Carlos to sign it. I got his autograph on his last day in Toronto...and it meant a lot to me.

Anyhoo...inumerable "Rock On"s to Alexis Rios. I got so tired of the announcers talking about how no one knew who he was during the homerun derby because he plays in Canada. You know what? So what. Jays fans know him, love him and appreciate him. I get really tired some times of the media surrounding baseball (usually coming from the States) making it seem like playing in Canada is a bad thing, a negative, a con. Personally, I think it's a bonus, a positive, a pro. Where else would you get people screaming for hockey highlights during the World Juniors at a baseball game. As much as I begrudge my countrypeople sometimes for their hockey obsession, we still approach baseball with a hockey mentality. Where else to you get that?

So, congratulations Alexis Rios on your coming out party. People know who you are now, and Jays fans still love you. You represented us incredibly. I can't say as you're my fave Jay, but I've always been impressed how you quietly go about your business. Never overly flashy in the field, nice compact easy swing. But I appreciate you all the same.

How cool would it have been had Matt Holliday and Alexis squared off in the final round of the derby. The two guys from teams that aren't that well covered outside their markets. And, who when they were announced, most people scratched their heads and asked "who?". I'm not sure how long ago, but I've been hearing about Matt Holliday for a few years, and was always impressed. I always thought it was weird since he played in Colorado (kinda far from Ontario), but I always knew who he was.

Anyhoo...that's it for today. Enjoy the rare Wednesday offday. I can't wait for the Jays to get back into action tomorrow, and I'm betting Lyle Overbay is thinking along the same lines.

Until tomorrow,
JaysGirl5

Continuance of the Mactasticness

2007-07-08T17:42:00.002-04:00

Just an observation...

How many bloop/clutch hits has John McDonald had for the Jays this season...especially with the bases loaded?

Just sayin'...
Love you Johnny Mac!
JaysGirl5

My Pre-"All Star Break" Break

2007-07-08T17:01:00.000-04:00

So...I decided to take a little time off this week to recoup, but now I'm back.

And so is the highly effective Josh Towers. I didn't get a chance to watch the first part of the game today, but when I turned it on in the 6th inning to learn Josh had a no-hitter, I was pleasantly surprised. It shows he's getting back to his '05 self.

It's too bad that the Jays couldn't sweep the Tribe to be at .500 for the break, and that Shaun Marcum had such a bad outing. It's much the same thing as Casey Janssen's bad outing in June. It was bound to happen sometime. Personally, and I don't think I'm alone here, I prefer it was yesterday instead of his next start against Boston or later in the 2nd half. I think the win today is a great way for the Jays to head into the break, as well as having won their last 2 series.

Welcome back Reed Johnson! How you have been missed. I'm sure any Jays fan knows the numerous reasons why it's great to have him back (especially if you watched Friday's game.) Click here to watch Reed greatfully and gracefully receive his post-game Gatorade shower.

As happy as I am to have Reed "Scrappy" Johnson back...I will say a fond farewell to Adam Lind. His defense greatly improved, and barring no more injuries, we'll see him again in September. Curtis Thigpen's fate is going to be much the same (more than likely) when Lyle Overbay comes back in Boston after the break. Both guys are just too good in their development and too young to not be playing everyday, or almost everyday.

"Rock On"s...

Matt Stairs for your triple on Friday;
Casey Janssen for your beautiful cartwheel on Friday night;
Travis Snider (Jays #1 pick last year) for hitting for the cycle for the Lansing Lugnuts;
Roberto Alomar for being at the game today;
Jeremy Accardo for striking out Jhonny Peralta with the bases loaded to end the top of the 9th; and
Reed Johnson for saving Jeremy Accardo's ass on Friday night with an amazing Reed-like grab.

Congrats to Alex Rios for being asked to participate in the homerun derby tomorrow night.

Two things before I part for the evening...

Aaron Hill sat out today with a sore knee. When I went to last game in the Rockies series, Aaron was on 2nd and was shaking out his right knee quite a bit. I realise that was 2 weeks ago, but I still hope the break will be enough rest for the soreness. I don't know if the two things were related...I just thought it odd.

As per J.P. Riccardi's comments about AJ Burnett, I get the point he was trying to make. I think it was very classy of AJ to stand up and say he's not offended and understand's where JP's coming from. When something bad happens to your body, like an injury or illness, you're always kind of hyper-sensitive to signs of it happening again. I know I am. I'm not AJ Burnett, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does have that a little bit especially considering his livelihood and career depend on him being healthy and his body performing to the best of its abilities. It's a fine line before crossing over to the "player-cried-pain" area, but I'm all for erring on the side of caution.

I think the biggest thing that bothers me about the situation with AJ back on the DL is all the people coming out and screaming about how the Jays shouldn't have let him pitch so much. When Doc went down AJ stepped up and became the ace of the staff. He pitched incredibly for the team, and at the time no one said anyting. Nothing about that it wasn't a good idea. Nothing about being cautious because of his history of injuries. Maybe privately people questioned, but there was nothing in the media about it that I read. Then he lands on the DL the first time, and everyone and their brother start saying the Jays shouldn't have let him pitch so much, blah, blah, blah.

To those who thought it was great AJ pitched the way he did, then say he shouldn't have...
You can't have your cake and eat it, too. But I guess hindsight can be 20/20.

Enjoy the All-Star break.
If you're a HP fan, enjoy the movie release.
Talk to you soon,
JaysGirl5

Whoever Said Big Guys Can't Run...

2007-07-04T16:12:00.000-04:00

...Well, they just might be right.

Troy Glaus getting thrown out at 2nd last night on Frank Thomas' deep fly ball to centre wasn't pretty. I was really surprised that he was running, but that doesn't mean I don't agree with it.

Yes, Troy was running from 1st to 2nd. Yes, he's a big guy with a bone spur and not the healthiest legs. But, he forced the throw. Sure, he got out. What if he had been safe? He would have been in scoring position in a game the Jays were trailing 2-1 in the late innings. At some point, and I think they might be getting there soon (considering Alexis stole a base last night), the Jays are going to have to start forcing the issue instead of relying on the homerun. As Gibbons said on the Jays website,

'"Troy's a smart player," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, defending Glaus' decision to run. "I didn't mind that. It's a big ballpark and it took a perfect throw, and that's what they got. He was just trying to make something happen. We weren't scoring."

He's right. It takes a perfect throw to get him out, and that one time there just happened to be one. Not every throw is perfect, nor is every tag. Forcing the other team to make the plays and putting pressure on them that way is a way to score runs and win games. The rest of the AL has been applying that philosophy against the Jays this year, it's about time they start pushing back.

For me, it's in the same family as striking out swinging and striking out with the bat on your shoulder. Yeah, they show up the same in the box score, but you can't put the ball in play with the bat on your shoulder. That's not to say you should swing at everything when you're up there, but why not take a hack when you think you're gonna get a good pitch? There is a point where you can be too selective. It's that fine balance of "agressive/patient" the Jays displayed on Monday, but lacked last night.

My point? You never know what will happen when you put the ball in play or when you force the defense to make a play.

Dustin "Chops" McGowan performed kinda like I expected him to last Friday. He went from really bad (against LA), to incredible (against Colorado), to okay (against Seattle). Like Doc Halladay once said, 1 out of 5 starts you're not going to have your best stuff. Okay, that's cool. I'm still waiting for Dustin to be a little more consistent. If he can minimalize the "really bad" and "okay" outings, and average somewhere in between "incredible" and "okay"...Well, I think that's all I'd ever ask for, and really...what I expect from him now.

Refreshing...
"I was getting kind of antsy, because you're at the ballpark, where these guys are getting ready to go to battle and you're kind of like, 'Good luck. I'm worthless right now.'" -- Overbay

______________________________________
Chops goes for win #5 today against Joe Kennedy. The Jays scored 4 in the top of the 1st on a bases loaded walk by Hill, a double by Stairs, and a sac fly by Zaun. McGowan went 3 up-3 down in the bottom of the 1st. So far...so good.

Enjoy the game, although it's not on TV.
Thank god the Jays are home again this weekend. Four 10pm games in 5 days is a lot.
JaysGirl5

Sinking Ship Pt. 2?

2007-07-03T15:39:00.000-04:00

I know I'm a little late commenting on this, but...

Shea Hillenbrand has again parted ways with a team after not getting enough playing time. At some point, wouldn't you start thinking that maybe you just might be overestimating your own ability, or not doing what's best for the team?

Maybe the messages in the Jays' Clubhouse last year before he was traded were more the thinking he perscribes to all the time, instead of a reaction to a certain situation? We'll never know, but a little part of me is more inclined to believe the former.

Still, when I walk around Rogers Centre and see pictures of him up, I take solace in the fact that him leaving Toronto got us Jeremy Accardo . The Angels got nothin'. Sorry Anaheim.

JaysGirl5

July, Oh My.

2007-07-03T15:15:00.000-04:00

I decided to take the Canada Day Weekend off to relax. Let's just say the Jays being swept in Seattle didn't help with that effort.

For the first time all season, I found myself able to get up and walk away from watching the game...just 'cause. I didn't have anything to do, I just...didn't feel like watching it anymore. They seemed lifeless, and in those small moments where they showed life...they still fell flat.

I will forever love my Jays, but I don't disagree with Scott Carson 100%.

Where do you put the blame this season? It's not as easy as pinning it to John Gibbons or J.P. Riccardi. Are they blameless? Maybe, maybe not. I'm going to explore this issue with the off day on Thursday.

Congrats to Alex(is)* Rios for making the All-Star team again this year, and if all goes well...he'll acutally get to play. I think, though, even if he doesn't...the fact that he's not coming off a staph infection is still a leg up from last year. No pun intended.

Do my man Doc a favour, and vote him in to the All-Star team. Head on over to any MLB site and vote in the "Final Candidate Vote". Yes, his team's played pretty crappy...but I think considering that, him missing 3 wks, and being 9-3...he deserves to be there.

Yes, Seattle was hard to watch. However, how nice it is for Mike Hargrove to go out a winning manager, with his team getting the sweep. Regardless of what some people in the media are saying, I'm taking Mike Hargrove at his word ("lack of passion) for the reason he's retiring. Classy all the way.

As nice as it is that the Jays won last night and the bats came alive again, I'm getting a little tired of it. They were agressive in the good way last night, and patient when they needed to be. For some reason, they can't seem to keep this mentality or game plan going for that long, or in consecutive games. It's frustrating.

Oh, AJ Burnett going on the DL again in frustrating, too. Some times I get the feeling that guys with a lot of talent and *potential* (gah!) aren't always destined to reach it or be able to use all of it....either because they just can't harness it...or their bodies just weren't meant to take it.

__________________________________________
Jesse Litsch gets the start tonight in place of AJ Brunett. Joe Blanton is on the mound for the As. Here's hoping the Jays can prove me wrong, and have the "agressive/patient" approach to the plate as a whole team again tonight.

JaysGirl5

*Note: I realise he goes by Alex now, but for whatever reason (probably from when he first came up and impressed me), Alex Rios will forever be Alexis.

3000 Hits To Cooperstown

2007-06-29T13:12:00.000-04:00

I did forget there was one other "Rock On" to distribute.

Congrats Craig Biggio for becoming the 27th player to reach 3000 hits, after getting hits 3000 and 3001 in the 'stros win over the Rockies last night. Hit on, Biggio. Hit on.

JaysGirl5

500 at .500

2007-06-29T10:20:00.001-04:00

I don't know why, but I had a feeling the Jays were going to split the series with the Twins. Was it because I knew Justin Morneau was going to come back or AJ would only go 4 innings? I dunno.

What I did know was the Twins were going to be hard pressed not to give up #500 to Frank Thomas. They had the right idea...pitching him away, but he's Frank Thomas, and he's not the "Big Hurt" for nothing.

Congratulations Frank Thomas. You've hit your way into history, the Hall of Fame (in my opinion), and showed the poetic, full-circle beauty that is baseball.

Don't believe it's poetically full-curcle and beautiful? Well...after over 17 big league season, 7578 career at-bats, 3 different teams, an ankle injury he though might end his career, and 499 homeruns later...Frank Thomas reaches 500 homeruns where he hit his very first one in 1990. The only way this could have been better would have been if the schedule had taken the Jays to Chicago to play the WSox, and Frank hit #500 there.

Check out clips of Frank's post-game press conference.

Moving on...

Yesterday's lost sucked, but I think AJ pitched pretty well until the 4th. According to Justin Morneau, he was throwing 110mph, or at least it seemed that way to him. It was a good sign that AJ struck out 6 and threw 75 pitches, I think, after being taken out after only throwing 82 in San Fran. I would have liked to see him get the win along with the Jays, but again I commend him for taking ownership and stating that "the loss is my fault."

I must say, I'm incredibly impressed with the way all the Jays have been open to talking about their mistakes/lack of performance. I've heard it said before that you would be hard pressed not to like Josh Towers if you met him. After watching JaysConnected last weekend where they talked to Josh, I have a very high respect for him about coming clean/owning up to his failures. He shoots straight with honesty, and I like that. It's refreshing.

No "Rock On"s to distribute today, as I think Frank Thomas takes the cake.

___________________________________
Dustin McGowan (4-3) takes the mound against the Mariners for his first start since his 1 hit gem last Sunday. Watch for Jarrod Washburn (6-6) to take the mound for Seattle. The Jays are again at .500, but at least they're still ahead of the Yankees for 2nd place in the East and the Wildcard. It's too bad Lyle Overbay is still on the DL for this season's only trip to his home state. It was great both times last year seeing all the "O"s in the crowd.

Enjoy the weekend.
If I don't post before then, have a great Jour du Canada! The festivities for Canada's 140th should be pretty cool in Seattle.
JaysGirl5

A Dozen Doesn't End In A Win

2007-06-27T16:05:00.000-04:00

Even though last night was a loss, I think it's one of the best pitched games I've seen in the last couple of years. Both the Minnesota and Toronto starters were fantastic, as were the bullpens. Major props to the Twinkies for striking out 15 Jays. Twelve innings of edge-of-your-seat-baseball. Gotta love it. (So...how many starts is that now that Shaun Marcum has been hitless for the first 3 or 4 innings?...He's pitching so well.)

Yes, it's hard to see the winning streak end at 4 for the Jays, but it would be worse it last night was a blow out. Last night's final play, when a diving Vernon Wells narrowly missed Jeff Cirrilo's bloop single, proved more than anything that baseball really is a game of inches. It's debatable whether VDub pulled up a little 'cause he saw Royce Clayton coming on, but oh well. Time to start the next winning streak, and work on winning the series.

I forgot to post this yesterday, but I love this Player Perspectives that Roy Halladay did on career win #100. Check it out, even if you're not a Doc lover like me.

Check this out for more reasons why I love Gregg Zaun and Matt Stairs. Love Zaunie's approach to base stealers, and Matt's ribbing of fellow canuck Justin Morneau.

It was great to see Lyle Overbay taking grounders this week. If anything, at least he didn't break his throwing hand like Zaunie did. It's not much of a silver-lining, but it might mean he could come back a day or two sooner than Zaun 'cause he doesn't have to work up his throwing strength. Maybe.

____________________________________________
Josh Towers tries for win #3 as the Jays face Boof Bonser (5-3) for the Twins. Boof has to have one of the best names in baseball. It'll be interesting to see how the lineup shakes up, but don't be surprised if VDub's leading off. Wonder if Royce Clayton or Johnny Mac will get the start tonight. I guess we'll find out.

Enjoy game 3 of 4.
I'l looking forward to AJ's return tomorrow, as I'm sure he and the Jays are too.
JaysGirl5

Small Ball, Long Ball, Wacky Ball

2007-06-26T15:49:00.000-04:00

Add the 3 things in the title together, you get last nights game. Not necessarily in that order, but still.

It has always seemed to me that the Minnesota Twins have always been there. Not necessarily first, but not necessarily last and you can never discount them when you play them. They do all the little things, and they always stay within themselves and their ability as a team. I commend them for that. They were playing some great small ball last night and some great defense.

The Jays obviously played the long ball last night, and it's nice to see Vernon Wells getting his stroke together. Maybe batting leadoff was a good idea afterall...and I'm thinking since he's been there for all 4 games in the winning streak, he might stay there for awhile.

There are two things the Jays did last night that I have to give HUGE "Rock On"s and props to:
VDub for going from 2nd to 3rd on the pop-out to foul territory, even though you didn't score and Johnny Mac for getting to 2nd on a strikeout in 3rd.

Regular "Rock On"s:

Vernon for hitting career homerun 150;
Matt Stairs for hitting the game winning homerun. What would we do without you;
Shawn Green for hitting a walk-off homerun for the Mets against the Cards; and
Roy Halladay for looking really pissed off last night.

On the last "Rock On", it was very unusual to see Doc like that. It was like his frustration/anger/annoyance/whatever it was, was just radiating from him. I think it's safe to say he was pissed at himself for giving up the lead twice. If you don't believe me...just check out Halladay's Strong Outing under the More Sights and Sounds part of the Jays website. Just watch Doc bowl over Nick Punto in the 7th. It doesn't show the look on his face after the play, but yeah...a little scary.

What can I say about Matt Stairs. He's playing great right now, possibly on track to a career year. And the only thing I think about everytime he does something great...how in no uncertain terms he'd rather be riding the bench than playing because of injuries. Class act all the way. Plus, his comments about Canada are always lovely.

I forgot to mention yesterday how cool it was to watch a game on CBC again on Saturday, and games on TSN this week. I love Sportsnet, but it takes me back to when I was younger spending my summer holidays watching the Jays play on CBC, TSN, and CTV. I think I still have broadcast schedules from TSN and CTV. The stuff I keep...

The Jays are now 1 game over .500, 1 game ahead of the Yanks, thanks to Seattle they're only 10 games behind Boston, and 6 back of Cleveland in the Wild Card. They secured their first 4 game win-streak since last September, and I couldn't be prouder.

________________________________________________
Shaun Marcum (4-2) takes the hill against Scott Baker (2-2). Baker pitched against the Jays in May, but didn't get the win. Marcum has been impeccable since only last 3 innings against the WSox on June 3rd. He's 2 for 3 in wins, and has averaged per game over that time: 6.4 IP, 1.3 ERs, 2 BBs, 5 Ks, and 4.3 Hs per game. I've included a chart with his full stats from each start during that time at the end of this entry.

Go Shaun. I believe you can get us straight win #5.

I will be sweating buckets playing ball tonight, but will catch all the Jays game since they're in Minnesota, and it doesn't start 'til 8.
Enjoy the game, and try not to die in the heat if you're in S. Ontario.
JaysGirl5

Jays Bring Out Firebolts* to Head to Minnesota

2007-06-25T15:21:00.000-04:00

It was an incredible day at Rogers Centre yesterday. Even considering the sunburn on my shoulders, it was worth it.

As Jamie Campbell wrote in his blog over the weekend, every Jays fan one time or another has probably written Dustin McGowan off. I, truthfully, never have. It was more of an impatience for him to finally reach is *potential*. Well, after yesteday's 1 hit performance, I don't think anyone will doubt his ability again. Especially considering the start he bounced back from earlier in the week (which I was at as well.) I'm interested to see how his next start in Seattle will go on Friday.

It's was an incredible thing to witness, and I just kept remember watching Doc with one out to go on the last day of the '98 season, in his 2nd career start, giving up a hit to end his almost perfect game. Click here for more.

I will admit, I was a little mad at the guys in front of me talking about the no-hitter before it was over. That's a complete no-no. But how awesome was it that Gregg Zaun seemed to be a little more veklempt after the game about the single in the 9th than Dustin was. I love Zaunie.

Frank Thomas hit a towering shot into the 2nd deck that almost went foul. I was sitting right down in the leftfield corner, so I had a really good view of the ball going out. I stood up and just kept saying "Holy S***! Holy S***!". It was so high and didn't even really sound like a homerun when he hit it. I remember seeing Josh Phelps hit a homerun into the 500 level, and almost thought Frank had done it as well. (Anyone else remember when they would have different colour seats for where homeruns were hit in the 5oo level, or am I just dreaming?)

Rock On...

Jays for your awesome defense yesterday. Especially Howie Clark for your diving grab;
Vernon Wells for trying to get the crowd on their feet and applauding Dustin in the outfield;
Dustin McGowan for pitching a 1 hitter;
Frank Thomas for hitting homerun #499;
Thomas and Matt Stairs, at a combined age of 78, for leading the team in Saturday's win;
the Jays for FINALLY reaching .500 again; and
the Jays for sweeping a team for the first time since the Orioles, May 14-16.

It's nice to finally see Thomas getting things together at the plate. After hitting a homerun in each of the games against the Rockies, I have a hard time believing that he'll leave Minnesota without reaching 500, if not more, homeruns. It just sucks it won't happen in Toronto. It was great yesterday when he came up to the plate haveing hit #499 the previous at-bat. Before the first pitch was thrown, I already kinda knew he probably wasn't going to get anything to hit again, but it would have been amazing if he had.

_________________________________________
Roy Halladay (8-2) is on the mound as the Jays try to win 4 straight for the first time all season. Kevin Slowey (2-0) is on the mound for Minnesota, as the Jays and Twins start a 4 game set. If there's anyone I'd want on the mound to continue the winning streak, it's Roy. The Jays are in 2nd place 11 games behind Boston, 6 games behind Cleveland (in the Wild Card), and 1/2 game up on NY. The Yanks have the night off tonight, so the Jays have the opportunity to be up a complete game on the Pinstripes.

Enjoy the game tonight.
Until tomorrow,
JaysGirl5

P.S. Another year goes by, and I don't win anything on the scratch'n'win tickets given out during the series against the Rockies. I guess there's always next year...

*Note: For those non-Harry Potter fans out there, "Firebolts" are just a fancy type of broom.

Mactastic!

2007-06-23T12:35:00.001-04:00

I love Johnny Mac. Not just because he won the game last night, but just 'cause he is fantastic.

There's a Facebook group for Aaron Hill and John Mcdonald as the two most underated middle infielders in the majors. I think as a combo, that's true...although I think Hill's starting to get more recognition.

I think after Thursday's game where the lead was given up late, it was great for the team to win a back-and-forther. (Is that even a word?). And I must say, as much as Janssen's meltdown on Thursday sucked, I'm not too surprised. It was bound to happen in at least 1 outing this year where he wasn't as effective as the Jays have come to expect him to be. Now that it's out of the way...I'm looking forward to great relief from him for the rest of the year. Like Gibby apparently told him when he took him out, he shouldn't listen to the "boos" because he's pitched great this year.

As for last night, anyone else notice that it was 2 weeks ago that Jeremy Accardo had given up another 2 run homerun for the lead? Yeah...just a little weird. Otherwise the bullpen pitched incredibly, after Towers couldn't make it to the 5th. At least Colorado had to go to their bullpen early, too. Plus, until they got the 2 run homer, I'm thinking 6 runs for how many baserunners they seemed to have was pretty good.

Rock On:

Vernon Wells for getting your 1000th career hit;
the Jays pitchers last night for striking out a combined 15 Rockies;
AJ Burnett for winning the Chili race again on Thursday; and
Casey Janssen for owning up to sucking on Thursday, and looking/sounding like you might cry in the post-game video.

Further on the owning of sucking point, I commend the Jays for that this year. Not one of them seems to shy away from taking the fault if they screw up. I think that's highly commendable, because you know there would be teams in their situation that would just blame sucking on all the injuries, etc. Not my Jays.

John Thompson was picked up by the Royals on Friday. That should be interesting.

Cecil Fielder was at the game last night, and talked about his son Prince Fielder who's tearing it up in the National League. It's kinda sad that they apparently don't talk or have a good relationship, but you could hear Cecil's pride in his son when he talked about him during the game. That was pretty cool.

____________________________________________
Ty Taubenheim takes the mound against Aaron Cook. Taubenheim makes the start in place of AJ Burnett, who's will most likely make his start in Minnesota on the 28th (the day he's eligible to come off the DL). Here's hoping the Jays can sweep the Rockies out of Toronto, the way the Rockies swept the Jays out of Colorado last year. Perhaps, just not as ugly.

Enjoy the sunshine.
If you make your way to a game this weekend, here's hoping you win an autographed jersey from the scratchcards their handing out. I'm at the game tomorrow, and didn't win anything last year. I think this year's my year.
JaysGirl5

"What A Difference A Day Made...

2007-06-21T15:50:00.000-04:00

...twenty four little hours."

Well, I don't know exactly what the Jays offense did in the 24 hrs between being slammed by LA and slamming the Dodgers right back. Whatever it was...keep at it!

I flipped channels for about an inning or so after the 8-0 total, and it was ten nothing. In a matter of minutes. Same thing when I flipped back to see it was 12-0. No, I did not want to stop watching the game, but sometimes I must compromise with my roomate and flip to the game during commercials of other shows.

As sad as it is to think, maybe we should've been booing Frank Thomas a lot sooner. The day after the home crowd booed him off the field in the 9th, he comes back with a 7 pitch at-bat that ends in a grand slam. I'll take that any day. As Pat Tabler mentioned on Sportsnet during the game, though...Thomas did just miss 2 balls on Tues. Granted, that doesn't mean much to fans when the team needs runners on base to score runs, but it does show that the Big Hurt might finally be coming around.

Rock On...

Sammy Sosa for career homerun #600
Doc for getting career strikeout #1000 and season win #8
Gregg Zaun for going 3 for 3. Click here for some classic Zaunie.

Two quick things on Doc:

He's now 5th all time on the Jays strikeout list. He's behind DaveStieb ( 1631), Jum Clancy (1237), Juan Guzman (1030), and Pat Hentgen (1028). I wouldn't be surprised if he moves up to at least 2nd by the end of his career, if not first.
He's only 2 back for the lead in wins in the AL and NL. That's with missing 3 weeks because of his appendix. I think that's pretty impressive.

___________________________________________

Shaun Marcum goes for win #5 against Chad Billingsley for the Dodgers. Billingsley's making his first start of the season, after Dodgers starter Jason Schmidt's season ended in surgery. Marcum was impressive in his June 9th start against the Blue Boys, going 6 2/3 with 7 hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts and no earned runs. Expect a performance close to that. At least I know I will while I'm sitting with the ladies for Ladies Night.

Enjoy the series closer.
Hopefully the Jays come out on top, and the game's somewhere between Tue and Wed.
JaysGirl5

Meet Sleeping Ugly

2007-06-20T16:10:00.000-04:00

Bet you never knew Sleeping Beauty had a twin sister, named Sleeping Ugly. Why yes, she exists...and she made a small appearance at the Rogers Centre last night. She seems to be a reoccurring companion of the Jays lineup this season.

To be fair however, it wasn't the Jays offense that put them in a 6-0 hole before the end of the 2nd inning. But the inability to get more than 1 run, 6 hits and striking out 8 times is Sleeping Ugly rearing her, well, ugly head. It's frustrating to look at the lineup and know the *caugh* potential, and just not see it come to fruition. I'm just counting down the days 'til Reed "Dirt Bag/Sparkplug" Johnson comes back. (I realise those might not be his *official* team nicknames, but they're fitting.)

Tomo Ohka has been picked up by the Cards after being given his unconditional release on Monday. John Thompson has suffered the same fate having been given his release today. At least Thompson never went 2-5 for the Jays, or maybe it's better that he didn't.

Roster Moves

Lee Gronkiewicz has been sent back down to Syracuse after making his major league debut last night and giving up a run. It only took a week for him to get his big league cup of coffee.

Ty Taubenheim was called up to fill AJ Burnett's spot on the roster, as AJ's on the DL retroactive to June 13th (the day he came out during the 5th inning.) He's eligible to come off the DL on the 28th.

Brian Wolfe has been called back up to the big club after the Jays sent Gronk down.

Not going to lie...after last night's loss, I'm a little down today. However, this cheered me up immensely. Yes, I will be bringing my "Z-Game" from now on and am a proud member of the Zaunbie Nation.

____________________________________________

Doc Halladay is on the mound tonight for win #8 against Hong-Chih Kuo for the Dodgers. Here's hoping Doc stops the Jays from losing 3 in a row, and they can take a step closer to .500. At least they're only 2 1/2 games back of the Yankees...who are 9 games back of the RSox.

'Til tomorrow...

JaysGirl5

Blue vs. Blue on a Blue Day

2007-06-19T15:34:00.000-04:00

As the rain falls in Southern Ontario, I'm reminded why I love baseball at the Rogers Centre so much. Yes, the concrete convertible might not be the prettiest thing to look at to some (not me!) and not possess real grass, but it does have a retractible roof. Jays fans get the best of both worlds. When it's beautiful out, we're outdoors. When it's crappy out like today, we still get to play baseball and remain dry, while not having to worry about rain delays. (Although I do remember getting rained on in '04 I believe when they couldn't get the Dome closed fast enough.)

But happily the game goes on tonight between the Boys in Blue and the Blue Jays.

I started thinking about the comments I made about A.H.H. yesterday (Alomar, Hudson, Hill) in regards to the impact they made in the infield. The below table shows a comparison of some of the guys' stats.Unfortunately my sources didn't have Alomar's innings played with the Jays so I couldn't figure out his range factor. The first line of stats for Hill is for his time at 2nd, the second line is his career numbers, which include time at 3rd and short. All in all, I think this just proves we can all breathe a sigh of relief at 2nd base. Don't worry, I think I'll give the comparion charts a break for a while.

________________________________________________
Dustin McGowan takes the bump to start the series against Brad Penny and the Dodgers. McGowan went 7 innings and gave up 2 earned runs in his start against the Dodgers in LA, but lost when Accardo blew his 2nd save of the season. That same night, Penny went 7.2 innings and gave up 1 earned run, but wasn't credited with the win.

Enjoy the game and stay dry wherever you are.
I certainly will be trying to.
JaysGirl5

Ahhh! Return of the Master Zaunbie!

2007-06-18T12:52:00.000-04:00

Okay, other than Doc's return this year, I'm the happiest to finally see Gregg Zaun back behind the plate. More than anything I missed his presence. I wouldn't call him a sparkplug in the same way Reed Johnson is (how much longer 'til he comes back?), but I do think he has a great way about him behind the plate. He catches a great game and always feels to me to be a solid rock anchoring the infield behind the plate. There's also the familiarity that Doc comments on here.

And the "Rock On"s go to...

Vernon Wells for hitting his first homerun since May 20th;
Frank Thomas for becoming the all-time leader in DH homeruns, and 4 away from 500;
Shaun Marcum for striking out 11 (career high), although he's not a strikeout pitcher; and
Aaron Hill for coming out of nowhere to throw out Austin Kearns in the top of the 6th yesterday. Anyone else think that was destined to be a hit? Yeah, I thought so. Orlando who? Check out Hill's Diving Stop. (It's on the right, under Multimedia.)

The guys have the day off today, and start a series against the Dodgers tomorrow. Somehow I ended up with tickets to 2 games against the Boys in Blue, but Thursday is Ladies Night which is always a good time. It should be interesting to see who from the team shows up. If I was a betting person, I would say Curtis Thigpen might make an appearance this season depending on how long he's up with the team.

To date, the Jays that have appeared at Baseball 101 this season are:
- Shaun Marcum
- Jeremy Accardo
- Aaron Hill
- John McDonald
- Casey Janssen
- Adam Lind

Things to Ponder

Ken Griffey is only 20 homeruns away from 600. Frank Thomas is 4 away from 500. For some reason, it feels to me those milestones should be reversed. Comparing some numbers...

I dunno. Just seemed...oddly cool.

I don't think anyone would argue that during their respective reigns at 2nd base, Roberto Alomar, Orlando Hudson and Aaron Hill afforded the Jays a high level of defensive comfort. Or, that in the last 17 years (possibly club history?) they've had the some of the biggest impact in the infield for the Jays. Ever notice that together their last names become "A.H.H."? Yeah...I definitely make that sound as I sigh with relief when they were (is, in Hill's case) at the 4 hole.

Lastly, will a month go by where someone doesn't go on the DL? Here's hoping AJ Burnett makes a quick recovery, and that his shoulder is just fatigued. It's unclear who will be coming up from the minors as is being reported will happen, but we could possibly see the lucky #13th debut of a Jays call-up.

Enjoy the day off.

'Til tomorrow...

JaysGirl5

Casey At The Plate...well, on the mound...or in the 'pen...

2007-06-15T11:52:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday! I decided to take a day off yesterday along with the team, but back to business.

I forgot to send out a "Rock On" to Justin Verlander for his no hitter the other day...so Rock On Justin.

There was a short, but funny story by the Toronto Star on Howie Clark coming back up with the Jays and everyone saying hello. Apparently AJ Burnett commented about being the only guy on the team that didn't know him already. It was cute.

I realise it's getting to the halfway point of the season soonish, but am I the only one that thought Eddie Murray being fired by the Dodgers was just odd timing? They had just swept the Mets...I dunno.

MLB is going to be opening a possibly nasty and very combustible can of worms if they try to suspend Jason Giambi for comments he made a month or so ago that possibly eluded to him using steroids. I'm not going to comment on whether he should be suspended or not...but it doesn't change the fact that if MLB tries...it could get a little ugly. And to think...things have been going relatively bump-free between MLB and the MLBPA since the latest collective barganing agreement was signed. Oh well...hopefully the situation doesn't reach its full bloody potential.

Casey Janssen: Starter or Reliever

So, I've been thinking about this since Casey was put in the bullpen at the beginning of the season.

I have loved watching Casey pitch since he came up last year in April. He was the first drop and drive pitcher I ever saw...and I just love the look of the delivery. Plus, when watch the camera angle from centerfield, sometimes it looks like he gets upward motion on the ball. I can not work out physics for the life of me, but I know it's possible to get upward movement on a ball because they do in fastball. I'm just not sure if Casey actually does or if it's just an illusion. Either way, it looks cool to watch and I would imagine could be very deceiving.

When you look at the numbers, you might lean towards him being a reliever. But you do have to take into consideration that his 6-10 record last year as a starter was his rookie year. I'm not saying that's an excuse, but there is a little bit of a learning curve as a pitcher when you come up to the majors. I'll use Jesse Litsch as an example.

Jesse makes his debut and wins. He wins 2-1 over the Orioles and pitches 8 1/3 innings. The Os only manage 5 hits off him.

Fast forward to his next start against the Phillies. He loses 5-3, giving up 10 hits and lasting only 4 innings. By this time, advance scouting and video has circulated through the majors, even if it is in limited supply from his first start.

His next (and last) start this season took him to Minnesota where again he gave up 10 hits, lasted 4 1/3 innings this time, and lost 4-3. After two starts there's more video, more advance prep for the opposition in comparison to his first start where there's just not really that much.

Now, my example is not flawless I know. You have to take into account the offence and defence behind Litsch in these games, which were all pretty close scoring. Also consider that Litsch came up from Double A. (Casey came up from Syracuse.)

But I think it at least shows the possibility that with only 5 days between Litsch's first 2 starts, and 10 between his first and last...major league hitters can quickly get your number. There just too many resources at the hands of batters now to even the playing field even a little against a pitcher they've never seen before.

How does this relate to my point? Well, I'm no Elias Sports Bureau and god knows I haven't seen 1/2 as much baseball as there is out there to see or learn about, but I'm not sure if a rookie pitcher has ever gone unbeaten in his rookie year. Sure, not every loss is actually the pitchers fault, but some things you can only learn from experience. Coming up and having the advantage over hitters because they've never seen you in this day and age of baseball I think will only get you through 1 start, if that. I don't think it's unprecendented to think the next start or two might be a little rocky, maybe the next three, before guys really start grasping how to pitch to big league hitters. This doesn't apply to everyone, but I think it's a fair assumption.

So, how does this relate to Casey as a starter or a reliever? I wanted to point out that his record last year doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have what it takes to be a starter at the major league level. Having seen him as a reliever this year, I like him there. Casey has said many times that he does want to be a starter someday, but I think it's a little telling that the Jays haven't given him a shot in their starting rotation yet this season, and I think there has been an oppotunity or two. Granted, at first he was part of the bullpen punch and the best long reliever the Jays had (and needed.) With Brian "Wolvering" Tallet's more recent success in late innings, and the bullpen getting better everyday...Janssen might become a little more expendable to the rotation if need be. But I'm thinking the Jays like him where he is right now.

As I've said before, I'm a big proponent for as much diversity in the rotation as possible. Whether it be what arm pitchers throw with, their arm angle, speed, deliver, whatever. I think the more differences you can throw at a team over a 2-4 game series, the better. Look around the majors, and especially the AL and the AL East (who see the Jays the most), is there anyone else who pitches with the drop and drive? I guess the only question is if that different look is better suited as a change of scenery from the starter the day before or the guy on the mound the batter before.

I'm not a major league hitter (hahaha!) or a coach so I can't make that call. But I tip my hat to Casey for his effectiveness out of the 'pen when he wasn't even slated to make the trip north. And, I will forever hold a special place in my heart for him because like me, he doesn't care who wins the Stanley Cup and just thinks hockey's on T.V. a lot up here. (Okay, I'll admit...I'd like the Leafs to win sometime in my life so I don't have to keep hearing about them not winning every year, and it would be a great party only beaten by a Jays World Series win. But it still doesn't mean I really care.)

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Doc goes for lucky #7 tonight as the Jays start their first at-home inter-league series of the season against the Nationals. (Oh how I wish they were still the Expos. Scott Carson makes a good point in his column this week.) Mike Bacsik goes for the Nationals. Look for Gregg Zaun to (hopefully) make his return behind the plate tonight and Frank Thomas' return to the lineup.

As much as I love baseball, the Harry Potter fan in me is in overdrive because of the upcoming book and movie release. Proof? When I first looked at Bacsik's name on the Jays' site...I had to do a double take to make sure it didn't say "Basilisk".

Enjoy the game, Flashback Friday with Tom Henke and the rest of the weekend.
JaysGirl5