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MLB ROAD TRIP 2003
2003.03.30 <VOL.1> Day 1
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Location: Chilly Buffalo
Day # 5
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Opening Day
Monday, March 31 began with a sunny sky in Toronto, signalling that spring is here and it is time for baseball to begin. Or so I thought. When I left my friend's house at 9:30, I was greeted by a blizzard and a temperature of -5 C (about 23 F). Hello, spring? What happened to March going out like a lamb? I was suddenly glad that the ballgame would be played in a dome that night, as 3 hours in freezing weather was not my idea of a good start to the trip. Fortunately, by the time I reached the highway, the blizzard conditions had subsided and I was able to drive downtown without any major difficulty.
My friend Sharpy, who had joined the 2001 tour for a week, had come to Toronto to see the first two games of the season with me. We met in a downtown sports bar and watched the Expos open the season with a strong 10-2 victory over the Braves. It was then time to make the long, cold, walk to Skydome to officially begin the 2003 MLB Road Trip. We arrived at the Dome at about 5:15 and were greeted by long lines of cold fans, waiting patiently to be let in. It was Eric Hinske Bobblehead Night, which explained the legions of fans willing to brave the hockey weather in order to obtain another priceless collectible.
After 15 minutes of shivering, the doors opened and we were allowed in. We immediately made our way to where Hideki Matsui was taking fly balls in left field and tried to take some pictures. Of course, there were a lot of Japanese fans there as well, cheering on their hero, who stoically ignored them.
The game itself was very interesting but ultimately disappointing. In the first, Matsui contributed an RBI single in his first at-bat to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. In the third, Derek Jeter was trying to reach third from first on a groundout. The throw from Carlos Delgado to catcher Ken Huckabay was there, but Huckabay tried to block the base and his knee connected with Jeter's shoulder, resulting in a separated shoulder and an extended vacation for Jeter. Even though they had lost their leader, the Yankees were not worried. A balanced attack and a grand slam by Alfonso Soriano, gave the Yankees an 8-0 lead. The Jays fought back against the weak Yankee bullpen, but ran out of time and lost 8-4. But the game was sold out and the Jays fans were well behaved during the U.S. national anthem as well as God Bless America. With both Matsui and Cuban Jose Contreras making their first major league appearances and the Jeter injury, this game had plenty of news, and was a good opening to the trip.
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Doo-doo Ado
In a rather misguided effort to spur ticket sales for their home opener, the Blue Jays placed an ad in a newspaper urging fans to boo Matsui. The ad was printed in both English and Japanese and included a picture of a Yankees cap with some bird droppings on it. As a Blue Jays' fan, I found this a little tasteless, as I think Matsui is one of the classiest Yankees out there. After living in Japan and following his career rather closely, I found him to be extremely humble and polite, despite being the best player year after year. He should be cheered heartily after making the difficult leap to the major leagues. If the Jays' fans need a target, David Wells should be the obvious choice, as he has often made negative comments about them in the past.
This shouldn't really get any mention, but of course, reporters picked up on it and asked Yankee manager Joe Torre what he thought. He wasn't pleased to say the least and who can blame him. But you have to wonder which bird brain in the Blue Jays' marketing office came up with this promotion - "Let's antagonize the strongest team in the league before the season even starts! Yeah! What a plan!". As expected, the Yankees ignored the distraction and promptly swept the Jays in 3 games by a combined score of 27-12, and Matsui went 4 for 14 for the series, with 4 RBI.
An interesting side note - before the second game a local radio station was giving away free t-shirts (so important to road trippers who can never be sure where the next washing machine will be found). I picked one up, only to see that it had the same phrase in Japanese: "Boo Matsui". Of course, I will keep the t-shirt, but don't expect me to wear it in Yankee Stadium next week!
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Baseball North
The Blue Jays marketing campaigns aren't all bad. Their catchphrase this year is "Baseball North - It's a Different Game Up Here". Some of their TV commercials are quite interesting - for example, the Blue Jays are in their clubhouse and collecting their home jerseys from the wash. All of their jerseys are pulled out of the washer, and each one is a lovely shade of pink. At the very end, a red lumberjacket (you know, the checked coats made famous by lumberjacks, a proud Canadian tradition) is pulled out. Ooops. In another one, players are placed inside a large meat freezer. If they can stay in there for a set amount of time, they are placed in the starting rotation (implying that it is so cold in Toronto that only players who can tolerate meat lockers can pitch).
Their print campaigns are also good - one ad has a picture of a Blue Jays player and the following caption "He has a .309 average, but with the exchange rate, it is more like .464". If only it were true.
These are interesting ads, but it remains to be seen if they will draw fans to the park. After 50,000 fans on opening day, only 15,000 showed up for the second game and 16,000 for the third. Given the results, it could be a tough year for the Jays, both on the field and at the gate.
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0-for-Toronto
As many of you know, I am a Toronto sports fan, rooting passionately for the Maple Leafs and Blue Jays, as well as supporting the Raptors. Well, the first 3 days of the trip allowed me to witness 4 games and...4 losses (3 by the Jays, and 1 by the Raptors). It was not a good start to my trip, but not entirely unexpected as the Jays played the Yankees while the Raptors played the East-leading Pistons. But it was still a depressing beginning, with cold, snow, rain, and 4 defeats. Fortunately, Puerto Rico is just next week, so I will warm up shortly!
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Other Comments
Wednesday was the first day in which I saw a game alone. Fortunately, I sat beside a gentleman named Kent who had also grown up a Blue Jays fan at the same time I had, and we spent the game chatting about old Jays such as Dave Stieb and Jesse Barfield. It was a lot of fun reliving the good old days and hoping that similar days lie ahead for the Blue Jays. Of course, after a 3-game sweep, such days are probably another year or two away.
One final meaningless statistic involving Hideki Matsui. Although the Yankees scored 27 runs in 3 games and Matsui batted 5th in the order, reaching base 6 times, he didn't score a run. In fact, in the Yankees 10-1 victory on Tuesday, every Yankee scored except Matsui. Strange but true.
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Today the minor league portion of the schedule begins as I will check out 4 International League (AAA) games in 4 days. The weather forecast calls for plenty of rain, so I may not get to see all the games, but here's hoping for better luck than I've had so far.
See you next time,
Sean