The Fifth Liners

Prior to arriving in Canada I was aware of the existence of the game of baseball, but being European I never quite grasped its appeal! The games seemed like 'The Never Ending Story' and I marveled at the fact that their main championship was named the World Series when in fact no other nations participated. But watching baseball films such as Bull Durham, Moneyball, Eight Men Out and Major League perked my interest in this game and I found myself reading more. The Toronto Blue Jays were a franchise I had been aware of for some years as they were Canada's only MLB franchise who had not only claimed back to back World Series wins in 1992-93 but had also not reached the playoffs again since then. As I was facing a long wait until Hockey season rolled around and the 2014 World Cup really wasn't peaking my interest this time, I decided to immerse myself in the beautiful game that Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle and Cal Ripken Jr have made so popular. Arr...

Casey Janssen may have been one of the more effective closing pitchers in baseball since 2012, but according to Sports Net it appears his time for the Toronto Blue Jays may be winding down. Although this would leave the Jays with a notable hole in the bullpen, you have to feel this decision has been coming. Making his debut in 2006, Janssen  currently holds a win/loss record of 29-34 with an ERA of 3.54 and has recorded 89 saves. But this season the man has looked a shadow of his former self and because of this loss of form, he has started to make fans nervous! On August 8 he notably gave up back to back home runs in the 9th inning a 5-4 loss to Detroit (to which I had the misfortune to witness), there has also been other poor recent performances in our recent series loss to the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. Although he is not entirely responsible for the Blues fall from first place in the AL East Division, his errors made have certainly made this ride less co...