Take Care, GBOAT.

You were beyond appreciated around these parts.

According to my observations of my fellow fans at the Rogers Centre, there are three occurrences during a baseball game for which people will bother getting off their asses, stand up, and dole out some very loud applause:

• A Jays home run,
• Near the end of a game when the ribbon boards tell you to "make some noise" (groan), and
• Unbelievable defensive plays.

In all honesty, only two players stand out in my mind for getting an assured ovation for their outstanding defensive plays: Prime Minister of Defence John McDonald, and Scott Rolen. It seems like Rolen had a web gem every game I attended. That's more than likely untrue, but that's the impact he had here. It put that kind of bias in my mind.

Safe travels, Mr Rolen.

Now, despite much evidence to the contrary, I have a good feeling about this trade. I can't put my finger on why, but let me state that for the record. I won't go into personal BS, but let's just say that despite the fact that I should be in a completely foul mood today, all in Jays land seems placid to me.

Edwin Encarnacion seems to have endured the hatred of many a Reds fan. He should feel right at home here in Toronto. Perhaps Vernon Wells could take him under his wing and show him all that this great city has to offer. I would absolutely love it if he mysteriously just starts lighting it up and kicking ass.

Oh, and in case you've forgotten or 10:00 pm is just too far past your bedtime, there is a baseball game tonight, yo. Take a nap, then grab yourself some Koolaid.

This evening, you may see Roy Halladay pitch for the Jays for the last time for the third time.

Two Grand Slams By One Player In The Same Game?!

It is possible, and has now happened for only the 13th time in the history of Major League Baseball. Your slugger extraordinaire was none other than that red-hot left fielder everyone's been gushing about lately, Washington Nationals Josh Willingham.

See? Baseball can be utterly random... and there is entertaining baseball to be seen beyond OMG WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!1

Hey, Look Who's Back!

Hi, Koolaid.

Nice homer, Lyle-Oh.

Apparently, Shaun Marcum is also with the club for treatment for a sore back, which took him out of his last rehab start after only 2 innings.

Two Rants

Rather, a public service announcement and two rants.

In honour of Dog Day at Ye Olde Ballparke, here's a gratuitous dog photo!



I attended today's game sans chien. I would have brought my German Shepherd, Bravo, if I did not have to rely on public transpo. I'm not sure his CadPat canine tactical vest, leash and collar would have convinced the Commuter Cops on the GO Train that he was a service dog. I'm a terrible liar.

I'll try not to get too far off topic here gushing about my dog. Long story short: this heartbroken shelter dog was an absolute gem in the rough. He is a sweet, intelligent, intuitive dog. Typical Shepherd. Please consider adopting an animal from a shelter or rescue if you're looking for a pet, and don't overlook the seniors.

The rant portion: people who beat, neglect and dump dogs deserve to be severely beaten themselves! How someone could have done that to this dog is beyond me. I wonder how s/he sleeps at night.

Rant deux:

I don't blame anyone for being tired of watching Vernon Wells playing golf with curveballs in the dirt. I can even forgive the booing, because perhaps he got everyone riled up by joking about it ("Fans have been chanting my new nickname, 'boo,' and it's something you feed off.")

...but I was a little stunned today when I could have sworn I heard some hardcore heckling of the guy while he was walking with his family during the Dog Day parade. I was hoping I was wrong - surely I misheard that. That was probably just some dudes yelling to each other. Sadly, though, Siobhan confirmed what I heard. She was a few sections closer.

Unreal, jackasses! UNREAL. Yelling obscenities at the guy while he's participating in a charity event? With his two little kids with him?! As Siobhan pointed out, this officially makes Red Sox fans marginally classier than us! Jesus H. Cookies!

Laugh.

This one's for my buddy and new blogger Siobhan, in reply to a comment. Surely we could all still use a little comic relief after Saturday's numbing head-shaker, even if said comic relief is in the form of a rehashed link from god-knows-how-long-ago.

Under the category of "medical oddities," here are some of Baseball's Strangest Injuries. I can't vouch for this site's accuracy; feel free to debunk away, but they're still pretty funny.

"Jose Cardenal also missed a game in 1974, because he couldn't blink. He swore his eyes were stuck open."

Oh, I can relate to that. Mine were stuck open for a good three hours after yesterday's loss to the Rays.

Bob Saget

I suppose it's rare that players are injured by the equipment that is supposed to protect them.

Kansas City Royals right fielder Jose Guillen could miss up to 10 weeks due to a torn right knee ligament sustained while trying to put on a shin guard during a game.

Guillen was injured in the second inning of Wednesday's 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, saying he felt his knee pop while bending over to put on a shin guard before his first at-bat. He was taken to the hospital during the game and test results showed a partially torn lateral collateral ligament.

Oh Hai.

I had my 'net connection cut off this week, and I almost appreciated it.

I think the All-Star Break needs to be longer, because I've got baseball burnout. Not the game, but all the crap around it.

I am sick of indoor baseball 7/10 times I've ventured out to the Rogers Centre so far.

I am sick of trade speculation. Let's at least wait until it happens before we crap ourselves, okay? You bunch of girls.

Anyway, it was cool to finally see one of these:



And very cool to see all those dingers, especially two in one game from Marco Scoo-two-ro for the first time in his career.

Yeah, give that bat some lovin'.



Korean Heritage Night fail: Shin-Soo Choo got the night off.

I'm Trying To Like You, David Dellucci...

I think Ricky Romero was a Pharoah in a previous life.

The Dinger Derby

It was interesting. Neither compelling nor utterly boring... just interesting.

Cruz and Fielder.

The kids were almost more entertaining - both the ones full of comedic Fail falling all over each other in the outfield, and the ones sitting in front of the dugouts in lawn chairs, tasked with looking after their dads.

Little Pujols is going to go places, I tellya. This kid was so intense through most of the three-hour contest, he looked like a 50-year-old manager mysteriously trapped in an 8-year-old's body; whose job depended on each swing of the bat.

Wow, some not-so-fugly baseball. Young Mr Cecil tossed six innings, giving up four hits and zero runs. The Jays' offense wasn't exactly fireworks, but it was enough to get the job done tonight. Scott Rolen's hitting streak came to an end at 25 games. Bravo, GBOAT.

Don't worry, Cecil family, Sportsnet only showed you about 15 times, including when you had the signs backwards. Heh heh.

I had a total Twilight Zone/Coast-to-Coast-AM moment in the first inning, though:

Cecil had struck out Adam Jones... or so I thought. I did a li'l YEAH! fist pump, and watched pitcher and batter start walking away.

Then, Campbell and Tabler are laughing at Cecil for thinking it was strike three. Er, it was, thinks I.

Brian Butterfield comes out to argue it with the umpire. See? I knew it.

Then, Roy Halladay is laughing at the whole situation from the dugout.




Tomorrow, I'm going to cash in on the freebie sample of mlb.tv and watch that at-bat to see if there was something weird that fooled everyone into thinking there were three strikes.

Maybe I should just stop watching games on a beer and an empty stomach.

(Shakes head)

Oddities

Pirates RHP gets W... for Nationals

"Joel Hanrahan earned his first win of the year the easy way -- hanging out in his hotel room.

And it was a victory that defied geography.

The Pittsburgh Pirates reliever was enjoying a day off in Philadelphia on Thursday when his former Washington Nationals teammates were finishing off a suspended game in Houston by winning 11-10 in the 11th inning, and he was the winning pitcher.

'It's pretty funny,' Hanrahan told The Associated Press by phone from Philadelphia, where the Pirates face the Phillies on Friday. 'It feels pretty good in the situation that we're in. Houston is a team in our division and we gained ground.'

How did he learn he finally has a win this season: 'I got a bunch of text messages.'"

Schtuff.

Despite some stellar defense from the Jays, today's 7-6 win over the Yankees was a little uglier than it needed to be. A balk, two hit batsmen, a run walked in, and some pretty psychotic umpiring didn't interfere with Ricky-of-the-Year Romero earning another win.

God, I hate the Yankees and their ballpark.

I have to say, though, in John McDonald's defense: I'm not sure we can credit the bizarre physics of New Wankee Stadium for his home run. The wind was blowing in FROM left field, and that's where J-Mac deposited Pettitte's 3-2 offering. Let the man relish in his 'no-doubter', as dubbed by the Yankee's broadcasters.

--

Courtesy of the drama ensuing in my backyard over the last week, you are all now cursed with seeing a baby blue jay pic every time a rookie makes a debut.



...and courtesy of young Mr Mills having bruised ribs (!?), tomorrow's victim of being thrown into the deep end of the pool is... Marc Rzepczynski. (How's that name for a rainbow across his back from one hip bone to the other? Hell, I had to get 'Richmond' in children's sized letters...)

Zep (can we just call him that?) becomes the fifth baby jay to make his ML debut this season, breaking the club record set in the 1977 inaugural season.

Break a leg, kiddo. WAIT - I take that back. I should just say, "good luck." Don't break anything, for the love of gawd.

Random musing, and because I'm not a Real Blogger™, I couldn't be bothered looking this up: has there ever been a team with all five starting pitchers being rookies, even very briefly? The Jays have come close: with Halladay on the DL recently, the Jays were down to Tallet as the only non-rookie starting pitcher.

Michael Barrett is now off the DL. Funny, I was just wondering yesterday if his rehab was being (cough) extended due to coming down with a case of Raul-Chavez-being-awesome-itis. I must say, I'm liking the way Chavez wakes me up in the middle of not-paying-attention-to-the-game with snap pick-off throws.

We Interrupt This Losing Streak To Bring You Cute.

I am a girl, and I am cashing in on my god-given right to cheer myself up with Cute Shit.

I'm sure you've all been biting your nails waiting for an update on Little Dude. Well, here you go. I took this picture on Friday morning:



Today, he was joined by a sibling:





Other than that...

"I'd rather miss two starts than the second half. I'm looking at the big picture. It's tough, but I'm trying to help this team. If I go out there not 100 percent, I don't feel like I'm helping the team." - Scott Richmond

"We've got so many guys down in this organization as far as pitchers. We're just going to let him rest until after the All-Star Game." - Cito Gaston

"Fuck off, baseball Gods." - Eyebleaf

Things That Make You Go "Huh?"

"Scott Richmond, originally expected to start Sunday's game, was placed on the 15-day disabled list after Saturday's loss to the Yankees, so Cecil will be moved up from Tuesday's start to pitch at Yankee Stadium."

o.O ?

Bitter

Jays lost. 'nuff said. Grumpy.

Hey, surely there's some good news elsewhere on the ol' blogosphere!

...or not.

(via Go Jays Go via Orioles Magic)


"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just polishing my MVP trophy. How many MVPs do YOU know who can't make that tag?"

Take note, Aaron Hill! That's what it takes to be an All-Star!

--

Brighter news: the li'l baby blue jay is thriving. Just four days later, and he has the stripes on his face and he can fly short distances, though he has yet to master the art of landing. He did quite the faceplant trying to land on my chain link fence today.