TORONTO – We’re not there yet. Not quite. Truth is, I don’t know if the rest of the country is even on the verge of hating the Toronto Maple Leafs. Most likely, that won’t occur until next season.
Oh, we’ll hear jokes about 1967 in these next two weeks, of that I’m sure. I mean, that’s history and there’s nothing you or I or Mike Babcock or Auston Matthews can do about that. But at least the tee-time references will be stowed away.
The Leafs are in the playoffs, Canada, and all I can ask you is be a little gentle with us because this is going to be a little odd. The Blue Jays make the playoffs? They’re carrying the Maple Leaf. The Raptors make the playoffs? Same thing. We’ve become a little used to being loved by the rest of you recently. Liked it, as a matter of fact. Seen it as our national duty.
But the Leafs? God, I know there are parts of this country that puked in their mouths Saturday night when the kids delivered a come-from-behind victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins that put us in the playoffs. Can’t imagine what it would be like to be a Winnipeg Jets fan or a Vancouver Canucks fan this morning. No wait, I can, actually. At least the former. National duty? Nah. Effective this morning, we’re on Leafs Nation duty. Sorry.
[snippet id=3332601]
But here’s the thing you need to know: nothing said about the Leafs is going to matter, because this playoff berth, even if it means a blitzkrieg elimination by the Washington Capitals, is essentially a gift from the hockey gods. The goal this season was to sit back, enjoy Matthews and Mitch Marner and William Nylander, dream about finally having a cornerstone goaltender, and know that the right coaching staff and management was in place. Honestly, there has been no happier fan base in Canadian sports this season. None. And know what? The same would have held true this morning if the Leafs hadn’t made the playoffs because, admit it, the rest of you have a little bit of trepidation going into the post-season. The rest of you have something to lose.
There will be a time when Leafs fans begin to experience the feelings that come with the end of the innocence. But my guess is it’s not a day before the first losing streak of the 2017-2018 season.
A couple of years ago, I urged Blue Jays fans to embrace the hate in the American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals. That was after their bat-flipping, beer-throwing, Harold Reynolds-dissing AL Division Series win over the weaselly Texas Rangers and their weaselly manager Jeff Bannister. Nah, the Leafs aren’t good enough yet to be hated, but you just know there are folks out there with stopwatches and videotape ready to breakdown how much time network TV gives to the Leafs compared to the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames or Edmonton Oilers. God, that’s going to feel so good. So right. Just like old times, eh?
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Done. I’ve been a holdout for Kawhi Leonard or LeBron James but Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder nailed down my choice as NBA most valuable player Sunday with his 42nd triple-double, breaking Oscar Robertson’s 55-year record.
We’ve just witnessed a season of some texture from Westbrook, who scored his team’s final 13 points – including the game-winning trey as time expired in a 106-105 win on Sunday that eliminated the Denver Nuggets from the playoffs. We can argue forever about what “clutch” means in sports, but the NBA defines it as “the final five minutes of regulation and overtime when the score is within a five-point differential.”
Going into Sunday, Westbrook was first in points in the clutch (241), fourth in plus-minus (plus-80), tied for second in steals (11), fourth in assists (28) and fifth in rebounds (52). If you’re interested, 10 NBA teams have fewer triple doubles in franchise history than Westbrook’s total this season – including the Toronto Raptors.
Meanwhile, Connor McDavid would be my choice for the Hart Trophy, in part because he’s been strong for the Edmonton Oilers down the stretch. McDavid had points in 14 consecutive games (he had two assists Sunday to give him seven goals and 18 assists over that time,) making him the first Oilers player with a 14-game point streak since Esa Tikananen registered points in 13 consecutive games from Feb. 17 to March 15, 1981. The club and league record is, of course, held by Wayne Gretzky who had a 51-game point streak to start the 1983-84 season, during which he had 61 goals and 92 assists. The last player with a 15-game point streak? The Philadelphia Flyers Shayne Gostisbehere from Jan. 19 to Feb. 20, 2016 (five goals, 13 assists).
[snippet id=3305549]
QUIBBLES AND BITS
• When Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jeremy Hazelbaker struck out Sunday in his only plate appearance, his streak of reaching base safely ended at eight. That was best streak to start a season since Ramon Ortiz of the Baltimore Orioles in 2006. Carlos Delgado of the Toronto Blue Jays was the last Major Leaguer to reach base in his first nine-plus plate appearances when he had four hits, four walks and two hit by pitches to open the 2002 season. Piggy Ward had eight hits, eight walks and a hit by pitch in reaching base in 17 straight plate appearances (he was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds in the middle of the streak) and shares the Major League record with Earl Averill of the 1962 California Angels.
• You’re right, of course. There’s nothing wrong with the Toronto Blue Jays that couldn’t be cured by Edwin Encarnacion, who is 0-for-9 with men on base in 2017 and hitting .217 after two hits in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.
• Marco Estrada gave up home runs on three 1-2 change-ups in Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Pitch/FX, that’s a third of the total number of homers given up last season by Estrada on 841 change-ups last season.
• Until Saturday, only one pitcher in the history of the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos had given up 10 earned runs in a game. Shayne Bennett of the 1999 Expos gave up 10 runs and 12 hits over four innings in a 12-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in his last Major League appearance. Enter Jeremy Guthrie, who on his 38th birthday gave up 10 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning to the Philadelphia Phillies and was designated for assignment. It was his first big league appearance since 2015. He is the first starter in the history of the franchise to allow 10 runs and not make it out of the first inning and is only the fourth pitcher in the last century to allow 10 or more earned runs without getting three outs, joining Jason Jennings (2007), Luke Hudson (2006) and Bubba Harris (1948).
THE ENDGAME
There are several interesting angles to Monday’s expected announcement that Canada, the United States, and Mexico will make a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup of soccer. Not the least of which is how many matches will actually be played in Canada and how that will be squared with the fact that most major Canadian stadiums have artificial turf fields.
As many will remember, this was the reason behind a lawsuit by members of the U.S. women’s team ahead of the World Cup. FIFA doesn’t allow men’s World Cup games to be played on anything other than grass, but OK’d the use of artificial turf for the 2015 women’s event in Canada. Replacing artificial turf with temporary grass fields is a logistical possibility and, of course, no one knows what technology will bring by the time 2026 rolls around. A more interesting notion might be where games would be played in Canada, and whether or not the World Cup might end up providing the impetus for construction of new stadiums in the country.
Most particularly, in downtown Toronto, Rogers Centre will be 37 years old by then. Cue those NFL rumours.
Jeff Blair hosts The Jeff Blair Show from 9 to 11 a.m. ET and Baseball Central from 11 a.m. to Noon on Sportsnet 590/The Fan
[relatedlinks]
