Poetry Slam I: Greatest Blue Jay?

Friday, September 10 2010 @ 12:28 AM EDT

Contributed by: Mick Doherty

Okay, it's that weird time of year, late-ish (but not overly late, almost--overish) in a season that's gone pretty well for the home team (.514 with 22 games left), not really in the race (12.5 out) but not yet eliminated (magic number is NYY+8) ... frankly, it's getting harder to pay attention, with football, basketball and hockey just around the bend(s).

So let's have a good old-fashioned bar brawl over a question basic to this site's existence: who is the single greatest all-time Blue Jay? Define that however you want -- players, managers, front office, mascots (!), single-season, career, one freaking amazing game, pitchers, everyday players, native Canadians only, serious candidates,  tongue-in-cheek eye-rollers or simply personal favourites -- you make your own rules and put up your dukes to defend your choice(s).

A winner will be declared only when the last drop of blood has fallen. Oh, and you get bizarrely random extra credit points if you phrase your argument in the form of a senryu/haiku (details and example within) ... but that is not required. (If this goes well, later slams will call for limericks or couplets or other forms of doggerel.)

State your preferred beverage, order up and stake your claim .. the greatest Blue Jay ever is/was ...

... the team's first manager. In this case, per haiku (poetic form of three lines consisting of five, seven and five syllables, respectively, no rhyme required), but not senryu, which is haiku but using nature metaphors to drive the verse:

Best Blue Jay ever?
Cap-tip to chief number one
Roy Hartsfield, he ROCKS

Top THAT, fellow Bauxites. Can you Haikuify Doug Ault? George Bell? Pat Borders? Spike Lundberg? Bring it on!

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