With the largest number of votes ever cast in a Batter's Box poll already in as we pursue an answer to the eternal quesetion, "What should be The Official Batter's Box nickname for the Blue Jay bullpen?" it will be necessary, as we originally projected, that we go to a runoff.
The top two finishers in our poll are in the new followup poll at the top left of the site. So what's it gonna be, Bauxites? Arny's Army or The GO Train?
For a look at the original story which listed and described the original six finalists, click "More." The descriptions of our two new final-finalists remain as they originally were for your edification. And the results from that original vote are in the first comment posted to this reconstituted thread.
Original Story Follows
Yes, it's a little ironic that we're going to this vote right after a dominating Doc Halladay complete game win, but baseball and irony have always played well together ...
So, we've selected the six finalists in the Batter's Box Bullpen Nickname Contest, dreamed up in the recent Bullpen Report v.4.
Make sure you vote in the official poll at the top left of the page and feel free to give your comments here in this thread to support your favourite. Now, meet the finalists ...listed alphabetically along with the name of the submitter and a few words explaining and/or analyzing the entry.
Proposed Nickname: Arny's Army
Submitted by: Gerry
A few words: An obvious and ingenious play on the legendary "Arnie's Army" that followed golf Hall of Famer Arnold Palmer during tourney play, and in this case a clear appreciative tip of the cap to pitching coach Brad Arnsberg.
Proposed Nickname: Flashback
Submitted by: Mick
A few words: Okay, this one kind of sucks and will probably finish last of the six; I'm not even going to vote for it, and I came up with it. It's just a rule (see "WAMCO") that all unit-within-a-team nicknames at least consider something with the various players' initials forming some sort of acronymicized word. And here, we are faced with the daunting combination of Frasor, League, Schoeneweis, Speier, Batista and Chulk ... FLSSBC? There is no combination of those letters that makes sense without the purchase of a vowel or three, so we'll go with a roughly phonetic pronunciation and "flashback" -- and who knows, maybe this unit will be a flashback to the halcyon days of Henke, Ward, Timlin and Acker.
Proposed Nickname: The GO (Game Over) Train
Submitted by: Fawaz
A few words: GO Transit is Canada's first, and Ontario's only, interregional public transit system, linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)." (I live in Texas, I had to look that up.) So you have the local tie-in and broadcasters and columnists and game reporters can luxuriate in the overuse of phrases like "the Blue Jays rode the GO Train to victory last night."
Proposed Nickname: The Legion of Doom
Submitted by: Caino
A few words: Ummm .. really, it just sounds sorta cool, ya know? And maybe it could lead to one of those free fan Super Fun Pax Comix booklet giveaway days down the road. Potential downside: local headline writers could really turn this nickname against the bullpen in less-than-successful efforts.
Proposed Nickname: Miggy and the Jets
Submitted by: Jobu
A few words: The upside of this nickname is that we already have a completed theme song though the obvious downside is that we'd have to get someone to sing it; also, as several Bauxites pointed out, this nickname does make it sound like there's one Eckerslian closer and a supporting cast of bit actors along for the ride. But still, a great nod to a well-known pop ballad by baseball aficianado Elton John (just kidding, there). There's also the matter of the New York sports teams that overused this song in 1986, with both Kenny (O'Brien) and the Jets and Lenny (Dykstra) and the Mets.
Proposed Nickname: Toronto Fire Department (TFD)
Submitted by: Mike Green
A few words: The Core Values of the Toronto Fire Deparment (the real one) include integrity, teamwork and innovation, and that's a good start for any bullpen. Note, too, that Toronto Fire Chief William Stewart has the initials "W.S." and if your bullpen is leading in Wins and Saves, that's a Good Thing. A classic nod to the historical "fireman" imagery used to describe baseball bullpens.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050529183548737