May 22, 2012

Don't look now..

But things are looking up!  Stop reading if you're the type of 'fan' who revels in criticizing the team.  You know the type I'm talking about.  They can be heard calling in to WEEI every day asking for the firing of the manager or the trading of our best players because they've had a couple of bad games in a row.  They're the same guys who said Pedroia was too small to be an everyday player, and were 'proven' right, when he hit .191 in his first cup of coffee in September of 2006 and followed that up by hitting $1.82 in April of 2007.  (Of course he then went on to win Rookie of the Year and MVP the following season.)

Not resigning Papelbon was a mistake, they said.  How can you leave closing of games to Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon?  And when Bailey went to the DL before the season started and Melancon was sent to Pawtucket with an ERA near 50(!) it looked like the naysayers knew what they were talking about.

May 05, 2012

Baseball dead in Calgary?

So go the rumours.  And looking out the window today seeing an unwelcome snowstorm serves as a reminder that this is a hockey first –  if not hockey only – town.  The Vipers folding at the end of last season helped create the perfect storm (yes, pun definitely intended) for any casual fan to believe that there is no baseball left in Calgary.

But this excellent article by the Calgary Herald's Scott Cruickshank articulates splendidly why this isn't so.  It includes the viewpoints of most of the city's baseball movers and shakers.  This includes the heads of several local programs, including Pro Baseball Force, FMBA, Babe Ruth, NSA, U of C, Little League, Okotoks Dawgs, and more.

Calgary has had several local players drafted into the MLB and there will be more soon.

Those who think that baseball is exclusively an American sport, check out Diamonds of the North or Bob Elliott's "The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way" for a Canadian perspective of the game.