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:

-------------

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.

As I've sat watching the game I've decided to say what the heck and give the game log another chance. So here we go

9:09- Good start by the Sox as again their plate discipline has allowed them to draw walks and get good pitches to hit. They've been having great AB's dating back to game four of the ALCS and it is certainly one of reasons for their recent success.

9:12- Do we really need the mid-game managerial interviews? I guess I'm glad they don't happen live anymore but still. Do we really get any kind of info out of them? Eventually I'd think people would get sick of the information overload.

9:13- As I see Rolen make the play on Cabrera I'm reminded of the play he made earlier on Damon. That was one heck of a play to field on his backhand and make a strong throw to first as he moving away from the play. He can pick-it over there.

9:16- Little late getting this out but I'm not a big fan of the Card's bringing Morris back a day early. It's not like he's some kind of major ace/workhorse. He's got a bad wing and is not my idea of the type of guy I'd want to pitch a day early. Per the broadcast team, the reason he's pitching is due to his post-season experience. I don't buy it or agree with it.

9:20- Pujols is an animal. Watching him and Beltran go back and forth in the NLCS was an absolute treat.

9:21- Heck of a job McCarver. Rolen isn't bunting in this situation. Thanks, I wouldn't have thought of that.

9:24- For all the talk of the improved "D" as to why the Sox are doing better (I don't believe that at all by the way) it's funny that Nixon doesn't get mentioned ever. He's a great RF and was out of action for most of the year. Nice catch.

9:28- It's an error, a tough error, but an error non-the-less on Mueller. A ball hit hard like that on the in-between hop is pretty tough to make a play on. The Sox better clean up their defensive act or they're going to get bitten one of these times. For the most part they've been able to survive their miscues.

9:33- Dude, Morris. Put a hat on. What the heck is that on your head??!!

9:34- You know, I'd like to see the Umps give Time a little less to the hitters as they always seem to be able to back out of the box when the pitcher is in their motion. That really shouldn't be tolerated as much as it is.

9:36- Great job of bouncing back by Morris. Didn't look so good in the first but he's been dealing pretty well since. Before he hurt his shoulder I really liked him. He's got good stuff. When his curve is on there aren't many that are better.

9:39- Nice, just as I publish the good job by Morris he gives up another couple. Thanks dude.

9:42- Is it just me or is Fox playing more music than MTV? I mean, I guess I don't mind it that much but it seems like someone's IPod took over the production studio. I really shouldn't complain as there the music is the least offensive thing Fox does.

9:44- LIKE THAT! Coming out of commercial as a guy is taking a hack. That has to stop. Bud Selig what are you doing? Shouldn't you be calling Fox and telling them to broadcast the game? Do we really need another promo for their stupid shows???

9:48- Do you think McCarver knows he just contradicted his whole pitch count theory? First, he mentions Martinez and says how there's a history with him as to when he hits 100 pitches he struggles. Which anyone who knows anything about the Sox could tell you. Then, he mentions Schilling who is rarely, if ever, on a pitch count. If you're going to complain about pitch counts, you really should use examples that support your theory, no? Fox, put him out to pasture already.

9:55- You know. If I'm Morris and I've gone to a 3 ball count on Cabrera with no out and Manny and Pappi on deck I go into the clubhouse, set a ball on a tee, and tell Cabrera to swing away. I'd rather have that then walking him.

9:57- WOW! Fox didn't go to commercial while there was a pitching change! Maybe they're reading this blog and are coming around and not marketing 24/7!! Wait. . . they just did a promo for two movies. Nevermind.

10:01- I hate instant replay in sports. It's just something we don't need. To me, it absolutely kills football games. But, I think Hockey does a good job of it when they use it to see if a puck went into the goal. The one place I would be OK with seeing it in baseball is to determine if a ball is a HR or not.

10:14- This could be that error. Schilling rolls right through 2-3-4 and then Mueller does that.

10:27- I wonder why King is warming up in the BP if he isn't going to face Mueller, Bellhorn, Damon? 2 of the three are lefties and Bellhorn is a righty.

10:32- Cabrera has to be on 2nd. Stop watching your hit dude and get to 2nd base. That could cost Boston a run.

10:33- It does cost Boston a run. Was he running all the way on the fly ball? Nope, he was jogging. Speaking of that flyball. Edmonds has to catch that ball. The wind has been blowing in all game and he should know a ball like that will get hung up in it. A jump on a ball is the one play that is constantly missed by most fans/announcers. Edmonds catch in game 7 against the Astros was a heck of an effort. But, he got a bad jump and took a bad route to the ball. These things are rarely talked about and I'm sure Buck/McCarver will hardly even mention it.

10:42- Another great job of pitching by Schilling, well done. By the way, no bunts by the Card's tonight. Interesting. If the Card's lose today I wonder if their fans will blame the loss on not bunting the same way Yankee fans did.

10:46- She's keeping score, that's great. Not enough people (myself included) keep score at games anymore. I've really got to start doing that again.

10:53- Why is Marquis in the game? Isn't he supposed to be starting in the next day or two? To a point I like the way managers will use their pitchers to try and win games. But in the 7th? Using one of your starters? I don't like it.

10:55- Thanks Edmonds, you've proved my point. Now yes, that was a difficult catch he made. But, why couldn't he get all the way back to the wall and turn-around to make the catch? He just drifted and made it more difficult than it actually should have been. A guy like Mike Cameron is able to sprint to the spot and turnaround and make the easy catch. Plays like that don't get noticed. I used to watch him play a lot when I lived out in southern California and I've never been all that impressed. He's a darn good CF, but I think he's overrated.

11:01- Since when does Pokey hit for Bellhorn? Maybe you want to get him an AB in case you need him to hit down the road. But, I'd rather have Bellhorn in the game. Curious move by Francona.

11:04- This inning is probably the game as the Card's have the top of the order up. They need to get it done now. I'm sure Foulke will be ready at a moments notice.

11:05- That all for now folks, hope you enjoyed. Time to crawl into bed and see the way the rest of this game plays out.

With the help of one of my favorite websites, let's take a look at how the Jays financial situation shapes up in 2005 and see what kind of cash they will have on hand to spend on personal. Below is a list of the guaranteed contracts the Blue Jays have going into next season:

Miguel Batista - $4.75M
Roy Halladay - $10.50M
Eric Hinske - $3M
Kerry Lightenberg - $2.5M
Ted Lilly - $3.1M
Vernon Wells - $2.9M
Frank Catalanotto - $2.5M

Total= $29.25M

Rumor has it, the Blue Jays are going to spend about $50M on their roster next year, so this gives them roughly $20M to spend on free agents, right? Wrong. First, The Blue Jays are going to need to fill out the rest of the roster. Let's take a look at how that will look. Below I've outlined an estimate of which players the Jays will have on the 25-man roster when they break camp, along with an estimate of how much I think they will make.

Vinnie Chulk - $305,000
Bob File - $315,000
Jason Frasor - $305,000
Chris Gomez - $815,000
Orlando Hudson - $600,000 (assuming a long term deal similar to Wells and Hinske. Won't be for as much though)
Reed Johnson - $360,000
Frank Menechino - $350,000
Greg Zaun - $500,000
Guillermo Quiroz - $305,000
Alex Rios - $305,000
Justin Spier - $1.70M (Made $1.60 this year, I think we might bring him back)
Russ Adams - $300,000
Dave Bush - $310,000
Gustavo Chacin - $305,000
Eric Crozier - $305,000

This brings our roster to 22 players and adds an additional $7.080M to our payroll, making it a total of $36,330,000. Once again, assuming a roster costing the team $50M, the Jays now have $13,670,000 left to spend on free agents. Not a bad little sum of cash. So where does it go? Let's look at how the above roster shapes up.

SP: Halladay, Lilly, Batista*, Bush, Chacin
RP: Lightenberg, Chulk, File, Frasor, Spier
OF: Johnson, Catalanotto, Wells, Rios
IF: Crozier, Hudson, Adams, Hinske, Gomez, Menechino
C: Quiroz, Zaun
DH: Open

*Note: I hate Batista in the bullpen. He just walks too many people. We've got lots of righties we can put in the pen so I'd rather see him in the rotation. Hopefully the new pitching coach straightens him out in Spring Training next year.

Assuming the Blue Jays use an 11-man pitching staff, it looks like they are one man short and need a lefty in the pen. There are lots of names out there but we really don't know who will fit best until everyone files for free agency. The Blue Jays spent $850,000 on Valerio De Los Santos (remember him) in '04, so lets assume they'll spend around $1M on a lefty this season. This brings our cash down to $12,670,000, with two roster spots now open. Looking at the roster makeup, the most glaring need, is a lefty and a righty bat with pop. I'm going to stay away from names right now, as too much still needs to happen before we know who is available. But, what I'd like to see the Jays do, is bring in a young righty who can team up with Crozier and form a nice little platoon. I believe this is someone we'll probably have to get via a trade as young power hitting right handed hitters just don't fall out of trees. I'm envisioning giving up one of our prospects, to get someone who can eventually take over the first base position full time down the road. And, a mashing veteran left handed bat (Durazo! Durazo! And no, I don't think we can bring back Delgado at a price that will work for both parties) who can hit in the DH spot most of the time. Of the roughly $12.5M we have left, I think this is where we'll see the cash go.

In conclusion, it looks like the Jays are going to have some cash to throw around. I don't expect them to sign any of the big time free agents but at the same time, I think they are going to bring in two guys who will be very effective. Their glaring need is middle of the order power, so it will be interesting to see who those guys end up being. When the WS ends and there is a more complete list of who's available, I'll take a deeper look into who the Jays should look at.

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, that was one heck of a comeback against a pretty darn good club. St. Louis and Houston should be a pretty good one tonight as well.

News is slow coming out of Toronto right now so if you have something you want me to talk about please send me an email. A couple pieces of news which have come out lately.

The Toronto Star is reporting Chris Woodward has elected to become a free agent as opposed to accepting an assignment to AAA. With the emergence of Russ Adams this is not a surprise. Woodward was given his shot and was never able to make it. Though I have to give the guy a lot of respect as he was a 54th-round pick. 54th-round picks just don't make it too the big show and Woodward did. Good for him. I think there is a pretty good chance he catches on somewhere else in a backup role. He's not a starter but he is good enough to be on a 25-man roster. At this point, I'd have to say Chris Gomez is the favorite to be signed as Adams' backup but we'll have too see who's available via non-tenders.

The Blue Jays have hired scout Takashi Ishikawa to cover the Pan Pacific area. Ricciardi no doubt sees an opportunity to get some cheap talent in this area and is putting resources behind this. I'm a big fan of scouting this area as much as possible. This hiring goes back to my thoughts that the Jays are trying to beat other teams to the punch in this part of the world. Good stuff.

Tonight's game in the Bronx is going to be something special. Regardless if you have any rooting interest in either team you really should try and catch the game. The last couple of games have been unreal.

Evening everyone. Great day of baseball thus far as Carlos Beltran continues to play out of his tree. This guy is a special talent. I hope everyone is noticing as this series has been a ton better than the NY/Boston series. Speaking of NY/Boston, let's dive into a little game commentary! Tonight's game is brought to you by Ireland's oldest ale, Smithwick's.

7:52- We should know what kind of stuff D. Lowe has pretty soon. He's normally one of those guys who gets hit early or gets off to a good start. For him, it's all getting that good late movement on his pitches and having NY pound the ball into the ground. I don't think I like the move of pitching Orlando Hernandez. I think Torre is only using him to see what he has. If this series is 2-1 in Boston's favor I think Mussina is coming back. A better move to me would have been to use Hernandez instead of Vazquez yesterday and let Vazquez get the start today. Boston is a patient team and Hernandez likes to throw the ball out of the strike zone. My guess, he only goes 4 innings and the Sox hit him pretty hard.

7:59- By the way. I don't want to hear any Sox fans whining about Schilling getting injured and how that might have been why they lost the series if that ends up happening. The Yankees have had a ton more pitching issues this year and they've done OK.

8:09- Is it too much to ask to start this game at 7:30? 7:45? Or even 8:00? I mean, I know on weekdays Fox wants to let the West Coast folks come home from work before the game starts but it's Sunday? People have to work in the morning.

8:10- Speaking of Fox. Was it me or did it seem like they were going to pull away from the end of the Astros/Cards game before it was over? They said a couple of times that they were going to leave the game and the people watching the game could pick it up on FX? That would have been one thing if they cut over for the first pitch of NY/Boston but they've been showing Rebel Billionaire commercials and Football highlights for the past 20 minutes. I didn't check the exact game time for NY/Boston but I really thought it was going to start directly after Astros/Cards. I wouldn't put it past them.

8:25- Finally, we've started. That is the exact start the Sox could hope for. 1-2-3 with less than 10 pitches. Good stuff if you're a Sox fan.

8:32- OK, if I'm going to have issues posting this is not going to last very long. Before Blogger shut down I was going to say great news for the Yankees as Hernandez is dialing it up to 91. That is going to make his other stuff look real good. Lot's of patience by the Sox thus far as well.

8:46- Grrr Blogger. What I've tried to say now three times is how stupid that cartoon ball is. Who the heck is Fox trying to reach with it? It's much more effective to have Leiter show the grip. Fox, please take notice.

8:49- Not sure I like playing the 1 run game in the 2nd inning but it worked out. Well played by Cabrera.

8:52- D. Lowe's got the good sinker thus far. We'll see how long he can keep it up. He hasn't been able to spot it well though. He's pretty much just throwing it down the middle and letting the natural movement do it's thing.

9:08- This is about a quiet a crowd I've heard early on for a Sox/Yankee series. They're not saying a thing.

9:09- Is it just me or are we seeing a ton of players step out of the box because the pitchers are taking too long?

9:12- Well. I've heard Yankee fans say Arod isn't clutch all year. Does that make him clutch? He's been pretty darn good this entire ALCS. That ball was hammered.

9:14- That's pretty funny. The ball comes back onto the field from the street, Damon throws it back onto the street and the fans throw it back. That's good stuff, gotta love Boston.

9:33- Sorry all. I have to call it a night as I have to post like 4 times to get something to stick. I'll try this another night. Enjoy the game.

Today I'll take a look at the pitchers who will be representing the Blue Jays in Arizona.

Jason Arnold: Arnold had a difficult year in 2004 as he had to be shut down for a couple of months due to shoulder concerns. When he came back, he was relatively effective putting up a 3.65 ERA at Syracuse. He struck out 15 and walked 12 in 37 innings. The time is now for Arnold, as the Jays have many young pitchers coming up through the system. He really needs to have an effective campaign in the AFL to give himself a shot at opening the year on the roster. I think a best case scenario for Arnold is to start in the bullpen for the Blue Jays in 2005 and then possibly move into the rotation. Unless he really takes off at the start of next year I don't think his future will be in the rotation.

Adam Peterson: Mr. Peterson is the owner of an arm that rivals Brandon League's. He got off to a great start pitching for AA New Hampshire, posting an ERA of 2.54 with 38 SO's 10 BB's and only 20 hits in 28 1/3 innings. Everything was going well until he got the call. In Toronto, he gave up 5 ER in just 2 2/3 innings. It was clear he was not ready for the big show. It got even worse when he was sent back down to Syracuse. There he posted a 12.86ERA in 21 innings! Not so good. Outlook. Based on his minor league numbers and his college numbers I think Peterson is fully capable of being a great late inning reliever. It's not very scientific but I believe he just got all messed up when he went to the big show and couldn't put things back together. I fully expect him to start the year in Syracuse and put up some great numbers. He'll be pitching for the Blue Jays by the All Star break at the latest and he might even make the club out of spring training if things go well in the AFL.

Francisco Rosario: Rosario is probably the most fascinating of all the players the Jays have in the AFL. Rosario was signed as a 19 year old kid out of the Dominican Republic back in 1999. Since then he shot up the Jays depth chart all the way to A league team Charleston. At Charleston he sported a nice little 2.56ERA with 78 SO's and only 14 BB's in 66 2/3 innings. He also only gave up 50 hits. At this time, he was viewed as the Blue Jays #1 pitching prospect by many people. Then came the AFL, a torn UCL and a trip to have Tommy John surgery. Fast-forward to 2004 and he is back in the Jays plans. Rosario finished the season pitching for New Hampshire in AA. He pitched 48 innings, struck out 45 and only walked 16. He had a 4.31ERA and gave up 48 hits. Not quite the dominating stuff he had pre-surgery but still pretty good. I will be intrigued to see how well he pitches in the AFL and to see what kind of start he gets off to in the minors. My guess is he'll start in AA and move up to AAA after 5-7 starts. Then, I'd like to see him pitch the rest of the year in AAA unless he really sets the world on-fire where we'd probably see a call-up in September or after the All Star Break. It is really too bad to see both him and Dustin McGowan go down with the same arm injury. Throw in David Bush and the Jays would have quite the threesome of young pitchers for 2005. Regardless, I think we'll see all three pitching together in 2006.

The Jays outrighted 5 players to Syracuse yesterday and lost another from the 40-man roster. Sean Douglass, Bob File, Howie Clark and Mike Nakamura were all taken off of the 40-man and sent to Syracuse. While Bobby Estalella refused his assignment and elected free agency.

None of these moves surprise me as the Jays will have several youngsters they'll need to add to the 40-man roster or lose them to the Rule 5 draft. Of the players outrighted, the only guy with some promise for the big club is Bob File. He pitched very well for Toronto in 2002 before missing all of the 2003 season to shoulder issues. He pitched just OK last year as he struggled to regain his form after the injury. I think with an off-season of rest and a normal spring training he could be a useful part of the bullpen next year.

As games begin in the Arizona Fall League, it's a good time to take a look at the prospects the Jays sent to play for the Peoria Saguaros. First, the hitters:

Aaron Hill- Many people should know Hill as the first round draft pick from year two under the JP Ricciardi regime. Hill has moved through the Jays system pretty quickly, spending 2004 in New Hampshire. In 2005 it is widely assumed he'll open up with Syracuse. This year, Hill hit .280 with 11 HR's and 26 doubles. More importantly he walked 63 times, contrasted by only 61 strike outs. Hill is an interesting player as he does not have a spot to play at the big league level. He's currently playing SS but that position is being occupied by Russ Adams. Orlando Hudson took a step forward in 2004 and is currently at 2nd base. Finally, Eric Hinske is under contract for another three years at third base. So where does that leave Hill? I think a LOT is going to depend on how well Hinske and Hudson play next year. To me, Hinske was the most disappointing player on the Jays roster this year and is in danger of finding himself on another team. His plate discipline dropped along with his power. If he does not rebound next year and Hudson/Hill have a good year, I could see Hinske being traded away to make room for either Hill or Hudson to take over the everyday duties at the hot corner. I would love to see the on base abilities of Hill and Adams in the one and two spots of the Jays lineup for the next 10 or so years. A lineup of those two at the top and a couple of big boppers in the middle would score a lot of runs.

John Hattig- Hattig is the player the Jays got from Boston in the Terry Adams deal. Hattig had a good year with the stick, batting .298 with 22 HR's and 28 doubles in 400 at bats between AA and AAA this year. But, he's already 24 which is a little old to be considered a big time prospect. He would need a really big year in AAA to push himself into the Jays plans. I believe he profiles as a guy who can come off the bench and give you a good at bat and can spot start at 3B every now and then at the big league level. Hinske showed a reverse split in 2004 hitting better (L-.268/.321/.405, R- .236/.309/.363) against left handed pitching but if this proves to be an aberration, Hattig could be a right handed platoon partner for Hinske. He's an interesting player and a pretty good pickup for a pitcher the Jays didn't need in Terry Adams.

Vito Chiaravalloti- Speaking of interesting players. Vito, is a guy who will draw a lot of interest from me in '05 and in the AFL. I believe Ricciardi thinks he will be the long term solution at first base for the Jays so it will be interesting to see how he plays in the AFL. In 2005 I have to think the plan is to start him off in New Hampshire. Vito exploded onto the scene in 2003 for the Auburn Doubledays hitting .351/.469/.605 in 228 at bats. In '04, he moved up to Dunedin and hit a pretty good but not outstanding .266/.376/.438 in 447 AB's. I believe the solution to the Delgado problem is to sign/trade for a cheaper veteran and keep them around for the next couple of years while Vito is developing. Then, turn the job over to Vito when he is ready in 2007 or so. This is, of course, if Vito continues to develop. 2005 will be a huge year for the kid as the Jays need to know if he's the super prospect his Auburn season hinted at or merely the marginal prospect his Dunedin season hinted at.

Next time I'll take a look at the trio of Jason Arnold, Adam Peterson and Francisco Rosario who are the pitchers in Arizona.

The Jays last Friday signed a 2nd pitcher from Taiwan by the name of Po-Hsuan Keng. Keng played alongside another Jays prospect from the same general area of Taiwan, Chi-Hung Cheng.

This is certainly pretty interesting as it seems the Jays have really made inroads into this area of the world. During the 80's and early 90's the Jays were one of the most forward looking teams when it came to finding players in Latin America. But, over the past couple of years most teams have setup their own operations in this area and teams with more money have been able to scoop up the best players. Partly because of this, Ricciardi has cut back the number of scouts in these areas. For a team on a small budget there is just too much competition and money for the Jays be competitive.

This is what I love about Ricciardi and he doesn't get enough credit for it. While most of the press covering the Jays is hammering him for cutting back scouts, he's busy finding talent in places other teams aren't even looking. He knows he can't compete with Seattle, NY, Boston and such in Japan and Latin America so he's going places where those teams aren't. It will be another 3-4 years before we know how good these guys are but if Taiwan turns out to be a talent rich environment then the Jays will be leaps and bounds in front of the other teams.

When I wrote my game summary on the Yankees and Twins this morning I did not mention the word, "Fox" once. That was hard for me to do but I refrained (just wait for a game log, I'll go off.). You see, Fox absolutely butchers a baseball game with all of their gimmicks. The worst of which has to be Scooter! He's an animated talking baseball that tells the audience what a pitch does. . . really. I found an archived article today from one of my absolute favorite bloggers about Mr. Scooter that's a great read. Though I'm not much of a Twins fan, the writing is absolutely brilliant. Certainly better than anything you'd find here.

Twins/Yankee Notes: Santana was not sharp last night. His fastball was all over the place and he could rarely throw it for a strike. And for some reason, he did not throw his changeup as much as he normally does. He usually uses the changeup to setup his other pitches. Last night he threw a lot more fastballs and only mixed in the change. What was also strange is that Santana is a fly ball pitcher and he got 5 (5!) double-plays last night. That really bailed him out. Also, the Yankees swung at a ton of first pitches which helped keep his pitch count down as well.

On the other hand, I thought Mussina looked great last night. This is another typical start for him. He cruises through 7 or so innings, gives up a couple of runs and get left with the loss. The Yank's just don't hit when he is on the mound. Though I think it's clear he is the best pitcher the Yank's have right now, I'm not sure if he's completely health either. His fastball was only about 91 and he threw a ton of curves. Of which the Twins couldn't stop swinging at. They really do love to hack up there. If Orlando Hernandez get a start in this series I bet he could go 9 innings and only throw only about 80 pitches. He's the king of deception and the Twins don't like to take pitches to make a pitcher throw strikes.

Though Santana was off, I really didn’t think the Yankee hitters looked sharp last night. This is just a guess but it really did look like they were concerned with the change and were up there taking weaker hacks (except for Sheffield, wow, does he swing hard or what). Maybe that's why Santana was trying to mix in his fastball and slider more. The Twins looked just as bad though. They just couldn't get enough of Mussina's curve that was low and away.

Next game should be interesting, as I think Radke will be sharp and will continue to befuddle the Yankee hitters. But, there is just no way the Yankees will ground into 5 (5!!!) double-plays again tonight. If I was a Yankee fan I'd also have to worry about Lieber's pitching style, as he is a guy that is normally around the plate and throws a lot of sinkers. The Twins struggle when pitchers make them go outside the zone and chase. Lieber doesn't normally do that. I think we're looking at the potential of a low scoring game again tonight that the Yankees will pull off. But, with the potential the Twins tee off on Lieber and make it a route.

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I don't buy into all this Pedro's struggling thing. Yes, he did struggle towards the end of the season but my money is on him going out there and pitching 7 strong innings.

BlueJays.com has some more info this morning on Ernie Whitt and Brad Arnsberg. I'll have to say Arnsberg's name sounded familiar but I just couldn't place it. The article reminded me of where. Arnsberg was the coach in Florida who was let go along with the Jeff Torborg after AJ Burnett blew out his elbow. The Marlins of those days used to ride their pitchers real hard and guy like Brad Penny have developed shoulder problems, Josh Beckett has never really developed any consistency to go along with the Burnett. Now knowing this, I am extremely wary of having him as a pitching coach. Ricciardi personally brought him on so he must trust his ability but I know I'm nervous. I will be watching pitch counts like a hawk next year.

On Saturday, the Blue Jays fired pitching coach Gil Patterson and first base coach Joe Breeden. Breedan was not a surprise as he was the guy brought in by Carlos Tosca to be his personal sounding board on the bench. Patterson on the other hand, I was a little surprised about.

Patterson had been with the Jays for a little over two years now and from what I understood had a pretty good reputation throughout baseball. But, in his years at the position, the team has not done much for developing pitchers. Roy Halladay went all the way to A ball to refine his delivery and become the pitcher he is today. It's not like he developed under Patterson at the Major League level. Then there was the Kelvim Escobar saga in which the Jays could never find a place for the guy until mid-way through last year. A pitching coach normally has a pretty active role in a decision like that. I didn't like the move of Batista to the bullpen and apparently it was orchestrated by Patterson. He always looked like he was working hard but the results were just never there.

To replace Patterson, the Jays have called up AAA pitching coach Brad Arnsberg. I don't know too much about him other than he's a Ricciardi guy as they played ball together in the minor leagues. He's overseen a lot of the young pitchers who will be on the roster next year so he seems like a logical choice to take over the position. We'll see.

Replacing Breeden as the bench coach, is Ernie Whitt. This is an interesting move. The Jays under Ricciardi are not much into nostalgia moves (JP is not the type of guy to hire Buck Martinez as a PR move) so you know there is something to his hiring. He led a surprising Canadian team in the Olympics and I think he might be being groomed to take over the job of manager if things do not work out for John Gibbons (more on him in bit). Ricciardi always seems to have a guy on the staff willing and able to take the squad over if it doesn't work out for the incumbent. That's what Carlos Tosca was to Buck Martinez. That is what Gibbons was to Tosca. And that is what I think Whitt is to Gibbons. I have to say I didn't see this one coming but I like the move.

Finally, John Gibbons has been retained as the full time manager of the Jays. The interim tag has been taken off and he's been given a 1 year deal. The press has alluded to him taking over the position for a while now (though I didn't necessarily believe them) so this shouldn't come as a shock to many people. From what I hear/read, the players have really taken too him and JP has sited his bullpen management several times as a reason he was staying. Which is interesting as management really is alluding to the fact that Tosca lost the clubhouse in Toronto. I haven't seen enough of him to form a really good opinion so I'll hold judgement until around May of next year.

One more thing I was thinking about. Anyone else think it's strange these moves come during the last weekend of the year? Especially the firing of Patterson? Usually these types of moves aren't made until a little deeper into the off-season. I'm not really sure why but it seems like JP is trying to slide these moves under the radar while there is lots of other things to be talked about in the world of baseball. Imagine the fanfare from the mainstream press if these moves were made in January? Especially with no hockey season to keep people occupied?

All in all, I'm not too excited but at the same time I'm not upset. It will all depend on what kind of start the Jays get off too next April.

Some notes:

• Why isn't Phil Garner being talked about the same way Jack McKeon was last year? Did he not take over a scuttling team and turn them into a playoff team? I know the Astros had higher expectations but still.
• Can the media please stop the bashing the Dodgers and "the trade." According to most of them, the Dodgers wouldn't have won the pennant as they lost their, "heart and soul" in Paul LoDuca. Now the Dodgers are in and the Marlins are out. Who hit the game winning HR to get LA in? You bet yeah, Steve Finley. Goes to show the chemistry/clubhouse stuff is normally something that doesn't hold water.
• The Yankees are making a mistake if they put Jason Giambi on the playoff roster. He has hardly played all year and hasn't hit since he came back. His spot should go to someone else. That's not too mention the possible issues with Kevin Brown, Orlando Hernandez and Javier Vazquez. If the starter falter early? Who is going to get the ball to their lights out end of the game bullpen? Tanyon Sturtze???
• Can we stop talking about the Sox and their "changed defense" as to why they made the playoffs. Didn't they play most of the year with the spectacular Pokey Reese on SS? And, how much has Doug Mientkiewicz played at first base? Kevin Millar has been getting most of the starts. Don't buy the defense garbage (don't buy all the snap shot numbers on their defense either. Can we say sample size???). The reason they are in the playoffs is that their pitching has been great as well as their hitting.
• Speaking of the Sox. Why isn't anyone concerned over Keith Foulke? He hasn't been very good lately. Is it because he's a capital '"C" closer? Last years Timlin, Williamson, Embree bullpen was pitching better than this years version. Close games are won and lost by the bullpen, I don't know if the Sox have what it takes.
• Speaking of closers (OK enough "speaking of" lines Ty). Why hasn't anyone brought up the fact the A's got the wrong guy in the Beltran deal? Brad Lidge has been lights out in Houston. Was he not available? Did Billy Beane fall into the "proven closer" trap? Was he 100% not available? Why didn't anyone talk about this? Dotel hasn't been the pitcher Oakland needed. Lidge has been nasty.
• No Gammons, the A's should not have resigned Tejada and traded Chavez. Look where all that "energy" and club house bravado brought the O's. Let's not forget all the games Chavez missed due to injury. If he was healthy then the A's probably win a couple more games earlier in the season and make the playoffs. The reason the A's are no playing in October is because their starting pitching failed them and the bullpen couldn't pick them up.

Man, I can't wait until tomorrow!

I'm going to try and do several game logs as the playoffs unfold. My schedule can make it kind of tough but be sure to check in at the start of games. I don't get home until around 6:00 or 6:30 from work so most game logs will be for the 7:00EST games. Though I've been known to stay up pretty late during the month of October.

And yes, I do have some Blue Jay catching up to do. . .

Today I had the honor of going to the last game in the history of the Montreal Expos. Being that I don't live too far from Flushing, NY this was a chance I just could not pass up. I went by myself and sat up in the mezzanine section behind the Expos dugout. The baseball game wasn't great as both Tom Glavine and John Patterson struggled with their command and the game had several minor league callups on both sides. Though, it was kind of cool to see the crowds reaction to Todd Zeile hitting a HR in what turned out to be his last Major League at bat. But I wasn't there to see Todd Zeile.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the number of Expos fans in attendance. There were lots of Expos jerseys, hats, flags and signs. In between just about every inning several Expos fans could be seen holding signs up or walking in the aisles holding an Expos flag. As the game wound down to a close, several Expos fans started to congregate down by the Expos dugout, joining the many who had bought tickets for the game and as the top of the ninth unfolded, they began to let their voices be heard as cheers of, "Let's go Expos!" rang out. It was truly a touching moment that brought both happiness and sadness at the same time. When the game came to an end as Endy Chavez grounded out a great cheer came out from behind the Expos dugout as the crowd saluted their team one last time. At this time, neither I, nor many of the Expos fans could quite leave the field. I just stayed and watched the reactions of people as they hugged one another or took pictures of family and friends. It was kind of a cool sight. But, finally after a few balls and keepsakes were thrown into the crowd by members of the Expos fans it was time for myself and may to say goodbye.

So long Montreal, you will always have a spot in my heart.

Sad news out of Toronto today as long time announcer John Cerutti was found dead in his apartment. The cause of death is not yet known but no foul play is suspected and he apparently died of natural causes. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.

Following up on what I said about the Expos, Jonah Keri over at Baseball Prospectus has two (here and here) great articles on the boys from Montreal. They are an absolute great read.

As we approach the last series of the year in Toronto I encourage all of those who can to go out and catch a game to do so and see Carlos Delgado. He is going to leave (most likely) the organization as the greatest Blue Jay hitter of all time. For that, we should tip our cap. I wish I could be there but I will be watching. Carlos, thanks for the memories.

ESPN has a great article (by great I meant the content, for whatever reason though I don't think it was edited. There are several mistakes.) by Chris Stevenson on the move of the Expos to Washington. Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about this. I am glad a decision has finally been made and the Expos have been moved because having them owned by MLB is just about a bad idea as you can come up with. Essentially, MLB has been running with 29 teams over the past couple of years. Their handling of this situation has been horrendous.

But, what really makes me mad is the way the city has been viewed. It's been a popular theme on SportsCenter for years to make fun of the small crowds in Montreal. But, what everyone doesn't remember, is that Montreal WAS a great city and STILL would be if they were given a chance. For close to 10 years now their have been rumors of this day. MLB as always floated stories out there predicting the demise of this once proud franchise. For the past 10 years as well the owners of the Expos have been awful. Bud Selig has clearly wanted this organization to fall. If you listen to Selig for 5 minutes you're sure to hear him say that the only way a team can survive is with a new stadium. For the most part I think this is crap. It's more negative marketing from the guy who is supposed to champion the game he represents. I don't think a new stadium was needed (though it wouldn't have hurt) to save the Expos but a commitment was. If Selig and his cronies ever decided to try and make baseball work in this city then there is no doubt in my mind things would have turned out better. But, Selig has had a plan for years now where he wanted to put baseball back into Washington and he was going to do it by any means necessary. Hence the sacrificing of the Expos and the unprecedented perks Peter Angelos is going to get from MLB.

Though a diehard Jays fan for as long as I can remember I've always had a special little place in my heart for the 'Spos. I'm sorry to see them go and I only can hope MLB baseball will make another commitment to them in the future. Because the city deserves it. One more thing, if you're a fan of the Blue Jays, A's, Marlins, D-Rays as well as a couple other small market teams and you're laughing at what happened. I wouldn't, you could be next.