Since his most recent emancipation from the minor leagues, Travis Snider has been freely roaming left field, making — as you can see, above — highlight reel, and remarkably GIFable, defensive plays. I’ll be honest: I didn’t think he was going to get to that ball. I shouted a celebratory obscenity when he did.

More importantly, the reader will note, Snider, still only 24, is hitting home runs against left-handed pitchers. He’s hit three of them, actually, in nine games, since being recalled. In Snider’s previous four stints with the Blue Jays, the journey having begun all the way back in 2008, long before the patch of grey in my beard appeared, in 232 games, he’d hit — you guessed it — three home runs against left-handed pitchers.

Snider’s obviously  figured it all out. And that’s a good thing, because I don’t remember ever being as emotionally invested in a prospect as I am in Snider. I need this to work. I need Snider to become a star. With nobody but the Blue Jays. Or I might never trust another prospect again.

GIF credit: My favorite website, Blue Jays gifs.

Posting this because of the look on Ben Revere’s face as he dives and makes one absolutely splendid catch. You can actually see his eyeballs track the baseball as it lands in his glove!

Never in doubt. And, no, there’s nothing quite like a diving catch — fully outstretched — made on the run. It’s my favorite.

H/T: @SAJagfire. His Twitter bio says, “I make GIFs.” It’s the truth.

In this life, we’ve all got questions, the answers to which elude us. Sometimes, when — presumably — we’ve got nowhere else to turn, we need to ask athletes — in this case professional Major League Baseball center fielder Andrew McCutchen — these questions. Perhaps they have the answers, and would be willing to share them with us. Sometimes on this journey, we all need some guidance; a little direction.

Recently, a gentleman named Rocky Ord found himself in that position, a child along the way, his life about to change.

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You may not have heard of poet Toby Tacoma. Until now.

The greatest ever is what they will say,
Leading the squad by your words and play.
Sweetest swing when it’s time for clutch,
Oh, Captain! My Captain! Where are you Dutch?

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BIRMINGHAM — The Toronto Blue Jays have got their man, and, once again, nobody saw it coming. Renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews — Mr. Tommy John Surgery himself — signed a multi-year contract with the club late Sunday night, and will report to the Blue Jays minor league complex in Dunedin, Florida on Tuesday. As per club policy, financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but sources indicate it’s a five-year agreement in the neighborhood of $14 million, with full no-trade protection through 2014.

“We’re very excited to add Dr. Andrews to our core moving forward,” said Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. “More importantly, much like Jose Bautista, we believe in Dr. Andrews as a person more than anything else. We wouldn’t make this type of commitment to him if we didn’t believe in the type of person he is, and in what he brings to our organization. We’ve done our due diligence, and we felt it was the right time to take our relationship with Dr. Andrews to the next level.”

Dr. Andrews’ first order of business: A meeting with left-handed reliever Luis Perez, the latest Blue Jays pitcher to be lost to elbow issues. Perez, a stalwart of Toronto’s disappointing bullpen, has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with left elbow tightness.

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I mean, he really hates everything about the experience.

American is the worst fucking airline in the whole world

— Omar Vizquel (@VizquelOmar13) July 9, 2012

Omar’s on vacation, goddamnit!

By the way, in some excellent and, most notably, quick, work, NotGraphs’ Highly Reputable and Totally Real Think Tank has confirmed that, yes, American Airlines is actually the worst airline in the world.

Next time, Omar Vizquel will make other arrangements.

No shit. Next time I will RT @meganrad: @VizquelOmar13 Take a greyhound bus.

— Omar Vizquel (@VizquelOmar13) July 9, 2012

The NotGraphs Investigative Reporting Investigation Team can proudly confirm that last night, during the second inning of the match between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics, only a few seconds before the recorded footage you’re about to watch, NESN Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy whispered to his colleague, Don Orsillo, “Dance as if nobody is watching, and love like you’ve never been hurt.”

Orsillo really took the advice to heart. The man can jam. Turns out, however, that a lot of people were, you know, watching.

Today, this Fourth of July, like every other Fourth of July, I’m reminded of this incredible video:

Enjoy the holiday, my friends. As I told my comrades at NotGraphs last night, please celebrate accordingly. And, finally, on behalf of Canada: Thank you, America. For everything. We don’t say it enough.

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

A few observations:

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In Athens, Georgia, obviously, by a man — a professional — known to the FanGraphs community as “Fattinton_Bear,” one of our many award-winning correspondents in the field.

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