I'm watching the Red Sox feed on Extra Innings, and when they returned from commercial, the kids' choir was singing O Canada. The camera panned across the various Blue Jays, most of whom were respectfully standing with the caps over their hearts.

Gregg Zaun, on the other hand, was singing along. In French!!!

I guess anyone can spot the ex-Expo.

Now that I've calmed down about the bloody phone lines, let's have a look around.

Everything seems much much brighter. (That's in the hallways and lounges as well, where it's as if they pulled out the 60 watt bulbs and replaced them all with 200 watt bulbs. It used to be kind of dark and sedate...) Same thing with the field. The effect of the ribbon, the scoreboards on the outfield walls is to brighten the room. Even the old digital clock below the hotel windows has got newer and brighter bulbs.

Is it a bit like a casino? Oh, maybe. But you can't go retro in this building. Best to go the other way entirely.

Every visual screen looks way way better. The new scoreboard is much cleaner and crisper. Everything very bright and shiny and colourful.

As for the turf - it doesn't look like grass. It looks like a carpet. A nice, thick comfy carpet. Whereas the old turf looked, and played, more like lineoleum. And my, does the ball slow down on it, compared to the old stuff.

Oh yes! The new Media Guide actually has colour photographs inside. Each player, each official. Very impressive.

Now just bring back the free beer and I'll really be impressed.

Playing small ball today? Not so much.

That was no mistake. As aptly pointed out by a couple posts above, Ramirez has a lazy work ethic in the field and with one out, having a guy at third is far more appealing than potentially having to rely on getting him there using your second out. This time it didn't work out but more often than not, I'd bet it does work out.

As well, the golden rule you speak of, Ron, applies to making the first or third out. Why? Because if you're at second with no outs, even advancing on a couple of outs gets you home. With two outs, why take your team out of the whole inning when a single would probably score you from second or third? Adams definately took the right risk.

I would agree with that (I think it has to do with the opposition believing he's really a 12 year old ;-). However, last year Frasor had issues with stamina. He seemed to lose his touch as the season progressed. I'm not sure if he's done work in the off season to improve his endurance but otherwise that means Frasor needs to make fewer or shorter outings this season. I'd hate to lose him to the DL or consistent ineffectiveness as a result of over work -- when Frasor's healthy/rested, he can mirror some of the best relievers in the game.

"I think somebody is misinformed on the golden rule."

Beat you to it, JDog =)

But the confusing BJays roster is no accident. No, no!!! Jose is convinced that BJays GM J.P. Riccardi is trying to compensate for a below average roster by trying to confuse his opponents. He probably figures that if opposing pitchers can’t remember which guy is at the plate, they won’t remember whether to throw him fastballs inside or sliders down and away.

So look for Riccardi to acquire all three Molina brothers before the trading deadline; it’s the logical move, after all.

Yes, it is. On TSN HD, IMGRC. Me Grimlock had been waiting for baseball season to start to order it. Those sneaky Rogers guys give you Rogers Sportsnet HD for free with the box! :D

The absence of the fireworks is a huge step forward -- I'll second the kudos to whoever shelved them. In addition to the smoke, the bits of confetti-like debris they scattered on the field was annoying. And frankly, it was embarrassing and amateurish -- hey guys, it's just a home run; don't get so excited. As Bear Bryant said, when you reach the end zone, try to look like you belong there.

Now if somebody could do something about the excess of Red Sox fans, that would be great.

Hey, every paying Red Sox fan helps the Jays close the revenue gap with Boston. :-)

The Braves are 4-1. They've given up more runs than they've scored, but still... I told ya so.

The White Sox are 4-1. I... let's move along shall we?

Only one team in the majors has scored more runs than the Fighting Jays - and that would be Detroit? Wow, it is early.

Our old friend Carlos Delgado hit his first Marlin homer - in the bottom of the ninth, with his team trailing 2-1. Nice timing. Then they go and lose in the 10th.

And finally... poor Willie Randolph. Finally gets to manage, and gets this...

Based on what?

It does seem strange though. If he was fired then why would Rogers honour him before the home opener with a presentation in front of 50,000 fans (and bring Cito and George Bell in for good measure), and if he was fired after all these years of service why would he agree to participate in such a ceremony?

But at least uniformly so. The outfielders know what they're dealing with for the entire fence. In Toronto, you've got a combination of padding and cast iron, I mean plexiglass. While pursuing a ball, the outfielders have to be able to figure out what they can and can't do based on where on the fence line they find themselves.

Just to be clear, they were suspended for violating the drug policy, not steroid policy. While it could have been steroids, it could also have been a large number of other things -- amphetamines, ephedra, all manner of other banned supplements and stimulants. I believe in Tablado's case he's saying that it was an over-the-counter supplement that he (mistakenly) thought was acceptable.

Yea, my buddy got to the RC at 6:30 and was in his seat by 7:15. I got inside in about 20 seconds. Thank You Founders Club General Entrance!

I read this three times before realizing that the Theo in question is the newest edition to your young family, and not in fact the Red Sox General Manager.

He certainly didn't get a $1M golden handshake!