Mulliniks’ Moustache #7 – Ricky Romero & The Yips

No, that’s not a band…although, it’s a pretty awesome name for one! I CALL DRUMS!!

Anyway, to the task at hand: Blue Jays’ fans sixth-favourite* left-handed pitcher – Ricky Romero. We've all had a front-row seat to watch the fall and rise and fall of Ricky Romero, from first round draft pick, to near-bust, to All-Star on the cusp of ace-dom, all the way back down to (barely) a AAA pitcher.

Personally, it’s been difficult to watch. Romero was a lefty bulldog, taking the ball every fifth day without fail. Even when he was struggling, he never made excuses. Despite reported arm and knee issues, which were/are so bad that John Lott from the National Post reported recently that Romero had stem cells inserted into his knee to help alleviate the pain. Romero simply went to the mount and pitched – poorly at times – every fifth day and was always accountable, which is refreshing from a professional athlete.

From all accounts, the root cause of Romero’s problems are all mental – a kind of/sort of mild case of The Yips (see also: Sax, Steve; Knoblauch, Chuck; and Ankiel, Rick for more dramatic examples of The Yips). For the uninitiated, TheYips is baseball nomenclature for rare situations where players simply lose the ability to perform seemingly mundane, “Baseball 101”-type tasks – like throwing a ball from second base to first, or from the mound to home. It’s not easy to watch players suffer through The Yips. Case in point: Rick Ankiel, a 20-year-old lefty phenom who, in part, led the St. Louis Cardinals to the 2000 NLDS. In his first career post season start, he literally and figuratively fell apart. He threw six wild pitches in the third inning alone and had five walks overall. Incredibly, the Cardinals won the game, despite Ankiel’s struggles. He made a couple of subsequent appearances, but for all intents and purposes. Ankiel was done as a Major League pitcher.**

Mulliniks’ Moustache #6 – Rogers Centre Fan “Quirks”

Opening day is just around the corner, so I figured now was the optimal time to touch on a few specific instances in regard to the in-game experience at Rogers Centre.

There are three things above all else – “quirks” if you will – that confuse, confound and annoy me about Blue Jay fans at Rogers Centre. I’ve tried for years to figure these out and frankly, I’m stumped. While I have been to baseball games at a couple of other stadiums, I haven’t been to enough to gauge if this is a Toronto-only phenomenon. However, I don’t recall experiencing these phenomena elsewhere, so I feel pretty safe in assuming these are Toronto-centric issues.

In no particular order, they are:

Mulliniks’ Moustache #5 – Munenori Kawasaki

A lot of things changed for the Blue Jays on April 12, 2013.

Some will look at it as the unofficial end of the Blue Jays 2013 season, and some will see the start of a beautiful friendship. Or you can look at it as both.

The Blue Jays were struggling, sitting at 3-6. Sure, it was incredibly early in the marathon we call a professional baseball season, but given the expectations, 3-6 was woeful. I think 8-1 would have been a cause for concern for some. One of the few bright spots early in the season was the play of Jose Reyes. He came from the Florida Marlins in the huge off-season trade exactly as advertised – a prototypical leadoff man who played above-average defense.

On April 12, 2013, it happened. After driving in two runners with a base hit to put the Jays up by four runs, Reyes attempted an ill-advised steal of second base. He slid feet-first and rolled his ankle on an awkward-looking slide, immediately crumpled to the field at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City. The broadcast cut to commercial with Reyes in tears, being carted off the field. Out for three months. Poof. Season, in essence, over.

The next day, the Blue Jays called up everyone’s soon-to-be favourite Japanese backup middle infielder – The Diminutive Dynamo™, Munenori Kawasaki. And the rest, as they say, is history. The love affair had begun.

Mulliniks Moustache #4 – Brett Lawrie

I have to say, when the Blue Jays first acquired Brett Lawrie, I drank the Kool-Aid^®. I guzzled that sugary goodness like a 19-year-old at their first open bar. My thirst could not be slaked! I bought in hook, line and sinker. How could I not? A young, brash, highly-touted, dynamic Canadian baseball player? Sign me up! By all* accounts Lawrie was the second, coming clad not in robes and sandals, but in baseball cleats and eye black. He seemingly came from nowhere (Milwaukee), and his destiny was to lead a downtrodden team into the stratosphere and back to the promised land, baseball Mecca – PLAYOFFS. And all it cost was the Blue Jays’ opening-day starter.**

From the very moment he was acquired, I counted down the moments in breathless anticipation of when Brett Lawrie would arrive in “The Show”.

If that turncoat bastard John Farrell had had his way, 21-year-old Lawrie would’ve broken camp as the Blue Jays starting third baseman in 2011. Instead, upper management decided to send him to the minors for more “seasoning” where, on May 31^st, he proceeded to break a hand on an errant pitch, thus delaying the inevitable and postponing his callup until early August. Then, he arrived…and lasted less than two months. On September 21^st a broken finger during batting practice forced him to miss the remainder of the season. But by that point he had made his mark – he was the heir apparent by Spring Training 2012.

Mulliniks’ Moustache #3 – 2014 Blue Jays Season Preview

It’s every baseball fans’ favourite time of year - Spring Training is on the horizon*! Teams are taking shape, optimism abounds and everyone is in first place! Now is an opportune time to look ahead at what I expect from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014.

In a word? Not much.

Shut up. I know that’s two words.

One small proviso, though: There is an almost microscopic kernel of optimism nestled firmly in my medulla oblongata that has me excited for the upcoming season. You may be asking yourself: “Why would this dimwit be optimistic?” Well that’s a great question, and here’s my answer: the 2014 Blue Jays are, essentially, the 2013 Blue Jays**, who were a near-consensus pick to not only make the playoffs, but to also win the World Series, and the team that played most of last season was decimated by injuries. If a few things go well, really well, and everyone stays reasonably healthy, they have a chance!

Without further adieu, below is my in-depth analyses of the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays.***