The Dog Days of Summer

Well, I am pretty sure I have hit near rockbottom in terms of my sports fandom. The Toronto Blue Jays are simply awful. Manager Cito Gaston clearly does not care, the best pitcher in baseball Roy Halladay clearly wants out and ownership is getting ready to sell the team. The Jays started out like a house on fire, peaking at a sparkling 27-14 record, the best in the American League. Halladay was Halladay, the pitchers were pitching great, and hitters were smoking the ball. And then injuries. Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan started the year on the disabled list, and both have suffered further and further setbacks, to the point where it would not be a surprise if Dustin McGowan never pitches again. They were joined by Jesse Litsch, Casey Janssen, Scott Richmond, Ricky Romero, Robert Ray, Scott Downs and the complete and utter destruction of BJ Ryan.

On the offensive side, the Jays employ one of the worst everyday players in baseball in Vernon Wells, except he is due in excess of $60MM in the coming years. Scott Rolen, one of the most likeable Toronto sports figures I can remember, decided he had had enough and asked to be traded. The Jays then let Alex Rios and his limitless potential walk away. The end result? Since being 27-14, the Jays have gone 30-53 to sit at 57-67. And they neglected to shell out the money for their top draft picks.

This is the closest I have ever come to giving up and turning my back on this team. My brother and his wife just gave birth to a baby boy. He and I are in complete agreement that he is not to be raised as a Toronto Blue Jays fan.

I was at the Rogers Centre on Monday night. It is the only game I have been to this year and I went specifically to see Roy Halladay pitch. He really is a no-hitter waiting to happen. People often say that Toronto is a great sports town, the Leafs have sold out since World War II, the Raps have a great fanbase etc. The attendance at the Rogers Centre was 1/3rd its capacity. I have been to maybe 70 or 80 games at the Rogers Centre and the only time I had ever seen a lower attendance was for a mid-April game in 2003 against Boston in the middle of the SARS epidemic in Toronto. Sitting at the game on Monday, I don't think I have ever been so dispassionate and depressed while watching sports.

Even worse, I get to look at the standings and see a team like the Colorado Rockies locked into an absolutely amazing stretch drive playing exciting game after exciting game, while I have to cheer on a team that puts Kevin Millar, Randy Ruiz and Raul Chavez into the same lineup.

I need a drink

RIP Dock Ellis

"Who is Dock Ellis?" if probably what you are asking right now. And that's a very fair question. Dock Ellis was a middling Starting Pitcher from 1968-1979, playing, most notably, for the World Series Champion* Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971. He has a 3.46 ERA and 1.288 WHIP in 2127.1 IP.

Other than that, not much. He does have a no-hitter to his name. June 12, 1970, to be exact. But lots of people have pitched no-no's before, what's the big deal?

Dock Ellis claims to have pitched this no-hitter while on an acid trip. Apparently he did not realize he had to pitch that day, so he decided to ingest some LSD, and then his girlfriend told him he had to pitch, and he pitched a no-hitter.

Beyond that, there was the time he beaned Reggie Jackson in the face as a retaliation for the moonshot Jackson hit off of him in the All-Star Game years previous.

Another time, to make a point to his teammates, he vowed to bean everyone in the opposing lineup. In the first inning.

Plus, he was once threatened with a fine by Major League Baseball for wearing his hair curlers out on to the field for pregame warm-up. Ya, hair curlers. It also explains the picture above of the man in hair curlers.


He was probably one of the more interesting characters to ever play the game of baseball, but he was also certainly indicative of the times. His admission of LSD use is just one in a long line of admissions to drug use of players, from Keith Hernandez to Tim Raines.** We went from watching players using performance debilitating drugs, and getting punished somewhat for it, to watching players use and abuse performance enhancing drugs.

The times, they are a'changin...

Dock Ellis, 1945-2008
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*I resisted from calling them the "World Champions," even though the best team in Major League Baseball is the best team in the world.
**Favorite drug related story: Tim Raines, who should be in the Hall of Fame, learned how to slide head-first instead of feet-first so as not to bust the crackpipe that he carried in his back pocket while he was playing. Just amazing.

One of a Kind

The greatest pitcher of my lifetime has decided to hang 'em up. No, not Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Tom Glavine or any of those also-rans.

Greg Maddux. No doubt in my mind that he is better than the rest of them. His absolute prime (1992-98) is unmatched, including 4 consecutive Cy Young Awards, as the top pitcher in the National League. He is also the recipient of 18 Gold Gloves, ostensibly given to the top fielders at each position.

He is up there in the all-time conversation with Walter Johnson and Sandy Koufax. It's not a question of if he will get into the Hall of Fame, it is a question of will he be the first unanimous selection. Honestly, I don't see how any could not vote for him. The only way someone does not vote for him is the jackass who says "(Player X) was not unanimous, so Maddux should not be unanimous either."

Part of me hopes that John Smoltz and Tom Glavine retire this year as well, so that the Braves Big 3 get inducted in the same year. Then again, I will never forgive John Smoltz for being traded for Doyle Alexander in 1987 (ya, ya, I've harped on this before).

Another reason to love Greg Maddux is this ad. Nike really knew how to churn out some great ads back in the 90s.

And this article, if even 50% true, is simply jaw-dropping.

Goodbye Mad Dog, we are going to miss you.

I've seen xenophobia, but this is ridiculous...

All this talk about outsourcing of baseball jobs has me thinking: does this guy know what outsourcing is? To hear it from him, any job of any sort going to any foreigner is outsourcing. I beg to differ. This guy is an idiot. Non-American players have been playing at a high level for a long, long time. Recently, there has been an up-turn in exposure given to foreign players (I blame Hideo Nomo). I've known who Yu Darvish is for a while now, just like I had heard of Junichi Tazawa, Hiroki Kuroda, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, Kaz Matsui and so on and so on. Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel are just 2 more names to keep an eye out for. For each of these highly touted prospects,* I could name 10 American-born players who have had as much exposure before playing in the majors.

"Outsourcing," as I think of it, involves a job going overseas to someone whose productivity costs less (the marginal cost of a good produced is lower). Is that what is happening with these two pitchers? Not really, no. A true outsourcing would be to field a minor league team in a foreign country, with players from that country, who are playing at the same level, but for less money.

These guys are being brought to America, with the hopes that they can perform at the highest level. That's what the MLB is all about, not just finding the best American players, but finding the best players in the world. The Jays owe more than a small share of their success in the late 80s and early 90s to their ability to recruit Latin-American players.

India has the chance to be the next great hotbed of baseball talent, based on the success of these two individuals. Because of cricket, there is a good chance that they have acquired the most simple of skills necessary for baseball: they can field and they can throw. Yes, the bowlers have far different mechanics than a pitcher, but bowlers might also have a better understanding of a full body throwing rotation, where the arm is just along for the ride (think Tim Lincecum, the NL Cy Young winner). There are 1 billion people there, putting a baseball camp somewhere has to turn out something useful.** The marketing opportunities for MLB alone should drive one team to take that chance.

To sum up, this ain't outsourcing, this is competition. Being in the Pirates organization, there is not much competition, but these guys still have a lot to learn.

Speaking of uncommon baseball markets,*** the Jays are hopefully going to be debuting the first New Zealander ever, Scott Campbell, either this year or next year. Basically, this year is gonna be fun to watch because of the kids (Romero, Romero (D and R), Cecil, Mills, Purcey, Snider, Lind, Campbell, Thigpen, Arencibia, Jeroloman, Dopirak, Jackson, Fuenmayor, Cooper, Collins, Emaus, Ahrens et. al) and because of the inevitable Roy Halladay vengeance tour for the Al Cy Young vote. It's not that he didn't win (Lee was a perfectly suitable choice, although I would have chosen Doc), it's that so many voters put him 3rd, and even getting dropped altogether from one ballot!
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*Singh and Patel are not highly touted, they are just test cases and reality TV show winners. Like Pros vs. Joes, except the Pros are still actually in their prime
**The Devil's Advocate would point out that China has produced just 1 Major League Player: Harry Kingman, playing in 4 games in 1914, amassing a batting record of 0-3, with a walk. Yep, that's a .000/.250/.000 line.
***Off-topic, but the coolest place of birth ever: Ed Porray. Birthplace: A Ship on Atlantic Ocean.

"Let me say right off that I have nothing personal against Indians in general"

The headline gives you an idea where this one's going.

Let me say right off, I'm not a freakishly nationalistic person, by any stretch of the imagination. But this article is unbelievable.

Here's my basic problem; essentially Slate is saying that the introduction of two Indian pitchers* (who, according to Milway, were signed by the Pirates), will spark the Apocalypse for the sport of baseball. That's a shocking allegation, and a wonderful piece of xenophobia.

There have been Japanese players in Major League Baseball since 1964, and they have their own , very successful, league now. Last time I checked, though, the MLB still exists, and still hauls it in.

So explain how an Indian player is going to cause the "Outsourcing" of baseball. Moron. It's an unbelievable spiel of drivel, and I'm shocked idiocy like this gets published. Even if it is only in the Warren Reporter.

If anything, Indian players in Major League Baseball sparking (an unlikely) popularity of baseball in India will serve nothing but good for the sport. It will create another country who can compete in the Olympics and Little League World Series competitions, thus strengthening the legitimacy of the sport on the international level.

Glove tap to Sager at Out of Left Field for the tip.

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* The pitchers' blog can be found here.

Runnin' it all down

I should just stop with this whole predicting game...I'm not very good at it. I whiffed big-time on the World Series, Philly clinched it tonight in 5 games, not my predicted Dodgers over Red Sox, and then Rays in 6. So I was way off.

My Leafs are not looking terrible these days. I'm really liking what Ron Wilson has done as the coach. Anyone that can make Matt Stajan into a productive player is good in my books. I kind of wished the Leafs had held on to Kyle Wellfed, just to see if Wilson could sort out his motivational problems. He has a whole world of talent, but he is lazy. I'm fine with all of the developments, and I will be okay no matter where they finish. My biggest fear is that the Leafs will be in the hunt for the playoffs, and Cliff Fletcher will trade away any of the prospects or picks that the Leafs have for an overrated, expiring contract. Then again, being the Leafs, this is what should be expected.

Delving into a new sport, the NBA season kicked off yesterday and the Toronto Raptors won their season opener against an overrated Philadelphia team. This Raps team looks a little different this year, with Jermaine O'Neal at Center, and Jose Calderon now the starting PG, with TJ Ford shipped off to Indiana for JO. JO does not have to be the all-star he used to be (20 points, 12 rebounds a night). Chris Bosh is this teams 20-12 player. JO has to be about 15-8, because his key contribution will come on the defensive end. He will be guarding the best big guy on the other team. By doing this, he allows CB4 to move over and cover a lesser player, and enables Bosh to fly to the ball on double teams to block some shots. Now, we just have to see if Sam Mitchell can work out a solid 9-man rotation.

And the Buffalo Bills got knocked around by the Miami Dolphins, with Trent Edwards looking like he was making his 9th career NFL start. The Jets and Pats are up next, and then the schedule reverts to being easy, with games still left against the Chiefs, Browns, Niners and Broncos. PLAYOFFS!

Shows What I Know...

Not so long ago, in this very space, I predicted a Dodgers-Red Sox final. Didn't happen. But seriously...props to anyone who predicted that either of these teams would be in the World Series at any time during the season.

So who should win this World Series?

Pitching should favor the Rays. They have 3 Starting pitchers who did really well in the regular season (Shields, Kazmir and Garza), plus a bullpen that has overachieved. David Price is the X-Factor here, as he could solidify his hombre status after his performance in Game 7 with some clutch performances in the World Series.

The Phillies have 45-year old Jamie Moyer and 24-year old NLCS MVP Cole Hamels...but not much else. The bullpen has just been outstanding, especially Brad Lidge, and has not allowed a team to come back from 7 down in the last 3 innings to win a game this post-season.

Offensively, the teams were fairly even through the regular season. Both have their high-points (Utley-Howard-Burrell for the Phils and Pena-Longoria for the Rays), and no real sinkhole (besides the pitchers' spot for the Phils). Matt Stairs should DH a bit for the Phils when they go into Tampa. The real breakpoint has been the post-season, where Bossman Junior (but actually) Upton has turned it on and has hit an absurd 7 HRs in 11 games, just 1 short of the record for a single post-season, held in part by Barry Bonds. I'd have to give the advantage to the hot team, the Rays.

Experience-wise, these teams are even in that neither have much. Although it would be funny to see Albert Pujols throwing out the first pitch in T-Bay and then pointing menacingly out to Brad Lidge, to remind him of the '05 NLCS home run that has still not come down.

The Phils should have a bit of a homefield advantage, in that their fans have been on the wagon for more than 6 weeks. Plus, as my house-mate pointed out, Tropicana Field may be the ugliest stadium to ever host a WS game.

And the most important of all deciding factors: number of Ex-Jays! The Rays boast Gabe Gross, Eric "the Dude" Hinske and Trever Miller. The Phils have Jayson Werth, Matt Stairs and Scott Eyre. So they both have a fringe-starting RF, a platoon pinch hitter and an extra bullpen arm. Have to give the advantage to the Phils for the presence of good Canadian "kid" Matt Stairs.

Besides, Philly fans really need this. They are one of the most depressed sports fan bases out there. The last pitch the Phils threw in the World Series was knocked for 3-run HR by Joe Carter back in '93. The Eagles got to the Super Bowl only to see Donovan McNabb hyperventilate on the final drive. The Flyers were crushed by the Red Wings back in '97 and had to go through that awkward, painful Lindros-Clarke divorce. The 76ers got the distinct pleasure of wasting some of the prime of one of our generations premiere competitors, Allen Iverson.

Then again, I'm looking at a crappy Leafs team, a worse Argos team, a Jays team that has just been passed and lapped by the Rays and a Raptors team that is looking up at the Celtics...I need a drink. At least I got the Bills and the Golden Gaels to hang my hat on.

As much as I hate to say it, Rays in 6 (not at all trying to reverse curse them...).

Fixing the System

In shocking news yesterday, the US House of Representatives said no to the proposed $700B bailout package. The markets took a huge hit -- the TSX lost about $100B on its own. Now, the system is in absolute disrepair, but I believe it can be fixed in a few easy steps.

Ya, who am I kidding, I got no idea. But I do think I have a plan to fix baseball's playoff system! Assuming that the current divisional alignment is kept, here is how I would fix it:

1. BALANCED SCHEDULES

It is shocking that the Jays can play the Sox, Yanks and Rays 19 times each, but the Angles can play the A's, Rangers and Mariners 19 times apiece, while playing for the same championship. A certain Neate Sager puts it best:

"The current setup ignores the strength-of-schedule questions entirely. It's like having a 100-metre dash where some runners only have to run 75 metres and some have to run 125 -- and no one notices."

If all 11 teams not winning their division and are pursuing the wild card, should they not have faced the same opponents the same number of times? Which relates (and leads into!) point number 2...

2. SHORTEN THE SEASON BY 6 GAMES

Get rid of Interleague. It was a novelty when it started, but it is just beyond stupid now. Why should I be more excited that the Jays are playing the Phillies than if they were playing the Tigers? Because the Jays played the Phillies in the '93 World Series? What about all the memorable playoff chases against the Tigers? If the season is 156 games long, with a balanced schedule, each AL team would play each other 12 times, 6 at home and 6 away (FWIW, this is not me complaining about the Jays being stuck in the division with 2 perennial powerhouses. We actually do pretty freaking well against them and do pretty well against the AL Central. We always get rocked by the AL West and in Interleague). This would also enable the season to end earlier. Next year's finals are scheduled to end in November! That is ridiculous.

3. MORE PLAYOFF TEAMS

I understand why the Wild Card was introduced, from a baseball perspective. The 1993 National League is the prototypical example. The Atlanta Braves won the NL West with a league best 104-58 record. By 1.0 games. The San Francisco Giants had the 2nd best record in the league (103-59)...but did not play in October. Now, the top 2 teams in each league are guaranteed to be in the playoffs, but the 4th team can be below .500.

I say add more teams to ensure that the best teams make it to the playoffs. I wouldn't go with the full-blown 16/30 teams make the playoffs that the NBA and NHL have. I would add just 1 more playoff spot, another wild card to be exact. On the day after the final day of the regular season, the 2 wild card teams would play in a one-game playoff, with the team with the higher record hosting the game. This gives greater incentive and reward to winning the division, as a few extra days to rest your pitchers are granted. This could mean more combative divisional races down the stretch, as teams would want to avoid this 1-game scenario. Also, as we have seen over the last 2 years, the 1-game playoffs that do happen can be very exciting. Both the MIN-CWS and SDP-COL games were 1 run games, and nail-bitters the entire time. Each team would be playing to live another day. Just imagine if the Jays had been in that 5th spot (it was NYY this year): We might have witnessed Roy Halladay pitching in Fenway Park with his team's season on the line.

So there is my 3-step plan. Some may say my ideas are stupid, some may say I am tinkering with a system that need not be tinkered with and some may be nodding their head in agreement. There may be other ways to make baseball better, especially shorter game times, but this cannot really be done, unless it is mandated that Roy Halladay pitch every game. And he just might be able to, he really is a horse. But I digress.

As for my playoff prediction, I gotta go with the Cubs or the Dodgers. The Cubs have been the best team all year, but a motivated Manny (looking for a 4-yr/$100MM contract) is a scary thing. The Phils need another starter to step up behind Hamels and Moyer. The Brewers are going to have to keep on relying on CC and Sheets on 3 days rest with Yovani Gallardo and Dave Bush spelling them. The White Sox are going to run out of steam and get beat by a fresher Rays squad. The Sox are going to beat the Angels, as they seemingly always do, but neither the Rays nor the Sox have the bullpen thats good enough, unless a Keith Foulke-circa '04 steps up. Screw it, I'm taking the Dodgers over the Sox, with ManRam hitting some ungodly line in the World Series.

Alone on the Wagon

I am an unabashed Jays fan, always have been and (probably) always will be. Why do I call myself a true fan? Not because I remember the glory years of 1992 and 1993, but because I remember the gory years of the late-90s. I cringe when someone mentions 1987 because of the stunning collapse of the Jays down the stretch: the Jays were in first, 3.5 games ahead of the Tigers, then proceeded to lose their final 7 games, and finished 2.0 games behind the Tigers. I can remember when Roger Clemens was dominating, but I also remember when Mike Sirotka did not pitch a single inning after being proclaimed the new ace pitcher. I appreciate the fact that Dave Stieb has the only no-hitter in organizational history even more because I know that he came within 3 outs or less on 8(!) different occasions previous to that (a MLB record, dontcha know), including back-to-back starts in his final 2 starts of the 1988 season.

This season, I have given up hope that the Jays can make the playoffs, but I will continue to follow the team day in and day out. I know I am not special because I follow a perennially disappointing team, I am a Leafs fan after all (Heyo!).

But why do we (true fans of any team) do this to ourselves? Why do we continue to watch unimportant games?

I do it because there is the chance to see something special. I vividly remember Roy “Doc” Halladay’s coming-out party in 1998, when he came within 2 batters of throwing a no-hitter in his 2^nd career start in what was an otherwise unimportant game near the end of the season (it was the 2^nd last game of the year, if I remember correctly). I remember feeling the pain when Bobby Higginson hit the pinch-hit home run off of him to break up the no-no and the shutout. I also remember thinking that this Halladay guy might have a future in this league. I remember him having plenty of trouble in 2000, posting the worst ERA ever, among qualified pitchers (that is, he pitched enough innings to qualify to win (or lose) statistical categories). Now, he is only the best pitcher in the American League and is showing no signs of slowing down. I continue to watch him because he could throw a no-hitter in any one of his starts.

Currently, the Jays have called up the diamond of their farm system: Travis Snider. Born February 2, 1988 (yes, he is 20), Snider is the youngest player in the American League this year by about 18 months and just 7 months older than me. He may struggle mightily (like Alex Rios did) or he may have great success (like Doc), but I will be watching, either way, with great interest.

With any sports team, there will be peaks and valleys. But being a true fan means that the valleys are that much deeper. I remember and reflect upon the failures of the Jays, the bad years (Gord Ash), the injuries (Kevin Mench smoking Doc on the shin in the midst of the Doc’s best season), the poor trades (David Wells for Mike Sirotka), the terrible games (Jason Giambi hitting the walk-off home run against BJ Ryan in Yankee Stadium), more than most other fans. But these valleys make the peaks seem even higher: Joe Carter’s homerun, Roger Clemens’ reign of terror, Doc winning the Cy Young, Delgado's 4 HR-game against the Rays.

I can hardly tolerate those who are fair-weather fans because they are not as emotionally invested as I am. Very few people understand how much I love this team and this sport, but it pains me to see people claiming to be Jays fans when they cannot remember the valleys. It is these valleys that truly make the fan experience, and the peaks make it all seem worthwhile. I look forward to the next peak with glee, but accept that there will also be valleys. To paraphrase the Facts of Life, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the true fan experience.

The Seventh Inning Stretch: 5 ring circus - Why baseball should not be at the Olympics

Perhaps I am just bitter about the fact that Team Canada is 1-4, after winning their opener 10-0 against China, and then losing the next 4, each by one run, but I have to agree with the International Olympics Committee’s decision not to have Baseball at the 2012 London Olympics. The Olympic Games are supposed to celebrate the pinnacle of athletic achievements in all sports. In the Baseball competition, however, players on Major League teams are barred from playing in the Olympics, but those in the minor leagues are more than welcome. This hurts every team (except China, the host), some more than others. The Cuban and Japanese teams are good because they have effectively blocked many of their best players in the Major Leagues, making them available to play in the Olympics. But America and Canada (although Canada could not field a team of just Major Leaguers) are sending out lineups of players that are not good enough to play in the Major Leagues. This is supposed to be the biggest stage, and the biggest names are not allowed on it. Without a doubt, the biggest stage for baseball is now the World Baseball Classic, which will be held early next year, with some of the games being played in the Rogers Centre, in Toronto. Just compare Canada’s rosters from the WBC and from the Olympics, and you will see that the WBC is more legitimate.

Don’t get me wrong, I would be overjoyed if Canada were to win a medal in this event, but it is a water-downed event where none of the teams are fielding their best team squad possible. It’s like the Spengler Cup: it’s great if we win, but you know the competition is not the stiffest. Plus, while watching the Spengler Cup, you always find yourself saying things like “Hnat Domenichelli? I thought he was dead.” There are better competitions around, and until the IOC figures out a way to attract the best talent, it should be suspended from the Olympic Games.

For what it is worth, I think softball should continue to be an Olympic sport, despite the fact that no one can touch the Americans (they have allowed 2 runs in the last 2 Olympics). The parity beyond the Americans is great, and throwing the sport to the curb would not give other nations an incentive to get better.

Just a quick follow-up on Scott Richmond. He has been sent back down to the AAA Syracuse Chiefs after Brian Tallet came off the DL. This could very well have been his only shot at making the Major Leagues. He would have to have been mighty impressive to have stayed (see: Litsch, Jesse) with the Jays. He may not have gone to the Olympics, but he could very well get a shot at making Team Canada for the ’09 WBC. Canada can field a formidable starting rotation of Jeff Francis, Erik Bedard, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster and Philippe Aumont. Those five could rival just about any other teams. Richmond will be in tough to make the team, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. I, of course, will be pulling for him and his tremendous story.
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Peter Milway is a third-year Politics student at Queen's University, and author of The Seventh Inning Stretch

The Seventh-Inning Stretch: Restoring my Faith in Baseball

Baseball has just gone through its most dubious era: the Steroid era. All achievements of the past 15 years will be tainted with the thoughts that the players cheated to get ahead. Watching the various Congressional inquiries of superstars and icons, like Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens, as they lied through their teeth made me question if the players I had grown up cheering for were also taking steroids. The Mitchell Report was so startling because: (a) so many players were named, (2) so many players were mediocre or worse, and (d) all of these players came from so few sources. It showed that every player in professional baseball could have conceivably taken steroids. So now who could I cheer for?

But I have a new feel-good story that restores part of my faith in Major League Baseball: Scott Richmond. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Scott played baseball all through high school. After high school, he thought his ball playing days were pretty well finished. He worked for 3 years in the Vancouver ports before picking up a baseball and playing in a wood bat league in Moose Jaw. There, he caught the eye of the coach of Missouri Valley College. At age 21, he enrolled as a freshman and pitched in Division III collegiate baseball. In 2003, he transferred to Bossier Parrish College in Louisiana. Just one year later, he moved up to Division I, pitching for 2 years for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. However, his name was not called in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft. So at age 25, he tried out and made the Edmonton Cracker Cats, of the independent Northern League. He stayed there through last season, but he finally caught the break he was looking for.

One of his teammates was Rob Ducey, formerly of the Jays and currently preparing to play for Team Canada at the Olympics, called the Toronto Blue Jays on his behalf. He got signed after a tryout and started out the year playing for the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats. By June, he was in AAA, a step away from the Majors, playing for the Syracuse SkyChiefs. Not only was he now a professional baseball player, he had been named to Team Canada’s Olympic roster. Regrettably, he will not be making the trip to Beijing. Instead, he was called up by the Toronto Blue Jays. At age 28, he is poised to make his Major League debut tomorrow afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays.

No matter how well he does, I will still cheer for him. We all tend to focus on the great stats and forget about the great stories. It was the focus on the stats that brought about the Steroid Era, but it is the stories that will take us into the new era.
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Peter Milway is a third-year Politics student at Queen's University, and author of The Seventh-Inning Stretch

The Seventh-Inning Stretch - In Defense of Baseball

Peter Milway's column will be called "The Seventh-Inning Stretch", he will have a regular column on baseball. Enjoy!

Amrit has kindly asked (read: commanded) me to submit a series of posts on his new favorite sport: baseball (favourite sport is a bit of a stretch - Amrit). For my first piece, I shall try to demonstrate why exactly baseball does not suck.

But first, allow myself to introduce…myself. My name is Peter Milway. I am going into my 3^rd year at Queen’s University, majoring in Political Studies, with a minor in History. I am an avid sports fan and a defender of all things Toronto (except David Miller). This includes, but is not limited to, the Maple Leafs, the Raptors, the Argos and, of course, your Toronto Blue Jays.

For these posts, I am going to assume a basic understanding of the rules of baseball.

The biggest problem non-fans have with baseball is that they believe it to be boring to watch. This is understandable, as there are long periods of inactivity. However, what is most interesting about baseball is these periods of inactivity. Between each and every pitch, the pitcher is thinking about what he can throw: “My fastball has been good today, I know I can throw it past this batter.” The hitter is thinking about what he has already seen today: “He has had a good fastball today, thrown it to me twice in this at bat already. But last time I was up, he threw 2 fastballs, and then I swung over his curveball. I think he is going to try that again.” The catcher is thinking about the location of the pitch: “This umpire has had a wide strike zone today, I think my pitcher can throw a fastball off the outside of the plate, and it will still be called a strike and the batter won’t be able to reach it.” The result? The batter, looking for a 75 miles per hour curveball that will start up high and then dive (curve) down into the dirt, has no chance but to watch a 95 miles per hour fastball thrown outside, off the plate. “Good,” he thinks, “that was a ball.” The catcher, trying to trick the umpire into thinking the ball was a strike expertly catches the ball and quickly moving his glove back inside the strike zone, framing the pitch for the umpire. Called strike. The catcher throws the ball back to the pitcher, smiling that he fooled the ump. The pitcher smiles, knowing he made his pitch. The batter frowns, knowing he guessed wrong and thinking that he got screwed by a bad call.

The process starts all over again.

This all happens in the span of 15 seconds.

Their respective thought processes can only get more in depth when the pitcher can throw more than one pitch, or if the catcher does not think the pitcher can locate his pitches, or the hitter guesses right the first time.

Fielders are also thinking about where they should be standing and what they will do if the ball is put into play. They have to take into account which side the batter hits from, whether he pulls the ball, whether he hits for a lot of power or gets a lot of weak singles.

The manager is thinking about when he should replace his pitcher, and with whom they should be replaced.

On the surface, baseball is an extremely simple game for simple minds, but it is much more complex.

Beyond the cerebral part of the game, baseball is unique amongst the major North American sports in that the goal of the offensive team is to bat the ball as far away from the scoring zone (home plate) as possible. This creates 2 points of interest when the ball is put in play: where the ball is, and where the runners are. The convergence of these 2 points creates exciting situations: the plays at the plate where the runner is trying to knock the ball out of the catchers’ glove.

Baseball is also a precision game. The strike zone roughly extends from the hitters armpits down to their knees, and is about as wide as the plate with an inch or two on each side. This of course varies on the umpire, which adds to the beauty of the game. The strike zone is about 500 square inches. 450 of these square inches are taken up by the hitters’ wheelhouse. This, of course, varies from hitter to hitter, but the pitcher is trying to place the ball in these 50 square inches where the hitter cannot get to the ball. For instance, Jason Giambi has trouble hitting balls waist-high on the inside corner of the plate. This “hole” is about two baseballs high and one baseball wide. But if you miss this location by two inches back over the plate, you hit one of Giambi’s strongest locations, a location where he will likely make you pay. So from 60 feet, 6 inches away, a pitcher has to hit a location roughly the size of a beer can, or they get hit. Hard.

The main reason that I am such a fan of baseball is that it is the only sport where the objective value of each player can be discovered, defined and debated. I can show you why Lance Berkman has been the MVP thus far. I can show you why Ichiro Suzuki is overrated. I can show you why Bob Gibson’s 1968 season was one of the best, but I can also show you why Pedro Martinez’ 2000 was better. However, I can tell you that Martinez’ 99-00 stretch is the best 2 year stretch of all time, but you can tell me that Greg Maddux’ 94-95 stretch was just as good, if not better. It is my personal belief that Greg Maddux is the best pitcher of our generation, with Pedro and Roger Clemens in the discussion.

I probably have not changed anyone’s opinions about baseball with just this post, but I hope that you all give it a shot and you might find that you enjoy it, just like Amrit. Just sit back, have a few beers with a few friends and try to guess what everyone is thinking.

Hockey and football, please don't be sad, but I'm watching a new sport

Actually, I watch many other sports. I'm an avid curling fan during the Olympics (I shit you not, I've been known to yell "SWEEP" at pubs in moments of euphoria and forgetfulness... yes, that's what we'll call it), I love playing and watching cricket, I started watching and somewhat understanding rugby (league and union) last year, I've watched field hockey in moments of weakness, Wimbledon tends to be a summer fixture for me, and, well, various other Olympic sports.

But, I've finally started watching a sport which I've mocked others for watching in the past. No, fuck you, not billiards, pool, darts, poker or (seriously) blackjack. Those are all bullshit. I'm starting to pay attention to America's pass-time, baseball.

I know, I know, the shame of it all. You can blame these guys for getting me into it though. Actually, you can blame Mike for sending me a link to their Guide to the Wave way back in May, which got me into DJF in the first place.

I watched all 15 innings of the All-Star Game last night (well, I was awake for the first 9, then happened to wake up in time to see Justin Morneau [goood Canadian boy - Don Cherry voice] score the winning run in the 15th, lucky Amrit). I have yet to eat a hot dog this summer as I'm waiting to eat one at the SkyDome (apparently 'true Jays fans' still call it that, and I fully support not calling stadiums by corporate names) in August.

But, yes, moral of the story, I've started watching baseball. I can no longer mock baseball fans for watching the most boring game in the world, because I no longer find it incredibly boring.

In fact, keep your eyes peeled as a guest writer (Peter Milway) will be pitching up a baseball article for this blog sometime in the next few weeks, and as we head into playoffs he might wind up with something approaching a regular column.

Anyways, I've admitted it, my conscious is clear, time to get back to work.