Buck Martinez to HoF

Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame, that is.

Sportsnet pays tribute by publishing an except from his book that came out last year. Has anyone read it? (If you're interested in getting it, click here.)

I'm all verklempt

That's Madonna and Rosanne Barr with Mike Myers as Linda Richman 

Talk amongst yourselves.

Party weekend!

Every weekend is an open thread to shoot the shit. There will be a challenge each week but don't feel confined by it.

So what's next?

Is this the opening day starter?

Time to do an inventory. With pitchers and catchers reporting Feb.15, let's take a look at who might be on the roster as that date closes in.

#TBT - 1993 WS Game 4

Game 6 lives in the collective memories of not just Jays fans but baseball fans who like history and a flair for the dramatic. But not so well remembered is the slug fest that was game 4.

The cost of running the State of the Franchise event

Yes, we all loved the event. Don't be fooled though. The event costs a lot of money. It was a nice sign of goodwill when the team was struggling and getting people interested in the team was difficult. They'd be maybe 1000 - 2000 people at the event? They'd get food and drink and get a chance to schmooze with the front office and some players.

We're now in a very different world. The Jays have been to the playoffs two years in a road, they now sell out on a regular basis, and season ticket sales have gone through the roof. The most recent number I saw was 12,000 of them. Too many people to be able to schmooze with. The question and answer session is now pre-planned questions and streamed to everyone. No exclusivity there.

Which leaves the free food and drink. No big deal there, right? Not so fast.

First off, there's the cost of running the facilities. Electricity costs for running the lights, heating, and the concessions. Staff to run concessions and usher. You'll need to have security and medical staff there as well. Insurance for the event. Transportation of goods and set-up costs.

If you're bringing in players, their transportation and accommodation costs. Honorarium and food costs as well.

Then you have the costs of your salary staff. The time they spend working on the event is time that isn't be used elsewhere so there is a definable cost for that.

And now we get to that open bar and food. A good rule of thumb in planning events is estimating at least $30/person with an open bar. Multiply that by 12,000 people (and that's a conservative estimate). That alone is $360,000.

It's safe to say that this event would cost at least $500,000.  And half of those people at the event won't even be season ticket holders, the people you're doing this for in the first place.

Is this a good use of money? Or do you find other ways to do something special for your season ticket holders that is not so easily transferable?

This is why I'm not so upset about this event being cancelled. It's outlived its usefulness.


A summary of costs to consider when running an event is here. And an outline of how to budget is here.

They Are Better Than You Think They Are

Hall of Shame?

Jeff Bagwell, who spent his entire career in Houston, just entered the HOF despite being suspected of steroid use in the 90s.

The Steroid Era and the Hall of Fame. What a conundrum.

You probably read about Jose Canseco's series of Tweets on the matter earlier this week. You have to admit the guy has a point. The Edward Snowden of MLB PEDs was not thrilled by the fact Bagwell got into the HOF while McGwire languishes as a bench coach for the lowly Padres without the honour.

Party weekend!

Every weekend is an open thread to shoot the shit. There will be a challenge each week but don't feel confined by it.

From the comfy chair

Haven't done one of these for a while.

In a month, we'll be in spring training. In March, this site will celebrate it's 1st anniversary, which will make it eligible for Blue Jays Aggregator. I've also heard a lot of comments about wanting good quality writing. So I want to start thinking ahead while things are still slow.

Cel-le-brate-good-times...

Bautista's deal is official! Tim Raines is in the Hall of Fame! Happy days are here again.

If you missed it, here's no cramps13's latest poem:

THANKS JOEY BATS
- A Sonnet, Doggonit

T he joys that you give us will last and last
H ow about everyone tip their hats
A s we take a moment to praise the past
N ot many are better! Thanks Joey Bats!

K ing of the Home run two years in a row
S ilver Slugger thrice, an all-star six years
J ays all-time in walks, one seezin, you know.
O nce All star vote leader, let's hear those cheers

E ach angry home run a joy to behold
Y ou gave it to Texas, gave them a flip
B oy, that seventh inning ,glorious gold
A nd to hell with that oppossum dipship.

T he Jays fans are glad you are back in Blue
S o Thanks Joey Bats, and Welcome Back too!



Let's celebrate.

Fuck Winter!!

I know..not a totally controversial position but...heartfelt...


I ride a bike to work...it's a 20 minute ride...so I possibly spend too much time reading the advance weather reports. But it's mid January ...the signs of spring are rife....

We're less than a month to catchers and pitchers reporting to camp and every year at this time I find myself rationalizing the cold weather away....

It's a multilayered process .....usually it begins with the Caribbean Series...of course this year we have the WBC.


If there's a time to reflect this is it...last year we were adrift .....a collective of baseball fanatics crying out to have a voice...what a change a year can bring..

In less than 12 months we have :  Found a place to call our own, forged a unique identity, cried  and laughed and cried some more.

We all know where we came from before...but in this environment that MK has provided us I have found myself free to comment ...and interact with fellow posters...be it stats or silly insights.

And yes I have posted....at crazy lengths it seems...hard thing to live up to...

So ...you'll find this missive devoid of multimedia assault or flashy frills...just a guy trying to be positive about the slow pace of the encroaching spring and possibly his team's approach to roster construction ....

That said...it's less than month till Pitchers and Catcher report! And for fucks sake ...Caribbean Series!

On a whole other note....you might notice I wallow in nostalgia.....so any further posts will most likely be about past players...thus the beauty ...some of you school me hard with stats and the current state of things....and well you should..it's appreciated.

OMG ...it's gonna be February soon....then March...and ST games on TV...we got some fun coming up...

Thank all of you for being here....and thank MK...crappy post but I'll leave you with a song...

Bring on the season!

Waiting for Jose

Get it done already, Ross!

The Empty Post

Empty like Jeff Blair's promise of exciting news in Jays land.

Party weekend!

Every weekend is an open thread to shoot the shit. There will be a challenge each week but don't feel confined by it.

Transaction Friday?

Come on, Ross. Give us something!

#TBT - Barry Bonnell

Bonnell came over to the Jays in the Chris Chambliss trade in 1980 I mentioned last week. He was here for four years, the high point of his career. As a Jay, he put up a 3.4 WAR, slashing .281/.331/.416. (You can see his complete stats here.) He played all three outfield positions as well as third base.

Forgotten Fan Favorites Vol. #3: Ricky Romero

"Jays starter Ricky Romero could not bring himself to hand the ball over to manager John Farrell after being pulled in the second inning on Wednesday (July 25, 2012) in Toronto."

There was a time not that many years ago when Ricky Romero represented the Toronto Blue Jays (along with Joey Bats) at an All-Star Game. It was 2011. He was having a career year. Sure, he was an injury replacement (for Jon Lester) and Larry King could not place him ("Who the hell are you?"); but he was an All-Star nonetheless and we all had high hopes for the young lefty from the mean streets of East L.A. He was named opening day starter in 2012 before the wheels started falling off..

LK to RR: "Who the hell are you?"

The short story long on Ricky Romero is that his knees blew out. Baseball doesn't always have fairytale endings. He did pitch 8 innings this year for the SF Giant's AAA affiliate in Sacramento. Not much press on him since April, however... He's only 31 years old, married a good Calgary girl who played soccer for our national team, and has earned 14.3MM USD over his short career. Don't feel too bad for him!

I'll save you some Googling : WAGS = Wives and GF's 

I choose not to look back in anger. Who knows, he could be the comeback player of the year in 2017!

Baseball Movies

You've got to know your cliches:

1. We gotta play 'em one day at a time.
2. I'm just happy to be here. Hope I can help the ballclub.
3. I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing, things will work out.

Honkbal

I discovered over the weekend that Duolingo now has Dutch lessons so I've restarted learning the language. And in thinking of all things Dutch, I thought of honkbal.

Party weekend!

Every weekend is an open thread to shoot the shit. There will be a challenge each week but don't feel confined by it.

3rd base: Donaldson

In looking at the 3rd base position for the Jays, it's painfully obvious that it's Donaldson and after that the depth chart says it's even Donaldson when he's not at his best. While officially Barney and Goins slot in behind Josh, the "bringer of rain" is far and away one of the top 3 third basemen in all of baseball and has been for awhile. For those who need the statistical proof may I direct you to an article at rotographs explaining all the details.

#TBT - Pete Vuckovich

He was an original Blue Jay. He wasn't here long. He recorded the first Jays shutout. He recorded the first Jays save.

Hump Day chat

Thank you RADAR for stepping up and writing a post yesterday. Sadly for ya'll, there isn't one for today so it's another chat post. Remember, politics is verboten.

Dog Days of the Off Season, Seeking a Sign

It seems there is very little Jays news anywhere. Wilner has been on vacation. Davidi has just left to do the same. Many of the major blogs have little to no content. With so many of the regular sources going off the grid and even the Aggregator running dry, it seems we need something to remind us of the Grand Old Game.

Happy New Year!

Taking the Jays winning the WS as a given, what are your new year's resolutions?

I'd love it if one of them would be writing content.