Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I'm down on my luck
Now I'm hiding in Honduras
I'm a desperate man
The Blue Jays were already safely in Baltimore when Hurricane Jeanne struck Tampa, so both the Jays and Rays will finish 2004 one game short of the regular 162. In Toronto's case, that's good news and bad news. On the plus side, it's one less potential loss in this brutal campaign; on the other, it means there are no more head-to-head games with Tampa Bay, hamstringing the team's effort to escape 5th and last place in the American League East. Wow, that's a depressing thing to write.
Not much to report on the wire this morning:
--> Gagliano Notes on the hurricane cancellation of Sunday's game:
According to research by the Tampa Bay public relations staff, only two other games in domed stadiums have been canceled by weather. Ten inches of rain postponed a June 15, 1976 game between Houston and Pittsburgh at the Astrodome, while snow collapsed the roof of the Metrodome in 1983, forcing a postponement of the April 14th game against the Angels.
--> Gagliano further discusses tonight's critical second start for Roy Halladay, and how the Orioles have officially ousted the Blue Jays from third place as Halladay heads to the hill:
The Jays don't have a chance to catch up to the Orioles and finish third for the seventh straight season, but there's still a chance they can avoid landing in the American League East basement for the first time since 1997. Toronto and Tampa Bay split their season series at nine games apiece, but the Jays have a chance to take the season series from the Orioles by taking three of four games at Camden Yards.
--> The Globe and Mail continues its season-ending look at the Blue Jays organization in Jeff Blair's feature on Skydome. The Globe has recently gone to an Insider subscription for most of its columnists, so unless you're a member, you'll have to content yourself with the teaser:
So how did the Toronto Blue Jays' lease with the SkyDome become balkanized to the point where even the use of the JumboTron scoreboard during games is regulated, with the Blue Jays controlling 30 seconds every half-inning? "My guess is that when all these things started being discussed, there was just so much money flying around that these issues never needed to be clear," said Silvio D'Addario, the SkyDome's chief operating officer.
Money never stops talking, however, and a deal makes too much sense for both sides. At some point, once each party's demands are measured in the harsh light of market reality, someone will blink and the Dome will change hands. I look forward to the day.
--> Richard Griffin delivers a last hurrah for the Expos, as it seems to be all over in Montreal but the shouting:
And so it ends. The 36-year old Expos franchise will play a final home series at Olympic Stadium against the Florida Marlins starting today. Then it will be "turn out the lights, the party's over." You may think you have heard this song before, but this time, Major League Baseball insists there's no turning back.
I can usually find at least one thing to disagree with in each Griffin column, and here, it's his closing observation that "there will be no expansion franchise promises or major league baseball in Montreal ever again." Never is a long time, and baseball inevitably will look to expand sometime again down the road, because the owners love those expansion fees too much. When the time is right and a deep-pocketed local owner is found -- a new Bronfman -- then there will be baseball in Montreal again. But no, not anytime soon.
--> Elsewhere around the majors, the Angels run out of patience with petulant Jose Guillen and suspend him for the rest of the season and playoffs; Guillen's ex-teammates showed how much they miss him by beating the A's last night to move within one game of Oakland; the Yankees and Red Sox continued their overhyped relationship with another hissy spat at Fenway; Ichiro is now only 6 hits away from George Sisler, thanks to a 1-for-4 performance in a 9-0 win at Texas; and Shawn Green and Jayson Werth helped the Dodgers defeat San Francisco 7-4 and take a 2 1/2 game lead in the NL West.
--> Tonight's 7:05 PM start in Baltimore sees RHP Roy Halladay battle Sidney Ponson in a matchup of two pitchers not at all happy with how 2004 has gone. Cross your fingers that Doc can produce a solid effort and buoy the organization's spirits for 2005.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040927075353999