First off, a huge thanks to the entire Blue Jays staff. Everyone I met was almost too good to be true, friendly and helpful. Even when I was blundering into places in the clubhouse I wasn't supposed to be or wandering the halls trying to find the press box, they went above and beyond the call of duty to show me around and ease me in. I know it’s their job, but it didn’t feel that way. Very classy show from top to bottom.
I’ve been on the field at the Rogers center before, but something about stepping onto it for batting practice with real live players milling about made me feel like a rookie pitcher taking the mound for the first time. And by that I mean heart palpitations and a complete loss of motor function as soon as my feet touched the FieldTurf™. Fortunately, other than a couple of players in their own world and giving off "do not disturb" body language, both teams were very approachable, and at the very least willing to let me hang out and eavesdrop on them joking around and trash talking each other in the cage.
The press box at the Rogers center is a pretty good place to watch a game. I sit in the 500 level behind the plate all the time, which is probably 30 feet above the box- but I still think those are highly underrated seats. You're not that close to the action, but have a good perspective of the entire field and can read balls and strikes. The only problem I had (ok I sound like a total unprofessional fanboy here but oh well) was that it's a universally sombre crowd. I guess after years of objectively reporting game after game, you don't really care about the result of the game or get at all excited in a key situation. But I can't help it. No matter who I'm cheering for, a amazing play or a key strikeout and I'm going to fist pump and/or let out a whoop, that's all there is to it.
The Jays have a new clubhouse that apparently cost 5 million to renovate, and it is rather opulent. Every stall has a giant recliner, there are giant flat screen TV's everywhere, leather couches, the whole works. According to Aaron Hill:
"This is a country club. Good Lord.Who wouldn't want to come to this place? Every one of these guys who have been on different teams say this is by far the best place they've been in. I told my wife, I said, 'When you're not here, I might just stay in here the whole time.' This awesome. I'll bring the dog in here and the guitar and I'll have a blast."I think that's a pretty shrewd move for a team that has in the past has had difficulty in acquiring (or had to seriously overpay) free agents. A little luxury is chump change compared to the money shelled out on payroll. Forget about the effect on morale, a reputation for treating your players like kings is surely worth a couple of million dollars- if one free agent in the lifetime of the clubhouse decides not to gouge the team (or a couple of young stars like Aaron Hill and Alex Rios decide to sign long-term for very reasonable prices), the team has easily recouped the investment. The visitor's clubhouse wasn't quite as over the top, but still looks like the kind of place that a bunch of millionaires wouldn't turn up their noses at.
Speaking of which, Matt Stairs recently called out Paul O’Neil for implying that Toronto is a bit of a backwater of the baseball world that players would rather avoid. That may have been true in the past, but lately the Blue Jays have had absolutely no problem luring free agents, getting players to waive no-trade clauses, or resigning the core players. Yes, a packed house to play in front of would be nice, but attendance has been rising steadily despite a 14-year playoff drought.
As for the product on the field? Brutal! After sweeping the Red Sox, the Jays came out absolutely flat against a Oakland team in no way expected to contend for a couple years at least. Toronto made errors in key situations and let a patchwork A's rotation off the hook against and again. After a patented A.J. Burnett implosion and a worrying blown save from Accardo, the final game of the series was a 12 inning, 4+ hour snoozefest in which the Jays put runners on base against and again but stranded 13, including 7 from the 9th inning on until they were finally put out of their misery (again with Travis Buck - 0 for 21 coming into the series - in the middle of the final rally). Without a doubt the most excruciating game of baseball I have ever witnessed first hand. After the game, John Gibbons was a little snippy, and the clubhouse was an an absolute morgue.
Still, full credit to the A's- their young pitchers were very effective, and their offense woke up and became exceedingly tough outs. They took a ton of pitches and seemed to start every rally with 2 outs. But in a series where they managed to avoid Rich Harden (placed on the 15-day DL yesterday), being swept by such a raw team has to be considered an absolute disaster for a club hoping to contend.