Monday Morning Malestrom of Links
First off, our beloved Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of their Winter Tour across the true north strong and free.
After signing autographs and kissing babies in Toronto over the weekend, today the Blue Jays stop in Kitchener-Waterloo before heading east and hitting Calgary next Wednesday and Vancouver next Friday.
By all accounts, it sounds like the Winter Tour events have gone really well, and it’s great to see the organization helping us get excited about baseball in the dead of winter.
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More importantly, the Winter Tour is helping a younger generation find a love for the game of baseball. I can’t recall if they had the Blue Jays Winter Caravan when I was a kid, but I certainly would have been there to see Pat Borders show kids how to lay down a bunt.
Now, on to the news!
Just when you thought the Blue Jays had finished creating their bullpen of misfit arms, MLBTR is reporting the Blue Jays and Rays are the finalists to sign Brian Fuentes.
Mat from Jays Journal for one pined to sign Fuentes a few weeks ago, and I’m all for it so long as they can get Brian Fuentes for somewhere in the neighbourhood of $4 million a season. Fuentes killed lefties last year, and his career splits versus left and right-handers are basically even.
Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times reminds us of the most embarrassing loss in Blue Jays history. Shockingly, it wasn’t the game from 1987 when the Blue Jays lost the division on the final day of the season.
The fellas at More Hardball sent me a link to this interesting Blue Jays centric license plate. Why do I have a feeling that this mom in particular is a fan favourite in her neighbourhood? I bet all the kids love getting a ride from BJ Mom.
I guess when the initials for your team are “BJ”, it makes for some unfortunate yet hilarious interpretations.
And lastly, a couple of my friends just returned from vacationing in Jamaica, and look what they found … a Jamaica Jays hat! Nice to see they are catering to the Blue Jays fans in the Caribbean.
As a kid, I went to see Jesse Barfield when he came to Pioneer Sportsworld in Kitchener as part of the Jays caravan. There was a mob of kids to see him.
Also, I did a blog on how a Fuentes/Dotel closer combination would be the greatest of all time (not really).
Peter, I can only imagine what that was like to go see Barfield. That must have been a complete zoo!
I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't get all that close to him and/or get his autograph. Also they had him take all these photographs with bikini clad models which was a kind of strange thing to do with so many kids around.
The best was when Ernie Whitt bought Mother's Pizza, he would make regular appearances and he would actually spend time with each fan. He must have signed about 30 baseball cards for me.
Peter, the bikini girl thing is a little odd, yes … but I guess things were different back in the day.
Ernie Whitt bought Mother's Pizza? That's awesome … maybe there's a commemorative pizza box out there somewhere with his name on it.
Where's the accompanying Jays beard and Jays cigar?
Xave, I think the Bautista Beard and autographed stogie are sold separately.
HA! BJ Mom. That's awkward.
A Jamaican Jays hat? Toronto's baseball team is no longer Canada's team. International the Jays are!
Amber, yeah … I feel bad for the poor kids who have to ride in that car.
Mattt, they're branching out! Maybe next year, the Winter Tour stops in the Caribbean as well.
I think Xave is confusing Cuba and Jamaica…perhaps he meant to invoke the jamaican stereotype of dreadlocked Rastafarians instead.