November, all ready? You lie sir!

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

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

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

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

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!

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)

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!

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..."

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:

1. 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.
2. 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

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.

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

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...

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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...

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...

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!

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

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

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.

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?