tangled up in powder blue

early woe

2011-04-12T20:18:00.000-04:00

Of the baseball-road-trips-I've-wanted-to-take-but-haven't, the West Coast trip is at the top of my list.

When I finally win the lottery and am able to take such a trip, I likely won't go and see the Jays. I don't think my heart could handle it.

I won't bring up Saturday's mess, save for this: 8 scoreless innings by the bullpen.

The bullpen which quickly became The Worst In Baseball™ during last night's mess.

Lots of messes on the West Coast, apparently.

I didn't see last night's game. I listened to the rest of the weekend's games on the radio. I'm not going to comment on how poorly any aspect of our team has looked so far this road trip... but I know that the W/L column doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, either.

I'm looking forward to the next homestand, even if it means having to sit through two Yankees games. Our team is going to look a little bit different by the time our boys roll back into town.

I have this thing. And it kinda ties into this weekend - and heartbreaking losses - and kinda ties into a roster move we saw today - David Purcey being designated for assignment.

To me, baseball is a distraction. Life can get stupid from time to time, and baseball is one thing that I can turn to if I need a smile, or if I need something to keep me and my brain occupied.
And while crazy losses like Saturday's, or frustrating losses like Sunday's and last night's, are painful to have to deal with, it's baseball. For me, it's still a perfect distraction, and still brings a smile to my face (OK, maybe not all the time) regardless of the outcome of the games.
It's also April 12th, and we're a team that wasn't supposed to contend this year.

I support this team through thick and thin, and while yes, it is early, and we are going through a bit of a thin patch, I remember Opening Week. It wasn't that long ago. And have things really changed that much since then? If your biggest concern in life is how poorly the Jays are doing, would you like to trade for a few days? It's as if we're so used to being let down that we pre-emptively become SO incredibly negative as a fan base so as not to get hurt down the road.

I support this team through thick and thin, and I try my best to support the individual players on this team through thick and thin. EE was the first one this season to earn my support - during spring training, even. Juan Rivera hasn't quite gotten that far yet, but I have no reason to completely shoot him down yet, especially when he's still part of my team - I HAVE to cheer for him, and will do so until he's not a part of my team anymore.

This is why I also tend to openly support some guys that don't get a second glance from most fans.

I've supported David Purcey for a while now, too. Granted, part of that was a fangirly support that I can't really deny - if you follow me on Twitter, you know all about it.
Seeing him struggle to find the strike zone - even more than usual - this season was painful. Hoping he'd get his Purcey Pitch™ (i.e. a pitch that would completely sail over the catcher) out of the way during warmups in the bullpen, instead of during the games, became routine behind the 'pen. Knowing that part of the reason he made the team in the first place was his lack of options was even worse.
I wore my Purcey jersey to every home game. My support was there, regardless of how he was doing on the field.
And while I support him, I also support my team.
On a personal level, I'm sad to see him go.
But as a Jays fan, it's time. Pitchers have to throw strikes, and he just wasn't doing his job.
I'll miss the big guy, and I can't help but wish him luck wherever he ends up, but I'm a Jays fan.
That said, I'm hoping that - if he does end up somewhere else, which is sounding likely - he comes back to Toronto at some point soon. I'd kinda like to get my jersey signed, and to say goodbye. :)

one more sleep.

2011-03-31T23:08:00.000-04:00

We dread the closing weeks. The air gets chillier, the sun is lower in the sky, and the hope for October baseball is all but gone.

And then before we know it, it's over, leaving us to watch teams not our own battle to the end.

The winter is long, cold, and slow.

Spring seems to come later and later every year. But when the first glimpses of our boys start showing up in February, we can already feel the impending thaw.

The games in Florida tide us over. March isn't so bad, save for the anticipation it creates - is it April yet?

And then, before we know it, the first game is selling out, and the excitement has grown to incredible heights. Random people wearing caps, jackets and jerseys start popping up in unexpected places, and you can feel it - it's close.

We've got just one more sleep, folks. It's here.

Get down to the dome early - gates open at 5. As always, there will be some presentations going on pre-game - we've got a pretty historic year coming up for this team, what with Pat Gillick and Robbie Alomar getting into the Hall. Jo-Bau will be recognized, and if I have to tell you he deserves a standing ovation, you aren't a fan.

Prepare yourself for long lineups at the beer stands. If you're going to pre-drink, be reasonable (like I am).

And, most importantly: behave. Don't ruin the night for everyone else. If you want to throw things on the field, or heckle other fans, or get into fights, don't come to opening night - just stay away from the dome completely.

This year, I want my Opening Night review to be a good one - I'm talking to everyone, here... fellow fans, non-fans, dome staff, our Toronto Blue Jays - EVERYONE.

It's here, folks. And it's going to be awesome. I hope to see you there.

Legend.

2011-03-25T23:59:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night, I heard the word "legend" tossed around more times than I could count.

And that's OK, because when you're talking about Cal Ripken Jr, that's going to be the first word that comes to mind.

I'm a Jays fan - obviously. But when I was a kid, at least 75% of the games we went to were against the Orioles. And, I loved Cal Ripken Jr.
Back then, my family didn't do the whole get-autographs-before-the-game thing, so the idea of meeting someone like him never even crossed my mind.

Needless to say, when I heard he was doing a signing, I flailed around for about 3 minutes, then got online to tell everyone about it, then flailed around for another 8 minutes - and then flailed off and on every day until the signing.

Indigo at Yorkdale hosted the Hall of Famer that night, where he signed his new book - Hothead - for fans. There was plenty of black and orange in the crowd - with myself sporting a grey Ripken t-shirt jersey. I was ready.

The book itself is for children, and I promised myself I'd read it while in line. I arrived there about 2 hours before the event was scheduled to start, and... read the back cover, and the inside flaps. And then bounced up and down like a little kid for the remaining 115 minutes.

I was just a tad excited.

I would be lying if I said I didn't get a little emotional when he walked into the room. He sat with Heather Reisman for a little Q&A session before the autographs started, and... I'll be honest. I paid attention, but didn't take notes because I was too excited to even think straight. Most of the questions were what you'd expect - favourite/least favourite pitcher to face, the streak, what do you think about performance enhancing drugs - and none of his responses were particularly surprising. The black cloud covering baseball will be gone soon, and kids need to be taught that PEDs are bad, Goose Gossage was tough to face, etc, etc.

The signing itself was well-organized, and was quite different than other signings I'd ever been to - Cal is not a fan of those Lean Over The Table And Look Like a Fool kinda photos that fans get at most autograph sessions. So, he will sign for a group of people - one on one, so you'll have a chance to speak with him - and then do posed pictures in a separate area of the room with that group of people... and then a new group will get their stuff signed, they'll get their pictures, and the cycle continues.

When I meet someone I've adored for a long, long time, I am the kind of person that will either babble on like a complete lunatic, or clam up.

In this case, I mostly clammed up. I shook his hand (his very large and awesome hand), said "hi", and then watched him silently as he signed my book... but then felt compelled to tell him that I'd been trying to think of something to say the entire time we were in line, but was at a complete loss for words. Hi, I'm an idiot.

I was the last person in the group, and as I turned to make my way to the picture area, he spoke to me. OMG PANIC. Referring to my t-shirt, he asked me with a skeptical look on his face if I was REALLY a Baltimore fan. And, being the good honest girl I am, I flat-out told him "no". But, I qualified it, and let him know my story - I'd seen him play many, many times, and he was my favourite baseball player for a very long time.

He was gracious, and thanked me, and even though I was shaking like a, um, really shaky person, he made me feel like less of an idiot - which is pretty difficult to do. Legend, indeed.

I am a very happy fan, and am so grateful to have had the opportunity - however brief - to meet him.

And yes. His eyes are still crazy awesome. I tried not to look at them for fear of not being able to look away.

We're getting closer. 7 more sleeps.

And I've been incredibly lazy when it comes to updating this thing.

Lazy, but also pretty busy. I owe you a post about my trip to Spring Training, and at this rate, I might get to it by the All-Star Break. Bear with me.

Or, look at this video. They're coming home, and it will be amazing.

No longer drunk

2011-01-28T21:20:00.000-05:00

Oh right. This blog thing.

And so, there was the State of the Franchise.

And... I didn't take notes, as I did last year. And the pictures I took were actually better on my crappy cell phone last year. BOO.

I had my notebook with me, but there was beer. And I was seeing people I hadn't seen for a while, and... yeah. Excuses, excuses. For what it's worth, I tweeted what I could, until I couldn't use my fingers anymore. (@powder_blue)

Any report I write is likely going to contain a whole bunch of stuff you can find anywhere else, so you might want to go ahead and find other stories about it right now, because honestly, I just can't be arsed to get into the details. I will, however, do a bit of schmaltzy rambling. Be warned.

Yes, AA is amazing, and the Beest (in addition to being a bit of a flirt - oh boy) really knows how to sell this team. As always, there was a lot of really great talk about what this team is (or isn't) doing, with a lot of smoke and mirrors and PR and happy talk... and, as always, I feel optimistic - which I do regardless of the outlook. John Farrell looks like an older Troy Glaus, and really impressed me, though I'm not sure I can even explain why (beer). Robbie Alomar was there, and as many of us whined about not being one of the lucky 10 raffle winners to get an autographed ball, he turned around and told everyone that EVERY person there would get a ball (causing a bit of a panic for the stadium staff), which gave him many bonus points in my book. When I got my ball, I said "......thank you", and it was only slightly embarrassing - no congratulations, just a quick thank you, and... not even a handshake. (I am an idiot). See you at Induction weekend, Robbie.

We are 4 weeks away from spring training games.

When all of the above is said and done...
I came to a bit of an obvious realization last night. While baseball is such a large part of my life, and has been for a while, there is a whole side to it that doesn't really get talked about - but it's a lot like Fever Pitch (the Red Sox version, if only because it's baseball), when Jimmy Fallon's character hangs with his season ticket regulars at Fenway. It's the concept of the Summer Family.

It's been like this for me for a while, in that I have a circle of friends that I really only see from April to October. That said, likely because of Twitter and other websites, my circle of baseball friends has expanded in an amazing way, and I've realized this: baseball has become a very, very social thing for me, and not just from April to October, but year-round, and not only locally.

I love the sport, and can sit and watch anyone play at any time. But having people with whom I can sit back and crack a beer (or 6), discussing anything from what we think would make our team better, to which of the bullpen guys has the best tattoos, or what our favourite wing flavour is, well... that's such an important part of it to me, and I didn't even realise it until last night.

At the event, I met a lot of people I've known as nothing more than a bunch of pixels on a screen. I also hung out with people I've known for years, and yet I felt just as comfortable with the new acquaintances as I did with old friends - we seemed so comfortable together, it's as if we'd all met before.

I'm not sure if it's got something to do with living in a city like Toronto, where baseball fans - I thought - were hard to find, but I finally feel as though there are people (my age) out there who actually share this really important interest with me, and it's amazing. I give credit to Twitter, as most of the people I spoke with last night were Twitter people - over the last couple of years, I've met a LOT of wonderful folks because of that site. As silly as it sounds, I'm incredibly grateful for it. Don't judge.

As it turns out, I guess I was just looking for baseball fans in all the wrong places.

So, we are 4 weeks away from spring training games. And 4 weeks from this very minute, I will be in a Clearwater hotel room, likely tweeting with other fans about how excited we all are.

yawn

2010-10-09T13:00:00.000-04:00

I’ve hit that time of year when withdrawal starts to creep in. It’s not full-blown yet, because there’s still baseball... I just miss the social aspects of getting to a game, which is not happening anymore this year. Woe. I’m so desperate for the feeling of being in a cheering crowd that I’m even considering getting into hockey. WTF, self??

It’s not as though I don’t like playoff baseball – it’s baseball, and generally, I love it. That said, however, I do hate that the Jays are out of it again, and this year, my general fall-back team - Los Dodgers – is nowhere to be seen.

Trying to pick a team to cheer for isn’t proving quite as easy this year.

When it comes to the AL, I could cheer for the Twins – and I have been, if not openly – which is a pointless exercise considering their opponent. I will never, ever cheer for the Yankees. Ever. And, I usually cheer for the Twins anyway, only to be disappointed after the first round.

I could cheer for the Rays, but I won’t – there’s something off about cheering for a division rival (ignore the fact that I’ve cheered for the Sox in the past).

And, that leaves the Rangers. I like the Rangers a lot, but... I feel silly starting to cheer for a team that, as of right now, is up 2-0 in a best-of-5. It could all be over tonight.

And then, there’s the NL. It sucks to have no team for which I feel any particular alliance.

I used to like the Phillies. I still kinda like the Phillies. But this year, they’re just rubbing me the wrong way, and I hate the idea of having another Phillies/Yankees series.

Part of the issue is the whole Doc thing. I’m not going to vent any more in here, because I’ve vented enough to anyone willing to listen.

To sum up: I’m happy for him, I’m glad he made history, and it’d be nice for him to get a ring, but I’m NOT going to root for the Phillies simply because he’s with them. I’m tired of the media surrounding his Exile from Hell (i.e. his ability to get away from our dreadful franchise). I’m not one of the fans who is convinced that he’ll come back here once he gets his ring – and, frankly, I’m not sure I even want him back. Yes, I am a terrible, terrible Jays fan, and I most definitely am not a baseball fan. So be it.

Let him get his ring. Not because he deserves it more than anyone else out there - that implies that there are more people out there that don't deserve it compared to one guy who does, which I don't like. Let him get it because he’s the best pitcher around. But, also let him get it so that we don’t have to listen to how he’s never been given the chance before. It’s tiresome.

When it comes to parades, I’d rather have a one here in Toronto for Joey Votto – it makes more sense than having any kind of municipal celebration for Doc, in my opinion. Of course, after whatever that was last night - I don't really want to call it a "game", because games are supposed to be fun - that’s probably not going to happen...

So, I found myself openly rooting for the Reds this past week, and NOT simply because Joey Votto is Canadian – I was rooting for the Reds because they were not the Phillies, which I admit is mostly ridiculous.

Of course, in a way I AM rooting for Joey Votto. Dude has been through a lot, and I can relate to almost every bit of it. Yes, he’s Canadian, and it’d be great to have a good Canadian get a ring. He’s also overcome a whole lot of crap to get to where he is today, and that impresses me more than his nationality.

I’m not a Braves fan, and by default, I’m not allowed to like the Giants very much. That didn’t stop me from rooting for Lincecum the other night – dude can pitch. And, dare I say it, his performance was a lot more entertaining to watch than Doc’s. I’m not sure if it was because I’m so used to seeing Doc pitch like that, or if it was the exhaustion from the hype, but Lincecum was far more impressive to me. The fact that I’ve never really seen Lincecum in action might have had something to do with it as well.

As for the World Series itself...

I’ll put up with seeing the Phillies there if the Rangers get in instead of the Yankees. But, if the Yankees get in, I’ll need to see the Braves or the Giants. We’ll see if the umpires agree - yet again, they seem to be pushing the games in interesting directions, whether purposefully or not.

Yawn. Is it March yet?

how to alienate a fanbase, part 2

2010-08-15T15:48:00.002-04:00

It has been a pretty exciting few weeks to be a Jays fan, to say the very least. A glimpse into the future for fans, spurring on some hope, ticket sales, and TV ratings...

...JPA comes up to the big club, and ignites the team and the fans to a huuuuge win against Tampa on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

...Brandon Morrow throws an incredible gem of a game the next day, with 17 strikeouts, coming 1 out away from a no hitter.

...And then there was a come-from-behind walk-off win against Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox on a Thursday matinee game...

... not to mention the investment into Ricky Romero announced yesterday afternoon - a 5 year, $30.1M extension.

With all of the sunshine and lollipops surrounding this team of late, it's nothing but a shame that Rogers - with impeccably bad timing - launched their newest Sportsnet incarnation on Saturday August 14th.

I live in Toronto, and I do not have access to this new channel - not because of any restrictions, but because of the fact that I simply don't have the money to buy it. I'd rather spend the money on tickets, and listen to the radio when the team is out of town.

And so, I'm mildly annoyed, but nowhere near as upset as those in other regions of the country who don't even have access to Rogers, and might have to wait until the baseball season is over before being allowed access through their respective cable providers.

The upcoming Oakland series is going to be shown nowhere but on Sportsnet One - a series played on the west coast, which would have allowed any fans or potential new fans in Western Canada to catch a glimpse of the Jays in action in their own prime time. Alas, they don't have access to this new channel, and will be SOL. What a wasted opportunity, Rogers!

I understand that this plan has obviously been in place for months, and it's just bad timing in that the Jays have stirred up a lot of buzz in recent weeks. Unfortunately, this was obviously timed in such a way as to not get in the way of hockey, and that saddens me.

I seem to be saying this a lot this season, but... way to alienate a fanbase!

insert random To-Morrow pun here

2010-08-09T15:55:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning, still on a complete and utter high from the weekend that was.

On Saturday night, there was much lamenting about how nothing - NOTHING - could ever live up to J.P. Arencibia's debut.

Huh. I guess we were wrong.

Random thoughts:
...Brandon EFFING Morrow. My word. Clearly, The Best Brandon™.
...You want to tell me that Vernon isn't a gamer? Don't bother, because I won't listen to you.
...I have never been so concerned about a pitcher's pitch count in my life.
...I had to go to the washroom starting sometime in the the 7th inning. I waited, because any shift in the stands could totally mess up the mojo. That's how mojo works.
...I'm pretty sure I've developed an ulcer.
...Watching the bullpen during a game like this is highly entertaining, and dare I say it, it totally endears you to the team - to see every single guy down there pacing, biting their nails, trying not to watch but not able to look away... they were just as nervous as we were.
...No no-no? WHO CARES. And who thought that would ever be a possible response to losing a no hitter with 2 outs in the 9th inning. I have never seen such a pitching performance*.
...There may or may not have been some tears shed at the end of it all. Mock if you choose - I would have likely ended up bawling regardless of the outcome.
...I love this team.

*Yesterday's game was my 3rd no-no-into-the-9th witnessed first hand. I was there for Dustin McGowan's performance against the Rockies in 2007 (damn you, Jeff Baker), and was also there for Dave Stieb's almost-perfecto in 1989 against the Yanks (Roberto effing Kelly). Someday, I'll see the real thing.

I really don't want to dissect what this weekend could mean to the Jays, attendance-wise. My hope is that word gets out that this is an exciting group to watch.

But the cynical-about-Toronto-sports-fans side of me can't help but assume that this weekend won't make a lick of difference - we're not making the playoffs, so who cares? Hockey hockey, hockey hockey.

The atmosphere in the dome this weekend was so completely different from anything I've felt in recent years - Opening Nights don't count because more than half of the crowd is drunken frat-boys, which is nothing like being in a stadium filled with people who get and feel what's happening on the field.
The fans in the dome got to their feet at the top of the 9th, and didn't sit down again - not even after that ball squeaked by A-Ron. IMHO, that says something. I definitely don't give enough credit to the fans at the dome (except for the ones who booed when Jose Molina came to bat for the first time. Those people are shameful.)

The Sox roll into town for the next 3 games. Let's see if we end up with more Jays fans than Sox fans... sadly, I don't feel confident enough in this city to hold my breath. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. Thursday is a matinee - what better way to spend a Thursday than by skipping work to watch some baseball?

I love this team.

In other not-completely-baseball news:

I'm not quite sure what I've gotten myself into, but it's apparently called The Jayting Game. Bring it on.

I've seen the future.

2010-08-07T21:51:00.001-04:00

Oh, to be Elsa.

Elsa was the young lady paired up with Catcher of the Present™ J.P. Arencibia during Jr. Jays Saturday at the dome today.

I hope Elsa's parents take that ball and lock it away somewhere, and I hope when she's older, she's able to appreciate what she saw at the ballpark today.

Yes, he's beautiful. And yes, there was so much hype that there was NO WAY he could live up to it in his first game... right?

And yes, this could be it. He could have been so amped up about this much-anticipated and much-touted debut, that nothing will ever come close to matching it.

But today gave us all a glimpse of what the future could hold for this team.

And in a season like this one, with its fantastic start, and its frustrating middle, Jays fans need that glimmer of hope of things to come - not only in the final weeks of this season, but into the next few seasons.

The atmosphere at the dome today was like nothing I've experienced in recent years. With that first swing, my heart leapt up into my throat, and the building erupted.

I've seen the future, and I dig it. Bring it on.

I love John Buck

2010-07-04T14:18:00.001-04:00

Anyone who follows me on Twitter (@powder_blue, for those who might have happened upon this blog in a different manner) during the course of a Jays game will have a pretty good idea of the players on this current Jays roster that I, well, love. (see: Lyle Overbay, David Purcey, John Buck, Kevin Gregg - shut up.)

As a female member of the species, I can say that I do, well, love a lot of the guys on this team for various reasons - up to and including their baseball skills. I'm not gonna lie about it. I'm a chick, and while I do appreciate the talents and skills it takes to be a ballplayer, I also don't mind having to ogle these guys in the process of watching them play. I love the game, and I love its players. Best of both worlds. There we go.

When I heard that John Buck had made the 2010 All-Star Roster - albeit as a replacement for the injured Victor Martinez, who was voted in on the player ballots - I may or may not have jumped up and down.

Jo-Bau has been getting a lot of talk for his homeruns. It'll be fun to see if he makes the Home Run Derby, and he'll be fun to watch if he does.

Vernon looks like Vernon again, and certainly deserved a vote or two.

Alex Gonzalez should have made it, and part of me hates that we're all going to say, "well, we shouldn't complain because we have 3 representatives heading to Anaheim..."
Dammit, we should complain, because A-Gon deserves to be there, too.

But we haven't really heard much about John Buck. He's been having a pretty respectable season, and maybe we should have been talking about him a bit more. And yes, I can admit that he was doing his thing so quietly that I barely even noticed myself - I was focused more on his other assets than his baseball talents, is all. /fangirl

This team has been having a really rough couple of weeks, and it's been hard to stay away from the frustrating doom-and-gloom sentiments coming from Jays fans for a team that wasn't supposed to do as well as it had been doing. I rarely post when things are going badly, because what else could I really contribute? It sucks, and I hate it, and we all hate it. Life goes on.

That said, every once in a while, it's nice to focus on the few positives surrounding this team. I was preparing myself to be happy for Jo-Bau as our lone representative at the ASG (which I was sure was coming), and to be happy for whichever pitcher ended up representing us (um, yeah, oops), and yet here we are, with 3 guys we can cheer for next week. I'll take it.

of baseball, meat, and brotherly love

2010-06-28T22:15:00.002-04:00

This was not my first trip to Philadelphia for baseball – I had previously headed down in 2007 to see the Jays play (as the visiting team). While I wouldn’t call myself a seasoned baseball road-tripper, in my travels I’ve discovered that it’s a lot easier to appreciate a stadium after visiting it for a second time – Comerica Park and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, until this weekend, were the only Major League parks outside of the dome that I’d visited more than once. I’m usually too in awe of my surroundings to completely take in what’s going on around me the first time I’m there, so I relish the chance to see a park for a second time.

There was baseball.

So, this guy named Holliday pitched on Friday, and wow, he was good! Who knew? (yeah.)
If I hadn’t been able to see Doc pitch against us this weekend, I wouldn’t have cared. I saw him in spring training, and I have moved on. He’s gone, and that’s really all there is to it. Any loyalty I might have felt towards him is currently non-existent, and I think it would have been amazing to see our team smack him around for a few innings – I am a Blue Jays fan, and will cheer for my team. Alas... we’re talking about Doc, so there was no smacking around (at least, not by the Jays). I DID buy myself a Halladay jersey t-shirt, but I have this sort-of tradition of buying myself a jersey t-shirt of a tolerable player for the team whose park I’m visiting. (Last time, I picked Utley. I won’t talk about the shirt I bought at Yankee Stadium.)

I don’t really want to talk about the rest of the weekend, baseball-wise. Saturday was the kind of game we’ve all come to enjoy this season, and Sunday was just embarrassing. I will sum up my thoughts thusly: I love John Buck, David Purcey, Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, and Shaun Marcum, and I hate crappy defense more than I hate crappy pitching, but I still wanted to throw things at our other two starters this weekend.

Home away from Dome?

I was hoping that they would have really played up the whole Blue Jays As The Home Team deal (regardless of the details surrounding stats and attendance), and while they did mention it a few times, it never really felt as though we were at home – which obviously makes sense, considering we weren't actually at home. Something like that would have only pleased the Jays fans who made the trip, and Jays fans were obviously far outnumbered by Phillies fans.

...The Jays wore their home whites, while the Phillies were in their road greys.
...We took first batting practice, as the home team, but didn’t get to use the home clubhouse.
...They showed one Jays-produced video per game, early in the game, and filled the extra between-innings time with the usual Phillies videos.
...The public address system played the at-bat/warm-up music for both teams.
...‘O Canada’ was the first anthem to be performed, as it would have been if we were the visitors, which bothered me a little... (and, an aside and note to all anthem singers around the world, including Canada: ‘O Canada’ is not a dirge. Please don’t perform it as if it is, thanks.)
...And then there were the Dancing Mounties performing alongside the Phanatic to ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’. I didn’t take a picture. The first night, I was offended (and had been drinking, so I was also angry), but I felt a bit better about it when I realised that any mocking was likely being done without malice. It didn’t really strike me as offensive until Sunday, when, traditionally, the ballparks in the US will have someone perform ‘God Bless America’ during the 7th inning stretch. The problem? Immediately after ‘God Bless America’, they had the Mounties do their thing and also dance to ‘YMCA’. It was just a little bit unsettling, is all. We do not sing ‘God Bless America’ during ball games in Canada, and I don’t begrudge its singing in the traditional manner at any US park, even when the transplanted home team is Canadian, but it made the whole Mounties schtick seem a little more ridiculous and a little less friendly-mocking.
...When it comes to the 7th inning stretch, I have just one issue about the entire series: where was “OK Blue Jays”?

The Phanatic is beloved, and is the best mascot in professional sports, period. I love the Phanatic, and have loved the Phanatic for years. I have no issue with the Phanatic being present and doing his thing at every game this series. But could they not have had a little bit of fun in bringing Ace down to Philly? (Granted, he’s somewhat annoying and embarrassing in comparison to the Phanatic, but... HOME TEAM. Come on, guys!)

My biggest issue was how they handled the famous bell. They rang it when the Phillies hit a homerun, and rang it when they won a game. I realise that they might not have wanted to offend the “hometown” crowd – as in, Phillies fans, who technically weren’t the hometown crowd this weekend – by not doing their usual traditions in support of their team. The Phillies fanbase is one they wouldn’t particularly want to piss off, and really, we’re just polite Canadians anyway. I wouldn't have wanted them to ring the bell for anything the Jays did, either, for what it's worth.

Despite the little nitpicky things that got to me, though, overall the atmosphere was great. I ran into a few Phillies fans who agreed with me on the home vs visitor issues, but no matter how much I complain about it, you cannot recreate the dome atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park – and really, why would you want to? Fill CBP with less than 15 thousand people, and it would probably suck, too.

Eats.

Citizens Bank Park has THE BEST FOOD I’ve ever eaten at a ballpark, hands down. I’ve seen 6 games there, and still have yet to try everything I need to try. SO GOOD.

Something that stood out in the recommendations I got from various sources was something called a Schmitter. I didn’t even realise such a beast existed, as their stand is in a part of the stadium that isn’t easy to spot. To sum up: OMFG. I’ve already planned what my first meal will be when I make my next trip down there, and this would be it. I was going to take a picture of it, but I made the mistake of taking a bite first. I was in such a blissful state that I forgot what a camera was, and simply proceeded to devour the best thing I’d ever put in my mouth. Salami, cheese, onions, tomatoes, steak, special sauce, all on a Kaiser. My god.

You cannot go to Philadelphia without trying authentic cheesesteak. When I was there in ’07, Rick’s Steaks were featured at the park. I didn’t eat one there, but opted for trying one at their Reading Terminal Market instead. They are no longer featured at CBP, and their market location has closed, but please – go out of your way to have one at their new location near City Hall. So, so tasty – I recommend a whiz wit. There are various stands at which you can order cheesesteak sandwiches at CBP if you don't feel like venturing too far into the city to get one.

At the ballpark, they also have a Chickie’s and Pete’s stand, where you can get their famous Crabfries – crinkle cut fries seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, and accompanied by a glorious cheese sauce – there is no crab meat anywhere near them, otherwise I wouldn’t have tried them. We didn’t get these at the stadium, but actually got them from the restaurant chain itself. We took The Taxi Crab™ - a handy little shuttle that picks you up outside the stadium and brings you to the Chickie’s and Pete’s bar/restaurant location a few blocks away from the sports complex. I highly recommend a visit to Chickie’s and Pete’s. Also of note at the actual restaurant: the Tower of Beer, and the sweeeeet video gaming area of the restaurant. There’s nothing like playing Rock Band at a bar.

Visit McFadden’s at the stadium, but be wary – the bar can get really, really crowded, and while they do seem to restrict the crowd, it was nearly impossible to move around in there on Saturday. We tried their cheesesteak nachos, and were unimpressed, but if you want to drink and watch a game, it’s a good place to hang out.

CBP.

I'm not sure if this is even possible, but this place feels bigger than the dome.
I was going to comment about how crazy-busy the concourse is, and how difficult it can be to get from point A to point B, despite the fact that the concourse is so huge, but I realised that I'm used to much smaller crowds, and it probably isn't a design flaw. ;)
An opinion shared by many of us, including some locals, is the sporadic placement of the various scoreboards giving out the various bits of information about, say, the pitches being thrown (e.g. radar readings, pitch counts) - they're scattered around the building, on various facings, and they were quite hard to read from time to time. I wear glasses, and have generally good eyesight when wearing them, and I still had trouble reading some of the boards. That said, I've heard the same complaint from visitors to the dome.
While my companions and I stayed near the stadium all weekend, we ventured into downtown Philly via the SEPTA train system. Just a couple of blocks away from the giant sports complex in which CBP can be found - the old Spectrum, the new Wachovia Center, and Lincoln Financial Field where the Eagles play are also there, all within a small radius - is the Broad Street Line, which brings you directly into downtown.
There is tons of parking down by the stadium as well, and it's reasonably priced compared to the official Rogers Centre parking, and comparable to other lots in downtown Toronto. We didn't take part this time around, but they actually have lots that allow tailgating, which is an amazing part of sports culture that we just don't get here in Toronto. Next time.

All in all, given the images I was seeing online and on CNN while in Philadelphia, moving this series was the only option, and anyone still complaining about it deserves a smack. On both Saturday and Sunday, the most publicized confrontations were happening right around the time that the games would have been ending.

While I will always hate the fact that my team gets 3 less home games than any of its closest rivals, I will never hate the fact that I had to take a road trip to one of my favourite baseball destinations in order to actually catch the 3 games.

Thanks, Philly. You were awesome.

road trip!!!!!1

2010-06-24T00:05:00.000-04:00

It's almost time to hit the road.

In less than 24 hours, I - and my trusty companions - will be en route to the City of Brotherly Lurve for a weekend of baseball, humidity, thunderstorms, cheesesteaks, Phanatics, Chase Utley, and Roy Halladay. And, like, the Jays.

There will be a full report in the days after I get back, and the one thing I think I'm looking forward to the most is seeing how much of a Home Team™ the Jays are going to be while in Philly. I've heard from sources that they're already booked to do the "home team" batting practice, which I find interesting. I'd be curious to see if they get to use the home clubhouse. ;)

While a trip to Philly just wouldn't be the same without the Phanatic, I'm hoping that our (lame in comparison) mascot gets to come down - though the J Force can stay here, thanks. I personally like the idea of turning CBP into the Jays' home park, but I'm not going to get my hopes up... will they ring the bell if a "visitor" hits a homerun? How about if the "home" team knocks one out? Will the Jays get to come out to their at-bat/warmup music? Will Tim Langton be making the trip to be the PA announcer? Can't wait to find out.

Doc will pitch on Friday, and while I'm glad we'll be getting that one out of the way, I don't like Doc pitching on a good night for beer drinking.

I'm hoping to run into some fellow Jays fans while down there - it's a great city to visit, and the park is fantastic, so I hope we head out in full force. At the same time, I hope we're all well-behaved.... represent us well, Jays fans! We'll do our part.

If you're around, keep an eye open for powder_blue!

sit back, enjoy

2010-06-06T09:14:00.000-04:00

There is something kinda awesome about a team in which you have faith.

Maybe I was still feeling Friday night's beer(...s), but I'll say it - I didn't think we could lose yesterday, despite the misfortunes of the bullpen just a few days ago.

And while I've always been a bit of a blind optimist, it feels different.

Yes, it's the beginning of June. There's still a lot of baseball to come.

I've learned to stop looking at the standings, and it's improved my outlook immensely.

The fact that we've had a Yankees series and I've yet to want to kill someone means something.

I love this team. That's enough for me.

There's a lot more I could talk about - the Tampa series, Wilnergate. But I'd rather focus on this group of guys that has had me smiling for most of the season.
My quick, drive-by opinions on the previous two issues?
I didn't see Tuesday's colossal fail (Dave Matthews Band was in town, OMG, and it was an amazing show - see you in 2012!), so I didn't see the details or intricacies. I don't see how any manager could let a reliever walk 5 people, but maybe that's just me.
Though, I guess it's the same manager who could allow his starter to continue into the 9th on Wednesday, and who could sit on his hands and watch said starter give up 2 0-out hits with a slim 1-run lead.
But hey, it's The Manager™, and you do not question The Manager™ - fans shouldn't do it, and more importantly, members of the media shouldn't do it either, apparently. Whatever.

This team is fun to watch right now - blown games aside - and that's a much better story than any of the other crap surrounding them right now.

Sit back and enjoy. Focusing on the good is better than dwelling on the bad.

"Security"?

2010-06-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

Let me preface this with a bit of a disclaimer.

I sit in seats that, in many parks, are considered to be bleachers. I hear people call my section "bleachers" all the time, and with their proximity to the home bullpen, and the left-fielder, you expect heckling to be a constant. And, generally, it is.

We get tasteful heckling, we get disgusting and rude heckling, and the really bad heckling usually doesn't last very long before security steps in - which is great.

I will admit that heckling is a huge part of this sport we love, but personally, I'm just not a huge fan of it - mainly because, 9 times out of 10, it's awful. It gets tiresome pretty quickly, and the people doing it are usually so drunk that you can barely understand what they're saying as it is. I'd rather just watch the game than listen to someone garble their way through what's supposed to be an insult,when they can't even read the name on the back of the opposing fielder's jersey.

I usually don't have a problem with such people getting removed from the stands.

However, last night, I was sitting next to someone who heckled. He wasn't particularly loud, and he wasn't particularly offensive, and sometime later in the game - a good couple of innings after his one questionable-in-taste heckle - dude was removed from the stands by not only a radioed security type, but a police officer... without any warning.

I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what he had done since that questionable phrase, and cannot think of anything that could have been remotely offensive - other than that he was heckling, period.
Later in the game, after dude had left - and as the Jays were starting to implode - there were a LOT ruder phrases being shouted down to the bullpen, and security barely batted an eye... you could tell they could hear what was being said because they were reacting to it with head shakes and laughs.

I've been quick to defend the Rogers Centre security staff in the past - with a few exceptions. A few examples:
... A guy sitting next to me got tossed last year for being rowdy, apparently. He was the designated driver for his group of friends and had been drinking Coke all day - and basically sat in his seat being a fan. Cheering, booing, having a good time. (During this same game, a child was thrown out for tossing an opposing hitter's homerun ball back onto the field. It was a bad day for security all-around).
... Last year, my group was heckled by other (sober) Jays "fans" because of the jerseys we were wearing. The game itself was a bit of a clusterfuck, and they were frustrated and taking it out on us... but, because we had been drinking, security didn't care. "They haven't been drinking, you have, so therefore, you should just sit down and take it because you're probably causing trouble" was essentially what we were told. Because 3 chicks being harrassed by 5 guys are definitely the instigators in that situation.

The only thing I can think of is that this guy was a target because he'd had a couple of beers in the first few innings at the game.
If that's a problem, then maybe they should stop selling beer? (NOOOOO!)

I don't know a solution to this. What offends one person is not necessarily going to be offensive to another person.

But to have a blanket We Can Kick Whoever We Want Out Whenever We Want To Because We're Security™ kind of policy, especially when I've seen at least 2 guys get removed from the stands for no apparent good reason... there's just something wrong with that. I know that the guy sitting next to me last night is a die hard fan, as was the guy who was taken away last year.

And while I would never consider giving free reign to people in the stands, with no consequences for bad behaviour, the rules at the Rogers Centre definitely need to be reconsidered.

I've said this a few times this year already, and I wish I could stop - but this team is already alienating enough fans as it is. Attendance numbers are down, and they're going to continue to drop when people don't feel comfortable attending games because of a risk of being tossed for no good reason.
(The guy sitting next to me last year didn't attend any more games, despite having just gone to 2 games of his 15-game flex pack.)

Obviously, there has to be some kind of restriction on behaviour, otherwise we end up with the craziness you'd see on Value Nights or Opening Night. But there has to be a line drawn as to how much power security actually has. People should be paying attention to what they're doing, regardless, but we shouldn't have to look over our shoulders during games for fear of getting tossed.

Lame, Rogers Centre. Boo to you.

Aside: Apparently, last night, dude was told that the bullpen had complained and that's why he was taken away. In fairness to security, they tend to actually *tell* people why they're getting taken away... sometimes.
I've seen the bullpen complain before, and I've seen them get people removed before. Many times, actually.
And I'm probably wrong, but last night seemed different to me, in that I don't even remember seeing the guys react to anything dude was saying. That said, if our bullpen DID rally to get this guy tossed, then I don't even know what to think.

road trip, revisited - are we sure they want us down there?

2010-05-18T12:51:00.001-04:00

So, details have been released to Jays STHers regarding purchasing tickets to the Jays-at-Home-in-Philly series at the end of June.

They have reserved tickets for us to purchase on the same day, at the same time, that the general public is able to buy tickets to the series.

After doing a bit of digging (a very small bit - it wasn't hard to figure out), I realised that the Phillies season ticket holders actually got FIRST DIBS to the tickets, well before the GP/Jays STHers will have access to buying tickets.

Yes, I realise that they've reserved tickets for us (whatever that means), and maybe a lot of Jays STHers wouldn't have bothered, and the Phillies STHers' seats would need to be reserved for them (for whatever reason - they're not the home team, so why should it matter?), but I'm still annoyed, to be perfectly honest.

Not only do we lose 3 games at home, but we get to be visitors for our "Home" Games, and we don't even get access to tickets before the general public - which is something we'd get if we were, as we're supposed to be, at "Home".

I guess this isn't much different than the Jays organisation selling opening day tickets to Tigers and Red Sox fans in the past before the general Jays-fan public, and I'm not sure why I'd be surprised that we'd get it from behind yet again.

The best part? I'm limited to 6 tickets, which sucks if I'm trying to get tickets for a group (which, I am) - it might even benefit me to be a member of the general public. Who knew?

road trip?

2010-05-11T22:21:00.001-04:00

When I saw the rumours circulating around Twitter this morning, I got really, really nervous.

When the announcement was officially made, I got mad. Like, throwing things around my office kinda mad.

Now that I've had time to deal with it, and calm down a little bit, I'm feeling slightly better about it... not mad, but disappointed.

Once it was announced that the G20 venue had been moved from Huntsville to Toronto, we knew something would have to change. Personally, I was not looking forward to having to deal with security issues and protesters and police and craziness all to enjoy a few baseball games. I love my baseball, but... sometimes there are more important things than the game. Because of this, I am somewhat relieved that the venue for the games has been changed. SOMEWHAT.

The rest of it isn't sitting too well.

We're losing three home games, and the Phillies are gaining 3 home games. I'd be pissed if I was the Mets/Nats/Braves/Marlins. Sure, OK, we'll be the "home" team. The Phillies will get to use a DH in their home stadium. Awesome, and totally fair, right?

This is the one series of the season that I was looking forward to the most (aside from, perhaps, Pujols and the Cards visiting) - not because of Doc, thank you very much, as I get happy when I hear the Phillies are coming to town ANY year they come to town. (If anything, once Doc was traded to Philly, I got a little worried about what that would mean for that series - we get enough Phillies fans coming to town that I don't need to hear Jays fans cheering for the other team because Doc is one of them. I think there'd be about 10 people in the stadium rooting for the Jays, with the rest rooting for the Phillies/Doc. Pathetic.)

Season ticket holders are getting a special perk this season, and that is an on-field BP session for a game of our choice (with some restrictions). My choice was the Friday Phillies game, because I enjoy the Phillies. This is moot now, and I'm curious to see what they're going to do for me to make up for it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who selected that game, and while I'm grateful to get such a perk in the first place, I wanna see the Phillies, dammit!

As for the games themselves, everyone who has purchased a ticket will be getting a full refund, plus a voucher for seats of equal value - including STH.
Which is great, because... yeah, I already have tickets to all the games. Sure, I could use my 3 vouchers for friends, but... I'm not impressed. These vouchers mean very little to me. (Friends, you can still have them. I'm just making a point.)

And yes, as a STH, I get access to purchasing tickets in Philly.
Because spending 10x as much to go to a baseball game once you factor in hotel and transportation is great compensation for losing a series against one of my favourite teams.
This isn't to knock Philly, by any means - I love CBP, and would love to go back there... it just would have been nice if they'd given us some kind of warning that this could happen, when even just weeks ago, there was talk from the organisation that the venue wouldn't change. Nice.

All-in-all, it needed to be done. I understand it. Unfortunately, it was done in a terrible way. I would much rather take a bus to Detroit than have to find a way to get to Philly for a weekend.

Badly played, Jays.
I've already cursed the government for changing the venue in the first place, but you've made for some really unhappy Jays fans, and that's not cool. Way to alienate a fanbase that was already unimpressed. As much as it annoys me that people were only willing to come to a game to see The Return of Doc™, it was going to be a big weekend, and you blew it.

good mojo

2010-04-20T08:47:00.002-04:00

Obvious to anyone who reads this blog, I am a Lyle Overbay fan... it has been a rough couple of weeks, let me tell you.

But I saw something on Sunday that warmed my heart, and while I know the rest of the Real and Proper Media™ have talked about it, seeing it first hand made me love my team all the more.

Sunday afternoon was the Season Ticket Holder BBQ. In years past, it was a shindig held down in Dunedin for those season ticket holders with a pricey enough account to take advantage of the team's offer of a free flight down to Florida. Since they cut out the free flight, they decided to hold the BBQ up here in Toronto during the season.

It consisted of hundreds of STHs being herded like cattle down into some 100 level baseline seats, where we waited anxiously for the players to shower and make themselves pretty. Autographs were on the menu, and they'd be signing for us down on the field. Sweeeeet!

As the players came out, we saw something weird on the Jumbotron - a cuddly teddy-bear type with dark hair wearing a powder blue #35 jersey. I adore Lylo, but he's not a dark-haired cuddly teddy-bear type - that would be Dana Eveland (who, as an aside, I also adore for the precise reason that he's a dark-haired cuddly teddy-bear type - that, and dude has been looking pretty good on the mound).

A few seconds later, they showed Vernon Wells, Ricky Romero, Casey Janssen, Shaun Marcum, and Scotty Downs - all, too, wearing #35s on their, um, chests. These players, in a show of support for their struggling first baseman, wanted to show the fans that they are on dude's side. And, I love them for it.

Because, really... if his teammates can support him when he's down, surely the fans can at least try to do the same?

I think the message got through to fans loud and clear. When he came up to bat for the first time on Monday night, there was nary a boo in the building - a first this season - AND, rather than the deafening silence that greeted many of the players, there were more than a few cheers. Granted, the crowd didn't seem to break 9K, despite what the attendance numbers told us, so maybe those who showed up were actually fans who don't like booing (though I'm not sure such a thing exists here in Toronto). There was also an awesome-tastic sign put out in centrefield, "We Believe in Lyle O".

I'm not sure whether or not it worked (I'd like to take some personal credit, seeing as my friends and I tried our best to get some good mojo going over at 1B while on the field), but all things considered, dude seemed more like his Lylo self in last night's game - a couple of walks, a couple of hard-hit balls that didn't come anywhere near a fielder (finally!), including a double in his first AB.

I'm sure things will be back to normal sometime this week - dude will strike out, and he'll be the most hated guy on the team (again). But I'll take last night, and I hope he does too - and... I hope he runs with it.

home sweet home

2010-04-13T14:57:00.002-04:00

I refrained from doing an Official Opening Day Post, mainly because I don't feel comfortable writing about games I didn't see. Which, really, is why I didn't write at all about Opening Week. Too many matinee games for me to handle, and honest, I only watched the Wednesday night game.

But, as we're all aware, last night was the Home Opener. And, as usual, what will get written about today isn't so much the game itself - which was balls, to be frank (if you're going to make us stay 11 innings, at least win, dammit!) - but the atmosphere of 45K+ "fans", and the ineptitude of the staff at the Dome.

For the first time in a few years, I wasn't overly-embarrassed by the caliber of fan in the stands.

Yes, I was annoyed with the booing of Rios, but that was expected.

But I was expecting booing of our own team, and none of that ever really materialised - at least, not overwhelmingly - which was a pleasant surprise. Even Lyle Overbay got a bit of an ovation - not for anything baseball related, of course, because dude sucks - but because of that thing he's grown on his face. While I wouldn't condone booing a player on your home team - a team that went into the home opener with a 5-1 record to start the season - if there's anyone who hasn't been performing offensively (or has, depending on your definition of "offensive"), it would be Lyle. Dude certainly would deserve a bit of a ribbing.

There was a good share of fist-fights in the 100-level, and, thanks to the Canadian flags given out at the gates, a good number of red and white paper airplanes that rained down - not only onto the field, but into the bullpen.

But the douchebaggery that I was able to witness was limited to the staff and crew down at the Dome. Go figure.

I should not have to wait in line for 30+ minutes for a couple of beers. On average, myself and my companion spent about 15 minutes per trip to the beer stands - beer stands that were not accepting debit or credit cards because that would slow things down too much. Ha.

I missed the entire 5th inning, as well as most of the top of the 6th, when I made my trip up to the concourse. Yes, the staff is new, and they were swamped, but I'm sorry... had they no time to prepare for this, one of the few expected busy games of the season?

Of course, we usually don't head up to the concourse for beer. However, for the first time since I got my season tickets, there were NO beer vendors selling in the 100 level outfield. And when complaints were raised by us and those around us, we were told one simple thing:

"The vendors don't make enough money to sell anywhere but in the 100 level infield. Sorry, but would you begrudge them a hard-earned dollar?"

o.O

Oh, wait, I'm sorry. I would never begrudge those guys their money. Thanks for begrudging me the baseball game I spent MY hard-earned dollars on, though. You sure taught me a lesson - don't drink at baseball games.

Yes, I'm ranting about beer. And, considering that's the only thing I really have to complain about last night, I guess things really aren't so bad after all.

I was impressed with the production value of the pre-game jumbotron stuff - definitely much better than previous years. And I'm pleased with the new layout of the scoreboards and the information on the jumbotron itself - my eyes aren't perfect, so it was nice to be able to read everything for the first time in years.

And, to be honest, I'm not even going to talk about the game itself. Buck's homerun was the highlight for me, personally - who knew? But otherwise? Much of the game itself is a blur - especially when I spent a good chunk of it hunting beer.

Aside:

Before the game, our own New York Times Best-Selling Author™ Dirk Hayhurst signed at the Chapters at Richmond and John. A good crowd showed up for autographs, and much to our glee, dude read a chapter from The Bullpen Gospels. I'm not quite finished the book myself - just a couple of chapters to go - but he read the chapter in exactly the same way I heard it in my head, which was glorious.
Alas, my book is not Garfoosed - just as I was getting it signed, dude was warned to hurry things along... but I've got a couple of garfoosed things already, so I was fine with others getting their chance.
I'm not sure who provided it, but after the reading and signing, there was a Garfoose cake. Tasty stuff.
As always, Dirk was a classy, funny, and genuine fellow. It was a little disheartening to hear his comments regarding his shoulder, in that when the doctor isn't even sure what's wrong.... yeah, that's not a good sign.
But really, you can't help but root for the guy. We'd be lucky to have someone like him around for years to come.

and so, a bit of a rant

2010-03-26T22:29:00.002-04:00

I am a Lyle Overbay fan.

Believe it or not, some of us do exist out here... though judging from what I've heard over the last couple of days, we are a very rare breed - a rare breed wasting our time by being fans of such a colossal waste of baseball space.

On Thursday, Cito "announced" (I personally take anything he says during the spring with a liberal handful of salt) that Lylo would not be involved in any kind of platoon at 1B to start off the season. Reading further into what Cito actually said, this is a way to get dude some playing time - in hopes that dude will do well enough to drive up his trade value.
Of course, this was met with anguish, hand-wringing, and in some cases, anger. Free Ruiz, dammit!
Personally, I was filled with with a cautious amount of glee - as a Lyle Overbay fan, I'd like to see one of my favourite current players play as much as possible before he ends up on a different team. Yes, I'm selfish. What can I say?

And so, today, dude got hurt.

And the reaction from general Toronto Blue Jays fans was one that didn't surprise me - and I wish it had.
Because in order for it to surprise me, the reaction would not have contained any form of excitement, happiness, and "YES THANK GOD HE'S HURT!" bullsh!t.
Also not a surprise? The chorus of "dammit" heard throughout Jaysland when it was announced that dude is likely just day-to-day.

I get it. Lyle Overbay is not a power-hitting 1B and doesn't mash homeruns and apparently doesn't do much of anything. Trust me - I've been a fan of his since the first week of the '06 season, and haven't backed away since; I've heard it all. I've been heckled - at the Dome - for wearing his jersey. I've been mocked for cheering his at-bats. I've been harassed by Jays fans for supporting a player that very few seem to like.
And to be perfectly honest, I don't think I'll ever understand the pure hatred so many Jays Fans™ seem to have for him. Biased? Sure, I'm biased.

I went to Milwaukee last season, and wore my Lylo jersey while there. I got high-fived, cheered, and had such an amazing reaction to it while there, and it floored me - I've never experienced that at home.

And frankly, if being a Jays Fan™ means being appreciative of any harm brought to one of Our Own, well... I don't think I want to be a Jays Fan™ any more.

Karma's a b!tch. And anyone being happy for any kind of injury brought to someone deserves any pain they get. Y'all kinda remind me a bit of little Pedroia in the picture I used. Shameful.

they're heeeeeere!

2010-03-16T15:07:00.003-04:00

My second-favourite day of the year just happened to be today, and I didn't (really) see it coming.

Season Ticket Package Arrival Day™.

This is the first year in which I have an account all to myself, so my actual name appears on the tickets. So exciting! /nerd

The tickets themselves look kinda cheap compared to other seasons, and I'm not really sure what they're trying to convey - other than "OMG we have no money".

The tickets feature, in sequence depending on the day, Aaron Hill, Ricky Romero, Adam Lind, Travis Snider, Vernon Wells, and... Jason Frasor. o.O

And, as usual, they've decided that a personal account of 1 ticket needs 44 ticket re-distribution envelopes (they're very nice to look at, featuring Ricky), and 10 pocket schedules. Because yes, I'm planning on re-distributing my one seat for more than half of the home games of the 2010 season. What a waste of paper. (I'm grateful for the multiple pocket schedules, though, to be sure...)

In terms of benefits, the Season Ticket Holder BBQ - which used to be held down in Dunedin for those account holders who would take advantage of the free flight down South (which wasn't available to many ticket holders, for what it's worth) - is being held here in Toronto. Nice! Also, those with accounts will be getting to take advantage of something new this season - a chance to be either on the field for BP one game (of the account holder's choice) during the season (not counting weekends), or the chance to take part in live BP on the field (not with players, but with other season ticket holders). Impressive. :)

Now I get to spend the next slightly-less-than-4-weeks looking longingly at my tickets. Less than a month - definitely survivable, right??

baseball, sunshine, food and booze - what else do you need?

2010-03-14T09:20:00.002-04:00

So, last week, I made my first trip down to Florida for Spring Training.

And two days into my trip, I was already starting to plan for next year.

With my trusty pal LJ (as a more-experienced-than-I ST traveller, she took care of booking things and planning things, for which I'll be eternally grateful), I headed down to the Tampa/St. Petersburg area – stayed in Clearwater, spent a good chunk of time in Dunedin – and had an absolute blast. THIS is what I’d been missing out on all these years? What was I thinking, putting it off this long?!

The Baseball.

I will admit that I was basically like a kid in a candy store for the entire week we were there; eyes wide open, taking everything in, wanting to do 18 million different things at once. I don’t think it actually hit me that I was at Spring Training until about mid-way through the second day of our trip. And yet, even after that realisation hit me, I was still completely in awe for the rest of my time there. Hi, I’m a nerd.

I didn’t take many mental notes (those I did, I’ve forgotten... or erased with adult beverages), and likely missed out on a lot simply because I was so excited to be there. As wordy as it's going to be, this is definitely not going to be a comprehensive guide to Spring Training.

We made it to Dunedin Stadium for Opening Day, and my god, it felt like Opening Day here in Toronto – cold, damp, windy. To say I was underprepared would be a gross understatement – despite the hoodie and jersey and t-shirt I was wearing. This was supposed to be baseball in Florida! It was not pleasant at all, and unfortunately, Dunedin Stadium was like some kind of wind tunnel, and likely made things feel worse than they actually were. The sun made an appearance later in the day, but by then, I’d lost feeling in my hands and feet, and didn’t really care anymore.

The stadium itself is quite... quaint? I can’t think of a proper word to describe it. I’m not sure if it’s because this is the only park the Jays have ever used for spring training, but it was exactly as I imagined Spring Training to be, and reminded me a bit of Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse – though, that could have just been the wind, haha. It’s not a large park, and sitting between home and first base gave quite an intimate feel to the experience. How I missed the sounds of the game – sitting where I do at the Rogers Centre, you miss out on stuff like that. (Hearing the bullpen pitchers fart doesn't count as "baseball sounds".)

Unfortunately, our seats were directly behind not one but TWO protective nets – we were sitting directly behind the spot on the field where the manager and coaches sit. I only consider this unfortunate because I love taking action shots with my trusty camera during the game; so really, it wasn’t so bad at all.

I’m going to cop out a bit here, and use my awe at the experience as an excuse for not having much to say about the actual baseball - we caught 3 games at Dunedin Stadium. We saw Ricky Romero’s first appearance (against the Tigers), and while the Jays ended up losing the Battle of the Kids in later innings, dude looked pretty damned good. We also caught Morrow, who was a nice surprise against the Phillies, and Tallet, who looked a bit shaky against those same Tigers. We saw V-Dub hit the ball, seemingly in an attempt to shut up a ridiculously lame heckler right behind home plate. We saw Jo-Bau – wearing Scoots’s #19 – hit two lead-off homeruns and drive in total of 4 RBI. We saw Casey Janssen return to the world of high sock mojo. We saw some young guys working their butts off in order to show TPTB that they deserve some consideration, and others not fare too well in that regard. We saw Chris "The Big" Lubanski crank a homerun clear out of Dunedin, and cross the plate with a huge smile on his face (some of us might have fallen in love on the spot). We saw J.P. Arencibia, and that's all we needed to do (holy hell, he's pretty). We saw my beloved Lylo’s atrocious facial hair that hopefully won’t last until April. It was baseball, and it was the Blue Jays, and it was heaven.

My first impression: there’s nothing quite like watching baseball with palm trees in the outfield (and scantily clad women pictured on the outfield wall).

One thing that took me a while to get used to: bench seats with backs and armrests. The number of times I reached down when preparing to sit, in an attempt to push the seat down... hi, I felt silly.

Food: Admittedly, food wasn’t exactly a priority when we visited Dunedin. I was disappointed on the first day, mainly because they advertised those awful stuffed pretzels you can get at many minor league stadiums – and they hadn’t received them yet. I ended up with a generic salt pretzel, and forgot to get mustard. (It was such a miserable day, I didn’t even imbibe – mainly because I was sure my hands would fall off if I tried holding an ice cold beer). On our second trip to the stadium, I was so stuffed from breakfast at Lenny’s (details below), I didn’t need to get anything to eat. On the third day, I had a cheeseburger with grilled onions. I don’t know if it was because I was hungry, but WOW... a very nice burger indeed. I also took advantage of the warmer weather and decided to be bad, and tried some Bruster’s ice cream. Mint chocolate chip on a warm sunny day FTW.

Libations: My goal was to have a ballpark margarita. Obviously, the first day we were there didn’t lend itself to an icy cold adult beverage, but the second day? Perfect! And while the margarita I had wasn’t exactly bad, it came from a tap. It was like, draft margarita. Kinda strange, but still citrusy and boozy enough to be called a margarita. They also had typical baseball beer offerings – a la Budweiser et al, and had those wonderful keep-it-cold bottles that I love so dearly – but I opted for Margaritaville Brewing Co.’s Land Shark Lager. I am admittedly not a beer connoisseuse, so all I really care about when drinking beer – especially when watching baseball – is that it’s cold and doesn’t taste bad. (i.e. I’m not the best person to review a beer.) That said, I liked it, and enjoyed it more than once.

Souvenirs: I am not good with crowds in small spaces, and the merchandise stores at the park really weren’t helpful to me – they had two separate locations within the park, and both were really tiny. If you’re like me and are terrible with people, head into the shop as soon as the gates open. Selection-wise, a good chunk of the stuff in the store is specific to Dunedin - St. Paddy's Day gear, spring training souvenirs, Dunedin Blue Jays stuff - with a few things that can be found here at home. Prices are similar as well. I snagged Dunedin-specific stuff, on 2 separate days.

The overall experience at Dunedin was absolutely fantastic. The fans were generally not particularly knowledgeable about the Jays, which was rather disappointing (but no different than the fans at the dome). But there was a sense of camaraderie felt by those of us who had made the trek from the Great White North which is unlike anything else you could experience. Standing at the condiment stand, you could have a conversation with someone from your neck of the woods, and it can make your entire day brighter. Funny how that works – and as strange as it sounds, there’s rarely a bonding moment like that at the dome. And it’s silly, but judging from the reaction from many of the employees and other fans, us travellers must stick out like sore thumbs. The only disappointing thing: more people wanted to bring up The Hockey Game™ than, you know, baseball (which was true almost everywhere we went).

In addition to the 3 Jays games we watched at Dunedin, we also made a few trips to nearby Bright House Field, the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Before Doc was traded, it had been something we’d wanted to do. After the trade, it became a necessity, and thanks to the Baseball Schedule Gods, we managed to get a chance to see the Phillies’ first 3 spring training games – 2 at Bright House, 1 at Dunedin – which made seeing Doc’s first appearance in a Phillies uniform quite likely.

Our first full day in Florida, we did a double-header – the Jays’ opener against the Tigers, and the Phillies’ opener against the Florida State Seminoles. In all honesty, we were so cold and miserable after the Jays’ game, we actually considered just skipping out on the night game. If not for some forgotten-in-the-hotel-room tickets, it might have happened. But, because of our impromptu return to our hotel, we decided to bundle up and grin and bear it – I wore more clothes that night in the cold than I do here at home when it’s cold.

What can I say about Bright House Field? While the quaintness of Dunedin Stadium was exactly what I was hoping for from our “hometown” park, the Bright House Field experience was quite amazing itself. The fans are fantastic, the stadium itself is gorgeous, the refreshments are amazing, and they have the Phanatic. What more could you ask for?

Well, see... they also have this new guy named Roy Halladay, and we were fortunate enough to see him start against the Yankees on our second trip to BHF. I will admit that watching him warm up on the field before the game – in a bright red jersey – was hard to take... and my allergies managed to kick in when the lineups were announced. LJ and I were decked out in our Jays’ Halladay t-shirts, and were admired and thanked by random Phillies fans – and we were not the only Jays fans around for the game, I can tell you. Being able to see him and appreciate him one last time – he was playing the Yankees, after all – was something special. And while his outing was a true example of Doc being Doc, and our loss as Jays fans was lamented... So long, and thanks for all the complete games, dude. I’ll miss you, good luck, but I’m ready to move on.

Anyhoo.

My first impression: We arrived for a night game, and while the park is gorgeous no matter the time of day, this is what you see when walking to the park at night:

There are no words, and seriously... what a first impression.

One thing that took me a while to get used to: the fact that I was in Florida, watching a spring training game. The park is beautiful, and reminiscent in some ways – inside the gates, at least – of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. I didn't get the feel that I was actually at a minor league stadium at all.

Food: Cheesesteak. Not as good as Rick’s Original at the Reading Terminal Market (not a Whiz wit in sight), but OMG it hit the spot. The park also features a CBP staple, the Hatfield Hot Dog, which I didn’t indulge in this time around. To be honest, I don’t remember much else about the food at BHF... see the next section as to why.

Libations:

You cannot talk about Bright House Field without bringing up Frenchy’s Tiki Pavilion. For the girly-drink fans like myself, it was heaven – pina coladas, daiquiris, and of course, margaritas. I never ended up having my umbrella-drink, but I didn’t care. (For those not into the girly-drinks, they also have beer, including Land Shark Lager.) There’s also a great beer stand featuring something like 14201 different beers – including local drafts provided by the Dunedin Brewery (see below). I had one thick and filling beer – a pale ale – and went back to my girly drinks shortly thereafter (I also didn’t need to eat lunch because of said pale ale.) Oh, and if you like Yuengling, they’ve got it.

Souvenirs: Hi, yes, I’m terrible with crowds. The merchandise shop was quite bigger than those in Dunedin, but the crowds? Also bigger. I think I lasted all of 30 seconds in the shop before turning around and heading out the door. My goal was to get a Halladay t-shirt jersey, but alas, I’m not even sure if they had any in stock.

Bright House Field was a blast. And while we were there, I thought it might have taken something away from Dunedin Stadium – upon returning to Dunedin, I realised that it didn’t. These are two different ballparks for two different teams with two very different fanbases, and I can dig it. We loved BHF a lot, and ended up heading back there for the B-game against the Jays the following day, though we didn’t stay long; we preferred to head back to Dunedin to see the big Jays play the big Phillies. (A bonus about the B-game? It's free, and we got a glimpse of Dave Stieb and Pat Hentgen, but I was too excited to do anything about it.) One thing I can say for sure about BHF: it made me want to head back to Philadelphia something fierce.

The Not-Baseball.

In addition to this being a trip about baseball, it was also a vacation for me, so my goal was to do as many non-baseball-related things as possible. Of course, everything we did related back to baseball in some way, haha.

We stayed in Clearwater – about a (roundabout) stone’s throw away from Bright House Field. “Roundabout” in that we could probably walk there in half the time it took us to walk there if it weren’t for the lack of a direct pedestrian route.

Because yes, we walked. Neither myself nor my travelling companion drive, and we relied heavily on getting around by bus, taxi, SuperShuttle (from and to the Tampa airport), and our own two legs for the entire duration of the trip. And if you’re like us (i.e. car-less), and want to stay somewhere a little out of the way (read: cheaper than in Dunedin or downtown Clearwater) have no fear – it’s actually a very manageable trip if you don’t drive. The public transit system, while not perfect, suited us fine. Their Sunday scheduling leaves a little to be desired, but we had no issues getting where we wanted/needed to be at any time during the trip.

And so, some places we visited, oddly enough all related to food and booze.

Lenny’s. You’ve heard about it, and you’re going to hear about it again. If you’re a fan of big and giant greasy-awesome breakfasts, go to Lenny’s. I didn’t believe the hype, and was ashamed of it after eating the food. Yes, it’s true: there’s a basket of mini-pastries brought to your table while you wait for your food. Each person gets a basket... mine featured a lemon Danish, a cinnamon bun, a cream-cheese filled pastry, and something almost shortbread-like with cinnamon all over it. Yeah, these would have been too much for breakfast on their own, and thankfully, our lovely waitress Molly brought us a bag so we could take them away with us. For breakfast itself, I indulged in the Heart Attack Special – country fried steak and eggs, with country sausage gravy and a biscuit (HEY, I got poached eggs!). It likely took 5-10 years off my life, but at least I’ll die happy – so damned tasty. And while I rarely drink coffee, Lenny’s coffee was awesome.

Because of its proximity to the Phillies Spring Training complex, the place is geared towards Phillies fans, with a few little nods towards Jays fans – including a little Gregg Zaun section on the wall. Myself, I was impressed with the Mike Schmidt display. When we arrived, the place was busy, but not overly crowded... by the time we left, there was a line out the door – in other words, get there early.

Do you like Mexican food? Go to Casa Tina restaurant, on Dunedin’s Main St. I’d heard many great things about this place, and again was skeptical... I am a fool, because it was one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to. We went there one night, only to return a couple of nights later. I would move down there just to be able to eat there more often, is all I’m saying.

I was going to write specifics about what I ate, but frankly, thinking about it is making me hungry. Any questions about details, ask, and I'll answer.

My goal is to go back to try (almost) everything once, so I have a few more trips to make. (I will avoid the seafood, though).

I indulged in golden margaritas – plural – which made Dunedin Stadium’s margaritas-from-a-tap look plain ridiculous. SO TASTY. I will admit that I ignored the beer selection, because that’s how I am.

We were there early on a Friday evening, and it really didn’t get very busy – even as we left. But on a Sunday afternoon after the ball game, the place was insane, which was good to see. The servers and hosts were so friendly and helpful and really made the experience special. It definitely had a family vibe to it, which was almost comforting.

Random unplanned food: by fluke, we ended up at a small pizza joint in Clearwater while on one of our big treks – Paul’s Chicago Style Pizza. I was hungry, which could have tainted my taste buds, but my slice of pepperoni and onions was amazing. Thin crust, lots of cheese, and not too much sauce. I’d definitely go back. Everyone eating there had some kind of Chicago sports team's merch on their backs/heads, which had us thinking that there was some kind of deal if you wore something along those lines. Too bad I left my Cubs hat at home.

Dunedin Brewery.... who’d have thought that a girly-drink girl like me would enjoy an evening at a brewery so much? Granted, I tried the beers that didn’t taste like beers, and really enjoyed the Apricot Wheat Ale. Really, really, as in many, many times.

It was a Friday night, and the place was crazy. Our hope to see some live music was fulfilled by a local band – Full Fledged Unit – who were great, and had quite a following. Their singer, Sean DeLong, did a solo set to start the evening, and was pretty darn awesome. We made friends, drank beer (and I’m SURE I drank more than what we were charged for), and had a blast. Who knew you could have that much fun without baseball?

And really... any place that has a Grateful Dead reference on a chalkboard in their washroom gets bonus points from me. We ended up going back a couple of nights later, in hopes of catching some more live music, but alas, there was no show.

On another night, we ended up going to a bar called The Brew Garden in Clearwater, mainly to drink more beer and to watch another live show - by the singer of the band we saw at the Dunedin Brewery. I won't talk about beer because I know nothing about beer - I tried one that tasted like blueberry muffins, and it was awesome. This place had a huge selection, including some Canadian microbrews, which was impressive. If you like your beer, give this place a shot.

On our first free night in Dunedin, we took a stroll down to the harbour, and just managed to get there at sunset. Total fluke. It was cold, but it was nice. I'd like to see it again when it's warmer and I can appreciate it more.

One thing that stood out to me while walking through the town - every single storefront had a little sign in their window, welcoming the Jays back to town. It made me smile. :)

The whole trip was such an amazing experience, and I wish I hadn't waited so long to head down there.
From the time this trip was booked until the time it happened, my brain kept asking, "Is it March yet?"

And while a new season will be upon us in just a few short weeks, my brain is already asking the same question. The regular season is the regular season, and I look forward to it more than anything else in life. But Spring Training is special in so many ways.

If you haven't made the trip down south, do it soon. There's nothing like it.

heaven.

2010-03-06T10:32:00.001-05:00

Heaven....
I'm in Heaven...
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak...

I'm on vacation. I will do a few real posts about this trip once I get back, but today is a live-baseball-game-free day; a day that is going to consist of me sitting by a swimming pool with an icy cold beverage (or 3) and, hopefully, my laptop blaring the FAN590's webcast of today's game in Tampa.

I love this.

i am 5 years old.

2010-03-01T23:01:00.000-05:00

I realise that I constantly say that I'm going to post more in here, and then never do.

The thing is, I just haven't had much to say. I'm not really one for repeating news and rumours - that's what news and rumour sites are for.

And, frankly, I've been caught up in a little something called the Olympics, so I haven't really been paying much attention to baseball. See... I can admit it: I've been an Olympics nerd for almost as long as I've been a baseball nerd.
I will admit here that, while I was thrilled to win double hockey gold, I was a little more excited about the men's curling team winning gold. I <3 Kevin Martin... and John Morris. ;)

That, and I've been preparing myself for what is the most wonderful time of the year: Spring Training.

For the first time EVER, I'm heading down to Dunedin to catch our blue birds in some pre-season activities. (I'm also visiting the Phillies a few times, which will be nice. I don't think this whole Doc thing will sink in until I see him in a different uniform in person.)

This is something I've wanted to do since I was a little kid, so to say that I'm excited is just a bit of an understatement. It's like Christmas time - I haven't had a good night's sleep since last week, and I doubt I'll be getting any sleep tonight. :D

The following thought has been running through my head alllll day: OMG I'M GOING TO FLORIDA.

Heehee.

"Albert, we need you back"

2010-01-28T23:24:00.008-05:00

Time to dust off the old blog. I kinda sorta almost forgot this thing was here.

I'm sure that, by the time I finally hit "publish" on this, there will be tons of other posts out there from the various media bloggers (i.e. Bastian, who I swear we weren't stalking, or Wilner, who knocked over a dude while trying to get up onto the dugout after the evening came to a close). I'm sure their posts will be far more insightful and less beer-influenced than mine, but I don't get paid for this, so I don't really care. :P

Tonight was the State of the Franchise for the Jays' season ticket holders - and, from what I understand, the 40-game-flex-pack holders as well. This was my 4th, and there were more people in attendance than all of the other SotF™'s I've attended.

For the first time since I became a season ticket holder, the event was held at the Dome itself.

And, for the first time, Jerry Howarth was not the host. The team decided to go with Buck Martinez instead - what better time to introduce the new Sportsnet Play-by-Play guy, really?

Safely seated in the second-row-from-the-top-of-the-dugout, with the dugout being where the men of the hour were seated, I had a great spot for taking notes, deciphering the clues and comments of Cito, Paul Beeston, AA, and Buck himself.

And yet, because of the open bar provided by the team, I can barely read the notes I was taking throughout the slightly-over-an-hour session with the guys we wanted to hear from the most.

But, I will try.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been to 4 of these - including tonight. More than anything, I tend to be cynical in the weeks leading up to such an event. Why, of course they're going to try and sell us on how great the clusterfuck that will likely be the Jays' upcoming season will be, despite the fact that we've all already paid tons of money for our seats.
Usually, what happens after a night like this, is that I have a newfound sense of hope. I get sold on the optimism presented by the president/GM/manager/host, and get incredibly excited about the upcoming season. And, I have to say, it might be the free beer and wings/sausage/cookies I had, but... I'm feeling slighly giddy and excited at what this season could look like. I'm sure I'll change my mind in the morning.

I am attempting to read my notes, and if I end up completely misquoting anyone who spoke tonight, I apologise.

First things first: it was somewhat jarring to NOT have Jerry Howarth hosting this thing. I will admit that I was quite taken with Buck's way with words, and he is quite charming and persuasive, but it was definitely a different experience from the get-go. There were some cute moments before things got serious, with Beeston affectionately referring to Martinez as "Albert", which changed my perspective on the evening. Granted, this is the first time I've tried to document the SotF™, so I can safely say that I was paying attention to every little detail - something I'm not sure I want to do in the future.

And so, some (legible in my notes) points that were brought up tonight, mostly due to questions from the "fans" in attendance:

... Cito is not a "lame duck" manager. The way the team sees it, Cito is not going anywhere after this year, and his role will simply "shift" from manager to consultant.

... Cito's heart is with the Jays and Toronto, which was a recurring theme all night. Yay?

... Cito gets along with Bruce Walton VERY well, and much better than with Arnsberg, and Walton knows all of the pitchers as well as Arnie ever did... for what it's worth.

... the position of closer is up in the air, but will likely fall to Frasor or Downs (at least until someone brings up Accardo, who Cito openly admits to confusing with Casey on a regular basis). There was also a bit of talk about anyone AA could bring in via FA signing or trade as being a potential closer. Yay, non-answers!

... according to Cito, and surprising to most people in the stadium (at least those who actually follow the team), Brandon Morrow's role is still undetermined. (Props to the guys sitting behind us, who came up with this gem: "What's the best thing about us having Brandon Morrow? No more having to watch Brandon League!")

... there were crews "working" on getting some field turf put down. While it wasn't really talked about much during the Q&A, word from my source (haha) is that it's much thinner and in long strips instead of smaller squares. Might not be as comfortable as the thicker turf, but will look better. And still no dirt infield, as it just can't be done with the lack of drainage. Meh.

... More Toronto love from Cito, as the city is apparently the best kept secret in North America, and as long as the team is good, players will be willing to come here because it's a great city. OK.

... Some random guy suggested just sitting Lylo all season, to which I yelled (quite loudly) "NO". Yes, I had a few beers. Leave me alone.

... My favourite quote of the evening, from AA: "I'd rather not say anything than LIE"... ZING!

... According to AA, the internet made a bit of a difference when it came to talks during this offseason. 99% of what we hear online is bullsh!t, but it apparently helps to influence all parties, which was interesting.

... Marcum is 100% ready and will be without restrictions, and McGowan is, according to the trainers, looking really good (he'll be throwing off a mound tomorrow). Not much detail tossed around here, naturally. Jesse Litsch will be doing the mound thing on Wednesday, but they're going to be using their rule of 12 months after TJ for him - which means, for both Litsch and new acquisition Shawn Hill, that they won't be ready until a couple of months into the season.

... AA has been talking to Bora$ about Johnny Damon. Cue the rumours. (There was talk of testing the waters due to the fact that it's nearly February and dude hasn't signed anywhere. Rogers are willing to spend money, or so we're told, so big name FA's aren't far-fetched, but... yeah.)

... someone asked about the dearth of young SS out there, and AA acknowledged that it's not just a problem for the Jays, but across much of the league. The woman behind me wondered, out loud, "but what about Johnny Mac?!?". Cue facepalm.

... Cito was flat-out asked about Accardo, and dude basically admitted that he has trouble remembering who he is, mainly because his good year was before Cito got here. Um, OK. Dubious, imho. AA brought up Accardo's stats from '07, and Cito barely acknowledged that AA was even speaking. Huh. Anyway, Snider was mentioned at around the same time, and Cito seems to believe that the young man could be another Adam Lind if/when dude grows up enough to take instruction and learn about hitting. He raised the idea of success vs confidence (though not in a particularly deep fashion), attributing the thought to Bobby Mattick.
(random personal note: the thought of Adam Lind and Travis Snider makes me smile. I need baseball now.)

... it was brought up a few times that there's a lack of connection between the team and the fans, and while certain points the fan brought up I didn't agree with, I understand what he meant... and there's apparently a marketing plan in place to get people feeling as though this is their team again, to get them excited about baseball again, to get them interested in the Jays again. No details were given...

... my notes then drift on to other random thoughts like, "OMG I'M GOING TO SPRING TRAINING", and "OMG I'M DRUNK!", so... yeah. I guess I'll stop there.

... for the last question of the night, some douchebag brought up the lack of free flights to Dunedin and Spring Training for season ticket holders, which was an awful way to end the Q&A session. I would much rather them dedicate the money they had been spending on free effing flights to actual baseball operations than to sending some rich a$$holes down to Dunedin. Dude seemed really offended that he has to pay his own way down, even though he's still going down this year and has been going down since forever. Ugh.

Everything else in my notebook is a mess, and... yeah. I suck.

Some random drunken thoughts:

I love my team. I will always love my team. But one thing I have serious trouble with is the idea of complete and pure sentimentality. Back2Back weekend was absolutely thrilling to me as a Jays fan who remembered the glory days better than any other period of this team's existence, and I relish the idea of getting that feeling back to this city again. That said, however, I'm getting really bloody tired of dwelling on the good ole days, and would like to get back to, you know, actually WINNING IMPORTANT THINGS from here on out.

One of the first questions raised by the crowd tonight was about the rumours surrounding the possible return of Carlos Delgado. I openly groaned, and I just hope that the gentlemen sitting on top of the dugout didn't notice.
Don't get me wrong - I enjoy and respect Carlos as much as the next fan, but I am NOT a fan of the idea of bringing him back simply for the sake of sentiment. And, while Cito said little more than a blanket statement of "I'm a really big fan of Carlos....", the idea seemed to be that unless there's a really great free agent that can bring us a few years of potential or some draft picks in the future, they'd much rather stick to nurturing the kids and growing from within, as various winning teams over the last decade have done. I dig that... now stick to it, boys!

Basically, I go to these events for one thing, and one thing only - free booze and food. I know deep down that the entire evening is a sales pitch, and I'm fine with that. Most of what they tell us is stuff that has been brought up in the media before, and anything else they have to say will be mentioned to the media after us regular folk disappear.

That said, I tried to do my duty as a fan who likes to follow this stuff, but I was prevented from getting closer to the GM once everything was finished - despite the fact that other people were allowed to approach him. I don't want to play the gender card, but... yeah. I was stopped from getting closer, while the guys in front of me weren't. Because really, you can't be an actual fan if you're a girl, don't you know. (Even Buck acknowledged the fantastic female fans in the crowd, is all I'm saying.)

Anyway. I just have one thing to say:

Is it March yet? Because I need baseball NOW, please.

If I may get personal for a moment

2009-10-25T12:51:00.010-04:00

16 years ago Friday, Joe touched 'em all.

I was 15, and was watching the game in my grandmother's living room with my grandmother, mother, sister, and my grandmother's cat - a completely identical scene to the year before.

And, when the ball made its way over the left field wall, there was much screaming, and maybe some jumping around and perhaps a bit of crying, and the cat got scared and hid.

I want to jump up and down and scream and cry and scare cats again. :(

If/when I do get the chance to jump up and down and scream and cry and scare cats again, there's one person who helped make me the baseball fan I am today who won't be there to share it with me.

My mom wasn't the only baseball fan in my family. But I shared a lot of baseball moments with her, and I don't think I'd be the same type of fan I am today if not for her.

She died a year ago October 26th.

When I was growing up, I'll admit, I went to more games with my dad than with my mom. My dad, however, isn't the same kind of fan - he has no qualms about leaving games early to beat the crowds. Eww.

I've been to most home games over the last few seasons, and a game didn't pass where I wouldn't have a conversation with her via text message about what was going on (provided, obviously, that she wasn't at the game with me). If something controversial happened, with nuances only able to be distinguished on TV or radio, I'd get a text. If someone wasn't playing, unexpectedly, or was put on the DL pre-game, I'd get a text. If someone did something ridiculously stupid, boom - text.

Games this season weren't the same.

When the Jays started off '09 with the best baseball I'd seen from this team in ages, I got mad - because she should have been around to see it.

If not for her, I wouldn't have gone to Yankee Stadium in its final year. She was a woman of few words, but she was so completely in awe of the experience - and lamented that fans at the Dome couldn't hold a candle to the fans in the Bronx. Due to crowds, we missed out on Monument Park - but no worries, we'd go and see the NEW stadium in a few years.

She fell in love with Pittsburgh when we were there last June. We talked about heading there again someday to see the Cubs vs the Pirates. (And, to see the Steelers. Shh.)

Over the last few years, we made many trips down to Syracuse to see the Chiefs play - and one trip to Buffalo - and those were some of her favourite games to watch. We planned on heading to see the Chiefs despite their new alliance with the Nats in '09. (Vegas likely wasn't an option.)

She was supposed to come with us to Baltimore to cap off the 2008 season, but was in the hospital - and told us to go without her. She loved our team almost as much as I do, but she was a baseball fan, first and foremost. She was looking forward to Baltimore and seeing the ballpark almost as much as she was looking forward to Yankee Stadium.

We talked about going to Fenway, and Wrigley, and spring training. She wasn't with us when we went to Cooperstown in '07, so that was another place on the to-visit list.

I'm hoping to make those trips myself, sooner rather than later. Putting things off shouldn't be an option anymore - less talking, more doing.

But, visiting those places will be different than it should be - with a much heavier heart than should be allowed at baseball games.

I miss you, Mom.

Wherever you are, can you maybe pull some strings and get the Yanks out of the playoffs? I really don't want to have to choose between them and the Phillies, thanks.

I miss it.

2009-10-11T21:43:00.006-04:00

Is it bad that we're only a week removed from the end of the regular season, and I already miss it?

Yes, OK, fine. You can tell me that there are a few more weeks left of playoff baseball, and I'll go with it, because I love this time of year. (FWIW, go Dodgers!)

But it's not the same.

The Jays ended their clusterf*ck of a season in Baltimore - a final series filled with controversy and firings and stress and some mostly crappy baseball - and I was there (those could be anyone's Chucks in the photo, but I promise, they're mine).

I've been to Oriole Park at Camden Yards on 3 separate occasions now, and the more time I spend there, the more I love it. The entire place is an assault of Baseball on all of your senses unlike any of the other parks I've visited. (I'm relatively limited in my scope. But still.)

And while I basically grew up in the concrete convertible, and wouldn't give it up for anything (except maybe for a fancy ballpark-dome), nothing will ever beat outdoor baseball in the early fall - the smell of the dirt and the grass, the crispness in the air letting you know that it's almost over... making you appreciate every last pitch. Even the pitches that result in bunts that can't be fielded properly. Damn you, Brandon F. League.

This season was painful. Being a Jays fan hasn't been easy - not for a while - but this year was one of the most emotionally trying seasons I've felt. I'm glad it's over, because I think I aged about 10 years watching this team through the last 4.5 months. I need a break.

But boy... do I miss it.

Only 6 months until the home opener. Pitchers and catchers report in 4. Definitely survivable.

A confession

2009-09-09T07:01:00.006-04:00

I've been meaning to do this post since Friday night. Needless to say, the long weekend felt even longer than it was, what with the Yankees in town, the Longest Game Ever™ happening on Saturday, the blowout on Sunday, and that horrible first inning on Monday. I think I aged about 8 years just sitting there and watching these "games".

For the last couple of months, I have felt like a really bad Jays fan.

And I don't think it has anything to do with the on-field performance of my team. I'd like to cop out and say it does, but... no. I need to get this off my chest.

In mid-to-late June, I came to the realisation that I was taking something for granted, and that something was the fact that I get to see Roy Halladay pitch - in person, no less - a couple of times a month.

I love pitchers. It's in my nature, and I'm not even sure I can explain it. There are very few I don't like, and will be quick to defend them when they're down and being torn apart.
But there were days over the last few years when I would actually feel some resentment towards Doc. When he'd get hurt, the fanbase would up and cry that our season was over. When he'd have a rough outing - and he's had only a few - you would hear moans of "Poor Doc" if the team didn't get him enough run support to win (even if he didn't deserve it).
I resented him for the fact that there were 24 other guys on any given team who had the potential to have a say with their arms, bats and gloves as to whether or not our season was over, but he was the be-all-and-end-all. It, quite frankly, drove me nuts.

To be honest, I still resent some of that from time to time.

But there are days when I learn that all of that stuff doesn't really matter. That I'm wrong, and should enjoy what I have. This year's trade deadline mess showed me the way. I can't imagine a post-Doc life - it just doesn't compute.

Friday night was one of those days. It was incredible, and after the last few un-Doc-like starts, everything fell back into place. The fact that it was against the Yankees was gravy, but it's been a while since I've actually had goosebumps while watching these Jays play. 1 hit. 9 strikeouts (OMG PIZZA!!!1!) The fact that we hit the ball helped, too, but Friday was Doc's night.

I've learned the errors of my ways. A few weeks ago, I did something I promised myself I'd never do - I bought myself a piece of Doc merch - a powder-blue jersey t-shirt. How things have changed.

Tonight, I get to see him again. And if I may say so, I'm pretty damned lucky.

Hey, that's the guy who used to date Kim Kardashian!

2009-09-01T21:25:00.005-04:00

OK, fine.

I'm not a guy. Obviously.

I don't know what it's like to date women who have no interest in sports. I just happen to be a single woman who DOES have an interest in sports. So, maybe getting pissed off at this article isn't really my place.

But I'm going to pick this apart, mainly because I'm filled with some rage and need to rant and vent a bit. Is the article serious?? Really??

"Let her know what's in it for her." Because as a woman, she won't want to just sit there and spend time with someone while watching a game - you owe her something SHE wants to do that YOU don't want to do, because that's what relationships are all about. "Compromise"? Ha.
"Don't be a selfish poop." BRING HER WINE. Hey, OK fine. I like wine... but during football? Are girls not allowed to drink beer?? If you want her to make you stuff, bring her chocolate?! Sweet lord.
"Talk to her about something other than sports during the commercials." OK, fine, I don't really have a huge problem with this one... spend time together. Fine, OK, whatever. Personally, I'd probably be talking about the game myself.
"If you want her to watch football with you on Sundays, block out the time on the schedule in advance." OK, so... I don't have a good brain for schedules, so I have the Steelers' schedule mapped out on my cell phone. But seriously. If you want me to watch a game with you, JUST ASK. You don't need to BOOK AN APPOINTMENT.
"Be very patient with her when she asks you questions about the game." Again, fine. I've had games interrupted by those around me who might not get it. But, don't be patient with her simply because she deserves patience - be patient with her because it'll score you bonus points. Ugh.
"Say something to relate to what she is interested in." I... just... don't know, especially given the example. I hate to admit that I even know who Kim Kardashian is.
"Start off by giving her someone to drool over." OK, fine. Touché - I enjoy drooling over athletes. Whatever. But bribe your chick with hot men?
"Buy her a team jersey or hat." I'm surprised the article doesn't tell you to make it pink.
"Make sure she is comfortable." I don't really even understand why this has to be a point.
I'm not even going to get into the last one, because I honestly despise that whole coupon thing. If you need little pieces of paper to keep things even/level/happy.... oy.

Here's an idea: just find a girl who LIKES SPORTS. Or, one who wants nothing to do with sports in the first place - enjoy your Sundays with the guys.

RAR.

Brothers

2009-08-27T21:48:00.003-04:00

I don't have a brother. Which is completely irrelevant.

This is basically just a picspam, for LJ.

Scott Richmond's half-brother, Brandon Kaye - who was drafted by the Jays (but not signed) - was around on the weekend.
And on Sunday, dude tossed with his bro.

I took pictures. The roof was closed, so said pictures are shite. I tried to fix them as best as I could with the ancient Paint Shop Pro I use, but meh.

No commentary, because I have no idea what to say. I'd like to say I watched dude to see what he looked like when throwing, but... nah. I was to engrossed by The Pretteh. I hate admitting that.

Yup. Very nice.

At first we thought it was Buck Coats, though it didn't really make sense that he would 1., be throwing with the pitchers, and 2., be up here at all. Duh.

He also looks kinda like Thiggy. Only taller.

This was the highlight of the weekend. Even the win on Sunday wasn't as exciting as seeing this guy during BP.

That's sad.

Let me tell you a story

2009-08-26T22:03:00.004-04:00

Once upon a time, there was a girl.

She started a blog so that she could talk about her favourite baseball team as much as she wanted, without disturbing her non-baseball blogfriends.

But then, because her team was mostly awful, she couldn't think of anything to say other than one word: "balls."

Which does not make for a very interesting blog entry, so she didn't write for days and days and days.

The end.

Seriously.

Balls.

Granted, tonight hasn't been nearly as sucky as usual. But I'm not at the game, so I'm kinda not caring, and pretending that it's not actually happening.

2009-08-12T18:36:00.004-04:00

As Jays fans, I think we're kinda spoiled.

We've gone from having the one of the absolute best bullpens around to, well, these horrible soul-crushing late-innings losses.

I'm not even going to guess at a possible solution for our woes. I'm a bullpen fan - in many ways, and for many reasons - and it kills me to see these guys failing so epically on what seems like an almost-daily basis.

But is sending Jeremy Accardo down AGAIN really going to help them out? Is there absolutely nobody else in the 'pen who could be sent down? I find that really hard to believe.

From MLB's Jordan Bastian, via Twitter:
Cito on sending Accardo down: "There's somebody that we want to get up here and take a look at. Hopefully, he'll be back in September."

I follow the 51s regularly, though not religiously - I admit, though, that I've enjoyed listening to their games more than Jays games lately, shhh.

But who is this mysterious somebody? My mind went first to Fabio Castro, then to Bubbie Buzachero (sorry dude, just can't call you Edward), but they haven't exactly been particularly overwhelming. Zach Stewart hasn't fared too poorly, either, but he's only appeared 3 times.

What I need to do is stop trying to figure out how this team is managed.

I'm grateful for 1+ days without this team.

There, I said it. Wake me up on Friday.

Goodbye, Princess

2009-08-10T20:15:00.002-04:00

This is going to be rather disjointed, because I really don't know what to say.

At the games over the weekend, a dude sitting a few seats down kept calling Alex Rios "Princess Alexis".

I've heard worse.

But, the Princess is gone.

I can't even imagine what it's like to grow up in an organisation, be given a nice contract, and then shipped off for nothing. Unfortunately, that's how my brain works. I guess you could call it a flaw - I care too much about feelings and crap. Seeing dude with slightly red eyes being interviewed by Sam Cosentino did NOT help.

What could this team look like when they get back to town?

I'm listening to the 51s game, and... Snider is in the lineup.

Randy Ruiz, however, was a late scratch, according to Russ Langer. He's yet to hear why dude was cut, but will update as soon as he knows. So will I, I suppose.

This team has changed enough for me. I really don't deal with change very well.

Oh yeah. I have a blog.

2009-08-09T19:50:00.006-04:00

I am spent.

This weekend was draining. In a good way, mind you, but still. I need about a week of sleep to recover.

I decided against the BBQ on Friday, mainly because of wacky deadlines at work this past week - and it sounds as if I didn't miss much, so I don't mind. Let me just say that if I had gone, I wouldn't have gotten anything signed anyway because I wouldn't have been carrying an extra $60 to get said stuff signed. I would have killed to see Johnny O, but alas...

I did, however, do the Fan Club Q&A whatsis on Friday afternoon, featuring The Terminator himself, Tom Henke. One of my strongest baseball memories from growing up is my dad singing the Terminator song whenever dude would come in to pitch - when I was younger, it made me laugh, and when I got older, it annoyed me.

When I was a kid, we didn't do the batting practice hunt for autographs, nor did we do any kind of fan event - we just went to games. I've started doing the autograph-fan thing now mainly in a vain attempt to be 8 years old again. And the chance to get to hear Tom Henke talk about his glory days really, really made my weekend. I loved him when I was younger, but I didn't appreciate him until I got older.

He answered the usual questions, including how he got the nickname in the first place. It apparently started down in Syracuse, NOT up here in Toronto, and had everything to do with the movie. I forget who he said actually started calling him that down there, but it carried through up here with Rick Leach, I believe... I should really take notes at these things.

Aside: I'm not sure what it is, but if you're from Missouri, there's a pretty good chance I'm gonna think you're awesome (bonus points if you went to Southwest Missouri State). I'm sure there are a bunch of assholes out there from MO, but I'll deal with that when I have to.

But yes. Dude was funny, charming, and totally played to the crowd. And he's huge - incredibly huge. While he only spoke for about 15 minutes, it was more than enough - I was totally high afterwards.

Immediately after that, we were allowed to get in line before everyone else for the other alumni autographs - don't worry, there weren't even 50 of us around, and for some reason, more than half of us seemed to head directly to Todd Stottlemyre's table. I admit it, I was there to see him too, and dude most definitely did NOT disappoint. ;)

But of everyone I saw this weekend, Henke was probably the one that made it most memorable. I'm sure if someone else had ended up doing the Q&A, I'd like them even more now, but I'm glad it was him.

The fact that I ran into him at Tim Horton's this morning capped off the weekend - I just wish I had been able to get over my shyness and say something to him. Instead, I just sat there shaking with nervousness. Hi, I am a dork.

What would I have said? Well... it probably would have come out like "OMFG I LOVE YOU YOU'RE SO AWESOME AND YOU WERE TOTALLY AWESOME AND OMFG I LOVE YOU", which is the main reason I didn't bother.

As for the rest of Friday night, it was amazing to see all these guys again. Obviously, some got bigger cheers from me than others, and I wish I'd had the chance to see some of them up close, but overall, it was a very goosebump-y kinda night. Would have been better if we'd, you know, won the game. But would have been worse if there wasn't the whole reunion thing at all.

Now if we can only get the team to start wearing those home whites again....

Ugh.

2009-08-05T07:12:00.008-04:00

One game down, one to go - but it feels as if the Yanks have been here for a week already.

Reasons why we lost, according to the crowd at the Dome:

...Vernon Wells didn't hit a homerun, but only hit a double. That, and it was only a double because of Johnny Damon - not because Vernon can actually hit Mo once in a while.

...Jose Bautista, simply for existing.

...A balk wasn't called on Pettitte at one point fairly early in the game.

... J.P. didn't trade Doc when his value was highest - dude's been on a downward spiral for weeks, now, don't you know.

This loss was a team effort. Most of the time, they are.

Games like these are never lost because Doc gave up 3 homeruns - including the first back-to-backers in over 2 years.

Millar makes me laugh, but if we have to see him batting cleanup again anytime soon...

Just, ugh.

I hate the Yankees.

Ramble on

2009-08-03T13:41:00.005-04:00

I will admit something:

While I love having season tickets, and go to about 99.9% of the games (curse you, Bratinees™)... I was really glad when I saw that MLB had graciously granted us a long weekend sans baseball.

Of course, it's not all awesome. While we may have had the weekend off, we have to deal with the Yankees when we get back. Two games, which could be worse, but it's the Yankees.

That's how I've spent my off-day today so far. Preparing myself for the mental and emotional drain that is a Yankees Series. I'm not sure what it is that makes them so awful - I don't find Red Sox series nearly as bad.

Then again, I've never been harassed or spit on by Sox fans. Yankees fans, on the other hand... I was treated better in Yankee Stadium by Yankees fans that I've been treated by Yankees fans here at home. Which isn't saying much. I've been harassed and spit on by JAYS fans at the Dome, but that's a whole other entry.

The Yankees are just depressing. Everything about them makes me kinda sick. Except for Swisher. And Johnny Damon. And Mo. And hell, I don't even mind Jeter so much.

At least we don't have to face A.J. this time around. A.J. vs Doc was an incredible atmosphere, but more people were there to boo A.J. and scream obscenities at him and his teammates than to cheer on their own team - a team that just happened to be playing really, really well at that point in the season. I get it, to an extent, but I don't think I'll ever really understand why people enjoy spending money to do stuff like that.

I really need to have a plan when I start writing these things. Rambling is good in the right setting, but here? Not so much.

I hate off-days.

I waffled.

2009-08-02T13:02:00.007-04:00

So, I was totally prepared to blog last night.

My first draft was started just after Lyle Overbay hit his homerun, and it was a piece dedicated to (and defending, in an admittedly lame and unconvincing fashion) the fact that he's my favourite current Jay. Shut up. Hopefully, he'll give me another chance to write something like that soon. Or, maybe that's the perfect off-day topic. Hmmm.

I kinda gave up on that after we blew the lead.

Then it was going to be all about Aaron Hill, as well as the fact that Rance Mulliniks basically called his homerun, which cracked me up - I'm sure there's no living with him when he's right like that.

It was perfect - something positive to talk about! Glee!

But then, we had to turn to the bullpen. I long for the last two seasons when a 2-run lead in the late innings of the game tended to mean a win for the Jays.

I'm convinced I have an ulcer simply because of this year's 'pen.

When The Beej was full of suckitude, I salivated at the idea of Scotty Downs as our closer - and cringed at the idea of Jason Frasor being a possibility (though, not as much as I did at the idea of Brandon F. League stepping into the role). OK, so he's not intimidating... but it was time. He was ready. He'd paid his dues, etc.

At this point, though, I actually feel more nervous when Scotty comes into the game than when Beej would make an appearance. No word on his foot yet, though I would be surprised if he didn't end up on the DL again. Frankly, that would be fine with me - go and rest, Scotty. Please and thank you.

There's already talk of the newest Number Firty-Fwee, Josh Roenicke, who was acquired from the Reds in the Scott Rolen trade, easing himself into the closer role, and if it ends up panning out, then great. Aside: Hell-O Josh Roenicke. Something new to look at. ;D

We need someone to step up, and unfortunately, the rest of the guys down there are just a tad tired - some fresh blood might be just what we need to get those guys back on track.

All of that, though, and we still ended up winning the game - ulimately, a 1-run game.

I'll take it, along with the ulcer.

On blogs, baseball, and Blue Jays

2009-07-31T20:50:00.007-04:00

I've been waiting for what seems like months to actually start doing this blogging thing, and now that I'm finally here, I'm not even sure what I should say.

I'll start simply: I am a Blue Jays fan.

Lately, it seems that any time I mention that to people, I get asked one simple question: "Why?!?" I never really know what to answer, partly because I don't think it's actually an answerable question.

Chances are, if you're reading this bloggy-thing, you don't need to ask it. If you feel the need, go ahead, but to be honest, I'm still not really sure what to answer.

I'm still trying to decide what kind of direction I'm going to take with this thing. I'm not a stats-head, I never will be stats-head, and I'm not sure I want to be a stats-head. I love the sport, but fail miserably at analysing it to any degree that might be interesting to anyone but myself.

I'm a chick, which shouldn't take away from any love or understand of the actual game I might have. Yes, I like looking at men in tight pants (though I prefer high socks). I also love a sick curve, slick 6-4-3s, and an afternoon in the sun at the ballpark with a hot dog and cold beer. I love baseball.

I have opinions, and while I would love to convince people using my powers of thought and deduction that I am, in fact, always right, I realise that I'm not. I'm not trying to change anyone's minds about anything, and I'm rarely going to have my mind changed by the opinions of others. (OK, it might happen... but rarely.)

I'm here to have fun, and this is the best place for me to get let my feelings about my team out. I don't know enough people who like baseball enough for me to ramble on incessantly about it, so why not join the masses and let it all hang out here?

I'm here to vent. I'm here to talk about a team and sport I love. And that's all this is. Stick around. I can't guarantee that what I write here will be interesting or intelligent, but I can guarantee that it will be about the Jays and baseball.

I'm a little nervous.