My weekly opinions, observations and rants about some Canadian baseball stories:
If the whispers are true that Edwin Encarnacion was demoted for not hustling, then Lyle Overbay should also be shipped out of town. In the four-plus seasons he’s been a Blue Jay, I’ve rarely seen him run out a ground ball. Granted Overbay does have a good glove, but he also must be amongst the league leaders in watched third strikes.
Conversely, hustling is the reason you can’t help but cheer for Aaron Hill, even if he’s hitting .190-something. Last Thursday, with the Jays leading the Cardinals 5-0 in the seventh inning, Hill tapped a grounder to third and turned what looked to be a sure out into an infield single. This is the type of guy I would want on my team.
Saw Jerry Seinfeld here in London, Ontario last Friday night. He’s still hilarious even without Keith Hernandez. I was hoping for a re-enactment of the Roger McDowell magic loogie incident, but no such luck. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEzBeP6pRoY
Hope Roy Halladay’s son, Braden, who was born in Toronto, takes after his dad. That way Canada may have a heckuva pitcher in the World Baseball Classic in 15 years.
Speaking of Halladay, here’s another must-read article from Bob Elliott on why Doc deserves our respect: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/2010/06/27/14540056.html
Though he won a Cy Young award with the Expos, Pedro Martinez’s Cooperstown plaque will likely showcase a Red Sox cap. But there’s still a good chance that Vladimir Guerrero will be enshrined as an Expo.
Shaun Marcum is 10th in the American League in ERA (3.14) and first in ESE (Excess Saliva Expectoration). This guy doesn’t just spit, he’s a water fountain on the mound.
For a stretch last year, I was convinced that Prince Fielder was born in Ontario, Canada. After all, his dad was in the Blue Jays organization in 1984 (the year Prince was born) and Prince’s birthplace is listed as Ontario, CA on Baseball Reference.com. But thanks to some detective work by Scott Crawford at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, I was informed that Prince was born in Ontario, California.
Congratulations to Trail, B.C. native Jason Bay who recorded his 1,000th career hit on Sunday to become the 10th Canadian to reach that milestone. He joins a list that includes Larry Walker, Matt Stairs, Terry Puhl, Tip O’Neill, Jeff Heath, Jack Graney, Frank O’Rourke, Bill Phillips and George Wood. Justin Morneau will join him later this season.
I have never been a big fan of Seinfeld (the show), although I like his stand-up stuff. But that clip is great — thanks for providing the link.
Excellent information and observations, as always.
What I like best about the Keith Hernandez “loogie” bit is that they altered the colour of the video or whatever they use to record the episode. When the skit came in it looked like they had slowed the video down and the video was orangey like the famous “Zapruder” film taken of John Kennedy being shot. If you remember Jerry narrated the loogie as if it was the “magic bullet” similar to the one in JFK’s assasination. That as GOLD, I TELL YOU, IT WAS GOLD.