Do You Want A Resolution?

I hope everybody's New Years celebration went well. Mine is pretty much the same every year; look back at all the goals I didn't meet then drink until I'm completely shitfaced to forget my failures. 2010 will be different though. Mainly because I have a venue to jot down my resolutions. I can't let my readers down (all three of you). Well here goes, as a sports fan, these are my goals for the new year.

• I will not diss the game of soccer.
• I will refrain from saying ______ reminds me of a young Halladay because I will simply be setting myself up for disappointment. There will never be another!
• I will try to follow the CFL - I've always given the CFL a lot of grief but never much of a chance. This year will be different. As a Saskatchewan native, I'm leaning towards following the Riders.
• I will make it out to at least 10 Jays games - The Jays are totally affordable when catching games in the 500s but Doc's departure makes it that much harder to pick games to watch. Here's to Shaun Marcum continuing where he left off before Tommy John.
• I will not boo Vernon Wells - We're in it for the long haul, baby. Make me proud. I BELIEVE IN VERNON WELLS!!1
• I will not go to Boston Pizza to watch UFC - If I have a party of 7 but only 6 of us are here, there is no reason why I shouldn't get a table. I am tired of your shit, Boston Pizza!
• I will not get a bacon-wrapped dog at Burkie's Doghouse.
• I will refrain from cursing if the Raptors blow a 20-point lead. Serenity now, serenity now...
• I will not pretend to understand Cito Gaston's line up decisions.
• NO MORE VESA TOSKALA DRINKING GAMES! My liver is still recovering.

Well, there you have it. Hopefully those are 10 goals that will make me a better sports fan at the end of the year. But like any good baseball player, I will be happy if I can hit .300.

A Year of Emotions

Have no fear. I have not died. Life just kind of got in the way of blogging (read: I've been spending all my free time playing Modern Warfare 2). I figured with the year dwindling down, I should do one last post before 2009 is over. Don't worry, it won't be a top 10 list. As with every other year, it was an emotional rollercoaster in the world of sports. Being a Toronto sports fan, we've definitely seen more lows than highs. Here are some of the emotions I felt along with the events that caused them.

Hunger

• Leafs? No
• Raptors? No
• Blue Jays? No
• Argos? Who cares...but no

I AM HUNGRY FOR PLAYOFFS!!1

Sorrow

• Doc's departure - I don't think I've felt this sad since Felix Potvin was traded
  
• Sundin hangs em up - It was expected but it didn't make it any easier
• Federer losing to Del Potro - Could have made it 6 straight US Opens. Definitely had his chances to put the match away. I hope he has some great years left in the tank
• Dustin McGowan - Okay so we still don't know if he'll be back or not but when you hear whispers of a player never playing again...chances are he will not be the same if he does
• R.I.P. Teeder - The Leafs lost a legend but the heavens gained a hero
  

Joy

• Ian White - And his continued strong play. He is nearing folk-hero status
• Phil Kessel - I don't care what he cost. I don't remember the last time the Leafs have had a winger this dynamic since...ever!
• The emergence of Adam Lind and Aaron Hill - I thought both would be good but I had no idea they would be this good! All they're missing is some sort of dynamic duo nickname.
• Kid Kadri - I wasn't sure about the pick at first but watching him at the World Juniors is definitely a joy. The kid is as gritty as they come. The throat-slash was the icing on the cake. Also, this.
• Doc vs AJ - The emotion at that event was just phenomenal.
  
• Burkie's Doghouse - Bacon wrapped hot dog...you can get it in a footlong. That is all.
  

Fear

• Waiving Rios - I still give a fuck! Rios still has all the tools to be a star in the league. If he puts it all together next year...Somebody buy me a voodoo doll!
• Bosh's future - I'm going to go on and say that Bosh won't sign an extension with us. If that holds true, this future Raptors team will be a joke to watch.
• Losing 8 straight - Bring on the Taylor Hall jokes...which sounded so very real at the time
• Monster's Heart - So they say it's not a serious procedure and it isn't uncommon to have it twice...but that's still the motherfuckin heart you're dealing with!!!
  

Rage

• Shogun snubbed - Shogun loses a unanimous victory to Machida for the light-heavyweight belt. Everybody else who has eyes thinks differently.
• Vernon's performance - As much as I wanted to believe in him (I had him on my fantasy team at some point!) he was just so frustrating to watch at the plate
• Vesa Toskala - This pretty much sums it up
• 13th Man - I would totally be pissed about it if I was a Riders fan
• Tiger Woods - You had Elin freakin' Nordegren! What more do you want?
  

Confusion

• Greasegate - Allegations of GSP greasing against Penn were totally bogus. Did they not see how badly BJ got his ass whooped? Greasing doesn't help boxing, take downs or elbows to the face
• Jays hot start - Probably the greatest cocktease of all time but it was fun while it lasted
• Komisarek and Beauchemin in October - Uhhh....I thought you guys were better than this?
• Patrice Bergeron? - Seriously?
  

Hope

• Drabek - You've got some big shoes to fill
• In the race - Leafs are in that group fighting for 8th. The playoffs are in sight!
• Team Canada - Winning gold on Canadian soil sounds awfully nice
• 5th straight - As of today, the Raps have won five straight and is one game under .500!
• PLAYOFFS!!1 - In 2010. Book it.
  

Goodbye 2009!

The End of an Era

I thought I was ready. I thought I said good bye. I thought this would be easy since I already knew it was coming. Truth is that nothing could have prepared me for the news that went down today. Doc was traded to the Phillies. Okay, so it might not be official yet but all that's left are the formalities. While I've seen a bunch of rumours about who we're getting back, I could care less. Today is a day of mourning. The true GBOAT won't be taking the mound in a Jays jersey next April.

Roy Halladay was drafted in the first round, 17th overall in the 1995 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. I was ten at the time so I have no idea what his early scouting reports read but I imagine it had the words "work horse", "inning eater", "lights out" and "fuckin awesome!" in there. I remember watching his second career start in a meaningless last game of the season. The one where he was one out shy of a no-hitter! Right there and then, I knew we had something special. I just had no idea how good he would be.

While he's had a rough patch early in his career, he has come back from it and prospered. He went from having the highest single-season ERA to being one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. Here is a player, a generational talent if you will, that I have seen evolve before my very eyes and you know what? He was ours! We didn't have to lure him with a big fat paycheck, we didn't have to throw a boatload of prospects to acquire him, he was home-grown and we were damn proud of it.

Doc came to work day-in and day-out. He was a quiet leader who led by example. Despite his dominance, he always wanted to get better and he hated making mistakes. How many times have you seen him bark at himself when giving up a late game solo shot despite being up six? This is the type of guy you're getting, Phillies fans.

I went to Doc's last home start against Seattle. It was vintage Halladay; 9 ks, 7 hits, complete game shut out. With two outs in the 9th the crowd was on their feet. Doc got the last out via groundball and the place erupted. We knew it was possibly the last time we would see him in a Jays jersey. We stood and cheered as he made his way to the dug out. He looked up at the fans, tipped his cap and disappeared into the tunnel.

We miss you, Doc.

Roller Coaster: A Toronto Blue Jays 2009 Season Review

April 6 - Opening Day win against the Tigers. Adam Lind with 6 RBIs! This Jays team doesn't look like they will suck after all.


April 9 - First big league win for Ricky Romero, giving up 2 ER and striking out 5 in 6 innings. The Jays also win their first series. Troy Tulow-who?




April 13 - The Moonraker belts 2 moonshots off the Twins, including the game winning dinger in the 8th. The way this kid is belting them, there's no way he will get sent down!




April 21 - Doc proves he's human by giving up 5 ER against the Texas Rangers. Texas seems to be one of those teams that gives him trouble from time to time. Let's not even talk about the Kevin Mench incident.



April 23 - BJ Ryan, suffering from crappy pitcher syndrome, hits the DL. Ricky Romero joins him with strained an oblique after a vicious sneeze


April 26 - Ladies and gentlemen, the Blue Jays are for real! They are an offensive juggernaut and has been smacking the leather off the ball. Doc picks up his 4th win and the Jays go on to open up the season with their 6th straight series win. PENNANT!!1 and PLAYOFFS!!1 can be seen on Blue Jays blogs everywhere.



May 2 - The Jays beat the Orioles pushing them to first place in the AL East. Who said the Jays couldn't beat AL East teams? Granted it was the Orioles...but whatever. PENNANT!!1



May 10 - Brett Cecil just got his first major league win with a very Doc-like line:
8 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 6 K



May 12 - Burnett facing the Jays at the Rogers Centre Skydome for the first time since he fled for more money. Doc dominates the Yanks in one of the most memorable and emotional nights at the dome.


May 15 - BJ is back :(




May 18 - Rios drives in the game-winning run via triple against the White Sox. I bet the White Sox really wish they had this guy.



May 21 - The Jays get swept by the Red Sox at Fenway. Six more games left in the road trip. It's okay, we'll just walk into Camden and sweep the Orioles again, right?



May 22 - With exception of the two moonshots, Snider hasn't exactly done a whole lot. He gets sent down to Vegas to smash some AAA balls.



May 22 - Doc goes into Atlanta to try to get the Jays back on the right track. No dice as the offence comes up empty for him. They got shut down by Kenshin Kawakami (Who?)



May 27 - Can this road trip be any longer? We just lost our 9th straight on the road to the motherfuckin Orioles! The city of Toronto has blocked off the Prince Edward Viaduct as the suicide watch is on high.


May 29 - The Jays welcome back the home cooking and beat the Red Sox 6-3 as Casey Janssen picks up his first win of the season. The team could have only gotten stronger after that road trip. We back, baby! WILDCARD!!1



June 2 - Roy Halladay, MD with a nails performance., striking out a career high 14 batters for his 9th win. GIVE THIS MAN THE CY YOUNG!


June 4 - "You're a bum! You're a bum!" I originally pegged this as a negative movement on the graph but who am I kidding, it provided me and my friends a shitload of Alex Rios jokes and "Who gives a fuck?! Who gives a fuck?!" is a still alive and well.



June 5 - The Jays smacked "the best pitcher in baseball" around like a pimp does his disobedient hooker. Greinke gives up 5 ER in 5 IP...if only it wasn't for that error.



June 6 - The Jays draft 2 Canadian kids with their first 3 picks. These guys must be thrilled to play in Canada. Do they just sign on the dotted line?


June 7 - Another one bites the dust as Jesse Litsch goes in for Tommy John.




June 7 - Roy Halladay with another complete game. This time a shut out against the Royals. I hope you were paying attention, Greinke. Doc just won his 10th and is on pace for like 30 wins! 20 will come, no problem.

June 12 - Doc leaves the Marlins game with a sore groin...everything's going to be okay right? I'm scared...and cold...somebody hold me.




June 16 - Scott Downs go down after trying to beat out a throw to first against the Phillies. Well there goes our lights out closer...where the hell are my fantasy baseball saves going to come from now? Fuck interleague play!


June 20 - The 2 biggest douches show up on a road trip against Washington basically making every game in the series unwatchable. The American audience loves them and they get even more publicity out of it. Seriously, this better not lead to them being on TV more...





June 27 - Jayson Werth goes 4/4 with 2 dingers. Why does it seem like he kills us every time we face him? The Jays need to sign this guy.



June 29 - Doc is back but loses to the Rays. Tampa Bay seem to be Doc's Kryptonite.



July 1 - Happy Canada Day! Ricky Romero shuts out the Rays for a Canada Day victory. Rookie of the year, anybody?



July 6 - We lose 3 of 4 to the Yankees in the windtunnel to drop us to .500.




July 7 - Ken "I need to shut my fuckin mouth" Rosenthal reports that JP is shopping Doc.
1. JP did not say that.
2. Fuck off, Rosenthal.



July 8 - No more BJ as the Jays release the shitballing lefty. You hear that? That's the sound of BJ taking $15 million to the bank.



July 19 - Amidst all the trade talk, Doc throws a 6 hit, complete game gem against the Red Sox. That ovation is for you, Roy.




July 21 - Scott Downs starts his string of very shitacular relief appearances. In this 5-game span, you will see him blow 2 saves and pick up 3 losses, giving up 6 ER in 5.2 innings. Downs is then found tied up in the clubhouse and we find out it was BJ Ryan pitching all along.

July 24 - Doc's "last" start. A great effort but he could only get the no decision. Jays end up losing to the Rays AGAIN. Seriously, I hate Carl Crawford!




July 25 - Seriously? The Jays blow a 8-0 lead? To the fuckin Rays? I'm seriously hating this team as much as I do the BoSox and Yankees right now...The Jays, not the Rays.



July 31 - Scott Rolen bids farewell. I will miss having this guy at the hot corner but all the "experts" seem to think the Jays made out like bandits on the deal. Long live the GBOAT!


Aug 4 - A very uncharacteristic performance from Doc, giving up back to back jacks in the windtunnel to the Yanks. Doc has 1 win in his last 8 starts. How is this possible?!





Aug 5 - BJ Ryan is released by the Cubs. Looks like a 84 MPH heater isn't in high demand these days.



Aug 7-9 - Back 2 Back weekend, baby! The Jays season might not have been great but this weekend is a celebration, bitches! Joe Carter! Robbie Alomar! Paul Molitor! Catch the taste!




Aug 10 - So long, Alex. Rios has been claimed off of waivers. Surely, he'll thrive in a new environment, right? We will always have "Who gives a fuck?!"






Aug 17 - Jays can't sign our Canadian draft picks. Can we hang Paxton and Eliopoulos for treason?




Aug 18 - Travis Snider gets called back up and immediately impresses going 2/3 and blasting a solo shot. Unfortunately it was in a losing cause but hey, at least he got his kinks worked out!...I hope




Aug 31 - Cooperstown is getting ready for Adam Lind as he gets 8 RBIs in a game. Wow.




Sept 1 - Scott Rolen is no longer the GBOAT as it turns out he hates Canada. I can't believe I wanted to share fossil fries with you.


Sept 4 - Harry Leroy Halladay III 1 hits the Yankees in another dominant complete game. Best pitcher in the league, bar none.



Sept 15 - "What have I seen from Rios? A lot of outs. The only batting ninth guy making $5 million was me. This mother [bleeper] is making $10, $12, $14 million, he ain't going to be batting ninth [in 2010]. I'm going to make sure he earns his money. But right now I have to put him there because he's struggling. Next year, if we have Rios batting ninth we're in deep [crap] once again.''
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FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! Jorge Posada is a dickhead. Jesse Carlson is a badass. Rock that welt with Pride, Jesse.


Sept 21 - David Purcey gets his first win this season. About fuckin time. I had high hopes for him too. He was even on my fantasy team at one point! There's always next year...



Sept 23 - Lighthouse Hill is truly the bright spot in this dark season. Hill gets his 100th RBI in walk off fashion. Does this guy do anything normally?



Sept 25 - Doc's possible last home game and he doesn't disappoint. Another complete game, another shut out. Can we just give him the Cy Young now?




Sept 29 - Adam Lind goes beast mode again and hit 3 HRs. Would have hit 4 if it wasn't for Asswipe Papelbon.


Sept 30 - Doc has Lind's back as he beans Ortiz (god, I love this video). Just another day at the office as Doc notches his 4th(!!!) complete game (a 3 hitter) this month and 2nd(!!!) shut out in as many starts. WE LOVE ROY HALLADAY!

Oct 2 - It appears that there is turmoil in the clubhouse yet again. I thought Gibbons took that with him when he left. Oh yeah, fuck off Ken Rosenthal.


Oct 3 - JP sent packing. Along with the bad, he has also done a lot of good things for the Jays but after 8 years, it was time for a change. Everybody knew it. I wish Alex Anthopoulos the best and hope he can maintain a competitive team next year. There really is nowhere to go but up from this clusterfuck of a season.

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This season has definitely had its share of ups and downs. I can't think of a better comparison than a roller coaster. While we hit high points like Doc having some unbelievable lights out performances and the emergence of Aaron Hill and Adam Lind, we have also hit low points like the 9 game losing streak, Cito-gate and Kevin Millar batting clean up. Regardless of the ups and downs, as Jays fans we hung on for the ride til the very end.