Random Blue Bird Droppings

Shitting On Toronto

About twice a year I go to New York in order to feel my civic pride for Toronto deteriorate faster than Stoeten's skin after an ill-advised purchase of Powercell batteries.

During my visit to Manhattan this past weekend I came across a gentleman in his early thirties, standing in the middle of Times Square, dressed head to toe in New York Giants paraphernalia. He held a sign explaining to passersby that he was a lifelong Giants fan and he needed $4000 for him and his wife to make it to Arizona and get tickets for the Super Bowl this Sunday.

I had to join a lineup that was about a dozen people deep in order to give him a dollar.

After only starting his mission the previous day, he had already amassed over $1500 and was well on his way to reaching his goal.

Quite simply, this would never happen in Toronto. As much as we love to proclaim the greatness of our cultural diversity and make smug smiles of self-congratulation over our supposed social advancements, when it comes to sports fandom, we're as bankrupt as a sub-prime mortgage lender.

Having spent more than my fair share of games sitting in the Rogers Centre stands, I've written at length on this blog about the creatures I mingle with. Obnoxious and uninformed, they're an unholy mixture of Philadelphia Eagles fans and supporters of the Atlanta Thrashers.

Being in a true sports town like New York only serves to further crush my hopes for Jays crowds. The fervor for sports, and baseball specifically, is so evident that even the New York Post can seem like a good read when it echoes the knowledgeable devotion that exists in Manhattan.

Sitting On Angelos With A Sean Connery Impression

Is there a worse owner in the league than Orioles owner Peter Angelos? While it's hard to work up sympathy for an AL East rival, reading a list of Angelos' transgressions transfers apathy for empathy faster than Rod Black holding up an orphan for the camera.

His latest interference sees him holding up the Erik Bedard to Seattle deal, after already refusing to listen to offers from the Toronto Blue Jays because of the division they share.

This is ridiculous. While I'm normally of the belief that assuming makes an "ass" out of me and "uming" out of you, Bedard becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2009 season and with A.J. Burnett expected to opt out of his contract next year, is it that much of a jump in logic to assume the Jays will make a push for Bedard.

It's not as though the Orioles are in a place to compete over the next two seasons. How harmful would Bedard playing in Toronto a couple years earlier be to Baltimore? And before you answer, consider that the Ontario born Bedard's marketing value to the Jays organization would likely garner a higher price than it would from any other team.

Taking Back Some Shits

I often enjoy shitting on the members of the Blue Jays Pro Sports Daily Forum (usually for making arguments like the one above), but every once in a while, someone says something interesting that doesn't have anything to do with trading draft picks or getting Michael Young back.

Forum member "WillRain" posted a list of thoughts on potential Jays lineups for the upcoming season and about halfway down the page, he also does some number crunching from last season to come up with the conclusion that the Jays top four starters have a combined ERA that is 1.50 lower when Gregg Zaun is calling the pitches.

I haven't bothered to check his math because I'm a blogger and I haven't been professionally trained to check facts, but this is an enormous difference that speaks measures about Zaun's value to this Jays team.

Another favourite target of my shit wraths is our friend John Brattain's lack of brevity. Well, it ends up that Mr. Brattain doesn't take himself nearly as seriously as his no word limit posts would suggest, and he's actually kind of funny.

Then again, I may only be willing to refund my shittings today because I find myself writing a Brattain-length post and making assumptions that would cause Pro Sports Daily member "sektion420" to cringe.

Shit Over Shit

A bit of a fuss has been made about the marginal difference between Rod Barajas and Sal Fasano. While I'm no fan of bringing a player in who didn't want to be here one year ago, I must begrudgingly accept the fact that Barajas is only a couple seasons away from hitting 21 home runs and knocking in 60 RBIs, while posting a .772 OPS.

I admit it's unlikely he's going to put up these numbers again this season, but Barajas has a much better chance than the 36 year old Fasano, whose career year doesn't come close to matching this.

I know it's fun to root for the nice guy with the mustache, but if Zaun is out for any amount of time this season, I'll be much happier to take a flier on a player who has hit for power in the past than someone who has never.