11:10 PM Eastern
One sleep away from my first trip to Yankee Stadium, and I can’t wait! I just watched Ryan Zimmerman go deep to end the first Western Hemisphere game of the 2008 season, and I’m about to hit the sack in preparation for tomorrow’s Jays opener – Roy Halladay against Chien-Ming Wang starting with the pre-game at 12:30 PM Eastern on the Fan Radio Network.
I spent the day driving from the home base in Mississauga to Manhattan, took about eight hours door-to-door, in the company of Jason Rozon, the guy who makes sure all the affiliates along the network know what’s going on and stay happy. I realized, during the drive, that I really dislike New Jersey.
Not for nothing, as they say, and I’m sure there are some wonderful New Jerseyites, but the biggest thing that strikes me about the state is that it’s free to get in, but they make you pay to get out. This should set off alarm bells pretty much right away. In the first few miles of the trip into Jersey, we passed by an exit for a town called “Buttzville”. Now, it’s bad enough you live in Jersey, but Buttzville, New Jersey? You have got to be kidding me. Stopped at a rest stop to answer the call of nature – that won’t be happening again. At least we only spent about 70 miles in the Garden State.
There was quite a commotion across the street from my hotel when I got in, and stunningly, it had nothing to do with my arrival. The Ziegfeld Theater (that’s how they spell it here) on 54th street (I think) was showing a Martin Scorsese-directed movie about the Rolling Stones. The Stones were there, and so were Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, and probably lots of other celebrity-types. This is a big deal. The street was lined with paparazzi, flashbulbs popping all over the place, it was insane. I’d never seen anything like it, and I had a solid vantage point from my hotel room window. Very cool.
After getting settled, Rozon and I went out to walk the streets of Manhattan, specifically to look for a dress shirt for me because I’d forgotten to bring one, then to eat. Gotta look decent on Opening Day, don’t you know, even though I’ll probably never take my jacket off the whole afternoon. So, forgot my laptop in Florida, forgot to pack a dress shirt for this trip (also forgot my super-cool Obus Forme pillow – damnit), at least my absent-mindedness is getting less expensive as I go. Picked up a shirt at H&M on 5th Avenue, the first time I’ve ever been in that store, and one of the rare occasions in the last 10 years that I’ve purchased an article of clothing without the guidance of the lovely wife. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Rozon and I wound up at the Stage Deli for dinner, and neither of us could finish more than half our sandwiches. He had the Katie Couric (heh heh), while I struggled with my choice of the Conan O’Brien. It felt strange to be at the Stage and not eat a sandwich named after a Jew, but most of them either combined meat and cheese, which I don’t do, or combined sliced deli meat and chopped liver, which I’m not sure anyone should ever do. The Conan, for the curious, is roast beef, pastrami and corned beef. Sweet. RJ’s Couric was Ham, Turkey and Swiss. Half of each is sitting in the minibar fridge as we speak.
Oh, you wanted some baseball talk? Sorry. I wasn’t at the workout this afternoon, I was winding my way through eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but I’m led to understand (thanks, Bastian!) that the Jays have yet to decide on whether Matt Stairs and his arthritic hip will be good to go. Given that he hasn’t played in a week and that it’s going to be really cold, I would put his chances of playing at well below 50-50, but I’m prepared to be surprised. What I am surprised about is that the Jays and Alex Rios haven’t been able to hammer out a deal yet. If the contract’s not signed by lunchtime tomorrow, it’ll be put off for a year, and I think that would be a big mistake on the Blue Jays’ part.
OK, bedtime. I’ve got to get up plenty early in the morning to be at the Stadium with lots of time to take it all in, walk around and check out Monument Park before starting to put together the pre-game show. Man, did Spring Training go by fast.
Comments are encouraged, as always, and as always, I’ll try to answer if I can.
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what are your expectations for Roy Hallaay this season? I say 16-20 with a 3.50 ERA would be fine. I am concerned that his strikeout rate has declined every year and hes giving up more hits. Also, for some reason, he has really struggled against Boston in his career, but dominates New York which are two key division rivals. Hopefully he can get the boston problem sorted out, but I think a big reason for him giving up more hits is the opposing hitters familiarity with him. The more times they see him, the more they know what to expect. I guess it means Halladay has to adjust to them.
MW: No idea how many wins Halladay will get, that’s far more dependent on the guys with the bats and the guys in the bullpen than it is on him. I do expect his ERA to be closer to 3.00 than 3.50, though. I think he’ll dominate as he has pretty much whenever he’s been healthy. Throw out the five starts around his appendicitis last year, and his numbers are, once again, stupid.
- aviHey Mike,
Good work this spring, can’t wait ’till tomorrow.
I had a question about MLBtv blackouts. If I’m living in Mississauga, will all Jays game be blacked out, or just the games on RSN and TSN. Will the non-local tv games be available online?
Could you also tell me what the blackout region is for the Jays, all of Canada?
Thanks, look forward to your response, I’m strongly considering buying the MLBtv package.
MW: I’m out of my element here. I haven’t got a clue what the blackout rules are.
- KarmanSpring training seemed to take a long time for me! Especially since the jays lost Scott Rolen and Casey Jansen to the D.L. maybe now Stairs. Hopefully Stairs is fine.
As for the contract negotiations, I don’t understand why the jays would want to risk the potential of Rios having a terrific season and then asking for even more money. True, Rios can also have a terrible season but that seems very unlikely. It doesn’t make sense to me. In spite of what J.p. has said, I feel that they should continue to work on it; especially when the jays have an off day right after the first game.
- Dilsonmike, I want to go back to your 2008 predictions. I saw you placed the Phillies behind the braves and the Mets in their division. Why? Come on Mike. They have a leader in Jimmy Rollins, a NL MVP, he is the heart and soul of the Phillies and he has passion, which many major league ball players don’t have.
MW: Jimmy Rollins has played seven full seasons in the big leagues, made the playoffs once and his teams have never won a post-season game. Evidently his heart, soul, passion and leadership didn’t arise until last season.
- julianMike, do you think rios will remain a blue jays beyond 2010 or will they find someway to get a deal done with him now?
MW: If they get a deal done with him now, then he will remain a Blue Jay beyond 2010. If not, he still might, but it’ll likely cost them more.
- andrewGood morning Mike, welcome to New York. Hope the weather holds out for us today, I’ve been checking up on it like a madman for hours. Am I crazy, or does a 12mph wind blowing in from the short porch in right field provide an advantage for our Jays? Expecting a solid start from Doc, couple quick outs from League/Downs and on to Accardo in the 9th. See ya at the game, I’ll be the one decked out in Jays paraphernalia…LET’S GO BLUE JAYS!!!
(windspeeds courtesy of http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/mlb/gameforecast/10451?eventid=242656)
- AriMike,
Hopefully you can spend more time in Monument Park than the average Joe (since you’re with the media)…rub Babe Ruth’s head for Doc…
Have a “hat-kwoffee” (hot coffee) and a knish.
Check out http://www.earthcam.com and go to the Times Square Cam. Camera 4. There’s a camera mounted 10ft above the sidewalk on the 47th Digital Store at the corner of 46th and Broadway (beside TGI Fridays). If you’re in the area, you should go there, call your kids back home and they can take your picture in Times Square and see you live…kinda cool.
Enjoy the “Large Macintosh”
- DJJAYH&M eh Mike thats my girlfriends favorite store, I’d love to see this shirt of your lol. How many different shirts did you try on before settleing on the one you got?
MW: Didn’t try on a single one, even the one I bought.
- Dan M.Mike, are you attending the road games this year, or is this an opening-day anomally??
MW: This is a rare, anomalic occurence.
- duncanMike – looking forward to your comments on your first Yankee Stadium visit. Seeing a game there is on my bucket list too. I planned a family trip to NYC this summer so we can catch a game….even though it will be against the Rays. I’ve heard from a friend is it better not to wear non-Yankee baseball gear – tell what you learn.
Good thing my wife doesn’t read the blog….she thinks the trip is all about sightseeing and shopping.
- Ian CWhats the weather look like there Mike, you think they’ll get the game in?
MW: I hope so. I think they’ll play if it stays like this, all misty and light rain and stuff. Miserable day but, hey, they scheduled it for New York City!
- Dan M.Mike,
Nice work this spring. your coverage via bloggage was entertaining and informative to say the least.
I have a quick question for you before our season gets out of the gate.
It seems the baseball media as a whole has ignored the fact that the Jays have assembled a very strong rotation and ‘pen as well as what looks like a team that could do some serious damage in the batters box.
Why doesn’t our team get more pub (outside of the big smoke of course)
See you at the home opener
MW: Because of the combination of the fact that they play in Canada and that they haven’t been a factor in a playoff race for about 15 years.
- PatIan C.,
I wore a NY hat and a Blue Jays shirt when I was at Yankee Stadium two summers ago. On the way up the stairs, one of the New York faithful said, “Whaddaya doin’?”….I said, “Whaddaya mean, what am I doing?”….I said, “I’m a Blankee”….his girlfriend laughed, he let me live and I’m still here to write about it.
Take your chances…but I wouldn’t chance a Red Sox anything in there….
Good Luck
- DJJAYTo Karman, Re: blackout rules.
Any game on local tv (sportsnet/cbc/tsn) will be blacked out for all of Canada. Any games not on tv will be available (I believe).
- Eric HDo you think the weather conditions will hold up…i see there is a 50-60% chance of rain….is there going to be a delay or is it going to be cancelled.
I HOPE ITS NOT CANCELLED.
MW: Sorry about that. At least it wasn’t cancelled, just postponed.
- HarshAn opening day debacle.
April Fools.
I don’t understand why people are so against Bonds….who really cares what he’s allegedly done. He could absolutely help the team. He would definitely put butts in the seats, and that would certainly help pay for him.
How much $ do you think he would demand?
About the “Media-Circus” that would surround Bonds…it couldn’t possibly be any more ridiculous than the Leafs’ Barnum and Bailey show.
Perhaps Sundin could put on a “Dealing with the Media” course for Mr. Bonds.
If the Jays picked up Bonds, perhaps the rest of Major League Baseball would be able to find Toronto on a map.
Also, it may take some pressure off the rest of the team so they can relax and just do their jobs.
Bring on Barry.
- DJJAY