Hats off to sports fans in Toronto. Hogtowners may be accused of jumping on the Raptors bandwagon as they rocketed toward their National Basketball Association title this spring, but those same fans have stamina — they continue to cheer on the lamentable Toronto Blue Jays.
It’s tough being a Blue Jays fan these days. Armed with only a few true major league-calibre players but promising fans a ton of potential, the Torontonians — one of the worst hitting teams in baseball — are badly outmatched in the American League East. A recent glance at the standings had the Jays a full 27 games behind the division-leading Yankees. Thankfully, the bound-for-100-plus-losses Baltimore Orioles are keeping the Jays out of the cellar.
As Canada’s only Major League team, the Blue Jays have command of the two major sports networks in the country. Every game is televised — and you can decide whether that falls under the ‘good news’ or ‘bad news’ heading. Broadcasters Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler do their best to shine a bright light on the Jays, but it’s a glaring example of putting lipstick on a pig.
Thanks to young talents like Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and Cavan Biggio — both sons of ex-big leaguers — the future for the Jays is considered to be bright. Another top talent, Bo Bichette, also the son of a former big leaguer, is expected to be the next future star to arrive from the minors.
Toronto’s starting pitching rotation is a far cry from the glory days of the early 90s, when the Jays won back-to-back World Series titles. Remember the likes of Dave Stieb, Todd Stottlemyre, Pat Hentgen, Jimmy Key and Jack Morris, with Tom Henke and Duane Ward coming out of the bullpen?
Today, it’s Marcus Stroman (a respectable 6-11 and 2.96 ERA) and then a bunch of second-rate arms. Aaron Sanchez (3-14, 6.06) has lost whatever he had a couple of years ago, and Trent Thornton (3-7, 5.45) puts a scare into few opposing hitters. To be fair, the Jays’ pitching staff suffered a blow in April when Matt Shoemaker, signed as an off-season free agent, fell victim to a torn ACL after starting the season with three straight wins and a 1.57 ERA.
Trade talk surrounding Stroman was rampant in late July, a clear sign the Jays were ready to clean house and try to acquire some more young talent to supplement Guerrero, Jr., Biggio and Bichette as the nucleus for another run to glory.
Dedicated Jays fans, who will never get off the bandwagon, can only hope.
- Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “A message in a bottle — dropped overboard by a teen boy in 1969 — finally washed up on shore in South Australia. In other words, aimlessly adrift at sea only two years less than the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
- Comedian Argus Hamilton, via Facebook, on studies indicating that the average human walks 900 miles a year and drinks 22 gallons of beer: “Which means the average human gets 41 miles per gallon. Not bad!”
- Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: “In a massive steroid bust across Europe, involving the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and others, 234 people were arrested and 24 tons of raw steroid powder were seized. And that was just from the Russian toboggan team.”
- Reno Aces catcher Cody Decker, to reporters, on retiring in the middle of his 11th season, virtually all in the minors: “I’ve given everything to this game: my blood, my sweat, my tears, my hairline.”
- Patti Dawn Swansson, the River City Renegade, on slow ticket sales for the Packers-Raiders pre-season NFL game in Winnipeg: “Matter of fact, they’re slower than a sports writer reaching for a bar tab. Asking a Winnipegger to pay upwards of $400 to watch faux football is like asking Chris Walby to pass on second helpings.”
- PGA Tour pro Max Homa, on Twitter: “With all this talk of playing a major at the course these guys grew up at, I’m really hoping we can get a U.S. Open at the 4,300-yard par-61 where I learned the game.”
- Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on Harold Baines being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: “He was headed to the Hall of Pretty Good and somebody must have smuggled him into Cooperstown.”
- Norman Chad of the Washington Post, on Twitter, in the late stages of a six-hour, 16-inning game between the Orioles and Angels: “Home-plate ump is now calling any pitch that crosses home plate a strike in an effort to get to IHOP by sunrise.”
- Someone named DLNewRoc, on Twitter: “If the Yankees don’t encourage individualism, how do you explain them letting CC Sabathia wear so many more pinstripes than the other players?”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca
EDITOR'S NOTE: This column was written prior to the Marcus Stroman trade.
