Results tagged ‘ Dontrelle Willis ’

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Some Other Opening Day…

The day started like any other day. Got up. Went to school. Wrote a test. Had some lunch…..and then sat slowly waiting in anticipation for the first pitch of the season. I had called a buddy over to come share the experience. It’s not often you get to see the final opening day game at Yankee Stadium. We both sat patiently…waiting for the intro to the season. Things started a touch different, Sportsnet had created a new opening intro which was neat. Then the familiar voice of Jaime Campbell welcomed us to the new year. All was going swell until we finally saw a shot of New York City. This is when things turned slightly sour. The sky was overcast and pretty much every civilian was wearing some sort of rain protection. Campbell informed us that the game would start a bit late, as the officials were waiting for the skies to clear up a bit.

Now up until this point, I had been wondering if Sportsnet was going to bring back another edition of “The Season”. Anyone who watches the Jays regularly knows of this show. For those who don’t let me quickly explain. It’s basically a weekly documentary on the Jays as they progress through the season. I enjoyed last year’s shows but was mildly concerned thinking that they were not going to be bringing it back.

This was put to rest as Campbell announced that as filler for the “short rain delay”, they would be showing the new season of “The Season”. (I think the official title is something like “The Season: ’08 Jays”…or something like that.)

So being disappointed that we may have to wait a couple of minutes for things to get rolling we didn’t mind watching this. This episode showcased B.J. Ryan’s recovery and a short profile on Alex Rios. Which in this episode he was named Prince Rios. I’ll announce right here…that is now his official title. The episode was decent…pretty much what you would expect from the show.

So 12:30 rolls around and Campbell and Pat Tabler come back on….And nothing has changed. Ugh…Campbell informs us again that they haven’t decided on starting it yet. So we get another little show called “Jays Connected”…which I find is essentially the same thing as “The Season”.

At this point we have gotten kind of frustrated. It has been almost an hour and still no Halladay…no Wells…no start to the season. To make things slightly more frustrating for my friend and I he had to leave to go back to school. I assured him that the game would start at one…it didn’t. Campbell told us once again that we would have to wait a bit longer. But seeing as how they had presented us all they could for Blue Jay programs, what else could they possibly show?

How bout Royals versus Tigers….hmmm at first this seemed lame but once I saw how stacked the Tigers had become over the off-season it became a lot more entertaining.

And just a quick note…I said the other day that Chicago had picked up Dontrelle Willis…why I said this I have know idea…must have been a brain fart….gross…

Not on Chicago…

After an inning or two my good ol’pal had to take off. We joked that the moment he left the game would start. Isn’t that always the way? Unfortunately the game didn’t start but the complete opposite happened….

It was cancelled….

Ugh. O well. What can you do eh? And to much of my dismay the game was rescheduled for Tuesday at 6:00. Right when I’m working.

Even though I won’t get to see the final opening day game at Yankee Stadium, I can at least say I tried.

Guess my first game will come on Wednesday.

-Stanton X

Let Me Explain Myself…

The other day I mentioned how aces Johan Santana and Dontrelle Willis stared into opponent’s eyes like they meant business. This seemed to be taken the wrong way. What I meant was that these two pitchers (which I was using as an example) had a glare or a face that could strike fear into batter’s hearts. There are many other pitchers in the league that are like this but I just chose these two for whatever reason. Yes I could have chosen Sabathia, Martinez, or Riveria, but these were the two that popped into my head when writing the post. There was numerous complaints that Willis was not an ace nor a threat to batters. I find this very untrue. Willis is very dangerous. Last season’s stats may not reflect that comment but remember he played for the Marlins. Watch out for him in Chicago. This is all going back to my point that I felt Litsch didn’t seem to have that kind of power or influence on batters. Yes….he was one of the highlights of spring training this March. But will the Litsch of March show up for the season?…probably not…that is why he is the fifth starter.

Speaking of spring training…

It ended today with the Jays posting a record of 13-16. Not bad…but not great. But whatever it’s spring training. Got a chance to see the game to versus the Phillies. I always enjoy watching these interleague games. It’s nice to get to see many players that the Jays usually don’t face.

As of this moment….

Contract talks are still under way with Alex Rios. Ricciardi reported that they will have negotiations complete by opening day. So expect my view on that tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what they have cooked up….

And of course Opening Day 2008 for the Jays kicks off at 12:00 central time versus the Yankees on Monday. Still find it odd to play on a Monday afternoon. Aren’t people working? Should be an awesome game win or lose as the pitching match up is between Halladay and 19 game winner Chien-Ming Wang….Actually I take that back…the Jays better upset the last opening game at the stadium that Ruth built.

Who agrees with me on that one?

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