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Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays poke fun at the Television Bureau of Canada


What do you do when one of your star players has a commercial pulled from the air by the Television Bureau of Canada. A commercial deemed to be too violent for its portrayal of Frank Thomas in a pillow fight with a young boy? Well, you go ahead and have a Frank Thomas pillow giveaway.

The marketing folks with the Blue Jays took advantage of all the random press and made September 2 Frank Thomas Kids Pillow Night. Brilliant. This certainly beats the Cardinals’ Tony LaRussa Bottle of Whiskey night.

We hope that the pillow doesn’t scare small children like the Ben Wallace throw pillow does.

Links:
[SC]: Frank Thomas can swing a mean pillow

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Toronto Blue Jays

Frank Thomas can swing a mean pillow

Frank Thomas can do some serious damage with a bat in his hands, but what about a pillow? Well, according to the Television Bureau of Canada, the Big Hurt is too aggressive during a commercial in which he has a pillow fight with a small boy. In the ad, two boys are having a pillow fight when Thomas enters the room and tells the kids to go to bed. One boy hits him with a pillow and then Thomas takes a swing of his own, knocking the kid off the bed.

The TBC has yanked the ad but refused to comment on why. However, their website has this guideline posted, which could be the reason behind pulling the spot off the air.

Advertisers are cautioned that “it is imperative to keep the best interests of young children and youth in mind when producing commercials. Because children and youth are very impressionable, commercials should not contain any visual or audio portrayals which are detrimental to their well-being.”

The TBC’s website goes on to state that acts of violence, “even comedic violence,” can be found to be excessive when included in commercials.

C’mon, does anyone honestly think that a pillow fight promotes violence? Are they terrified that the country’s kids are so impressionable that they are going start ripping pillows off their parent’s beds and attack bums on the streets?

Hello, it’s a commercial! Nobody thinks the kid actually got walloped by Thomas. Of course, this is the same company that refused to air a commercial with AJ Burnett tossing a small bundle of trash off the head of a garbage man until the words “dramatization” was added.

Links:

[GlobeSports.com]: Swing and a miss for Blue Jays’ commercial

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College Football

Oct 20 in Sports History: The first AP Poll


In 1936: The first Associated Press poll ranking the top college football teams in the nation was released. Minnesota was the first no.1 with LSU, Pittsburgh, Alabama, Washington, Santa Clara, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Pennsylvania rounding out the top ten. The AP poll, a collection of sportswriters across the country who vote on the top 25 teams each week of the college football season, determined national champions for years. It is still used today to rank the teams but is no longer considered in the BCS formula to determine who plays in the national championship game.

In 2004: The Boston Red Sox became the first team in baseball history and only the third team in sports history (it happened twice in the NHL) to come back from a three games to none deficit in a seven game series to win. Having been completely dominated by the New York Yankees and down to their final at-bat in the fourth game, the Red Sox began a remarkable comeback by winning the two longest games in postseason history in Games 4 and 5 at Fenway Park, and then going back to Yankee Stadium to take the final two to complete the turnaround. Boston swept St. Louis in the World Series to win their first championship in 86 years.

In 1993: In one of the wildest games ever in the World Series, The Toronto Blue Jays out-slugged the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth game 15-14 at Veterans Stadium. Already delayed by rain, the game took four hours and fourteen minutes to complete, the longest ever World Series game. The Phillies overcame a three-run first inning deficit with four of their own in the bottom half and eventually carried a 14-9 advantage into the eighth inning, where the Blue Jays scored six times to win. The game featured 32 hits, 14 walks and it set the record for most runs combined in a World Series game and the most runs by a losing team. Oddly, the Blue Jays did not hit a single homerun despite scoring 15 times.

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MLB General

August 30 in Sports History: Ty Cobb makes his MLB debut


In 1905: In his MLB debut, Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers hit a double off Jack Chesboro of the New York Highlanders for the first of his record 4,191 career hits. Cobb played for the Tigers until 1926, and finished his career with a .366 batting average. Although later findings would reduce his hit total to 4,189, the record stood until 1985, when Pete Rose broke it.

In 1967 What is it with the Yankees and Red Sox playing two ridiculously long games within 24 hours? While most fans are familiar with the recent never-ending doubleheader and the 2004 ALCS marathons in Games 4 and 5 at Fenway Park, a 1967 twin bill in Yankee Stadium tied a Major League record for most innings played in a doubleheader (played by guess who? New York and Boston in 1905). After a 2-1 Red Sox win in game one, the teams played 20 innings in the nightcap, won by the Yankees 4-3. The two-game total was 8 hours, 15 minutes.

In 1998: Many people forget just how dominant Roger Clemens was during the 1997 and 1998 seasons while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Clemens dominated the Twins, 6-0 for his third straight shutout and ran his scoreless innings streak to 29. He was a combined 41-13 with a 2.35 ERA and 549 strikeouts in his brief stint with the Blue Jays and won two Cy Young Awards.

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MLB General

The Full Count: This ship is sinking


1. A great game…: If you like scoring, comebacks, and a little controversy (see next story), then you would have loved the Blue Jays-A’s game yesterday. The Blue Jays developed an 8-0 lead after two innings that featured Alex Rios (16) and Troy Glaus (31) homeruns. But then the A’s stormed back with 7 runs in the third, all off Ted Lilly. They tacked on four more in the sixth to make it a 11-8 Oakland lead, and despite a few more runs by the Blue Jays they held them off 12-10. Jason Kendall had 4 hits while Bobby Kielty had 4 RBIs. Oakland’s win was their 71st of the season, and they have built a five-game lead over the Angels in their division. But the real story from this game was a rare player-manager fight:

2. …leads to another fight: What is it about Blue Jays manager John Gibbons that leads to so many confrontations? Gibbons, who infamously challenged Shea Hillenbrand to a fight earlier this year, got into a scrap with pitcher Ted Lilly. When he went to the mound to take Lilly out after he allowed seven runs, the two exchanged heated words in a face-to-face argument. Then when Lilly went from the dugout to the locker room, Gibbons followed him and they scrapped. Unfortunately there is no clear video of the fight, though both involved said they did not exchange punches. However, several reports claimed that Gibbons had a bloody nose resulting from the fight. Whatever happened, things like this are embarrassments to the organization. With all the money the Jays front office poured into the team this offseason, they should expect a little more discipline from the players and managers. Don’t be surprised if a new manager takes over before next season.

3. 80 is here: The Detroit Tigers were the first team to 50 wins, the first to 60, the first to 70, and yesterday they won the big 8-0. Playing the White Sox in the first game of a four-game series, they easily ousted their rivals in a surprisingly one-sided pitching matchup. Jose Contreras was pitching against Justin Verlander, but he was no match for the rookie. Verlander won his 15th game of the season by allowing one run in seven innings. Meanwhile, Contreras has played terribly since his win streak ended and had one of his worst starts of the season. The Tigers tagged him for 7 runs in just 5 innings, his second consecutive seven-run start. The Tigers got 3 RBIs from Sean Casey and a homerun by Craig Monroe to lead their 7-1 blowout. They now lead Chicago by 6.5 games in the division, though the White Sox are honestly more worried about their Wild Card lead right now.

4. A Wild Series: Can the two-time defending NL Wild Card champion defeat the team that is leading the WC race this year? That’s the basic premise of the Reds-Astros series, which should be entertaining. But so far this season series has been one-sided: the Reds have won 8 of 10 against Houston. That was no different last night, when Cincy slipped by 4-3. Houston was leading 3-0 going into the eighth inning due in large part to Andy Pettitte’s 10 K start. Lance Berkman and Aubrey Huff had also hit homeruns. But then the Reds made their charge in the 8th, with a Rick Aurilla shot tying it up and a Royce Clayton single giving them the lead. Cincinnati’s win kept their Wild Card lead at 2 games and put them the same distance back from the Cardinals in the division. This team just won’t go away.

5. What a start: When John Smoltz is on the top of his game, it can be very hard to stop him. Just ask the Pirates, who couldn’t get anything off of him in yesterday’s game. Smoltz pitched 8 innings, allowing no runs, while sending down 10 Pirates. He held a no-hitter through 5 innings and could hardly miss the strike zone all night. He gave the Braves a 3-0 win after Bob Wickman continued his 12 inning scoreless streak since he joined the Braves. Atlanta is still struggling and is no where near a playoff spot at 59-65.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Yankees show em who’s boss


1. One-sided rivalry: Everyone said the Yankees-Red Sox series would tell us a lot about where these two clubs stand. And it has. The Yankees are clearly much better than the Red Sox. New York over Boston was the result all weekend as the Yankees won 4 games in 3 days. This series has showed just how good the Bronx Bombers are: they have scored 47 runs in the four games, including three double-digit games to get the series rolling. Last night the result was 8-5 in 10 innings of Sunday Night Baseball, and the game was decided by their bullpens rather than the Schilling-Mussina pitching matchup. Derek Jeter hit an RBI single off Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th to tie up the game, while Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada homered in the 10th to win the game. Giambi’s homer gave him 2 on the day as he drove in 5 runs. David Ortiz hit his 44th homer of the season for the Red Sox and Manny Ramirez hit his 100th RBI. But it wasn’t enough as the Yankees extended their divisional lead to 5.5 games.

2. The wins keep on comin’: If Roy Halladay can do anything, it’s win ballgames. While no NL pitcher has even won 14 games, Halladay captured his 16th of the year yesterday. He was perfect through five innings but eventually allowed two runs as the Blue Jays defeated the Orioles. He is now 16-3 on the season, giving him a league-leading win percentage in addition to his second-best WHIP and innings pitched totals. Could Halladay win 20 games and a Cy Young? He’ll have to defeat this next guy to do that:

3. It’s easy to be dominant: Or at least it is for Johan Santana. The pitcher won his 6th consecutive decision last night as the Twins beat up on the ChiSox. It was his 15th win of the season as he allowed just one run in 7 innings. He now leads the American League in ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP and could capture his second career Cy Young award. It will be a great duel to the finish between him and Halladay, but as of now Johan is leading. He ranks better than Roy at everything but wins and, as described last week, is an animal down the stretch. The Twins won the 20th game in a row he started at the Metrodome, a modern record according to ESPN.com. The Twins took the series and now are just one game back from Chicago in the divisional and Wild Card races. This one could get nasty down the stretch.

4. No signs of fading: The Cincinnati Reds have held the NL Wild Card lead for a long time, and despite increased challengers they keep on winning. Yesterday they topped the Pirates 5-1 in front of their home crowd, as Aaron Harang easily shut down the opposing offense. Harang struck out 9 and allowed just a solo Jason Bay homerun to Pittsburgh while winning his 13th game of the year. That ties him with multiple players for the National League lead. Adam Dunn (37) and Scott Hatteberg (12) both homered in the third to give the home team an early cushion. Dunn is now only 3 away from his third consecutive 40-homerun season and has been a machine for the Reds in every offense category but batting average, strangely enough. Cincy now has a two-game WC lead and is only two games back of the division-leading Cardinals. The Astros, at 7.5 back, have yet to make a push.

5. Pitching problems: Pitcher after pitcher has gone down recently. The A’s and Reds will face bullpen problems over the next few weeks, as both Huston Street and Eddie Guadardo will be put on the DL. Street was feeling groin pain and will be temporarily replaced by Ron Flores, who was called up from Triple-A and has already had three stints with the A’s this season. Guadardo, who had saved 8 of 10 chances since being acquired by Cincy, was also put on the 15 day list and has forearm problems. But both those pitchers got off easily compared to Tom Glavine. He is being examined for a blood clot and could either return next week or miss the rest of the season. The Mets could be without their top two starters, Glavine and the 15-day DL Pedro Martinez, for a while.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Life without Hillenbrand



Gibbons happier without Shea

1. Who needs Shea?: One day after Shea Hillenbrand’s outburst and subsequent dismissal from the team, the Blue Jays finally had some good news. They defeated the Yankees 5-4 in extra innings, closing the gap between the teams to 3 games. Vernon Wells hit a game-winning homer off Mariano Rivera, the first time this season that Rivera has given up a homer. For Wells it was his fourth hit of the game and 24th homer of the year. He is on pace for 42 homers and 129 RBIs on the year. But the story coming into the game was the pitching matchup between Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina, as each is a Cy Young candidate. Neither pitched extremely well, as Halladay gave up 3 runs and Mussina 4. BJ Ryan then blew his third save of the season, spoiling a chance for Halladay’s 13th victory. But the Blue Jays, who have been in third place almost the entire season, still got the much-needed win in one of their most important series of the season.

2. Take Two: The payoff game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox would mean bragging rights for one team until they meet again on August 11. And that team was the Tigers, who won using their strength–pitching. Kenny Rogers, who had had 4 consecutive starts with 4+ earned runs, settled down in this game with 6 hits and one run allowed through six innings. Rogers barely outpitched Jose Contreras, who gave up two runs in seven innings. Contreras has now lost back to back starts after winning 17 straight decisions, the first player to do that in 68 years according to Elias Says. Chris Shelton and Ivan Rodriguez drove in runs for the Tigers, whose 2-1 win gave the team a commanding 5.5 game lead in the division. Chicago is now in danger of being passed by Minnesota, who is carrying a 7-game winning streak and is only four games behind the White Sox.

3. It’s all good in San Fran: The Giants were full of good news yesterday. Most importantly, Barry Bonds was not indicted by a grand jury for perjury. Hours later, Barry went deep for his 722nd career homerun and his 14th this season. Also, the Giants defeated the Padres 9-3 to move within one game of the division leaders. San Francisco got a near-complete game from Noah Lowry, who has been very inconsistent this year and holds a 5-6 record. They have now won 3 games in a row, which will move any team up a few places in the packed NL West. Their streak has come at a good time–the Rockies and Dodgers are struggling and the Padres aren’t playing very well either.

4. Still on top: Though the Braves have been red-hot recently , the Mets still are the division leaders by a huge margin. While Atlanta was off last night the Mets took a dozen-game lead in the division as they defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 in extras. Stud starters Bronson Arroyo and Tom Glavine each allowed two runs but got a no-decision in this game. With the game tied 2-2 in the 10th, Endy Chavez hit an RBI double and then scored a run off a Carlos Beltran double. Both runs were charged to Gary Majewski, who has allowed a run in each of his three appearances since being acquired by the Reds. The Mets victory was good news for the Braves; while they fell further behind in the division they got a bit closer to the Wild Card-leading Reds.

5. Finally, some relief: The 45-50 Braves just needed some bullpen help after blowing a major-league high 20 saves this season. They finally got that on Thursday, when they traded for Indians closer Bob Wickman. The Braves just gave up a minor-league catcher to get Wickman, who has a 4.18 ERA and 15 saves on the year but should be helped by pitching in the weaker National League. In 2005 Wickman had 45 saves while only blowing 5, and for his career has 229 saves and a 3.64 ERA. At 37 years old, he is not a long term solution for the Braves, but he should help this year down the stretch. He becomes a free-agent after this year and it would be surprising for Atlanta to re-sign him.

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Toronto Blue Jays

Congratulations to Shea Hillenbrand on adopting a little girl!


Shea Hillenbrand was designated for assignment (i.e. released) yesterday after he criticized the Blue Jays for not having him in the starting lineup for the second day in a row and for failing to congratulate him on adopting a baby girl. Hillenbrand was particulatly upset with manager John Gibbons for criticizing him in front of the whole team.

According to the Toronto Star, the final straw in a strained relationship between Hillenbrand and Gibbons came when Hillenbrand wrote “This is a sinking ship” on a clubhouse chalkboard. Gibbons confronted Hillenbrand in a team meeting, called him a cancer and a coward and challenged him to a fight.


Gibby called a team meeting and then he stood up and reamed me out in front of my teammates. I’m very disappointed about what he did and I find it very unprofessional.

From the beginning of the season, there were times when I wasn’t playing and there would be no justifiable excuse. He said that if I had a problem with the team or what was going on, I should come into the manager’s office and talk to him.

But then, he would get mad at me when I did that and accuse me of being a selfish player.

The Blue Jays organization has said their version of events differ considerably but won’t elaborate on what happened.

Meanwhile, speaking about the adoption of his baby girl, Hillenbrand somehow managed to insult the reporters out of the blue.

Not one person from the front office has even come up to congratulate me. It’s all the little people like you guys. But nobody from higher up. That’s a disgrace.

Gee, Hillenbrand, I’m sure the beat reporters like to be reminded that they make no money and are just “little people” to you.

[Toronto Star]: Fired Jay blames manager

[ESPN ]: Hillenbrand cut after criticizing Jays front office

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: No birthday present for George

1. Happy Birthday, Boss: George Steinbrenner celebrated his 76th birthday last night. So did the Yankees’ opponent, the Indians. Cleveland’s offense came alive for a 19-1 bashing of New York, the second-most runs scored by any team in a game this season. Travis Hafner demonstrated why he should be on the All Star team by crushing 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Catcher Victor Martinez, one of the league’s most underrated players, went 5-6 and drove in 3. Six Indians had 2 or more hits, and six also had 2 or more RBIs. Shawn Chacon took the bulk of the beating for the Yankees by allowing 7 runs in less than 2 innings. The Indians also featured some good pitching in the rout: Jake Westbrook went 7 innings and allowed no earned runs. Cleveland is no stranger to blowing out the Yankees; in August 2004 they crushed them 22-0.

2. Tying it up: The Blue Jays have been creeping up on the Yankees for almost two months now, and they finally tied them in the standings yesterday. Roy Halladay, the Blue Jays’ All Star pitcher, became the first AL starter to reach 11 wins on the year. Halladay worked 7.2 scoreless innings to capture what eventually became a 3-2 win over the Rangers. That’s because BJ Ryan almost blew the game in the 9th inning. Ryan, whose ERA has been well below 1 for most of the season, allowed 2 runs in the ninth but escaped with the save. Both the Blue Jays and the Yanks are now 4 games back of the Red Sox in the East, and that’s with Boston losing yesterday. Meanwhile, the Rangers fell to 42-42 but are still in 2nd place in the awful AL West division.

3. Make it 17: Jose Contreras, the AL’s likely starter in the All Star game, remained undefeated with one of his best outings in a while yesterday. Contreras, who posted a 6.21 ERA in June but escaped 3-0, worked 6.2 scoreless innings last night to improve to 9-0. Contreras needed little run support but he got plenty of it; the White Sox offense blew up the Orioles for 13 runs. Paul Konerko hit his 21st homer of the season as every Sox starter scored a run and got a hit. At 54-29, Chicago remains 1.5 back of the Tigers for the AL Central lead.

4. A three-way tie: The NL West has been the most competitive division in the majors ever since the season started. Teams move in and out of first very quickly in this division, in which currently all 5 teams are separated by just 3.5 games. Right now three teams are tied for the lead: the Rockies, the Padres, and the Dodgers (43-40 each). The Giants are just a half game back, while the struggling Diamondbacks are bringing up the rear. The division could be called the NL’s best or worst depending on how you look at it. While all teams are close, the 43-40 mark is the worst in the majors for any division leader. Which team should emerge from this mess? We’ll take the Dodgers, whose offense surprisingly leads the NL in runs scored.

5. LLLLLLima time!!!: In one of the most entertaining stories possible, the Mets recalled Jose Lima from AAA. Lima, who posted an 8.79 ERA in three starts earlier this year, will look to further the Mets’ recent struggles. Or maybe not, considering his 3.86 ERA in seven starts in the minors. Either way, we’ll get to say “Lima Time” one more time.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Clemens now 0-2

1. Outdueled–again: Roger Clemens hasn’t had much luck in his first two starts. On June 22 he took a loss to the Twins even though he pitched decently. Last night he pitched six innings, allowing only 2 runs (1 earned), but took the loss again in a 4-0 defeat to Detroit. That pushed his record on the year to 0-2 despite a fantastic 2.38 ERA. This is rather reminiscent of last season, when the Rocket led the majors in ERA but was just 13-8. This time Clemens was outdone by the Tigers’ Nate Robertson, who is having a quiet yet awesome season. Robertson is 8-3 with a 3.14 ERA (3rd in the AL) after his 7 inning, shutout performance against the Astros. Though teammate Justin Verlander gets more attention, Robertson has bested him so far in most statistical categories. The Tigers are on a roll, with 15 wins in their last 17 games and a 10-1 record against the National League. The `Stros, meanwhile, have fallen behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.

2. Burnett is back: Toronto’s AJ Burnett, in his second start after a long time on the DL, finally showed the Blue Jays why they signed him for $55 million. He pitched an efficient complete-game shutout of the Washington Nationals, throwing only 92 pitches. It was the most successful by far of four total Burnett starts this season, and it lowered his ERA almost 2 full points to 3.24. Jays outfielder Alex Rios, who had struggled mildly after exploding to a .360 average through May, got back on track with a 3-4, 2 RBI performance. For the Nationals, Alfonso Soriano continued his June struggles, going 1-4 in the loss. He is hitting just .224 on the month and has lowered his OPS from .950 to .888.

3. The stuggling Bucs: The Pirates are bad enough against the National League. But against the American League, they suck even more. They have lost 12 games in a row, 10 of those coming against AL teams. They even got swept by the Royals, who they are now tied with for the honor of “worst major league team.” Yesterday they lost in Game 1 of a three game set against the White Sox. Next, they’ll face Detroit, meaning the Pirates could go 0-for-the American League very easily. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if they lose 24 games in a row, as they travel to New York and Philadelphia when they return to NL play. And even more bad news: starter Oliver Perez, once thought to be one of the brightest young pitchers in the game, has performed so poorly he was demoted to the bullpen. At least you Pirates fans can go to the All Star game at your beautiful new ballpark. Other than that, there’s not much hope.

4. The other New York-Boston rivalry: The Red Sox sure hate those Yankees, and this week the other New York team, the Mets, travel to town. We’re not sure if the hatred exactly carries over, but anyway, it’s still a very good matchup. Boston took game one of the 3-game set, as rookie Jon Lester picked up the win. In 4 career starts Lester has performed well, with a 3-0 record and a 2.95 ERA in his limited action. Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, and Alex Gonzalez drove in 2 runs each for Boston in the 9-4 romp. For the Mets, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado each hit their 21st homer of the year. The next two games in the series will each feature great pitching matchups: Martinez vs. Beckett in Game 2 and Glavine vs. Shilling in Game 3.

5. Mr. Baseball: Peter Gammons has probably been the most influential reporter in baseball history, with stints at the Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated, and currently ESPN. But now the world’s brightest baseball mind will be in the hospital for a while, as Gammons suffered a brain aneurysm on Tuesday. He is currently in the intensive care unit and will hopefully be alright. No exact details have been released about the problem, but it must have been sudden as Gammons worked Sunday Night Baseball a few days ago. In a sports world that is filled with mindless talking heads, Gammons is one of the few who stand out and is an insightful and interesting reporter. Again, we hope he’s alright.