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I’m a little tiny bit more human than I was earlier today, so as a free something type thing, have a thing. There’s a whole crap ton of other shtuff that still has yet to post–it’s coming, promise–and more still I get to add to it, but this should see you through until then. It’s in no particular order, but it is in a list. See? Accomodating and everything.
I saw several hundred job ads today, which is a change. So of course, that change has to come with a catch. Because it does that kinda thing. Today’s catch? Every single goddamn one of those ads was completely and entirely in French. I kid you not. I only moved here last year–I shouldn’t be contemplating moving elsewhere. Or should I? You be the judge.
I’ve decided. As far as pitchers go, the Bluejays are a jinx. Steve’s probably gonna wonder what the hell I’ve been smoking, but here’s my evidence. And yes, random games from random years is evidence, dammit. First it was Roy’s postseason no-hitter in 2010, while with the Phillies–the freakin’ Phillies, goddammit! And in Detroit yesterday, Justin Verlander came damn close to one. If memory serves, he played quite sucktastically the few times I saw him in a Jays suit. Who the hell is this guy? At least Roy was still good when he was with us–he just became a god after he left. But this? Yeah. Jinx. Has to be. Now hearing arguments to the contrary.
It’s the long weekend. Officially the first long weekend of the hot. That means countdown to AC. I suspect sometime this week or next, it shall exist once again in the living room window. Now, the question becomes–do I get completely plastered after putting it up, before putting it up, or while putting it up? Either way, I think there’s booze in my future.
Speaking of booze, long weekends and that Steve guy, he’s at it again. Long weekends mean booze, and one or both usually means audio. So he and Carin, of Vomit Comet fame, are obliging. Their first one went damn near an hour. Their second? I have no idea. And they’ve still gotta survive tomorrow and Monday. That hangover’s gonna blow hard, I do believe. Go check ‘em out, toss ‘em a comment or 5, and–hell, since it’s all over Steve’s twitter anyway–fire a question or few at ‘em if you’ve got ‘em. Rumor has it they’ll answer anything. Or at least they’ll fake it.
This is my brain. This is my brain on random. Enjoy. Now, where’d I put that shtuff I was gonna add to the mock list…
Up until either 2009 or 2010, Ottawa had a minor league baseball team here called the Lynx. They relocated recently, around the same time the Montreal Expos packed up their toys and shuffled off to Washington. You didn’t hear much from that team usually, unless you were 1: watching Ottawa’s A-Channel station or 2: bored enough to attend a game. Very rarely did they make the playoffs, and even then, they didn’t exactly fill the stands. Hence the relocation. Which is still better than what happened to both of Ottawa’s football teams, but I’ve pretty much determined that to be a lost cause. That was the end of pro baseball in Ottawa. Until now. It would seem the city wants to try again, and is coughing up about half of what it’ll cost to renovate the stadium as an insentive–the rest is coming from the company who wants to actually put the team in Ottawa. I’m ordinarily highly enthusiastic about a new sports team coming to the city–especially if the ticket prices are in such a state that they don’t actually cost me 3/4 my grocery money to actually attend a game. But considering the city’s luck with funding/begging sports teams to play here? This can only end badly for everyone involved. On the other hand, this team can at least–hopefully–use the fact they’re not associated with the Phillies as a selling point. That should boost sales.
I mentioned a couple days ago that I have no one in this year’s playoffs to cheer for, and for that reason, I was cheering against the Phillies. My strategy appears to have worked, as they have officially been given their walking papers after 5 games. You can’t go wrong with that. Nor can you go wrong with last night’s events. If you’re a self-respecting baseball fan and not completely dilusional, you have an entirely logical hatred of the Yankees–simply for being, well, the Yankees. They, also, were handed their walking papers. This makes this Jays/Braves fan extraordinarily happy, which means all things considered, it’ll be a very good thanks giving this weekend. Now I just have one problem. With no one left to cheer for, I now have no one left to cheer against. Oh well, hockey’s heer. See you next year, folks. Maybe I’ll blog more about it then. But, well, probably not.
Anyone who isn’t slightly older than me probably doesn’t remember 1993. That was the last time the Bluejays went anywhere near the world series–they probably could have in 94, except it wasn’t actually held. The last time they did anything involving the world series, it was against Philadelphia. It took 6 games, but we walked away from that series with a championship. They’ve been trying to make up for it since–and very nearly did a couple times. And I’ve developed what some might call a not very rational hatred for that team. Call it what you will, they are to baseball what Montreal is to hockey–especially since there is no longer a Montreal in baseball. As a Jays fan, and secondarily a Braves fan, cheering for the Phillies just doesn’t happen. It was revealed to me during a conversation tonight that I’ve got no good reason for not cheering for the Rangers. And, sure, that’s true–but I’ve got no good reason to do it, either. At least until they make the series, and then only if they’re up against the Phillies. I don’t have a particular team to cheer for this year. But I’ll be more than happy to cheer against Philadelphia. So it is written, so it shall be. Go other teams go!
Hey, Jays? I don’t know when it started happening, but yall have really taken to sucking something really, really huge. Losing 16 4 last night, 14 1 today, and that’s just what I know about? Do you even know where .500 is anymore? Judging by recent standings, I’m thinking no not really. Okay, I get it–when you win, you win big, usually. That’s great. Wonderful. Nifty, even. But you really don’t have to lose just as big if not bigger. For serious. I’d appreciate it if that stopped sometime before the end of the season–you might actually encourage me to start watching again, and even writing about you again in more than just this act of desperation. Really, if I wanted to watch one of my teams do this to me again I’d rewatch the last NHL season. Please, for the love of chese, find a winning streak. And try not to let someone like Baltimore, who’s still behind you by the way, beat the everloving snot out of you. That’d be awesome, too. Thanks for reading. Feel free to completely collapse now, as you’d intended.
This blog post has been crossposted to other blogs. so enjoy.
What is it? Baseball
Who’s playing? jays and minnisota.
What time does it start? 6:30PM eastern.
who’s running the show?
to extremely geeky people,.
How do I listen?
You listen by waiting until 6:30PM on Friday April 1, 2011, and then you click right here
and then sit back with your beverage of choice, a pizza, your instant messenger, or twitter client in front of you, and enjoy great baseball, and commintary from the hosts of this party.
We hope to see you all their!
See what happens when the Yankees blow up? That needs to happen more often. Just next time, can it be the Braves? They must be due now… Shush, Steve. I don’t wanna hear it. They’re due, dammit. Now back to watching my hockey team implode.
This’ll teach me to pay more attention to what goes on in the baseball world. While I was busy doing things of a geeky nature, which will make the blog in the near future, the Yankees were getting their asses handed to them by Texas. Nifty. Now, I can actually watch baseball-related news/whatever and not get this sick feeling in my stomach. Now, then, here’s hoping one Philadelphia team comes out on top in their game. Meanwhile I stare at another Philadelphia team currently doing exactly that, and hope like hell this one spontaneously catches fire. Congratulations, Yankees. For a change, you suck this year.
I missed a lot of Jays games last year. Probably slightly more than the amount I missed this year. I almost always made it a point to watch when Roy Halladay was on the mound, though, regardless to what else I might have missed. Why? Because if ever there was a god of pitching, he’s it. And, once again tonight, the man proves it. In his first postseason start, ever, he officially records the second no-hitter in playoff history. My only complaint is he didn’t get to do it in Toronto. But, still, the man does what he does, and he still does it with a smile. And why not? He’s damn good at it.
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baseball | October 6, 2010 by James | Comments Off
Okay, so maybe he’s not. I don’t really know. But over the last month or so, he’s pretty much exploded–in the form of a team record piercing home run performance. And you know someone’s gonna ask the question in the offseason if they haven’t already. They asked it of Barry Bonds after his performance–and, yes, he apparently was, they asked it of Mark McGuire after his performance–I don’t remember if he was or not, honestly, so yeah they’ll probably ask it of Bautista. Whether he was or not, it was a twice awesome run. And, while it’d be wicked cool if he did it without the roids, I can’t say I’ll be overly surprised when they ask if the answer’s yes. And who knows, maybe my record for actually watching the game will improve next year because of it. Hey, it could happen. In the meantime, playoffs or no, it was a hell of a run. And the team as a whole didn’t suck this year either. There’s hope for Toronto sports teams yet.
Back in December, the Bluejays’ best pitcher, possibly of all time, flew the coop. I wrote this entry about it then. No sooner does he leave the team does he put up the kind of game that’s only ever happened 19 other times in the history of the league–a perfect one. He was good with Toronto for years. He’s perfect in Philadelphia. And it couldn’t have happened to a better pitcher. Now if it’d just happened in Toronto.
I’ve always sort of absentmindedly followed the Jays for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until around 1999 or 2000 that I started more consistently paying attention. And, admittedly, I didn’t do a whole lot of that last year. Now, though, I’m actually surprisingly glad I do.
Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista each hit two-run homers, and the Toronto Blue Jays avoided a three-game sweep with a 12-4 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. The major league leaders in home runs brought their team total to 76, and the Blue Jays established a season high for hits with 17.
They don’t win often, but when they win, they win big. That’s my team.
It’s the start of April. The official start of spring for any sports fan. And, the official start of the 2010 baseball season. There’s a crap ton of young bats turning loose on this team, and even more waiting in the wings. Will we make the playoffs this year? Not a clue. I’d be happy with doing better than last season, personally. And to welcome in the 2010 baseball season, as only a Jays fan can, have a theme song in video format. Okay, Bluejays, let’s play ball. And win something.
Until about 2 minutes ago, I had no clue who Zach Jackson was, in spite of the fact the Jays apparently drafted him in the supplemental round in 2004. Woopsies. Apparently Cleveland’s decided to send him back. Not saying he’ll be our new Halladay, but hey, one more top round arm can’t hurt. I’m just sayin’. Now if we could just find some more offense.
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Bluejays | January 9, 2010 by James | Comments Off
He’d been threatening to do so according to a report or two for at least a month. Now, he’s done it. Roy Halladay, apparently effective as of this morning, is no longer a Bluejay. In a 3-way deal he ended up going to Philadelphia. On the bright side, we can still cheer for him without feeling dirty for also cheering for the Yankees or Redsox. I mentioned in response to someone’s comment last month that I’d much rather he find himself in the NL. Thank you so very much, Roy Halladay, for taking my advice. You may be too good for today’s Bluejays, but you’re way too good for those other two teams. We’ll miss ya, but at least we won’t have to curse ya.
Everyone who knows me knows I’m a Jays fan. Have been at least in passing since the early 90′s. Have been a more hardcore fan starting in approximately 1999 or 2000. And with every year, and every game I’ve actually been able to sit down and watch, things seem to be progressively worse. The only constant, and that’s often times constantly above .500 for a given season–and way over .500 career–is the only guy on the team fans have collectively called by name since Joe. Roy Halladay, otherwise known as our better answer to Roger Clemens. He’s won as many as 20 games, and I don’t know that he’s ever actually lost more in a season than he’s won–I’m sure someone with a better head for Jays trivia than me will correct me. He continues to get better year by year, while the rest of the team progressively… well, does all kinds of not doing that. And now he’s thinking about leaving the nest. There were trade rumours all through last offseason, and even through part of this one. And they’re talking now about a possibility of him not signing with the Bluejays again once his contract’s up in 2010. Not that he can be blamed–the man deserves a world series win. Actually he’s deserved about 6, but if he gets at least 1 in his career it’ll be well earned. And, as aptly pointed out by the Jays’ new GM, he probably won’t get that as soon as he should with the Jays–the man’s not getting any younger here. So, if you’re really leaving us Roy, we’re gonna miss you. But if you find that world series start you deserve a shot at, I’ll be right there in front of the TV with a pizza and a coke or 3 to watch it. Just please, for the love of God, if you have any love for your fans at all, please don’t do it with the Yankees.
I’ve never actually lived in Toronto. Closest I’ve lived would be Barrie, which for those of you who haven’t been up that way is about an hour north. Beyond that, I’ve spent the last 5 or 6 years either in or around Ottawa and the valley. But still, I can’t help but keep on following Toronto’s sports teams. Well, some of them, anyway. And every year, I notice a lot of the same trends–even among sports teams in Toronto I don’t actually follow.
The Leafs, God help them, haven’t won a Stanley cup since around the same time my mother was born. They haven’t seen a playoff round since 2003-2004. The Bluejays haven’t won a world series, or been to the playoffs, since I was 10. The Raptors have made the playoffs a grand total of… twice? Maybe three times? And they haven’t really done a whole lot with that. And the Argos–well, let’s just not talk about the Argos. Now, granted I only follow two of the four teams listed, but let’s have a look at all four of them anyway. They post losing seasons. In some cases, downright depressing seasons. I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy when the Bluejays ended their 2009 season on a very pathetic whimper. And they still fill the seats. If this were Ottawa, or New York, or–yes, even the money-bleeding Phoenix Coyotes, the majority of the arena would be empty. So what makes Toronto fans so different?
I can only speculate at this point, but speculate I will. To put it rather plainly, we love to lose. We don’t go there expecting a W. We buy that baseball ticket, or rush home to watch that hockey game on TV, because the Bluejays play a 3-game set with the Yankees. Or because the Leafs and Canadians are on Hockey Night in Canada. And we enjoy every damn minute of it. We even love to boo the bad guys.
So yes, sure, bring on the Hockey Night in Canada. Bring on the toronto versus Ottawa. Bring on the Bluejays versus Yankees. Because at the end of the day, the score’s probably going to wind up coming up as something like 7 6 after a shootout. And let me tell you, if we have to lose, losing can’t get much more exciting than a game like that. We love to lose. You’re damn right.
Ottawa’s city council is once again being approached by two major developers regarding the building of a new sports arena. One wants to bring a soccer team to Ottawa, the other wants yet a third crack at football. I do have to wonder, though, has anyone ever considered the possibility of a MLB arena in Ottawa? Yes, we had the lynx for a time. One problem, though. They were Montreal’s minor league team, and Montreal is now in Washington. So why not? We have the toronto versus Ottawa rivalry in hockey, and it’s awesome as hell. As much as I rag on Ottawa fans for being Ottawa fans (hey, what can I say? Your team’s falling apart at the seems), they do provide a wicked provincial battle. Why can’t we have the same thing going on in baseball? Who knows? I might even cheer for *that* team rather than toronto. Although you’ll never see me doing that where hockey’s concerned. Sorry, folks.
Tonight’s Toronto versus Detroit baseball game is apparently going to be a very dry one. At least on the alcohol front. Folks got a little too rough and loud during last night’s game, so the alcohol and gaming commission suspended the stadium’s license to serve alcohol for 3 games as a result. Woops. Too much pass-time goin’ on with Canada’s second favourite pass-time. In other slightly related news, my poor team is losing. Granted, it’s only by a run, but… ow. Just ow.
I’ve actually had several, but the one I think I’d of most liked to get into if I was able to would be to manage a sports team. Ideally, hockey or baseball, but just something to do with that aspect of life. Something to be said for actually having a say in the potential outcome of the game. Yes, I love watching both hockey *and* baseball. But I think I’d like to actually be behind the scenes, of sorts, for a pro team. I know there are several things I’d of done differently last season if I were managing my baseball team of choice. A couple players I’d of not bothered signing, a few players I’d of tried a touch harder to get. Oh, and I’d of ripped out 3/4 of their current starting rotation. Perhaps that’s why I’ve kind of been drawn to simulated baseball games like the previously mentioned Sim Dynasty…
I actually managed to sleep in today, for like the first time since I got here… got up at about 9:30, give or take. Or, rather, got woken up at 9:30 by my father’s dust mop deciding to stick its tongue as far up my nose as it could possibly go *(). Rolled out of bed a couple minutes later, and the thing decided now that I was up and mobile, he’d go back to sleep. Bastard. I did some more looking for work, and absolutely no applying for such things today. For the right now, the currently available selection of jobs in my field that I haven’t already applied for rather blows huge. Now, the plan is pretty much to stick around here and see what happens, I think. Mom and dad went to the bank to sort out mortgage stuff while I was sleeping, and according to them it’s minus too damn cold out again (**), so the likelyhood of me doing, like, anything that involves leaving the house today is, well, yeah. Not happening. Or at least not happening sober. If I’m drunk enough, I won’t notice or care that my various extremeties are a minute and a half from freezing off. Not that I had anything that I needed to leave the house to do at this particular moment, but minor details.
Unrelated, but that’s the theme of the month today, I’ve been playing an online baseball game for the last couple months, Sim Dynastysilly-singer), they have your stupid freakin’ Redsocks. Not that they’re doing any better in the league I’m in (***) than they did in real life in those days, but ah well. A craptastical team’s a craptastical team, in any reality. Speaking of reality, I guess I aught to get back to mine. Maybe see if we’re actually doing anything today that requires I be semi-coherent and involved.
(*) A dog that size should be trained not to lick. Tiny tongues are lethal as hell.
(**) -26 last I heard. Before anything resembling a wind chill. Mother nature, please to be dying in a grease fire.
(***) The rules for the game are based on those from 1950 or so, including the use of a pitcher in the batting order as opposed to a designated hitter. None of the players though are supposed to be historically accurate; it *is* after all, still a game. Sorry, but the only Babe Ruth I’ve seen is a right fielder who couldn’t hit to save his life.
I’m both a hockey fanatic and a baseball fanatic, and have no problem admitting to both of them. Granted, my well documented hockey followings were rather written off significantly earlier in the season, while they were still royally stinking it up. Still, I keep threatening to get on the baseball blogging bandwagon at some point and I figure, you know, now’s as good a time as any. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to agree with me; this is supposed to be opening day for the only Canadian team left in the MLB, and they’re currently in a rain delay. Not that outside my window is any better at the moment. I’m currently home from work anyway, for completely unrelated reasons (hint: I need to work on my sleep schedule), and until 5 minutes ago forgot that today was opening day. I’m such a fan, I know. But it’s been corrected now, and as soon as that game actually starts, it will be corrected for good. Sadly I still get to miss tomorrow’s, wednesday’s, and thursday’s games. But eh, I work ’til 10. Unless they play on the west coast I’m not gonna be watching much baseball this year. I’ve accepted and moved on. I’ll bitch about it in full come September. For now though, rain delay means halfway entertaining show.
Yeah, I’ve made all of about 2 and a half entries relating to baseball in any particular way, shape or form–that’s to be expected when your team hasn’t been anywhere near the playoffs since 1993. Or 94, if you want to count the strike-shortened season. And with teams like New York and Boston (by the way, damn you, Redsox) in the mix, it might be 2093 before they see playoff baseball again. So no, I haven’t been following it as closely as I have other years–years before I was blogging. But I still feel sick every time they announce the Redsox won the world series. I think that stems from the hatred I carry over from having been directed towards their hockey team, though. But… eh, whatever works. If I ever decide to get back into baseball again, I know what team I won’t be following. You suck, Boston. Suck, I say!
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baseball | October 29, 2007 by James | Comments Off
30 runs scored, and not for the home team. Texas 30, Baltimore… a grand total of… drumroll please… 3. Oh. My. Lord. Not since, and I feel shamed to admit it, Toronto lost 22 to 2 15 years ago did we see something like that. And not since the 1800′s before that. Or so history’s quoting us, at least. Um, ow. I’d feel bad for Baltimore, except–um, they’re in the same division as toronto. And anything bad for them has gotta be good for toronto. If I tell myself that often enough, the same might hold true for the Leafs. But we’re not talking about them. Not until October 15th. Or sooner if the withdrawal gets to me.
baseball, Bluejays, lists FTW!, musings, random crap | May 19, 2012 (5 days ago) by James | 
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