Did Anyone Else Catch This?

As I was suffering through last night's Red Sox debacle, something happened at a baseball game I've never seen and something I've never heard before. A Blue Jays player in the seventh inning hit a pop up in short center that fell between Alex Gonzalez, Coco Crisp and Alex Cora for an apparent single. But Cora picked up the ball and fired to a heads-up Rudy Seanez covering second base that just nipped Gregg Zaun trying to get to second. The replays backed up the umpire's call.

I've never seen a 4-1 putout at second base. I have at first many, many times.

But what happened next really floored me. As the next Blue Jay hitter stepped in, the Toronto fans let the umpire know exactly what they thought of that call. "Bleep You!" "Bleep You!" "Bleep You" rang out from the stands, and it wasn't from the many Red Sox fans in attendance. It was loud, and there was no mistaking what they were saying.

I was, to say the least, shocked to hear such vulgarity, especially from fans in Toronto. Fans in the SkyDome (yeah, I know, it's the Rogers Centre) have a reputation for being rather laid-back. The crowds there have been called "library-like" on many occasions.

Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy on NESN must have been equally shocked, as for a few seconds they were silent. Then Orsillo piped in, "The crowd tonight is a little more raucous than last night." To say the least. The Toronto fans were in a foul mood all night, despite the fact their team led nearly from start to finish. They were also heaping abuse at Manny Ramirez all night with some vulgar chants at him as well, on his 34th birthday no less.

This morning I checked both Boston papers on-line, and there was not a single mention of any of this in either paper. I have never seen Yankees or even Phillies fans chanting such an obscenity at a rival player or team. Those Toronto fans ought to be ashamed of doing such a thing, especially with families being in attendance.

David Pauley goes for the Red Sox tonight, having just been called up from AA Portland for the start to replace David Wells, who will be put on the DL tonight. I saw Pauley pitch in an exhibition game in Philadelphia this past April 1, and he got banged around for 5 runs in 4 innings.

I'd pray for rain but the game will be played in the SkyDome (oops, the Rogers Centre. Yeah, I know).