I tried to think up a clever title that tied into Rogers Centre somehow, but I couldn't come up with one. It's just not a name that lends itself to flights of wordplay ... which is a shame, because there's plenty of competition out there among sports stadia.
The Air Canada Centre is the ACC or The Hangar. The Molson Centre in Montreal is The Keg. Minute Maid Park in Houston is the Juice Box, while Pac Bell Park in San Francisco was all too briefly The Phone Booth. Bobby Higginson gave Detroit's spacious stadium the moniker Comerica National Park. Even debt-ridden Olympic Stadium was known for ages as The Big Owe. The list goes on.
Personally, I suggested aRC: The BallpaRC (the RC standing for Rogers Centre) a while back, but for some strange reason that didn't catch on. And I don't think Ted Rogers would much care for the Negative Option Billing (NOB) Dome. So, Bauxites, what nickname should we bestow on the new field?
Setting aside such frivolous pursuits, let's now turn to the Big Event: the Blue Jays' 2005 home opener, and what a homecoming opponent: the World Series champion Boston Red Sox. After pushing around the undermanned Devil Rays in Tampa to start the year, the Jays get an early acid test, as one of the best sea-level offences in years takes the field for Boston. Opposing the BoSox, in what is easily the biggest start of his young career, is Dave Bush, who has a chance to put himself on the map (in a good way) tonight. The Red Sox will respond with lanky 2004 surprise Bronson Arroyo, who must cause a fair bit of teeth-gnashing in Pittsburgh every time he pitches well. No three-game series can tell the whole story, but the degree to which the Jays truly are an improved team will start to be made clear over these next three days.
Finally, tonight's game also features the prime-time debut of the afore-mentioned Rogers Center, complete with new FieldTurf, 21st-century scoreboard, and the 300-level electronic ad banners. How will the new Turf play? Will it affect the speed of batted balls and, accordingly, the pitch selection of the staff and the positioning of the infielders? Will the other changes to the Dome affect the stadium's Park Factors? There is no shortage of storylines for tonight's game, so settle in for one of the highlight matchups of the season.
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