Hey, Hey, It’s Blue Jays Opening Day! (An Ode to Melvin)
By: Dan Grant (Mark Shapiro steps to the podium. A hush falls over the crowded press conference.) Hello everyone. Thanks for coming. Let’s not sugarcoat anything. Days like this are […]
Tag Archives: MLB
The Stadium Dilemma: Who Pays For It Anyway?
It’s tough to watch a team relocate, even if they’re not your team. Whenever you see, for example, the San Diego Chargers moving to LA, you wonder, even for a minute, if any of the teams in your city might consider moving. You check on the age of your team facilities, and you listen more closely to team presidents and owners to see if they are hinting at needing a new stadium or making comments about team revenue and attendance. You’ve formed an emotional attachment to your team, and watching a competing team relocate is a reminder of what could happen to you.
The Grant Rant: Marcus Stroman Is Not Tom Gordon
By: Dan Grant The Grant Rant in a nutshell. Find all of Grant’s previous rants here. It’s happened all his life, probably. People telling him he’s too short to do this or […]
The Blue Jays Bullpen Build 2017: J.P. and Joe Edition
With Howell and Smith, it’s not really a question of fit. After losing mainstay Brett Cecil, the Jays needed veteran arms, and these are it, for now. Barring injury, they’ll likely be cogs in the Jays rotation for the entirety of 2017. Let’s get to know them a bit better.
The Grant Rant: Encarnaci-gone
Edwin wants a five year deal, which would take him through his age 38 season with Toronto. While he was something of a late bloomer, he’ll already be 34 years old when next season begins. That’s not ‘aging’, it’s old already! It’s a real factor, and is something that could quickly become a slippery slope. Many fans shrug this off, explaining how these deals are less risky now because more and more players are productive as they get older these days. That’s just not true.
Bluebird in Winter: The Blue Jays Off-Season Primer
Let’s take a deeper look at this Blue Jays off-season. What they’ve done so far, what they need and what their real options are.
Toronto vs. Cleveland ALCS Preview: Get To Know Your Enemy
Toronto and Cleveland kick off the American League Championship series Friday night, and it has the whiff of a hard-fought series, full of gamesmanship. These are two teams with very specific strengths and weaknesses. Unlike the ALDS, where Cleveland faced a high powered Boston offense that sputtered and the Jays disposed of the smoke-and-mirrors whiny babies Rangers, these teams appear evenly matched.
Here are your four keys to the series. We’re going back to basics on these sweet babies.
Jays-Rangers 2.0: Toronto Will Indeed Mess With Texas
Here are the four keys to once again besting this extremely average, smoke-and-mirrors edition of the Texas Rangers, led by their chud-like manager Jeff Banister.
25 Deep: It’s Game 163, Let’s Get Wild
Who will the Jays need the most? How will they game plan against the Orioles, who play a very specific style of baseball, with both tremendous strengths and glaring weaknesses? This is 25 Deep.
The Grant Rant: The Beanball Problem
Beanballs are a black-eye on baseball. They’re just about the most cowardly and dangerous act that can be perpetrated in professional sports. They’re accepted in baseball culture as a way to retaliate; 1) Because there’s far less opportunity for physical contact in baseball than in football, basketball or hockey and 2) Because they inflict maximum damage and are supposed to be a way for the players to ‘self-police’ the game.
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