Georgeous

There are days I still can’t believe this guy is a Blue Jay. Happy 200th, George Chelston Springer III.

The video of it is a work of art. I appreciate great broadcasting and what it offers to the game, but sometimes just the sounds of baseball are magic.

The breath Springer takes to settle himself before the pitch and the sound of the bat as the crowd rises up and makes sounds as they realize the game is tied.

My Favourite Things: Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays

I won’t say that that was my favourite game ever, but it did feature a few of the things I enjoy most about baseball.

Solid Pitching

Berríos pitched seven innings, with five hits, two runs (both earned), one walk and four strike outs. There were loud outs early on, but he settled in and attacked those aggressive Red Sox hitters.

He worked very quickly and didn’t mess around. No faffing.

A Quick Game

Because Berríos didn’t faff around, the time of game was two hours and 16 minutes. Which is lightening fast for a game featuing the Red Sox, a team that drags out every at bat and will make every effort to make the game a slog.

Beating the Red Sox

Last night’s loss for the Red Sox was the perfect kind of loss. Back when I used to peruse Red Sox websites for content inspiration, I noticed something about their fans.

If the team is very, very good, the fans are kind of boring. Similarily, when the team is truly terrible, the fans have a zen-like acceptance and it’s also boring. The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle — when the team is nearly good but just falls short. Adam Cimber allowing both runners that he inherited from Berríos to score actually set up a perfect Red Sox loss. Berríos had shut them down and all of a sudden, the Sox had a chance. The game was tied.

And then,

There was almost a chance and then, dreams were crushed.

By a kid who could be on the cover of Tiger Beat. They probably hate him.

Bo Bichette Hair Toss

Bo Bichette has been feeling it this season.

He's not hitting the way he wants to and you can see the frustration in his face, especially when he strikes out on close pitches

Bichette is truly illustrating that so much about baseball is sucking and weathering those low points until you suck a little less.

He absolutely got into one last night and he looked fantastic doing it, with a beautiful Bo Bichette-style swing. He looked relieved and his teammates looked thrilled. And it was a great moment.

Feeling good as hell.

Beating the Red Sox

Tyler Danish served up a pitch to Bo Bichette that was flaky and delicious— yes, that’s a pastry pun.

But what made that particular moment extra delicious is that Danish was one of two pitcher called up to replace Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, who were both put on the COVID-restricted list because neither of them are vaccinated against COVID-19 and therefore can’t travel across the border.

Houck called the vaccine a “personal choice” and told The Boston Globe, “I’ve tried to stay away from it. No matter what side of the fence you’re on, there’s always going to be positive and there’s always going to be negative. I’ve got a job to do and focus on what I’ve got to do,” Houck said.

I guess his job isn’t to pitch against a division rival and a team currently ahead in the standings. I would like to hear his “negatives”.

And really, this thought does come to my head when watching this team:

Hugs

Rarely have I witnessed a group of unrelated men be this openly affectionate with each other. I can’t stress how wholesome it is. The broadcast will cut to the dugout and there will be a couple of guys just hugging it out.

Sometimes because someone did a good job:

And sometimes, it’s just cause:

Beating the Red Sox

It’s never not fun.

P.S. George Springer, when not hugging his teammates, did this: