A case of mistaken identity ...

I walked into a local Subway for lunch on Wednesday. Tuna, yo. On whole wheat. I sauntered over to the ordering area and, before I could tell the young gentleman on the other side of the glass what I wanted, he said:

"Oh, I thought you were the baseball player ... Jose Bautista."

I was, of course, wearing my Blue Jays cap. And my Bautista beard.

I laughed. Awkwardly. I might have blushed, which is utterly ridiculous. Finally, not knowing how to respond, I said: "No, but Bautista's pretty awesome."

"Yeah ... You're right ... He is," came the Subway employee's laboured response. And since the exchange wasn't apparently awkward enough, we then shared a couple of seconds of torturous silence, before he finally got around to putting together my sandwich.

The bottom line: People are seeing Jose Bautista in the streets. And can you blame them?

What a season. One for the record books. For the first time in Toronto baseball history, a Blue Jay will hit 50 home runs.

"[Jose Bautista is] one of my favourite players."

- George Bell

Mine, too.

Image courtesy of daylife. Thanks, yo.

Robbing Alomar

Yesterday, Wednesday, January 6, 2010, was all about the Baseball Writers Association of America. Their annual 15 minutes of fame. Their time to shine. And shine they did.

The BBWAA must get off on the attention. They should. They must. It's why the script never changes. We, the fans, and we, the bloggers, know what's coming. Ever year, it's the same story: outrage at the Hall of Fame results, followed by anger and exasperation. It's like clockwork. And Twitter has certainly made it easier to vent.

Roberto Alomar is a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Fame player. You know it. I know it. All of the members of the BBWAA know it. He received more votes - 397 - than any other first-year candidate not to be elected. But thanks to the democratic process, a few men denied Alomar his right. And what the fuck can you do? Democracy's all we've got.

I was disappointed. Angry. Forever the optimist, I figured Alomar was a lock. I was excited to see Robbie become Toronto's first contribution to Cooperstown. Finally, I'd have to make a visit. I openly brooded over the snub. But I've realized there's no point. Alomar will get in. Next year. It's a fact. He won't have to agonizingly wait the way Andre Dawson did, and the way Bert Blyleven continues to. It isn't much, but it's something.

In a sick way, it's been fun. Reading articles such as "Roberto Alomar's omission a travesty" by Boston Herald writer, and BBWAA member, Steve Buckley took me back to a time when Alomar was the best second baseman in all of baseball; when Alomar and the Blue Jays ruled the baseball world. Alomar did it with his bat and, Lord knows, he did it with his glove. In October, Alomar dominated. A .313 postseason batting average. A .347 World Series average. And people noticed.

Buckley said it best: "We botched it. There's no other way to say it. We botched it."

Indeed. A few men wanted to punish Alomar, and they did. That's life. That's democracy. It's why a guy like George W. Bush ruled the free world for eight awesome years.

Next year, the BBWAA will atone for their petty mistake. And at Roberto Alomar's induction ceremony, we will party like it's 2010.

2010

"New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights."

- Hamilton Wright Mabie

Here's to this one being better than the last. I think you know what I mean ...