Any baseball fans out there?

To the small subsect of my readers who are also Blue Jay fans. A most bizarre, ridiculous, and possibly unprecedented event happened this weekend. In the midst of the media and the Blue Jay organization wondering where all the Jays' fans are (see 2nd worst attendance in baseball), the Rogers' Blue Jays organization just inflicted a self strike on its image. If you read beyond the headlines reporting the Jays taking two of three from the Yankees this weekend, you'll discover that either the Blue Jay organization or the Fan590 (both owned by Rogers) muzzled the team's number one beat reporter: Mike Wilner. Mike, a regular member of the Jays' radio broadcast team was asked/told/mandated to miss the New York Yankees series this weekend on the heels of doing his job by asking critical reporting questions of the manager, Cito Gaston. Although Cito is beloved by this city thanks to his role as manager 17 years ago when we last won the world series, he is not and should not be exempt from the typical day to day questioning of the reporters. Following a terrible loss to the first place Tampa Bay Rays, Mike Wilner questioned our manager about his use of the bullpen. Unsatisfied with Gaston's short answer, Wilner followed up with a second question, second guessing the manager's philosophy of managing the bullpen. Wilner was quickly asked to move on. Wilner wrote about this exchange on his blog, answered question on The Jays' Talk radio show after the game, and that is the last we've seen or heard of Mike Wilner.

As a hockey fan, I find it absurd that the Maple Leaf's head coach can manage to answer highly intellectual hockey questions and criticism after every game, but the moment the Blue Jay coach feels uncomfortable with a critical question from the #1 reporter the Jays have, he is quickly muzzled, suspended, or whatever has transpired over the weekend.

This story is just getting started. It has significant potential ramifications for the media and the way we cover our sports teams, for the Blue Jays, Fan590, and Rogers corp.

As a big Jays fan, and one who especially enjoys the critical analysis of the game, this is a story I will follow closely.