Justin Barracosa

Former Blue Jays shortstop Tony Fernandez, was a major-crowd pleaser, and was introduced by former Toronto general manager Pat Gillick, who is currently general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

A five-time all-star, Fernandez is the Blue Jays’ leader in games played (1,450), at-bats (5,335), hits (1,583), and triples (72). His career batting average is an impressive .297.

“It’s been a very emotional day but I’m so glad you are all here for it,” said Fernandez, a native of the Dominican Republic.

“To all my fans and friends here today, to my fans who supported me throughout my career, without your support, it would have been impossible for me to reach success in my career.”

In eight postseason series (43 games), Fernandez batted .327, including a .395 average in 11 World Series games.

So my question to you is what constitutes a canadian hall of famer? Do they have to be born in canada? Or simply play for a canadian team?

Maybe just as long as they’ve played against the toronto blue jays?

Or how about heard of canada?

Yea i heard babe ruth has heard of canada, and once had some maple syrup, let’s induct him.

No.

Im my mind, the canadian hall of fame is for canadians. Northern grown and raised in our land, a product of our systems and people, and no i don’t mean that in a racist way by any means.

Thoughts?

Graeme Nichols

My apologies for any time that has lapsed since my last post, when Cito the Bandito was hired. Amazingly enough, there were other newsworthy stories that went down this week.

1) Shawn Marcum is on the 15 Day DL

Could this injury have come at a worse time? Apparently not when John Parrish can come in and look like the second coming of Jimmy Key. I’m not even joking when I say that Parrish has probably been the Jays best left-handed starter since 1993. But what about Gustavo Chacin? Chacin was designated for assignment once Kevin Mench and Brad Wilkerson were picked up. Since no other clubs claimed Chacin off of waivers, Chacin has remained in the Jays system. Apparently, he was last seen in Dunedin sporting an Afro wig so Jays fans can’t recognize him. With a record of 1-7 and an ERA of 7.88 in Single-A,  I’d probably want to hide too.

2) Kevin Mench

If you needed further proof that JP Ricciardi is a lame duck GM, just take a look at the situation surrounding Adam Lind. On the same weekly talk program that got him in trouble with Adam Dunn, JP proclaimed that, “”[The fans] haven’t seen Adam Lind play, so he’s the next best thing. And you ask for the things you haven’t seen, not the things you have seen. It’s just human nature. Eventually Lind will be up here to play and hopefully he’ll take off and be what we expect him to be.”

With the appointment of Gaston as manager, Lind was immediately recalled to play LF every day under Gaston. Actually JP, Jays fans are pissed because the only prospect playing in the high minors is ripping the baseball and plays a position that has otherwise been an abyss for offensive production. I know that JP has loved Wilkerson since his Expos days but come on. At some point, he had to get his Major League repetitions. It never should have taken this long to get to this point and with this week’s production, Lind is doing his best to make Ricciardi look like an idiot.

I only wish that Mench went Latrell Sprewell on Ricciardi when he found out that he had been demoted. Fortunately, Shawn Chacon met the annual quota for underachieving players who strangle their superior.

3) Dunn Vs. Ricciardi Round Two

It’s hilarious that after an interview on a local sports network, JP said it was difficult for him to tell a lie because he was such an honest person. Within 48 hours, Adam Dunn was approached after JP said that he received a call from Dunn and subsequently apologized for his comments made on his Wednesday radio appearance. I don’t know what I’m more surprised about, the fact that JP lied or had a prank call or that more people aren’t calling into the Wednesday night radio segment proclaiming that they’re Adam Dunn.

4) Flashback Fridays

I’m disappointed that the Jays haven’t made any official announcement concerning the use of the powder blue jerseys for every remaining home game in tribute to Gaston. If someone told me in 1993 that Cito and Bobby Cox would still be managing against each other for their respective teams in the year 2008, I probably would have said that you’ve been spending too much time with Darryl Strawberry. The fact that Madonna’s still pumping out singles is just the icing on the cake.

5) Hey Gallo, Where’s the blog on this?

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/06/28/2008-06-28_frankly_speaking_yankee_stadium_hot_dogs.html

What? Is it a slow news day in New York with the Subway Series on?

Justin Barracosa

Jesse Litsch pitched eight strong innings as theJays wrapped up a three-game set against the Reds with a 7-1 win.

Litsch (8-4) gave up just one run on three hits with a walk and six strikeouts for the Blue Jays, who have won three of four after a seven-game losing streak. Scott Rolen hit a two-run home run and drove in three while Vernon Wells had a pair of RBI and scored twice.

“The last few days we have swung the bat better than in the past,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said.

Edinson Volquez (10-3) had his worst start of the season as he gave up seven runs — five earned — on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings of work while Brandon Phillips drove in the lone run for the Reds, who have dropped three of their last four.

“The only thing I can say is it’s a bad day,” Volquez said. “I knew it was going to happen some day. All I can do is get ready for my next start.”

The Blue Jays took the lead in the second as Matt Stairs started the frame with a walk and Rolen followed by roping a slider into the left field stands.

Toronto tacked on three more runs to its lead in the third. With the bases loaded, Wells hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Marco Scutaro. Lyle Overbay later added a two-run single to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Reds got on the board in the fourth inning when Adam Dunn hit a double, moved to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Phillips.

The Blue Jays added to their lead in the fifth. Alex Rios led off with a double and then scored on a double from Wells. Later in the inning, Rolen belted a double to right that brought home Wells for a 7-1 lead.

After giving up the double in the fourth, Litsch was nearly flawless as he allowed just a single to Jerry Hairston Jr. in the sixth and a double to Corey Patterson along with a walk to Paul Bako in the eighth.

Brian Tallet pitched the ninth for Toronto to finish the win.