Blue Jays Open To Idea Of Playing Exhibition Games In Montreal, Across Canada

The Blue Jays are "open to the idea of eventually playing exhibition games in Montreal and various cities across Canada," according to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. Blue Jays President Paul Beeston yesterday said that the club "would consider playing games on the road at the end of Spring Training." He "thinks it would be a way to showcase not only the Blue Jays, but also the sport." Beeston: "I think it's good for us, I think it's good for baseball in Canada." Beeston added that he "does not have a timeline for when this initiative might take place." Chisholm notes the Blue Jays in the past "have played at the end of Spring Training in cities like Vancouver, Ottawa and even a failed attempt in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had to be cancelled because of snow." Montreal "would appear to be the most realistic possibility this time around, because the city has Olympic Stadium" (MLB.com, 4/7). Beeston "mused about being open to playing a game at the Olympic Stadium." But he said, "I don't see anything more than an exhibition game" (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/7). Meanwhile, Montreal's CKAC-AM Sports Program Dir Michel Tremblay said that the station is "almost doubling the number of Blue Jays games it broadcasts live after getting solid ratings with a first try last year." CKAC Sports "broadcast eight weekend games last year and will air 15 this year" (CP, 4/6).

NEW LOOK: In Toronto, Mark Zwolinski notes "several reports since late March have been indicating the Jays hired a British marketing firm to rebrand the organization's logos and develop a new jersey." IAS Marketing "has been retained to rebrand the Jays," though the new jerseys "wouldn't likely surface on the playing field until the Jays open the 2012 season" (TORONTO STAR, 4/7).