Teasers..

Because I took nearly 600 photos like a crazy person.  Then I managed to glean 85 photos from that.
And now, for the sake of the blog, I need to cull it down to a manageable 20 or less.  But these two three pictures, I'm going to share, just because I am going to continue my quest:  Photos of Players Blowing Bubbles.

Stephen Strasburg, Bubblin'!

Martín, Mid-Bubble

Adam Dunn, Blurry Bubble

Blue Jaysin' It Up

I love Toronto.  It's the city where my cousins grew up, the city with the awesome Chinese food, in the land of maple syrup and poutine.  I pretty much love everything about Toronto, and no, not even the winters would make me think twice about moving there, if given the chance.  I mean, seriously.  The Chinese food alone is incentive enough.  Also, I love Canadian accents and cool Canadian currency... and Canadian boys.  Mmm... Canadian boys... with their accents... and access to excellent Chinese food... and legitimate cold weather... *swoon*

I meant, I love Atlanta!  (You can't call me a traitor, I DO love Atlanta.  But Toronto = VACATION NO WORK SLEEP EAT DRINK BE MERRY DREAMY MEN CITY, and Atlanta = Where the Players Play.  And I'm pretty tired of the players playin', ya know what I'm sayin'?)

So as I mentioned before, I was planning on going to a Jays game while in Toronto, though, I'm pretty sure nobody in my family wanted to go at all... I'm the baseball fan in the family.  *shrug*  Sorry, guys?

Besides!  It was my first Blue Jays game since June 22, 2004.  And in 2004, I saw the Jays play Tampa Bay, as well.  (yes, I cheated, and looked up the box score.  I wasn't as into the Jays then as I am now.)  BUT I did remember that Fred McGriff was the DH in that game (for the Devil Rays), and I also remember that the SkyDome was still the SkyDome, and the roof was open.  I could see CN Tower.  :)  Also, Eric Hinske was still a Jay at that point, so I saw Hinske play in a Jays uniform 6 years ago.  :)  I also saw Jose Bautista play in a Rays uniform.

Jays fell to the Rays that day, 5 to 1.  But to be honest, nobody expected otherwise.  (I say this with all the love in the world for the Jays... but they were not very good.  Howie Clark, who now plays for the Twins, scored the only Jays run, I think.)

However, the Jays game that I attended six years later was different.  I could choose between a Tampa Bay game or a Boston game.  As much as I wanted to do both, it just wasn't possible because there were 7 of us cousins... And also, limited funds.  For some reason, we thought that the Sunday game (August 8, 2010) was going to be a Ricky Romero game... even though my phone disputed this.  But I figured that Ryan would know since he lives in Toronto, and follows the Jays a bit more than I do.  Nope.  It was Brandon Morrow.  The boys (not my brothers or cousins) seemed displeased.  I was a little bit disappointed, myself.  Ricky Romero is awesome.  But I had watched (on MLB.tv) Morrow pitch against the Orioles, and he got himself out of whatever trouble he got himself into, every time.  I was impressed, and that was enough for me.
Plus, he's cute.

Reuters Pictures

So of course, we get there late.  Look.  What can I say?  I'm the baseball fan, but I also like sleep.  Plus there were 7 of us... and 2 more meeting us at the game.  We got seats overlooking left field.  NICE view... but the the roof was closed because it was overcast.  I wish it had been open because it felt really still in there... like the air was dead.  (I like moving air... it's a thing.)  Also, no pictures of  CN Tower like this, so boo.

We were walking towards our seats when there was sudden cheering.  Want to know why?  Because Yunel Escobar (who Ryan likes to call my boyfriend) had scored a run in the bottom of the 1st, driven in on a single by Vernon Wells!  (Yay, Yunel! <3 <3 <3)  It was the only run that would be scored during the game.  The previous game was a 17-11 monstrosity (8 homers by the Jays, there), and the roof was open.  With the dead air and the offensive outburst the day before, the bats were relatively quiet.  

Meanwhile, Brandon Morrow had already had himself a 1-2-3 top of the 1st... 3 strikeouts, and that's including Evan Longoria.  Andrew then proceeded to explain to me that if a Jays pitcher has 7 Ks, then you could present your ticket at a Pizza Pizza (see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) for a free slice.  

Yes, that ticket.  It's pretty.

Brandon Morrow had his 7th strikeout by the 4th inning.  He didn't stop there, though.  Jays fans should have been able to get two-and-a-half slices of pizza, because Brandon Morrow struck out 17 Rays.  That was not a typo.  SEVENTEEN.  One-Seven.  Against Tampa Bay.  The Toronto Blue Jays SWEPT the Tampa Bay Rays.  They won the series against the Yankees (in New York, no less!) coming into the Rays series.  How awesome was it that I got to catch this?  And I watched a BEAUTY of a game.  Pitchers' duels are boring for casual baseball fans or ... non-baseball fans.  But for people like me, it's super exciting.  (Or distressing, depending on which team you're rooting for...  Le sigh, Braves... le sigh.)

He had a no-hitter going up until the 9th inning, with 2 outs.  :(  And of course, it was Evan Longoria who broke it up.  And Aaron Hill looked absolutely distraught over not getting to that ball.  Honestly, though, I don't think he would have had a play.  Poor guy.  He clearly wanted very badly to help Morrow to that no-no.  BUT!  Brandon Morrow had his first 1-hitter, and his first complete game on August 8, 2010.  The only hit he gave up was a single by Evan Longoria.  There are really worse things, don't you think?  :)  The Jays players gave him a Gatorade shower and not one, but two shaving cream pies to the face after the game.  This video doesn't show the second pie, which involved Shaun Marcum hiding behind a lawncare vehicle and sneaking up and getting Morrow in the face after he'd already been doused and pied!  :)

Gatorade Shower! (AP)

Shaving Cream Pie #1 (Reuters)

Shaving Cream Pie #2, Courtesy of Shaun Marcum (Reuters)

Vernon Wells, I should mention, made a spectacular catch which I saw live... !  He's awesome.  

I'm sad that I didn't get to see any particular Yunel acrobatics or any Jo-Bau homers... but really, what could Yunel do?  Morrow had taken it upon himself to give everybody a nice relaxing day.  

OH!  And I saw Jose Molina steal a base.  Standing up.  IT WAS AWESOME.  I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but I'm not a very diligent photographer, in spite of my penchant to stick cameras in everybody's faces.  The Jays dugout was practically rolling around laughing when they saw what had happened.  Jose Molina stole a base, dude!  Get real! 

Another interesting thing (which I also failed to take a picture of):  the beers had lids on the cups.  There were LIDS on the cups of beer.  No beer spillage!  EXCELLENT.  :)

I'm still trying to get my pictures organized.  I have fuzzy iPhone photos, decent (and blurry) point-and-shoot photos, and disappointingly wobbly and blurry dSLR photos.  I promise that when I get those sorted out, I'll post them here!  I got a couple of decent Yunel shots (but he looks tiny in them).  And I got a couple shots of Jose Bautista, before he shaved off his beard.  Didn't get any of Aaron Hill or any non-blurry Brandon Morrow photos though... le sigh.

Pre-Deadline Jitters

I need to modify my "heart attack" graph, I think, and add a "Thought of Martin Prado Being Injured" or "Watching Martin Prado Get Injured" bar... because my heart jumped into my throat and then dove into my stomach and then jumped back up and did some sort of cardiac acrobatics of an unhealthy nature when THIS happened.  I hope Martin is okay.  I adore him.

Also, reading Twitter is not at all helpful in instances like this.  I mean, I used to be a Twitter-scorner, and to a degree, I still am, a bit.  But for baseball-related purposes, it's REALLY useful.  How else would I know about what songs the Braves Organist is going to play for the opposing team when they play Atlanta?  Or how else would I hear about Jose Bautista pick-up lines (my favorite is "I know Yunel Escobar."  It'd work on me.  Of course, he could probably just look at me and I'd faint, straightaway) or other fun Jose Bautista facts (such as "Chuck Norris' beard cries every night because it isn't on Jose Bautista's face")?  How else would I find out that Martin's x-rays were inconclusive?  Or MLB is having a hat giveaway?  This is all very useful information, dang it, and it feeds (fuels?) my baseball addiction.

But... back to my point... NOT helpful.  I'm worried and nervous for my boys, to whom I've grown very attached.  There are rumors of Jacoby Ellsbury (as I mentioned on Twitter... Braves Hot Factor would SKYROCKET... and the Braves Hot Factor is already pretty high), of Kelly Johnson (as much as I would love that...), of Cody Ross (no, thanks.  He's a good player and all, but I am comfortable with Hinske and Diaz; we all know we're not going to trade away a switch hitter, & Natey's numbers aren't so hot/enticing... that leaves Blanco, Hinske, & Diaz.  Hinske is a WS good luck charm, Diaz is on fire, and Blanco?  YOU MAY NOT TOUCH THE VENEZUELAN TROUPE, FRANK WREN, I SIMPLY WILL NOT ALLOW IT.  YOU ALREADY TRADED AWAY YUNEL.  YOU'VE ALREADY FORMED THE TROUPE.  YOU CANNOT RIP ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART AWAY!)...

Ahem, sorry, what was that?

Oh, yes, trade rumors.  I don't like them.  They hurt my feelings.  Although, there have been mention of Jose Bautista... and I REALLY like Jose Bautista.  But I've grown comfortable with him as a Jay, and I'd like for him to stay a Blue Jay.  If he MUST come here, though, and one of my ATL boys MUST go to TOR... there are worse things.  At least both the Braves and Jays are my teams...

IN OTHER NEWS THAT IS NOT (necessarily) TRADE-RELATED (please note my elegant and subtle transition.  Sorry.  I'll work on those):
1.  Jonny Venters' four game suspension was rescinded ENTIRELY and his fine reduced by MLB.  A wonderful development, I think!  As if Jonny would ever intentionally throw at someone.  As Lauren of Brave Love mentioned (and she's met the guy), he's got no guile, and I absolutely believe it.  As if the Braves even have a player on the team like that!  At most, we get revenge-K's, not revenge-plunks!  There is no purpose for plunks!

2.  Speaking of plunks, I sincerely hope that K-Meddles (aka Boomer) is ok.  I know Cueto didn't mean to hit my boy, but I'm still annoyed, given that he batted from the right for a reason...

3.  JOSE BAUTISTA GRAND SLAM.  This is what Craig said to me last night:  "gosh, Alison, I don't know why you seem to think Jose Bautista is so good.  He didn't even hit more than one grand slam today!"
Alison:  "Hehe, I may have to propose marriage to him toooooo!"
C:  "Alright, you just stay away from Jason Heyward.  I swear he's just in the closet; ergo, he's mine."
As long as Craiggie doesn't try to compete with me for Martin, we'll be all good.  Otherwise, I will crush him. <3

4.  Fantasy baseball:  somebody dropped Chipper Jones in my league.  Out of loyalty, I should pick him up.  But then I have to either drop a Brave or a hot-hitting Scott Podsednik.  what to do, what to do, le sigh, le boo hoo.

:)

end noonish ramble.

Proud of our boy

We're always pleased to see Kyle Davies do well, but when he beats the Yankees, it's even more special. Suck it, A-Rod; you'll have to get your 600th roid-induced home run another day.

Today we learn how MLB makes its decisions:

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100719&content_id=12401950&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

"for the intentional actions of Venters after a warning had been issued to the pitcher following the first intentional pitch thrown at Fielder."

So, as it turns out, the assistant commissioner of MLB thinks that Venters intentionally threw a breaking ball at Fielder (nobody ever does that,) missed, and then threw at him again after being warned. Now, the fact that this makes no sense doesn't disprove it, similarly to the fact that just because Charlie Manuel doesn't look like him doesn't mean he isn't the reincarnated Spirit of Shoeless Joe Jackson and should therefore still be permanently banned from Major League Baseball. Not getting the benefit of the doubt from the guy he hit with a 96 MPH fastball is one thing, but getting a four game suspension from someone who's actually supposed to try to be objective about this kind of thing? My guess is that the Brewers whined enough to MLB that they just declared Venters guilty until proven innocent and then suspended Bobby Cox for, er, telling him to do it, or something? I hope they appeal this, because this is just ridiculous.

Unfair Accusations

With some fightin' words floating around to the effect that Venters apparently threw at Fielder on purpose and missed, and then, after being warned, threw at him again, let me simply say that I will more than a little bit annoyed if any of the Braves are plunked today. Revenge beanballs are one thing when it's clear the pitcher was being sour about a home run he gave up himself, but if it happens today, it will be petty and ridiculous. Doesn't Venters deserve any benefit of the doubt whatsoever, considering he didn't even give up the home run to Fielder and that he knew he'd be tossed if he pegged him? Quit whining, Brewers; you're making something out of nothing.

Game's starting, so good luck to Derek Lowe!

The Truth about that Pin-Striped Team from New York

The New York Yankees would have you believe that they are as widely reviled as they are supported because they are just that good at winning. This could only be true if we broaden the concept of 'winning' in that sentence to encompass a range of organization actions taken off the field and off of any sensible person's moral compass. Dear Yankees fans, this is your life!

Now let us go ahead and draw a distinction between the historic Yankees and the Steinbrenner Yankees. The historic Yankees existed before free agency and steroids. George Steinbrenner became owner of the franchise in the 70s, right around when free agency was first instituted. Free agency caused player salaries to skyrocket, and it did not take many years for an enormous wealth gap in payroll to emerge. Smaller market teams could not keep pace with the ballooning costs of players. It is widely known today that the Yankees' $200 million+ payroll far exceeds the next highest, and the next two teams, the Mets and Red Sox, themselves far eclipse the middle market teams.

Steinbrenner is unique as a baseball owner. He owns the team with the largest potential market - New York being a uniquely enormous city in the USA. More than that, he has been willing to jack up his payroll to a point where the disparity between the Yankees payroll and those of competitors is greater than the difference in market size. Whereas most pro sports leagues seek to equalize competition by reigning in the payrolls of large market teams (via salary cap), baseball has allowed the Yankees to exacerbate its natural advantage.

Because of this practice on the part of the Yankees organization, MLB has instituted a luxury tax. The Yankees end up making massive payments every year for their continually growing payroll costs. The problem is that this tax has done very little to help the smaller market teams, and it has done absolutely nothing to prevent the Bronx Bombers from ransacking every free agent class.

Steinbrenner's Yankees are thus not so much the seminal franchise of a sacred national pastime. They are instead more comparable to Wal-Mart, a vacuous entity that has self-engineered to 'succeed' at all costs. Success for Wal-Mart is to increase profit margins no matter how damaging its actions are to humanity. The Yankees try to win and make money no matter the cost to the game of baseball itself.

I would ask any Yankees fan what he or she is even rooting for. They are not a sports team in the traditional sense. The Yankees still exude American culture in a significant way, precisely because the transformation of the franchise has mirrored the transformation of the American sociocultural context. Durable goods and nostalgic cultural practices have been replaced by cheap commodities engineered to enable a wealthy elite. The Yankees are, morally, a cheap commodity. It's the easiest thing in the world to do what Steinbrenner does with his team - throw money at it and expect it to work. Every year, mere mortals are lured from across the league to join one fat cat's harem of elite, culturally bankrupt spoiled children, who consistently fail to see that they owe every penny of their absurd wealth to consumers who are duped into thinking they're participating in sacred tradition.

The Yankees are also the most significant team to examine when considering the mass effect of the other great transformation in baseball over the past few decades - the emergence of performance-enhancing drugs. Sure, it is common knowledge know that most any baseball team has had a user of steroids on its roster at some point. But no other team is so littered with big name cases, and these big names were a major reason why the Yankees have won 5 championships over the past 15 years. Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, are all big names. Even the little guys, like lovably inept Chuck Knoblauch, have been outed as drug abusers.

What all of this points to is a deeply cynical, morally bankrupt organization. The Yankees as a team operate without any sort of understanding of all the intangible things that make baseball an important fixture in American life. National traditions are supposed to be quazi-religious endeavors, and are supposed to exist at a remove from the basic economic functions of that society. The Yankees are like a congregation run by an abusive, sociopathic priest, and Bud Selig is like the German pope who turns a blind eye, appeasing a horribly destructive wing of the institution he is in charge of running.

The house that Ruth built is gone. As Joe Torre said, all the ghosts have been carted over to the new $2 billion joint in a limo, reassigned in the afterlife. Iconic cultural figures like DiMaggio, Mantle, Ruth, Gehrig, have been plasticized. The maintenance of the pin stripe aesthetic must now be considered a marketing strategy, destined to be re-branded the next time a $200 million monster fails to make the playoffs. The mirth created for the rest of us on such occasions should provide Yankees fans an essential clue - that the joke's on them.