Baseball, bands and a lot of other fun stuff

Basketball stuff?

Not so much but I figure after Billy and David meet today we might have something to chat about tomorrow.

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Hey, looks like we might have some pennant races – well, wild card races and I guess that’s the same – and that has to make the final few days of the baseball season a little worthwhile.

You’ve got the Rays and Angels just two and a half back of the Red Sox and I can just imagine the angst around Boston these days.

There is nothing – nothing – like the emotion of Red Sox fans, who have been bitterly disappointed before and they’ll be walking the banks of the Charles like zombies if this team blows this one.

Tee-hee.

Having at one time been one of them – I still remember George Scott striking out nearly every at-bat one September and could not look the man in the eye if I saw him today – I can only assure you there will be gnashing of teeth like you never saw.

And the fact they play the Yankees this weekend?

Even better.

Here’s the thing, though.

What do the Yankees do? Rest guys? Alter the rotation so they’re ready for the playoffs next weekend?

New York finishes, if I’m not mistaken, with Boston and then Tampa Bay and can have a huge impact on what happens in that race.

If I’m them, and I respect the game, I have to use all my regulars on their regular days. That means if guys like Jeter and Rodriguez and Cano and Granderson would normally only have one day off each in a six-day span, that’s what they have to get between now and next Wednesday when the season’s over.

The pitching rotation has to remain the same – although the back end of the Yankee staff is in such shambles that probably doesn’t matter – and Girardi has to use his bullpen like he’d use it in June or July or August.

I think it was Cito Gaston one time who told us – with the Jays out of a race but playing contenders – that the thing to do to treat the game and the race and your opponent with respect is to use your regular lineup in games against teams with something to play for and experiment with kids in games that really don’t matter.

It’s why John Farrell has to keep running out Bautista and Lind, Encarnacion and Thames and the usual suspects today and through the weekend in Tampa and let kids like Loewen and Cooper and whoever get at-bats and playing time next week in Chicago.

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Action: REM calls it quits.

Reaction: Any band that can write lyrics for a single song that includes references to Andy Kaufmann, Freddy Blassie, Mott The Hoople and Elvis is all right with me.

Story?

And it involves REM.

One of the cooler things we can sometimes do in our interminable, daily wait on the concourse of the Air Canada Centre while practice drones on is catch a sound check or a warm up for whatever band is playing that night.

Doesn’t happen very often – usually we just stand in the corridor looking over the seating arrangements for that night – but I do remember catching an REM sound check with the band one day that was outstanding.

Second best, or probably tied for first?

Andrea Bocelli, who was doing music for some figure skating show or something.

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Action: Leaves cut 23 players.

Reaction: How utterly stupid is pucks training camp.

Really.

Why bring ‘em in. Wastes their time, your time, everyone’s time. You want to have a look at them? Run some other camp for minor league lifers or juniors or whatever.

You can’t tell me – well, you can tell me, but I won’t believe it – that anyone gained anything from a camp that began with 70-something players and then was whittle down by 23 inside of a week.

It’s why I think training camps are generally a waste; I know you need bodies but that’s crazily excessive. If the HOTH bring in 18 or 19, that’s about three too many; 70 strikes me as silly.

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Oh yeah, one other Celeb Shows At The ACC thing:

Never are we bothered, really, by them setting up or getting ready for one show.

And there’ve been lots.

The most inconvenient thing we’ve had to do came one morning when we showed up about 11 for practice and had to pass through a metal detector at the security desk.

Now, this was at least eight hours before the show and it struck us as rather odd that the promoters would insist on this intrusion.

After all, we figured if they were doing that, there’d be Grunt Sniffing Dogs all over the place and we’d never be able to stow away or stash any explosives or anything untoward.

The artist:

Barbra Streisand.

Diva.

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Man, sucks about Brett Lawrie, aka Hobbs, doesn’t it?

Busts up a finger taking early ground balls and is done for the season?

Not sure there’s been an athlete to take Toronto fans by storm like he did since that Carter fellow a decade ago.

Hobbs plays hard, he plays well, he’s tough and treats the game the same every day.

(Griff’s notebook here gives all the statistical data you need).

It’s really too bad the fans didn’t have a chance to really say goodbye. I presume he’ll duck his head out of the dugout after tonight’s game and give a little wave – I presume the 12,000 or so fans who’ll be there will demand it – but still seems like a disappointing send off.

This has been a pretty crazy summer for me in a lot of ways; the highlight was the grand slam he hit that night.

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Mail?

You folks didn’t do too well yesterday, I expect better today.

Here. Thanks.

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Comments

[Peter]

The metal detector, and Barbra Streisand story actually makes perfect sense to me. Let's face it, if there's any threat to her safety, it's not coming from some punk 18 year old, it's probably coming from some guy, about your age, and about your description. Nobody else cares about her music enough to want to get close to her! :)

[doug]

training camps were at one time meant to get players in some semblance of shape, now they are just cash cows for the teams involved...and just as ridiculous as the camps is Joe Bowen treating these games as if he is announcing the 7th game of the Stanley Cup finals....Hobbs reminds me of another ex-Toronto athlete not for the Blue Jays but the leafs, Wendel Clark, only knew one speed which I wouldn't change at all, but with it came injuries and a shortened career...I remember watching Much Music when a video came on years ago (yes they and MTV actually showed music vids at one time) and the vid for Everybody Hurts came on, them on the highway in a traffic jam, walking between cars, good vid, better song...I can't believe they were together 31 years, man I'm getting old or rather been lucky enough to see a lot of life would be a better way of putting it I guess....

[LeeZ]

@Doug (poster): the Wendell Clark analogy is bang on. Let's hope not the injuries part. My favourite REM story: buddy and I were in New York one summer and REM were playing Radio City. They were touring behind Murmur, their debut album (Radio Free Europe is still my favourite track of theirs), and we set out to buy scalpers. The year was 83 or 84. This guy approaches us, says he and his wife can't attend and do we want his tickets? Warily and with great trepidation, we ask him how much. Just give me face value, he says. Tickets cost $10 each. SECOND ROW CENTRE!!! Great concert. Good lord, the inflation on ticket prices has been crazy, eh? I'm reminded that at the very first Super Bowl (what was it, late 60s?), the most expensive seat in the house was (wait for it...) $8. Yes, you read that right. Sigh.

[John Bastedo]

I think the Pucks camp makes more sense than the Raptors one in fact:
Of the 23 guys sent down yesterday, one of them will almost certainly come to a camp and compete for a job in the next couple years - so getting a glimpse at how real pros do things really is a necessary learning experience. And they aren't necessarily future end-of-the-bench guys just because they were early cuts this time. 1st round pick Stuart Percy was sent back to junior yesterday, and a year ago current starter James Reimer would have been a questionable invitee to camp if they only brought four goalies. It's apples and oranges next to the NBA camps where 1st round picks are guaranteed spots essentially.
And having 60+ guys for the first 10 days gives the team enough to play in real game situations with 3 teams to rotate through. Not that those intra-squad games have impact on who makes the team, but players need game time a lot more than conditioning I think we'd all acknowledge and since shifts are 45 seconds instead of 12-15 minutes, you really do need a full bench to play with any legitimate pace.
And to cut 1/3 of the guys at this point of the camp makes full sense. They got their chance to see how far they have to go, now they can go back to their teams with more focused personal development goals.
I know you still hate it just because it's the Pucks, but for that sport it does actually make sense.

[Mike kovacs]

Did Hobbs play enough to eliminate himself from the rookie race next year?

Blogger's note: I believe so, yes

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
@doug: Same song came to mind when I heard yesterday they'd broken up. And it brought to mind a particular morning at the gym where a group of sleepy-eyed regulars were slogging towards the last few minutes on the treadmills..in the zone...struggling to finish. And all the wall-hung monitors facing us were tuned in to MuchMusic and the "Everybody Hurts" music video comes on. And maybe were all exhausted or beaten down or just at one of those places in your life, but as the song finished and we finished our runs, every single one of us wiped down our machines with tears streaming down our faces. And if we hadn't been so stinky and sweaty, there might have been a group hug. What an iconic band they were.
Thanks for the Hobbs' Grand Slam memories, Doug; and as I recall, didn't he hit it during one of the Jays' IGBT's you did? And didn't you say just before Lawrie came up to bat something like..."wouldn't it be cool if he hit a grand slam"? At least, that's how I remember it! Cheers!

[D-Mac Ottawa]

If that's the 'new' Jays logo. what's the point of the exercise? Cheers.

[The J]

Mike Kovacs - This was in Griff's mail-bag from last week:
"Lawrie unfortunately will not be eligible in 2012 for rookie honours. The cutoffs are 45 days of service prior to the 40-man rosters, which he would qualify as a rookie for since he was brought up August 5, but the other maximum that a player can have before losing rookie status is 130 at-bats to disqualify a player the following year. Lawrie on Wednesday recorded his 132nd AB"

[doug]

here's a good interview with Demar, the kid seems like a true professional, good for him...

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/videos/2011/09/15/demar-derozan-i-want-to-be-a-leader-on-my-team/

[doug]

@Lorie...that song has had the biggest impact on my life then any other song I have heard, I remember the year after I lost my wife, my kids and my dad....I was so angry, lost, frustrated and looking for something to ease the pain (and I was never big on drugs or booze to do it) and my family ,friends were just letting me be...I was driving out west, had been to the various states, I particularly remember New Mexico etc, where I spent time with a native american indian family that made pottery, went to Vegas (learned about sports gambling, which to me was easy money) and was driving thru Montana, where I was going I never had a clue,,, I was trying to run from the pain I was learning was just following me....that song came on the radio, I pulled over to the side of the road, cried like a baby, composed myself went to a liquor store, bought some beer, zambuca (it's a great drink to get smashed on), checked into a cheap motel room , proceeded to get drunk, smashed a few things.....next day called my mom said I was coming home, went back to doing what was me, youth care, playing baseball, golf and b-ball and just plain dealing with life....that song was my cathartic moment, I have a hard time listening to it today but to R.E.M. I say thanks...and always will...those words apply to everyone, at some point...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7g5YKEEPoI

[Kerry O]

Can't disagree with most of your list, but what about Cheers or M*A*S*H?