Thoughts from a guy who likes Blue Jays baseball and other things....: Kawasaki The Legend Rises in Cleveland!

Thursday 11 July 2013

Kawasaki The Legend Rises in Cleveland!

I don't know how he does it, but Munenori Kawasaki keeps putting himself in situations where he's cementing his place in Blue Jays lore as one of the most popular Blue Jays of all time! I don't know how he does is, but he does. Case in point another game winning hit in the Blue Jays 5 - 4 win in Cleveland tonight.

He's not a good hitter or a great defender, but Kawasaki seems to have just the right mix of heart, determination and the will to win that has not only endeared himself to the Toronto Blue Jays Fans and his teammates but also puts himself in scenario's where he can become a contributing factor in a game .

Now I don't think we'll be seeing him around the team in the next few weeks. We need to remember that with both Lawrie and Melky scheduled to come back shortly, there is simply not enough room on the team for another middle infielder and due to his contract status he is more than likely to be the one who is sent down to Buffalo. (he'll be back in September thought, barring no other injuries for the rest of the season)

Do I think he makes the team better? No, not really. He's a decent player, but his skills aren't those that make a team that much better and would ultimately reflect to more W's. Do I think he has an effect on the team's chemistry? Absolutely. He's a catalyst that has allowed team to come closer together and rally with.

I realize that it's a contradiction that I started the post off with a comment on how he won another game today, but what I think a lot of fans may fail to think of is what the outcome of games may have been if we had one of our regular players in the line-up instead of a boarder line major leaguer. We do tend to in baseball to loose sight of the everyday game and only focus on highlights.

Truth is the team's record isn't good, and he's been on the team pretty much all year. I really don't think if he's on the team or not the Jays would be any better, but he has been a great distraction from the team's record and an otherwise disappointing year.

I do think he does have a spot on this team going forward however. With where the Jays are in this 2013 season I think some changes are coming and with those changes there will be room on the bench for a guy who can play a couple infield positions and contribute to a great team atmosphere. To that point I think we are going to have ourselves the next Johnny Mac in TO in Munenori Kawasaki.