The smallish crowd at the Rogers Centre Thursday agreed on one thing: they despise Alex Rios.
A couple of times he even heard a Seth Myers wannabe bellow "Rios, .203...really?"
But the heckling was drowned out every time they booed the Jays’ former first round pick and right fielder from 2004-08. They booed him when he was announced in the pre-game, they booed him every time he came to the plate and even when he was playing defence.
It was the largest dose of vitriol served to an ex-Jay in recent memory. A.J. Burnett was the most recent, but because he’s a starting pitcher, it’s only good for one night of a series. The Jays have had their way with Burnett in pinstripes: Seven home runs in four starts a .306 opponents average, 8.44 ERA, 0-3 record. The early boos quickly changed into laughter and cheers.
But that’s not likely to happen any time soon for Rios, if ever. His career in Toronto is filed under "Promise Unfulfilled." He showed flashes of brilliance with one of the best speed and power skill-sets that the franchise ever developed. His average year with the Jays was 37 doubles, six triples, 17 Home runs, 78 RBI, 24 steals and .278 batting average.
Yet, the majority of Blue Jays’ followers always felt like Rios could do better than those numbers. And when he flipped off an autograph seeker coming out of a team fund raiser early in 2009 that greased the skids sending him out of Toronto.
I also believe that the level of vitriol towards Rios has been heightened due to the respect and admiration now heaped upon Rios’ replacement in right field, Jose Bautista, with whom he was a teammate with for 147 games in 2008-09.
Bautista now receives a level of support that few have enjoyed at Rogers Centre. I’m thinking Alomar, Halladay, Delgado, Bell and anyone from the World Series teams. But Bautista’s cheers are longer and louder before every at-bat. That is quite rare in these sceptical times.
Right field has always been manned by some of the best players to roll through Toronto. It’s a who’s-who of some very talented personalities: Jesse Barfield, Mark Whiten, Joe Carter, Shawn Green, Raul Mondesi, Rios and Bautista. All were different cats with different skill sets. Of all those greats, Rios seems to have wasted his talent the most, at least in the eyes of Toronto baseball fans.
And for that, he’ll be the target of the cat calls. And it’s not likely to go away, at least not from this generation of fans.
GROWING PAINS
These are trying times for rookie manager John Farrell as injuries have forced him to use over 40 different lineups through the first 50 games of 2011. And save for a handful of times, his team has failed to click on all cylinders.
When the Jays hit, they don’t pitch. When they pitch, it’s the defence that lets them down. Currently, the bullpen is going through a tough stretch, posting a 6.10 ERA over the past week while blowing two saves and losing three games.
The closer’s role is now going to be filled by committee, with save situations being doled out from game-to-game according to the matchup at hand. What you see is what you’ll get for the near future. Frank Francisco has stumbled badly of late, so any number of pitchers will be seeing ninth-inning action.
It’s not an ideal situation but you better get used to it.
MEMORIES OF SPLIT
Baseball lost one of its’ classiest individuals on May 25 when former Kansas City Royals left-hander Paul Splittorf succumbed to cancer far too early at age 64. Buck Martinez was his teammate from 1970-77 and remembers ‘Split’ fondly.
"Paul was truly one of the first Royals to have success," Buck remembered. "He became their first 20-game winner. He has more wins than any pitcher in Royals history. Paul was a great ambassador for the name ‘Kansas City Royals.’ He lived in Kansas City after he got to the big leagues and stayed there his whole life and later became a broadcaster with them.
"He was everything that was good about Kansas City baseball. We lost him all too soon."
While Pat Tabler never played against Splittorf, he was a player with the Royals for three seasons (1988-90), he got to know the man better once he got into broadcasting.
"The thing that I remember most was how big he was in Kansas City," Tabler recalled. "I remember how much class he had, and whether you had a good game, or a bad game, he always treated you with a lot respect. (As a broadcaster) he was always prepared, always on top of things. He made an easy transition from player to broadcaster. It’s a sad day. baseball is losing too many good people."
