2 Curious Cases

2 things that are on our mind this week:

1. we were watching a NL baseball game last week on the telly that was a blowout.  late in the game, a reliever came up to the plate to bat and was facing another reliever on the hill.  this rarely happens as relievers will usually be pinch hit for in the batting lineup.  this rare occurrence prompted the announcers to begin a discussion on an “unwritten” rule of the bullpen. we suppose there are are many of these rules but this one in particular was “relievers will only throw fastballs to other relievers at the plate“.  which is exactly what happened.  we don’t know anything about this rule.  we had never heard of it and since it happened we’ve been searching the ‘net for more info and come up blank so far.  hence the “unwritten” rule label we gather.  but it certainly was a quirky thing to witness and made a lot of sense. the hitter in this situation is at the plate 99%  of the time in a blowout and deserves every chance to get a hit.  for the record, the hitter in this instance struck out.
2. been watching tennis of late.  the Rogers Cup event in Toronto got us watching a few games recently.  one was the Dinara Safina loss.  yesterday we watched the world #1 struggle again in her first round match at the US Open.  she barely won that match against a qualifier.  in both games, one thing become very obvious to us: her coach is a jerk.   he never smiled, gave any support whatsoever and was completely negative in both affairs.  there is tough love in sport but this goes WAAAAAY beyond that.  he is a jerk and doesn’t belong anywhere near any athlete.  Safina’s confidence is at an all time low and the role of the coach is to not only help with the physical aspect of the game but the mental as well.  we’ve never seen a tennis coach(or any coach of any sport) be such a downer, or not even lift a positive finger when their client is struggling. he even acted pissed when she won some crucial points late in her match. why this jerk is in her employ is beyond us but it makes for great drama!

A Case 4 Head Cases

Marco Scutaro get beaned in last nights Jays vs. Red SOX game and sits out the rest of the game as a precaution. Early statements from the team indicate Marco has a bruise on his head but they are still optimistic he will play tonight.
We realize the team is only 21 games out of the pennant lead so to err on the side of caution here is not that wise…waitaminute!

HEY JAYS! get your head on straight!  Head injuries in sport are the hardest to diagnose so give the guy (no matter what he says) a day or the weekend off.  HIS HEAD IS FREAKIN’ BRUISED from a Beckett pitch!  As we just saw with Scott Rolen when he got beaned in Cinci that early on it looked like he’d be back right away but then was out for a few weeks.  Rolen even came back and played 2 games out of 4 (and even hitting a homer) after the beaning b4 going on the DL because of it.

The last thing we’d like to see is a guy at the plate with his head not straight!

Sure, we can identify with wanting to play and get back out there right away.  Just this past week we fell off a horse  and of course we got right back on that horse once we dusted off.  So Scoots wants to play right away again and we get that.  ERR on the side of caution here!  We’re sure this isn’t the first beaner he has gotten and it most likely won’t be the last.

Don’t mess with the head!  Sit Scutaro!

Our Lead Story is…

We will admit that if we lived in Calgary, the lure to see all of Canada’s best hockey players on the same sheet of ice would be too much for us to bear.  Especially for a mere 20 bucks!  Even if it was just a public scrimmage match.  The Red vs. White game would have been great to be there for but making it the lead story in print, radio and tv media today is beyond ridiculous.

We’ve never understood why a “practice” for a sport would ever be more important than results of a sport that was actually “played“. No matter how popular the sport, it was just a practice.  Great to witness in person.  Not lead story material.

Note to media:

Sports fans #1 need is for scores/results of actual games played.

Then everything else.  No matter what the news of the day is.

Even as we write this, Michael Vick’s return to a preseason “practice” game is ahead in the tv highlights shows this morning than actual “real” games played.  Great to see he can throw but where are the pennant race scores and higlights???

PS: kudos to Nick Green of the Boston Red Sox.  The shortstop pitched 2 scoreless innings in last nights game!  He didn’t even look out of place doing it!  We love it when things like this happen in games!  Why isn’t this the lead story???

3 Key Elements for MLB Success?

After taking part in Blue Jay Hunter’s Live Chat we got to thinking about what the Toronto Blue Jays need. What any MLB team needs. What we feel makes a winner.

So here’s our take in a nutshell in order:

1. Closer needs to be a STUD

Ever since the dawn of the Jays, we’ve been fans. What history has taught us is that any team worth taking a title shot has had a better than average closer. The team does & will perform better knowing that if they can hold, gain or have a lead late in the game that the STUD can come out of the bullpen & seal the deal 95% of the time. Every ball team needs to have that confidence in their STUD. It is what drives them to succeed.

2. One Fearsome Bat

One that strikes fear into opposing pitchers. One that can get you in a number of ways. One with a mix of power, speed & smarts. It directly affects how the other team will manage your lineup & inevitably make the entire lineup that much better because of it.

3. Clutch Catcher

We’ve noticed that all the good teams have a better than average catcher. One that excels in at least one aspect of the game and is at least average in other areas. Whether he calls a good game, is a great hitter or fantastic at holding/throwing out runners. Any combo of those will suffice. Each winning team has one & its the glue that binds the team. Without it, the entire team pitching & team defense will suffer.

Any team with just those 3 ingredients in our minds, has a shot at the post season. Simple and direct. Of course, quality pitching & hitting are all around key elements that go without saying BUT we feel that to be a WINNER you need these 3 elements. You can have quality pitching & hitting but without these 3 elements, you don’t stand a chance.

Now we look at the 2009 Jays & there’s at least some optimism that these ingredients can & might be a part of the mix. It remains to be seen if BJ Ryan can be the STUD. If Vernon Wells is the FB. If Barajas/Barrett can be clutch. Let the “madness” begin in honest in April!

Shouts from the Top of the Hill!

Here’s some stuff we’re chewing on:

• Now that baseball is done, what is there on TV to fall asleep to?
• Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment employs 3 professional coaches in the Major leagues. Sam Mitchell (NBA Raptors), Ron Wilson (NHL Leafs), John Carver (MLS TFC). All cut from the same cloth? You can argue that all are no-nonsense, matter-of-fact, tempermental, tell-it-like-it-is coaches. A theme by MLSE? We think so. Discuss.
• Seriously, the Tennessee Titans need to make embattled QB Vince Young a running back. Its what he does best. They would win the Super Bowl with him in the equation.  Hands down.
• The Canada Sports Hall of Fame is granted to Calgary and is going to cost $50 Million. Meanwhile, Canadian Olympic athletes are beggin’ for private sector funding and recent polls seem to indicate that the populace supports more public funding for athletes. In these uncertain financial times do you support the past or the future or both or neither? We doubt there’s enough cash out there for everything so we’d choose to support athletes now. There’s always time for the HoF later.  Invest in the future!
• OMG! Tomorrow is Hallowe’en… Need a costume?

Opportunity Lost?

Congrats to the World series champs, the Phillies. Though we picked the Rays to prevail, kudos to the team from Philly for surviving and winning an unusual WS that featured blown calls, a meddling commish and an angry mother nature. I doubt if MLB will ever change but a lot of these weather related issues could have been avoided if the world series had started earlier without a week off between it and the League Championships. In the post game both teams seemed happy leading us to believe that the WS for the Rays was beating the Red Sox. Once the dust settles, that should change and they’ll realize just how close they came to making a huge fantasy/dream story come true. Now, in a way they join the other teams as “also-rans”. Though the Rays are a talented bunch, its doubtful they will ever have this opportunity again. Stay tuned later this week for a post about what we think the Toronto Blue Jays should and shouldn’t do during the off season!

Rays in Seven

The World Series begins today. I pick the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games. I like the home court advantage they have and all season long they’ve bent but never broke. This series will be another fine example of this. Sure, it won’t be easy and they will be their own worst enemy at times but my gut tells me they will pull it off. Plus, I don’t get the feeling the Phillies want it bad enough. Matt Stairs included. The Rays in seven.