And the grass is green
Under the three feet of the snow, I mean
This is a day when it's hard to wear a frown
Unless you're Kerry Ligtenberg, of course, who wound up wearing the goat horns in yesterday's 6-3 loss to Cleveland. Ligtenberg, to his credit, refused to use the excuse that the handling of the bullpen, as well as the left-handed nature of the batters he was asked to face, represented questionable decision-making. Still, it would be nice not to have to hear stoic acceptances of responsibility for losses so often. Here are the game reports:
MLB.com: Jays settle for split with Indians
The Sun: Indians strike in extras
The Star: No relief in sight for relief corps
Elsewhere around the e-baseball world:
* Home runs once again did in the Expos, who fell 2-1 in St. Louis on solo shots by Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. The Cardinals have announced that their new home field will retain the current Busch Stadium name. I'm just happy that there'll be a new ballpark named after a company I've actually heard of.
* The bench is becoming familiar territory for Kevin Cash, who made the most of his rare start yesterday afternoon. Apparently, however, he's going to sit out the entire upcoming Yankee series. Let me reiterate that in August of a lost season, there is no reason to keep a strict platoon between Cash and a thoroughly slumping Gregg Zaun -- Cash needs playing time, end of story.
* MLB's Jesse Sanchez pens this tribute to Carlos Delgado. Expect to see a lot more of these paeans to the greatest Blue Jay ever as it becomes increasingly clear that he's finished in Toronto. Hopefully, they won't get more mawkish than this one.
* A nice piece on Canadian Olympic manager Ernie Whitt, who is one of the most popular Blue Jays ever, certainly among sportswriters at any rate.
* Spencer Fordin reveals that Chris Woodward is likely suffering from colitis or Crohn's Disease, something that both could explain his bad season and make it far, far worse. I have a friend with Crohn's Disease, and it is an extremely unpleasant condition. IIRC, the Blue Jays used to do fundraising for ilietis and colitis years ago during the CTV broadcasts; does anyone know whether they're still associated with that foundation? In any event, Batter's Box sends its best wishes for a complete recovery to good health for Chris Woodward.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040806091747999