Day 76 – Welcome Back Dirtbag

I have to say I’m surprised to see the # of Cubs fans that have showed up for the series. I knew they would have a decent turnout given the Cubs are pretty popular across the US/Canada and may only trail NYY and BOS in popularity, but it did exceed my expectations.

Then again maybe it was all those Jays fans who keep calling into Wilner on the post-game show complaining that they got rid of Reed Johnson. That was quite the ovation Reed got when he stepped to the plate in the 9th. I really thought given the injury to Soriano, we would have saw Reed start but w/him entering in the 9th in a close game, it made for a very awkward applause. You want to show your appreciation for the player but at the same time you don’t want to disrespect the current players who are trying to win the game, especially the pitcher trying to close it out.

The ovation Johnson got was probably the 2nd loudest ovation for a returning Jay I have witnessed (excluding Flashback Friday’s, I’m talking about active players returning in another uniform), trailing only Delgado’s return. I moved to TOR in mid Jun. ’06 after graduating university and it just so happened the 1st home series for the Jays after I moved in was the NY Mets and the return of Carlos Delgado.

I can’t help but wonder if Johnson’s return didn’t come for another 2 or 3 yrs would he still get the same reception. Now I’m not saying he wouldn’t get a loud cheer, I’m just not quite sure it would be as loud. I think b/c his Blue Jays days were so recent combined w/the way he left the team (being released) and his replacement not exactly producing seems to have enhanced Johnson’s popularity.

Guys like Johnson will always be popular among the fan base b/c they play all out and play the game the right way. Although he really hasn’t caught on here, there was the same reception for David Eckstein in his return to Anaheim at the end of May (apparently during interleague STL never played in Anaheim). I think the fans haven’t got behind Eckstein b/c he is replacing McDonald, who only became popular last year once he started playing everyday and the casual fans realized how good he is defensively.