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Hello again friends, its been a while...
The last 6 months have been a bit crappy for me due to ill health. So i’ve been visiting numerous cardiologists and hospitals and having endless tests. Eventually they have decided its not heart related or serious which im thankful for.
On the plus side, i was also finally well enough 2 weeks to go to Samoa on holiday with my wife for our anniversary. It was hot, beautiful and full of wonderful people. I highly recommend it.
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It’s opening day!
Real baseball again!
Historically the Jays are 26-16 in their opening day games.
However, we have lost our opener for the last 7 years straight which is depressing. Our last opening day win was 13-3 over the Twins back in 2011.
Our worst opening day defeat? A 15-4 hammering by the Brewers in 1982.
Our biggest win was against the evil Empire as we shellacked the Yankees 17-9 in 1988.
Today’s opener sees RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2018: 7-8, 4.52 ERA) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (2018: 4-9, 5.54 ERA).
For more info, have a look at the Opening Day FAQs.
And as we embark on the new season, there are a few questions to be asked:
10 burning questions as Blue Jays rebuild looks to get off the ground
Charlie Montoyo hopes the kids are going to be alright this season (fingers crossed).
No more Slo Mo!
The big news of yesterday was of course the trading of Kendrys Morales to the A’s for a minor leaguer:
OFFICIAL: We've acquired Minor League INF Jesus Lopez and international signing bonus pool space from the @Athletics in exchange for DH/1B Kendrys Morales and cash considerations.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 28, 2019
So we wave goodbye to Molasses/Slo-mo, his .760 OPS, his 0.9 WAR, his base ‘running’ as well as his veteran presence. Oh and we paid the A’s $10m towards his salary.
Morales moves means what?
Dan Shulman sums it up nicely:
The point of the Morales deal is not Jesus Lopez. The pluses, in no particular order are
— Dan Shulman (@DShulman_ESPN) March 28, 2019
- saved 2M in salary
- freed up the DH spot, call up Alford, improve outfield D
- acquire international bonus pool space,
- free up a spot on the 40-man roster. Lots of moving parts here
And it sounds like Anthony Alford will be seeing some more action:
Shi Diggity always with his ear to the ground.
— Mike Wilner (@Wilnerness590) March 28, 2019
Expect to see Alford get a lot of playing time in OF with Teoscar doing a lot of DHing. When #Bluejays OF is Alford, Pillar and Grichuk, that's three CF's out there covering ground.
Against some RHP, Smoak will DH, McKinney 1B. https://t.co/piO2J40PQM
We have also agreed to acquire outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson from the Reds pending a physical.
Patterson, a left-handed hitter spent last year with the Rockies’ triple-A Albuquerque affiliate. Over 118 games in the Pacific Coast League, he hit .271/.367/.525 with 26 home runs while playing first base and right field. He should be a solid addition to the Buffalo roster.
MLB morsels
For a full preview of all the Opening Day games, go here.
Here are some surprising players set for opening day rosters
Opening Day optimism: One hope for every team. (Ours is Vlad related naturally).
For the first time in 25 years, 3 of #MLB's top 4 prospects will start the season in @MLB:#Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. (No. 2)#WhiteSox Eloy Jimenez (No. 3)#Nats' Victor Robles (No. 4)
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 27, 2019
How many of this year's Top 100 will be on #OpeningDay rosters https://t.co/GHKO6yYsIe pic.twitter.com/9gFqzPWBml
New season means new food
And i’ll just leave you with this. There are no words:
New at @Braves games: The Blooper Burger — 4 cheeseburger patties, a footlong hot dog & chicken tenders with lettuce, tomato, onion & jalapenos, covered in cheese sauce and held together with Texas toast. Oh, and for the $26 price tag, you get candied popcorn too! pic.twitter.com/69dzWWUMj6
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 27, 2019