J.A. not Happ(y)
And, understandably, Happ isn't down with that.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Happ, after he pitched 3.1 scoreless innings against the visiting New York Yankees on Sunday. “I told myself a couple things before I came into camp — that I would try to stay as positive as I could and let things play out. So I’m trying to do that.”
Happ sees himself as a Major League starter, not at AAA starter or a member of the bullpen and has hinted that he hopes other teams are watching what he's capable of, and that he might be traded elsewhere.
It's one of those situations were both sides have merit. The 2012 Jays rotation was decimated with injuries, so stockpiling solid arms would seem prudent. Also, should Ricky Romero have the sort of disastrous year he endured last season or if his knees or elbow give out (likely the cause of the disaster), Happ is the first to get the call. There is some question as to whether Happ should have Romero's spot already, based on last season's performance, but there are a few reasons that isn't likely. The major one is a money reason. The team has made a bigger investment in Romero, contract-wise, and would like to see a return on that investment.
The "starter Happ" issue has been brewing since last season, when he was traded to the Jays and relegated to the bullpen after he was a starter in Houston. Happ won't right out and say he finds bullpen work unacceptable, but his comments on the matter hint at it constantly:
“I don’t want to make any waves or cause any issues,” he said to John Lott of the National Post last July. “I think we’ll just wait and see a little bit. But obviously I feel like I'm better suited to be a starter. I think I can be successful there and help this team in that role. So I do hope for an opportunity to get in the rotation.”
Well, for now, it's the Buffalo rotation. But I also think Romero's leash has been tightened. I think it's wrong to criticize Happ for feeling this way. You want guys that want to be challenge and have ambition. Stoeten over at Drunk Jays Fans makes valid points about Happ's situation and argues that a baseball player in his situation is going to have a different viewpoint on sucking up and taking one for the team than a fan would.
John Gibbons doesn't seem that worried about the Happ. He said that by the end of the year “he’ll probably be laughing and we’ll have forgotten all about this."
Jose Bautista did a "Ask me Anything" Reddit chat, and it was pretty amusing. He thinks Brett Lawrie is unintentionally hilarious, enjoys Southern food with Colby Rasmus, thinks he's a rather terrible actor, enjoys steak at Barberians in T.O., doesn't correctly remember his 54th homer in 2010, enjoys a show staring Betty White and answered this question: "Would you rather fight 100 Jon Rauch-sized ducks, or 1 horse-sized David Eckstein?" with "The Eckstein-sized horse...but shouldn't the question be 100 Eckstein sized hoses or 1 Rauch sized duck?"
Because 100 nearly 7 foot ducks that weigh 290 lbs are far scarier than a small (Eckstein-sized) horse.
Canada was eliminated from the WBC over the weekend, but not before engaging in a pretty crazy bench clearing brawl with Mexico on Saturday.
And it was a full out brawl. There wasn't just crotch grabbing and yapping. There were haymakers for all and dudes being thrown to the ground. Notably, Vancouver's Tyson Gillies tossing Alfredo Aceves like a rag doll. “I had a hold of him, and I think I saw Satan in his eyes,” Larry Walker said of Aceves while speaking with reporters after the game.
My favourite bit of the ESPN report was the description of Sergio Romo "cutting people with his eyes." Actually, the broadcast is pretty funny in general. They are the perfect combination of aghast and titillated.
The tricky thing about this brawl is what instigated it. Canada was leading 9-3, and it's considered bad form to run up the score with a bunt. It's one of those unwritten rules that baseball purists wear like a badge of honour. But, the tie-breaking method in this tournament is run differential. It's actually how Canada was eliminated in 2006. So, as odious as it might be to some, running up the score is the right call.
Well, not according to Jose Bautista:
“I’m not buying the fact that teams are bunting when they’re up by six because of the rules of the WBC,” Bautista told reporters Sunday morning before the Blue Jays’ 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
“I believe in the unwritten rules of the game. They should be respected. It’s a code amongst players and everybody who plays baseball at a level higher than Little League knows what it is and there’s no excuse.”
I'm not sure it's something that requires "buying." The run differential is the only reason they'd do it. Bautista's wrong. And I'm not Happ(y) about it.