Yes, the Toronto Blue Jays are my home team and I’m proud that they are walking the talk by being an eco-friendly baseball club.  Rogers, who owns both the team and their stadium has made a commitment to sustainability this past season and for season’s to come.  Now that I have given my props to their eco-friendly position, I’d like to now move to a retrospective of sorts on the (lackluster) fashion with which their season ended.  Make no mistake, I am an uber Jays fan but I’d like to put my devotion aside and speak what I see as the truth from the mind of a fan.

This season has been a rollercoaster for the Jays.  They started off on a high that fans thought would last the year, but it didn’t. They released B.J. Ryan, traded Rios on waivers and almost sold Doc to the highest bidder. Snider was sent down to Vegas and brought back up, and there was a parade of pitchers. Aaron Hill had the comeback season of a lifetime and was the starting second baseman for the All Star Game his first time out. Adam Lind was also on fire and nearly made it to his first All Star Game. Vernon Wells crashed and burned and Randy Ruiz was a bright spot for the Jays. As I said, a rollercoaster ride.  I can honestly say that as sad as I am to see this tumultuous season end, there are elements I will not miss about the Blue Jays:

1. Newbie pitchers who can’t locate their pitches who then load the bases and can’t pitch their way out.  I understand growing pains but you should be able to throw a strike at the big league level or you shouldn’t be in the bigs.
2. Vernon Wells and his .205 RISP average and his .225 RISP average with 2 out – and he’s our clean up guy.  Unless he is leaving the clubhouse spotless, I don’t see any cleaning up being done.
3. Cito (we love you but) when a pitcher is struggling, especially a rookie, go to the bullpen.  Pick a lefty a righty…I don’t care.  Just as long as he can throw a friggin’ strike.  Sorry.  This is a touchy one for me.      
4. Never getting a break on a call in any game situation. The Yankees and Red Sox get all the good calls.
5. The shoddy way J.P. Ricciardi orchestrated the whole Doc situation, for his own personal gain.  Fiasco.  Circus.  Disrespectful….well that kind of sums up J.P’s tenure actually.
6. Sick of seeing the Yankees and Red Sox.  When you can recite their lineups, you have seen them too many times.
7. Won’t miss the Jays’ drab announcers
8. I’ll borrow from Weekend Update (SNL) and title this Really?  Seriously?  You didn’t know J.P wasn’t a visionary?  Really?  It took his dismissal to figure that out?  Seriously?  8 seasons with no hint of October action didn’t tip you off?  Really?  You still thought he had a plan?  Seriously?
9. The way that ownership takes fans for granted and thinks that we will just  keep dolling out money for tickets, parking etc without even a whiff of a winning product.
10. The antacid that were required after so many close games…that we lost.

Having said all that, Opening day is April 5, 2010 and I can’t wait.  Here is hoping that Alex Anthopoulos (the new Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations and General Manager) can not only continue the tradition of the Jays being an eco-friendly club but will help us make another push for the World Series next year. Boston and New York better watch out, 2010 is the season of the Jays.

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Tags: Adam Lind, Alex Anthopoulos, B J Ryan, Boston, Boston Red Sox, Cito Gaston, Corporate Responsibility, corporate social responsibility, J P Ricciardi, Major League Baseball, MLB, MLB All Star Game, New York, New York Yankees, planet forward, Randy Ruiz, Red Sox, Rogers, Saturday Night Live, SNL, SNL Weekend Update, sustainability, The Blue Jays, The Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Vernon Wells

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