Matt Stairs

Born on this date, Matt Stairs.

Some players really have a difficulty adjusting to regular life after their retirement.

Matt Stairs retires

"My thought process with pinch-hitting is if I get a hit, it's a bonus because nobody expects you to do anything."

The Nationals cut Matt Stairs!

I don't know about you but if he gets picked up, I can't picture him in anything other than a Nationals jersey!

Like Babe with the Braves.

Just won't look right!

People live on Matt Stairs Way by the way

Tom Mahon of philly.com notes that free-agent outfielder, Matt Stairs was recently honored by his hometown of Fredericton in the Canadian province of New Brunswick by having a street named after him. Apparently a road that runs alongside Royal Field Park where Stairs first played professionally has been renamed Matt Stairs Way.

The article goes on to describe how much the park means to Stairs and how many of the local residents turned out for the ceremony. It kind of makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Yea Matt!

This got me to wondering as to just what does 259 career home runs get you as far as a road named after you these days.

Do you get a highway?

Main Street?

A road nobody uses with a bunch of potholes?

Well, I used my limited search skills to try and find out and the map above of that area of Fredericton is the best I could come up with.

As you can see River Street does appear to run alongside the ballpark complex though I doubt that they renamed this street "Matt Stairs Way" as it is "River Street" after all and runs along the river. I don't think the people of Fredericton are that "Matt Stairs crazy" to give up their River Street.

No, it has to be one of the smaller streets leading to or within the complex. Google images does not have any photographs that I could find of this complex so no clues to be found there. I could probably refine this map further but really there is only so much time a relatively busy person is going to devote to a Fredericton street map so this is going to have to remain a mystery.

All I have to say is this street better be paved and not some little road connecting a few dirt parking lots or something.

This is Matt Stairs, after all.

Show some respect!

Game 2

1. As to Matsui's home run, I thought only Vlad Guerrero swung at pitches like that.

2. Pedro sure knows how to quick pitch. Just ask Jeter; the guy walking back to the dugout.

3. Computer Boy says that "majestic" music that Fox is playing in between some of the innings sounds like funeral music. Cannot disagree. Don't they use focus groups at all?

4. I know that Matt Stairs is a pretty good pinch hitter and all but Buck and McCarver made him out to be the second coming of Roy Hobbs as he approached the plate. It's only Matt Stairs you know; and he proved it.

5. This can't be happening again with the umpiring. I would love to be the negotiator for major league baseball in the upcoming negotiations with the umpire's union this winter. Just bring a DVD player. That one should go pretty quick.

6. Who made Tim McCarver God? Nobody expects a bunt with two strikes so why not try it? Jeter was not necessarily "wrong". Charlie Manuel's decision not to send the runners, while maybe not what I would have done, is defensible to stay out of a strike out/throw em out result. It is not necessarily a "wrong" decision. How many games has this guy managed? Where is Deion Sanders and his bucket of water when you need him?