Tag Archives: Toronto Blue Jays

Pride Month and Sports

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Every year June comes and with it comes a month of arguing about the concept of Pride activities at sporting events. Ranging from teams simply selling team gear with a rainbow color scheme to a full blown Pride Night with performers in drag. As expected this leads to outcries from certain individuals and even players refusing to wear a uniform with rainbow decals or logos. Let’s explore those subjects beginning with player refusal.

Opting out

Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs, and Ryan Thompson wore the standard Rays hat and removed the rainbow decal from their uniforms this past weekend. Citing “religious reasons”, the very much outdated argument against “lifestyle choice” was used to justify their lack of participation. This argument, which stood on flimsy ground to begin with, is completely invalid. Those who refer to religion in cases like this are using it to shield their own prejudices without having to take accountability for them. Adding lifestyle choice on top of that is just doubling down on their own close-minded beliefs.

The term lifestyle choice was used more frequently in television and film 20+ years ago and has significantly decreased and rightfully so. Unfortunately the extended previous use of the term has resulted in it still being considered acceptable to use when it is in fact inaccurate. For those who do not quite understand and need a little help here you go, it is not choice. Outfit selection is a choice. The type of vehicle you drive is a choice. Sexuality? Not a choice.

Part of the blame also falls on the Rays. Tampa made it optional to wear the rainbow hat and decal which led to the group of players opting out. This should not be an option, it should be absolutely mandatory in order to play. One must wonder how people would feel if players opted out of wearing the patriotic uniforms on Memorial Day or 4th of July. There is a very large percentage of players who are not from the United States and there are definitely those who disagree with how the country handles their affairs domestically and internationally. Additionally, sort of funny how when it comes to opting out of wearing Pride gear is acceptable, but if an individual were to opt out of the patriotic uniforms or participating in the National Anthem before the game it is a crime against humanity and should be tried for treason. Double standards much?

Nonsensical arguments

There is a very large contingent of people who have decided to rally against “grooming of children”. Just like the aforementioned use of “lifestyle choice”, this is also very much outdated. Concerns about grooming can be traced back decades as this is not a new argument from those oppose the LGBTQIA+ community and Pride Events. This intellectually deficient tactic has unfortunately seen a resurgence in popularity. The most recent example is a homophobic senator from Texas proposing to ban drag shows in the presence of minors. This is a proposal based on attacking LGBTQIA+ individuals and not out of general concern of children.

This is rooted in the fear of children being groomed at drag shows, something that simply does not happen. What this logic says about the person using it is that they know absolutely nothing about drag performances. The types of performances in public venues such as Pride events are much different from those at a bar close to or after midnight. As far as the sports world is concerned this is targeting drag performers at games.

A recent Pride night including drag queens took place in Toronto and was instantly a target for hate mongers. The upcoming event in Milwaukee will receive similar outcries and criticism from those who hide behind nonsense to justify their bigotry. This should not be a deterrent to other teams looking to have their own Pride events. The sports world has a sub-par relationship with LGBTQIA+ individuals to say the least. Continuing to push forward will help people who may not feel safe or accepted at sporting events feel more comfortable when attending. Each and every team has fans and even employees that identify as members of this community and having a good relationship with them is a good business decision. Not just from a public relations standpoint, but as an additional stream of revenue. Speaking of…

Cash grab

There are a few things to consider when teams are selling Pride merchandise. At some level there are definitely people in those organizations who genuinely care about the LGBTQIA+ community. There is also a contingent that make decisions based entirely in financial reasons. Finally there are the fans who find themselves walking the fine line between both parties.

Fans of teams may want to show off their fandom with rainbow themed gear, but that can result in an internal struggle, especially for fans of teams that sell items but do not have an actual Pride event or night. On one hand it is fans wanting to wear Pride themed gear and on the other it is easy to recognize as a cash grab by the team. Sure, teams can mend the gap by having people in mascot costumes attend the Pride event of a city, but it is not quite the same. Taking that next step would go a long way towards actually making a difference to help people feel included in the world of sports.

Looking forward

As the month of June progresses there will be many positive aspects of Pride month. Unfortunately there will controversies as well. These will come from the expected sources who lack the cognitive ability to form an original thought and instead will regurgitate talking points from 50 years ago. Let’s hope that the increased organized attack on the LGBTQIA+ community will not result in teams canceling Pride events in the future. These events are very important and need to be expanded upon going forward. Then and only then will it appear as an actual effort towards promoting inclusivity rather than the cash grab it still appears to be.

Guarding The Corner Ep. 9 – Toronto Takedown

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Guarding The Corner Episode 9 – Toronto Takedown: James and Bryan discuss the Cleveland Guardians taking three out of four from Toronto, the upcoming series in Chicago, and trivia.

Guarding The Corner Ep. 9 – Toronto Takedown by This Is Believeland

Toronto inquired about Jose Ramirez, trade unlikely

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The Toronto Blue Jays have approached the Cleveland Guardians about trading for Jose Ramirez per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal also added that a trade is unlikely at this time.

The interesting aspect of this report is that Toronto was looking to move Jose Ramirez to second base, a position that he has not played since 2018. It was just 16 games late in the season and was necessary due to the late season acquisition of Josh Donaldson. 2017 saw Ramirez play the most games at second base in his career (71), but still saw more action at third base (88 games). The reason why Toronto was eyeing Ramirez for second? The acquisition of Matt Chapman from Oakland as the Athletics continue to tear down their roster. Ramirez would have to play another position as he would supplant the two-time Platinum Glove winner from third.

While the Guardians are not looking to trade Jose Ramirez at this time, these reports will continue to surface until they sign him to a contract extension or actually trade him. After seeing how the team has operated with players of Ramirez’ caliber in the past, the latter is expected rather than the former.

Cleveland drops third straight game in Toronto

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The Cleveland Baseball Club lost their third consecutive game to the Toronto Blue Jays as they were shutout in a 3-0 loss.

The trip north of the border did not go well for the Cleveland Baseball Club as they lost their third straight game, this time a 3-0 loss. Cleveland managed just three hits in in the contest off of Ross Stripling. Stripling has not had a great season and this could have been an opportunity for Cleveland to put up some big numbers, but they collectively failed to score a run.

Amed Rosario (1-3), Franmil Reyes (1-3), and Owen Miller (1-3) were the only Cleveland batters to register a hit. Rosario and Reyes also reached via base on balls in the contest. Bradley Zimmer, Myles Straw, Bobby Bradley, Harold Ramirez, Oscar Mercado, Austin Hedges, Ernie Clement combined to go 0-22 with six strikeouts.

Triston McKenzie started the game for Cleveland, allowing three runs on five hits while walking four over 7 innings. McKenzie allowed all three runs with Bo Bichette in the plate. Bichette would hit a two-run homer in the 4th and drive in another run with a RBI single in the 6th.

Bryan Shaw would work clean 8th inning, recording all three outs on 15 pitches.

Cleveland returns home to take on the Detroit Tigers Friday night. It has been six losses their last 10 games for Cleveland while Detroit has six wins over that same span. 

Cleveland loses to Blue Jays 7-2

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The Cleveland Baseball Club was no match as they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 Tuesday.

A combination of an ineffective Zach Plesac and an offense unable to score runs led to the Cleveland Baseball Club losing to the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 7-2.

Plesac did go 5 innings, but allows six runs on 1 hits along the way. The most concerning thing about this start is that Plesac failed to record a strikeout. Recording 15 outs without a strikeout for a pitcher who has been quite successful in that area is quite surprising and could be an issue moving forward.

Offensively it was just two runs for Cleveland as then managed seven hits and no walks while striking out 11 times. This definitely far from a banner performance for Cleveland as they simply were unable to compete with the vastly superior Toronto squad.

Cleveland splits back-to-back doubleheaders

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The Cleveland Baseball Club split their back-to-back doubleheaders with the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox at home.

It was a daunting task facing the Cleveland Baseball Club coming into Sunday. Following the postponement of Saturday’s game with the Toronto Blue Jays it set up an uncommon occurrence in baseball, playing doubleheaders on consecutive days. A doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox was already scheduled for Monday due to a previous postponement. It wasn’t easy, but Cleveland managed to split the batch of doubleheaders.

Funny enough, Cleveland lost the first game of each doubleheaders while winning the second. It was a 4-1 loss early on Sunday and a 6-5 win against Toronto. Chicago won the first game 8-6 in extras, eight innings, while Cleveland came away with a 3-1 win in the second game.

The new rules for doubleheaders this season, seven inning games, helped Cleveland tremendously. Injuries to the pitching staff and inconsistent performances have left the rotation in a constant state of flux. If the previous length of games for doubleheaders was still in place, Cleveland would be a lot worse off pitching wise. It is a lot easier to fill 14 innings than 18 innings. Also, considering that some of the pitchers Cleveland used have had trouble going deep into games (Triston McKenzie, Sam Hentges, Cal Quantrill), this could not have came at a better time. Luckily McKenzie was able to go 5.1 innings while the others pitched a bit less. This should allow the team to reset their pitching rotation starting Tuesday with Shane Bieber.

Cleveland begins back-to-back doubleheaders

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The Cleveland Baseball Club begins a set of back-to-back doubleheaders Sunday.

Fans of the Cleveland Baseball Club will be treated to at a minimum 28 innings of baseball over the next two days. That is due to playing back-to-back doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday. Cleveland plays the Toronto Blue Jays twice on Sunday before hosting the Chicago White Sox Monday. In fact, Cleveland will be playing five consecutive seven inning games counting Friday’s weather shortened 11-2 loss and if none of these games go to extras.

This could prove to be an exciting Memorial Day weekend for the Cleveland Baseball Club or an all out disaster depending on the results. Toronto was more than capable of taking Game 1 and the White Sox are leading the division for a reason. It will not be easy couple of days, but it will at least provide a lot of baseball to watch.

Cleveland throttled by Toronto 11-2

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The Cleveland Baseball Club was no match for the visiting Toronto Blue Jays losing 11-2.

There was one team that the weather did not impact Friday night and unfortunately it was not the Cleveland Baseball Club. The Baby Jays came to town and brought some hot bats with them as they pounded out 11 runs on 15 hits in just seven innings. Meanwhile, Cleveland managed just two runs on four hits, all coming against Blue Jays starter Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Cleveland’s starter was Eli Morgan who was making his MLB debut. This was not an enviable situation for Morgan as he is facing a team that can hit with the best of them. Morgan allowed six runs on eight hits with two walks and one strikeout. It is best to not make assumptions on Morgan’s abilities after this outing as he deserves another start in better circumstances. There was no reason for that game to be played Friday night, but yet it was.

Toronto also scored five runs in three innings off the trio of Phil Maton, Nick Sandlin, and Trevor Stephan. It did not really matter who was pitching for Cleveland as the Blue Jays were obviously locked in.

Cleveland can take Game 2 and even the series on Saturday. First pitch should take place at 4:10 P.M. That is as long as the weather wants to play along and not interfere for the second game in a row.

George Springer signs with Blue Jays

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The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a deal with the former Houston Astros outfielder for six years and $150 million.

A splash has been made for the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to terms with George Springer. The deal is worth $150 million over six years per Jon Heyman.

There was a belief that George Springer could have been headed to Queens to join the Mets. Those talks cooled after New York’s acquisition of Francisco Lindor.

George Springer spent the first seven years of his career in Houston, helping the Astros win their controversial 2017 World Series title. During that time Springer slashed .270/.361/.491/.852 with 174 home runs, 137 doubles, 13 triples, 174 RBI, and 48 stolen bases.

With Springer in the Blue Jays lineup they should have a potent offense. Toronto features Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, Rowdy Tellez, and Cavan Biggio.

It is clear that the Blue Jays are trying to compete in the American League East against the reigning American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays and powerhouse New York Yankees. Toronto will have some competition in regards to teams within the division trying to make the leap into contention as the Boston Red Sox appear ready to rebound after a down year. The A.L. East could be must watch baseball in 2021 and the foreseeable future.

With A Jimmmitude: Thursday 10/1/2020

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With A Jimmmitude Thursday October 1, 2020: Thoughts about Thursday Night Football and the teams eliminated from the MLB Postseason.

1. Thursday Night Football

The Denver Broncos are facing the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football and I couldn’t be less interested. Even if both teams were at full strength I would have limited interest. The fact of the matter is that both teams have a ton of injured players and that will impact the quality of play. The game may be entertaining, but for different reasons entirely. It might be due to poor play or absolutely hilarious mistakes from either team. The Jets are apparently not prepared to fire Adam Gase, but a disastrous showing might be in the best interest of the team as it might actually lead to his firing.

2. Eliminated from the MLB Postseason

Wednesday saw three teams eliminated from the 2020 MLB Postseason, the Cleveland Baseball Club, Minnesota Twins, and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Twins are frauds, enough said. Minnesota dazzles during the regular season, but becomes choke artists once the word “Postseason” appears.

Toronto is a team a year away that needs some more experience and to add a few more players to the mix. They have a great core and are a team on the rise. While they may not compete for a division title immediately, Wild Card berths seem to be the path for Toronto for the time being.

Cleveland just drew a bad matchup in the New York Yankees and were outclassed in both of their games. They are just not quite equipped to compete with the best teams in baseball at this time.

3. Decisive Game 3 in Oakland

The Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox are playing a winner take all Game 3 on Thursday. Oakland is the better team and should be able to make their way through the Wild Card round. The White Sox are not pushovers, but there is a clear difference between them and the Athletics. Either team could win and that is what makes this game a must watch.