Let's keep a close eye on Hentgen in his Friday start. Isn't it odd he's pitched a grand total of only 3+ innings so far, not to mention being unable to get anybody out (5 runs, 7 hits, one walk) ?? Is there a story here ? He probably hasn't pitched this poorly since his minor league days in the 80's (is there a prize for the first reference ?).

OK, the Sun has a profile on Sparky, and their notes says that Cash and El Artista are still figuring one another out.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1079651409688&call_pageid=969907739730&col=970081600908
COMN to read a fun story from the Star (it happens sometimes) about Figgie, the batting practice pitcher and how George Bell threw some BP lefthanded (!).

The National Post has a nice story about Rios and Quiroz coming up together in the Jays system. The web copy of the story is subscription only but if you see the paper lying around you should have a look.

I'm gonna provide your 80's music reference for today.

Here goes:

In my young life I have received
Callers as though they were Christmas Eve.
Disappointed and I don't know why?
She gave me laughter and hope
And a sock in the eye.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/03/10/Sports/Jays_experience__mini.shtml
COMN for a bit older story from the St Petersburg Times about attending a game in Dunedin. About as close as I'll come to a spring training game anytime soon 8(

I'm first in the March Madness pool.

Which is better than wine. But wine is all I have. Will first place at the end ever be mine?

The fact that you got the reference was great. But the segway was fantastic. Kiss me.

I know S. Pond's calling card is his bat, but according to the boxscore from yesterday he got an error while at DH. :-)

Pond must be as good with the glove as I am.

John Lott's story in the Post is worth reading, as Gerry pointed out. Lott describes the dynamic Rios/Quiroz duo as the "string bean from Puerto Rico and the fire plug from Venezuela," as he details their journey (and friendship), from Medicine Hat onward.

Larry Millson has an article in the Globe, contrasting the Spring Training agendas of Halladay, Lowe and Batista.

I'll try to keep you up-to-date on today's game, starting any minute, between the Twins and Jays:

The lineup:

Johnson, RF
Cat, DH
Wells, CF
Delgado, 1B
Myers, C
Hinske, 3B
Pond, LF
Berg, 2B
Woodward, SS

Hentgen (SP)

PLLLLAY BALL!

After retiring the first two batters (ground-out, strike out) Hentgen gave up a long-ball to Hunter. 1-0 Twins going to the bottom of the 1st.

Bottom of 1st:
- Johnson flies out
- Cat caught looking
- Wells, back from flu, lines the ball to left for a single
- Delgado lines out to Hunter to end the inning

- With one out, Mauer doubles down the gap in left/center, driving in Offerman from 1st. 2-0. Hentgen retires the next two batters (including his second K). Jays to bat..

Shopping, by the Pet Shop Boys. Moffatt would be very disappointed in all of you....

Bottom of 2nd:
- Myers singles
- Hinske gives it a ride, but caught by Ryan
- Pond, on a 3-2 pitch, lines a base hit! There's no let-up in this guy! Prepare for the "Mooooose" chants at SkyDome a couple months from now (the resemblance to Messier is uncanny!)
- Berg grounds into a FC, followed by Woodward's ground-out. 2-0 Twins, going to the 3rd.

- leading off the 3rd, Punto homers to RF on a 2-0 pitch
- Wells makes a beautiful back-handed catch for the first out
- ground-out to Hinske
- Delgado makes a dandy play, snaring a ball at 1st, to end the inning. 3-0 Twins

The Jays go down 1-2-3 in the 3rd.

(With the wind blowing toward RF, Cuddyer homers off Hentgen to lead off the 4th. Hmmm, do we sense a trend? After retiring the next two batters (including a SO), Terry Adams comes into pitch (Werth and Hall are in to play RF and CF, respectively) and gets his man. Bottom of the 4th we go...

In honor of a certain ceremony Monday night I submit this not-particularly-obscure 80's reference:

Sometimes she'd stare at the stars out the window
Sometimes she'd walk 'neth the moon
Sometimes she'd sit there just watching him sleeping
Hoping the dawn would come soon.

Here's a salute to the most under-rated and under-credited Rocker possibly in the history of the genre.

At least, IMNSHO.
Finally got the recognition he deserved.

Adams is getting hit hard in the 5th. It's now 7-0 Twins.

Lays should sign Pond to pitch chips.
"Betcha can't eat just one".

In the next several days, MinorLeagueBaseball.com will be posting an audio interview with Alexis Rios.

Mike Wilner noted that J.P. Ricciardi calls Simon Pond "Bam-Bam", because of the way he hold the bat (like a caveman holding a club, according to Wilner). Given that Pond also hits the ball hard, I'd say that takes care of another Blue Jays nickname.

Hensley Meulens also carried that nickname.

Werth has just hit a homerun to get the Jays on the board (I believe it's 7-1 Twins).

http://premium.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2688
Toronto is one of the subjects of BP's 'Triple Play'. COMN - it's free this time around.

Is anybody else listening to The Dan Patrick show? Dan is acting as Barry Bonds private PA announcer. So far Barry is 2 for 2 with 2 hrs. Barry keeps jacking shots and then pointing up to the booth at Dan.

Great Radio!

Pond just jacked one off Seth Greisenger, 9-3 in the ninth

Pond is really having a monstrous spring. Is it safe to say that he's a lock to stick? Is Werth a goner?

Simon Pond hitting like this is likely too kick out one of Tosca's crutch's -- there goes the 12 man pitching staffs.

http://economics.about.com
Moffatt would be very disappointed in all of you....

Gee.. you make it sound like I should be rolling in my grave. I'm not dead, just in Toronto with a bunch of Conservatives. I'll let you decide which is worse.

I got to the Convention Center way too early, so the volunteers and the media out number the rank in file about 20:1 right now. I've already seen Don Newman, Mike Duffy, and a bunch of other familar faces, but they're all running around from camp to camp, so I didn't try to stop to talk to any of them. I think I also saw Rick Mercer, but he wasn't with an entourage of people, so I'm not 100% sure it was him.

I had to leave for awhile and go to an Internet cafe.. I was feeling just a touch out of place. Conservatives, as group, have the worst fashion sense in the Western world. Since I'm not wearing khakis and a godawful blue-green-orange-yellow striped sweater, I stand out like a sore thumb. The hair doesn't help any. :)

Cheers,

Mike

Pond, starting at LF for the first time this spring, went 2-3 with a single, double, and walk. His ST statline is now:

.412/.487/.765, 14 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 26 TB, 5 BB, 5 SO, 34 AB

But before we start annointing Bam-Bam a Major Leaguer, remember that Robert Perez (and Gerry Schunk!) left quite a spring impression as well, once upon a time!

New Brunswick Conservatives get no respect. I got an automated call today from the Conservative Party, directing me to my local polling station. According to them, it's in BRITISH COLUMBIA. What's are the party's proposals to help the Atlantic Provinces, move everyone out west?

(I'm not a member of the Conservative Party, so thankfully I can stay in my own timezone tomorrow.)

Interesting that Eric Chavez chose Toronto as one of eight teams he can block a trade to in his new deal.

Interesting that Eric Chavez chose Toronto as one of eight teams he can block a trade to in his new deal.

Doesn't every player with a similar clause block out Toronto and Montreal?

New Brunswick Conservatives get no respect.

A right-wing party in one of the the poorest parts of Canada ought not to get any respect.

Ya, most players get rid of the Canadian teams, but still....you figure with the Jays on the upswing, we might not get included anymore. I mean I'd hate to be stuck in Pittsburgh or Detroit much more than Toronto or Minnesota.

I think it has more to do with Astroturf/Turf. Not so much the "Canadian Teams".

I assumed it'd be more because of taxes (re: Chavez)

The Jays did some paring from their spring roster. As Fordin notes, 6 players were optioned to Syracuse: Arnold, McGowan (bit of a surprise), Quiroz, Sequea, Rios and Gross. Rosario was optioned to Dunedin, where he'll play in the sun for a few weeks before getting the promotion to New Hampshire. Durocher was reassigned to the minor league camp.

http://www.lyleblog.com
How many people does that leave battling?
Werth and Pond for bats..??
File and others for arms.???

Hentgen struck out 4 today. Not a bad outing for spring. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do this year.

http://economics.about.com
New Brunswick Conservatives get no respect. I got an automated call today from the Conservative Party, directing me to my local polling station. According to them, it's in BRITISH COLUMBIA. What's are the party's proposals to help the Atlantic Provinces, move everyone out west?

Trust me, it's not a New Brunswick thing. With the speed of the merger, understandably things aren't very well organized. When I bought my membership in Jaunary, the $10 was charged on my credit card as being from "The Canadian Alliance". As far as I can tell, they *still* haven't charged my credit card for my convention fees. They processed my application (I mean, I'm here, aren't I?), but they haven't made me pay a cent yet.

A right-wing party in one of the the poorest parts of Canada ought not to get any respect.

I know the above statement was not intended to be mean spirited, but I'd like to live in Canada where we respect differing political views and at the very least had tolerance and understanding for people who have different viewpoints than our own. So I think we ought to respect all political parties, whether they be the Conservatives, NDP, or the Bloc. The future of democracy in Canada depends on it.

Yeah, I know, I'm a bleeding heart. :)

I'm going back to the convention center to vote. Last night was a lot of fun. I went to both Harper and Stronach's after-speech parties. I didn't get a chance to go to Clement's. At Harper's party the alcohol was free and plentiful and the food was pretty good as well. They had a couple of DJs spinning records there, which was pretty funny, as the crowd skewed quite older. There was a ton of MPs there, and Harper seems to have 100% support among on cowboy-hat wearing conservatives.

Stronach's party was at the Steam Whistle Brewery. It was a much younger and diverse crowd. There was pretty good band there, and they were played covers of some 80's tunes, as well as some stuff I didn't recognize so I guess it's their own material. Unfortunately Stronach was charging $2 for adult beverages, so Harper drew the far larger crowd. I actually talked to Stronach for a couple minutes, she seemed quite nice. She seemed about 5'9" or 5'10" and her pantlegs went *all* the way to the ground, so I think she was wearing absolutely massive heels and didn't want anyone to know. I don't think she was fooling anyone. :)

I really hope that the Conservatives can cast a wider net. There were a few of us fiscal conservative-socially liberal guys there, and we all looked quite out of place, and I don't think any of us felt quite comfortable there. The Conservatives absolutely have to reach out to people like us, or else we'll end up staying home, and they'll be stuck in the West again. It's a shame, because I don't think any Canadian is particularly happy with the misdeeds of the current administration.

Cheers,

Mike

Thanks for the info, JKCLs. Phelps looked terrible? Maybe, I'll put this question to the crowd: what's your take on this cat? I think he's one of three to five question marks we have (Woody, Hinske, Hentgen, Lilly) that we really need to have come good if the wildcard race is even going to be possible.

What's are the party's proposals to help the Atlantic Provinces, move everyone out west?

Gah! The free booze must've been flowing quite nicely here when I wrote that. I can't believe I let two grammar mistakes slip into that one sentence.

Note to self: When editing my posts prior to submitting them, make sure the existing text and the new material fit properly. In other words, I need to do more damned proof-reading.

I know the above statement was not intended to be mean spirited, but I'd like to live in Canada where we respect differing political views and at the very least had tolerance and understanding for people who have different viewpoints than our own.

You're right, Mike, it was not intended to be mean spirited. Sometimes my laptop squeezes out vitriol that my lips never would. Apologies to all Conservative and conservative Bauxites.

Leigh

http://economics.about.com
You're right, Mike, it was not intended to be mean spirited. Sometimes my laptop squeezes out vitriol that my lips never would. Apologies to all Conservative and conservative Bauxites.

Hey, no worries. I get annoyed with the Conservatives all the time, and I'm one of them (if in membership only).

I'm back home after a very long weekend. Although I didn't fit in at all, I met a lot of really interesting people and had a great time. Now I think I'll sleep for a week.

Cheers,

Mike