The Roundup

I'm not particularly bothered by the Yankees cowardly decision to postpone yesterday's game due to "rain", ironic seeing that it hadn't been "raining" for 20 minutes prior to the official cancellation and nor did it "rain" again through the afternoon. And it's looking far worse for tonight, with a 80% chance of precipitation and t-storms possible.

And what if we're postponed once again tonight? Expect a double-header in NYC on either August 30 or 31. Nothing wrong with that in my mind; better to play these games later with Rolen healthy, Stairs or Lind in the lineup and the Yankees rotation in disarray.

Oh, and what's this? Apparently it's all but wrapped up with Lexi, whose beauty is exceeded only by the radiant 18th Century French virgins sought out by the monster Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in Patrick Suskind's Perfume. Note to Jays promo department: Alex Rios panty drier night?

Is this sweet news or should we not let our chickens get ahead of the cart? (I just made that up, pretty much every talking head in the organization made some reference to horses and carts during spring training. I'm witty like that.) JP smartly backed down from his Monday deadline ostensibly because both sides were too close to a deal to put it all on hold for 7 months, but more likely as an admission that his strong arm tactics had failed and following through on that threat was likely going to cost the club millions of dollars. However it gets done, just git'er done!

One cool thing about yesterday (for me) was how Blair answered my question during his pregame online chat honestly, thoughtfully and without making me cry like he did when I suggested we trade Rios to the Dodgers for Brad Penny last year. I'm just going to go out on a limb and guess that he liked the part where I wrote, "I don't want to name names, but a certain bearded, grandfatherly colleague of yours at a rival T.O. paper is probably the worst local offender [when it comes to talking out of one's ass]..." Cheers, Blair!

I also would be remiss not to mention a new (free) online webzine that tracks the Jays' minor league system, Behind the Dish. The first issue looks pretty swell (an interview with Jesse Litsch on pg. 1) and I intend to plagarize heavily from this valuable source as the summer progresses. Will add a link at right.

And totally out of the blue, here's a full admission of teams that I am "in like" with, for various reasons: Phillies, Braves, Nationals, Tigers, A's, and to a much lesser extent but still enough to warrant putting them on the list, the Diamondbacks. Teams that can go fornicate themselves include: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Giants, Cardinals and Marlins. There you have it.

ELSEWHERE:

* For the second day in a row, some minor redemption for beleaguered Bal'mer. Aubrey Huff, a well-known d-bag who is simply too lazy to live up to his potential, was showered with boos from hometown fans still smarting over some derogatory comments he made about their fair city in a NC-17 satellite radio interview back in October.

If this post was somewhat I abbreviated, it's largely due to the intoxicating after effects of the 5L Heneiken mini-keg I bought special for my annual Opening Day bbq. Anyone working for the famed Dutch brewers should know that I will gladly shill for your product in this space. Keep up the good work, lads!

-- Johnny Was