Timely disconnect

Sometimes those trivial moments in life, which on first appearance appear to be total day-wreckers, turn out to be the happiest of blessings.

Take today, for example. I woke up excited to watch the Jays-Red Sox matinee, because let's face it.... as much as we all hate the god-damned Red Sox, the games are fun to watch. Well, it just so happened that things came together where the assists I needed to turn my backyard into an oasis of fun and relaxation fell into place. OK, so I was building a shed (as an aside, there's a lot to be said for hiring people to do these things for me. I work in an office!).

Upon further review, turns out that was a good thing.

You see, if I had watched the game, I might be inclined to worry about whether Brandon Morrow was indeed on his way to becoming a rich man's AJ Burnett. Or if he was simply destined to become an underachieving arm with dynamite stuff but no results. AKA, AJ Burnett.

I also might have looked at a lineup including Molina, Nix, and McCoy and taken to The Twitter to vent my anger.

I might have - no, definitely would have - screamed curse words my kids probably shouldn't even hear for another 5 or 10 years watching Pedroia collect three hits and three ribbies.

I would have watched another powerless outing from JoBau and fretted over whether he was "only" going to hit 35 home runs versus the 45 I had penciled in.

I might have taken mild joy in McCoy's inning on the mound, but not enough to get over the rest of the bullpen nonsense.

A strong possibility exists I would have watched that drubbing, and started worrying about whether or not the franchise really was headed in the right direction, or if we were simply in the midst of another false start.

In other words.... I probably, for a few moments at least, would have turned into the exact type of fan that causes me to lose my shit. Over one game.

But instead of dealing with all of the above, I watched nary a highlight - boxscore only. So instead I'll believe it was bad luck, bloop singles, and bullshit calls. It's just easier that way.

Everything's cool. Can't wait for tomorrow's game!

Being There

I was at Monday night's game and while I felt the same way about the game as my compadre, I didn't have the option of changing the channel. So that Clockwork Orange type experience of facing the team unfiltered has lead us to some conclusions:

1. Despite our mediocre season we have had a horseshoe up our collective ass. Sean Marcum and Dustin McGowan were not part of the plan. They certainly weren't counted on to be as good as they have been. This has to be viewed as a bonus. Our projected rotation for '07 isn't on the DL. It's in the unemployment line. So to get upset about a rare meltdown by Marcum is foolish (hear that Robert MacLeod?). Without Marcum, McGowan, Janssen, and Accardo, we would have been looking up at Tampa Bay in the standings right now.

2. John Gibbons HAS to go. We've long thought that Gibbons was a poor motivator. We've also thought that he has some isues with handling pitchers. But until Monday night, we never thought that he was dangerous. Why, for the love of god, would you put Dustin McGowan into a game as a pinch runner?!! Why would you take your most scarce resource and the future of your team, and put him in an unfamiliar position in a high pressure situation?!!! If he had hurt himself, Gibbons may have never found a job in baseball again.

3. The Jays need a more varied attack. Home run hitters who can't find their stroke are pretty useless. This is magnified when you have more than one. A DH is typically a one dimensional masher (Paul Molitor aside) so we should be ok with Thomas for another year. The preference would be finding a 3rd baseman who has a little less pop and a few more tools in his kitbag.

4. The Jays need character. We have character pitchers. We're talking about position players. Matt Stairs has character but he's not an everday player. Greg Zaun is always worked up so his rants are not impactful. Reed Johnson has a lot of hustle, but is not nearly as effective as Dick Griffin would have us believe. We need a couple of guys in the big spots in the lineup who have the skills AND want to win at all costs. Not an easy thing to find.

5. The Philly Cheese Steaks at the Rogers Centre are filling but nasty.