To my readers-

I have an announcement to make. After what has been a short but fun ride over here at Blue Jay Banter I have decided to take on a new opportunity. Later this week, I will be joining the Most Valuable Network of writers covering the Blue Jays at the Jays Nest with a writer by the name of David Moro. So it's a sad day as I am not yet sure what I am going to do with Blue Jay Banter. I've spent many hours on this baby trying to figure out HTML as I started this project knowing absolutely nothing about how to run a web site.

I hope you come with me to MVN as it's a great little site that has come a long way in less than a year. There are some great writers and some really cool stuff going on over there. So, start to look for me over at MVN and don't be afraid to check back into Banter every now and then. As I am not sure what yet I am going to do with this site.

All of you have been great.

Signing off, for now.

-Tyler

The rest of the week should be relatively interesting as the General Manager meetings start today in Florida. There will be lots of wild speculation and probably a couple of deals. I think we could see the Jays involved in some minor trades as JP seems to like to strike early. We WON'T be signing anyone until after the December 7th deadline to offer players arbitration though. There is no chance Ricciardi will want to give up any picks.

Latest news I've been able to gather is the Jays are still being linked with Barry Zito or Mark Mulder. I haven’t see anything that makes sense so I'm disregarding this for now. And Baltimore seems to be the favorite to get Carlos Delgado. Though, why they would be spending a bunch of money on another hitter is beyond me. In my mind, there is just no chance Delgado is going to re-sign with the Jays. What will be interesting is if the Jays offer Delgado salary arbitration. If they don't, they will not get draft picks in return from the team who signs him. If they do, there is the danger Delgado will accept it and return next year at a price the Blue Jays can't afford. I think they will offer it to him but not until the very last minute. It would be nice if someone jumped in there and signed him before the December 7th deadline making the decision easy.

Finally, another article on the Jays potentially having interest in Corey Koskie. A couple of additional thoughts on Koskie. I think a lot of the speculation can be attributed to the fact that Koskie is Canadian and the press likes to jump on these things. I don't think he's any more likely to sign with Toronto but because he's Canadian, he gets his name in the paper. Also, I wonder if Ricciardi has Bill Mueller on his mind when he's looking at Koskie? When Mueller signed with Boston he was a little known player who had a history of injury problems. All he did for Boston was win the batting title his first year. Koskie, is another guy not many people know about, has injury problems but is two years younger than Mueller. We know he can hit but he just can't stay healthy. If the Jays could get 140 games out of him, he would be pretty valuable. But, his injured past does not play into the cost certainty the Jays usually keep in mind when they spend their money. Koskie's 25 HR's in only 118 games is pretty good. That is a lot better than the 15 Hinske hit in 155 games. A two year deal with a team option for a third is a possibility. We'll see.

Congrat's to Vernon Wells who won his first gold glove award. Not going to lie to you though, I was pretty surprised to see him win the award. I mean, the guy missed about a month of the season with a leg injury and came back not fully healed. It was clear he was not 100% the rest of the way. If he was going to win one, I didn't think 2004 would be the year.

There have also been some rumblings about Bret Boone winning the aware over Orlando Hudson. Honestly, I don't really care. I think all of the post season awards (ROY, MVP, CY Young exe.) are crap. I don't really even care. For the most part they are given out based on reputations and the best candidates rarely win them. I'm actually glad O-Dog didn't win the award. Him winning it only would have given him more leverage in contract negotiations, driving his price up. Once a player wins a gold glove most people label them a gold glover the rest of their career, regardless if they are the best defensive player at their position or not. I don't know who should have won it. What I do know, is O-Dog can pick it and I'm glad we have him at 2B. I don't need an award to know a good player when I see one.

The NY Post is reporting the Blue Jays would "for sure" want Barry Zito if we were to become available. I believe Toronto would be interested in Zito but I think Billy Beane could get more in a trade from another team. I believe Ricciardi understands Zito's value and wouldn't go overboard because Zito won a Cy Young trophy. Plus, at this point I believe Toronto is looking to lock-up a hitter and maybe sign a free agent pitcher.

The Post also reports the Jays might be interested in Matt Clement, Troy Percival and Corey Koskie. There's virtually no chance we'd bring in Percival unless he's take a 1 year deal for 1-2 million with a team option for a 2nd year. I don't see that happening. Koskie is interesting but I really don't see how he is that much of an improvement over Hinske. Especially when you figure in health, as Koskie has never proved that he can stay healthy and he turns 32 next year. I just don't see him aging gracefully. 1 year deal, maybe. Long-term deal, no chance. Finally, Clement. This is the rumor that gets me fired up.

For most of the season Clement was the best pitcher on the Cubs roster, until he started to struggle the last couple of months of the season. I have not heard there was an injury involved but you never know if there was something minor he was trying to play through. He is also 30 years old and proven he can withstand the rigors of a full season. The past three years he pitched 205, 201 2/3 and 181 innings with ERA's of 3.60, 4.11 and 3.68. He's also had very healthy K numbers posting a 9.44, 7.63 and 9.45 K/9 over the past three years. All of these numbers point towards a very solid pitcher. The one stat that does not point towards a solid pitcher is 12-11, 14-12 and 9-13. These are his records on what were pretty good Cubs teams the past three years. Because of this, I think some teams might not view him as highly and may instead go after Brad Radke or Carl Pavano. This is a good thing for the Jays. They understand a pitchers won-loss record is for the most part a function of how well the team hit for him that day. If the Cubs do not decide to bring him back, I believe the Blue Jays can swoop in there and pick him up 3 years at about $7.5 million a pop. I'd be completely fine with that.

One thing is certain. When the hot stove season is over I think we're going to find two new impact players on their roster. We'll just have to see who they end up being.

Thanks to USS Mariner who pointed this out but Baseball America has the list of Minor League free agents. The Blue Jays have 23 players who are on the list. The guys I think who have some value are: Bob File, Michael Nakamura, Simon Pond, Glenn Williams and Anthony Sanders. Most of the other guys are more or less minor league position fillers.

Rumor in the Toronto Sun today that the Jays are trying to deal Eric Hinske to the Reds. It's a pretty sketchy article by Bob Elliott as he doesn't quote a "source" or know who the Jays would get in return. Basically the article is baseless, it looks like Elliott is trying to fill space in the sports section.

But, it would not surprise me to see Hinske moved. I was really disappointed in his season this year as he took a gigantic step backwards. I cut him a lot of slack last year due to the wrist injury and the fact he still hit a ton (45! In only 449 AB's) of doubles. But, he was healthy all year in 2004 and didn’t do anything. He finished the season with a line of .246/.312/.375 hitting 15 HR's and only 23 2B's in 570 AB's. This is not the production you need out of a corner infielder with a long term contract. His 2004 line is considerably worse than what he did in 2002. That year he hit .279/.365/.481 with 24 HR's and 38 2B's in 566 AB's. The .246 in 2004 doesn't surprise me as he never profiled as a high average guy but the huge drop in SLG and OBP is truly troubling.

In fact, the Jays have another player on their team who hit .270/.341/.438 with 12 HR's and 32 2B's in 489 AB's who would be a very capable option at 3B. Orlando Hudson. The positive sign about Hudson is his OBP has risen from .319 to .328 to .341 this year. This is a pretty good sign that he is starting to figure things out.

It would not surprise me in the least to see the Jays trade Hinske and sign a veteran guy to a one year contract giving Aaron Hill another year to develop. Then, decide which of Hill, Hudson or Russ Adams would be the best fit at the hot corner. My guess is it would be Hill as Hudson has turned into a pretty solid defensive 2nd basemen but you never know.

Keep an eye on this story.

Yes, if you’re reading BlueJays.com today the same T. Haskins that wrote in question number two is the same T. Haskins who writes this blog. My question to Spencer Fordin (who does a bang-up job with the Blue Jays by the way) was what role does he envision Brandon League playing next year? Fordin more-or-less agrees with what I think he'll do. He envisions him as a 1-2 inning guy coming into games late to shut the door before we go to our closer. Whoever that ends up being. Francisco Rodriguez is a good call as to who you can compare him too. But, I think breaking him in the bullpen and then moving him into the starters position down the road is the way to go. He throws hard, has good control for a kid and has three good pitches. That is exactly what the Twins did with Johan Santana (If they meant to or not. And yes, I know he throws lefty. I've had the guy on my fantasy team for like 3 years now.) and he's worked out pretty well. I just think his stuff is too good to only leave in the bullpen. I'll take 7 innings, over 2 innings, any day of the week.

I was sent the link to Fox's feedback part of their website. In about 10 minutes I was able to whip up quite the list of things that have bothered me about their coverage of the World Series. You may, or may not agree with me. But, if you do, I encourage you to send your feedback to Fox and MLB. Below is what I sent:

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Dear Fox:

My comments pertain to the baseball coverage you have provided to the American public over the past couple of weeks. Below is a list of things, in no particular order, I'd like to see changed:

Tim McCarver. It is time to find another broadcast partner for Joe Buck. He is not getting it done. He is unable to remember the correct names of players. He makes claims without explaining them. He often confuses what actually happens in a play. He states the absolute obvious as though it's some great discovery. Generally, he just isn't very sharp anymore.

In-between innings. The fact you come back to the action mid-commercial as a pitch is getting thrown is a tragedy. You're #1 job is to show the game. In coming back to the action as it is happening, you are failing. I understand Fox is broadcasting these games as to make money for the network but you have to understand you are upsetting countless fans with your lack of consideration for the product at hand.

Number of commercials. Not that I want to hear more "analysis" from McCarver but the flow of the game is really being interrupted with the number of commercials you play between innings. It's a little easier on the eye if you come back to the action 15-20 seconds before the next pitch is thrown.

Scooter. Maybe you have since I have not seen him lately but Scooter needs to stop. Having Al Leiter demonstrate how to throw a change-up is much more effective than having an animated ball with a squeaky voice do it. This is baseball, not Saturday morning cartoons.

Production. I understand you're trying to spice the game up by showing a bunch of quick cutaways but you really need to stop. In cutting away from the action so much, you're missing what is happening at the plate. You're coming back to the pitcher in mid-windup just about every other pitch. I can't fully explain to you how this ruins the game. If you want to do the occasional cutaway when there is no action, fine. But let's remember where the action happens.

Fan shots. Please, Please stop showing so many fans. I mean really. We can only take it so much. The occasional shot of a fan is nice but it's starting to get troubling. We don't really need to see every fans reaction after every possible action on the field. This is overkill at its absolute worst.

The Yankees. Please have someone objective go back and listen to the Twins/NY and Boston/NY series and listen to the slanted coverage you give the Yankees. Your production and announcer team slant every possible situation to the Yankee angle. The Twins/NY series was really troubling. I mean, I don't think anyone noticed there was another team the Yankees were playing. I understand the NY market is much bigger than the Twin cities and to a certain effect that is going to slant your coverage. I'm OK with a slight favoritism in that regard. But that series was about 85% - 15%.

Derek Jeter. I know he is the face of the most popular team in the country but lets calm the "I love Jeter" angle a bit. It's actually a little creepy the way the broadcast team heaps praise on him for ANYTHING he does. As well as make excuses for him if he makes any kind of error.

In-game commercials. As if they countless number of commercials isn't bad enough, dropping all these "hidden" commercials during play is really hard to stomach. Budweiser, Chevy, WebMD. It's a dilution of the product. It's eliciting more anger than brand-loyalty.

Managerial Interviews. Well, thanks for not doing them live during the game anymore. I can't believe managers actually agreed to do that. Anyway, these are just another tool to pull the viewers attention away from the game on the field. Two rushed questions to a manager who is going to give the shortest possible answer is not what I call insight. With all of the media available now, isn't an interview during the game overkill? It's something I'd expect from the XFL.

Joe Buck. I'm not sure if this is Joe or the direction he's been given but there are very, very few times he's actually explaining the action ON the field. Most of the time Joe and Tim are talking about some other aspect of the game as pitch after pitch is thrown. Now, I can see things like this happening during the regular season, for say, the Brewers in game #124 of a last place season. But, during the playoffs, I expect the announcers to focus a lot more on the action at the plate vs some random other conversation. Also, Joe needs to stop pining on about curses and clutch and stuff during high-stress parts of the game. A perfect example of this is last year in game #7 of Boston/NY. As opposed to breaking down what was going on the last couple of innings he pinned on about history and Yankee lore an so forth. That doesn't get the viewer any more into the game. I'm willing to bet 90% of your viewers are aware of the size of a given situation. We don't need it crammed down our throats over and over again.

Chris Myers. We don't need a guy running into the stands to interview random fans to get their opinions. Again, this is overkill. It's another thing that takes the attention away from the game at hand. He should be there to get a scoop in the case of an injury or something. Not, to interview Tom Hanks and talk about his new movie as the game is going on. Think about that. The Sox are in the WS for the first time in like 80 years and your network is interviewing an actor about a new movie with a talking train. Would you show an interview with Tim Wakefield during an episode of the OC?

Cutaways to famous people. Please stop doing this. I will admit this year is now as bad as years in the past where Billy Crystal was shown every time something happened to the Yankees or Ben Affleck was shown every time something happened to the Sox. Again, like anything else, 1-2 shots a game of a famous fan who is a huge supporter (not some front-runner who has come out to get on TV) of their team is OK.

The radar gun flame. In yet another attempt to distract people from the action on the field can you please eliminate the flame that come up on the radar gun reading and especially the "whosh!!" sound when a pitcher touches a high number. I think having the radar gun reading is great as it allows the viewer to really appreciate how hard a guy is throwing or how he is able to change speeds. But, checking the radar gun should be something the viewer does. Not, some kind of attention grabber ushered in by the network.

In conclusion, I'm not sure if you realize how many people listen to the radio or watch the game with mute on. I live in CT with lots of Boston and NY fans. It's not good when I spend more time complaining about the broadcast than actually talking about the action on the field. Your production of the game is detracting from the game, I hope you realize this.

I hadn't known this until now but catcher of the future Guillermo Quiroz is playing for the Zulia Aguilas in the Venezuelan League. Thus far he's hitting .299/.346/.576 with 11Hr's, 5 2B's and a 46-6 SO/BB ratio(!). It's good to see his power return but a 46-6 SO/BB ratio is a little hacktastic for my liking. I'd like to see him tone it down a little bit.

It also looks like Kevin Frederick is in Venezuela pitching for the Lara Cardinals. His line thus far is an unimpressive 8.44ERA in 10 2/3 innings with 9 SO's and 6 walks. I'll cut him a little slack as I'm sure it's tough to get used to a totally different culture but that's not the kind of performance you'd hope for from a Major League caliber arm.

That's all I know of. It would be nice to have a list of which players are where in the winter leagues so I could keep an eye on them. If anyone has one please send it on.