Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 1: Unc's Still Got It

 

the unc of the hour (a tower of power [too sweet to be sour?])

In a game where pretty much everything went right start to finish—Vladdy three-for-three with a walk; a bases-loaded knock for Okamoto; Eric Lauer finally looking like himself; the bullpen (Fisher, Nance, Mantiply, Miles) essentially flawless; homers from both Clement and Valenzuela—the biggest cheers of all came in the bottom of the fifth, when George Springer was announced as the pinch hitter for (say it with me, it's super fun) Yohendrick Piñango in Springer's first appearance since he broke his big toe (the foremost piggy!) some time ago. Springer singled Vladdy home on the very first pitch he saw, which the crowd, as you might well expect, also enjoyed. And on the subject of crowds, might I make mention that this six-game homestand—an April one, I would remind you, with the roof very much closed—did not see a single crowd below forty-one thousand? This makes the energy on the broadcast fantastic, and I am sure the vibe in the stadium itself is strong, and I suppose too there are certain crass commercial advantages ("Crass Commercial Advantages this season brought to you by our friends at Rogers . . ."), but my thoughts turn, a little, to how nice it was "back in the day" (the day of, say, the $81 Toronto Star Season Pass) to have some room of one's own up there in the 500s (and indeed amidst them) to just stretch out (if only in spirit; one needn't actually take up extra seats) with one's scorekeeping book and one's slim radio (Tom and Jerry on the call, no doubt); or perhaps to engage in either easy banter with the homies, or, more precious still, in secret discourse with one's beloved. All great stuff! And yet a truly packed ballpark makes things a little different than that. I think what I am maybe suggesting is that for early-season or bad-weather games generally—any time the roof is closed, I guess—there should be a mandated number of seats (could be two or three, but maybe even one would do the trick) between all parties seated in the 500s. In fair weather, of course, it would be wrong to deny anyone a seat at the ballpark, and all should be welcomed, no matter how crammed. But not when the roof is closed. Yes, I have settled on it: this is my new belief.

KS