Maybe rest wasn't what the doctor ordered

A few little things here since nothing seems to be jumping off the page. Hope that changes soon.

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Hmm, guess eight days rest wasn’t what the doctor ordered for Ricky Romero, was it?

It’s not that he got drilled last night – the numbers were predictably bad but the game wasn’t out of hand – but skipping a start seemed to have no effect.

And did you see the withering look he gave manager John Farrell when he got the hook?

If I was him, I’d have been thinking, “Hey, it’s a 3-2 game, it’s the fifth inning, you already sat me down for more than a week, why not let me see if I can get out of this mess since it’s a meaningless September game against a go-nowhere team? Maybe I give up a three-run homer or a two-run double and that’d suck but why not let me see if I can get some confidence back by getting myself out of this. Sure, numbers suggest I won’t but maybe I will and wouldn’t that be better for my psyche than getting the hook?”

But that’s just me.

We all know Romero’s been awful for months, he can’t win a game, his stuff is all over the map and this is a season that’s bee circling the toilet bowl since about May. No question he’s been brutal at times, as he’d fully admit.

Theories abound (read Brendan’s game story to see some of them) but I’ll say it again: I think they need to keep running him out there and see if he can turn it around. And the team needs to show that it’s got his back and last night, that’s the last thing that they did and the look on his face told me he knew it.

Anyway, season can’t end soon enough for him, I’d bet.

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The TFCs lose and are officially, finally, totally eliminated from playoff contention?

Colour me shocked.

Maybe there’s a Cup they can still win or somesuch.

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So this news about Seattle’s new arena has to be met with great glee, doesn’t it?

You’ve got a potential owner who will sink a lot of his own money into the facility and the surrounding infrastructure (to say nothing of offering to buy all the fans a beer if they showed up at a neighbourhood saloon) and if it leads to Seattle getting back in the NBA, I will be as happy as anyone who lives there, and it’s a sentiment shared almost universally among my NBA friends.

One thing I wonder about, though.

Through all this arena chatter, I keep hearing how the city might now be home to an NBA and an NHL team and I cannot imagine that works. I would think it’s a one-sport city in the winter, the first league to get in will do well, I don’t think it would support two teams in the same building, as financially lucrative as that might be to the owners.

And the other, major point is this: If Seattle is going to get an NBA team, it’s going to have to take one from an existing city; there is no chance of expansion happening.

It’ll have to be some kind of steal/purchase of a team and I would think the most logical one right now would be Sacramento, which is stumbling along on its own pursuit of a new arena.

But whatever team it is, there is a sense of inevitability to an NBA return to the Pacific Northwest, which makes entire sense to me. Just hope it doesn’t take too long, I only have so many years left in this gig with this aging body.

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One sign that you’re getting a bit long in the tooth? Or that work is about to really begin?

No anticipation of the new TV season.

Remember the time when the new shows debuted the week after Labour Day and we got the TV Guide to read up on them and plan the week’s viewing with new dramas, comedies and the like?

Now the season starts way later, it seems there’s a new show on every week and you can’t possibly keep track of them all, can you?

Now if you’re flipping through the channels and see something new you might stop for a couple of minutes but that’s about it.

Guess it might have as much to do with the proliferation of the number of stations, and the fact once Oct. 1 hits the last thing I have time to do is figure out some new plot given that there are usually games or flights four nights a week.

Kind of a downer, actually. Not a lot to look forward to and not a lot of time to think about it so if anyone’s got some must-see things and I find the time, I’m all ears on what I should watch.

(And thanks to the marvels of on-demand video and computers, I could find time whenever I want to)

Thanks.

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Speaking of all ears …

Mail time, please.

Got lots done Thursday and Friday last week so I could sleep in a bit on Saturday and that was nice so I’d like to do it again.

Thanks.

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Now, I don’t want to go piling on teachers ‘cause it’s not nice and they do have, in many ways, tough jobs (not that we all don’t have tough jobs in some respect) but …

Super Son informed me that there is no school tomorrow because it’s a Professional Development day. What? They’ve been in class for, what, seven or eight days and they get a day off? Yeesh.

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Comments

[doug]

good old tv guides, remember when they were a vital part of every home and if it was lost or misplaced then all heck broke loose, were showing our age by remembering tv guides and televisions with no remotes, actually flipping the knob...I agree regarding Farrell and Ricky, let him pitch and battle, you can't possibly do anymore harm to his pyche at this stage you can only hope to pull him up...in a meaningless September game after 8 days rest seemed to be the proper place to try....for a normal conservative duo Pat and Buck have got into ripping J,F lately in a professional manner. good to see and I have to admit I like those guys in the booth they have grown on me, just like I enjoyed listening to Hazel Mae moreso then Campbell when he was off in England...ok enjoy Chicago and go get a cheeseburgh No Coke/Pepsi at the Billy Goat...ok cheers...

[John]

Hey Doug,

Just to be clear, the teachers are at work that day. Some school boards took Sept. 4, many others are taking this Friday. An opportunity to take stock of what they actually have on their hands, as opposed to names on a list, and an opportunity to get together with colleagues, and you know, professionally develop (I would be happy to expand on that term, but that is not what this space is for). Sadly this year, there will also probably be lots of opportunity to whine about the current labour situation (hey new teachers, don't listen, teaching is a great gig if you can get it).

And if Farrell is a teacher as well as a manager, Romero stays in.

[sam]

Was it the late Mel Queen that helped fix Roy Halliday?
A few years back the Jays had another left-hander that pretty much came out of no where and vanished just as quickly - He seemed to have a lot of promise..Gustavo Chachin, I think was his name.
I'm certainRicky Romero is just having one of those years and will bounce back in 2013. . . Of course I'm basing that on nothing more than pure optimism.....

[Andrew Potter]

My mother being a Vice Principal in a Toronto high school, I can say almost first hand that the teachers may need a day like this right off the bat just to stop morale from completely crumbling.

While it's sucky that the students and their parents can be annoyed by PA days, the reality is, their teachers are really, really freaked right now, at least in the small corner which is my mom's school. It's not just wage-freezes; plenty of their office's staff are flat-out losing their positions they've held for years. It's scary times.

[Bo4]

Doug, I have only two shows that I really want to check out: Elementary, and Perception. Although there are other shows that do intrigue me, as well, they're up against current favourites, and don't stand a chance with me. They'd have to move to an open day of the week and time slot, like, say, all of Saturday evening.

[Tap]

Doug,

I enjoy your comments about basketball but your characterization of a teachers' professional day as a day off is misleading.

Stick to your knitting.

Blogger's note: It is, for kids. Back to knit one, pearl two. Bye

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
You know me and spelling. Well, just so the knitting contingent don't mock too severely, a wee correction: it's "purl". "Pearl" is my great aunt. Who couldn't knit, oddly. But could crochet like a dream. So have a great day. And may your stitches be even and the yarn in your basket always exceed the pattern's requirements.

Blogger's note: Oops. Best I not get back to my knitting then, whatever the heck that means anyway

[Kevin]

Doug,

As others have said, this was not scheduled by the teachers, but by the boards of education at the direction of the Ministry of Education.

Sort of blaming the players for a strike, when in fact the owners force a lockout.

Blogger's note: I'm really not blaming anybody for anything; I find it oddly amusing that kids have a day off school nine days into the school year, is all.

[Ryan]

Certainly saw the look that Romero gave Farrell, but I think more important was the look Farrell gave Romero when he failed to hand off the ball properly.

The look just seemed to me to say "Do you still want to play this sport?" Just seemed like a look someone gives when a professional acts unprofessional.

Don't know what's wrong with Ricky but I get the feeling if he were the number 3 starter on a playoff bound team, he'd be back to his old self.

[davidc]

Jays management would probably argue that September games aren't meaningless. Fans pay to watch competitive games, players and coaches are being evauated for next year - as is the GM - and overall team morale is in play. Better for everyone, including Romero, to have a close game and a chance to win rather than have another blowout with Romero on the mound.

[james]

Of all the ironies of this season for the Blue Jays, perhaps the strangest is how the "promising young pitching staff" essentially blew up over a period of a week or two. As I recall, hiring a pitching coach as manager was heralded as another demonstration of how the front office was really getting things together post-JP. I'm certainly not holding Farrell responsible for injuries, but what's that old saying about too much pitching?

Blogger's note: The one that says you can never have enough of it?

[Paul]

I'm a teacher and I with you on this one, Doug. Giving the students a day off this early doesn't help them establish a new routine (having said that, many high school students are still adjusting to waking up before noon and could use the extra rest). Just a reminder that teachers are quite busy before, during and after PA days, but those agendas are set by the school boards, not teachers or unions.

Wondering if you think more people are more concerned about the labour issues around schooling or hockey?

Blogger's note: If they talked about HRR or free agency with respect to schooling, there might be more interest. Sadly, there isn't

[james]

Yes, that's the one. Another curiosity is that almost each and every batter struggles to reach .280 -- make that .260 -- although I realize batting average is a stat that's out of fashion in the Age of Sabremetrics. Speaking of sabremetrics, how about that Billy Beane!?!?

[Chris Marchant]

To solve the TV problem. Pick up a PVR or one of the new system that includes 'portals', set up recurring recordings and the PVR will record all of the new shows of each program you have set to record. The beauty is that you can flop down on the couch, surf your recordings and watch any recorded show at any time and skip through the commercials.

[Peter Traill]

Doug - You must be in your glory. We are only talking about PD, ERA, BA and purls.

Just think that in a month or two the responses will certainly have an edge.

PT

[james]

That's a terrific column today by your colleague Kelly on the Hillsborough tragedy. Please communicate my congratulations.

Blogger's note: Done, thanks