Morneau Stands Up for Canada

It hasn’t become a big story in the news over the past few days, but a few sports outlets have picked up Justin Morneau’s comments regarding the Canadian national anthem and the all-star game.

Although we at home would be oblivious to the situation as television only showed Sheryl Crow’s version of the U.S. anthem, apparently the Canadian anthem was not performed live, and the recording that was played was very poor.  Afterwards, Morneau spoke up and said that he ” … wasn’t very impressed … you figure they could find somebody to come and sing the song. They have a hockey team here, the Canadian teams play here.”

Justin Morneau at Last Year's All Star Game

I find it very refreshing, and ironically slightly ‘un-Canadian’ that Morneau spoke out.  Good for him for putting his country first and saying what he felt.  Many of us are used to being shoved aside by MLB (think ’93 World Series where the Canadian Flag was flown upside down, loss of the Expos, etc.), but Justin would not let this slide.  And nor should he.  If our anthem is going to be played along side the Star Spangled Banner, then it should received equal treatment.  You can be sure the Americans would demand the same level of respect if the game was played in Canada.

I don’t want to talk blame too much, but this definitely has to fall on the shoulders of MLB offices.  Reading an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch today, it is quite clear that the extent of control that the head office has over the game is enormous.  So much so that the pregame ceremony with Stan Musial was cut short on their orders, which is saying something in St. Louis where he might be the most popular person in that state ever!  All anthems that are played should demand equal respect.  Period.

If Justin Morneau had not made these comments, nothing would have been said, and the issue ignored.  But he attempted to bring the issue to the forefront so this embarassing scene would not be repeated.   But surprisingly, very few media reporters went with the story.  Why?  Jeff Blair, a great baseball mind with the Globe and Mail seems to be the only one discussing the comments.  And I fully agree with the thesis of his blog posting, why even play the anthems at all?  It’s a sporting event, not a political event.  Just get the game going, and you will avoid controversies like this one.

Just another reason why I may not be a big Minnesota Twins fan, but I am a big Justin Morneau fan.

UPDATE:  Jason Bay’s take on the anthem “Morneau and I could have done it if they really needed somebody” !!!!!!!!

Slow Year for the Canadians, but …

As we pass the half way mark in the season, it becomes a time where people reflect on the year-to-date and what we should expect going forward.  I’ve always thought this is because the math becomes easy to do (i.e. take the stats, double them and you have a projected total for the year).  So why not look at the Canadians in the big leagues and see what has transpired to date.

So far this year we have seen a decrease in the number of Canadians playing at the major level.  2007 was a banner year with 23 appearances by northerners, but this year has lagged well behind, as we started the year with only 13 and have seen a few brief appearances by others (i.e. Chris Leroux in Florida).  A few injuries (such as Erik Bedard and of course don’t forget Jeff Francis who is lost for the season) have inhibited progress, and a few players in AAA are doing well and still might make an appearance.  Hopefully we can see that number rise.

The All-Star game is next week, and only 2 Canadians are representing … Justin Morneau and Jason Bay.  This is really no surprise, as these are the top two Canadians and are at the top of their games.  Many people, especially those located in the Cincinnati region, were not happy to see Joey Votto excluded.  He had a great start to the year, but of course his stuggles with anxiety and depression set him back.  I feel that based on the limited performance we saw of him, and giving no special consideration to his problems, he should have made the team.  At least they should have given him a second chance in the last chance voting that is going on now (vote Adam Lind!!).  A few Cubs fans wanted to see Ryan Dempster on the team, but his strong start has turned into a decent but not spectacular year.  Overall, we can always enjoy seeing Jason and Justin in the game, and it’s unfortunate that Morneau will not be defending his home run derby crown.

However, I was purusing a list of Canadians in the minor leagues, and to my great surprise there are 108 in the leagues from rookie level to AAA.  Yes, 108!  That should be some indication of the potential of these Canadians, and the possibility of seeing quite a surge over the next few years.  Now, baseball is not like the other sports where you can move through the development leagues rather quickly, so let’s not make any bold predicts about next year.  But in the upcoming years, 2007’s record of 23 should be challenegd, and I think surpased.  How long will it take until we see a canadian on every team?

One point of interest, the team with the most Canadians in the minors???   ———-  Your Toronto Blue Jays with 16, which included Scott Richmond who is now playing (and injured) with the parent club.  No surprise, given their recent drafting habits.  Second up was the Milwaukee Brewers (10 players), once again not a surprise given the amount of Canadians in their front office who bring a familiarity of the country to their team.  Last year’s draft star Brett Lawrie and Alexandre Periard are notables on the list.  Third place was, the New York Mets??  Wasn’t expecting that one, but they have 8 players in their system, including top prospects Shawn Bowman and Mike Nickeas.  So although there has been a dip in the numbers in the majors, the minors look strong.

The second half of 2009 should be a fun one to watch.  How taken with Jason Bay will Boston fans be, and can they sign him to a contract?  Can Mariner Erik Bedard, Cubs Ryan Dempster and Blue Jay Scott Richmond return from injuries to be successful pitchers?  Can Justin Morneau keep bing Justin Morneau, as he is on his way to being on of the greatest Canadian players of all time?  What new prospects will catch our attention?

Stay tuned, this should be fun …