Finally, it's here. No more hot-stove league, no more winter-baseball updates, no more spring-training reports. The 2004 season is underway, and all the games count. The Blue Jays are, by consensus opinion, a better team than the one that ended 2003 -- maybe a whole lot better. The playoffs are a goal, but still a distant one. The team's primary competition for that goal are the Yankees and Red Sox, as well as wild-card contenders like Anaheim and Oakland.
We are all set for tonight (Tuesday) at the Dome. Tickets have been purchased and we are "all systems go". Our tickets are in Section 528 (behind the visitors' dugout on the third base side), in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rows.
We are going to meet at Gate 10, which is on the west side of the Dome, away from the heaviest traffic. I will be there from about 6:15 or 6:30, and we are meeting at 6:45, and we'll be heading inside at 6:55. If you miss us, just buy a ticket (they're only $2) for Section 528 or thereabouts and we'll make room!
About getting on that train
Every day and every night
The only thing that makes it good
Is seeing my favourite sight
The Daylight Savings edition.
Here's the latest & greatest Jays news.
This is a not-particularly-scientific study of the effects of luck on a baseball team's chances, using the 2003 Diamond Mind Baseball season disk as data.
And I can act like an imbecile
We went for the convertible. See, we were getting the rental car at the Alamo counter at the Tampa International Airport, which as airports go was very nice, and we had just arrived to start a nine-day trip to the Gulf Coast region of Florida and to catch three Blue Jays spring training games, and the “we” here is myself and my wife Joan, who very graciously agreed to help fulfill my long-held dream of visiting the Grapefruit League in Florida, and of course we needed a set of wheels, and so here we were.
On Tuesday, April 6 (vs. the Detroit Tigers) and Tuesday, April 20 (vs. the Boston Red Sox), all our Batter's Box readers are invited to attend the Blue Jays game courtesy of Batter's Box. That's right, tickets are FREE - it's on us. All you need to do, is tell us you are coming by posting in this thread, and whether you will be bringing a guest.
I'm so excited I can barely sit still. I can't work, can't concentrate, sometimes I can't sleep too well. I'm like a hyperactive kid on Christmas Eve, or a dog that just heard the words "hwa-hwa-hwa-wah-wah-WALK".
Big Bro' on white horse is near
The hippies won't come back you say
Mellow out or you will pay
Bauxite Rob has taken a look at the famed "proven closer" theory, and has some thoughts on the subject. Thanks, Rob!
My Jays preview was published today over at The Hardball Times. There's nothing that's news for Batter's Box readers, and not a patch on Coach's magnificent preview, but if anyone wants to discuss the piece they can do so here.
Just a reminder that our fantasy drafts are coming up quickly:
BBFL Alomar: Thursday, 9:00 PM EST
BBFL Barfield: Thursday, 9:30 PM EST
The Leftovers!: TODAY!!!, 9:00 PM EST
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
