Back Down To Earth

A tough loss to take in Toronto tonight, as the Jays lost their home opener 8-7 to Chicago. Frasor blew his second save of the season, and Jeremy Accardo gave up an 11th inning run for the loss in his first appearance of the season. But before we assign blame for the loss, let's bear in mind that Brian Tallet gave up six runs in his start. It was a team effort.

And yet, the offense did everything they could to stay in it. John Buck launched a long home run, his first of the season, and Vernon Wells hit his fifth. And even in the bottom of the 11th, with big Bobby Jenks on the mound, the Blue Jays made the Chicago closer sweat, managing to get two on with Lind coming to the plate. Not enough in the end, as the young slugger struck out. But a good effort to not give up anyway.

What bothered me the most about this game, though, was the Toronto fans reaction to Alex Rios in his return to the Rogers Centre. He was booed louder than the home players were cheered, and that just seems ridiculous to me. What did Rios ever do wrong to Blue Jays fans? He signed a fat deal that was offered to him, and every one of us would have done the same. In the end he wasn't asking to be traded. He wasn't turning his back on the team. They let him go (to be fair because he wasn't turning into what they were paying for), and he left town with tears in his eyes. And he gets greeted by people who seemed to have come to the stadium specifically to boo him. Sad. I guess we should remember that these are the same fans who almost got last year's home opener against Detroit abandoned by throwing debris at the visiting players. No class in Toronto.