Rock Bottom (?)

Fragile Blue Jays
lost four matches to Oakland
in painful fashion.

ER

No Confidence: A Baseball Microstory

Those fucking nerves tear my stomach apart.

What did Dr. Garcia say? Take several breaths? Remember, it’s just baseball; not life-or-death?

I’ve solicited advice. Yet every time….every damn time the manager calls on me, I want to disappear.

Use to be the best closer in baseball. Simply unstoppable. Then I made a fatal mistake: Threw one bad pitch and fucked up the World Series. Since then, my confidence has been estranged.

It is life-or-death. The stadium is full of demons and they’re all watching me.

Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll have a heart attack before I reach the mound.

ER

31 items I reflected on and scribbled down (metaphorically, of course).

Yes, this post was inspired by Elliot Friedman’s 31 Thoughts. Mr. Friedman, if you or the legal team at Rogers is reading this, please don’t sue me. 😓

1. Hell of a start for the Blue Jays. Given my low expectations for the season, it has been a pleasant surprise so far. April 2017 was like a meal at some sketchy diner that results in food poisoning. April 2018 felt like a meal at a sketchy diner that turns out to be the best kept secret in the city.
2. Of course, things haven’t been great since they swept the Royals. Regardless, finishing April with a winning record is still a decent achievement when compared to 2017.
3. Yes, it is early. And yes, I vividly remember the great run the 2009 Jays were on before everything nosedived in late May. I suggest we just enjoy what they’re doing now and deal with whatever happens when it happens.
4. Yangervis Solarte has some power!!! Was not expecting that.
5. Yangervis Solarte can dance!!! Was not expecting that.
6. Not surprised with Randal Grichuk’s poor start. Wasn’t blow away with his St. Louis numbers. Maybe the slump is partially due to getting accustomed to a new team, division and stadium. Maybe it’s not. Fingers crossed he turns it around soon.
7. Teoscar doesn’t want to go back to Buffalo. Fans don’t want to him sent back to Buffalo. In fact, if the Jays do option him back to the Bisons, it wouldn’t shock me if a giant roadblock is suddenly erected somewhere along on the QEW.
8. Good to see the Humboldt Broncos’ logo displayed on the backstop a few weeks ago.
9. I enjoyed hearing Josh Thole on the radio broadcasts. He wasn’t polished, but a part of me liked that. I’m still irritated about the way certain fans treated him.
10. I like the bullpen. I like it a lot.
11. John Axford was shaky at first, but has straightened out nicely. Very pleased to see this.
12. Luke Maile came up with some big swings in April. Every time it occurred, I thought of this 2017 tweet from Andy Arias.
13. If I was in the stands, I would’ve happily joined in on the standing ovation for Ryan Goins. Come @ me. I dare you.
14. My friend and I had tickets for Monday, April 16. As you know, the match was cancelled due to falling ice. As annoying as it was – I was already en route when the game was formally cancelled – it was the right decision. A huge amount of gratitude to the stadium personnel who worked feverishly to try to get the game in, especially to the staff that went on the roof.
15. The doubleheader on April 17 was the third such occurence in Skydome history. I was aware of the first one that took place in 1989. However, I have no recollection of the one in 2001 – October 5 against Cleveland, according to Baseball -Reference.com. It’s strange because I was at the final home game of 2001, which took place a couple of days later. Given that all this took place three weeks after 9/11, baseball was the last thing on everyone’s mind at the time.
16. Overall, the rotation has been so-so. But they have given the team a chance to win, which is what any of us would want. With that in mind….
17. No, I’m not worried about Stro. He’ll figure it out.
18. No, I’m not worried about Devon. He’ll also figure it out.
19. You know things aren’t terrible when you don’t see a lot of “Bring up Vladdy and Bo” tweets. Of course….it is early 😝
20. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone complain about the wave yet.
21. The Braves visit Toronto, June 19-20. Wouldn’t shock me if those games are sold out.
22. Coming up with 31 talking points is hard. How does Friedman do this all the time?
23. The weather sucked.
24. Games on Facebook: Meh.
25. Five-minute condensed games on Facebook: 👍👍👍
26. I like Skydome’s new “value” menu.
27. Recently, Mike Wilner posted a photo of a mantra Curtis Granderson wrote inside his hat: “Don’t think. Have fun.” Two simple sentences, four words. One profound point made.
28. Speaking of Granderson….can I add my name to the list of fans who are grateful he’s on the team?
29. Shoutout to my favourite hot dog vendor: Ted’s Gourmet, at the corner of Front and John.
30. Wishing the very best to Danny Farquhar. Speedy and successful recovery.
31. #TorontoStrong #HumboldtStrong

ER