The Canada Day weekend in Toronto was a busy one. Besides the city being engulfed in celebrations for the countries birthday, there was also Pride celebrations, an Iron Chef Poutine challenge and RibFest. So, if you were busy attending any of those events, you might have missed out on a busy sports weekend. Here is a recap, in case you missed it…

- Hockey free agency opened yesterday with a bunch of mid-level players signing contracts that they will have a tough time living up to. The Leafs got in on the action by signing former Colorado Avalanche C Jay McClement to a two-year deal worth $3 million (Pension Plan Puppets)

- Brian Burke wasn’t in the office yesterday, he was attending the pride parade in honour of his late son. Some fans were upset that he wasn’t working the phone lines for free agents. Those fans are idiots

- Lots of former Leafs changed teams as well if you are keeping tabs and want to boo them on their return. Recently released Colby Armstrong signed with the Montreal Canadiens and goalie Jonas Gustavsson signed with the Detroit Red Wings

- Remember our friend Joffrey Lupul? He was back on twitter yesterday speaking on the big Sidney Crosby deal (12 year, $104.4 million). He said that it is normal for players to take the team out for dinner after signing a new contract, he thought Crosby should treat the entire league! (LINK)

- Toronto Blue Jays lost on Canada Day to split a 4 game series with the LA Angels. The bullpen imploded, blowing a nice start by Aaron Laffey spoiling Canada Day for the almost 35 000 fans in attendance

- Jose Bautista is the lone Blue Jay going to Kansas City for the All-Star game. Bautista was selected by the fans as a starter. He makes his third straight all-star game appearance (Toronto Star)

- Toronto native and Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto was voted a starter for the National League all-star squad

- Bautista was happy to have been honoured with the all-star selection. He was upset that Edwin Encarnacion was snubbed since he carried the team for the first couple of months of the season while he got on track

- Jose Bautista also confirmed that he would like to participate in the home run derby during all-star celebrations. He hasn’t been officially asked, but will be a part of it when the invite comes

- NBA free agency also started on July 1. A few low key signings around the league, but the Toronto news is that the Raptors brass met with free agent Steve Nash and have reportedly offered him a 3 year $36 million dollar contract (TSN). Nash also met with the Knicks yesterday. He will also explore a few other options and make a decision in the near future

- Toronto Argos opened their season on the road against the Edmonton Eskimos. It wasn’t the fairy tale ending that former Eskimo wanted in his return to Edmonton. The Argos fell 19-15

- The odds of a positive result were not good with first place New York Red Bulls coming to BMO Field to play the last place Toronto FC. After giving up an early goal, TFC fought back and tied the game and then held on to salvage a point and 1-1 draw

- Canadian Track and Field Olympic trials were held this past weekend. A set of Toronto brothers, Justyn and Ian Warner finished 1-2 in the 100m finals (CBC Sports)

- If you ever wanted to live out your childhood fantasies, you need to check out the X-Games Hot Wheels action

Photo: hc916 flicker

• By ben.trattner
• July 2, 2012
• Comment

If you wanted to epitomise the 2012 Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox series pretty much nails it: Taking early leads, bullpen implosions, (mostly) showing determination regardless of the outcome. Oh, and let’s not forget another pitcher leaving a game due to injury?!?! (Although mercifully this time Henderson Alvarez should be ready for his next start.)

Following this team has become the sporting equivalent of having a bipolar girlfriend; moments of joy and ecstasy compounded by periods of anger and despair. You just never know where you stand with them.

Obviously having a decimated pitching rotation doesn’t help.  About the only positive to take from this ridiculous situation is a dramatically improved medical knowledge (one of the underrated advantages of following sports, along with an ability to pronounce complicated foreign surnames.) I’m sure most of us were googling the term ‘oblique strain’ as soon as we knew what was wrong with Brandon Morrow.

At least the offence is doing its best to keep the Blue Jays in contention, led by a revitalised Jose Bautista.  The statistics make for impressive reading with 367 runs scored, 343 RBIs’ (both 5th in the Majors) and 109 home runs (2nd).

John Farrell also pulled off a master stoke by moving Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus to the top of the order. They are potentially the most explosive duo since Ike and Tina Turner (although the only things being battered are baseballs).

However, this team still needs to show more consistency in general.  If the Jays don’t resolve their pitching situation soon (sorry, but Jamie Moyer is NOT the answer), I fear they’ll struggle to stay above .500, never mind contend for a wild-card spot.  And let’s be honest, most men prefer more stability in their relationships, whether it’s sports teams or women.

• By paul.taylor
• June 28, 2012
• Comment

O Canada!

Since the 2004 departure of the Montreal Expos to Washington, the Toronto Blue Jays have been “Canada’s Team”. Even though not everyone across the country is fond of the Jays, it is still something the organization can claim.

Recent years have seen the team make off-season trips across the country and provide training clinics with alumni and current players to bolster the fan base in the Maritimes and Western Canada. One other way to do this is to release new merchandise. The Jays unveiled a revamped uniform this season that has been a huge hit with the fans and has increased sales (doesn’t hurt that every tween and twenty-something girl in Toronto wants to wear a Brett Lawrie t-shirt).

Now the Jays have released their once a year Canada Day jersey. Keeping the same design as their current uniform, but with the major difference being, it is red! Also, every player will be named Canada on July 1. Hopefully this will confuse the LA Angels and Jose Bautista will see the pitches that were intended for Rajai Davis.

Will you buy a red Jays Canada day jersey? Whose number do you want on the back?

Check out the entire history of the Blue Jays Canada day jerseys at Uni-Watch

Photo: The Score

• By ben.trattner
• June 25, 2012
• Comment
• 3

Nothing like a visit to Minnessota to bring back to life the bat of Jose Bautista. He homered 3 times in the 4-game series and his swing now looks sharper than it did all season long.

@JoeyBats19 is the visiting player who registered the most home runs (9) in that stadium since it was built. We all know that we will need the heart of the lineup to be alot better if the Jays want to have a chance to participate in the postseason.

Let’s just hope Bautista can carry his momentum back home, where the Jays open a series versus the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, tonight, at the Rogers Centre

• By Manny Frag
• May 14, 2012
• Comment

Today, the Toronto Blue Jays will try to prove to the whole baseball world that their 24-7 spring training record was no fluke. They are opening their regular season in Cleveland, to face the Indians.

The Blue Jays’ ace Ricky Romero will be on the mound, and will try to repeat from a great season last year. His record wasn’t that great (15-11), but his offence gave him very little support last year. Romero finished the season with an impressive 2.92 ERA and an incredible 1.14 WHIP. Hopefully the Jays’ bats will come to his rescue this year.

The Great Lawrie

All eyes will be turned on young canadian phenom Brett Lawrie, who hit for over .500 in spring training. After a promising 43 games in his rookie season, Lawrie seems ready to elevate himself to the status of baseball superstar.

Let’s not forget about Jose Bautista who will try to win the MLB home run titles for a third straight year.

This year, the Jays got some depth in the bullpen, which was their achilles’ heel last season. However, the lack of experience in their starting rotation will probably be an issue in the long run. Romero and Morrow are great, but the 3 other starters are very young and inexperienced. Eveng Brett Cecil, who was the Jays’ leader in wins for 2011, got relegated to AA baseball because of a horrendous spring training.

Nonetheless, hopes are high in the Jays’ dugout and action starts today at 3 p.m.

• By Manny Frag
• April 5, 2012
• Comment

The hopes are high for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, especially with the extra wild card spot available in the American League. So far, the Jays are living up to expectations with an MLB best 9 wins, and only 2 losses.

Only the Detroit Togers and the L.A. Dodgers have a better winning % in spring training with a 6-1 record. Better news yet, the players are playing up to par.

Brett Lawrie is leading the Majors with an astonishing .579 average at bat (11/19) and he also has 8 RBI’s in 7 games played.

Jose Bautista is hitting for a very respectable .400 with 2 home runs in 6 games played. The pitchers are obviously doing their part of the job as well.

Brett Cecil still hasn’t allowed a run in 6 innings pitched. He also registered 2 wins in as many decisions. Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow also have a perfect ERA in 5 innings pitched.

I know that spring training doesn’t mean much, but let’s be positive and hope the Jays can carry this momentum into the regular season.

• By Manny Frag
• March 13, 2012
• Comment

Spring camp has just started, but news for Toronto Blue Jays fans could not be better. The Jays won their first 2 games and their canadian superstar, Brett Lawrie, looks great.

In 2 games, the third baseman is hitting for .500 (3 for 6), with 2 doubles and 5 RBIs. We all know Lawrie is marvelous defensively, so hopes are high for the Jays this season, with the extra wildcard spot available in the A.L. this year.

I believe Jose Bautista will be well supported offensively this season, for once, now let`s just hope the new acquisitions in the bullpen will deliver and help Toronto reach the postseason for the first time since their last world series championship in 1993.

The season will open on April the 5th, with a 3-game series in Cleveland to face the Indians. The Jays will then have their home opener on April 9th, for a 3-game series vs the Boston Red Sox.

• By Manny Frag
• March 5, 2012
• Comment

It’s almost spring time, and the boys of summer are back to work. Training camp has started for the Toronto Blue Jays, in Florida.

As always, hopes are high this time of the year for all MLB teams. But this time, the enthusiasm surrounding the Jays is legitimate, and for the first time in many many years, the Blue Jays could actually be part of a playoff race until september, in the toughest division in Baseball.

They signed Brandon Morrow and a few good relievers. We all know the bullpen was their achilles’ heel over the past few years. Jose bautista is a confirmed star in the MLB, having won 2 straight homeruns title, and he seems pretty anxious about the new season. He tweeted a couple days ago that he was excited to finally set his alarm for 6 a.m. for the beginning of training camp.

The emergence of young Canadian prospect Brett Lawrie is obvious, as we saw when he joined the big club last season. Hopefully for the Jays, other young players like JP Arencibia, Travis Snider, and Colby Rasmus can develop a consistency and help the Jays in their quest for a first playoff appearance since 1993.

Let’s hope these throwback uniforms will give them the luck necessary to finally be part of October baseball.

Picture: TSN.ca

• By Manny Frag
• February 21, 2012
• Comment

Many of the young NHL players from Canada, especially from Ontario, are getting along very well with the stars of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Their Twitter accounts are filled with cheering messages to each other.

For example, Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19), Ricky Romero (@RickyRo24), Brett Lawrie (@blawrie13), Travis Snider (@Lunchboxhero45), and Casey Janssen (@CaseyJanssen) will all be attending the San Jose Sharks game in Tampa Bay, tonight, to cheer on their boys from the Sharks: Logan Couture (@Logancouture) and Jamie McGinn (@JamieMcGinn).

In the summer time, many other NHL players from the Toronto area are returning the favor, by attending the Jays games. Some lucky players even get to take batting practices with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Maple Leafs and Blue Jays’ players obviously have a special bound, sharing the same fans. Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul) and Colby Armstrong (@armdog) often exchange wishes and funny comments with the Blue Jays’ players.

They even created #TeamUnit, which promotes the unity of the two toronto based teams.

I strongly suggest you follow them, if you don’t already do so,  as some conversations are verry funny and entertaining to read.

• By Manny Frag
• February 16, 2012
• Comment