Hazel Mae is outstanding.  

That’s what you get for booing our national anthem, especially after we showed nothing but respect for theirs, both games!  Let’s go Blue Jays!

  A quick poll...Who do you want the Jays to play?  Detroit or Seattle?  And why...

Na.

Daaaaaaaaa yankee LOSE

I have become a big fan of Ortiz on the Fox coverage.  Shameless organic hate for the Yankees.

Buck Martinez carries on despite a diagnosis of lung cancer. And he has no plans to be benched anytime soon. 

Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez opens up on future and viral feud with Yankees

This won't surprise anyone. 

Blue Jays averaging 3 million+ per game in series win over Yankees

mace wrote:

This is what we know about the ALCS now. The Jays will play here on Sunday October 12 and Monday October 13. They will go to Detroit or Seattle on Wednesday October 15 and Wednesday October 16. Times TBD. TBS will cover the ALCS in the U.S. while FOX has the rights to the NLCS. 

You got that backwards.... Fox has ALCS and TBS has NLCS. Of course, Sportsnet has it covered north of the border, and CityTV could simsub the Fox network games if they so choose

RadioActive wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

Buck Martinez carries on despite a diagnosis of lung cancer. And he has no plans to be benched anytime soon. 

Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez opens up on future and viral feud with Yankees

This guy was an on-air Buck Martinez before there was an on-air Buck Martinez. Circa 1991, just a year before the two World Series wins and back in the days when most sports were still on free TV. 

And Tommy Hutton is still going strong, serving as a TV analyst for the Miami Marlins.

Interesting to note that the Leafs are supposed to be playing Detroit at Scotiabank Arena on Monday, so the team has changed the time of the face-off to 2 PM, so as not to conflict with the Jays game at night.

That sets up the scenario where one Toronto team is playing Detroit in the afternoon, while the other Toronto team is possibly playing the same city later on that night. It's pretty surreal but it could happen. 

MLB uses a 2-3-2 format for the League Championshp Series and World Series. So the Jays will have home field for games 1, 2 and if necessary 6 and 7. Should the Jays advance to the World Series, they will get game seven at home if they play the Dodgers. Against the Brewers, it would be in Milwaukee.

RadioActive wrote:

I'm grateful they don't use that stupid automatic runner at second base in extra innings rule during the playoffs. I know they want to cut down on the length of games, but this was a really bad idea right from the beginning. Both sides should have to earn their place on base. 

If it's not good enough for the playoffs, why do they do it during the regular season?

Same argument applies to shootouts in the NHL. I'm okay with the 4-on-4 in OT, but I've always thought OT should be 10 minutes. Playing for half of a period makes more sense to me than 25%.

The fact that baseball has a scheduled activity in the 7th inning designed to wake the audience up tells me the game is too long.

RadioActive wrote:

I'm grateful they don't use that stupid automatic runner at second base in extra innings rule during the playoffs. I know they want to cut down on the length of games, but this was a really bad idea right from the beginning. Both sides should have to earn their place on base. 

If it's not good enough for the playoffs, why do they do it during the regular season?

They do it to speed the game up. In the regular season, the NHL does something similar. A five minute OT, then a shootout. Once the Stanley Cup playoffs begin, it is truly sudden death OT. You play until a goal is scored. If that takes six periods, another two games so be it. And yes it has happened. On March 24, 1936 Detroit scored in the 16th minute of the sixth overtime period to beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0.

RadioActive wrote:

Yes I'm well aware of the reason for it, but to me, it cheapens the outcome. Having a runner already on second base means you don't have to earn your way there and it just seems to me a team that wins with a runner on second and a single base hit to win is cheapening the game. 

You should earn your victory, not be given an extra chance to get to the finish line. And yes, I also know it applies to both sides but there's something about it that just doesn't seem right. I know they've put a clock on the pitchers and done other things to move it along, but this is a step too far in my opinion. 

I respectfully disagree.  I think they should get participation awards.

Am I wrong or did they also institute a rule about the number of times a pitcher can throw over to first base to keep a runner from stealing second? I recall watching a playoff game earlier this month where a guy threw over three times and that was ruled one time too many, and the runner was given second. 
 
Preventing or attempting steals is a major part of the game. This essentially means once a pitcher has thrown over twice, the runner has carte blanche to get a big lead and go, knowing he can't toss over a third time.

I know they want to speed up the game but this is just idiotic. 

Lorne wrote:

From Google AI:
A baseball pitcher is limited to two pickoff attempts (or other "disengagements" from the rubber) per plate appearance before a penalty is called. If a third disengagement is attempted without recording an out, it results in an automatic balk, and any baserunners advance one base. The limit resets if a runner advances during the plate appearance.

Stupid rule. It practically guarantees a runner from the other team will be trying to steal second. There's not a lot to stop him if the pitcher has already thrown over twice to keep him close. I guess I'm a baseball purist. I hate these ridiculous changes. It may save time but to me, it hurts the game. And that's far more important.