The End of an Era

By 2011, the memories of an entire generation of Major League stadiums will be obsolete. Tampa Bay, Oakland, Washington, Queens, Florida, and Minnesota will have brand new stadiums. Not to mention the Yankees, but there was never any real complaints from the fans except that the toilets never got cleaned. The era of the cookie cutter stadium will have ended--almost.

There would still be that one Toronto stadium left. The first stadium to have a working retractable roof, the first with a hotel, and the first to hold 4 million fans. And the one that 19 years later is probably cleaner than when it opened, and from the fans perspective inside the stadium, doesn't look half bad either.

But architecturally, nothing has changed and the stadium is very quickly going to be an outcast in the baseball community. In the next five years, there must be talk about building another stadium. Artificial turf, despite the advances in technology is still artificial turf. Players don't like it, fans don't like it, and the Rogers Centre is going to be the only team that uses it.

Since 2005, the renovations made at the stadium have improved the experience (more so in the 100 level) significantly. Rogers has finally manned up to this and that's great...but it's not enough. The Royals, already blessed with a magnificent stadium are funneling in 250 million dollars into drastically improving the stadium.

There have been reports of Paul Godfrey bidding for an All-Star game in Toronto, but with these new stadiums opening up in the next three years, I don't see that as a possibility for a while. So build a new stadium. Do it well, keep the costs down, you can put a cozy 36,000 seat park somewhere by the water, possibly as a centerpiece in a waterfront revitalization project. Torontonians have historically responded extremely well to new stadiums, as seen with the Rogers Centre, Air Canada Centre, and BMO Field.

I realize that Rogers may be in the market for an NFL Stadium within the same timespan, but I would hope that something could be figured out, even if it involved a complete overhaul of the Rogers Centre ala Angels Stadium. The cash influx would be significant and it might be a necessary fall back option in the event that the Jays decide to tank, and the idea of selling the team surfaces. Not that I believe that it will happen in the next 50 years.

Just something to consider.

Name Change

After just a short time on this blog, I've decided a name change is in order. I've got the attention span of Paul Godfrey.

Why?

-Glam/Hair/Sleaze Metal is awesome and the George Lynch reference sounds cool.
-Friends at The Southpaw, while letting us use the name, had also thought of it as well, so let's appease everyone and go with this.

Of course the obvious choice of name is "Jesse's Girls" which is what we go by at the games...I really like Litsch Mob.

Ball Personalities: Bag Lady

She, unlike most, actually has a name...Marge. She comes to every game, gets her Seasons Pass seat, and gets into the park when the gates open. Shes a big lady ans wears the same, weird fisherman's vest every day which hold her precious sharpies and baseball whatnot that she gets signed. She's a hound, no doubt, and can also be seen anywhere in Toronto where there is something free. She wonders why the players don't always sign for her. If she donated some of her facial hair to the Jason Frasor Facial Hair cause, she could probably win over at least one friend.

Negative on a picture of her, I've never really wanted to capture her on camera. But you'll know when you see her. She also leaves every game at around the 6th inning, why, nobody knows.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow it all begins. A Nation will fall. A Universe will collapse. Blah, blah, blah.

It's Jesse, girl! This is one Litsch pin we can count on to kickoff these meaningless games. And let's get one thing straight--they are meaningless. I know *you* know that, but those folks in the audience don't always. So if I hear anyone bitching to Wilner about anything other than being pissed off Spring Training is so long, I'm gonna....

TBS is taking the reigns for the third Jays home game of the season, as previously noted by DJF, and others. Come out and show your support, dammnit.

One thing I'm not getting is that everyone and their retarded cousin is speaking of Reed like he's a longshot to crack the team. Whoah, whoah, whoah. When did this happen? The guy has *ALWAYS* mashed lefties. Always. No, shutup. He has. And he plays a great defence. Sounds like an idea platoon mate, if you ask me. Of course as long as he's healthy, and by the sounds of it, he very well may be. Stew, I love you too. But you're not Reed. Nevertheless, you're certainly more than Lance Carter, or whatever our 12th pitcher will be. So JP, drop the 12th guy, bring north Stew and Reed, and let's get this show on the road.

Blue Jays Fan Guide to Ballpark Personalities

As any diehard fan of any sports team can attest, there are always those handful of fans who go to the park each game, sit in the same spot, and/or have some defining characteristic about them. Whether "Big Dog" at Browns Stadium, Mrs. Dooley at Fenway Park, or "The Heckler" at Tropicana Field, Rogers Centre is by no means, different. This is the first of a series, which will span over the next few days.

1. Clock Lady. Some folk have written about her already but here's my view. She's older, but not too old. Her defining piece of clothing is her "baseball clock hat" that she wears on her head. This sweat layered piece must have been from some 1977 ballpark giveaway and has been dubbed by others to be her "time for medication!" hat. Her major problem with the Jays is that the music is so loud the players can't talk to each other, and wants everyone to know that "I don't yell at the players, I yell to them!". Right. She can be seen at the bottom of section 127 by the dugout during batting practice and sits in the same seats she's had since 1989 in the front row of 129.

What Me Worry? Just Stew It.

The Toronto Blue Jays who previously denied reports that they had a contract on the table for Shannon Stewart have reported to have signed the fan favorite to a minor league contract.

There are a lot of people I know who will be very thrilled with this deal. The outfield has a fair bit of depth now, in case of an injury to an outfielder, or Overbay. It will be interesting to see how he does in camp.

On that note, why not carry a fifth outfielder every day regardless in place of the 12th man in the bullpen. I can't think of how many times I've been at a game wishing we had an extra lefty on the bench, or sitting there wondering if Frasor/Zambrano/Towers will get a chance to pitch out of the bullpen. Do away with the 12th man, JP. There are few games where you need that guy urgently, and if the bullpen gets tired, you can have Lance Carter, Brandon League, or whomever on the next Amtrak to Toronto.

All-You Can Eat with the Blue Jays

Taking a page from last year's Los Angeles Dodgers' promotion, the Blue Jays have introduced their first All-You Can Eat section at Rogers centre, which will occupy the right field seats on the 200 level. All indications are that it is only for one weekend from May 23rd until the 25th vs. the Kansas City Royals.

Tony Fernandez Autograph Signing and CityTV

On March 2nd, Tony Fernandez will be at the Rogers Video Store at 1965 Yonge Street from 10:30 until 11:30. Fans usually collect 30 minutes before the signing for a regular signer like Fernandez.

Also on March 2nd, CityTV (Channel 7 Toronto) will be airing a special on Blue Jays Spring Training with such characters as Gord Martineau, Jennifer Valentine, Katheryn Humphries, and Hugh Beril. This will include a broadcast of the game.

Say what you like, but Jays coverage is Jays coverage and if I can merely get a glimpse of the ongoings there, I shall be happy. Coverage continues from 12:30 until 4pm on what will hopefully be a sunny Sunday afternoon.

So grab a ball, take the Red Rocket to the video store, then find a place to grab some wings and a beer and take in some Reds/Jays action. It's as close as it's going to get for a while.

Opening Day Tickets

Opening Day tickets went on sale three weeks ago to members of the Blue Jays Inside Pitch newsletter. I guess people are Nazis about their email accounts, but there's a lot of good information that comes from that newsletter, not to mention this pre-sale. These tickets also went on sale before Red Sox and Tiger fans were given the opportunity to purchase single game tickets, so Jays fans could have had those tickets before anyone else. I purchased three seats in section 130D row 19, which was surprisingly the best possible seats at that moment.

My theory will be that the Jays current base of I estimate 8,000 flex pack holders decided to include this game in their summer itinerary because of the Friday date. Which is a good thing because it should displace some Sox fans elsewhere in the stadium. Nice.

In any event, by the time tickets went on sale to the internet only, both the 100 and 200 had sold out completely, and as I check today, best available seats are down the baseline. I'm guessing that a day into tickets officially going on sale (March 2nd), the place will be declared a sell out.

Hope to see everyone there.

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