http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/05/23/pond_overflowing_with_excitement_after_first_homer/
COMN for a Simon Pond article.

Benard was promised a promotion to the Blue Jays by June 11 when he signed this week.

Assuming this is actual contract language, and he becomes a free agent if not promoted, it might mean a short stay in the organization for Benard. Sure, he's hitting .278/.409/.611 in his first five Triple-A games and he's better defensively than Pond, but I think he was signed strictly as an injury fill-in and it's highly unlikely he'll be called up to Toronto unless Cat's injury is worse than originally thought. If and when the "deadline" passes, I doubt that Marvin would immediately quit the SkyChiefs, he'd just instruct his agent to keep looking for another gig that gave him a better chance to return to the Show.

Zaun had a similar clause; if another team wanted to sign him to a major-league deal, the Jays would have had to promote him or release him. That was made irrelevant by the Myers injury, but it's another example of how the Jays offer minor-league free agents treatment that's more than fair.

Do you think with the Argos moving to Varsity Stadium in 2006 it clears the path for the Jays to buy the SkyDome? Perhaps then they could give the Dome a little more for a home-field advantage, like they've done in St. Louis and Anaheim: renovating a large multi-purpose stadium for cozy baseball-use only.

I'm no gardener, but would it be impossible to put natural turf in there? Perhaps opening the roof on the odd winter day for sunlight?

All in all, I like the SkyDome (there's not a bad seat in the place, and even when the lid is closed it's bright as other domes are dark and dank), it would be great if the Jays could use it best for their purposes.

there's not a bad seat in the place

Right now the seats down the foul-lines aren't the greatest because they face centerfield (it's a shame when you sneak down from the nosebleeds only to find you've landed in a worse seat...) and not home, a result of SkyDome being multi-purpose. This could be rectified if and when the Jays take over. I mean Rogers. Is it just me or are we on our way to the team simply being called the Toronto Rogers?

I don't know about the Argos really making a difference; they only had the place for 10 or so dates. The real difference makers are those special events.