Hope you all had a good long weekend, I got away for a couple of days, went up to Edmonton to see my parents, which was good. Had a scary moment, took them and my boy and his girlfriend out for supper. Getting into the van my mom sat in the front sit and my dad was climbing into the back and used the door post to get in, I was waiting for him to get in to close my mom's door but she closed it before I could stop her. Well dad's hand was there and I was sure it would be broken but there was just enough space for his hand between the post of the door. I figured we were in for a trip to the hospital.
Before going up to Edmonton we saw our local baseball team, the Calgary Vipers, beat the Edmonton No Longer Cracker Cats to go the to Golden League finals. It was a great game. Edmonton scored 5 runs before they made their first out, but the Vipers got a run here and a run there and then tied it and won it in the 9th. I've never seen players so happy at any level of sport. They brought champagne out on the field and sprayed each other. We had really good seats and could talk to the players in the on deck circle. Also saw a Edmonton player get kick out of the game and then go nuts and try to get at the umpire. It took half the Edmonton team to hold the player back, I'm not sure what would have happened had he got to the umpire but he did throw his batting helmet at him.
Oh and the Jays played a few games.
Would have thought there would be some news or something worth talking about from the Jays but no not really. There was the scary moment when Randy Ruiz got hit in the jaw by the Josh Towers pitch, but he's tough.
Over in the Globe, Jeff Blair, raises the issue of whether Cito should remain manager.
If it is as Cito Gaston keeps reminding us "a team game," then can we please get around to discussing Gaston's culpability in the collapse of the 2009 Toronto Blue Jays, who have gone 34-62 since their high-water mark of 27-14 on May 18. Or, to put it differently: Considering the sourness that surrounded his departure as Blue Jays manager in 1997, is it even permissible?
I'm guessing 'the sourness' Jeff is talking about was the suggestion that Cito was the suggestion that racism could have had something to do with his first firing. It seems silly to suggest that we can't talk about whether or not the manager should go because of his skin color. Everyone should be judged on the job they do.
True, Travis Snider didn't materialize into the rookie of the year many envisaged, and there are whispers his stubbornness bothers Gaston. Equally true, Gaston's loyalty to the forgettable Kevin Millar – at times flying in the face of lefty-righty matchup logic – has been frustrating. But then, Lyle Overbay's allergy to RBIs is precisely the type of thing that would grate on the mind of a man who made his mark as a professional hitter, and it said more about Gaston's lack of confidence in Overbay than anything else.
I wish Kevin Millar was forgettable. I have a feeling I won't be forgetting him for a while.
I think that at the end of the season, whoever is running the Jays should consider Cito's strengths and weaknesses as a manager and decide if they think he is the right man for the job.
I do want to say that even though I disagree with a lot of things he does, that doesn't mean I think he is stupid or senile or anything thing like that. People can disagree without it being a judgement on the other person's IQ. And like anyone else if we are talking about him, let's try to keep the personal stuff out of it. Cito likes veterans and will use them any chance he gets. And a lot of the time I disagree with that, I'd rather see younger players that can surprise you. Does it mean he is dumb, no, it means we disagree. Or it could mean he is trying to drive me crazy, one or the other.
Anyway, later today we should find out who else might be called up from Las Vegas, as their season ended yesterday. As much as I would like, it doesn't look like JP Arencibia will be one of the call ups. JP Riccardi doesn't think he is ready.