Sunday, May 16, 2010
What Happened?
I’d love to comment on the Jays going 4-2 over the last week. It would be great if I could dissect the Jays’ first 2010 victory over the Red Sox, a wild 16-10 shootout against Texas and Ricky Romero’s complete game shutout masterpiece but it’s impossible since I didn’t see a single pitch from any of those games. I haven’t seen the Jays since Brandon Morrow and Dana Eveland allowed the wide side of barns everywhere to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Wednesday’s getaway game took place while I was at work, Thursday was an off day, and the games of Friday and Saturday were available on the Rogers preview channel which I’ve had less luck finding than Gargamel looking for some Smurf lunch.
I could comment based on the articles I’ve read, but that’s just redundant…and lacking in details. Written pieces found in both the local papers and websites, provided very little insight into the fact that Kevin Gregg barely managed to hold on to a three run lead, and is beginning to look like a man who’s no longer fooling his new league with his herky jerky delivery. Thanks for the memories Kevin…as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Gregg’s failures don’t upset me, so keep running him out there Cito.
But seriously, if I have to wait until the Memorial Cup ends before I get to see the Jays again I might become a Habs fan. –nothing against those kids in the OHL but I just can’t watch people half my age being that successful, Little League World Series and Olympic gymnasts notwithstanding-.
The failure of Rogers sportsnet to show these games comes on the heels of the Jays selling a weekend series in late June, with an opportunity for a Roy Halladay love in, to Philly. Like the Toronto Baseball Wife said “are the Jays trying to drop attendance low enough so that MLB allows them to relocate to Vegas?”.
Silver Lining
Mind you, the Jays playing these games in Philly might have some upside.
A.) The Jays are seven games above .500 on the road, while just below the break even mark at SkyCentre.
B.) If it’s true –as most people are assuming- that Rogers is making a tonne of money on this deal, hopefully the extra cash can be converted into us actually signing our draft picks, or maybe even a free agent about to hit their prime.
Moving the series to Philadelphia, leaving the Jays with three fewer home games -and more importantly to the NL East- giving the Philadelphia Halladay’s three more home games wreaks of submoronic incompetence or some significant corruption on the part of MLB. I’m assuming the latter, but that wouldn’t be anything new in the world of sport.
Speaking of the Phillies and Corruption
It seems like the Phillie Phanatic has been stealing signs since before the invention of the t-shirt bazooka. Yet we still view them as NL champions, two years running.
Vince Carter quit trying, faked injury, and tipped off the opposition on upcoming Raptor plays. He then ran the New Jersey Nets into the ground and was rewarded with a move to a championship calibre team. If karma has anything to say about this, the NBA championship will end with Steve Nash posterizing VC on some sort of last second lead changing dipsey doodle.
Yet with all of the crooks getting away with a liberal interpretation of what’s right, the sports world lost one of the few people in athletics on whom the scales of justice were less than kind.
Charlie Francis, the coach of Ben Johnson during his glory days, passed away on Wednesday. Francis will be forever remembered and vilified for his part in the stanazolol incident of 1988. His career was ruined, and his name dragged through the mud. What people forget is that he was an absolute sprint genius. He helped train Ben Johnson to the single most impressive athletic accomplishment this world would see until 2008 –it pained me to admit to it at the time, but Usain Bolt has surpassed Big Ben-. Charlie Francis helped treat us to that magnificent Saturday afternoon in Seoul in ’88, and found ways to continue to ply his trade up until his final days. Always willing to work with young track talent and share his love of the sport. Charlie Francis’ body of work speaks for itself, and the legacy of his coaching techniques will remain for years to come. ¶ posted by Mark at 12:17 AM
I could comment based on the articles I’ve read, but that’s just redundant…and lacking in details. Written pieces found in both the local papers and websites, provided very little insight into the fact that Kevin Gregg barely managed to hold on to a three run lead, and is beginning to look like a man who’s no longer fooling his new league with his herky jerky delivery. Thanks for the memories Kevin…as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Gregg’s failures don’t upset me, so keep running him out there Cito.
But seriously, if I have to wait until the Memorial Cup ends before I get to see the Jays again I might become a Habs fan. –nothing against those kids in the OHL but I just can’t watch people half my age being that successful, Little League World Series and Olympic gymnasts notwithstanding-.
The failure of Rogers sportsnet to show these games comes on the heels of the Jays selling a weekend series in late June, with an opportunity for a Roy Halladay love in, to Philly. Like the Toronto Baseball Wife said “are the Jays trying to drop attendance low enough so that MLB allows them to relocate to Vegas?”.
Silver Lining
Mind you, the Jays playing these games in Philly might have some upside.
A.) The Jays are seven games above .500 on the road, while just below the break even mark at SkyCentre.
B.) If it’s true –as most people are assuming- that Rogers is making a tonne of money on this deal, hopefully the extra cash can be converted into us actually signing our draft picks, or maybe even a free agent about to hit their prime.
Moving the series to Philadelphia, leaving the Jays with three fewer home games -and more importantly to the NL East- giving the Philadelphia Halladay’s three more home games wreaks of submoronic incompetence or some significant corruption on the part of MLB. I’m assuming the latter, but that wouldn’t be anything new in the world of sport.
Speaking of the Phillies and Corruption
It seems like the Phillie Phanatic has been stealing signs since before the invention of the t-shirt bazooka. Yet we still view them as NL champions, two years running.
Vince Carter quit trying, faked injury, and tipped off the opposition on upcoming Raptor plays. He then ran the New Jersey Nets into the ground and was rewarded with a move to a championship calibre team. If karma has anything to say about this, the NBA championship will end with Steve Nash posterizing VC on some sort of last second lead changing dipsey doodle.
Yet with all of the crooks getting away with a liberal interpretation of what’s right, the sports world lost one of the few people in athletics on whom the scales of justice were less than kind.
Charlie Francis, the coach of Ben Johnson during his glory days, passed away on Wednesday. Francis will be forever remembered and vilified for his part in the stanazolol incident of 1988. His career was ruined, and his name dragged through the mud. What people forget is that he was an absolute sprint genius. He helped train Ben Johnson to the single most impressive athletic accomplishment this world would see until 2008 –it pained me to admit to it at the time, but Usain Bolt has surpassed Big Ben-. Charlie Francis helped treat us to that magnificent Saturday afternoon in Seoul in ’88, and found ways to continue to ply his trade up until his final days. Always willing to work with young track talent and share his love of the sport. Charlie Francis’ body of work speaks for itself, and the legacy of his coaching techniques will remain for years to come. ¶ posted by Mark at 12:17 AM
