Friday Bantering: Jays stuff

This weekend I was to be riding in the MS Ride, roughly 100 k of biking on each of Saturday and Sunday, but it was cancelled. Not that that is surprising. I was planning on riding anyway, just on my own, but we are to have rain and thunderstorms all weekend. I was looking forward to the weekend away from the world, but riding in the rain is about as fun as it sounds. I’ll wait for a nice weekend and go riding.

Shi Davidi tells us that the Blue Jays are optimistic that they will be allowed to play in Toronto. It makes sense. The powers that be are allowing NHL hockey into Canada. It would seem that MLB would get the same treatment. Whether either is a good idea is an open question, but it they allow one, they almost have to allow the other (or admit hockey has a special status with our government, equal but separate or something).

Assuming health conditions can be satisfied, the plan appears to have the support of Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries.

“As we continue the safe and gradual reopening of our economy, our government is working closely with professional sport teams and organizations, as well as local and federal levels of government and our public health experts on what a safe return to play looks like,” she said in a statement sent to Sportsnet.

“If provided the opportunity by the federal government and Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer, I’m committed to working with the Toronto Blue Jays and other major league teams to play baseball here at home and abroad.”

I don’t know, I think it is likely a bad idea to give exemptions to anyone wanting to come from the states right now. Large patches of the states, including some areas that teams coming into Canada are from, look to be the worst places in the world for COVID. Here in Alberta we are seeing a fairly large number of Americans coming here on holiday using a loophole that allows them to go through Canada to get to Alaska. Of course, most are not going to Alaska, most are enjoying Banff without the annoyance of loads of other tourists. Banff is a wonderful place, but much of the time it is way too crowded. So, I can understand them wanting to come, but it is a bad thing.

Believing that, I think that all loopholes should be closed. I think having NHL teams cross the border and play here is a bad idea. And I think MLB teams crossing the border is a bad idea. In both cases (unlike the Americans crossing pretending they are going to Alaska) I think they will try to be as safe as possible. Still it is adding an unnecessary level of risk. Yeah they will stay in a bubble, but there will be hotel workers that have to clean their rooms. There will be people who will serve food. And those people have families.

But, then I know my voice means nothing. It’s going to happen whether I want it or not.

ee cummings said “An intelligent person fights for lost causes, realizing that others are merely effects”. And you know he’s smart cause he uses lower case letters for his name. But this particular lost cause I’m not going to take up, because we seem to be up to our armpits in lost causes and I have to choose which I want to fight.

Then again:

How many MLB players have been waiting things out in Florida?

The Jays will be playing in Miami and in Tampa (well St. Petersburg).

MLB.com has a list of 5 teams that ‘could shock the league’. And our Blue Jays are number one on the list.

While there are big questions, this team’s ceiling is sky high even in a division that figures to be dominated by the Yankees and Rays. General manager Ross Atkins had a tremendous offseason in building a competitive rotation basically from scratch by trading for Chase Anderson and signing free agents Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark and Shun Yamaguchi. And let’s not forget that hard-throwing prospect Nate Pearson is waiting in the wings.

Depending on what kind of sophomore seasons are produced by the young position players, especially Vladimir Guerrero Jr., this could be a fun baseball summer for the Blue Jays.

I’d love them to be right. And I don’t want Pearson waiting in the wings.

Other teams listed are Rangers, Padres, Cubs and Mets.

The MLB transaction freeze is over. I wonder what the first move will be.

Closure better come soon.

It sounds like the team isn’t considering Buffalo.