Loewen and the Jays

Upon reading today's Sun article on Adam Loewen signing with the Blue Jays, I don't think anyone can begrudge him.

I respected the kid because he was a bulldog on the mound and seemed to work hard; however, it looks like wanted for play for Toronto, simply because he is a Canadian and rooted for them growing up.

I'm sure a lot of fans and people will miss him in the organization, but he's got a hill to climb in order to transition from pitching to become a big league hitter.

"I don't think it's about money," MacPhail said. "The way it was explained to me, it's all about playing for his national team in Canada and it's not about terms or anything. The way it was explained to me is he grew up there and it's his lifelong dream to play for Toronto. I have no interest in having Baltimore become part of Canada. We're proud members of the United States, and there isn't much we can do about it."

It was assumed Loewen would re-sign with the Orioles -- until the Jays looked into getting him...

That apparently changed when Toronto came calling. Loewen said he and his representation told the Orioles there were "other offers on the table and they knew fully that there were other teams interested.

"It has been something I've been struggling with ever since I got put on waivers and the possibility presented itself," Loewen said. "[The Orioles] fully did what they had to do and I was aware of that. They did everything on their part that they could do to try to sign me back. I love playing in Baltimore and I loved the coaching staff. Even when I went to instructional league, the coaching staff was outstanding. There was no animosity at all. I just thought this was an opportunity that doesn't come along very often. It was tougher than I could say. I'm excited to be a Blue Jay, but I'll never forget my time in Baltimore."

Sports is a huge business, and no matter what we think, if Loewen struggled horribly -- he could have been released anyway. However, it looked like the Orioles were going to have him every chance in the world to succeed.

The ball was in Adam's court, but instead, he wanted to play for the Jays, and we shouldn't judge him. This move will be simply one the Orioles could afford to not get emotional about -- he was not going to help the team in 2008, 2009 or perhaps beyond.

I'll be rooting for him to make it back to the Big Leagues.