Baseball started today, but my Toronto Blue Jays take the field tomorrow night at 7:07PM to face the Twinkies. The first 45,000 fans (capacity: 49,539.) will receive white rally towels which doesn’t exactly bode well for the Jays chances. Not only does it suggest that we’ll require a rally, but they also bare a stark resemblance to, yanno, a white flag.
Every second commercial break, we’re blessed with this video. Except it’s only the thirty second version and stops before the video gets good. It’s pretty cheesy and definitely appeals to the woman in us, or the woman that we’re in. Either or, both work.
Alex Anthopoulos has been busy leading into the 2011 season and has basically amassed enough positive capital to screw up the next 3 or 4 trades. Sports Illustrated still predicts the Blue Jays to finish last in the AL East at 77-and-85 and I’m completely okay with that.
Here’s the thing about being in the AL EAST: If you’re not going to compete, just go ahead and make sure that you put out a fun baseball team. Canadians, myself included, aren’t typical baseball fans. I’ve been to the Rogers Centre maybe 200-300 times in my life and I’ve noticed that baseball is just another form of entertainment for Canadians. It’s not embedded in our DNA (or in the case of the Yankees, INBREDED in our DNA– see what I did there?)
Seats cost around as much as a movie ticket and when people decide against spending their money on Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2, they want some entertainment. If they can’t have entertainment, they want Canadian Content! The Rogers Centre becomes noticeably more bumpin’ when Joey Votto rolls in or Justin Morneau takes an AB. Alex Anthopoulous probably knew this when he acquired Brett Lawrie in the Marcum deal and good on ‘em for that.
The 2011 Blue Jays probably wont contend, but they’ll certainly provide some entertainment. The Jays posted the third highest HR total in history last year and the youngsters should provide some additional pop if they stay healthy. The loss of Wells will hurt, but Rivera can smash-kill with the best of ‘em and Rajai can run quick-fast.
Just like every other Canadian baseball fan, I’m not going to worry about the little things in 2011. With our new-found financial flexibility and stable of young talent, the future looks bright and I’m really just hoping to be entertained in the meantime.
