Marc Rzepczynski interview, calls Toronto "a hockey city"

Scrabble recently talked about the trade that sent him to St. Louis, and the differences he's noticed playing there over in Toronto.

8 months ago TheGP Baseball 20 comments 0 recs |

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Uh really?

I look at the team now in Toronto and I don’t even know who’s on the team.

A day that will live in infamy: August 4th, 2011, Sept. 28, 2011 wasn't bad either.
7 members of the Aaron Hill fanclub cheering for Arizona.

by jays182 on Sep 30, 2011 1:14 PM EDT reply actions

hyperbole

Sad, Drunk, And Poorly

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world. - JL

Twit Twat.

by Pikachu on Sep 30, 2011 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

But it is pretty remarkable to see the number of new faces on the team since July when the trade was made. Guys like Alvarez, Perez, Carreno, Beck, Farquhar added to the staff, Cooper, Lawrie, Thames, Loewen in the field have all been brought up since he was traded, plus the other trade pieces that came to the Jays like Teahen, Johnson, Rasmus too. That’s practically half the team that’ve been added since Rzep left. I don’t blame him.

by doc alex on Sep 30, 2011 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions

definitely a lot of hyperbole

It’s close to half the 25 man roster, but it’s not half the team because it’s September and rosters have been expanded. A lot of the guys you mention are “September call-ups” and are getting a look here now so Farrell can see what they’ve got. They’ll be back in the minors next year. Thames, Cooper and Perez had been up earlier in the year so I don’t think they’d be “new faces” to Scrabble. Rasmus, Johnson, Lawrie, Teahen (?) and Alvarez are the key incomers: 3 starting position players, a starting pitcher, and bench help. Pretty significant changes, but not half the team.

by khaleeji on Oct 2, 2011 6:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Normally, I'd be pissed

but I love Rzep, so whatever.

Sad, Drunk, And Poorly

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world. - JL

Twit Twat.

by Pikachu on Sep 30, 2011 1:21 PM EDT reply actions

yeah

not really too upset ,mostly because everything he said was true.

Total Internet Points: 999

by Bowling_Guy25 on Sep 30, 2011 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Yea if anyone ever listens to the Fan590 or watches TSN/RSN they know what sells

Even after a great Jays win they go back talking about hockey. Even in mid-July.

Follow me @BBBMinorLeaguer | 2011 Jays record while in attendance: 12-12 (.500)

by Minor Leaguer on Sep 30, 2011 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Or while the Jays are still in the regular season

TSN shows a “rankings update” for next year’s NHL draft.

by TheGP Baseball on Sep 30, 2011 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Pissed that someone called Toronto a hockey town?
……

It is.
You don’t have to like hockey but there is no denying what the towns (let alone the country’s) main passion is.

I think you'll find I'm universally recognised as a mature and responsible adult.
Twitter is the thing with all the tweets...

by JohnnyG on Sep 30, 2011 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah Canada is a hockey town

There is no escape. Guess I better learn to skate or defect.

thisrighthere!!!

by TonyFernandezSavedMyLife on Sep 30, 2011 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

I was trying to think of ways to get all defensive

but… it really is.

after The Night of Wonderful Baseball™ the front page story of Globe Sports was “The New Look Buffalo Sabres” (baseball was on page 5)

I tweet and then Keith Law ignores me

by benk on Sep 30, 2011 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

We are a non-visible minority.

The Canadian Baseball fan.

thisrighthere!!!

by TonyFernandezSavedMyLife on Sep 30, 2011 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Scrabble's right-on...

…as Minor Leaguer said, the FAN is hockey to the point of nausea – and they don’t even have Leaf broadcast rights. Yet the Jays, which they do broadcast, take a back seat even during the season. I don’t see any evidence that TSN radio is any improvement from a baseball perspective.

Until the hockey season is over, the Jays get over 5000 fewer fans at games, on average. That loss of fans at games is more than the Argos get for an entire season.

Hugo thinks I'm a lazy academic

by bluejaysstatsgeek on Sep 30, 2011 8:18 PM EDT reply actions

the thing is it's not the media company's fault

they play what gets the best ratings. people from Toronto want hockey talk, so they give it to them.

I tweet and then Keith Law ignores me

by benk on Sep 30, 2011 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions

No question...

…I just wish there was more interest in baseball and the Jays specifically, and fewer puckheads out there. (Mind you, if Shanahan manages to clean up the game, I might start watching hockey again.)

Hugo thinks I'm a lazy academic

by bluejaysstatsgeek on Sep 30, 2011 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree

it’s too bad, but no one to blame really

I tweet and then Keith Law ignores me

by benk on Sep 30, 2011 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Is Lawrie single-handedly about to change the way TO sees the Jays?

Nice article. Scrabble could have been a poster on this site; we say things like that on a regular basis. Nothing wrong with telling it like it is if you love the city and the club. On another note, I did a little exploring on the same site and found this article about Lawrie and popular culture in Canada: http://thegoodpoint.com/2011/09/brett-lawrie-toronto-blue-jays/
Comments?

by khaleeji on Oct 1, 2011 3:57 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

"single-handedly"

no.

Sad, Drunk, And Poorly

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world. - JL

Twit Twat.

by Pikachu on Oct 1, 2011 8:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Toronto will always be a hockey city.

A day that will live in infamy: August 4th, 2011, Sept. 28, 2011 wasn't bad either.
7 members of the Aaron Hill fanclub cheering for Arizona.

by jays182 on Oct 1, 2011 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

One other thing about Rzep's hockey city comment

Look at what he is seeing. He has gone from TO to what is simply the best baseball city in the US. Baseball is not big in most USA cities either. Watch Sportscenter in August. All the baseball playoff races are hot and getting hotter, but what do you see on Sportscenter? The latest on Brett Favre, Payton Manning, Chad Ochocinco, and (this year) the NFL lockout. Although St. Louis has the Rams, the town still belongs to the Cardinals. All year. Rzep probably cannot believe his good fortune.

Compare TO to, say, Tampa Bay. Those people have one of the best ballclubs in America, but that doesn’t matter when the Florida Gators or the Tampa Bay Buck-an-ears are about to play. Or Dallas. They have the defending AL champs and are in the playoffs again, but people are more interested in the hapless Dallas Plowboys.

Toronto may be a hockey city, but most US cities aren’t exactly a step up when it comes to baseball. Scrabble was just lucky enough to land in one of the few (and I wish we had him back).

by CuseJay on Oct 3, 2011 4:52 PM EDT reply actions