I've only been to the Skydome once but I would have a kids section with clowns and games.

I would have concession specials like turn back the clock night. I would have a lot more giveaways tied into the sponsors.

Everygame I would award a pair of premium seats to the fan making the most noise.

I would have a ticket discount for University students.

As for tonights game I predict Towers will get hit hard. He's going up against a top notch offence with tons of power and this is a game where he should get exposed. Hopefully I'm wrong though.

They should make advertisements so omnipresent that I won't even notice them anymore... :)

Everygame I would award a pair of premium seats to the fan making the most noise.

They do this already -- I won it last year once.

I'd get rid of the current concession kiosks and rent spaces to hot dog cart vendors and fry truck guys at a reasonable rate -- say a cut of the take rather than a fixed monthly rent, so they don't take a bad hit if attendance stinks. The carts and trucks around the Dome are frequently excellent, so why compete with those guys? Instead, hire them.

The exception to this is the sushi counter in the 100 level. Those guys stay.

Jordan, I think they'll be going for going for the sweep tomorrow afternoon when Bush pitches, after putting the tribe to bed tonight.

Grass in a dome is impossible to maintain anyway without constantly replacing it.

A few suggestions:

1)Improve the visibility of the players in the community both through charity events, endorsements, sponsorships. People need to get to know the Jays more as people as well as players. This also does some to counteract all the negativity they receive from the local media.

2)The Dome must be fan friendlier- from the ushers to concession prices to in-game entertainment. I know that a lot of these things aren't controlled by the club, but a lot of them are - like that cheesy bagpipe-infused dance music that nobody seems to like. There has to be a balance between keeping the crowd involved and not pushing the boundaries to alienate older and more loyal fans. I think this takes work but it can be achieved through patience.

3)Set up mini game packs of tickets- They might already do that but if they do they certainly don't advertise it very well.

Last time I was at a game it felt like more of a spectacle than a baseball game.

Getting rid of a lot of things that exist there already would make it better. Starting with the sound effects on foul balls.

Then try to make those outfield wall ads a little less ugly. Shouldn't be hard. You know, 'intergrate' them into the wall so they don't make the wall look like it caught a bad rash. Make them a blue tint or something. Don't worry someone will still buy ad space there. Generally speaking, make the dome more asthetically pleasing. People get turned off when they walk into a retractable billboard.

Just make the damn place less annoying and loud and let the ball speak for itself. And bring back BJ Birdy, everyone hates the stupid new mascots. Be gone corporate cheese/pandering! Make the place baseball fan friendly, not ADD friendly.

/end rant

p.s. getting that grass stuff will definitely help with atmosphere though.

NFH, if I'm not mistaken concessions are controlled by Sportco, I think you'll find they're a lot tougher to amend than you think. I know at other parks like Detroit they have contracts set up with food service companies, I'd imagine if that's the case here it'd be difficult to wrangle out of by both Sportco and the Jays of their landlord.

I went to California for my vacation a few weeks ago and checked out Petco Park. I'm not sure if this is possible but the Jays should get a mini baseball field inside the stadium for kids to play in.

One of the coolest features is that for $5 you can sit on the grass and watch the game from the big screen (behind CF) and I saw a ton of kids playing on the mini field too.

Also Petco Park had a batting cage where you get to hit pitches off a virtual Randy Johnson (he was pitching that night). I'm not sure if the Skydome has this.

Oh, I know it's almost impossible, I'm just sayin'.

And bring back Conko's Mini Donuts!

I think they'll be going for going for the sweep tomorrow afternoon when Bush pitches, after putting the tribe to bed tonight.

Well, sure, if you mean one of them new-fangled sweeps, then yeah, they need a win tomorrow. But back in my day, a team only needed to win 3 of 4 games to be given a sweep. Also, nickels were called bees, 'cause they had pictures of bees on them. Anyway, I was taking the ferry to Shelbyville, and I was wearing an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time....

I had a question is it okay to post pictures in the threads? If I can upload some of the pics I took of Petco Park I wouldn't mind sharing them here.

Sure, Ron, so long as they're not too big. And I'd suggest a maximum of 3 for now. Game threads tend to get long, and pictures can delay the download or the display time for some users.

To further Ron's point about Towers and the fact that he may be in for some trouble tonight, look at the break down of starts for Towers. His gamelog shows the following for quality starts and rank of opposition in the majors for SLG:

Quality starts:

Oakland (9) X2
San Diego (26)
Montreal (30)
Seattle (28)
Tampa Bay (25) X2

Non-Qualtiy starts:

Baltimore (14) X2
LA (12)
Tampa Bay (25)

Towers' main problem has historically been terrible HR/9 rates. While that hasn't been the case this year, you can see that outside of 2 games against Oakland (both in Oakland) he's been successful against terrible offensive teams. I think tonight's game will be a real test for Towers.

I know you asked about the Dome itself... but Ted's best investment (ie the best marketing ploy) will always be to put a winning team on the field. The GM is the most important marketing executive.

Just get rid of the darn noise and all the in between inning stuff and let the game be the focus. It would be nice to be able to carry on a conversation. Reasonable prices for food and drink would be a plus. I refuse to spend my money on food there unless I am desperate. Also I wish people wouldn't get up and leave their seats while the game is on or decide to come back to their seats when the game is on.

Just wondering, but are the Jays EVER going to have a turn back the clock night? It would be cool to see the Jays don the light blue jerseys with the bird and maple lead once again.

Heck, I even liked the Chatham Colored All-Stars jersey day a few years ago against the Red Sox.

Just to add to the grass issue, these comments from sportsnet.ca columnist Ryan Johnston's latest piece:

"A permanent grass field indoors is a totally different issue," said Clark. "Can it be done? Certainly, but it would be very hard to do it in a building not specifically designed for it. You just can't change the light angles for sunlight and this is a living, growing thing."

Silvio D'Addario, SkyDome's chief operating officer, said that tearing up the concrete surface to install a drainage system that would allow grass to grow is something the company was considering.

Even with that said, there are other factors to be considered, not the least of which is that Skydome continues to host many events over the summer, and replacing grass fields doesn't come cheaply.

Last year for instance, Manchester United paid over a million bucks to have their turf at a soccer-only stadium changed 4 times over the course of the year. While that sport certainly produces a lot more wear and tear, staging events on top of it at Skydome would also no doubt be potentially problematic. The good thing is that it wouldn't be the Jays' concern in maintaining it. The bad part also is that it wouldn't be Jays' responsibility to ensure that it's contantly in top playing condition.

Personally I'd prefer Field Turf like the Argos are now using only because it seems like a more reasonable compromise.

c'mon Carlos.. you're better than that.

Okay, I'm getting pretty tired of Delgado not wanting to stretch on certain balls or getting off the bag to tag the guy.

That should have been a DP if Delgado even stretches just the slightest bit. Instead he just hops off the bag for no reason.

He did the same thing last night as well.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2104722/
COMN for an article about a player that could fill the potential 1B hole next season...for about a week, anyway...

Longball already......

Wow, that didn't take long at all.

To further Ron's point about Towers and the fact that he may be in for some trouble tonight...

Yes but isnt this about the third start in a row where the demise of Towers has been predicted?

It always amazes me when right handed pitchers try and sneak fastballs down and in past left handed power hitters. I've seen enough of guys like David Ortiz and now Travis Hafner hammering pitches down and in over the right field wall to know that maybe it's smarter if the Jays pitchers stay away from that area ;)

What ever happened to Brandon Phillips? I remember when Colon got traded I was reading articles where they said Phillips was the best prospect in all of baseball and was going to be a franchise player.

Well I know he started in the majors last year but he's vanished ever since.

Wow, Hinske has gotten a steady diet of off-speed stuff all series long and he hasn't been close to hitting anything reasonably hard.

Hopefully he can make some adjustments before his next at-bat.

Can there be a demise for a pitcher with a career ERA of 4.73 and who has given up an almost mind boggling 53 HR's in 297 innings (1.6/9)?

Okay, this goes beyond giving Reed "a day or two off."

I firmly believe that he has been benched against righties for Dave freakin Berg.

Are you kidding me??

Westbrook has looked pretty good so far. With the exception of the 4 wide ones to Zaun, he's been right on the money. I only hope it doesn't continue. And Dave, I hope you're wrong about Reed/Berg vs. righties.

Okay, this goes beyond giving Reed "a day or two off."

I firmly believe that he has been benched against righties for Dave freakin Berg.

I agree. If that's true it's insane. Although I almost forgot that tonight is Wednesdays with JP (hooray!) might be worth asking if any bauxite gets on tonight.

Fitting in a guy who just went 3/4 isnt a bad idea, for the most part. i would personally prefer johnson out there, however.

Got a question about Johnson/Berg vs RH?
Got a question about Woodward wanting a trade?
Got a question about anything Jays related?

Well, call 1-888-666-0590 (or the local 416 number) after the game tonight and you can ask J.P. Ricciardi himself, on "Wednesdays With J.P", every week on the FAN Radio Network.

**

The above was an independent message from Rob, the Bauxite you all know and tolerate, and is not affiliated with the FAN in any way.

I hope I'm wrong too Dr. Zarco...

Anyone else noticing how quick Westbrook works?

He's almost the anti-Trachsel

I notice Loveshack already knew that about the J.P. show.
Good, my work is done then.

Fitting in a guy who just went 3/4 isnt a bad idea, for the most part. i would personally prefer johnson out there, however.

If that's the case, then why doesn't Tosca ever start Phelps after Josh has one of his multi-homer games or a game in which he hits a homer? Basically, unless another lefty is on the mound Phelps is riding pine no matter what he does.

Believe me Rob I look forward to it every week. It's one of the only good things about Wednesdays.

The Indians broadcasters keep talking about how fast Westbrook works too Dave. Ugh, there's another non-Delgado pick out of the dirt.

I wonder how much the Flames want for Kiprusoff. He'd look a lot better out there at first. :)

Carlos Delgado's guide to picking throws out of the dirt:

Step 1) Limit your stretch so that basically... it isn't even a stretch

Step 2) Close your eyes

Step 3) Aimlessly fling your glove around in an upward motion and pray that somehow the ball gets caught in the webbing of the glove

I'll agree with Scott completely here.

LOL. That sounds like how I "play" shortstop, Dave.

Not sure if it was intentional or not, but that was nicely done by Delgado-blocking the bag to get the sliding runner. The Jays either have some good sign-stealers or get lucky frequently, cause it seems there have been a lot of well-timed pitch-outs.

LOL, then I'm sorry I had to bring it up Moffatt ;)

I have to give some credit to Carlos Tosca. He's a genius when it comes to calling pitchouts, or could it be that he's great at stealing signs??

I'd really like to get an answer on that, because basically whenever he calls for a pitchout the Jays are successful in gunning down the runner.

It would appear that Dr. Zarco is also great at reading minds.

My sentiments exactly Doc.

Heh, that was scary

LOL. That sounds like a recap of my 'first' sexual experience.

haha, don't ask me why I read it like that.

They weren't this good before this year; my suspicion is that the new bench coach considers this a specialty. Next time we talk with Joe Breeden we'll have to ask!

LOL, Dave. Funny stuff. While we're talking about Delgado-it looks to me as if his plate discipline has come back to form recently. Just walked again. Let's have the dreaded leadoff walk score now!

LOL. That sounds like a recap of my 'first' sexual experience.

haha, don't ask me why I read it like that.

I tinkered around with some of the words and I can see why you read it like that RhyZa! LOL!

Let's leave it to the imagination of Bauxites and keep everything here "G-Rated"

Am I the only one here who doesn't have any doubts that the Jays are going to win this game tonight?

The team's really been playing much better as of late, and even when they are behind I can at times sense a comeback in the making.

Besides, a 2 run deficit isn't really much of a deficit at all if you think about it.

2 runs is especially not a lot when the Indians bullpen is in the game-they're something like 18-42 in save opportunites. Ah hell, another inning-ending DP. Westbrook might not need a bullpen at this rate.

Wish I could agree.

This game is still young, but looks like it's going to be anoher one of those games. You know, the one where the Jays out-hit the other team 15-2 but lose.

I hate those games.

I wonder how much the Flames want for Kiprusoff. He'd look a lot better out there at first. :)

Why would they want a terrible goalie from a terrible team?
Sorry, Detroit fan here. Kipper wasn't my best friend back in May. ;)

Seriously, though: in the student-teacher high school softball game we played at the end of the year this past June, our first baseman was a 5-foot-10 girl who caught EVERYTHING. I was playing second and went to my right, threw back across, the ball went way above her head and she jumped, caught it, and applied the tag easily. (True story.)
The Jays should sign her.

Delgado!! Darn it.

Wait..we've got a guy here named "Loveshack" and he ISN'T the guy who recalls his first sexual experience? What kind of crazy site is this?

Hafner is killing us.

This is painful.. almost like what Raptor fans have experienced watching Vince at the worst of times, seems regardless of whether it's his fault or not he comes out looking bad. Towers isn't the type of pitcher that can succeed in spite of this so I find it hard to fault him much.

So is Lawton-3 for 3.

I take back everything I said about feeling confident about a Jays win.

Also, whoever called the demise of Josh Towers, you were right.

well there ya go, there's his 360 windmill.. albeit in a potential blowout. ; )

Now THAT was a nice play by Delgado. Any reason Martinez didn't score? Seems like bad baserunning.

Justin Miller is warming up for the Jays.

Heck, I didn't even know he was back from injury.

I'll take the credit for predicting Towers was going to get rocked today.

Yup, just activated today. I hope he can pitch 3 or 4. Perhaps finish out the game if it stays a blowout.

Justin Miller now making his return to the Jays.

I'm assuming he'll take over for Sean Douglass sometime in the near future?

Hafner is killing us.

Or not. Hafner before today, lifetime vs TOR:
.074/.074/.222, 1 HR, 27 AB.

Wow, I sure got owned (or PWN3D, if you prefer) by my own self there.

And congrats to Ron. He predicted a Towers collapse...which is a good thing because...?

Miller should be starting for Sean Douglass. Hopefully this is just some work to get his arm accustomed to major league hitting again.

at the risk of sounding cliche

It's Miller Time.

I'm on Sportsline here, no TV. Is Miller coming in now?

I think tonight's a good example of why you really need to think of Towers as insurance rather than as a realistic option for '05.

Not that it really matters, but I'm not sure this is the spot I'd bring Miller into given the long layoff. I'd use Frederick right here given his high K rates. It also gives you a chance to see him in a difficult situation. Not a big issue given the game situation but I'd have tried that.

Why does Loveshack answer my questions before I ask them?
Who are you, Radar? ;)

What's that supposed to mean?

Now where's I put that grape Nehi....

Well, needless to say that isn't really fair.. before this one Josh has had quality outings in like 6 of his last 7 or 7 of his last 9 I believe.. yet one bad outing and people imply that the run was a fluke, primarily based on the type of pitcher he is I believe (a control, need solid d kind of guy (ha!) rather than an overpowering one); basically he's held to a different standard than other starters would be.. I'm not going to be so naive to think that double standards do not exist in baseball but it doesn't make it fair either.

I wondered aloud in here if Hinske would make adjustments after his first AB and he has. He's now waiting on Westbrook's change and going the other way with it.

And for all the flack Belliard gets about playing his "deep" second base, that Rios grounder is an RBI single if he isn't stationed that deep.

Oops, we already covered M*A*S*H here. Gleeman "got" Radar, so Loveshack: you'll have to settle for Mulcahy, Rizzo, or the chef. Hot Lips is available -- not much demand for her role on a "baseball geek website".

this guys a beast.

No offense Rhyza but, as I outlined above, we have 300 innings of past experience that gives us a very good idea of what to expect from Towers. I'm afraid, it's taking 5 or 6 good outings and suggesting that he is now pitching at a completely different level from anything seen before (majors or minors) that requires more data support.

Maybe Hafner is killing us.

Well, there goes J.P.'s perfect record on Wednesdays. Or have they lost already on a J.P. radio day?

Great effort.

Wow, that was close to being Devon White part 2

lol, gotta love Tosca...

"Jays bring the infield in down 9-1."

BELIEVE!!

Grr. I got the radio feed on the Internet, so I'm behind everyone.

Was V-Dub close to that one?
The infield is in? 8 runs behind, yeah, better not make it 9.

V-Dub nearly made an amazing catch.

The ball was belted to deep center and he was basically running with his head leaning back to see where the ball was, he made, what would have been a leaping over the shoulder effort near the wall. He had the ball for a second, but the ball came loose when he hit the wall.

Great effort.

And yes, they brought the infield in down 8 runs but then Justin Miller walked the batter and they went back to normal depth due to the possibility of the double play and they turned it.

Hafner IS killing the Jays this series. Don't really look at his numbers last year, he's a completely different player now.

Just by way of background, Towers' minor league numbers include 869 innings pitched, an ERA slightly over 4 and 97 HR's allowed. In short, with Towers, what you see is what you get - a guy who gives it his all, throws strikes but ultimately gets hit too hard to be anything other than a 5th/6th starter.

Excellent idea having Justin Miller throw a bunch of simulated games AND NOT go out on a couple of rehab starts. After all, he hadn't pitched in a game since May 30th.

Yeah, that's the same thing they did with Josh Towers. Didn't pitch in a game until his start against Baltimore, wasn't GREAT but wasn't bad either, then got rocked six days later and was DFA'd.

Well, then according to your theory no one can turn the corner like say a Woody Williams did.. I'm not saying that he deserves to be any more than a consideration as a 4th or 5th starter next year (if nothing else pans out), all I'm saying is that one rough outing after a string of 5 or 6 good ones shouldn't necessarily cancel him out of our future plans either, regardless of his previous history. 300 IP is hardly a lot either, in his last 3 years he's equaled the amount of starts he got in his first year starting for the O's.. on one hand you could say that's telling as to where his career is headed but on the other maybe he hasn't got as much of an extended opportunity as one would think. I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment of him however, maybe it's more the timing of it and pointing to this game as reason for it.

Okay, now I've replied to Carson as he does his stats thing during a live game AND Wilner as he hosted a live radio show on Monday.
Don't let me distract you guys from the live broadcasts you're involved in. :)

RhyZa, it's very important to look at the teams Towers has faced.

Yes, he can fair well against light-hitting teams like Oakland in their spacious park, and Tampa Bay at both domes, but he's not built to succeed against high powered offenses like New York, Boston, or Cleveland in this case.

I think this is just one of those nights where you give the devil his due. The Indians are a powerhouse offensive club, and the Jays have done well to keep them more or less under wraps up to this point. Towers had a terrific July, so I wouldn't let this one off-night affect our perception of him unduly; he's well-established as 4th- or 5th-starter material, and he's been doing exceptionally well lately. And Miller might as well get his innings in during a game like this. C'est la guerre.

Faulds & Cerutti need to be banned from discussing music.

Great effort.

A great effort in what's becoming a blowout game in the middle of a lost season. That's the kind of guy I want on my team, and I'm very glad the Jays have him.

Faulds & Cerutti need to be banned from discussing music.

Details for the TV-less?

Someone tell Wilner that Tim Laker just came in to the game this inning. They got it mixed up.

Big Lex's second DP is looking big now... still not over though.

Berg homered to left center, Catalanotto and Zaun scored.

Oh, come ON!

I'm kind of mad that Berg hit the homerun... unless the Jays win of course.

It only means more PT for Berg...

FREE REED JOHNSON!

Whoever thought that Reed Johnson would be behind Dave Berg on the depth chart? I thought Tosca loved the bunting Sparkplug.

Berg 3run HR. I have no idea what to think about that.

Oh and Rob, they were quizzing each other on which music groups called Athens, Georgia they're home. Dixie Chicks was guessed, Billy Corrigan was the lead singer for REM, B52's got involved, it wasnt pretty.

they're = their of course.

Rhyza - I don't for a second suggest that occasionally you have a player that suddenly changes their performance level out of context of their previous numbers. The main point is that you need more extended success to reach the conclusion that that is happening now with Towers than we have seen. I hope you're right about him. To your example of Williams, if you look at his minor league stats and even his early major league ones, it really proves my point. Williams had very good to excellent minor league numbers and his major league performance has been pretty much in line with a lot of those numbers. Williams is not an example of a pitcher who, out of nowhere, started producing.

Hopefully this pic shows up (and isn't too big) and provides a nice distraction from tonights game. I took this when I recently paid a visit to Petco Park. I wish the Jays had a stadium like this. Best stadium I've been in so far.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/asianflow/DSC00177.jpg[/img]

I don't remember how Athens, Georgia came up, but Faulds asked Cerutti if he could name a popular band from that city. His hint was "Billy Corgan", which he realized was incorrect after about 30 seconds. Cerutti guessed the B-52s. And it just kept going...

I'm not sure Sparky is behind Berg on the depth chart ... but I do think Tosca recognized that Reed was flagging (.266/.310/.339 in July) and needs a breather. Plus, Berg is undeniably swinging a hot bat right now. I think this is actually excellent use of his bench by Tosca.

Oh $hit my computer skills suck. Can anybody tell me how to post a pic in here?

Billy Corrigan was the lead singer for REM

Say whah?

"Billy Corrigan, Smashing Pumpkins."

"Homer Simpson, smiling politely."

Is this the picture you want, Ron? I resized it a little bit.

[img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/asianflow/DSC00177.jpg"]

Replace [ and ] with < and >

Oh, and I just added height=200 to the URL like this in order to resize it:

[img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/asianflow/DSC00177.jpg" height=200]

Height measured in pixels, by the way.

THX Rob yeah that's the pic. You even did a good job in resizing it. The whole area around the ball park is warehouses. I was kinda pissed they only about 3 tickets windows open when they was a huge line of at least 250 people trying to get tickets before the game.

The good thing is ticket prices are cheap but the concession prices are a rip off.

Well, at least the B-52's are from Athens.

Honestly, I don't see that Woody had 'excellent' minor league numbers in comparison to Towers... in fact if you remove Towers' forgettable 2002 they're pretty comparable if you ask me, until WW got on the Cards where he truly excelled in relation to his career performance. But don't get me wrong, I realize that Woody is an exception to the rule, I just brought him up as an example. I'm sure Miller will get more of an opportunity for next year's rotation than Towers though and probably deservedly so.

I know it's an absurd sample size, but I still really enjoy looking at this: Alex Rios' month-by-month batting averages.

Month    BA
May      .176
Jun      .271
Jul      .343
Aug      .462

Okay, I now feel like the dumbest person on earth.

This whole time I was actually reading and posting in the MASH unit thread. And I was wondering 2 things

1) Why are the Jays playing the Rays again

2) Why did everyone suddenly stop talking about the game

LOL

You can all point and laugh now

Wow, Hafner is putting on a show.

Just missed hitting a grand slam that would have given him 9 rbi's on the night!

I think he'll settle with 6 though...

Kevin Frederick is getting the Justin Miller treatment from the Indians. Might as well let these guys work out their kinks now in a blowout game.

Well, the up side to all of this is that I've got Hafner on my fantasy team.

I don't imagine J.P. is looking forward to going on the air after this...

I'll say it again...

Why do teams/pitchers pitch so freely to Sheffield?

Another pitch right down the middle to Sheffield and it's gone, game tied in the Bronx.

Could someone please provide a recap of WWJP? It'd be much appreciated.

I just started listening. A caller asked him if he had trouble attracting free agents to Toronto. JP praised the city as being a great place to spend most of your time for six months. He said the fans are "unbelievably understanding" towards the players and the team, that's its a great multicultural city and that playing in Canada has never been a problem for anyone.

Lidle didn't seem too happy to be here, but other than that it seems like its been true for the most part.

Tidbits from around the majors

- Felix Heredia optioned to A ball; Yankees call up CJ Nitkowski
- Angels sign Andres Galaragga to a minor-league contract
- Jim Tracy says he is considering moving Jayson Werth behind the plate

Someone asked about the noise at the SkyDome. No mention of the Cheer Club, but JP seemed optimistic that "somehow, someday down the road" the Jays will own the SkyDome.

JP said we'll likely get to see Adams and Gross in September. He waivered on Pond, but he said Adams will be up here, mainly to get to work with Butterfield on his defence for a month. Then he'll go to instructional league to work with Dickie Scott.

JP loves the black uniforms.

he said Adams will be up here, mainly to get to work with Butterfield on his defence for a month

Best news I've heard all day! Adams has little if anything left to prove with his bat at Syracuse; getting him together with a gifted teacher like Butterfield is exactly what he needs. Spot on!

Justin Miller now making his return to the Jays.

I'm assuming he'll take over for Sean Douglass sometime in the near future?

JP on The Fan 590 hedged about this and seemed to be indicating Miller may be staying in the bullpen, at least for awhile.

just back from the game. got my first home run ball!! (hafner's first). wish i could've 'caught' an HR but what the hell, i'll settle for this.
p.s. there were some jackasses heckling Vernon all night and i don't think they were Indian fans. they should've been tossed...
also, where was the drum?? i was dissapointed it wasn't in action tonight

Could someone please provide a recap of WWJP?

What would Jesus p...?

And for all the flack Belliard gets about playing his "deep" second base, that Rios grounder is an RBI single if he isn't stationed that deep.

Just curious, but why don't more players try bunting the ball past the pitcher on the second base side against Cleveland?

I'm a softball player, not a baseball player, so I'm not quite sure how easy this is to do.

But I figure someone with decent bat control (Ichiro and Tony Fernandez come to mind) wouldn't have much trouble doing it consistently.

Maybe little ball really is dead...

Right-handed pitchers tend to finish going towards 1B so with that momentum it's a little harder to get the ball bast him on the right side.

yikes, from the scoreline Im kinda glad I missed this game due to work. Anyone going to tomorrow's game?

JP said we'll likely get to see Adams and Gross in September. He waivered on Pond, but he said Adams will be up here, mainly to get to work with Butterfield on his defence for a month. Then he'll go to instructional league to work with Dickie Scott.

Awesome. I also hope we'll see Aaron Hill in Arizona; I must call and ask J.P. next week who they're looking to send to the AFL.

Ask him to send me to Arizona. I could use the vacation.

who they're looking to send to the AFL

Thinking briefly about this I thought these would be possibilities:

Hill
JFG
Rosario

Hey Guys..

Scott Carson, commented "LIVE" and during the game FROM THE BOOTH and no one seemed to notice...

I think that is really cool...
We should be feeding him ideas when we get his ear!

Daryn

I'd keep Rosario out of the AFL. He needs too careful management for that. Chacin might be an interesting choice, as long as he'll agree to pass on winter ball.

Adams and Gross are clearly good choices for September call-ups.

In the recent past, the Jays have not sent their best pitching prospects to the AFL; I think Cam Reimers was one of the better ones to make the trip last year. Possibly this is related to Rosario, who IIRC actually suffered his injury in Arizona. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jason Arnold get some innings in there.

Damn..I go a few days offline, and I miss one of my favourite discussions: How to improve the dome. I hope people are still checking this thread because I have a a few ideas I want to bounce off y'all. In case people aren't checking this, I won't elaborate on my suggestions, but if asked to do so, I will.

1. Get grass in there....it can be done and it is worth the hassle. (see Busch stadium, Kaufman Stadium, and old Riverfront).

2. This is expensive, but it's not my money....remove the 500 level seats the stretch from past first base to center, and from past third base to center. Put massive glass walls in their place to see the city skyline, and if possible have these glass walls moveable to open up ( think Minute Maid Park).

3. Lose the in game host

4. Show video highlights from other games....this ain't so hard to do, and wouldn't rogers like to show off it's baseball TV package?

5. a full scoreboard would be cool too

6. Get uniforms that look as bad as the stadium!

If that's the case, then why doesn't Tosca ever start Phelps after Josh has one of his multi-homer games or a game in which he hits a homer? Basically, unless another lefty is on the mound Phelps is riding pine no matter what he does.

Now that's just not true... after his spectacular game against Seattle, Phelps was in for the whole week, and did...nothing at all against righties.

I don't know where the drum was last night, joemayo. bird droppings, our drummer, just got a new job so I suspect that's what's keeping him away. You were on the JumboTron with the ball, by the way.

Jim, like they said in the Sportsnet.ca article, the place wasn't built with grass in mind, so lighting angles are problematic -- the grass needs some of that direct sunlight to survive. Grass would be great if they could get past all of the technical difficulties, but barring that, some kind of more realistic turf would be welcome.

I can't wait to see the replacement for the JumboTron -- hopefully they'll use it to show highlights like Jim suggests, instead of showing who signed with what hockey team. Really, do we care about that at the Jays game?

I'm surprised Miller didn't get more real rehab time. The Jays seldom seem to use opportunities to let pitchers on a long layoff enjoy some pressure free innings in the minors to build up their endurance and control. Last night was not anywhere near the Justin Miller we saw earlier in the year and I just have to wonder what the point of rushing him back to get pounded on in his first appearance was. Another two weeks in AAA would hardly have made a difference to the big club but could have made a dramatic difference to Miller getting back to where he needs to be.

I seem to remember a similar thing happening with Luke Prokopec. They brought him back after a long layoff and a rehab stint that lasted all of 2 innings. Of course they probably also brought him back with a torn up shoulder though no-one suspected that at the time.

"I don't know where the drum was last night, joemayo. bird droppings, our drummer, just got a new job so I suspect that's what's keeping him away. You were on the JumboTron with the ball, by the way."

sweet! thanks.