Art Vandelay

http://www.likecool.com/Gear/Men/Bizarre%20OneSided%20Grape%20Smuggling%20Underwear%20For/Bizarre-OneSided-Grape-Smuggling-Underwear-For_1.jpg

That fan looked older than 10. At least 15.

Edwin Encarnacion. I believe in Edwin. I find it a bit ridiculous that not everyone is naming him as their favourite. But he makes hitting home runs look so effortless. http://gamereax.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ee5th.gif

http://i.imgur.com/6CSqeaf.gif http://i.imgur.com/QxiZl79.gif http://cdn.rsvlts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Melanie-Iglesias-GIF-034.gif

The only way you trade Edwin is if you're at the very bottom of the division and you are hoping to rebuild. How did trading him even become a possibility to some people? We're in first place of the division, better trade our best and most popular player.

I missed the Carter home run as I was coming home from a wedding, so I'll go with the Jays winning the 1992 World Series. I went down to the Dome with my parents, as the game was televised on the Jumbotron. The place was packed, but we got seats on the lower level, near right field. When Carter made the final out, it was pandemonium. Toilet paper was flying from the stands, fans started running on the field. Because the game ended so late, we had to leave pretty quickly to make the train, but I asked my mother if I could go onto the field. Fans were gingerly walking down the steps to climb over the barrier. I was on the field, and tried to soak it in, but felt a little uncomfortable going out to the diamond where everyone was partying, so I went back to my parents, and we went home. Yonge Street was packed. I feel sorry for those young Toronto sports fans who haven't experienced what the city was like when teams were good. To get caught up in the excitement. http://cdn.thegridto.com/wp-content/uploads/635.jpg Second moment would be Alomar hitting the home run to tie game 4 in the 1992 ALCS. This was back when the playoffs coincided with Thanksgiving, so we all rushed from the dinner table to catch the rally. Third would be the Jays winning the 1992 Pennant. The game was on in the afternoon. I ran home from school to find the Jays were in the lead. This was around the time of "Winfield Wants Noise", and you've never heard the dome so loud. The Jays giddy as Henke was on the mound, and finally as the ball was caught. For the longest time the team was known by fans as the "Blow Jays", so it was such a great feeling to seem them get over the hump. It would be so great to go back to those days with the team we have now.

Who is the girl in your avatar, John?

It actually never occurred to me that the one where Dickey is shaking off the woman at the counter is supposed to be like him shaking off a catcher. Maybe because it seems like she gave him five different options, which seems like it would be a bit excessive for a catcher to be giving his pitcher. Or maybe because she says "that's all you had to say!", which shifts the punchline back to her. Or it could be that he was set up in the previous ad as being a bit of a tough guy, so I just interpreted the ad to be him having high standards. That Dickey has zero charisma also doesn't really help. Either way, I'm not sure the ad was all that well executed. The ad with him throwing the knuckleball is also poorly executed. It's not like he was throwing a fast ball, where a non ballplayer might be afraid to catch it out of fear of hurting themselves. He's throwing a knuckleball. The pitch is tricky to catch, but you don't need a lot of padding to catch it. It doesn't really lend itself to such an ad, which is probably why they cut it before the guy caught it (or not). The Lawrie ad is just kind of half hearted. Setting it in the airport was also a strange choice. The other two ads at least sort of work because the location makes sense in the context of the ad (although, why Dickey would be wearing full Jays gear while trying to board a plane is another question). Why is Brett Lawrie getting a tattoo at the airport?

It will be hard for this team to replicate the type of attendance during the glory days when they were drawing 50 thousand a game. It was sort of a perfect storm. In 1989, the new stadium opened, and it was an attraction in itself. They also added new jerseys that season. The team had also been to the playoffs in '85, and should have gone to the playoffs in '87. The team then went on to win the division championship that in '89, then again in '91, '92, and '93. Games were practically sold out every night. So, winning team, new identity, new stadium. Now, all you would have is a winning team, and I think that might take a while to draw fans back in, especially after how last season turned out.

It makes me feel old thinking that there are forum members who weren't even alive during the World Series years. It's like, what was there to latch onto with this team in the years since that would make them a fan? New Jays fans really missed out. 1985 to 1993. Baseball in Toronto hasn't been so good (or frustrating, if you remember those years prior to the team winning the World Series). I remember back in the day, the ALCS schedule would often fall near Thanksgiving, so that's what we would be watching after having our meal. It was like how Americans watch football during their Thanksgiving. This is a great video that was taken the night the Jays won the 1992 World Series. Here's something else some of you may not have seen, the Blue Jays winning the 1985 division championship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2HwbEEAKA8

From a pr standpoint, is there anyway the Jays could have kept Escobar? I really don't see how they could have kept him after that.

And a totally unnecessary one at that. Besides, considering how vilified he is in the city, why would he ever want to play for the Raptors again?

Sportsnet is really ruining these home games for me. They seem desperate to make these games all about the "fan experience". I don't mind seeing reaction shots if the people don't know they're on camera, but when you actually put the cameraman in the stands, people start waving at the camera, saying hi to their friends at home, and it creates a feeling of artificiality. It was particularly bad during the home opener, with constant shots of people waiting at the concession stands, and shots of the cameraman walking down the steps. You don't see this happening on American broadcasts.