Toronto Blue Jays Prevning Game

Prevning: the time which is not clear between afternoon and evening. this period differs from one place to the other due to the spherical shape of earth, hence the reception of sunbeam. the term is coined by Sheldon Cooper, in The Big Bang theory. "ohh.. its 4.30pm. that's pre-evening." 

Today the Toronto Blue Jays had an unusual start time of 4:35 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Usually the start time is 7:05, or on getaway day 12:35. This is unusual and I like it. I get off at 4:00 and I am a 20 minute walk to the stadium.

I bought my seat in the first row just above the Jay's bullpen. My seat was just above the good hands symbol which gave me a great close up look at the Jays starting pitcher Mark Buehrle warming up.

The Blue Jays bullpen hope for a restful night. Buehrle lived up to his reputation of pitching long into a game by going 7 innings and giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits.

Buerhrle's first pitch was a swing and a miss.

 Brett Lawrie's intense batting stance

After a couple of innings I went up to the new stand-up bar area in centre field which used to be the old useless Windows Restaurant.. On the way there I saw a new display, which doesn't feel quite complete. For one the bat is set the wrong way around so the names are upside down.

I did get a good shot of a Mark Buerhrle pitch from there.

OK. I moved over to the 3rd base seats for the final couple of innings. The Jays were tied 2-2, Jose Batista had homered in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game. Casey Jansen, the Jays closer came in for the 9th inning and did what is unusual for him. he gave up a run.

Going into the bottom of the 9th though, the strength of the Jays lineup was coming to bat.

With the Rays big stopper Fernando Rodney on the mound, Bautista came up and crushed his 2nd home run of the game. I wish i could say I caught the ball coming off the bat, but i did get the end of his swing.

Game tied and off to the 10th inning.

The Rays started with a single, which was wiped out by a double play. Desmond Jennings, who has been playing well for the Rays, then grounded out bringing the Jays to bat for the bottom of the 10th.

Colby Rasmus, hit a dribbler but his hustle forced an error at first. Nobody out and the speedy Rasmus standing at first.

Bonifacio then came up to bunt Rasmus to 2nd. With 1 out, fan favorite Kawasaki came to bat, grounding out but sending Rasmus to 3rd. The Jays brought in pinch hitter Mark DeRosa who forced a walk, so with Bautista coming to the plate, there were now 2 out and the winning run at 3rd.

Bautista came through on with no balls and 2 strikes on hi, reaching out and slapping a single. The crowd went wild, and i did to resulting in a bit of a fuzzy shot of the moment.

The Blue Jays win with a Bautista walk off single taking the series 2 games to 1. It was a fabulous way to enjoy a prevning!

                         Scoreboard Final 10th
                        1 2 3  4 5 6   7 8 9   10       R H E
Tampa Bay       0 0 2  0 0 0   0 0 1   0        3 7 0
Toronto             1 0 0  1 0 0   0 0 1   1        4 7 1

Book Review - Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball

I have been a fan of R.A. Dickey for the past couple of years and in fact have had him on my fantasy baseball league team the Rumunners. Sadly, he is not on my team this year.

But he now pitches for my favorite team, the Toronto Blue Jays and although he currently has a losing record, has thrown well the past couple of games.

He has written a book on years of struggles in the minor leagues, Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball

Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey weaves searing honesty and baseball insight in this memoir about his unlikely journey to the big leagues. An English Lit major at the University of Tennessee, Dickey is as articulate and thoughtful as any professional athlete in any sport-and proves it page after page, as he provides fresh and honest insight into baseball and a career unlike any other.

Sustained by his profound Christian faith, the love of his wife and children, and a relentless quest for self-awareness and authenticity, the immensely likable Dickey details his transformation from a reckless, risk-taking loner to a grounded, life- affirming big leaguer. He emerged as one of the premier pitchers in the National League in 2010-and the knuckleballing embodiment of the wonders that perseverance and human wisdom can produce. Dickey views his story as one of redemption. Readers will come to see it as something more-a uniquely American story of beating back demons, listening to your heart, and overcoming extraordinary odds.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and he is quite open about his life, personal and professional, good and bad and how his faith helped to sustain him. I knew going in that he has deep religious beliefs, and hoped that the book would not be preachy about it.

It wasn't. I just found this to be a very honest autobiography, one worth reading.

A Spring Visit to KC's Tree

 

Our dog, KC, passed away two years ago this month. Teena went out soon after and paid for a tree to be planted in her honour in Trinity Bellwoods Park, one of KC's favorite places. The tree was planted in the fall of 2011 and it has really grown and filled out since.

The leaves are large and full, and the tree is quite healthy. Another few years and people will be picnicking underneath it.

A May Holiday Monday in Trinity Bellwoods Park

Today Teena and I took a walk over to Trinity Bellwoods Park. It's a big, very beautiful and well used park, especially on a May holiday Monday that feels like 29 degrees. Lots of people were out enjoying it today.

 

The trees were quite colourful.

The colour gave me an opportunity to take some "depth of field shots.

There was a bit of a breeze, enough to fly a kite!

We were out for a couple of hours. A great way to enjoy a holiday Monday!

Ken's Long Weekend Pub Crawl

Teena and I are members of the Toronto Beer Lovers Meet-up Group and this afternoon there was a pub crawl along Ossington Ave led by Ken Woods, owner of Black Oak Brewing Co.

I really like Ken. He is a very personable, easy to get to know person, plus his brewery makes great beer. I love their Pale Ale, Summer Saison and 10 Bitter Years.

We met just before the patio of Bellwoods Brewery opened at two and there was a dozen or so of us to fill up a few of picnic tables out in the sunshine when they opened the door. More came in as the afternoon went on.

It was a fabulous afternoon in the sun. We met a lot of interesting people and had some great beer. The Samurai Sauvin Saison was my favorite. Teena enjoyed the Twin Peach.

After a few hours we moved to a bar on Dundas called Get Well.

I liked this place not only do they have a decent beer selection, but they also had some old video machines and more important...PINBALL! I have always loved pinball machines and it has been a very long time since I have played one., My first game I lucked out winning a few free games. I had forgot about that wonderful, loud CRACK of a free game being rung up. In the end I walked away winning 15 free games.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their selves away from the machines.

Most headed off to Thirsty and Miserable up in Kensington Market after. We were too close to home to wander away from it, so headed home instead.

Thanks Ken for organizing this walk. We had a fabulous time!. Best part...Monday is a holiday!

Beer of the Week - The Immortal IPA

The LCBO did not go on strike, and I'm glad it didn't. Even though it is Ontario's liquor store, they also carry a fabulous selection of foreign and craft beers, and surprising, has a greater variety of beer than is sold by Ontario's "The Beer Store".

It would have been tougher to find new and exciting beers such as one I found this week on their shelves from the Elysian Brewing Company of Seattle Washington, The Immortal IPA.

Love the name!

Elysian Brewing Company was founded in 1995 by Dick Cantwell, Joe Bisacca and David Buhler. In 1996 they opened Capitol Hill Public House, a 220 seat beer hall and brewery. The brewery was and still is their main brewery.

I like the name but wondered what Elysian meant. According to Webster's Online Dictionary it means "Blissful, Delightful"

I like it!

In 2003 Elysian opened a smaller brewery and bistro, Tangletown that seats 80. The brewery here is used for brewing and testing new beers.

You likely have heard the term, "location, location, location" which is extremely important for a pub, bar or restaurant to be successful. Well in 2006, they opened a pub, Elysian Fields, right by Seattle's two biggest stadiums, Qwest Stadium, home of the Seahawks (NFL Football) and the Mariners home, Safeco Field (Baseball). Elysian Fields seats 400 and has 40 taps which pours 18 house brewed beers and some guest beers.

Guess where I want to go if I ever get to Seattle?

And the beer!

The Immortal IPA, according to their website, is a  "Northwest interpretation of a classic English style". I am looking forward to this as I love west coast style IPA's. They go on to say The Immortal uses Chinook hops in the brew which is finished with Amarillo and Centennial hops.

According to Freshops, Chinook hops give a taste of  a "pine forest washed with exotic spice and infused with grapefruit. Amarillo gives a "flowery, citrus-like aroma with medium bittering value" and Centennial hops have "Flowers & citrus most evident. A medium aroma with mid to high bittering value"

Time for a sip!

The beer pours a little cloudy with a light coppery shade.It has a nice citrusy aroma that makes me quite ready for my first sip...which is disappointing. It starts with a light citrus bitterness which kind of lasts and not much else. It has a general light watery mouth feel for a 6.3% IPA. Nothing jumps out at you.

I can't say I dislike this beer, there is nothing here to dislike... or like. It's just disappointing. At least I won't have to choke it down when I drink the other five.  


Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 204 
Breweries 186 
Countries 38

Book Review - 300 by Frank Miller

I have never read a graphic novel, then gone out to see the movie. It is always the other way around and so it was this time when I read 300. The movie was fantastic, hopefully the book would be too

300 is a story of war and defiance as only Frank Miller can tell. Featuring the watercolor talents of painter Lynn Varley, 300 marks the first collaboration for these two creators since 1990's Elektra Lives Again. The five-part series is collected into a beautiful, 88-page hardcover volume, with each two-page spread from the comic presented as it was originally intended - as a single undivided page, greatly enhancing the graphic and narrative power of this immortal tale of heroic sacrifice.

The story is very loosely based on the Battle of Thermopylae in the 5th century BC where a small band of 300 highly trained Spartan warriors held off a huge Persian army at a small pass at Thermopylae. It is estimated that the 300 killed more than 20,000 Persians in the battle.

I found the artwork excellent but the story confusing. I am glad I got it from the library instead of buying it and it is a very quick read.


Forget the book. See the movie!

Book Review - Calico Joe by John Grisham

Usually when I read books about baseball, they are non-fiction. There are so many great stories about players who have played in the major leagues or spent most of their careers tolling in the minors that it never occurred to me to read a fiction.

Calico Joe has been on my list to read for a few months and just recently I got around to actually cracking the cover (can you still call it that with a Kobo?)

Whatever happened to Calico Joe? 

In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records. 

Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. 

On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever... 

 In John Grisham's new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it's what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic.

And it's a John Grisham book without lawyers!

I really enjoyed this book and was fully engaged in the story. The story is told in flashbacks about Paul Tracy's life, and Joe Castle's first games with the Cubs and then comes to the present, 30 years later, and written in present tense about Paul's life.


Calico Joe is a well written, engrossing story. In fact if there was a sports novel that I wish I had written, this would be it. This is a great read whether a person follows baseball or not.