High Sock Mojo - Confessions of a Toronto Blue Jays Season Ticket Holder

Witnessing History

2011-05-08T21:42:00.000-04:00

I wasn't able to blog due to partying/internet not working at home, so I was debating on what I should blog about this time around. The answer's a little bit obvious - being no-hit by Justin Verlander.

Pretty much, I just need to vent/rant about some criticism I received based on my excitement for Verlander throwing the 2nd no-hitter of his fairly young career. I was told by some people that I'm obviously not much of a Jays fans if I would have liked to witness a no-hitter when we were down 9-0 in the bottom of the ninth. Apparently, that meant that I was automatically rooting against the Jays.

Yes, I'm a Jays fan and they are my team. I am also a fan of the game. Would I have been upset if we broke the no-hitter? Far from it. But ultimately, as a fan of the sport, I was somewhat hoping that I would see it happen.

That's what I love about Baseball. It's one of the very few sports where despite having your favourite teams to cheer for, you have to have mad respect for the game as a whole. How many of us check out the last half of an inning when MLB.tv makes it free to watch if there's a no-no/perfect game going on even if we have nothing invested in either team?

I've been to many baseball games in my lifetime and I've been able to witness 2 almost no-nos (McGowan against the Rockies and Morrow against the Rays). And being able to see a no-hitter in person as a Baseball fan even though we were the ones who were no-hit is just as exciting as seeing a Jays pitcher no-hitting another team.

But, you know, Spring Training plus road trips plus being a Season Ticket Holder shows I'm not a true Jays fan since I was excited to see Baseball History.

No Mojo for JoJo

2011-05-03T21:41:00.000-04:00

Well...that sucked.

JoJo pitched a great game tonight. But tonight proves why the W-L record in baseball for starting pitchers is not the only stat that you can go by. Sure, JoJo isn't one of the most stellar starters out there (far from it). But tonight, he deserved to get his first win since 2008.

Unfortunately, a couple of bad pitches from Jon Rauch ended up in a BJ Upton walkoff.

There are losses, and there are heartbreaking losses. This one was definitely a heartbreaker.

JoJo kept the team in the game - but the amount of popouts the Jays hit really didn't help the cause. Anything can happen in a 2-1 game, especially in the bottom of the 9th against the Rays.

Will JoJo finally get a win this season? I have faith. Just need to give him some more mojo, is all :)

So....didja hear?

2011-04-28T23:02:00.000-04:00

The Jays made quite a shocking announcement after today's win against the Rangers...Travis Snider, Lunchbox, or Snideykins as I'd like to call him, was optioned to Vegas.

Why? Could it be his struggles at the plate? AA has said that he will let the kids work through their struggles. So, why the demotion this early in the season?

His timing has seemed a tad off all season, but why can't Murphy fix it? If it's a confidence issue, how can a demotion help? Could his rib injury still be nagging him?

Many fans are calling for AA's head on this one. Am I personally happy with the decision? Ultimately, no. But in AA I trust - and I will accept his decision to bring Cooper up to see what he can bring.

Unfortunately, the steakhouses in the city may not be as forgiving as me on this one.

Enter Awesomely Lame Punny Subject Here

2011-04-25T23:39:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I can't come up with something tonight. I find that blogging about road games are far from being inspired.

First off - loving what Drabek is bringing to the team this season. Could he possibly be our most consistent starting pitcher this season so far?

Could the possible return of Rajai Davis somehow be heating up some bats for the Jays? Patterson with a huge bomb....followed by Bautista...followed by Rivera? Hopefully the home run'll be the monkey off Rivera's back and he'll get into a groove of sorts.

Sad thing? I think every fan figured we would have issues winning tonight's game based on our lineup. Woody starting? And Dave Bush came in to pitch for the Rangers??? TOTAL trip back to 2004 :)

It'll be interesting to see what happens on the mound tomorrow with Litsch's return.

Ugh. Lamest blog post ever. Hopefully I'll have more to write about tomorrow.

Good FriJays

2011-04-23T00:56:00.000-04:00

HAHA look at that. I made a funny.

What. A. Game. Jo-Jo with a non-Molina catching had an almost-quality start. Bautista so close to hitting for the cycle (and scoring almost every time he was on base). Edwin had a great night...Juan Rivera hit another single. All topped off with a walk-off by...Johnny Mac?

And other than a lot of drunks acting kinda silly and people not understanding when the wave should be done (though I'd prefer it if it never existed), the atmosphere was amazing. Full count, 2 out, even with Rivera up at bat - the crowd was on their feet without the jumbotron telling them to.

If only all games could be written so perfectly. Well, except for Nix almost being killed on that botched double play *sniffle*

The Obligatory "Brett Cecil was Sent Down" Post

2011-04-22T00:20:00.000-04:00

There's something hard about writing a blog post about something that was expected - especially when it comes to your favourite player struggling.

In case anybody was living in a proverbial cave, Brett Cecil was sent down to Triple-A in light of his recent struggles pitching so far this season for Chris Woodward (didn't realize I revved up my Delorean) much to the expectations (and complete shock depending on who you ask) of Jays fans all around.

So what does "superfan" (don't ask) think? It's a good move. There's something not right since we've all seen Brett kick ass (led the team in wins last season). If it's something mechanical, it's better to find out what the issue is before it becomes a mental block or extreme low confidence - it's happened to pitchers in the past. Sure, Brett really hasn't pitched HORRIBLY, and his recent start at Fenway despite the rough 3rd inning showed he still has his stuff. But it's not what Brett has shown he's capable of - even in Spring Training.

Unfortunately, there seems to be some kind of Baseball stigma that if you're "demoted" to the minors, it's automatically a negative. Any true Baseball fan understands that the minor league system is where players are developed and work out their kinks before they get the call to the Majors working their way through the ranks.

A fresh pair of eyes in Vegas (cannot remember who the Triple-A pitching coach is for the life of me right now) could be all that Brett needs to bounce back. It wasn't too long ago when media and fans figured Romero was a complete bust and everybody was calling for Ricciardi's head for picking him before Tulo. Arnie took him under his wing and now Ricky's our ace. Baseball's a funny little thing, isn't it?

And now, Twitter for the past couple of days have been absolutely supportive of Brett with well wishes and hashtags. #isupportCEC and I will still support him, repping my jersey at the Dome until his imminent return this season - the AL will miss his changeup. Er, except the batters. Don't mess with my non-existent logic.

#isupportCEC

2011-04-21T00:07:00.000-04:00

Oh how I wish all Yankees series at home were 2 days long. I forgot how much I dislike the atmosphere, though I do appreciate there are more butts in the seats.

Tonight, in our section, a Jays "fan" broke a Yankees fan's flag when Granderson hit his home run. Seriously? It's pathetic. I'm all for playful fun when it comes to possibly heckling visiting fans provided it's smart. It's happened to me in every ballpark I've been to, though for the most part I've been welcomed with open arms for visiting the city and the ballpark.

The saddest part about tonight? The Jays fans didn't get kicked out for causing shit, and the Yankees fans left really upset. Shame on you, Rogers Centre.

Brett struggled again, unfortunately. It appears to be mechanical, according to Mr. Zaun. I think a stint either on the DL or in Vegas is in order before the mechanical issue turns into a confidence issue - confidence is a LOT harder to fix. I shall even use the hashtag here -#isupportCEC

Alas, I still love the team and how they aren't giving up. Walk-off win on Tuesday after Mo blew the save...and even being down by 4 runs the boys were still getting on base. I'll thank John Farrell methinks.

Home. Sweet. Home.

2011-04-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

Could this past road trip possibly go down as one of the worst in Jays recent history?

I'm not going to bother looking past road trips up. I'm lazy and depressed.

I'm too depressed to even rant. Yet I do have faith that the Jays'll be able to pull off a decent homestand against the Yankees and the Rays.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday, "fans" will be spending their whole time booing AJ Burnett as opposed to cheering Kyle Drabek and the boys on.

As much as I want to see more butts in the seats, I'd almost prefer it if the hooliganism never showed up. I've always been a believer in positive reinforcement - and seriously, why go to a game to boo the other team instead of going to cheer for your own? I could probably understand a bit more if this was AJ's first season with the Yankees after leaving us. But seriously...this is the 3rd. Can we get over it already?

This homestand better provide me with some more creative juices. My focus is all crocussed.

Monkey Off Brett's Back

2011-04-16T12:58:00.000-04:00

The one problem with drinking beer watching the game on TV with your girlfriends? Mind's a bit hazy after the 4hr game at Fenway and it makes it TONS of fun to post :)

As a Brett Cecil fan (jerseys and all), even I was skeptical about how Brett was going to pitch. I had as much faith as possible, but I kept thinking back to that rough start at Fenway where he gave up 5 home runs. I was petrified it was going to be repeated. But he started the game off well, imploded in the 3rd which so far has seemed to be the regular occurrence so far this season, had a pep talk from JPFA, then calmed down to pitch a quality start and got the win (after the bullpen almost lost it again). Let's hope he can keep it up - but who knows what'll happen once Morrow comes back. Something's still wrong with his pitching (not just the velocity) so maybe they'll get him to start working on that.

Then there's the whole 3 foul/fair lines by Pesky's pole drama going on. Do I need to rehash that? Nah, I'm sure it's been spoken about everywhere.

All in all, this completely uninspiring blog post isn't going anywhere. But hey, at least the Red Sox are 2-10 with Beckett on the mound.....and Jo-Jo....*bites nails*

Pacific Time? Go Eff Yourself

2011-04-13T11:08:00.000-04:00

I never thought I'd be looking forward to the Jays playing a 4-game weekend series at Fenway....

This trip to the West Coast has been, sorry for the borderline vulgarity, complete and utter BALLS! I hate West Coast trips anyways due to the lack of sleep on weeknights when I've got to hit the daily grind the next morning drinking my Starbucks in hopes that my hazy mind will clear up. Er, wait, Starbucks is based in Seattle! #fail

But the time difference isn't all that I hate. For some reason, we always struggle on the West Coast it seems. Jet lag perhaps? California sun or Seattle rain having an effect on the boys' brains?

Sure, they're still playing with Hustle and Heart (take a shot everytime you hear that this season and your liver will be gone by May)...but the next time I see Aaron Hill pop up, I will pop a million more blood vessels (are there even that many in the human body?)

That being said, despite this somewhat horrid road trip (and possibly being swept by Wedge's Mariners), I'm still cheering my team on. It's only the 2nd full week of Baseball...and I doubt that Red Sox and Rays fans think their seasons are already over.

Holy Bullpen Implosion, Batman!

2011-04-12T20:43:00.000-04:00

Like most Jays fans last night, I went to bed in the 8th inning - I was exhausted and I figured we had the game in the bag.

The wonders of Baseball kicked me in the ass. I woke up to find out that the Jays' bullpen blew the game. WHAT?

Do I think this is the end of the team's potentially awesome season? Nope...unlike many Twitterfolk who now think our bullpen sucks, or that JPA doesn't know how to call a game.

Other than Purcey, the bullpen was the same as Saturday night - when they pitched 8 innings of work without giving up a run (until Rauch blew the game). What is it with some Jays' fans and their short-term memories?

And what was this about fans on Twitter actually being MAD that Encarnacion was hitting the ball yesterday?

Some fans just want to point out the negatives instead of looking at the positives. They view it as being more passionate than other because they are "critical". I call BS. Being a fan should be a happy medium.

But back to Purcey - he's been DFA'd and AA believes he'll be able to trade him. To me, not necessarily in regards to talent, he very much reminds me of Brandon League - everybody going on about his potential, but he's lucky to pitch his way out of a wet paper bag. Potential can only get you so far - and there's a point where potential just doesn't cut it anymore.

And lastly - I won't dwell on it...but if you're a Jays fan on Twitter and you want to make jokes about some of the players, don't be ignorant. Do some research before you end up looking like a complete douchebag. Players are human too.

The Tangled Web Jered Weaves

2011-04-10T18:43:00.000-04:00

I don't care how good he is, he needs to stop kicking our ass. New career high of 15 K's...he's amazing to watch. But that game was quite painful to watch for Jays fans, especially after the debacle of last night.

But while the game had barely started, I could not believe how many people on Twitter were bringing the whole Jays team down. Jo-Jo sucked for giving up that one run...the whole team sucks because they can't hit Weaver.

Quality start - 6IP with 3ER. Jo-Jo? 7IP with 1ER. He wasn't exactly efficient and he did give up a lot of hits - but he still pitched a good game against a good team. It will definitely make things interesting depending on Litsch's start against King Felix tomorrow night.

But I haven't had one of these in a while and I didn't want to resort to it...here's a rant.

I will never understand how anybody could wish injury upon any player in the sport. The amount of people I saw rejoicing that EE was on the bench because of his cramped hip flexor, or people thinking Davis was taken out because of his error since "he sucks".

Wanting a player benched for attitude issues is something completely different IMHO...teach him a lesson. Unfortunately, some fans need to learn some class.

Kinda makes me wish people were still whining about Bob Davidson :) /end rant

The Great Ump Debate

2011-04-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

I "woke up" this morning and checked my Twitterfeed - and it was still being flooded with vents about Mr. Davidson. Sure, he made that horrible "Interference" call against us. But that's not the sole reason the Jays lost the game. (What was it....18 runners left in scoring position?)

In recent years, the Great Umpire Debate seems to be getting a little bit more heated. Instant Replay was finally instituted for home run calls. Some fans still want more.

At a Blue Jays Fan Club Q&A last year with some alumni, players even seem to be divided on what should be done. Duane Ward said we need to have that human aspect to the game and that it'll slow the pace down way too much if everything could be debated. Pat Hentgen said it wouldn't take long to have a 5th umpire in the booth to quickly review if there's a challenge.

If it's possible, I do agree with both - though I tend to lean more towards supporting Ward's point of view.

Imagine Baseball with automated strike zones and the chance to reverse every single decision made on the field....what would being at a game be like not having the chance to have our emotions ramped up whether for the positive or the negative? Baseball can already be perceived as a boring game - you take 9 innings and maybe a total of 1 inning could be where all the 'excitement' happens.

I will always remember being at a Jays game at the end of 2003 - Doc was thrown out by Phil Cuzzi for arguing a balk call (did he also hit a Rays batter? I can't remember). Even though the Dome was fairly empty (about 20,000), the place exploded with anger at Cuzzi. Did Cuzzi make the right call? I don't remember. I just remember the emotions that it stirred in the Dome.

Last year was the Year of the Pitcher. No-Nos and Perfect Games galore. Is Armando Galarraga heartbroken that his Perfect Game doesn't go into the books as one? Definitely. But it's one of the most memorable Almost Perfect Games ever. Possibly could have been lost in the mix with all of the others.

Ultimately, I think widened instant replay would be detrimental to the game. Personally, it gets me going (in a positive way) knowing that every pitcher has to adapt to every single umpire when they're pitching. Maybe not to the point where it's so blatantly obvious that the pitcher's getting squeezed - but it adds another aspect to the game.

But, I do think that the MLB needs to acknowledge in some way that there are umpire mistakes (or at least they are being criticized a lot more - maybe due to social media) being made and that in some other way, something should be done about it. Especially when you have an umpire like Davidson who is known for making some of the most controversial calls.

Maybe they should start off by taking Jim Joyce's lead and admitting that they're human and they make mistakes too.

Um. WTF?

2011-04-10T02:31:00.000-04:00

In my almost 30 years, I have never witnessed a game like that.

Bats on fire for the first 5 innings (or iffy pitching - maybe an unhappy medium) Then to quote Sergio in Get Him to The Greek....MINDFUCK!

Johnny Mac being the star of the game and not just defensively? I still don't think he should be in the starting lineup every day, but seriously! Who expected that?

An almost completely lights out bullpen (until Rauch came into the game and got the loss)?

OK, so the Jays almost blew it on EE's error until Dotel got out of the mess....but they didn't (I still belEEve!!!). SO many close calls with juiced bases, runners in scoring position, bad pitches, bad defense (Angels had 3 errors).

Then you have the "interference" call that Bob Davidson made - I thought the whole point of the game was to run from base to base when you reach safely....Escobar did that. But, alas, it was wrong according to the Jays' archenemy Mr Davidson. That play would have a) had Edwin redeem himself slightly and b) put the Jays ahead. Instead, it was out #3 and the Angels went up to bat. Never have I heard commentators on TV sounding so unbelievably angry. Even Gregg Zaun tweeted about Balking Bob Davidson....

Then the Angels threatened in the bottom of that inning. Luckily, due to some really bad Rivera-esque type baserunning, nothing happened. Highlight? Buck and Pat yelling at Travis "Throw to first! Throw to first!". Bobby Abreu running home during the Callaspo rundown then getting called out for out #3? Epic.

Twitter was going insane throughout the whole game, despite it being late everywhere in Canada. People were still watching.

Yet, it hits 10pm here at home and "fans" leave...if they even show up to the game at all. Tonight alone showed that there are fans out there who have just as much Hustle and Heart as the guys on the field.

Alas, the Jays lost...but it was one of the most memorable games I've ever watched and it won't be one I'll forget for a while. They didn't give up. Just watching them exhausted me more than the length of the game.

Here's to hoping the team and the fans'll remember this the next time the starting pitching struggles, the next time the game goes into extras, and the next time Balking Bob Davidson comes into town.

And here's to hoping I'll never have to write a blog post after a 5 hour game at 2:30am :)

The Juan Rivera Dead Horse

2011-04-09T12:33:00.000-04:00

So, I've decided to blog about something that nobody's talking about /end sarcasm

But seriously. Juan. Effin'. Rivera.

I'm all for supporting players through their struggles since nobody's perfect. And I still hold onto that (I belEEve). But there's no excuse for Rivera's attitude.

Sure, 2 hits against the Angels last night and I believe one ended up resulting in a run. Sure, he leads the team in walks (or as Rivera plays - long leisurely strolls down to first).

There are how many Baseball players in the minors who would almost kill for a chance to be in the MLB? So many of them work their little uniformed tushies off and can barely scrape it up to Triple-A? Instead you have a guy like Rivera getting paid $5.25 mill showing he doesn't give a crap about the team or winning.

Is he miffed because he knows the team wants to get rid of him but can't? Shouldn't that be more of an accelerant to a fire that he should already have in the first place? At least he's promoting good Twitter debate/discussion. But not $5.25 mill worth.

Juan - just take the money and run. Literally.

Rally Monkeys Are Petrifying

2011-04-09T00:58:00.000-04:00

And I don't mean when the Angels start a rally. I mean the monkey literally will give me nightmares. I love monkeys. But in an Angels jersey and a stadium filled with stuffed monkeys? I need therapy.

The Jays pulled through for the win tonight against the Angels. Despite the ump's non-existent strike zone, defensive blunders, and Drabek's walks, it was an amazing game. Drabek with a quality start including 5Ks? Even despite the errors and the inconsistent strike zone, Drabek kept his composure. I'm quite pleasantly surprised at the maturity the 21yr old showed on the mound tonight.

And Jayson Nix...I obviously still belEEve, but so far it looks like getting Nix was another rabbit pulled out of a hat move for AA.

In other news: Thank you, Gregg Zaun, for answering my question about why road pants cause saggy bum/crotch. It's been haunting me for years.

Just a short post tonight thanks to time differences.

What's Your Favourite Colour?

2011-04-07T23:17:00.000-04:00

Mine used to be blue. Now it isn't.

Not that it was a huge shocker on the first Tweeting Tuesday/post Opening Weekend game against Oakland. Slightly over 11,000.

Sure, the Leafs had the chance to not be eliminated from the playoffs and hockey means everything to everybody in the city. But I'm pretty sure that really didn't have an effect considering it happens every dang year!!!!

I truthfully don't get it. Going to ball games can be cheaper than taking your whole family to the movies. Sure, money doesn't grow on trees (/end cliche). But there's no reason the Dome should be that empty. Breaks my heart.

But enough ranting and raving about the attendance issue, beating a dead horse (/end cliche).

Casey Janssen was sent down to Vegas to make room for Dotel today. I must say, I love it when Twitter allows me to feel SMART about Baseball :) The amount of fans saying that Frasor should be sent down instead of Janssen because he "sucks". I won't lie. I was still confused about options and outrighting and waivers and all that gibberish.

Sure, Baseball's a sport...but it seems like a lot of people don't understand the fact that it's also a business. Performance-wise, should Frasor have been sent down over Janssen? Yeah, there's an argument for that. But then you risk losing Frasor blahblahblah. Again, won't even try to "explain" it.

It all boils down to this - if you have options and you play in a position that the team is STACKED with, guess what? You're gonna get sent down. I don't think this is a shocker to anybody.

Unfortunately, it means there's even less high sock mojo on the Jays now *pout*

(disclaimer: Still exhausted from Opening Weekend - brain is at 1/3 strength)

Opening Weekend's Shenanigans (or lack thereof)

2011-04-04T21:41:00.000-04:00

Who knew that a weekend of amazing Blue Jays baseball could be so damn exhausting?

This weekend proved to be one of the most exciting opening series I've ever been a part of. The crowd and the atmosphere matched how this team is making me feel - POSITIVE!

Sure, asshats decided to start throwing their rally towels onto the field in the 7th....inning(?) along with their full beer cans (holycrapmuthaeffinbeerinacan!!!). And of course, there were mandatory 500 level fist fights. But it was all electric.

During the pre-game show - when they unveiled Pat Gillick's and Roberto Alomar's HOF banners above, ugh, "Jaysvision", it was a feeling I have never felt before. I got goosebumps and I started to well up. Sooner than later, we'll all get that feeling again when we reveal our next banner.

This whole weekend, I couldn't get over Farrell's style. The speed on the basepaths AND the power on Friday night...pinch hitting Snider for Rivera the moment Liriano was taken out of the game...and *gasp* a sac bunt with runners at 1st and 2nd????? How much of our bullpen pitched all 3 games of the series?

It all goes back to my 2 most overused words - FEELING EXCITED!

(I'm still recovering from the extreme adrenaline rush the first 3 games of the season provided - too much adrenaline makes a non-sensical blog post)

Anybody have any thoughts/comments about the Jays' Opening Weekend?

P.S. I still belEEve

'Twas the night before....opening night...

2011-03-31T22:54:00.000-04:00

Nope. Not rewriting it. I'm sure every Baseball blogger's already rehashed that "parody" over and over and over again. Plus, that's way too much effort.

Since Jays' Opening Night is sold out, I won't lie - I'm kinda worried.

In previous Opening Night related posts, I've mentioned how many asshats go to the home opener. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the deafening atmosphere. But what's gonna happen when all the morons who can't hold their alcohol decide to be hooligans?

My mind doesn't always go to the negative when it comes to one of the best nights of the year. Will something special happen? I still get goosebumps thinking about the first home opener after Tom Cheek passed away and Bengie Molina hit a home run that hit Tom Cheek's name on the Level of Excellence. This year, Robbie and Pat Gillick are going to be honoured somehow - not quite sure what they're doing but I cannot wait. Could this be the first retirement of a number for the Jays?

I'm already getting chills. I can already here the "Robbie" chants before he potentially makes a speech. I can picture the standing ovation Jose Bautista's going to get in the pregame ceremony as well.

6 months of waiting and torture all boil down to this moment. It's on.

2 More Effin Days!

2011-03-30T22:15:00.000-04:00

It's here. The longest six months of the year are finally over, and us Jays fanatics can go back to partaking in the best addiction of all - Baseball.

It's been quite an eventful offseason for the Blue Jays - new manager in John Farrell, new bench coach in Don Wakahotsu (uh, I mean Wakamatsu), Cy Young award winner Pat Hentgen has returned to the team as the bullpen coach...not to mention the departure of Shaun Marcum and a past franchise player in Vernon Wells.

But all of that has been rehashed many a-time by all those other reputable blogs out there. I'm behind on the times :)

Words cannot describe how excited I am about the 2011 season. This year, I was finally able to go to Dunedin to catch some Spring Training action. Even though the Jays only won one of the "fake" games I saw, I could tell this team would be different than last year's. They seem nowhere near as "uptight" (for lack of a better word) as last year.

But how can I define my excitement for a team which Sports Illustrated believes will finish last in the AL?

Last year, the Jays seemed to follow the philosophy of hitting the ball long and hard with a former hitting coach at the helm. Leading the majors in HRs, and having Bautista slugging 54 dingers in the season probably won't end up happening in 2011 as much as we all would like it to.

I'm a fan of the "smallball" - home runs don't excite me unless they're in a clutch situation. Everybody who follows me on Twitter knows I love the bunts, and triples absolutely drive me wild. Could that be why I'm giddy about the acquisition of Rajai Davis? Tremendous speed, great bat (in ST), and - yes, I'm going there - he's got the high sock mojo.

With our past pitching injuries, no matter what the theories may be (*ahem* Arnsberg), how will our young pitching staff be handled now that the manager is a former pitcher/pitching coach? Better? Worse?

How often during Spring Training have us Jays fans been so excited to see a player be called up? The acquisition of Brett Lawrie had mostly a positive reaction from fans when AA pulled the trigger on the trade with the Brewers. There were attitude concerns, but those all dissipated after he tore it up in Spring. Last year, the excitement was 99% about Bautista's chase to 50HRs which came out of nowhere. But to have this much excitement about a player before he even gets the callup and to even be upset he didn't make the team out of Spring Training? It's been forever since I've seen that kind of passion.

And, I'm sorry - I have complete faith in Edwin Encarnacion this season. Sure, it was a bit of a surprise that he came back to the Jays in the first place after being claimed by Oakland (correct me if I'm wrong - I truly can't remember how Oakland got him!). After seeing him play, though it was at 1B in Spring, he seems to have a different attitude as last year. Many disagree with me, but I think he could have a better offensive season than Bautista. Who knew after Bautista's career thus far that he would have had a season like last year's? I also think Butter can work wonders on his defense if EE puts his mind to it. I BELEEVE!!!!!!

Of course, no one can forget Roberto Alomar's induction into the HOF this year with Bert Blyleven and Pat Gillick. The first player to be inducted as a Blue Jay is excitement that fans have not yet felt. Unfortunately, Tom Cheek isn't being inducted this year which would have made it an even more amazing induction.

My final reason for being so excited has nothing to do with what happens on the field and within the game. It wasn't until August last year that I started to make new friends through social media (primarily Twitter) and the amount of Twitterfriends that I'll be seeing in the next 6 months can bring me more joy than a walk-off Grand Slam. To me, Baseball isn't just a game - it's an atmosphere, and getting a bunch of Jays fans together to root for the guys says more about the game to me than 25-men on paper.

So, speaking of Twitterfriends, to add some sanity/non-rambling to my blogpost, I asked what some Tweeps were excited about for 2011. I got a decent response, but I'm going to quote as much as I can with the wonders of 140 characters. So in no particular order, here are the highlights!

@Alleycat17
(she said a lot haha so here's some of what she said)
"There is no doubt that if you look at your time
line everyone is talking about the Jays - has Twitter made the excitement over
baseball in Canada more popular or has that been AA's work too?"

@PowerofGiggle
"I'm excited about Farrell and having fresh leadership. How will he progress as the season progresses? [Wakamatsu] too. Looking forward to his guidance. The young pitching staff!! So much support for each other. Hill and Lind - pulling for them! And visits to TO to just watch them play as much as possible! Keeping the excitement alive!"

@BullpenStarter
"Farrell and the game he brings...small ball, speed. Hoping for bunts, hit and runs, double steals, super excited for Roberto andthe HOF. Players I like most: Snider, Escobar and Cecil. I think if these guys reach potential then we're set. I'm most excited for my new Blue Jays Tweeps!"

@biggles14
"i am excited about jpa of course, as well as the young pitching and the excitment around the team! also ditching flashbackfri."

@5thStarter
"I'm looking forward to Lawrie's first game."

@sboulton
"This year's inevitable John McDonald feel-good moment."

@davepoaps
"I'm excited to see the young guys get a full time opportunity to prove themselves and showcase their skills to us."

@hustleandheart
"The development (Snider, Drabek, JPA) just excited to see those guys in the line up. Future is bright! looking fwd to Lind @ 1st. Can Lind/Hill bounce back, is Cecil for real, who emerges as closer, Farrell decisions..."

@GValentino
"I'm excited about what a new manager can bring to this team in terms of strategy and philosophy."

@ryankinsey
"different change in offensive strategies. Small ball and Rookies :)"

@michealiaboni
" I'll go out and say it...the #Jays make the post-season this year. Not even a biased opinion here. stats don't lie. Youth, power and solid arms trump big bank accounts. Hey, the Rays did it a few years ago, right?"

@thesleepingwolf
"it just feels right, a sign of the season, love the sport, and (insert James Earl Jones speech from field of dreams)"

@jonah_n
"I'm stoked to see how Lind does at 1B (w/@VernonWells10 gone, my favourite Jays player). The emergence of Drabek in rotation."

@AlanClough
"Excited about #Jays multifaceted offence & young/soon-to-be top tiered starting rotation. Morrow/Romero 1-2 punch & speed! U can add comraderie and chemistry to the list as well!"

@MassF
"What excites me most is seeing if the young starting rotation can build off the successes they had last year."

It's crazy to see how many Jays fans are excited pretty much about the exact same things. Remember when AA said this team wasn't rebuilding, it was just building? Fans seemed to freak out before last season...now with all of this excitement, hopefully there'll be less blue in the stands (excluding hats and old school jerseys) and the Jays'll make the postseason this year!

WTFBBQBLOGPOST?

2010-12-11T16:36:00.000-05:00

Time for the hopefully new and improved blog. I've decided to at least try to make it a little bit more personal. I'll always admit that I'm not one for stats or fully knowing how the whole business works.

So I figure as a Season Ticket Holder, Baseball fan and a semi-frequent roadtripper....I'll write about that. Along with the occasional stereotypical female fan postings once in a while :)

Of course, I say this now...and then I won't blog for another 6 months haha

Blog post coming later tonight. Need to get my creative juices flowing :)

Sappy Emotional Stuff w/ Johnny Mac Love

2010-06-20T20:20:00.004-04:00

I know I've openly criticized Johnny Mac many times....some people view that as a form of undefined "hate". Completely not the case, and completely not the time to talk about it. But I just wanted to clear that up before I went on.

What transpired at today's game is still hitting me, no pun intended.

Johnny Mac was put in as a defensive replacement, and the very few people still in attendance were cheering their hearts out. Many also gave a standing ovation.

Speaking from personal experience of having a devastating loss of a parent (my Mom to cancer as well), it's hard to get back into stuff that's even a daily routine as much as you want to make everything "go back to normal." It hasn't even been a week for Johnny Mac.

I personally didn't realize until it was the bottom of the ninth that Johnny Mac was due up to bat. Just his name being introduced had all these emotions build up inside of me, which I know was a zillionth smaller than the emotions for J-Mac. He smoked the ball, and it barely made its way over the LF wall. I started to scream as loud as I could, possibly louder than I have for some walk-offs to hide that I was ready to sob.

There's no doubt in my mind that Jack McDonald was somewhere in the Dome today cheering louder than anybody else as John was trotting around the bases.

And despite the game's loss today, I'm pretty sure that it put things into perspective for many Jays fans that it's not always about ensuring a W, and that even Baseball players are human.

For a better read than my emotional mumbo-jumbo - Check out Bastian's blog post:

http://mlbastian.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/06/happy_fathers_day.html

Shame On You, Rogers Centre Security

2010-06-03T20:28:00.003-04:00

It's June. I haven't blogged all season. It's mostly because I don't really feel like I have anything intelligent to say. Unless I have a rant. So...guess what? It's rant time!

I know this story's already been around on the Jays forum and on Twitter, but as a witness to this bullshit (yes, I made a swear. Shut up), I feel as though it's my duty to document it...whilst bitching about it.

The Lowdown

Last night's game vs. Tampa Bay is one that we all want to forget. Marcum being left in too long....JayFray....ScottyDowns being beaten badly by Crawford. But that's not what's getting me down.

A friend, whom I didn't know before Opening Day and who is a 40-game Flex Pack holder, was ejected from Rogers Centre. Why? Literally no reason.

He spent a bit of the game heckling Carl Crawford, by calling him Cindy. But other than that, he spent most of his time chatting up a family that was visiting from England and who were there to enjoy the ballgame. Suddenly, it's the bottom of the 8th and I see one of RC security coming down to the front of the aisle and he asked to speak with our friend. We were all confused. Then my sis says to me, "They brought COPS?"

We figured some kind of warning would be issued....but we knew once the cops were there that our buddy was getting the boot. Again, literally, for no reason.

To add insult to injury, though our friend wasn't there to see it, people in our section started swearing pretty loudly when Scotty gave up the grand slam. Nobody batted an eye and everybody was allowed to stay.

The Rant

I'm not one to shy away from pointing out how silly the staff during Jays games can be. They're having a problem finding a happy medium. I find that the staff is mainly divided into 2 groups. The first group is the, "It's Only A Summer Job/I Get Paid To Watch Baseball" group. This group is comprised of the staff who literally spend the whole game just standing there and ignoring everything going on around them...because it's a sweet job getting paid $11 an hour to watch Baseball. The other group is the "Powertripping Asshat" group...the people who think that wearing a Tennis Ball Green polo shirt makes them a Corrections Officer at the Don Jail.

Now, because of the two groups being complete polar opposites of each other, I will say that I have filed concerns to Guest Services based on their actions. This is because, in the past, I've seen people getting ejected who had no reason to be ejected and I've seen people being allowed to stay while being completely hammered out of their mind to the point where they can't even stand up and the only words you can understand through their slurring are ones that make sailors blush.

I always go back to my 2 stories....which I will re-iterate again. Scroll down if you don't want to read :P

Story #1

Last season on a weekend matinee, there were a group of guys sitting next to me and my sister. They were semi-heckling but they really didn't care. They ended up spending most of the time talking amongst themselves. All of a sudden, the designated driver of the group has security coming down the aisle telling him to leave the premises while his friends were allowed to stay. They obviously didn't stay. But the people who SHOULD have gotten kicked out were allowed to stay - a couple of young guys sitting a couple of rows behind them who were swearing and just being completely unpleasant.

The guy who got kicked out had told us earlier in the game that he had a 10-game flex pack and that was finally his first game of the season. We didn't see him once, let alone 9 more times after that.

Story #2

Last year, on one of our designated "Beer and Wing Nights" that we would do on Flashback Fridays, we were personally heckled. These guys came in halfway through the game and started heckling Joe Inglett since he was playing in left...then saw that I was wearing his jersey. They continued to start heckling all 3 of us to the point where we couldn't take it anymore.

We got supervisors to come by....they said, "Well, we can relocate you guys." We stated that we were Season Ticket Holders and we paid to be in those seats...the guys heckling us were causing all the problems - they were the ones that should be moved. "Sorry, we can't do that."

So they proceeded to watch as the guys continued to heckle us, not doing ANYTHING about it. They walked off shortly after and the guys got worse. We went back to Guest Services to complain, and the Supervisors were there. We stated that they were still harassing us. "Sorry, can't do anything." So we go back, and the guys moved down into our seats. We went down, and told them to get out. Our usher, bless him, was doing everything he could to get these guys to stop but he was failing. We went back up, told the Supervisors that they were taking our seats. They STILL didn't kick them out. Their reason? "The guys aren't drinking...but you ladies have had a couple of beers each."

So apparently that put us in the wrong automatically. After the game, we went and drank and drank and I don't even remember what happened the rest of that night...except almost passing out on the Vomit Comet on the way home.

The Rant Continued

So, here's a question: How can somebody stop doing something that's apparently offensive if nobody tells them that they're doing anything wrong in the first place? Where was the warning in this instance?

Our friend had 2 beers at the beginning of the game. Did they see the beer cups and say, "Oh, he's drunk...he must be doing something wrong"?

Fans didn't ask him to stop. Security didn't ask him to stop.

One the glaring things about this season is the amount of blue being seen in the stands despite the fact that this is an exciting team to watch. The fans that cause problems are the ones who show up to one or two games a season, and think the Jays don't deserve to have a team because Doc is no longer with us.

Yet here, the Jays have a fan who (as far as I know) is a first-time 40-Game Flex Pack Holder DESPITE the fact that everybody talked about how the team was going to be complete garbage this year and they embarrass him for no reason and kick him out. He's the type of fan that SHOULD be filling the seats. He's courteous to the people around him, he's welcoming, and he cheers for the team through thick and thin. And now he's going to have a label on his forehead anytime he comes back to the Dome as being "A drunk who got ejected for causing problems."

After visiting a few other ballparks, and after this incident, I can now fully and truly say that I'm ashamed to call Rogers Centre the home of my team.

(And...yeah, I had a good ending to this post but I completely lost it. It was a really deep thoughtful sentence too :P)

9-Day Countdown Related Vent & Apology

2010-03-27T13:22:00.005-04:00

9 days until Opening Day. 16 days until the Home Opener. I love feeling all warm and Basebally. Yet, I also feel some dread.

A few days ago, I was confronted about my opinions of Toronto "fans" who attend Jays games. In the confronter's defense, I didn't specify that I was speaking about the Jays and not about Toronto fans in general. I expressed my disappointment and borderline disgust at how the fairweather fans think about the athletes on the field and how they act at the games.

I expressed my feelings to Dirk Hayhurst on Twitter who appeared to be a bit down in the dumps due to his shoulder. I mentioned that I wish that all fans could see what he was writing since for some reason "fans" seem to think that athletes like being injured since they still get paid to "do nothing".

I was speaking specifically about how I've seen "fans" act. I attend every home game and the amount of BS I've seen in the past 3 seasons as a Season Ticket Holder makes me embarrassed to be a true Jays fan sometimes. I know I've mentioned in a past post about being harassed at games solely on my jersey of choice. But that's just a tip of the tip of the iceberg.

The amount of fans who, just yesterday, were cheering because Lyle Overbay hurt his knee and having wishful thoughts that he'd be out the whole season or that he'd never play again with his injury. It's disgusting in general (obviously there are a few exceptions), let alone in Sports, to applaud injury onto anybody. When Gabe Kapler hurt himself during his home run trot in the Dome and couldn't finish running, the amount of fans I heard cheering and laughing was probably louder than those cheering for the Jays when they scored. It's something I'll never understand.

I've seen "fans" rush down or sit behind the bullpen to start shouting profanities and threats to the pitchers. What "fans" don't realize is that athletes KNOW when they "suck" and are the first to criticize themselves. They don't need an asshat to shout it down to them to remind them, let alone shouting down trying to pick a fight. Said asshat gets kicked out, causing other "fans" to heckle even more. Why would you even go to a Jays game to insult BOTH teams that are playing?

And I'm all for heckling the other team, provided it's tasteful. As annoying as the Tropicana Field Heckler was, he at least heckled with stats. Fine, laugh your ass off when you believe ".....YOU SUCK!" is the best heckle ever. It's annoying, not distasteful. But some of the heckles I've heard have been racist, homophobic, sexist, and sometimes all of the above.

I've seen "fans" insult and harass visitors to the city and the ballpark. I'm all for poking fun at the team as a joke to people around your age. But I've seen people insult 6-year-old kids who are visiting the city, making them cry then LAUGHING when the kids cry. I've visited a few ballparks, wearing my Jays jersey and excluding Philadelphia (where we had 2 really drunk guys insult us for being Canadian), we've been welcomed with open arms to the city/ballpark. Seriously, it's a damn game.

But nothing will beat the wonders of the Home Opener where all the asshats come out in full force to their only game of the season. 2 years ago, a fan was almost thrown over the side of the 500 level. In 2005 vs. Boston (Arroyo Vs. Bush), the giveaway of free fridge magnets ended being an epic failure with the magnets being thrown onto the field from the 500 Level en masse. It prompted the Jays to hand them out after the game ever since.

That's nothing compared to the last home opener vs. the Tigers when fans in the 200 Level decided it'd be funny to throw baseballs at Josh Anderson's in LF (one during a play, and one narrowly missing his head) causing a delay in the game and threatening a forfeiture of the game where the Jays were whomping the Tigers. The delay caused "fans" across the stadium to throw their bottles (including empty liquor bottles "smuggled" into the Dome) and other forms of garbage onto the field. It made me sick to my stomach as a Baseball fan.

I can't wait to see what this Home Opener will bring. I'm wondering if Rogers Centre staff will finally get their act together and do their jobs in making sure the players and the fans are safe from morons. I wonder if anybody's going to throw stuff at Alex Rios if he's playing since he "sucks". I also wonder if it's going to be worse since Doc's no longer with the team.

So I'm sincerely sorry if I'm "painting with a wide brush" with how much I dislike Jays "fans" (who unfortunately seem to overpower the true Jays fans) with all the BS I've seen.

Road Trip Tidbits/Tips: Post #1 - Miller Park

2010-03-13T21:46:00.018-05:00

Yes, it's Spring Training. Yes, there's Baseball news. But for some reason, I just don't feel motivated enough to blog about what's been happening with the Jays so far this Spring. Well, other than Marcum and Romero's combined awesomeness.

So for today, and also on upcoming days when I feel like blogging but I don't have anything to blog about, I will blog about Ballparks/Cities I've visited...sometimes the route we took, rest stops, etc. It might not be that coherent, but I'm just hoping I get all important details in.

Here's my first one - dedicated to my current fave non-home ballpark. All photos taken by our group.

Miller Park
Visited July 10-12, 2009 - Brewers hosting LA Dodgers
Photo taken by Sis

We drove around to Milwaukee from Toronto, spending the night in Kalamazoo on the way. The Motel6 we stayed at was VERY cheap...but sketchy. Served its purpose, but next time we go we probably won't stay at that particular motel again. One thing we've learned from our various road trips is to be sure to stay at a hotel with restaurants around, especially if you don't have included breakfast at the hotel. There were no rest stops along the interstate which caused some worries, but there was a really nice Pilot in Indiana not too far before the exit to drive through Gary. Drove through Chicago's parking lot :P Took us an hour just to get through the city thanks to lovely lunch hour traffic....in the rain.

US Cellular Field Drive-By Photo

The hotel we stayed at in Milwaukee is located in West Milwaukee and was recommended online as being the best if you are going to watch the Brewers - Best Western Woods View Inn. The parking lot is a bit small, but parking is free. If you get there close enough to check-in, you should have no problem getting a spot. A big plus is that if you check out the day there's an afternoon game, they have no problem letting you stay parked there after you check out. The hotel has a free continental breakfast included. HUGE bonus. The elevator's a bit small, but our room was located on the 2nd floor so we just took the stairs. The staff is extremely courteous from the moment you walk in the doors.

I'm not sure if all rooms are the same, but our room had a mini kitchen area that included a fridge and a microwave along with plates and cutlery. The beds are double beds, so it can be kinda squishy if you're sharing.

Being in West Milwaukee, there isn't really THAT much around so we didn't really get to check anything out. We were within walking distance from a couple of bars, a Taco Bell/Long John Silver's and a Walgreens (perfect for photo printing opportunities and drink/snack shopping). I'm not sure if it's changed since we last went, but Wisconsin still allowed smoking in bars back then, so we weren't able to partake in any form of nighttime fun due to not being able to breathe from the heavy smoke. We DID order pizza our first night there from Pepe's Pizza (number was available in the hotel guide) and the pizza was REALLY good. Perfect if you're in a tight bind :)

But the biggest perk about the hotel was the location to the ballpark. It's literally a 10-minute walk maximum from Miller Park. Front Desk even provides maps on how to walk there. The walk is a tiny bit secluded but it is very safe to walk.

Our first game was on a Friday night. Now, the Brewers only have this promotion for kids 14 and up now. But last year it was available to everyone. Autograph Fridays. Select players would sign autographs - one at each section with about 6-7 players/coaches/alumni signing. We went because I wanted to meet Ryan Braun and he was one of the players scheduled to sign that day. Absolute mayhem, and the line was cut off before we even got to the section. It didn't stop me from having the chance to meet him, though that was mostly because of the usher in the section and Ryan's awesomeness. But I digress, somewhat :P

Ryan Braun signing autographs for fans at Autograph Friday

The staff are very friendly at Miller Park, and quite competent. But then again, I'm used to the Rogers Centre where 99% of the employees probably don't even know the team's name. To add to the staff, the fans were absolutely amazing. We met a few people that we started to talk to, and when they found out we were from Toronto, they started asking us questions about our team, along with "so when are you gonna trade Halladay to us?" But one of the best things about the fans was that they thanked us for visiting Miller Park and their city and they hoped we'd have a great time.

I can't really comment on ticket prices too much since we splurged on StubHub since tickets were quite sold out due to the visiting team being the Dodgers. Though for one game we did purchase tickets behind the visitor's dugout for $100US each through the Brewers online ticketing. The seats were DEFINITELY worth the money. Friday night we sat 2nd row between 3rd Base and LF. Our last day there we didn't splurge, but we sat in the bleachers behind the Dodgers bullpen.

Friday Night View (with zoom) - Prince Fielder at bat

Saturday Night View (partial zoom)

Sunday View - Dodgers Bullpen

The atmosphere was electric all 3 games, even when the Brewers were losing. Actually, for about a half hour during Batting Practice (or between BP and the game), the only music played is on the ballpark organ. There's Bernie going down the slide anytime a Brewer hit a home run. When Catalanotto went up to bat, his at-bat music was "Your Love" by The Outfield and the whole crowd sang along. I also got goosebumps when it was Trevor Time. Something about hearing Hell's Bells in person with a future Hall of Famer running to the mound was just so completely epic.

Bernie

It's Trevor Time

The Sausage Race is even better in person than on TV. The Friday night we were there, one of the physiotherapists or something for the Dodgers was Italian and Andre Ethier started cheering her on. Seriously, the race is absolute MAYHEM! I was happy I was able to see Chorizo win lol

Sausage Race! Go Chorizo!

7th Inning Stretch - The tradition at Miller Park is singing along with the polka song, "Roll Out The Barrel". Nothing quite like singing along about beer lol

Speaking of beer, the one downside was that since it's Miller Park...all the beer is Miller. Not a huge fan, but hey, can't get too picky when your home park serves Bud :P

The food is VERY good. Each day I made sure to have a Klement's Brat....and I had to put the Stadium Sauce on it. SO good. Another recommendation is the deep fried cheese curds. If you buy a pop (or soda if you're American :P), be sure to get it in the huge souvenir glass. Well worth the money.

In terms of merchandise, there are 2 stores located in the lower level. There was also a t-shirt printing booth that made jersey tees.

Our one "downfall" was that anytime we go on road trips for Baseball, it ALWAYS rains. Miller Park has been the only "Dome" we've been to on the road. Our Milwaukee trip was the only trip with zero rain, so we never got to see the roof closed lol

I THINK I've covered all of the bases. If not, you can always leave a comment with a question and I can try to answer it :)

ACCIDENTAL OMISSION! I can't believe I forgot to mention the tailgating!!!! We weren't able to participate, but it's an active culture at Miller Park. It was suggested to me by fans on the Brewers forum, but yeah...we weren't able to participate. Can't believe I forgot that *facepalm*

Baseball's Here!

2010-03-01T16:08:00.004-05:00

And there are already Photo Day photos available for the Jays? I figured that maybe it was a figment of my imagination due to the sudden crash of post-Olympic Hockey Gold excitement. But when you see a professional photo of Scott Richmond wearing a spray-painted yellow piece of tin foil on a Baseball Canada lanyard, Olympic withdrawal can't even create that kind of awesomeness.

Baseball season is here. I don't care what anybody else thinks, but Spring Training is the official start of Baseball. Unfortunately, Spring Training wasn't in my cards this year so I have to stay at home, cursing the Baseball Gods as my sister gets to soak up the Florida weather along with Basebally goodness. For the 5th year in a row, I will just shout out, "Next year, Baseball Gods......Next Year."

Seeing photos of the 2010 Jays has whipped my brain into the mindset that in a little over a month, I will be sitting in my seat at the Dome for the home opener, with multiple overpriced Bud in my hands.

And I can't flipping wait.

In other related news, this picture made my brain short-circuit. Jingles in a Brewers uniform and not wearing the number 1. I wouldn't have lived to blog if Brauny was visible in the photo.

Everybody Sing Along!

2010-02-19T12:22:00.001-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Fresh Meat

2010-02-05T13:46:00.002-05:00

Yup. Jays signed Kevin Gregg. Fresh bullpen meat. He'll be competing for the closer role with Jay-Fray and Scottydowns in Spring Training. All that good stuff.

I wonder if it's good mojo to have your first and last name be the first names of 2 recent former Jays catchers....

In other news, again, the Jays have said that they aren't looking into getting Delgado to DH...that job will be Adam Lind's. I wonder when it's going to come out that they're looking into Delgado....again.

There, just a quickie blog post. Can Spring Training arrive soon?

No Garfoose? Say It Ain't So!

2010-02-03T17:03:00.001-05:00

As made public via Twitter (thanks to @MLBastian, @BlueJays and @TheGarfoose himself), Dirk "The Legend" Hayhurst will be going under the knife for exploratory surgery on his right shoulder.

It's hard enough, for me at least, to learn that a Baseball player's injured and won't be able to pitch for a lengthy period of time. But it's even worse when it's one of the "good" guys.

Dirk appears to feel blessed to have so many "garfooslings", and I'm sure I'm not the only one wishing him a speedy recovery.

Good luck, Dirk! May the Garfoose return sooner than later to munch on the plastic-based grass substitute.

(Follow Dirk Hayhurst on Twitter @TheGarfoose)

Snubbed. Again. Quelle Surprise.

2010-02-01T14:38:00.004-05:00

I can't find a good picture to use. Damn you, Google. But this little vent shall be short and not-so-sweet.

But I just found out via Jordan Bastian on Twitter (@MLBastian) that Tom Cheek, yet again, didn't win the Frick Award. Jon Miller won instead.

It was just retweeted as I was typing this, but to quote @ShiDavidi on Twitter, "Cheek's Carter HR call would be legend if it was in US."

Not only is that call legend....but so is 4306.

O Canada indeed.

Time to go back to giving the middle finger to my monitor.

State of the Franchise 2010 (or at least, what I can remember....)

2010-01-29T12:20:00.003-05:00

So last night was the 9th annualState of the Franchise event for Season Ticket Holders and 40-game Flex Pack Holders. This year, it was held at Rogers Centre. My favourite part was arriving and realizing that the food and alcohol still was all free. W00t!

I got to have some Wings (how I have missed thee, even though they didn't make any Arizona Ranch), a sausage (which was quite tasty), and fries with chili, cheddar cheese, green onions and sour cream. Not to mention 2 glasses of wine and like, 6-7 beers.

Needless to say....I don't remember much :P I didn't bother taking notes (only because I didn't have a notebook or pen) so I can pretty much just blog what I remember. Beware, my memories are in no way going to be insightful.

I was wondering how they were going to have it set up since I am used to them sitting behind a table making it seem quite press conference-esque. But this year, since it was at Rogers Centre, they set up four comfy chairs on the Jays dugout, which I found made it a LOT more personable.

This year was MC'd by Buck Martinez, which was a quite a change from Jerry Howarth. Just hearing him MC got me into a Baseball mood.

From the vibe I got from AA (I really don't want to have to type the whole thing today), he is a much better speaker than JP, and he's a lot more approchable with ideas and all that good stuff. He talked about some of the prospects we received in the Doc deal, making us all love Kyle Drabek who was compared to the likes of Jack Morris (he'd knock his own mother down at the plate or something like that. Remember, open bar lol). AA has been talking to Boras about Johnny Damon and apparently still is. He also made a few quips about how he'll say this stuff tonight and *boom* it'll be mentioned on mlbtraderumours.com.

I hate that I like Cito. I don't want to like him. But anytime I've met him or heard him speak at the State of the Franchise events (which is only 2 but still lol), I can't help but like him...despite the fact that he still appears to have no idea who Jeremy Accardo is.

And Paul Beeston was, and always will be, Paul Beeston.

But enough about the speakers. I found that this year's round of questions in the Q&A to be VERY weak compared to years' past. Maybe I missed some good questions when I left for a couple of minutes. Is it bad that one of the best questions was asking Paul Beeston why he was wearing socks?

Buck did mention that he was surprised that with the amount of ladies at the State of the Franchise why no ladies asked any questions yet. We were sitting right in front of Cito and he started to look right at us. So my friend asked how Marcum's coming along. Everything seems good with him, which I think everybody pretty much knew already...but I wasn't in the state to ask any questions.

Piss-off Question of the Night

Of course, it had to be the last question of the night, which made it even worse. But pretty much this rich business guy who you KNOW has really good seats for the season and probably rarely goes to game asked a question that I hope came out the wrong way but I have a feeling it didn't. He complained that there's no free trip to Spring Training this year and how his poor daughter feels awful about it. Beeston responded with the fact that they decided to use the money for the flights to Spring Training and put it into the farm system to better improve the team. The guy didn't seem to appreciate that response and asked a follow-up question that I don't remember since I was angry at that point. I don't remember the response to that. I just wanted to go up and belt the guy.

Best Comment of the Night

These guys behind us (one of them seriously looked like a young, beardless Doc) were talking, and one of them made our night. I doubt he'll ever read this blog, but if he does I hope he doesn't mind that I steal it. Here is a direct quote:

"The best thing about Brandon Morrow is that he's not Brandon League."

Piss-Off Moment of the Night

We head down to possibly talk to AA after we went up to get a refreshment after the Q&A session. One of the security ladies said, "I have to ask you to leave since we're clearing the stage up." Um...alrighty then? We went back up top and a bunch of groups of guys went down and she said nothing. I guess us ladies aren't allowed to talk Baseball with anybody? Kind of conflicts with one of the themes they wanted to convey.

One constant theme seemed to be that they are going to do whatever they can to get butts in the seats, and obviously other plans haven't worked. They continually acknowledged that without the fans, there wouldn't be a team. And from that point, I believed that they are finally going to do something good again with their guest service and fan incentives. I don't want to get my hopes up, but it's just a vibe I got. And obviously the piss-off moment doesn't help.

All-in-all, it was a fun night from what I remember. I'm not the type of fan who goes expecting a huge amount of information nor intelligent questions from an unknowledgeable fan base. To be honest, I pretty much go because it gets me in a Basebally mood...and it's showing that Baseball season is coming up sooner than later.

The free food and booze help. Well, not the day after when I'm trying to write a blog....but still.

Beware - Potential Stereotypical Girly Post

2010-01-27T22:48:00.006-05:00

So, I'm too lazy to plug my external hard drive into my computer...even though the USB port is right in front of me, as well as the cord. But then I'd have to turn it on and search for files.....whatever. The point is, here's a picture of Ryan Braun instead of Joe Inglett.

Why?

Well, Brauny's my favourite Brewer and he's beyond a bucket of awesome in my eyes. And that's not including the eye candy factor (my motto is: I'm a Baseball fan but I'm not blind).

There is a point, I promise.

2 days ago, the Rangers designated Jingles for assignment. Contrary to popular Blue Jay Baseball "fan" belief, that's not the same as being released. But I digress.

I was informed today with one hour left in my shift at my uber-exciting job that a team had claimed Jingles off waivers. Of course, my mind went to, "Oh boy, it's the Yankees or Red Sox." But then I was informed, "No, seriously, it's good news." So I figured the Jays got him back. W00t.

But obviously, I'm a moron and forgot about my 2nd favourite team (1st favourite in the NL), The Milwaukee F***ing Brewers! Doug Melvin, the beloved (or non-beloved..I have no damn idea) GM of the Brewers stated that Jingles has a good shot of making the team out of Spring Training due to his lefty battiness (or, to speak proper English, the fact that he's a left-handed batter and the Brewers have a predominantly right-handed lineup)

Does anybody other than myself realize the possible apocalyptic ramifications of both Joe Inglett and Ryan Braun being on the SAME team? Well, probably not because I'm most likely the only person thinking about it...unless there's a game designer coming up with the same idea based on this awful photo-shoot of Brauny where he looks like one of those dudes that kicks zombie ass at 4PM on XBOX 360 wearing Remetee T-shirts.

My two favourite Baseball players on the same team....it's been hours since the news and the words about how excited I am truthfully don't exist.

But to make sure I don't go absolutely crazy, I induce vomit by remembering that Gregg Zaun is now a Brewer.

Good luck, Joe. May you not see waivers again this offseason!

The Jersey Debate

2010-01-16T13:49:00.003-05:00

(Two blog posts in less than an hour? I must be really bored lol)

For those who don't know me personally (which is probably 99% of anybody reading this), I am a jersey addict. Having a discount on merchandise is a huge cause of my addiction.

To give a little bit of background on my addiction, and why these two pictures are being shown, I shall explain.

I went back to paying attention to the Jays after my "emo-before-it-was-cool-minus-the-bad-hair-and-makeup" teenager phase in July of 2003. At that point, since I was in college, I couldn't exactly afford a jersey though I truly wanted one. Not only did I want one, but I wanted one crested with "Hinske 11". Obviously, times have changed since at the end of 2003 I met Josh Towers briefly a few days after he pitched an amazing game against the Orioles (which if I remember correctly brought his record to 9-1) and he was seriously the awesomest player I had met so far. In 2004, I truly started to go to more games (of course right after the True Jays Rewards promotion ended) and my money situation looked up so I got a Towers jersey for my birthday. It was the first of many jerseys to come. But it was also the first to make it a tiny bit unbearable to wear.

Jays fans don't need to be reminded of every one of Josh's years pitching for the Jays except for what is known as "his career year" or the contract he was given after "his career year" so I'll spare the details. But to get back on topic somewhat, I actually had to stop wearing my Towers jerseys (I got one for free) at Jays games because I was being personally heckled and threatened by Jays "fans" who attended the games. At one point, it got so bad that one of my friends wore her Shea Hillenbrand jersey so "fans" could focus their hatred on her instead of me.

Where am I going with this? A vent. Yes, I've already broken my New Year's resolution.

The Towers jersey incidents were the first in what would actually happen pretty much almost every season since. I won't go into too much detail, but here is my list of jerseys and the amount if applicable. They are also listed in chronological order post-Towers.

Rios - Got the jersey in 2005 (his second season in the MLB). Most Jays "fans" at the games didn't know that at the time he was one of the top prospects in the Organization. So I received, "Who the F*** is that?" comments.

McGowan (2) - The first one I got was back when he wore #40 and didn't really show any of the potential he had. Obviously, that automatically meant he "sucked" to Jays fans. At least until his almost no-no against the Rockies (still hate you, Jeff Baker). So the next season, I got a new road jersey with #29, then he fell apart and hasn't pitched since.

Janssen (3) - Bought his jersey 2 days after the home opener in 2007. I think the worst comment received was in a Pizza Pizza one night after a game. "You have a jersey for the set-up guy? Ah. You must think he's hot, then." Because, of course, I am a female Baseball fan so that must be the only reason.

Inglett (3) - Started to like him back when we saw the Bisons play the formerly-known-as-Skychiefs in Alliance Bank Stadium. I bought my first Inglett jersey truthfully because of how nice he was to me after meeting him. I seriously didn't know much about how he played. That whole season, in which Gibby dubbed him "Voodoo Joe", he had Yo-Yo syndrome without really being sent down due to injuries. He was a bright spot in another unremarkable season for the Jays. Which, obviously, was unknown to Jays "fans" in 2009 since one night I was being personally heckled so bad that I had to get the Ushering supervisors involved. It takes a LOT for me to do that. Anyhoo, I digress :)

Scutaro - I've liked him since he was an A. Since he became a Jay, I had contemplated getting his jersey but I didn't get around to it because Jingles got in the way :P Finally got it the same day I inadvertently professed my "love" for him during Fan Club Batting Practice *facepalm*. Since I got this jersey in 2009, aka a season of awesomeness for Mr. Scutaro, I received zero criticism.

Cecil - The last jersey I got, thanks to free cresting. Since I got it at the end of the 2009 season as a birthday gift, people had stopped going to the games and didn't really care. Actually, the only "criticism" (which was in jest) I got was from Josh Towers the day he was called up by the Yankees.

So here's the deal. Is there any good reason why I should be criticized personally because I don't have a Halladay/Wells/Hill/Lind jersey? Is there something wrong with rooting for the underdogs? Heck, we're all Jays fans, we're all rooting for the underdogs as it is. Does it make me a bad fan because I get the "reject" jerseys?

I'm proud to support my team, and I'm proud to support my favourite players. Is it such a bad thing to have pride in the team you love, despite all of the BS going on in the organization? My butt is in my seat 81 home games a season plus a handful of road games and each day I wear a jersey. How does that deserve personal insults? It's something I will never understand.

Which begs the question and another debate....whose jersey will I be getting this season? :P

(Side note: Jersey underdogs apparently only apply to my Jays jerseys. Non-Jays jerseys: Morneau - Team Canada, Arroyo - Reds, Braun - Team USA)

It Was Not Supposed To Be An Off-Season For Me

2010-01-16T13:34:00.003-05:00

But so far, it pretty much has been.

I don't know if it's because I despise the off-season, or whether it's because there's just some stuff I can't handle about the longest 6 months of the year. And so far it's been even harder with the loss of Doc, Arnsberg, Scootz, and Jingles.

I do have a New Year's resolution for the blog. I don't just want to blog more often, but I want it to be less of a "venting" type blog. With the way the 2010 season is looking for the Jays, there'll probably be even more negatives than last year though they might surprise me. Life is too short to be angry. Not saying I won't be critical of stuff that pisses me off :) But you catch my drift.

I guess now that pitchers and catchers report in 32 days and State of the Franchise is coming up in less than 2 weeks (though I haven't received my invitation yet), I'm really starting to get into a Baseball mood.

It's just too bad there's no World Baseball Classic to tide me over this time around.

Utmost Anger and Disappointment = End of Unexpected Hiatus

2009-10-30T21:14:00.006-04:00

So, after almost two months of not posting anything due to life happening and all that other good stuff, I get home after a long trek after dinner (our van broke down, no room in the tow truck for my sister and me) to find out that Arnie is now the pitching coach for the Astros. Along with Butter being "demoted" to 3B from bench coach. After all, neither of the two were part of Cito's group of buddies.

I don't think it's a secret to any Jays fan that Arnie did not get along with Mr. Gaston though it might not have always been made public. I know for me, it was mostly a gut feeling.

Mr. Gaston has announced that he will not be returning when his contract is up in 2010. Meaning, we have one more season of his incompetence at the helm. Sure, things were all fine and dandy when I received the text message on my way to Pittsburgh in 2008, "Gibby fired, Cito's returning as Manager." Heck, I was in a board game store buying the Limited Edition Nintendo Monopoly and I squealed for delight, causing other potential board game purchasers to cower in fear.

Since then, Cito really hasn't been any better than Gibby. His mismanagement of the bullpen actually seemed eerily similar. In his old age, did Cito only remember the names "League" and "Carlson" despite their struggles? He let Cecilicious hang out to dry in Fenway (5 home runs...seriously, WTF?) before finally putting an end to the slaughter that ensued.

Did anybody else see how lifeless this team was for the last few months of the season? Even if they did care about how they performed, they lacked the spark that they had at the beginning of the season.

RickRom was struggling in the Minors, and Arnie took him on as a project. What happened? For quite a bit of the season, RickRom was being considered for Rookie of the Year because of his performance. AJ Burnett and Matt Clement joined the Jays because Arnie was pitching coach. Sure, they didn't work out, but it gave players a reason to want to be a part of this team. If the pitching staff struggles under Walton's tutelage, would Doc really want to extend his contract when it's almost guaranteed any team with the potential to go to the playoffs would pay whatever they can for him?

Then you have Butter who stepped in quite well when Cito was either ejected or not able to manage due to personal reasons. He seemed quite competent. At this rate, I would prefer to have Butter be our manager whilst learning the ropes as opposed to bowing down and appeasing to Cito for one more season.

It just utterly disappoints me. Seeing Anthopoulos being named GM after JP's dismissal while I was in Baltimore was like a huge weight being lifted off my chest. I figured, "Hey, this team looks like it might start making different kinds of decisions to hopefully have us contend." Now I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach so hard that it knocks my teeth out. (Seriously, I've had a nightmare about that once. Not too pretty)

In the past season and a half, it dawned on me...particularly when the "Let's all remember when the Jays didn't suck in 92-93" weekend happened in August. Is the Jays organization really so caught up in its glorious past that it figures nostalgia will be the only way it will succeed as opposed to building a winner for the future?

Goodbye Brad, and good luck in Houston.

Jorge Posada Is A Douche

2009-09-16T00:30:00.005-04:00

Now, of course, I'm a Jays fan so I'd automatically be biased, right?

a) Jorge was my favourite Yankee, tied with Mo. Not anymore.

b) If a Jay pulled the shit he did, I'd be equally as pissed.

Well, at least one of the good things is that Basebrawls turn me on. Why couldn't it have happened at Rogers Centre?

Unlike some managers and people in MLB's front office, I LOVE the idea of retaliation and standing up for your teammates (provided nobody gets hurt in the process aka no fastballs to the noggin') Seriously, Jorge...he threw behind you, he made his point, benches cleared. Deal with it. Don't be a pussy and make contact with Jesse you asshat...even though it appears that Jesse was asking for it unless he had a mental mistake and wasn't covering home properly due to that. But I digress :)

Though, I do have some fave highlights from the brawl.....

1. Adam Lind "trying" to get in between a Yankee and a fellow Jay...I can't remember who (Murphy before he got knocked down, maybe?) and being so completely useless at it. I can just picture him saying, "Come on guys.....stop!"

2. Brian Tallet and Scott Richmond just towering over everybody else....not really contributing much.

3. Joe Inglett and John McDonald scrapping it up a bit more than the bigger guys were lol Apparently Yankee media is saying that McDonald punched Girardi? Well, he's gotta get a hit at some point *ahem*

4. Cito laying the smackdown with Edwar Ramirez

Ugh, just thinking about it makes me all tingly lol

On a side note, I haven't been feeling very creative lately....and seriously this team has pissed me off beyond belief these past couple of weeks. So I was lacking the motivation. Good to know a Basebrawl can bring these positive emotions back.

Insert Witty Subject Line Here.

2009-08-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

I've had writer's block. Mix that with lack of motivation, and what do you get? No blog posts.

I think I just have a couple of points to make.

1. Is it just me, or do the Jays actually seem more lifeless now than they were before the Rios trade? There's a sense of an extreme lack of motivation...a "what's the point?" attitude when they're out on the field. That's just a generalization as a whole...there certainly are players out there who are still playing the game. But I really wish the team would get their asses out of their heads and at least show that they're pretending to care.

2. I seriously have a hatred for some Johnny Mac fans. Some are excited when players get hurt so he can finally have the chance to play. Here's an idea: He doesn't play because if this was any other team, he'd be in AAA. He can't hit a beach ball, and truthfully I feel a LOT more comfortable with Jose Bautista at third than Johnny Mac, and at least Jose Bautista can hit a beach ball.

3. Leave V-Dub alone. I know he's pissing me off when he's at the plate, but I refuse to boo him. Why? Booing tends to instigate more lack of production at the plate.

At least there's only one month left until the 6 month hiatus from the Jays.

And Beckett, I do tend to like you, but please do not whack Scootz in the head ever again. kthxbai.

It's Been A Week....

2009-08-19T00:05:00.003-04:00

and I haven't vented since. Why? Out of my many years of being a Jays fan, I've never not cared this much. It breaks my heart watching games on TV and seeing them blow it in the worst way possible. And to vent about it on a blog doesn't help.

Tonight's game just made it worse.

People don't even care enough to boo V-Dub anymore.

I also love the, "If a Jays pitcher gets at least 2 men on base then miraculously the defense provides a triple play to get him out of a mess, you could win a million dollars" contest. Give me a fucking break.

And Casey doesn't have high sock mojo anymore....

And I'm sick of Brandon Effin' League having a career.

Yet tons of people want to get their picture taken with the stupid asshole "umps" who automatically MUST be awesome since they're apparently buddies with Jamie Campbell. Whoopdee shit. That act got stale after the first inning they did it.

And again, that's why I hate Toronto fans.

But welcome back, T-Snide....

At least there's a slim chance that Bronson might become a Brewer soon...that might cheer me up.

I need to kill my liver because of these guys.

sigh Should Have Guessed

2009-08-11T22:34:00.002-04:00

This is why I hate watching the Jays play the Yankees.

Things can look SO good during the game, with a bases clearing double by our clean-up hitter (imagine that!) getting us to tie the game....then Ruiz hitting his first home run as a Jay (you know, it's the second coming, after all)...Jingles' amazing catch....but no. Of course, since we're playing the Yankees, we don't just blow the game, we blow it BADLY.

And why does it always seem to be with back-2-back homers? It happened with Doc's start last week.

Ugh. As much as I'm rooting for Carlson to get over whatever troubles he's having, he's more painful to watch than League at the moment...and that's FAR from good.

Oh well. I guess I should get used to seeing this since the team's going to be financially flexible for who knows how long.

Bitterness totally ruins my blog lol

Goodbye, Lexi

2009-08-11T00:41:00.003-04:00

I didn't have a chance to blog until now. And it's not a big one, only because of sentimental reasons that Lexi was claimed by the White Sox....and he's no longer a Jay.

I have fond memories of having the opportunity to meet Lexi a few times while he was a Jay. He was always smiling, and quite polite.

And despite understanding it's a business and all that lovely bullshit, and that essentially the team got rid of "the player" as a form of a salary dump, it still saddens me.

Good luck in Chicago, Lexi.

(Good win for the Jays, btw. Even though I missed a game due to a meeting)

And I can't find a good Lexi pic to post.

Hopefully I'll go back to having decent blog posts soon :P

Quickie post-B2B Reunion Blog

2009-08-09T20:52:00.003-04:00

Super quickie...not even going to post a picture.

Man, this weekend was absolutely exhausting. From the joke of a Charity BBQ, to Season Ticket Holder signings, to Fan Club Q&A, to more autograph signings, to a decent tribute, to a slightly crappy game, to no sleep, to waking up for more autographs...etc etc etc

I'm tuckered out.

Despite being absolutely exhausted, this weekend was quite fun. I just have a little bit of advice to the Jays and TD Canada Trust. If you're trying to raise money for Children's Aid, and you want to charge $20 a table for autographs, you might want to let people know before they arrive and line up.

The alumni really seemed to be into the whole reunion. At least the ones I met were VERY polite and talkative to everybody they met. Alomar's a different story, and I can only go by what one of my friends experienced.

He showed up 20 minutes late on Saturday at Gate 5, and proceeded to sign 5-6 things for every autograph hound who was in front of the line. Dome Security did nothing. Fans started to push, people opened the barricades just so they could leave because they feared their safety. Fans were also standing out in the sun for a long time to try to meet him. He arrived late, with his wife/fiancee/girlfriend/whatever, who stayed by his side the whole time. They were shaded. They weren't even there for 5 minutes when she took one of the photocards and started fanning poor Robbie because he was so hot. He stayed an extra 10 minutes. Losing out on 10 minutes of autograph time. Great player on the field, but he's always been a complete asshole. Luckily, I couldn't care less and I went to a GOOD line :)

Side note: Bonded with David Cone about Legend of Zelda. Teh Awesome.

And seriously, I think I'm in <3 with Todd Stottlemyre.

In terms of the actual games? Meh, Friday was blah. But at least we squeaked out two wins on the weekend.

Yeah, brain's not functioning. Quite a lame blog post, but I don't care :)

The Jays Weren't All The Yankees Shut Down

2009-08-07T00:38:00.003-04:00

Even though the series was only 2 games, it still physically and emotionally drained me (possibly because I finally had work again. w00t.)

I'm still too drained to even post coherentness and possible insight about the games. But I'm not going to. Except, was it just me or was the second game the better out of the two (though not necessarily the outcome)? And it WASN'T the highly touted "Doc's first start as a continued Jay" game?

On a Brewers note, I know I'm a couple of days late, but seriously, Prince "Teddy Bear" Fielder going absolutely apeshit? Well, I'm just calling him a teddy bear. What do I know? :P

Anyhoo, as I've said...absolutely drained. I need to prepare myself for this weekend. Apparently there's some kind of Jays reunion happening...I think they won Back-2-Back World Series at one point in franchise history. (/end sarcasm) So I'm going to brave the BBQ tomorrow since work doesn't exist again lol then it's time to celebrate the "Remember when the Jays were contenders and the city gave a shit" weekend with a Season Ticket Holder signing followed by a Tom Henke Q&A for Fan Club members followed by a baseball game. Whoo hoo.

Yes. I'm bitter. I'll make myself happy. Sorry about the fangirl moment. But I have to.

Brauny belly. Preow.

Off-Day Randomness: Autographs

2009-08-03T20:34:00.005-04:00

I was inspired by a follower, and somebody whom I follow on Twitter to write this post. And I'm going to try to make it as coherent as possible. I haven't taken a writing class since I was in OAC (formerly known as Grade 13....formerly known as a grade year in general). The Twitterer, or Tweeter in question was asking people to send stories about players who snub fans for autographs, or just general snub stories when it comes to Baseball players. So this post isn't exactly a rebuttal or anything, but just a collection of personal thoughts when it comes to the matter of autographs.

Back when I started to attend Jays games regularly (2003), there were actual designated autograph times before each game during the away team's batting practice. The Jays organization would send out one or two lower tiered players (a la Howie Clark and Bob File) to a section where they would sign and take photographs with fans. In 2004, it changed to just weekends. In 2005, the sessions no longer happened. During this period, I became accustomed to being able to easily get autographs. I was ecstatic! It was when I finally was able to meet Jays players because the last time I had gone to games was during the Glory Years. Yeah. Practically impossible, even though I never tried.

Unfortunately, since 2005 I've noticed a trend. Fans are increasingly expecting that players "have" to sign for them, no matter what. After all, the players apparently owe us all an autograph for supporting the team.

In my opinion, players don't "owe" anything. Their job is to play Baseball. I go to batting practices with this philosophy because the game on the field should be the primary focus of each player. Most players actually DO give autographs, but it's based on many factors. I'm not sure how it is for a lot of other teams, but Jays players tend to sign a lot more on the road than they do at home. The reason? I'm not positive, but I do some thoughts about possible factors as to why.

After travelling to see the Jays play in different cities, and seeing people wanting autographs, the glaring difference is how fans treat the players here in Toronto. Apparently, these fans were never taught the words "please" and "thank you". I've witnessed some players blatantly "snub" fans simply for not being polite in asking for the autograph. Truthfully, why should they? They're taking time out of their pregame rituals (though occasionally for some players, part of the ritual is signing for fans) to sign autographs. They're not there to have merchandise shoved into their faces with exclamations of, for example: "Downs! Sign this!" They also aren't there to see kids and other fans being crushed by people pushing their way through, jumping on the seats to "be sure they get their autographs". Automatically, Toronto fans think that players are snubbing them, and that they're rude based solely on the fact that they aren't accommodating their rudeness. Out of personal experience, I've met many Jays and the nicest ones are the ones I actually spoke with and that I was polite to. I'm always grateful when players take time to sign for people.

Then, when players do acknowledge the fans that are being rude about it, they call them out. What does that make the player? An asshole. Without mentioning the player's name I am reminded of Fan Appreciation Day in I believe 2006 (though I could be wrong). This player regularly signed every weekend, and treated fans like gold (and still does). A man was there with his child, and the player walked past the glove that the man was holding out (while the man was in the process of hitting people in front with said glove from the 2nd or 3rd row). Right away, the man shouted, "Thanks a lot! You suck and I hope you pitch like shit today." The player retorted right back, "You know what? You're a great fan, buddy. Thank you for your support!" Then stopped signing for everybody and started to walk away while looking back at the crowd. Everybody in the crowd turned to look at the man who subsequently ran away since he believed his life was in danger. The player was watching as this unfolded, and as he was walking away.

Which partially leads to another point. Yes, I understand that kids are kids. But I do not understand why adults think that because they have kids, they can use them. I'm all for kids getting autographs, though not necessarily over adults 100% of the time. But that's only because there are adults who use kids. The biggest culprits? HOUNDS.

Hounds are probably the main snubbage factor here in Toronto. Every hound is recognizable by each player. And most players would prefer to sign for nobody than to sign for people who make their living selling their stuff at jacked-up prices. Most of these hounds push kids out of the way to get the 20th copy of an 8x10 glossy signed by a player.

Which gets me to the "old" story about the Alex Rios YouTube video. The video had no context whatsoever. The person who yelled at Lexi, causing him to swear back, is a known hound. Not only by Jays staff and fans, but by the players themselves. This is a hound who attends every game, and who goes to the visiting teams' hotels on a nightly basis to get autographs to sell. He's also known to bribe kids, or younger folk to get his autographs for him because he knows his face is recognizable. Not only that, there ARE younger hounds out there themselves.

There's another hound, whom someone I know witnessed accosting a player for an autograph outside the Dome before a game. The player actually said to the hound, "How many times have I signed for you? Not now, and not anymore. Please leave me alone," in a very polite manner.

I do realize that for every bad hound there's at least one nice hound. I've seen a few. And they don't expect anything, and they're respectful for people around them. If it wasn't for them, I might not have been able to meet some of the players I've met.

I think one thing that fans need to remember is that sometimes, if players cannot sign, it's a lot easier for them to ignore fans than saying "no". I personally know that as a fan, and having somebody saying "no" to be before, it stings a lot more than a player walking past, or a player saying, "I'll come back later," and they don't.

And as a fan who has met many Jays, and a few players from other teams, it breaks my heart when fans badmouth somebody because they've been "snubbed". Some of the players I've met are on the "Asshole Player" list, yet when I've met them, they've been some of the NICEST players I've ever met. I'm not going to mention their names unless asked lol. But I think one of the main differences is that some people who bitch about it don't treat the players with respect.

For me, the autograph truly doesn't mean as much as the experience I have in getting the autograph. Without that experience, it's Sharpie on paper.

As fans, we don't always know what's happening with the players. They could be having a bad day. They could have just signed 200 autographs for kids visiting the Dome through a JaysCare event. They can't sign 24/7.

Don't get me wrong, I know there are players who do snub and who never sign and it's upsetting that they don't...and some I will truly label as "jerks" or "assholes". But just because Baseball players get paid more per year that a lot of the fans do for "playing a game", doesn't mean that they aren't human.

There. I'm off my off-day soap box :) In the meantime, please visit Joel's Blog. It's a good read.

And I hope all my fellow Torontonians had a spectacular Simcoe Day.

Something Like A Phenomenon

2009-08-02T21:26:00.002-04:00

Awesome. I kick ass...using lyrics from a LL Cool J song. So original. Makes me want to cry tears of joy.

I'm going to forget about everything else in this blog post, despite the 7 runs that the Jays brought in. This is all going to be dedicated to RickRom. It's not exactly going to be an awe inspiring post or anything....but I'm mostly just blogging for the sake of blogging.

I actually saw Ricky pitch in Triple-A when the Jays were still affiliated with Syracuse. One day, my sister, Mom and I decided to travel to Buffalo to see the Bisons host the Chiefs (even though we made regular trips to Syracuse). The Chiefs lost....and RickRom was nothing spectacular. I personally was not impressed or blown away.

Arnie wanted to have him start this season with the big club as an experiment. Boy, has this experiment worked. Am I bad for hopping on the ROY bandwagon? I'm not going to bother posting stats because I'm way too...not in the mood to :) But he's been a breath of fresh air this season.

That's one thing I can take about the sudden crash and burn of the Jays this season (not that I was expecting them to continue to kick ass like they did in the first couple of months). Despite having "no pitching", we get to see the youngsters have a go at it.

Now if only I had the money to buy a jersey....seriously debating between RickRom and Cecilicious. But now that the cresting has changed into fugly plastic lettering, I might just wait forever until I can afford an authentic jersey that doesn't look like complete ass.

I have no idea how to end this post.....at least in terms of RickRom.

A shout-out to Corey Hart, who had an appendectomy today in San Diego. Get well soon! At least the Brewers gave you a win today :P

And can I just say how absolutely ecstatic I am to NOT see Burnett pitching against us in the 2-game series vs. Yankees? Not in the mood to hear "AJ SUCKS" chants over hearing people booing V-Dub.

The end. I think. Maybe I can find something else to ramble about.

Hooray For No More 10pm Starts!

2009-08-02T12:40:00.004-04:00

Well, except the doubleheader in Arlington on Sept. 1. But that's different. I just can't wait to get my sleeping pattern back to normal.

The Jays won (but almost didn't) on Rickey Henderson Day. Ah...even though he only spent half a season with us, it still reminds us of back when we were kicking ass. Downs almost blew the game, yet again, but reinjured himself in the process. JayFray came in, made things quite a bit nerve wracking, but ended the game with a NASTY pitch to Sweeney and got him striking out looking. So, holy shit, we had a 1-run win!

Cecilicious seemed a bit off, giving up 4 runs....but then he settled down quickly.

I didn't get to watch the whole game since I was also watching the Brewers @ Padres game (hooray for friend having MLB Extra Innings). It appeared as though for both games, we missed the action because we were watching the other game. Needless to say, the Jays game seemed to be a lot more enjoyable. Man, the Brewers have nosedived even faster than the Jays did.

The one problem with writing a blog post the day after the game? It tends to be a bit shorter, and a lot more irrelevant :P

Double Crappiness With A Side Of No Internet

2009-08-01T12:47:00.002-04:00

If anything good happened last night, it was the fact that The Cod got to feel up Scott Richmond. Oh, sorry...I mean, tried to settle him down.

I don't think I can make a blog post long enough for everything that sucked about last night. I would have posted about it last night, but my internet farted out. I think it was sick of my venting on Twitter. Richmond, fresh from the DL, was struggling. Badly. Was he rushed back? Was he just a bit rusty? I don't know....and I'm not even going to attempt to speculate.

Got this information from Jordan Bastian's tweet: Jays 1-3 hitters went 8-13, 5R, 5RBI, 3 2B, 1 HR. Batters 4-9? 2-24. PATHETIC. Then again, what can you expect when your cleanup hitter is Kevin Millar? Love the guy's personality....but he can't hit!

3 errors. 3 frickin' errors by the #1 team in the AL for fielding percentage! Truthfully, if we didn't end up losing this game, I would be pissed off. Yet, I'm still pissed off. Go fig :P

I guess it's because evil and mean JP traded Scott Rolen away. It's been released that Rolen asked to be traded because of family reasons, and he wanted to be closer to Indiana. In the end, JP accommodated for him and we got some youth. Again, far from being a JP supporter, but the Rolen trade is not a reason for him to be fired. At least in my humble opinion. I won't rant about Jays fans...I promise. Especially since I'll probably offend and upset some of my good friends.

Is it bad that I now prefer to hear Rance Mulliniks' voice over Jamie Campbell? I'm actually not cringing when I hear Rance talk anymore. But when Archie starts to talk, I want to throw something at my TV.

Then to add to it, the Brewers had an awesome 7-run second inning last night vs. the Padres. THEY BLEW IT. And they're in fourth place. Braden Looper's quote: “It’s tough to say that I was a better hitter than a pitcher today. I don’t ever want to say that.” (Taken from Adam McCalvy's tweet)

Ugh. Depressed. Well, at least I get to watch both the Jays and the Brewers games tonight. Hooray for my friend having MLB Extra Innings.

It's already August. *sob*

Now That I've Woken Up And I've Realized WTF GBOAT Means.......

2009-07-31T20:33:00.005-04:00

*sigh* Rolen's been traded to Cincinnati.

Who is Millar now going to mack on, now that his significant other on the Jays is gone?

All kidding aside, it's upsetting when one of the best current Jays gets traded...not going to lie to you.

And it's just pissing me off because I get to hear/read more "FIRE JP" comments. After all, everything's his fault. Again, not a JP supporter by all means. But give it a rest, people.

This one's for you, Scott....and our fond memories of Fossil Fries and Mammoth Burgers. And, your legs and arms....DAYUM. *ahem* Sorry about that.

I'll stop there. Actual blog post coming after the Jays game this evening. Welcome back, Scott-eh? (speaking of Scotts).

Because When It's Not About Doc, It's About 'Roids

2009-07-30T13:07:00.002-04:00

Beware. 'Tis a Roid Rant.

According to a report on ESPN.com, two more names have been revealed from the Supposed Anonymous list of positive PED tests in 2003. Quelle surprise, it's Man-Ram and Papi.

I definitely love the selection of names that are released from this Supposed Anonymous list. As far as I know, again correct me if I'm wrong, players volunteered to participate in these tests on the condition of anonymity. Gotta love Bud Selig.

The thing is, everybody (including the world's worst hecklers) LOVES to hear when big name power hitters are reported to have used PEDs. That way they can use the wonderfully creative "STEROIDS" chant when each player comes up to bat.

But what about the names that AREN'T selected to be made public from the Supposed Anonymous list? There are probably some very reputable and loved names on that list, along with guys who felt they had to use it just so they'd be able to have an extra edge to get out of the minor leagues (Howie Clark, anybody?)

Whatever. Personally, I'm not going to hold anything against ANY of the players whose names are released, at least depending on how they react to the situation, because it a) wasn't against the rules in 2003, and b) they agreed on the basis that their names would not be released if there was a positive result.

Selig has made the MLB a joke. Happy Fucking 75th, Bud. Just retire already.

(stories like this shouldn't come out when I'm already bitter)

When Aussies Attack

2009-07-29T19:11:00.004-04:00

Well, I WANTED to use an action shot of Ryan Long-Hyphenated-Name to suit the title. But nope. None available. And I'm sick of seeing Doc's face, so I'm boycotting the use of a Halladay picture. So let's just stare at Rowland-Smith's evil glasses of doom. No wonder the Jays were shaking in their cleats at the plate.

Yes. I'm bitter. Losing 2-3 to the EFFIN' MARINERS is just as bad as losing 2-3 to the EFFIN' INDIANS. Bloody Hell....you'd think that by watching today's game, we were at US Cellular Field with Buehrle on the mound! I don't want to take anything away from Rowland-Smith's pitching performance, which was really good. But we should have had this game in the bag.

The thing is, everybody just wants to blame one person for this loss, normally from the list of Usual Suspects (minus Fenster and Verbal....and the other guys). V-Dub popping out, yet again? Gotta love seeing Gene Tenace looking like, "What the F*** are we going to do with you?" when V-Dub headed back to the dugout. Welke for botching that call for poor old Doc? Or JP, who will get the blame for absolutely everything that goes wrong with this team right now?

Oh wait, I got it. It's John Gibbons' fault.

All kidding aside, I just want to put the blame on the team as a whole. Yes, there are a lot of distractions going on right now. But seriously, get your asses in gear so that way fans'll actually want to stick around to watch the team through another rebuild, and to prevent this team from going the way of the Expos.

On a side note, Kevin Millar is so bad, that even when he makes a play, it's an out, and he gets charged with an error.

Tomorrow's an off-day, at least on the field. I'm sure the Jays will still find a way to lose something. Maybe their luggage on the way to Oakland.

Cliff is Now a Phil-Lee

2009-07-29T14:38:00.004-04:00

Wow, with a blog post title like that, I could totally write shit for mlb.com

So yeah, Cliff Lee was traded to the Phillies as opposed to Doc. Lee and Francisco were traded from the Indians for Carrasco, Knapp, Donald and Marson. The Phillies appeared to be the front-runners for Doc.

Meaning we'll get to hear even more about Doc in the next couple of days...and who knows what kind of weird-ass rumours'll be going around again.

Oh, and the Pirates have traded Ian Snell and Jumpin' Jack Wilson to the Mariners in a 7-player deal that included Jeff Clement and Ronny Cedeno. Talk about excitement.

Nah. Can't Wait To Vent :(

2009-07-29T02:24:00.012-04:00

This picture was taken in the first inning, after a balk was called against Rzepczynski. Could the photo have been a foreshadow of what was to come? Seriously guys.....pardon the language, but WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?!

The Jays' bats were pretty silent, other than Scott Rolen's for the first half-or-so of the game. But Rzepczynski still had a good outing, and Camp was consistent yet again. Then appeared the new closer, Scott Downs...whom I REALLY don't want to start referring to as "BJ #2" NO idea what the Hell is going on there....but it's not pretty. Will the Downs experiment as closer be finished? Will JayFray get the chance? Will Accardo possibly get his prior temporary job back? Who knows what this team will bring in the next couple of days.

Speaking of with, stupid Sportscrap and their commercials for tomorrow's game. "Watch Roy Halladay as he takes on the Mariners in what could be his final start as a Toronto Blue Jay." Then, advertisements for Connected, stating two words and one form of punctuation: "Halladay Trade?"

I don't know what's worse to constantly hear. Fans bitching about how much the Jays suck, or the fact that Halladay might be traded before the deadline.

And it's good to know that it just didn't seem this way through my television speakers. To post what Jordan Bastian tweeted during tonight's game....

"I will say it again: the Jays fans here in Seattle are much, MUCH louder than the crowds that show up in Toronto."

But I shall no longer vent about fans here in Toronto :)

At least one positive...it does look like Jingles is starting to be a little bit more comfortable at the plate.

And if there's anything I learned during tonight's broadcast? That oftentimes, you must be aggressive at the plate and be sure to not give in to (insert pitcher's name here) especially since the next pitch will be a breaking ball.

See? I shouldn't post blogs when I'm half-asleep and depressed. The Legend, Mr. Dirk Von Hayhurst, was sent down to Vegas today to make room for Scott Richmond, who was removed from the 15-day DL while Brian Tallet has been moved back to the bullpen. It's nice to see Scott back, and hopefully the Legend will return in September.

Oh, and Brewers lost to the Nationals. Again. Boo-urns.

I need a drink. Or sleep. Or both. I just can't be bothered to offer any of my insightful insight tonight.

Speechless....

2009-07-29T02:15:00.002-04:00

Quite depressed from the results of the Jays @ Mariners game, and the Brewers game....also exhausted. Shouldn't have stayed up watching Hell's Kitchen.

Actual coherent blog post coming later.

Mariners Get RickRom'ed

2009-07-28T01:57:00.006-04:00

RickRom had a decent start tonight. Not a quality start, but he kept the Jays in the game. That's pretty much all you can ask from him at this rate. Then again, the Jays bazillion hits, and the two-out rally in the 6th (Holy WTF, Batman), Lylo and The Cod HRs, Scootz tying his career high for hits in a game (4), Jingles not killing the rally in the 6th (hey, I <3 him, but he's been struggling at the plate away from Vegas this season)....all in all a good night.

Here's one thing I don't get. Here in Toronto, there are fans who easily have access to see the Jays and cheer them on. As my previous entries have stated, it's totally not the case. But in Seattle, the cheers were louder than here at home for the Jays (or so it seemed) by people who follow the team just like the fans in Toronto do, who know the struggles the Jays are going through, and who probably have the same beefs as the fans in Toronto do. I didn't hear any boos for Vernon. Which again, leads me to the question, "What's wrong with the so-called fans in Toronto?"

Unfortunately, that's too philosophical of a question to be asked at 2am.

THE LEGEND STILL EXISTS! He made his first appearance tonight in Seattle since the Jays were in Tampa on July 8th. 19 days. And he didn't give up a run. One of the best, recent outings by somebody in our bullpen :P He didn't aid and abet blowing a 7-run lead. But I digress.

So...The Cod gets pied. How did I find out? By finding this picture online. What did Sportsnet do the second The Legend and The Cod shake hands after the final out? Archie says, "Thank you for watching," then it goes straight to Connected...where they talk about the highlights of the game we just watched, and most likely rambled on about Doc possibly being traded before the deadline (I don't know...I turned the TV off once that happened. But it's a typical Sportsnet type-thing to happen....such as regurgitating information from Wikipedia, verbatim. Again, I digress). My whole point is, they didn't show the post-game interview with Barajas, or the pieing. But they DID record it since it's readily available on sportscrap.ca.

Here's to hoping Marc (too late to spell his last name) fares well against Washburn tomorrow night, provided Washburn doesn't head to the Brewers right away. Then again, the Brewers effin' lost to the NATIONALS for crying out loud. I shall end my vent there.

Goodnight. Or good morning. However you'd like to look at it.

See? Now THAT'S more like it!

2009-07-26T16:49:00.006-04:00

I love going to a game where there's absolutely no imploding involved. It definitely makes it a lot easier to breathe. Cecilicious only gave up 1 ER, Rolen hit a 3-run dinger...Joe finally got another hit lol....Jays win it 5-1. I was secretly hoping for a repeat from 2 years ago on Dog Day when McGowan was so close to having a No-No (still hate you, Jeff Baker!). But I'll definitely take a win.

But one thing that I realized today....yes, the Jays were pitiful on Saturday in the game that I will refer to as Bullpen Gate and will never mention again...why would "fans" show up just to complain the whole time they're at the game, and boo V-Dub? I would think that money would be better spent towards something you'd WANT to see. Here's the classic moment. V-Dub grounds into a double play. People boo insanely. Lind scored from third!!!!! Anybody who knows the sport and actually cares would know that yes, double plays suck...but at least it brought a run in. Then there were the lovely, sarcastic cheers when Vernon hit a single in the 8th.

But the worst was when Vernon was walking his dog with his wife and children for Dog Day festivities. Fans started yelling down at him, swearing at him, telling him he's worthless, etc. Sometimes I truly feel embarrassed to be a Jays fan.

Jays fans are quick to insult Red Sox fans. But, I'm sorry....David Ortiz was struggling a LOT more than Vernon is right now, and as far as I know, making more money (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Did the Fenway Faithful ream him out every chance they got? Not as far as I could tell....the only thing I saw were standing ovations where the fans were cheering him on to support him in getting out of his slump.

It's depressing. I'm trying not to focus on it because it's truthfully not worth my time thinking about it. But it's still upsetting. I do know that there are people who will support this team as a whole through thick and thin, and I'm hoping that our positivity will overshadow the negativity of the Hockey hooliganism mentality.

And now it's time for a West Coast road trip.....hooray for late nights!

IN OTHER NEWS

I realized I haven't even mentioned the Brewers in any of my posts yet. My brain's just been too overloaded to mention them, I guess. But on Saturday while hosting the Braves, both teams wore Negro League uniforms as a tribute. I love the untuck/jumping thing that Brauny, Cameron and Hart do...but man, it looks even more amusing in the old-style uniforms. *sigh* I miss Miller Park

IN OTHER OTHER NEWS

My guilt has been expunged. On Wednesday night, I received Marco Scutaro's 2nd home run ball from Alexthebullpencatcher. SO excited since I <3 Scootz. (this is the third time I'm typing this out since Blogger's acting silly lol). I got home, found out it was the first time in his career that he had a multi-home run game. I started to feel guilty, and people thought I was a freak because of it. Long story short, friend of mine spoke to Sam Cosentino who spoke to Scootz who wanted the ball and was appreciative that I wanted to get it back to him. After today's game, I gave the ball to Sam, and shortly after, he came out with a fresh MLB ball signed on the sweet spot by Scootz. So now I'm guilt-free :) And I have a lovely ball.

Thank you, Sam and Scootz! <3

What the F*** was that?

2009-07-25T23:14:00.004-04:00

Out of my almost 28 years of existence...that was probably one of the worst things I ever witnessed.

I don't know how to put it....the Jays lost the game after leading 8-0 or leading 9-1? Let's say 8-0.

We had 16 hits. 16 for crying out loud! Then what happened? The bullpen.

If the bullpen was going to blow it, at least put Dirk Hayhurst in since I can't stay mad at him for making any mistakes. Instead, he just sits there....day in and day out. I don't want to know what's going on with Downs. League can just disappear anytime soon. And in Shawn Camp's defense, despite his 0-5 record, he's been one of our most consistent pitchers out of the bullpen. At least, in my humble opinion.

It was just the most brutal thing I had ever seen, despite every single GOOD thing that happened. Hilly's chin-pube induced 2-homer game for one. Hell, that's all I can think of at the moment. Well, other than at BP when Cecilicious was 2 feet away from me, running into the dugout...*ahem* Fangirl moment over. (Sorry, gotta focus on ALL the positives lol)

Call me a moron, but how was today's game in particular JP's fault? Apparently he's the one who has to pay for what happened. And by no means am I a JP defender.

To show the gravity of how AWFUL today was....look at what was created on YouTube that I just found today. This is what the world's coming to....Jays losing after being up 8-0, and this.

More Halladay Stuff

2009-07-25T02:03:00.007-04:00

Okay, I was a little more emotional at tonight's game than I ever thought I would be. Maybe the beer added to it. But there's one thing that I can admit as a Jays fan, the Dome was awesome tonight.

Normally, considering where my seats are, the fans can be quite....rowdy. Heckles are heard more than cheers. Sure, there were a few "CRAWWWWWFORRRRRRD" chants going on, and various "boos" for V-Dub. But the energy was positive otherwise. My last experience with Joe Inglett <3 playing in LF was far from pleasant in terms of how the fans misbehaved, but everybody was cheering for him from the beginning of the game until the end....even after he botched the bunt and the catch that allowed 2 runs to score in the 10th, leading to the Jays' demise, and Doc's no-decision after yet another mostly stellar outing.

I was almost positive before heading down to the Dome that the experience would not be enjoyable. Jays fans, including myself, are quite bitter about the mess that JP has started with the media. I was expecting a huge "Poor Doc" fest. But that was far from what it was. To me, it seemed that Jays fans collectively (though possibly subconsciously) were showing the team AND Doc that there is a fan base that can keep this team going, despite the nagging question of, "When the f*** are we going to start contending?" It showed that there is still a passion in the city of Toronto for the Jays to bring the playoffs back to Canada...and that we'd prefer it to happen with Doc leading the way.

To be honest, as awesome as Halladay is, I've never normally been a "huge Doc fan"...probably because he already has a huge outpouring of support. But tonight, I couldn't help it. Nobody could. Heck, my eyes started to water as he left the bullpen after his warmup tosses. And when he headed to the dugout after the top of the 9th, I got a lump in my throat...and massive goosebumps.

And after reading highlights from his post-game stuff, it made me truly realize how heartbroken I will be if/when he's no longer with the Jays, though I will never begrudge him if he wants to leave.

There. Enough sappy overemotional beer/exhaustion induced nattering :)

Holy Crap, I finally did it.

2009-07-24T15:05:00.006-04:00

After spending over an hour trying to make my blog look purdy (seriously holding back on saying "as purdy as (insert player's name here)", I'm giving up to make my first post. Especially since I have to head down to the Dome (which it will ALWAYS be named...take that Rogers! *shakes fist*) for what could be Doc's final start as a Jay.

I'd probably have a huge post venting about what's going on. But I need to make sure that I'm not completely and emotionally drained before tonight's game, especially since this game could mark the end of an era.

Not to mention, I have to make sure I don't pass out due to Alex Gonzalez being the Flashback Friday guest. I won't be heading to meet him (since I don't have anything for him to sign), but he was definitely the first player who made me have stereotypical female reactions to the sport.

And Joe Inglett's back tonight. More stereotypical female reactions....and it marks the return of some more High Sock Mojo.