Monthly Archives: March 2015
2015 Blue Jays: Michael Saunders
One difficulty that the Jays face that hasn’t often been mentioned is that some players don’t want to play in Toronto. It’s a foreign country, it’s cold here in April, the team plays in a dome, and there’s artificial turf. … Continue reading
“A Night At The Opera” Revisited
So I was working away today, and I decided to put Queen’s “A Night At The Opera” on my Google Play. (I don’t remember the last time I listened to music that wasn’t on my computer or the Internet.) Each … Continue reading
2015 Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson
When I first heard of the trade, my first thought was that there must be something wrong with Josh Donaldson. He has finished in the top ten in the American League voting in each of the last two years (fourth … Continue reading
10 facts about the 1977 Blue Jays
While we Jays fans all begin the slow process of recovery from the bad news about Marcus Stroman, why not look back to the franchise’s very beginnings? Here’s a bunch of trivia about the 1977 Blue Jays: Bob Bailor had … Continue reading
2014 Blue Jays: Management and ownership
I have always found it difficult to evaluate the performance of major league managers and general managers because so much of what they do is hidden from the public eye. The least important of a manager’s skills are the ones … Continue reading
The coldest month ever
Residents of Toronto are fully entitled to complain about the recent weather: February 2015 set a record in Toronto for the coldest month ever recorded (at least since the start of the 20th century). The average temperature was -12.6C, beating … Continue reading
2014 Blue Jays: Miscellaneous pitchers
Here’s some random things about any 2014 Blue Jays pitchers that I have not mentioned in previous blog posts. Every pitching staff needs somebody like Todd Redmond: a 11th or 12th man on the staff who can enter the game … Continue reading
2014 Blue Jays: Miscellaneous hitters
Here’s some random notes on other hitters who played for the Blue Jays in 2014. Dioner Navarro just looks like a catcher – he’s short, and somewhat heavy. (Baseball Reference lists him as 5’9″ and 205.) He did as well … Continue reading
2014 Blue Jays: Ryan Goins
Ryan Goins is an outstanding defensive middle infielder, by all reports. Jerry Howarth has called him the best fielding second baseman the Jays have had since Alomar, and everyone else seems to agree with this assessment. As an example, consider … Continue reading
2014 Blue Jays: Jose Bautista
Some random Jose Bautista facts, thanks to the wonderful Baseball Reference web site: He hasn’t hit a triple since 2011. Uniform numbers he has worn in the majors: 14, 59, 27, 50, 7, 19, 23, and 19 again. 2014 was … Continue reading