Waiting for the inevitable sucking

I figure right about now is when the Toronto Blue Jays are due to start breaking my heart. It's pretty much inevitable they're going to do it - with the exception of two years there in the early 90s, baseball in my life has been more about heartbreak and frustrating than joy. You can't grow up being an Expos fan and not get used to the sport killing you.

Then again, it could be worse...I could be a Chicago Cubs fan.

The Jays have actually gotten off to a pretty decent start this year. However, as I recall, they got off to a pretty good start last year. Then, as if by magic, someone reminded them that they were punching way above their weight class and they proceeded to suck. I kind of viewed them as being a perfectly mediocre team. And a mediocre team tends to kick the ass of bad teams, get their ass kicked by good teams and split the difference with average teams. Their little winning steak aside, I suspect the Jays will be perfectly happy to finish right around .500.

Although the one thing that frustrates me right now is my inability to catch a game. For the first time in 25 years TSN isn't covering any Jays games. Neither is CBC. That means the only way to see a game on TV is to get SportsNet, which I don't want to do. However, I might bite the bullet and get those channels of a couple of months over the summer. Cathy is going to be gone for six weeks, so being able to catch a few games on TV might be nice. I don't think they're going to win anything this year, but they at least appear to be a fun team to watch.

I've also decided this year to come up with a back-up plan for teams to cheer for when the Jays inevitably collapse. Team #1 is the Rays, just because A. I want some team other than the Yankees and Red Sox to win in that division. And B. I saw them play a game. Despite the the minor miracle of seeing them lose one of their few games, and to the Orioles of all teams, they look like a lot of fun.

The other team is an odd choice - The Phillies. I'm pretty much interested in them only because Doc Holliday is pitching for them and the man deserves a World Series ring. It's not without some pain, though. I've hated the Phillies for years. I suspect the origins of it go back to the '93 World Series. Yes, the Jays were playing the Phillies. However, there was also the matter of my girlfriend at the time leaving me for a guy from Philadelphia, who was a Phillies fan.

Let's just say my hatred of all things Philadelphia was pretty high there for awhile, and I may have gotten greater emotional satisfaction from the Jays kicking the Phillies asses in the World Series than might really have been merited.

Still, time heals all wounds, so I'm told. So for this season, I can cheer a bit for the Phillies. Unless they meet in the World Series. In that unlikely event, all bets are off.

Last Five
1. Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns
2. Don't bother me - The Beatles
3. My all time doll - Elvis Costello
4. Norwegian wood - The Beatles
5. In repair - John Mayer