Skip to main content

Welcome Home Blue Jays!


A brief introduction is in order. Hello to all of you PhoulBallz.com phaithful! My name is The Man With The Golden Arm, head man at 1BlueJaysWay, and I am a living, breathing, eating, sleeping baseball phan in Canada. Now I know most of you will be shocked to hear that and I'm sure you thought guys like me were mythical like unicorns.....but it's true. I'll take baseball over hockey any day of the week and twice on Sunday.


That being said, I realize that I am in the minority in my native land. And believe me, I hear about it weekly. You see, I can't turn it off. Blue Jays baseball has been and will be a major part of my life until one of two things happen:

1) I die
2) Some dick at MLB's head office moves my team

When Jay Ballz asked me for a few thoughts regarding the upcoming Blue Jays / Phillies series, I pondered it for a couple of days. This ordeal of Roy Halladay's return series being moved to Philadelphia has brought on a complete range of emotions for me. I was excited, scared, happy, sad, angry, embarrassed and everything in between depending on where we were in the process. To put it into perspective for you guys, it was 3 and a half months before I could even talk about Roy Halladay being traded. This is what I came up with.

To say that I was looking forward to seeing him pitch again is a bit of an understatement.

However, right now I'm not so sure. Seeing him with another team would be like seeing your ex girlfriend with another man. I know Doc would be well received here in Toronto, but I can honestly say this here and now: I was hoping to see the Blue Jays knock the hell out of him. You see, I have come to realize that no matter what, the team is more important than its players. Even the best players. Even the phan favorites. Trading away a future Hall of Famer kinda forces you to do just that.

Here is a quote from young lefty pitcher Ricky Romero shortly after Doc threw his perfect game for you. It pretty much sums up my current state of mind:

“There was a guy here that did it really, really well,” Romero said. “You try to learn from that.”
But instead of reminiscing about the Halladay era, Romero reminded reporters of the new reality in Toronto: Halladay wears a different uniform and could face the Jays when Toronto plays the Phillies in late June. So, while Romero had plenty of praise for Halladay, he’s also prepared to face his former teammate. “I’m sure everyone in here is happy for Doc, but we’ve got to take care of our business,” he said. “He’s our enemy now.”

In conclusion, I hope you all enjoy the extra three "home games" for your Phillies this weekend. I know it will be odd to see your team hit first and with that stupid Designated Hitter rule in your park. A fitting end to a total screw up by all parties involved. Toronto folks get the G20 and Philadelphia phans get our home games. In my eyes, we can call the whole Joe Carter walk-off home run to win the World Series thing even now. ;)

Total low blow, I know. But I'm not even gonna pretend like I'm sorry.




Stop by the site sometime and say hello won't ya? Or stay in touch via the twitter.

Comments

Ian Hunter said…
Good to see that Romero has his game face on, but deep down I think he (and the rest of the Jays) miss Doc. But it would be a shame to see them get all sentimental before battle.

Go Jays!

Popular posts from this blog

What the hell else was I going to write about...?

It will be too late for many people's liking, but it's really about time to NEVER USE BRAD LIDGE IN A SAVE SITUATION ON THE ROAD AGAIN. Lidge in 2009 road games- 0-6, 8.10 ERA, 15 saves, 10 blown saves. One of my favorite statistics that I regularly update here on PhoulBallz is the percentage of games that Brad Lidge has allowed earned runs in this season, compared to the 18% he allowed in 2008. This year, Lidge has allowed earned runs in 43% of his outings. And, as a reminder, in 2007 Brett Myers allowed earned runs in just 21% of his relief appearances. Considering Lidge's season-long struggles, what is the solution when Brett Myers is ailing with a back muscle/shoulder injury, when Chan Ho Park has an injured hamstring, when Ryan Madson looks just as inept in the 9th inning as Brad Lidge seems and when JC Romero is still unavailable to pitch due to a forearm injury? Well, on Wednesday night, with Hanley Ramirez batting with two outs and the tying run on 3rd base, your an...

Watch Out For the Bat Boy

Stop ice grillin' the Phillies players, bat boy. I am watching YOU. I don't know what is on your mind, bat boy, but don't even think about doing something slick. You might wear the Phillies' uniform, but it is clear that you are a Yankees fan. It's all over your pale little "I wanna grow up to be like the Robert De Niro character in The Fan " face. The World Champs should be cautious around this kid. He could be dangerous. ------------------------------------------- Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE !

'09 Lidge Will Prevent Repeat

Can the Phillies win the World Series with 2009 Brad Lidge as their closer? No. As we have reviewed multiple times here on PhoulBallz, 2009 Brad Lidge is not the same pitcher who closed out games for the World Champions in 2008. That guy is gone and some look-alike has assumed his job as Phillies closer. Lidge's current statistics are worrisome, to say the least. They are horrible, to put it more accurately. Through 49 games this year, Lidge has saved 23 games, blown 8 games, has a 0-5 record, a 7.21 ERA and a .299 batting average against. Lidge has allowed runs in 45% of his games pitched this year. Comparatively, 2008 Brad Lidge, saved 41 games, blew 0 games, had a 2-0 record, a 1.95 ERA and a .198 batting avg. against. 2008 Brad Lidge was only scored (earned runs) upon in 18% of his games. Looking back at recent history, the closer among the previous 20 World Series winners with the worst ERA is Robb Nen (1997 Marlins), at 3.89. For those with a World Series repeat on the brain...