My weekly opinions, observations and rants about some Canadian baseball stories (Please follow me on Twitter: @kevinglewsports):
If you’re wondering – like I was – why Scott Richmond (Vancouver, B.C.) isn’t pitching for Canada in the World Baseball Classic qualifier in Germany, it’s because (as Bob Elliott notes in the Toronto Sun today) his wife Deanna gave birth to twin girls on Wednesday in Scottsdale, Arizona. Congratulations to the veteran pitcher and his wife.
Scarborough, Ont., native George Kottaras is turning out to be one of the better trade deadline acquisitions. Since being dealt to the Oakland A’s by the Milwaukee Brewers on July 28, the Canadian catcher has belted five homers and owns a .500 slugging percentage in 21 games.
Speaking of the Brewers, the most Canadian team in baseball has jumped back into wild-card contention after a recent hot stretch. Even without Kottaras, Milwaukee’s roster still boasts Canadians John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.), Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) and Taylor Green (Comox, B.C.). And their two top executives Doug Melvin (general manager) and Gord Ash (assistant general manager) were born in Chatham, Ont., and Toronto respectively. Heading into today’s action, the Brewers sit 2-1/2 games back of the Cardinals for the final National League wild-card spot.
Even retired ex-Toronto Blue Jays aren’t immune to the injury bug. Jeff Kent reportedly tore his MCL within the first 15 minutes of the season premiere of Survivor.
One method I use to gauge whether there are issues with a team’s makeup is to count how many times I utter the phrase “I’d hate to be the one to tell …” about one of their players. I’ve made far too many statements that start with these eight words about the Blue Jays this season. I’d hate to be the one to tell Yunel Escobar that Adeiny Hechavarria is a better shortstop than him and that he should move to second base. I’d hate to be the one to tell Colby Rasmus that he needs to move to left field because Anthony Gose is the better centre fielder. And I’d hate to be the one to tell Brett Lawrie that his baserunning errors are no longer acceptable.
I’ve yet to hear of a single Montreal Expos fan that celebrated when the Washington Nationals clinched a playoff spot on Thursday.
I wrote a profile about 1954 Montreal Royals pitcher and Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Billy Harris earlier this week. If you want to watch Harris’s Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech from 2008, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RdInJ-ErZo
I love Amy Adams (another of my Hollywood crushes), I love baseball and I respect the heck out of scouts, so why don’t I want to see “Trouble with the Curve” which hit movie theaters this weekend? What exactly has Clint Eastwood’s Obama/invisible chair speech done to me?
Slated for release in 2013, the new Jackie Robinson movie will mention his 1946 season in Montreal. The movie features Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. You can watch the movie trailer here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/42-jackie-robinson-movie-trailer-hits-internet-165305322–mlb.html
Comment: How about Escobar moving to another team instead along with Rasmus and Lawrie if the price is right. Maybe the 3 stupidest Jays in their history. Escobar is set is his ways and is not very coachable and hits under his weight, Rasmus strikes out far to often and doesn’t seem to get it. Lawrie thinks baseball is football or hockey, not exacty suited to a game that requires intelligence! I call them Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest in he following order: Lawrie, Rasmus and Escobar. Jays are a very long way from being anywhere near competitive.
Tom Bradley ( a regular reader)
Tom: Thanks for the comment and for reading my work. I’m all for trading Escobar. I think Anthopoulos will look into this, but I think his trade value will be almost nil thanks to the eye black incident. Dealing Rasmus might not be a bad idea either. Maybe it’s the Canadian bias in me, but I think the Jays should hold on to Lawrie. Maybe I’m being hopelessly optimistic, but I think he could still be a key player on a contending Jays team (eventually). Thanks again for your comment.
I have to agree with your Clint E. comment –I know I would want to see his movie– but seeing him talking to a chair and making me nervous as to what he was going to say next has spoiled my image of him. So I am not rushing to the theatre to see him in that “curve” movie!
Thanks for the comment. It will be interesting to see what the box office tally is for his movie this weekend.
From Devon Teeple:
Tonnes of info.
I haven’t seen the Jackie Robinson trailer but have been hearing good things so far.
And you gotta love the Brew Crew and all the Canadian connections. If they get in the playoffs that would be something special.
Thanks for sharing this Kevin.
Devon Teeple – Founder / Executive Director – The GM’s Perspective
Thanks for the comment, Devon.