Blue Jay Banter

2011-09-09T13:19:00.002-04:00

Encarnation was the key bat in the triumph of the Blue Jays

First baseman Edwin Encarnacion broke a tie in the eighth inning three-run double beating to give the Blue Jays a 11-10 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

The Blue Jays were imposed in the attack and prevented the Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield, to get win number 200 for his entire career. Wakefield pitched five innings and left with no choice.

Despite their defeat, the sixth in the final 10 games, the Sox remain two games of the leaders of the Eastern Division of the American League New York Yankees, who also lost 4-5 in 11 innings against Baltimore Orioles.

In the eighth inning, Encarnacion doubled to deep struck between the right-center for three RBIs.

With that double the Dominican commanded the register pinch-runner Chris Woodward, the ranger Eric Thames and designated hitter Jose Bautista.

Encarnation became the key to the Blue Jays beat the end with five RBIs and 49 RBIs to reach so far in the campaign.

The victory went to the relay Shawn Camp (4-3) in one episode, allowed one hit.

The closer Frank Francisco (13) is credited with launching a rescue entry, despite allowing three hits, a homer, two runs, and retired one strikeouts.

For the Red Sox, Jacoby Ellsbury Ranger (25), designated hitter David Ortiz (29) and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (24) homered.

Ortiz homer bound her in 29 so far this season, connecting in the fifth inning, no people on the road.

The Dominican Morrow punished with four corners homer when the pitcher was looking for the second out of the inning.

Gonzalez (24) also took the ball from the field but did so in the ninth inning with no runners on the road.

The Mexican broke the control of his pitches Francisco, when there were no outs on the board and had runners on the road.

The defeat was for the relief Daniel Bard (2-6) in one inning, which allowed one hit and five runs, walked three and retired two strikeouts.

2011-08-29T09:52:00.002-04:00

Blue Jays Weekend Recap: Bautista Loses His Cool, Jays Lose Four Straight

Talk about a miserable weekend for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The team doing their fair share of losing on several fronts over the last few days, both off and on the field. First, there was the coaching staff losing manager John Farrell after he was sent home to rest with a bout of pneumonia that caused him to have to leave the game on Thursday night complaining of chest pains. The initial thought was that the illness wouldn’t be serious enough for the Jays skipper to miss more than a couple of games, but the team has decided to rest him through the weekend. Don Wakamatsu has been taking over in Farrell’s absence, and the team has not responded particularly well, losing all 3 weekend games to the Rays and hoping to avoid a full series sweep tomorrow night.

Then there was Jose Bautista, who completely lost his cool on Friday night, after choosing to debate a debatable strike zone from home plate umpire Bill Welke following his third strikeout of the game. After being thrown out by Welke for arguing and slamming his bat at the side of the dugout, Bautista essentially flipped out, tossing his equipment out on the field and barking at Welke some more before heading into the tunnel.

Now, I guess some of you might want to chalk it off as a fiery leader showing some emotion because of his competitiveness, and that is certainly true; it’s important to realize, however, that Bautista engaged in an immature and childish actions while trying to show those emotions. It’s called a temper tantrum, and there really isn’t a place for it in the game. If you don’t support them when guys like Zambrano throws them, there’s no reason to give Bau a free pass here. Is that a reason to stop supporting Bautista? Does that make him any less of a player on the field? Nah, but what it does mean is that Bautista made a mistake in choosing his forms of expression, and those actions should not be supported. Fans know he can be better, and I’m sure he knows he can be better. There will likely be repercussions coming from the MLB at some point, and hopefully this will remain a one-off incident with the Jays’ star player.

Continuing on with this whole losing thing – not that I’m particularly fond of this theme – the Jays’ losses to the Rays this weekend were particularly harsh because only one of the 3 losses was even remotely competitive, with the Jays losing 5-6 on Saturday. Even so, the team played from behind all weekend, and was never really in the mix for winning any of the games, culminating with a 0-12 blowout earlier this afternoon. If you had to pick a main culprit, it was the pitching: the starters – Luis Perez, Henderson Alvarez and Brandon Morrow – combined for a lackluster 16.1 innings of work between 3 starts, allowing 11 runs on 15 hits and 9 walks for a 6.14 ERA (not to mention Brett Cecil’s poor start on Thursday night). Brandon Morrow was the worst of the bunch in his 2nd straight poor start, giving up 3 homers over just 5.1 innings and continuing that trend of inconsistency that’s been at his side since he entered the majors.

The short starts from our starters meant that the bullpen received some extra work. The line wasn’t pretty: 10.2 innings, 18 hits, 9 walks, 12 earned runs. There were bad performances all around, but the one that hurt the most was Shawn Camp and Jesse Litsch’s combined 4-run blowup in the 6th and 7th innings on Saturday that blew open a tie, essentially costing the team a chance to win. Wil Ledezma, who is really only up here because our bullpen is falling apart at the seams and is undermanned, allowed 7 runs on 6 hits over 2 innings over a couple of appearances, including today’s 0-12 laugher.

And to think, there’s still one month to go before these guys will get a chance to recharge, and for the top brass to try to bolster the team’s weakness in that department. The fun continues tomorrow, with the Jays looking to ace Ricky Romero to try and stop the losing streak at 4 against Wade Davis and the Rays.

PS. To end of a positive note, at least we’ve still got Brett Lawrie, who continued to rake: the growing legend went 4-for-12 over the weekend, launching his 5th homer of the season in Friday night. Lawrie had 2 for the Jays 5 hits yesterday in a record-setting 14 strikeout performance from David Price – so even when other guys are struggling, Lawrie continues to hit the ball well. That impressive small sample stat line is starting to become an impressive stat line, period.

2011-08-26T10:59:00.001-04:00

Blue Jays Acquire Kelly Johnson, Ship Out Aaron Hill & J-Mac

Rejoice, Aaron Hill-haters: the Blue Jays have heard your call. The much maligned 2nd baseman was finally shipped out of town today in a waiver deal, along with super-utilityman John Macdonald, with both players headed off to join the Arizona Diamondbacks’ playoff race.

In return, the Blue Jays will get the D-Backs’ struggling 2B-man in Kelly Johnson, a player that, like Hill, probably isn’t going to help much this season. Just a year removed from a career-season at age 28, Johnson has been mired in a low BABIP-influenced struggle this year, hitting 18 home runs but little else, posting an ugly .209/.287 split over 114 games this season (sound familiar, anyone?). Johnson brings with him some consistent pop, with his MLB career ISO never been once below .150, and sitting at over .200 over the last two seasons. At the very worst, the Jays will receive a marginal upgrade over Hill this season in terms of power and fielding ability, with Johnson also showing a career walk rate of 10.7% over Hill’s 6.6%.

Good talent, for sure, but the former 1st rounder does not come without his own caveats, obviously. Most concerning is his strikeout rate, currently sitting at a career-high 27.9%, and has seen a 3-year increase from a much more manageable 15.6% before he was traded to the D-Backs in 2009. Arizona is currently 4th in the league in batter strikeouts, and lead that category over the last couple of years, so Johnson’s issue could be something related to a team hitting philosophy, not unlike Adam Lind and Aaron Hill’s issues were related to the same thing.

For Aaron Hill and John Macdonald, both players will get a chance to play some meaningful baseball in September for the first time in their careers, and in Hill’s case, he also gets a proverbial change of scenery that’s been much needed since May, more or less. There are certain parallels between Hill and Johnson’s careers, and I’m not about to write off Aaron Hill’s career at 29 years old either. The opportunity is there for him to hit in a better lineup, and you never know what the batting coaches will have in mind in terms of fixing Hill’s batting woes this season. John Macdonald will provide – as he’s done for years here – valuable defensive backup in the infield for the D-Backs in late innings. It’ll be nice to see him finally get a shot at the playoffs.

It’s a bit of a gamble for Arizona, but for the Jays’, it’s really a no-risk move, as all players are free agents after this season (unless Arizona picks up Hill’s options). The Jays will, at worst, end up with a type-B comp pick for Johnson’s services if he chooses to sign elsewhere, and will also get a look to see if they will want to re-up him at a reasonable price, as opposed to trying to make an off-season move. Johnny Mac will likely rejoin Toronto in the off-season – word is going around that he preferred to be traded to a contender if possible, and Alex Anthopoulous have honored the request.

2011-08-22T09:40:00.002-04:00

Athletics 5, Blue Jays 1, Alvarez drop despite solid work

Gio Gonzalez pitched eight perfect innings Saturday for his first victory in over a month and managed the Oakland Athletics a 5-1 win over Toronto.

Venezuelan starter Henderson Alvarez (0-1) took the loss for the Jays despite having a solid performance on the mound.

The right was given three consecutive hits in the bottom of the first inning, including the Japanese single by Hideki Matsui.

Eric Thames had two hits and scored the only run of Toronto, who did not have Jose Bautista. Bautista leads the majors with 35 homers but was ruled out with a strained neck.

For the Blue Jays, the Yunel Escobar 4-0. Edwin Encarnacion 4-1 with an RBI. Jose Molina 3-0.

2011-08-19T09:14:00.003-04:00

MLB: Blue Jays 5, Mariners 1; Encarnacion homered

Casper Wells, Seattle Mariners, reacts after being beaten in the face by a pitch from Brandon Morrow, from the Blue Jays in the game on Wednesday August 17, 2011. The Blue Jays won 5-1.

Photo: Ted S. Warren

Brandon Morrow allowed three hits on Wednesday and one run over six innings and the Toronto Blue Jays hit three homers, including one from Edwin Encarnacion in the 5-1 victory against the Seattle Mariners.

Encarnacion hit a solo to open the second, Adam Lind hit a three-run homer in the third and Colby Rasmus gave the advantage in the fourth.

Morrow (9-7), who allowed no hits until they had two outs in the fourth, struck out 12, a record for the season. It is the fourth time this season that kills 10 or more.

It was also the first time that Morrow was facing his former team in Seattle, who took the first-round pick in 2006. Was traded before the 2010 season by Brandon League, now the Mariners' closer. The pitcher did not leave the mound in the two previous visits to the Blue Jays to Seattle.

The relievers Jesse Litsch, Casey Janssen and Frank Francisco worked each entry without receiving a hit.

For the Blue Jays, the Yunel Escobar 4-1. Jose Bautista's 3-1 with a run scored, and Encarnacion 3-1 with a run scored and an RBI. Jose Molina 4-1, with a run scored.

2011-08-15T10:17:00.001-04:00

Blue Jays win 5-4 in the 10th inning against the Angels

Edwin Encarnacion hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 Sunday. Yunel Escobar walked to begin the ninth against Fernando Rodney (2-5). Mark Teahen struck out and Jose Bautista walked before Hisanori Takahashi came on to strike out Adam Lind. Encarnacion followed with a base hit up the alley in left-center, scoring Escobar with the winning run as Encarnacion's teammates ran out and mobbed him at second base. Jon Rauch (5-3) pitched one inning for Toronto.

NOTES: Encarnacion extended his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games with a leadoff single in the seventh. ... Angels C Jeff Mathis, who was hit on the left hand by a pitch Saturday, did not start. X-rays were negative. ... Toronto 2B Aaron Hill sat out his second straight game but GM Alex Anthopoulos insisted Hill has not lost his starting job. Hill is stuck in a 6 for 36 slump. McDonald made his second consecutive start in place of Hill

2011-08-08T09:25:00.002-04:00

Brett Lawrie era starts with a Victory over Orioles

Not unlike the arrival of Colby Rasmus just a little over a week ago, last night’s debut for 21-year old Brett Lawrie came with CN-Tower-high expectations; Lawrie himself had to quell the notions that his long-awaited tryout in the MLB was somehow the key to turning the Jays around, saying that he’s “no saviour” in an interview before the game. Well, saviour or not, Lawrie definitely made a notable impact – both good and bad – in a Blue Jays road win over the Orioles.

There were other players on the field, but being that this was a game of little consequence between the 4th and 5th team in the division, I got the feeling that most eyes from Blue Jays fans were on the team’s shiny new 3rd baseman. So let’s start with the good: with the Jays down 0-2 in the 2nd inning from a Adam Jones home run off starter Brad Mills and runners on first and 2nd, Lawrie wasted no time showing off his hitting ability, slapping a line-drive single in his first major-league at-bat for his first career RBI in the bigs. I think most of us were hoping he’d start things off with a home run, but then again, that’s probably based on the unrealistic hope that he would start his first game with a 4-for-4, 4 home run night.

That didn’t quite happen, but Lawrie did wind up 2-for-4 on the night with a pair of singles. He probably would have had a 2nd RBI too, as Rasmus was trying to score from 2nd on the play (he was 2-for-4 in the 6th hole), but was beaten at home on a fantastic throw from left fielder Nolan Reimold.

So it’s pretty clear that the kid can hit. Fielding, on the other hand, was a bit of a different story. It was always a concern with Lawrie, even when he was coming up through the Brewers’ system as a 2nd baseman, and it doesn’t look like the concern will go away anytime soon. A total of 4 balls were hit to 3rd last night, with Lawrie making just one play; maybe it was the first-game-jitters – you have to give him some credit for effort, and he certainly isn’t lacking athleticism – but Lawrie took a little bit of the sheen off his otherwise solid debut with his play. The first play, a sharp grounder down the 3rd base line, wasn’t entirely his fault. He showed off good range getting to the ball, and launched a impressive, but off-line throw to 1st while being off balance. Not a play that most 3B in the league would make, certainly.

He then followed that up with a pair of bobbles, one in the 2nd that was charged as an error, and one in the 6th that cost the Jays a run in a close game that probably could have gone as his 2nd error, but was called a deflection instead. Lawrie did complete his first play on a force-out a batter later. I’m not going to start calling the kid the 2nd coming of Edwin Encarnacion on the field or anything, but the truth is he’s being rushed to the majors at a young age, learning a new position this season with not-very-good results (16 errors in 214 chances for a poor .925 fielding %). Does he have the tools to get better? Certainly. This being said, his skillset probably doesn’t really fit into the infield over the long-term. I could see him moved into the outfield at a further stage of his career.

This was just an audition, after all, and as as far as auditions go, I’d say Lawrie looked as advertised. The rest of the Jays, meanwhile, were locked in a close battle against the O’s, ultimately coming on top with a 5-4 win. Mills went a decent 5.1 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks (no control last night), and if it wasn’t for Aaron Hill’s sac fly in the 8th inning that put the Jays ahead 5-3, the run that was scored off Lawrie’s deflection would have proven to be very costly. The reason, of course, was our closer – who is still Jon Rauch at the moment – who came in to lock down the save in the 9th, but instead made things interesting, giving up a pair of hits with 2 outs, including a RBI double to Nick Markakis that brought the O’s to within a run.

It’s another unacceptable performance from a player who has been given responsibility in a high-leverage situation, and it’s only a matter of time now before the other cleat drops on Rauch’s time in the 9th inning. How is former closer Frank Francisco doing since Rauch took over? 10.1 IP, 7H, 1ER, 0BB, 10K. Go figure.

2011-08-01T11:11:00.004-04:00

Blue Jays removed the number 12 - Roberto Alomar

Former baseball player Roberto Alomar gives a speech to the audience of the Rogers Centre during the ceremony to withdraw his number (12) before the game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, July 31, 2011 in Toronto.

Escorted by two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and flattered by the applause, the former baseball player Roberto Alomar went to the center of the stadium on Sunday as his number 12 was retired by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The new Hall of Fame Major League participated in 12 All-Star Games and 10 times won the Gold Glove is the first Blue Jays player whose number is retired in the 35-year history of the franchise.

Alomar played only five seasons in Toronto, but those were the glory years of the team. The Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993, looking Alomar at second base.

Alomar made a speech to the public before the game against the Texas Rangers. While their numbers were unveiled at a blue banner at the top of the center of Rogers Centre, a fan yelled, "I love you, Robbie." Without thinking twice, Alomar said, "I love you, too. I love you all."

On a stage set up in center field, right in front of a giant number 12 covering second base, Alomar was accompanied by his parents, former manager "Cito" Gaston, president and general manager Paul Beeston, and former teammates.

Wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, Alomar reflected on his career and two titles with Toronto.

"As a kid I never imagined that my number would be retired," he told an audience of 45,629 fans. "We just played the game I love. My parents taught me that no matter how much money you earn, how much success one has or how famous one is, must always act with humility, as I have done."

This week has been a whirlwind for Alomar, who along with former general manager Pat Gillick was the Blue Jays elected new Hall of Fame last weekend, becoming the first player to receive this appointment wearing the uniform of the Blue Jays.

"This is a day to remember for the rest of my life," Alomar said after the ceremony. "

Alomar signed with Baltimore after the 1995 season and later played for Cleveland, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox and Arizona. In a career spanning 17 years, recorded a batting average of .300 with 2724 hits and 210 homers.

2011-07-29T08:59:00.000-04:00

Mills to start for Blue Jays on Saturday

Brad Mills will get the start for the Toronto Blue Jays in Saturday's game against the Texas Rangers.

Mills was recalled by Toronto from Triple-A Las Vegas following a series of trades Wednesday that netted the Blue Jays four players, including talented outfielder Colby Rasmus.

Mills, 26, went 9-7 with a 3.99 ERA in 20 starts with Las Vegas. He made seven appearances (three starts) for the Blue Jays last season, going 1-0 with a 5.64 ERA in 22 1/3 innings.

He'll take over the rotation spot vacated by the release of lefthander Jo-Jo Reyes earlier this week.

2011-07-25T09:53:00.002-04:00

3-0. Cecil throws the full path and gives victory to the Blue Jays

Brett Cecil starter worked his second set of full path in his last four starts and led the Toronto Blue Jays get a 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

Cecil (3-4) pitched nine episodes, allowed four hits, walked two and retired seven strikeouts for the win.

In the attack, third baseman Jose Bautista was charged with connecting RBI double in the race for the difference.

Bautista struck between the left-center to bring the register to shortstop Yunel Escobar with the winning run.

The defeat was for the opener Alexi Ogando (10-4) in six innings and two thirds, allowed seven hits, three runs, walked two and retired six strikeouts to prove triunfo

2011-07-22T08:58:00.002-04:00

Blue Jays giving the Mariners a 12 straight loss

Rajai Davis broke a tie connecting a double in the eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays handed the Mariners their 12th straight loss to beat them 7-5 on Thursday.

Miguel Olivo had rallied from a 5-1 shaking the first grand slam of the season in Seattle in the top of the eighth inning, but the Mariners failed to score more.

Reliever David Pauley (5-4) got two quick outs in the bottom splice before Mike McCoy double by the left and then was walked Yunel Escobar. Then, Davis hit his double, a homer to Ichiro Suzuki bathed in right field and both runners scored.

The Mariners have not won since beating the A's in Oakland on July 5. It's the worst streak since losing 12 Seattle lined up between 11 and 22 September 2008.

The Mariners, Miguel Olivo 4-1, a run scored and four RBIs. Franklin Gutierrez 4-1.

For the Blue Jays, Jose Bautista 3-1, two RBIs, and Edwin Encarnacion 3-0, a run scored. Yunel Escobar 4-1, a run scored and RBI.

2011-07-18T09:12:00.000-04:00

Jays Minor League Watch: PCL All-Star Brad Mills Takes No-No Into 8th Inning

Coming off his recent start at the PCL All-Star game this past Wednesday, Blue Jays pitching prospect Brad Mills continued his strong season in the hitter-friendly AAA league this afternoon, taking a no-no into the 8th inning against the Tucson Padres en route to his 8th win of the season for the Las Vegas 51′s.

Mills’ attempt at the elusive PCL no-no was thwarted in the 8th inning by Matt Clark of the Padres; although, at 108 pitches when Mills departed, it was unlikely that he would have been able to complete the game anyway. The single to Clark was the only hit that Mills allowed, and he walked 2 and struck out 6 along the way to earning the victory, lowering his season ERA to a respectable 3.71.

It was a nice recovery for the AAA All-Star, who had gone through a bit of a rough patch coming into this week, having given up 26 runs over his last 31 innings for a 7.55 ERA over his last 5 starts. It is quite difficult to maintain the numbers Mills had over the first couple of months of the season in a hitter’s league, especially as a control pitcher like Mills, but this is a nice step for the 26-year old, who is having his most successful season in AAA in his career thus far, and is perhaps just an injury (or a DFA to a certain pitcher) away from getting another shot to be a back-end guy for the Blue Jays this season.

2011-07-15T10:01:00.005-04:00

Blue Jays kick off second half with a bang winning 16 to 7 against the Yankees !

The Blue Jays' offence kicked off the second half with a bang by pounding out a season-high 20 hits on Thursday night.

The club showed no signs of rust following a brief three-day layoff by scoring early and often against its divisional rivals, tying a franchise record with eight first-inning runs en route to a 16-7 victory over the Yankees at Rogers Centre.

"I think the All-Star break kind of refreshed everybody," said right fielder Eric Thames, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. "A lot of guys went home to see their families and kind of got a second wind.

"We were able to rest and sleep all day and get the energy back. I'm happy to see it, because we were swinging the bats well in Cleveland, and we carried it on to the second half."

Thames led the way in that fateful first with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. That frame was an all-around attack, though, one that featured 12 batters, six hits, two walks and an error.

The eight runs were the most scored in one inning by Toronto this season, and it marked the first time since Sept. 26, 2007, at Baltimore that the club put that many runners across home plate in the first.

The Blue Jays have been on the wrong end of those lopsided innings before. There were the late-inning collapses against the Mariners and Indians, and a one-sided series against the Red Sox earlier this year.

That made Thursday's outcome even more enjoyable.

2011-07-12T11:10:00.001-04:00

MLB All-Star Game 2011 Lineup Comparison

2011-07-08T10:19:00.005-04:00

Record number of fans set All-Star roster

With a record-setting number of votes cast via MLB.com and at ballparks nationwide, the field for the 2011 All-Star Game was set on Sunday. The Blue Jays' Jose Bautista received the most votes of any individual player ever with 7,454,753, while the system as a whole saw more than 32.5 million ballots submitted, another record. The American League East dominated that league's voting, with seven of the nine starters hailing from that division, and that included Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Jeter returned this week from a calf strain and continued his pursuit of 3,000 hits. Also back on the field is Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols, who had a wrist injury. With the All-Star Game, of course, comes the Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint and the Home Run Derby sponsored by State Farm. In the former, White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko and Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino were the latest leaders, with voting for the last spot on the All-Star rosters set to end Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. In the Home Run Derby, National League captain Prince Fielder and AL captain David Ortiz officially announced their squads, with four first-timers in the group: Bautista - the Majors' long-ball leader - Matt Kemp, Rickie Weeks and Robinson Cano. In regular-season action, the surprise second-place Pirates continued their surge and have come on the heels of the NL Central-leading Cardinals.
More news to come !

2011-06-30T15:45:00.002-04:00

When you're 8.5 games back, you usually have a shot at the division title.... unless you're 8.5 games back in the AL East, in which case, 3 teams are ahead of you're 8.5 game deficit!

2004-11-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

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

2004-11-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

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.

2004-11-07T15:43:00.000-05:00

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.

2004-11-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

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.

2004-10-28T14:49:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-27T13:19:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-25T15:50:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-25T10:14:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-25T08:59:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-24T23:05:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-22T11:30:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-21T08:42:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-20T12:57:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-17T21:13:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-14T13:15:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-14T09:03:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-12T12:44:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-12T09:13:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-06T15:37:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-06T09:11:00.000-04:00

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.

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

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.

2004-10-05T09:17:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-04T20:22:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-04T19:50:00.000-04:00

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!

2004-10-04T10:22:00.000-04:00

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. . .

2004-10-03T21:28:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-01T13:50:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-10-01T10:10:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-09-29T10:02:00.000-04:00

There's a story today in the Toronto Star today stating that interim manager John Gibbons is the leading candidate to take over the full time manager roll next year in Toronto. According to the article, Ricciardi is expected to make an announcement about a week after the regular season ends. If that is true and Gibbons stays on as the guy, that should give everyone an idea of how the Jays view 2005. If the Jays are going to make a run at the playoffs I expect them to bring in someone a little more experienced. By experienced I don't mean some old-school retread like a Jim Fergosi or Art Howe. But, maybe a guy who has been a #2 on a winning team (Someone from the Oakland, Anaheim or the Yankees) or someone who was a manager but hasn't had a job in a while and will come cheap (Larry Dierker who used to manage the Astros comes to mind). If the Jays are going to use next year as a development year and really break in guys like Gabe Gross, Alex Rios, David Bush, Russ Adams exe. then I think Gibbons is a logical choice. I have not seen enough of Gibbons to get a good feel for him so I'll have to trust JP on this one. JP is not shy about making changes so if he really likes Gibbons I think he'll stay on.

This begs the question, how should the Jays view 2005? Well, that's an interesting question. One that needs a column dedicated to it and I will do just that sometime in the near future.

2004-09-28T18:47:00.000-04:00

Time for a little book review. While I was out in Santa Barbara on business I started and finished a book called "Chasing Steinbrenner: Pursuing the Pennant in Boston and Toronto." I've never written a book review before but I'll share my thoughts as best I can with you.

When I heard this book was coming out I was really pumped as I had recently finished my 2nd reading of Moneyball and reveled in the chance to read a similar book on the man running the ship of my favorite team, JP Ricciardi. The book more or less follows JP and new Boston GM Theo Epstein around as they prepare for the 2003 season. I had several other books I wanted to read but due to the subject, I put this one first and foremost on my list. I dove into it with nothing but the highest hopes.

To my disappointment though, the book did not live up to expectations. I was really hoping for a back room look at the two teams and the author (Rob Bradford) never provided it. He explores several characters but none of them too deeply. The best chapter was no doubt Epstein's pursuit of Jose Contreras. There were some things in that chapter I hadn't heard about and in terms of drama it was the one piece of the book that kept me reading. Everything else was kind of dull. It was more of a recount of how the season unfolded (which both teams already know about) vs the in's and out's how the two GM's run their teams.

From a Blue Jay perspective the story was more about the Red Sox and Theo then JP and the Jays. I really didn't learn all that much about how the Jays work as the book only seemed to scratch the surface of what the baseball operations department does. The author did try and give us something when he talked about the pursuit of first round pick Aaron Hill but even that story never really takes you deep into the process. Bradford just tried to hit too many topics vs picking a couple and fully developing them.

This book will evidently be compared with Moneyball, and to me, Moneyball is the clear winner on two fronts. First, I think it is a more entertaining read. I'm not one of those people who forgets the fact that Moneyball author Michael Lewis was trying to sell a book and may have exaggerated the facts a bit. Second, Moneyball gave a much deeper look into how an organization is run. You really got to see how trades happen and what goes on in the draft room.

As a Jays or Sox fan I think Chasing Steinbrenner is somewhat interesting as you do get some additional info on both GM's but if you're not a fan of either team I wouldn't recommend it.

2004-09-28T08:45:00.000-04:00

Random thoughts while watching last nights game:

Carlos Delgado can't get thrown out at home. When your lineup is hammering a pitcher in the first inning you can't help him out by getting thrown out at the plate. Especially when the ball is hit hard to right field and Delgado is the runner. He was out by a mile. I blame Butterfield for that one.
Bottom of the first and Mora hits a HR. A big part of the Jays problem on offense this year has been a lack of power. They've hit a lot of singles and the top of the first was a good example as they hit 4 and only scored one run. Baltimore on the other hand hits a hanging curve and it's 1-1.
You know, must every announcer follow "the book?" It's the top of the 2nd and the Jays already have 6 hits, 1HR and a double. Zaun led off with a HR and Gross followed him with a double. What does the brilliant O's announcer say? "What Crozier is looking to do is hit the ball to the right side and make a productive out." What! What Crozier should be looking to do is sit on another fat fastball and hammer it off the wall. In a 2-2 game in the 8th maybe you give yourself up but we've only played ONE INNING!
Mr. Halladay just didn't have it tonight. His control was off and he did not have the normal snap on his curve. This is pretty much an early (late?) version of spring training for him though. Honestly, at this point, I couldn't be less worried about him. He'll be fine next year.
You know I still like Bob File. I know it's been a couple of years since he was healthy and productive but I'd like to see him back next year in spring training. He's got great movement and reminds me of Paul Quantrill.
This is my first look at League and I'm pretty impressed. Throws a lot of fastballs with movement which is very important. Decent slider and change but nothing special. He's in the relief business now but I'd like to see him get a shot at starting. He throws way to hard not to be given a chance to start. Great first impression though.

2004-09-26T11:30:00.000-04:00

I'm back after a week long journey to the other side of the country. If you're looking for a vacation spot in California then my vote is Santa Barbara. The place is absolutely beautiful.

On to more important stuff. Some news and notes on what I missed:

Today's game against the Tampa Bay D-Rays has been canceled due to hurricane Jeanne. It's really been a tough past couple of months for those living in the way of all of these hurricanes. To all of you who may be affected, please be safe.
Aquilino Lopez has been outrighted to the minors after he was removed from the 40-man roster. We've probably seen the last of this guy in a Jays uniform.
Justin Miller has been removed from the starting rotation and placed in the bullpen. Gustavo Chacin has taken his place. Unlike the move with Batista I don't mind this so much. Miller has not really been all that great and I like the idea of getting a look at Chacin. Though, I wasn't a huge fan of him, Chacin's first impression on me was very good. Before I took off for the week I watched his entire start against the Yankees and he looked very good. It was only one start so I'm not going to get too excited but it was nice to see. Miller on the other hand, is probably done as a starter for the Jays. We have too many young cheap guys coming up to look at to keep him in the rotation. He could work out in the bullpen so I'll watch to see the way this works out. If JP thinks he'll be effective in this roll I think he'll be brought back. If not, he'll probably be gone at the end of the season.
The official site of the Jays mentioned the team could be in the market to lock Orlando Hudson up to a long term contract over the winter. I wouldn't mind seeing this happen as Hudson has been pretty good for us this year. He defense has been outstanding and I think he's on the verge of making a big leap with the bat. It's always a good sign when a young players power and patience get better throughout the course of a year and that is exactly what is happening with Hudson. His SLG has increased from .395 in 2003 to .438 this year. Thanks in large part to a nice increase in doubles and a couple extra HR's. His BB/PA has moved from .75 to .89 and his BB/SO has gotten slightly better going from .45 to .50. He has not made any huge leaps but I think all of these factors point towards a better season in 2005. Next year is also his age 27 season which typically can be a breakout year for a player. A nice 3-4 year deal would be great to see for the kid. I don't think I like him in the #2 spot in the lineup but I think he could do some damage somewhere around the 6 or 7 spot.
Great to see (or I guess see the highlights) Doc Holliday out on the mound again. He went 4 innings the other day giving up 4 hits, 3 runs and striking out 2. Not great, but I'm not really worried about him. As long as the shoulder is healthy he'll be fine next year.

2004-09-20T21:18:00.000-04:00

Couple of moves made by the Jays over the weekend. Gustavo Chacin and Brandon League got promoted to the big club after their AA team won the Eastern League title. To make room for these two, Frank Catalanatto was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list. While Aquilino Lopez was designated for assignment. Comments on the three:

Chacin: He had a pretty good year for the Jays this year but I'm afraid a gaudy W/L record might be getting some people too excited about his ability. Between AA and AAA this year he went a combined 18-2. That's pretty much unheard of at the minor league level. At AA this year he went 16-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 141.2 IP, 109 SO to 49 BB and gave up 7.18 H/9. At AAA he went 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 11.2 IP, 14 SO to 3 BB and gave up 12.34 H/9. All in all, those are some pretty good numbers. But they are not the stuff of an Ace. At AA he only had about a 2-1 SO/BB ration and didn't come anywhere near striking out a batter an inning. These numbers are usually a pretty good sign of what kind of stuff a pitcher has. I do think Ricciardi understands this and just wants to see how the kid does at the Major League level. Heck, if he puts together a couple of good starts he might be used in a trade this off-season. You never know. Overall, I think he's probably a #4 starter at the major league level if he stays healthy and things break well for him. Best case scenario I think he could be a #3. I did not see him pitch this year but I did see him pitch twice for New Haven last year and I wasn't ever all that impressed.

League: Now this kid, I really like. The Jays got League in the 2001 amateur draft in the 2nd round as the 59th overall pick. As a 21-year old kid he pitched all season for AA New Hampshire in the Eastern League. He pitched in 41 games of which he started 10. He had a 3.38 ERA in 104 innings, 90 SO to 41 BB and 7.96 H/9. These numbers are good but what makes them great is they were done by a kid who's 21. This is young for the league and it tells me he's still going to get better. The interesting thing with League is I'm not sure how he's being groomed. In the past he was used as a starter but this year he was used out of the bullpen a lot. I do think he could turn into a late inning closer but I don't think you do that to a young pitcher until he shows he can't start at the Major League level. I will ALWAYS take a starter over a reliever. Jumping from AA to the bigs is a long way to go but we'll see what he can do. I can't wait to see him pitch.

Lopez: What the heck happened to this guy? 3.42 ERA in 73.2 IP, 7.82 K/9, 7.09 H/9 in 2003 for the Jays and then he just fell off that map. He had a 6.00 ERA in 21 IP for the Jays this year. For AA Syracuse, he had a 7.17 ERA! His walk number and K numbers were OK but he gave up 12.23 H/9. I have not heard a lot of reports on him out of Syracuse so I don't know if a bunch of bloop hits were falling in or if guys were tearing into the ball. Now that he's off the 40-man the best he can hope for from Toronto is a non-roster invitation to Spring Training. We'll probably see him claimed on waivers or sign elsewhere though.

That's all for now. I'm going to be away on business until sometime on Friday. Once I get back I'll have to get caught up on what's going on. I'm relaying on my loyal readers to drop me a link if they see any minor moves our there.

2004-09-18T14:50:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are interested I will be contributing to a 2-3 week long roundtable over at MLBCenter. There are several different website/blog contributors who will be joining me. We'll be discussing a variety of different subjects which have been predetermined by MLBCenter. Should be fun.

2004-09-18T09:34:00.000-04:00

In less happy news, 2nd round pick (57th overall - Texas) Curtis Thigpen was arrested on September 17th on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. I'll follow this as much as I can and will let you know if there will be any kind of suspension from the Jays. The minor league seasons are more or less over so it would have to take effect in 2005.

2004-09-17T12:10:00.000-04:00

News and Notes:

Halladay threw another simulated game yesterday and from all reports everything went well. He is now scheduled to pitch next Tuesday against the Yankees in NY. I'm not really a big fan of him coming back as we need him healthy next year but it would be nice to see him go out there and dominate. It would give me and the organization a little more confidence in his ability to contribute next year.
Greg Myers has indicated he may not retire at the end of the season. I don't see the Jays bringing him back as they've got Cash, Quiroz and Greg Zaun on the roster. I've said it before. I'd like to see Cash get traded and have Quiroz and Zaun platoon next year. Zaun would be a pretty good mentor for Mr. Quiroz to get him ready to take over the full time duties in 2006.
Blue Jays.com is reporting the Jays will move Miguel Batista into a relief role for the rest of the year. I do not like this move. He would be highly overpaid to be a 1-2 inning reliever. We need him to pull his stuff back together and contribute to the rotation. If the Jays are doing this so they can get a look at a young pitcher then I don't mind so much. As long as they move him back to the rotation for next year. But honestly, I'd rather see the Jays pull a Halladay and send him to the low minors to work on his mechanics. We brought him in to be a starter. We need him to be a starter. If he can't figure it out in a Jays uniform then trade him. I wonder if the Red Sox would take a flyer on him if Derek Lowe is allowed to leave. . .
Russ Adams had another good game with the bat yesterday going 2-3. Though, I joined the game late and missed his error in the first. He works pitchers, has a good eye and will take a walk. Though, you may notice he has not yet walked in the bigs. I'm OK with this as if you're a major league pitcher, why wouldn’t you go right after the kid getting a cup of coffee at the big league level. Seeing that he only has 2 SO's shows me a lot more as it means he's being aggressive and hitting strikes. The walks will come with more experience and as pitchers start to take him seriously. We don't yet know the plans for the off-season but I'd like to see a game or two by the end of the year where Adams hits first and Gross hits 2nd. That would be a lot of OBP at the top of the lineup.

2004-09-16T21:24:00.000-04:00

Since he's pitching tonight and we're only about 3 weeks away from the end of the year I think it is an appropriate time to take a look at the signing of Miguel Batista. After watching last winter unfold it is easy to see JP Ricciardi preferred Batista to Kelvim Escobar. Escobar went on to sign a three year $18.75 million dollar deal with the Angels. Batista signed with Toronto for three years for a total of $13.1 million. So how have they done thus far?

Escobar: 10-10, 3.86 ERA, 184 IP, 79 ER, 173 H, 169 SO, 67 BB, 19 HR
Batista: 10-11, 4.64 ERA, 188 IP, 97 ER, 192 H, 96 SO, 88 BB, 20 HR

When the deal went down and the Jays were able to pick up Batista, I was a big fan. I really thought he was an undervalued pitcher due to his time in the bullpen in Arizona and I was sick of seeing Escobar's inconsistencies. But, looking at the above numbers, the Angels got the better player. The above also shows you how bad a stat W/L is when it comes to judging pitchers. Escobar does not look so good because he's 10-10 on a team who might make the playoffs. While Batista is 10-11 on a team that might lose 100 games. Based on W/L records alone, it looks like Batista is the far superior pitcher.

Another reason this is an easy comparison is because they're only separated by 4 innings. Escobar has a superior ERA while giving up 19 less runs. Batista's ERA on the season is a brutal 4.64. I'd like to find something positive in Batista's stats but I just don't see it. He's walked 88 to Escobar's 67 and he's K'd 96 to Escobar's 169. The comparison is not even close.

There were a lot of people who did not agree with spending all that money on Escobar and thought the Jays did very well by signing Batista at the price they did. I was definitely one of those people. But, if the Jays got a bargain with Batista. Then, based on the improved performance the Angels have seen out of Escobar, I'd say they got the bargain.

I still do like Batista and think he can be a solid pitcher for us over the next couple of years. But, right now he's the #4 on the staff behind Halladay, Lilly and Bush.

2004-09-16T19:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the Jays announced they've signed a new agreement with the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League starting in 2005. Lansing replaces the Charleston Alley Cats as the Jays single A team. I have not heard a reason as to why they moved but it may have to do with the Jays desire to get their teams a little closer to home. That was one of the factors behind their move from Knoxville (AA) to New Haven (the teams owner subsequently moved the New Haven team to New Hampshire). If anyone has been to a game in Lansing let me know as I'd love to know what the place is like. Road trip!

2004-09-16T19:05:00.000-04:00

Baseball Prospectus has done a good job of this over the past couple of days but I really urge as many people as possible to sit back and enjoy Barry Bonds while he's still playing. What he's done the past couple of yeas has been beyond unbelievable. I'm pulling for him to hit number 700 as soon as possible and I hope everyone takes notice. I know he may not be the most likeable person in the world but I urge you to put that aside and appreciate the level he's playing at. You WILL never see anyone as purely dominant as Bonds.

2004-09-14T13:30:00.000-04:00

One more thing. The hot lines are open so let me know what you think of the deal.

2004-09-14T13:25:00.000-04:00

The Jays signed Frank Catalanotto to a 2-year deal yesterday which will pay him $2.7 million over the next couple of seasons. This is a raise from the $2.3 million Frank was making in 2004. Before having season ending surgery on his
right external oblique fascia he had a line of .293/.344/.390 for the season. The slugging number is definitely down but that can probably be attributed to being hampered by the injury. He was pretty much jogging hits out by the end of the year.

What do I think of the deal? I think it's another example of JP Ricciardi recognizing an undervalued player and taking advantage of the situation. Some of you may be asking yourself why he would sign a guy who just had season ending surgery and was only able to play 75 games this year. I believe he was signed because he just had season ending surgery. Look at it from Catalanotto's side. The guy is going to be 31 years old about a month into the 2005 season. He just had surgery on an injury that cost him the rest of 2004. Now, the GM for the team he's been on the past two years is offering him not only a contract but a 2-year contract with a raise. Knowing the direction the market has been going lately, as a flood of players have been available every year, why wouldn't he jump at the chance for a little security?

From the Blue Jay perspective, this signing does come with some risk. The surgery he had was to repair his right external oblique fascia. He could re-injure himself next year and then this contract doesn't look so good. But, I think the chance is relatively low as Frank has already had the surgery and Spring Training is still a long, long way off. My original thoughts were the Jays were bringing in Catalanatto to serve as the left handed DH in 2005. But, after reading JP Ricciardi's comments about wanting more veteran bats in a young lineup I'd say he'll probably open up in LF. Gabe Gross does not quite look ready for the big show and could use another year in Syracuse. An OF of Cat - Wells - Rios won't be too bad for 2005.

Finally, the last question is whether Catalanatto is worth the money. For the most part, it is tough to gauge what kind of year he had in 2004. The average and OBP numbers were more or less in line with his career but his SLG was down. So, to compare, let's use his stats from 2003 and look at how he would have done against his OF peers in 2004.

Average. Not normally a good offensive indicator but it may apply to Catalanatto a little more because I think he could hit .300 in his sleep. His .293 average would have placed him in a tie for 20th for ML OF's. Not too bad. I'd say the chances are pretty high he'll hit .290 - .310 if healthy next year.

On base percentage. He's got a little Ichiro in him as he does not take a lot of walks (but does not strike out much either. Something the Jays have done a ton of in 2004). His OBP is normally driven by an average very near .300. In this case, last year his OBP was .351. I'd like to see something a little higher but not too bad. This OBP would be good enough for 32nd among ML OF's.

Slugging. In 2003 his SLG percentage was .472. Other than his great 2001 year (.330/.391/.490) this was his best year for slugging the ball. He's never going to be a huge HR threat but he can bang out the doubles. His 2003 slugging percentage would have placed him tied for 66th. But, then again we know he's not a HR threat, Ricciardi knows this and the Jays aren't paying him like he is a HR threat.

Finally, in terms of OPS (On base percentage plus slugging. A good, not great offensive metric) he would have placed 29th amongst his peers. So what we have is an average defensive outfielder who is a good offensive performer. The reason why this is a good move is because Ricciardi was able to lock him up for only $5.4 million over the next two years. This provides cost certainty and great value. Pat Burrell, Craig Biggio, Mark Kotsay, Torii Hunter, Geoff Jenkins. All of these guys make more then the Cat and these are the guys with similar OPS numbers. Smells like a bargain to me.

All in all, I believe it's a good signing, as long as Catalanatto can come back and be healthy. He'll provide a great bat in the #2 hole and pound out a bunch of doubles. If the Jays get him a right-handed platoon partner the deal will look even better as the aggregate will be very strong. One concern I do have is the Jays need to add a couple home run threats to the lineup. If the OF is Cat, Wells and Rios, they won't get much power out of those guys. Vernon Wells is a 30-HR guy but Rios has not and probably won't develop his power for another year or two. A DH and a 1B who can hit the long ball must be on the shopping list for JP. It wouldn't hurt if we could get 25-30 out of Hinske either.

2004-09-10T22:22:00.000-04:00

Time for a little of the fun stuff. I've got Dave Mathews (Tim Reynolds if you must know) cued up (most announcers annoy me) and I'm ready to go. Time for a little game commentary!! (can't guarantee a full game tonight. I'm already on Harp #4) I'm going to try and continuously update this so stay with me and try not yell at me if I spell something wrong. With that. Go Syracuse! Whoops. I mean. Go Toronto!

8:17- Russ Adams taking the first three pitches he sees then swinging on 3-0. I'm OK with that b/c you know the pitcher is going to groove one.

8:18- That's how you block a plate. Well done by the the Texas catcher. I'd tell you his name but I missed the lineups and CBS has not updated it's site with the game tracker yet.

8:21- Well, that's not a good start. Someone want to tell me why catchers never take their mask off anymore? Wouldn't it help your vision/mobility to take it off?

8:24- I love Quiroz. He's got an absolute cannon and he can hit. I like his presence behind the plate. He's going to be a good one my friends. Cash my friend, I hope you catch on somewhere else.

8:35- I'll tell you what. Kevin Mench is not a bad player. Anyone who can drive a ball to the opposite field like that is OK in my book. 22 HR's this year. That is a pretty quiet 22 HR's to hit in 1 year.

8:36- Ah ha. Mystery solved. Rod Barajas blocked the plate. Another Texas hitter who has pretty decent numbers. If they ever get any pitching. . .

8:38- Another curve hit by the Texas lineup. They seem to be sitting on that thing an driving it. It certainly isn't as good as Lilly's.

8:46- You want to know why I like Russ Adams? Try 2 AB's. 11 total pitches seen. 1 hit. 1 ball hit on the screws. As long as he can handle the SS spot at the major league level he is going to be a great leadoff man.

8:51- That's crap. I hate how a hitter always gets timeout when asks for it. Especially when a pitcher is in the middle of his windup.

9:00- I'm telling you there is not a more animated player at the plate the O-Dog. I think he might have some kind of breakout year in 2005. His walk total is not up huge but he's having better AB's. He used to have a little Alex Gonzalez in him where he would swing through just about everything. But, he's getting deeper into counts and will get better balls to hit. I was not sure about this kid initially but he is starting to grow on me. Especially with is great play at 2B

9:04- I know the perception is Delgado has had a poor season, and he has compared to last year, but he does have 27 HR's. His average is a little low but he is still .259/.357/.516. If this "off year" lowers his brings is salary down then someone is really going to get a bargain. Now that LA his Choi, off the top of my head I'm not really sure who's going to pick him up.

9:12- Knock it off Mench. I gave you your props but there's no reason to hit two out of here.

9:15- This is not good as Batista's pitch count is getting up there. Short innings we can do. Long relief. . . not so good. Again, I'm not listening to the announcers but after that hit I've got to think Gibbons is going to get someone up in the bullpen.

9:16- Thanks Eric. At least you swung at the first pitch. I never really understand why players do that. A guy has a great AB, works the count and then the next player swings at the first pitch. Batista has to be close to coming out of here. Why do that? Another hit on the curve by the way.

9:18- (By the way. If you have not figured it out I'll post at the end of every half inning) Quiroz is not going to make many friends mis-playing balls like that. That's about the third of this game. I WILL take his bat over Cash any day of the week though. Another hit. This is getting ugly.

9:22- Again with the mask. TAKE IT OFF! Hell of a throw by Gross. I thought he had a bad wing??

9:23- Pitching change. Do your thing File. Anyone else remember how good he was a couple of years ago?

9:24- "Christine! Can you grab me another Harp!" Ugly, real ugly. Teixera just hammered that ball. He's going to be an absolute star for years to come.

9:33- Atta boy Quiroz. You want to get on my good side? Take a walk in a blowout. Have a good AB every time.

9:34- Crozier really has a build like Rios. It goes to show that most HR's are hit by form not muscle. That's a discussion for another day though.

9:38- Playing the Rangers is like playing a wall in tennis. They're both relentless.

9:43- 10-0 through 4 1/3?? Anyone know any good jokes?? Time to bare down File, no need to stretch the bullpen out at this score.

9:51- Nice Vinnie Chulk. I like this kid. Along with Frasor I think he can be a key to the bullpen next year. Get in there and get some quick outs would you Vinnie.

9:52- Again. These guys get any, ANY!, pitching and they are going to be a force to reckon with. By the way, I wonder what it is they are going to do with Soriano? Long term deal? Let him go? That might be interesting.

9:54- I missed the play but did Soriano just steal a base in a 10-0 game? If so, someone on the Rangers deserves to hit the showers with "Rawlings" imprinted on their but.

9:59- The boy can still hit. That was sick. Curve, up and outside and Delgado punishes it to LC. It's not that I don't want to bring him back next year. It's just the price is going to be too much. Someone is going to steal him away. His skills have NOT diminished.

10:02- Well done Hinske. Nice to see him get a hit but man has he been frustrating. OBP is going down, AVE is going down, SLG is going down. Not a good sign.

10:05- Good AB Quiroz. I know it may not look good to get called out on strikes but he took balls and swung at strikes. That was just a hell of a pitch he k'd on. I'd rather see that then watch Cash take a fastball down the middle for strike one, be out in front of a change by 10 feet for strike 2 and then bail out on a curve in the outside corners for strike three.

10:12- Atta boy Chulk. Come in there throwing strikes and get some people out. Alright one more inning for me. Let's see what the boys can do. Show me a little fight ehh!

10:16- Well done Crozier. That's how you pick up your first ML hit. Against a nasty left slinger even. Well done.

10:18- An RBI for Dave Berg. That is almost unfair. Silly. Just silly.

10:19- Well kids. That'll do it. Hope you enjoyed it. Have a good weekend and I'll be talking to you soon. In the mean time. If there is something you want to hear an opinion on from me feel free to send me an email.

2004-09-10T17:37:00.000-04:00

I'm pissed. And I don't want to be pissed because it's Friday and it's a beautiful day. I just caught wind of an article published on ESPN.com by John Kruk thanks to my friends over at USS Mariner that is disturbing. I won't rehash too much as USS Mariner does a good job of covering the article but I do want to mention the bit on Vernon Wells. The article is about guys who have let their teams down:

CENTER FIELD: Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays The Blue Jays were definitely expecting a better year from Vernon than they're getting. He's a guy who's hit 40 homers and knocked in 100 runs in the past. This year? 16 homers and 53 RBIs? At least no one notices what he's doing, or not doing. Remember, he's on the Blue Jays

First of all. The facts are just totally wrong. Vernon Wells never got anywhere near 40 HR's in his career. The most he hit was 33 last year. He was also injured for a large portion of this year hurting his counting stats. Throw in recovery time and getting your swing back and all and that is why his numbers are down. You'd think a x-player like Kruk would understand it's tough to come back from an injury and would have some respect for that. Guess not. Finally, what's up with the dig on the Jays at the end? "At least no one notices what he's doing, or not doing. Remember, he's on the Blue Jays." What type of absolute crap is that?! Just because the Jays beat your Phillies back in '93 you're going to hold a grudge? That's beyond pathetic. The same goes for Delgado as he rips him even though he's been injured. I just can't stress enough how lazy that is.

This is the type of analysis we can expect from ESPN. Their downward spiral is beyond ridiculous. But, for whatever reason no one seems to notice. Everyone I talk to still seems to worship the ground ESPN walks on. Even though SportsCenter is a joke and the "analysts" are brought on to cause controversy, not provide insight. I mean, how can John Kruk add anything to Baseball Tonight??

2004-09-10T13:07:00.000-04:00

News and Notes:

Roy Halladay had another successful mound session throwing BP before Thursday's game against the Angels. He's scheduled to throw a simulated game next Thursday the 16th and if all goes well will make his return on the 21st. I applaud him for working so hard to come back. Especially after earning his contract. This is the work ethic this team needs if they are going to compete next yet. I do hope Mr. Gibbons keeps a close eye on him though. No need to have him hurt himself. I'm confident he'll be looked after though.
Good to see Lilly bounce back and have a pretty good start after he got beat around against NY and Oakland. He really has been a bright spot for the team this year. It may not be known or of popular opinion but the Toronto pitching staff has not been too bad. It's the bats that broke down. I'll do an intensive study of this once the season is over.
He must read my blog. Because after I ripped into Justin Speier he's been outstanding. Since August 1st he's only given up only 3 earned runs in 20 innings of work. He's also taken the closer role from struggling Jason Frasor. Why couldn't we have given the two year deal to him instead of Lightenberg. . .
Speaking of Frasor. I think he'll turn it around and finish up pitching well for the Jays. I do think he'll be an arm we can count on next year. The poor kid had the stress of the entire bullpen lumped onto his shoulders because the rest of the crew was struggling. He pitched well for a while but folded.
Early list of names I'd like to see in a Jay uniform next year playing first: Brad Wilkerson, Nick Johnson and Erubiel Durazo. All three of these guys will be available AND won't be that expensive. Certainly not the $12 million or so it will cost to keep Delgado. I'll take any of them in a heartbeat.

Have a good weekend. Now that the Jays are off of the West coast it will make it a little easier for me to catch a game on MLBTV.

2004-09-10T09:07:00.000-04:00

Three reports (Here, here and here) yesterday stating the Jays may be interested in Angels bench coach Joe Maddon. Maddon had interviewed for the previously vacant Red Sox job. Maddon has 30 years of baseball experience as a player, scout, coach, minor league manager and major league intern manager. He's said to have a good mix of teaching skills, old school baseball knowledge and willingness to accept new school principles. Seattle, the Mets and Toronto are the teams who are apparently interested in him. There are worse choices then plucking someone off of Mike Scioscia's staff. He's done pretty well for himself.

2004-09-10T08:45:00.000-04:00

Ed. Note: Written before yesterday's games. Having publishing issues.

What a wonderful time to be a baseball fan. There are all sorts of great stories out there but I'm not sure we're getting enough coverage of them. The public seems to be more interested in what Jessica Simpson is going to wear for the pre-game. . . whatever. . . before tonight's football game. Me, could care less. I'm interested in what's going on at the ball park.

The Astros! Wow, talk about putting it all together. They've been unreal of late winning 12 in a row to take the lead in the hunt for the Wild Card. Not only have they won 12 in a row, they've won 20 of their last 23. Talk about a turnaround. The Astros are a class organization with many class players and I'd love to see them make a run at getting to the World Series. They've always had the hitting but now the pitching has turned it around. Brad Lidge has been lights out.

St. Louis. 93-46. Pujols, Rolen, Edmonds, Walker, Renteria. The team has been fantastic. They were everyone's pick to finish third in the division and they've gone out and posted the best record in the bigs by a healthy margin. They can rake and play fantastic defense. They are going to be a fun team to watch in the playoffs.

Florida. Here we go again. Just when it was starting to look like they were not going to have enough to get into the playoffs they've rattled off 9 in a row. Becket and Burnett have been great of late and the offence keeps chugging. I like the Padres and the Astros more for the Wild Card but they have been plenty impressive. They did it last year so I wouldn't put anything by them yet.

Boston. Talk about getting hot at the right time. Great start to the season. Couple months of .500 play. Then they just went off. Since August 1st they are 28-8. They just mowed down Oakland, Texas and Anaheim going 8-1 in those games. I initially thought the Sox couldn't catch the Yankees because of how strong the Sox schedule was and how weak the Yankee schedule was. But, the tough part is over and now the Sox play Baltimore, Seattle and Tampa the rest of the way. And, oh yeah. The Yankees for 6 games.

We've got another 3 1/2 weeks to go and I'm going to be watching every bit of it.

2004-09-09T15:15:00.000-04:00

Tough break for Josh Towers as he is going to miss another start because of soreness in his shoulder. In his spot Ryan Glynn will pitch. Towers has pitched well of late and was getting close to cementing a spot in the rotation for next year. Now, I don't see him getting more than a minor league deal as JP won't want to spend more than the minimum for him. Halladay, Lilly, Batista and Bush have the first 4 spots guaranteed and there is a crop of young guys coming up very soon who will be competing for the final spot. Plus, JP is a master at finding cheap talented players (who do you think brought Towers to Toronto in the first place?) to plug holes. Finally, I think Justin Miller is a better pitcher anyway so he'll now probably get the first shot.

2004-09-08T20:53:00.000-04:00

Another strange article (still getting caught up on my reading obviously) written by Richard Griffin over at the Toronto Star. He says the Jays need to get themselves a veteran for their pen if they want to do better next year. He's states how important it is to have a veteran presence. Someone please show me something substantial as to how that really helps? I mean, does he want the Jays to sign a bunch of Rod Beck's or something? Only one thing REALLY matters. Ability. He mentions the veterans from the Yankees. Paul Quantrill, Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera. Yes, they are veterans. But, they are also good pitchers. I don't see their special veteran pitching mojo rubbing off on the likes of Alex Graman (19.80 ERA), Brad Halsey (7.23 ERA), Bret Prinz (5.33 ERA), Scott Proctor (5.06 ERA). Heck, you'd think their presence might even help a couple of Blue Jay retreads in Tanyon Sturtze (5.90 ERA) and Felix Heredia (6.96 ERA). Maybe not.

What the Jays need to do is continue looking for talented arms. Whether or not they are young or old. And by the way. Wouldn't most people consider the likes of Kerry Lightenberg (33), Pat Hentgen (35), Justin Speier (30), Terry Adams (31) and Valerio de los Santos (31) veterans. It's not like JP signed a bunch of teenagers.

2004-09-08T16:23:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm still here. I was gone all weekend camping and doing assorted other things and life has been very busy since I've returned. I've got a few things I need to comment on and I promise those things will come soon. In the mean time, if there's something you want me to comment on send me an email.

2004-09-03T08:29:00.000-04:00

News and Notes:

Josh Towers is going to miss his next start because of soreness in his shoulder. Apparently it has been bothering him for the past couple of starts. This may explain his poor pitching of late. Ryan Glynn has been called up to start in his place. The Jays signed him in June from the Texas organization. In Syracuse he's gone 8-3 with a 3.75 ERA. He's also walked 48 and struck out 94 in 110 innings. All in all, half-way decent numbers. He'll get a shot to see if he can hang around and be a part of the club next year. This is one aspect I really like about JP. Under the old Ash rule we would have never been prepared like this. JP is very good at plucking talented players to fill holes if necessary.
It's looking like Kerry Lightenberg's season my be over. He's been dealing with hip issues all year and it sounds as if the Jays might shut him down for the season. I see no reason not too as he's signed through 2005 and we'll need him to be healthy next year. The Jays should be covered as they've got lots of arms they need to get a read on.
In the best news I've heard in a while, Roy Halladay is back on the mound for Toronto. He threw for the first time in a month on Tuesday. It looks like they want to bring him back for a couple of starts as long as everything goes well. The Jays have currently set a target of Sept. 21 to have him back on the mound. Normally, I'd wonder why they just wouldn't shut him down but I do have a lot of faith in the Jays medical crew and I'm sure they wouldn't mess with the Ace.
Finally, the Jays have officially called up Eric Crozier, Guillermo Quiroz, and Russ Adams. It'll be fun to watch these guys go out and do their thing. I haven't heard of any other Jays getting the call.

Have a fun and safe holiday weekend everyone.

2004-09-02T09:31:00.000-04:00

Something I just thought of that is worth keeping an eye on is how the Jays finish this year. Currently, they have the 4th worst record in baseball. Meaning they'd get the 4th pick overall in the draft. Depending on who signs and who doesn't over the next couple of months from this years draft there could be some intriguing talent in next years draft. The Jays have thus far gone the safe, more predictable route with their picks grabbing mostly college players. But, none of the new age (Boston, Oakland, LA, Toronto) style of GM's have had a pick this high before. I wonder what the Jays would do if a highly regarded High School player were to drop into their lap. Their whole philosophy is to be a little safer and grab college players. But, this approach does shun the potential impact HS players that COULD develop. Not that great players don't come out of College. Lot's do. It just doesn't happen as often. It's a risk vs reward thing. BJ Upton's brother (I can't find his first name at the moment) is supposed to be even more polished than his brother at this point in his career will be available in the draft. I wonder if the Jays would bite if he's still available? Just something to think about as the season comes to a close.

2004-09-02T08:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the Toronto Star's Richard Griffin wrote an article calling for the Jays to hire Paul Molitor as the permanent replacement for Carlos Tosca. Can't say I agree. As GM JP Ricciardi has said since he took over the position he initially wanted a manager who could teach the kids how to play the game at the major league level, that was Carlos Tosca. I agreed. He also stated, he was building this team to compete in 2005 and at this time he might need to go another direction with the manager. He hinted at someone with a little more experience who could guide the team through a pennant race. This I also agreed with. Knowing the limited budget the Jays are on you can be sure they are not going to go out and throw a big money deal at an "established" manager. Someone like Davey Johnson or Bobby Valentine. I think we'll see someone who has been around a winning team for a long time, understands the game and can pilot the good ship Blue Jay through the ups and downs of a pennant race. For me, two guys come to mind. Current Yankee bench coach Willie Randolph and former Astro manager Larry Dierker. I'll get back to Molitor in a minute.

Both of these guys have been through pennant races and have been on winning teams. Randolph has been with Joe Torre who has been through it all in NY and probably has a pretty good idea on how to run a team and keep them consistent through the course of a season. To me, that is one of the most important characteristics a manager can have. An ability to get consistency out of ones team. The Jays have certainly not been that the past few years. I think Dierker can bring this same mentality to the Jays. Remember, the Astros were a darn good team under him and the reason he was fired was because he could not pilot the Astros through the first round of the playoffs. That is a problem I'd like to have right now. Neither of these two would be overly expensive and neither of them are your typical refurbished, been there done that types. Hence, I think they fit the Ricciardi mold.

Finally, back to Molitor. Though I like Molitor a lot I don't think he'd be a great fit. As we all know, one of the biggest problems the Jays have had the past couple of years is they get out to a slow start in April. JP even mentioned this when he let Tosca go. I don't see how bringing in a first time manager who's latest experience is as hitting coach for the Mariners addresses this. I'd like to bring someone in who wouldn't be new to the whole spring training thing. Yes I know he's been through many as a player but it is a lot different as a manager. Plus, Molitor seems more of a nostalgia pick to me. Griffin even mentioned selling season tickets when he brought up Molitor's name. If you remember, that was the idea behind bringing on Buck Martinez and that didn't work out so well. You don't base personal or managerial decisions on how it will affect your marketing. The single best way to market a club? Win.

2004-09-01T09:01:00.000-04:00

Well, that was quick. On Monday the Jays designated left-handed pitcher Dave Mauer for assignment and called up Bob File from Syracuse. Mauer got his shot to see if he could get left-handed hitters out and got hammered to the tune of a 54.00 ERA in only 1.1 innings. 5 walks really didn't help his case. Mauer will probably end up back in Syracuse or just could get released. We'll have to see.

2004-08-31T09:02:00.000-04:00

Oh how the mighty have fallen. I know it is Tuesday and Monday did not provide a lot of marquee games but to lead off SportsCenter with a PRESEASON Football game? I mean, there must be something more important going on than PRESEASON Football? ESPN even brought in one of their talking head "analyzers" for some hard hitting conversion about PRESEASON Football. Couldn't they talk about the big game played between the Giants and Atlanta. Or, you could mention the fact the Astros won again and have started to make a charge towards the playoffs. Talk about the huge week and a half coming up for Boston, Oakland, Texas and Anaheim as they all play one another. But no, PRESEASON Football is the choice as the most important sports event of the past 24-hours.

The slow demise of the "World Wide Leader in Sports" is truly troubling. The weird part is. Nobody seems to notice?? If you agree of disagree drop me a line as I'd love to talk about this some more.

2004-08-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

I'm back after a short break. It was a tough weekend as on Friday I was at the Jets-Giants preseason game. Saturday was a wedding and Sunday was golf. Gotta take in the nice weather while it's still here. Anyway, back to more important things.

A couple of big starts for two minor leaguers on Saturday. First, Gustavo Chacin won his second game for Syracuse posting a nice little line: 6 2/3 IP, 8 SO, 2 BB, 1 ER, 9 H. A few two many hits but pretty good for only his 2nd start at AAA. I wasn't a big fan of this guy but he's been pretty good of late. He put up good numbers in AA but not as great as you might think. Putting asside his gaudy 15-2 record he posted the following: 2.96 ERA, 136 2/3 IP, 108 H, 103 SO and 46 BB. The ERA isn't too bad and the hit number is pretty good but he's striking out only .79 hitters per 9 and has a good but not great 2.24 K/BB ratio. Realistically, I'd say he shaping up to be a #3 or #4 starter. Not the end of the world though.

The start that got me really excited happened for New Hampshire. Where Francisco Rosario went 7 innings without giving up a hit, struck out 8 and only walked 2. Rosario was one of the Jays best pitching prospects until he blew out his elbow and had to have Tommy John surgery. He's been up and down as he's come back this year but this is a great sign. I wouldn't mind seeing him pitch in the Arizona Fall League (Scarry I know. This is where he below his elbow out) to get some more innings under his bealt. He could be a guy who really comes on for the Jays next year the way David Bush has this year.

2004-08-26T13:12:00.000-04:00

BlueJay.com is reporting Russ Adams, Guillermo Quiroz and Eric Crozier will be called up in September when rosters expand. I couldn't agree with the selection more and look forward to see the three play in September. They are all expected to play a big roll for the Jays next year.

Adams- He was the first round pick (14th overall) of the 2002 amateur draft and the first player drafted by JP Ricciardi. He's played well in every stop of his minor league career and is off to a .283/.349/.408 start with Syracuse. Adams profiles as a very solid SS but I don't see him turning into a star. He will probably hit in the .280's when he settles in with a high on-base percentage and not a lot of power. He's probably an ideal leadoff/2nd hitter if things fall into place for him. Defensively I'd say he's about average. There was a lot of talk of moving him to 2nd base at one time but that talk seems to have quieted down recently. I had a chance to see him play a bunch last year when the Jays AA team was in New Hampshire and I think he could play Short at the big league level every day. He would be consistent (few errors) but not spectacular (good but not great range) player. I believe there's a pretty good chance he'll get a lot of starts at SS for the rest of the year. In 2005 I expect him to make the big league club and split time with a veteran, like Chris Gomez, until he gets his feet wet.

Quiroz- Guillermo is another player I had a chance to see a lot last year. I really like this guy. Like Alex Rios, Quiroz had a breakout year (.282/.372/.518) in 2003 for AA New Hampshire. This year he has not put up the same numbers but he's been battling injuries for the most of the year. To date, at Syracuse he's hitting .234/.317/.429. He's hit 8 HR's and 19 2B's in 231 AB's. In terms of hitting, he's leaps and bounds in front of Kevin Cash. Defensively he looks real good as well. He's got a good, if not very great, throwing arm and he blocks the ball well. I don't think he profiles as a gold glover but he's not a guy like Josh Phelps who needed to be moved from behind the dish. Outlook. It will be interesting to see the way the Jays catching problem sorts itself out. Right now, they've got 4 capable catchers on their roster. Quiroz, Greg Zaun, Cash and Greg Myers. Myers has been injured all year and I expect him to either retire or sign somewhere else for 2005. Personally, I'd like to see the Jays bring Zaun back and use him in a quasi-platoon with Quiroz. They both can hit and are both pretty good defensively. I think mixing and matching them in 2005 with an eye towards giving the full time job to Quiroz in 2006 is the way to go. I think by 2006-2007 Quiroz will develop into an All Star caliber catcher. That leaves us with Cash. I'd like to see what kind of bounty he could bring back in a trade in the off season. He's proven two things to me this year. One, he can catch. He's got a strong arm, calls a good game and blocks the ball well. Two, he can't hit. Let me say that again. He can't hit. Currently, he's at .194/.254/.300 for the year in 170 AB's. For his career, you can probably mark him down for about .250/.310/.370 and that's a little optimistic. He does have some power,r so I think he'll hit some HR's but he will never hit for a high average or get on-base very often. But, I think he'll have a long career as a backup catcher. A trade to a team in need of a young catcher is something I could see happening. Depending on how things go with Joe Mauer's knee, a trade to the Twins could be a possibility.

Crozier- The third member of our rumored promotion crew is Eric Crozier. Crozier is of course the player the Jays picked up when they dealt Josh Phelps to the Indians. So far this year Crozier has been impressive. He hitting .294/.378/.541 for Akron (AA) and Syracuse. He's also got 21 HR's and 27 2B's. If he proves he can handle big league pitching I'm betting he gets a shot at being next years full time DH. If not, I think we can look to see Frank Catalanatto come back to DH and play a little OF while the Jays will probably pickup a right-handed 1B. As long as he shows some competence I think he'll make the team at the very least as a spot starter, left-handed bat off of the bench.

So there you have it. Come September if anyone else gets the call I'll profile them as well.

2004-08-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

Still playing with the template for this bad boy. I've added comments which I'm not too hot on and I've added a feature where you can email an article to someone. I'm not a big fan of "Comments" but we'll see how it goes.

2004-08-26T08:05:00.000-04:00

Wells update. According to the official site of the Blue Jays Vernon is going to stay sidelined for a while as he lets his calf injury heal. He did hurt the same calf as last time but apparently this time it is in a different spot. For now Reed Johnson will continue to man CF.

2004-08-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

I didn't mention it on Monday as I didn't have much information but as I'm sure some of you noticed Vernon Wells didn't come out for the 9th inning. Replays showed in the 8th he came up lame running to first base. Latest information I have (via ESPN game summary) is he aggravated the previous calf injury which caused him to miss 24 games earlier in the season.

I'm a little concerned as he did not play CF last night. We'll have to see if he is able to go tonight. If not, I'm sure we'll get some more information as that will be an indicator of something a little more serious. If I get word on his condition I'll let you know. Also, if you happen to hear anything please drop me a line.

2004-08-25T13:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, did I just get an entertaining email. The Blue Jays nominees for the Hank Aaron award, which is given annually to the best overall offensive performer in the AL and NL, are Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells and (drumroll please) Reed Johnson! Reed Johnson? Now, I like Johnson. I think he's a solid player who has been a fine contributed to the team. But, if he is one of your leading offensive players. You know your offence is in trouble.

2004-08-24T08:04:00.000-04:00

(Having a heck of a time trying to get anything published right now.)

Heck of a game pitched by Ted Lilly last night. Complete game shutout, 3 hitter. 13 SO and only 2 BB. He had the best curve of anyone I've seen pitch this year. Every pitch he threw setup the next. He'd throw a curve for strike 1, a high fastball at the letters for strike 2 and a changeup on the outside corner for strike three. Masterful. I can't remember the last time I saw so many hitters swing and miss fastballs at the letters in one game.

I'll say this again. Halladay, Lilly, Batista, Bush, Towers and an offence will be fantastic next year. We've got the starting pitching in place. On the offensive side, give me a SS and a 1B/DH type and I'm happy.

2004-08-23T19:25:00.000-04:00

The Jays enter an extremely tough part of their schedule as they now play Boston for three, New York for four, Seattle for three (pheww, a team without a winning record), Oakland for three, Anaheim for three and then Texas for three. It will be very interesting to see how these games turn out as the Jays offense is just starting to wake-up a little. Delgado and Hinske have been coming around of late. Because of the Jays record, these teams will be expecting/needing wins as they are all (except Seattle) in the playoff picture. It's will be a great time to evaluate the talent level for next year. Mr. Gross, Mr. Rios and Mr. Bush, time to make a statement.

2004-08-23T19:13:00.000-04:00

On Sunday the Blue Jays put OF/DH Frank Catalanotto on the 15-day disabled list and recalled left-handed reliever Dave Maurer from Syracuse. It's being reported the move will end the Cat's season as he's going to have surgery (ouch!) on his troublesome groin.

It's too bad Cat's season is over as I do think he is one of the better hitters in the game. The guy has an Ichiro like ability to get on-base via the hit. I've enjoyed watching him hit over the past couple of years and I hope we bring him back next year. Hopefully, having the surgery now will mean he's ready to go at 100% next year. I haven't heard an exact date for the surgery but I'll let everyone know when I do.

I like the idea of bringing Maurer up from 'Cuse. He's got a 3.50 ERA in 41 games and 61.2 innings. He's SO 61 and walked 26. He is a little homer happy as he's given up 6 of these in his 61.2 innings. Kershner has been getting hammered and I'm sick of Nakamura's inconstancy so in that regard I think it's a good call. Plus, DH/OF AB's can now be rotated between Reed Johnson and Gabe Gross. At least until September when we'll most likely see Eric Crozier get the call. He's the guy we got from Cleveland in the Josh Phelps trade. I'd like to see what his .294/.381/.546 line would do for the big club.

One more thing on the Cat. At this point, I do hope we can bring him back. I think he's a good, relatively cheap bat who can help us next year. Of course, you never know who will be cut loose in the off-season and what someone like Crozier (who's a lefty hitter as well) might do. I bet we could find Cat 500 AB's next year between LF, RF, DH and 1B (Why not? Gomez has played there a couple of times).

2004-08-23T19:04:00.000-04:00

There is not such thing as too much pitching. With that in mind it's good to see David Purcey, the Jays first pick this year, make his debut. Purcey pitched on Sunday for the Auburn Doubledays of the New York-Penn League (Short Season Class A) and went 3 innings giving up 2 ER's on 4 hits. He also K'd 4 and didn't walk anyone. I'll keep an eye on him as the year comes to a conclusion.

2004-08-23T13:41:00.000-04:00

I'm a little ashamed of myself for not going back and finishing up my thoughts on Selig's extension but I did stumble upon an article which does a better job than I could ever do in summarizing my thoughts. I don't necessarily think the Wild Card is the worst thing in the world but other than that, it is spot on. I fear for the game.

2004-08-21T16:35:00.000-04:00

Now that the Jays game isn't on I find myself perusing through a couple of minor league stats. Random thoughts:

SS, Raul Tablado (4th round 2000, Southridge HS, Miami) is hitting .311/.361/.618 with 21 HR's for single A Dunedin. He is playing in a hitters park (1049 park factor) but that's still pretty good.
Speaking of the 2000 draft. Can't say it worked out very well for the Jays. Other than Dustin McGowen, we didn't get any impact players. And who knows what kind of career McGowen will have as he blew his elbow out this year and had Tommy John surgery. First rounder Miguel Negron hasn't turned out too be much.
Thomas Mastny has thrown up a pretty good line for the Charlestown Alley Cats in the South Atlantic League. Thus far: 8-3, 2.27, 123 SO, 37 BB, 135 IP, 113 H. Pretty good SO/BB ratio and less hits than IP. Not too shabby.

2004-08-21T16:32:00.000-04:00

Grrrrrr. Never mind. Because Fox is showing the Giants and the Mets I'm blacked out of the Jays game. I do this to myself all the time. I get excited to watch a game and I forget about the damn blackout rules. Though, watching the greatest player ever isn't a bad conciliation prize.

2004-08-21T16:25:00.000-04:00

14 Runs! 14 Runs!! 14 Runs!!! For the first time since July 8th (10-8 win) when we beat the juggernaut that is the Seattle Mariners the Jays scored a double-digit number of runs. Mr. Rios went 2-6 with a double and Gabe Gross went 0-2 but with 3 walks. That's tasty. Thus far Gross and Rios have not set the world on fire but at the same time they have not sucked. Rios thus far is at .292/.334/.405 while Gross is at .235/.366/.382. Gross' walk rate is very encouraging. Let's keep throwing them out there every day to get them ready for 2005. I really like Reed Johnson but at this point the Jays need to figure out if these two guys can handle full time duty next year.

Speaking of next year. One of the guys I'd like to see the Jays pursue to play first base next year is Erubiel Durzao. He's hitting .325/.393/.533 this year and will be a free agent at the end of the season. His on-base skills would be nice to see in the lineup every day. The A's have a backlog of good young 1B/DH types at AAA and will probably let him walk.

That's all for now. Time to dial into MLBTV to watch David Bush do his thing against the O's. Go Jays!

2004-08-19T14:04:00.000-04:00

I had a great little rant about this going until Blogger swallowed my post and refused to spit it up. I'll have to redo it at some point. Anyway, for those of you who haven't heard, Bud Selig will be back sticking around for three more year.

2004-08-17T18:45:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to get aggravated. Does anyone have any idea what the heck is wrong with Eric Hinske? This has been bothering me for a while now but I can't take it any more. There is just no way this guy should be hitting as poorly as he has. There has to be some kind of injury or personal problem going on because he's just not the player he should be. Before I rant to much though, lets back up a couple years shall we.

It's now November of 2002 and Eric Hinske has just put his hands on the AL Rookie of the Year trophy. He had a line of .279/.365/.481, hit 24 HR's, 38 2B's, walked 77 times and even stole 13 bases. He seemed to pretty much do it all. Though, he did struggle at 3B. No big deal though, everyone would be OK with that if he continued hitting like he did. To most, it looked like Eric Hinske was going to be a long term solution at 3rd. A solution the Jays haven't had since Kelly Gruber (still one of the better mullets ever).

It's now the spring of 2003 and Eric Hinske is hitting just .232 with very little power to start the season. Turns out he has a broken bone in his hand and he hits the DL on May 24th. Hinske returns to the Jays about a month later and finishes the season with a line of .243/.329/.437. All of his numbers are down across the board. His walk rate goes from 1 every 7.35 AB's to 1 every 7.61 AB's. His K rate increases from 4.10 to 4.32. But, there is one very positive stat. Hinske hit 45 2B's that year?! That was good for 13th in baseball, just 6 behind Albert Pujols. In about 150 fewer AB's!! Armed with this knowledge, one could figure the HR numbers would come back this year as the broken hand probably just hampered his swing. Or, was the decrease in walk rate and the increase in SO rate a signal for struggles to come? We'll have to wait and see. But, an increase in HR's and a decrease in 2B's is what I expected for 2004.

2004. First the positives. Hinske has been healthy all year, when just about every other Jay regular has been hurt. He has also been more "solid" at 3B as he's only committed 4 errors vs the 22 he committed last year. Now the negative. Both his zone rating (20th out of 20) and range factor (18th out of 20) have stayed at the same extremely low levels of 2002 and 2003. Through 113 games and 426 AB's, Hinske is hitting .251/.314/.373 with only 10 HR's. Now it gets troubling. Like I said above, Hinske hit 45 2B's in 449 AB's in 2003. Well, in 2004 he's hit 18! 18 in 426 AB's! He's got 9 hits this month and they're all singles! Not good. Want more you say? His walk rate has gone from 7.61 to an alarming 11.03. So not only is he showing less power but he's also not walking. Whhhhyyyyy????!!!! (said in my best Nancy Kerrigan voice) Stictly from a fans point of view, I've seen him take a lot, I mean, a lot of "weak hack's" this year. It doesn't look like he's trying to drive the ball. He's more waiving at it than anything else. Is this an injury? Lack of confidence? Or, is he just not as good as we thought? Though it bothers me to say this, I'm starting to think he may not be as good as we may have thought.

2005. Well, we'll just have to see. 2004 has been terribly disappointing. Hinske's salary is going to start increasing over the next couple of years based on the 5-year contract he signed and if he doesn't start to hit he could find himself elsewhere. Ricciardi soured on Josh Phelps pretty quickly and if Hinske doesn't watch it, the same may happen to him. Third base is a position of power, and right now, Eric Hinske is hitting like a middle infielder from the 80's.

2004-08-16T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Hardball Times has a nice article on the Jays and the recent trade of Josh Phelps as well as the firing of Carlos Tosca. If you have a chance check it out. It's well put.

2004-08-16T12:55:00.000-04:00

The latest on the managerial search (Sacramento Bee, Oakland Tribune) has the Blue Jays focusing on Bob Green who is the current A's bullpen coach. I think it is still way to early to take any of the rumors seriously as most of the potential candidates, whoever they may be, are still under contract with their current club. I'm sure the Jays already have a list but we won't get an idea of who's on it until after the World Series.

It will be interesting to see who JP picks and how they turn out. Thus far, none of the new age (Yes I know this is the typical spot most writers would insert "Moneyball." But I refuse to put a label on any of these guys. I'm sick and tired of everything in baseball either being with Moneyball or against it. In my opinion both sides have lost sight of the goal and it's turned into a pissing match.) GM's have been very happy with their selections. There are complaints out of Oakland about Ken Macha, as well as Terry Francona in Boston and we all know what happened to Carlos Tosca.

My early inclination is that it will be a Major League guy. Not in the sense of digging up some old school baseball guy who's managed several teams before but in the sense the pick will have more experience running a big league club at the Major League level. An older guy who's a bench coach on a winning team is my guess. Bud Black wouldn't be a bad call. He's the current pitching coach for the Angels. We'll see.

2004-08-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

Good news out of the Eastern League as former top pitching prospect Francisco Rosario pitched 6 innings giving up 3 ER's on 6 hits. The best news is the 10 K's and ZERO walks. This was one of the top pitching prospects the Jays had until he blew his elbow out in an Arizona Fall League game a year ago. He'll play a big roll for next year's team.

2004-08-15T15:42:00.000-04:00

In a sign that does not bode well for next year's payroll the Blue Jays attendance on a per game basis is down around 2,000 fans a game to a current average of 20,538. This is good for 29th in baseball. Last year with the SARS scare and all the Jays still managed to draw a better but not great 22,215. The Jays still have 3 games against the Red Sox and 7 games against the Yankees at home which will help these figures but it looks like after a nice improvement from 2002 to 2003 attendance will slide this year. Once Delgado's contract is off the books it will be interesting to see where Rogers sets the salary for next year. 2004 was supposed to be a year the Jays took a step forward and brought in some more fans but we all know the way things have turned out. An expansion of the budget plus the removal of Delgado's salary is going to give JP a lot of room to work with in 2005. I'll start to look at some of the players the Jays may bring in next year as this year comes to a close.

2004-08-12T08:12:00.000-04:00

Couple random thoughts from last nights game:

Good to see Justin Miller back in the starting rotation. He had good movement on his sinker but he just didn't have control of all of his pitches. He's been out since May so that will come back.
Kevin Cash is a solid catcher. Calls a good game, blocks the ball well and has a great arm (That throw in the 7th was nasty. Quick feet and he just throws a seed. Nasty. He's going to have a long career as a 2nd string/defensive catcher). But. . . he can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag. He looks absolutely clueless up there. Sabathia was just chucking the ball by him.
Why am I so pumped about Alex Rios? Just watch a couple of his at bats. He understands the strike zone. He swings at hitters pitches and takes pitchers pitches. He's never had a high walk rate in the minors but man he has good AB's for a young kid. Good example? Try his AB in the 7th where he took three relatively close pitches to go to 3-0. Took a get me over fastball for strike one. Then just missed another fat fastball for strike 2. Fouled off another couple close pitches and then took an outside curve for a walk. Cash would never have an AB like this.
Speaking of good AB's. The Indians have great AB's. They make pitchers work and hit hitters pitches. That's what most people miss when they criticize "Moneyball." It's not about standing at the place with the bat on your shoulder waiting for a walk. It's about hitting strikes and not chasing pitches outside the zone. Just watch Edgar Martinez in Seattle. He'll go down 0-2, take three close pitches for balls. And then hit a 3-2 fastball for a double. That's hitting.
I'm not quite as high on Kevin Frederick as I was last week. He's still got some real good stuff but I'm starting to worry that all his pitches are the same speed. It's as if every pitch is between 85 and 90 MPH. I'm very interested to watch him pitch for the rest of the year.
I didn't realize Sabathia was such a headcase. The guy did a lot of walking around on the mound and a lot of cursing and swearing. He's got talent though.
How the heck did Justin Speier only have a 4.05 ERA at Coors field last year??? 66K's and only 23BB?? How did that happen??!! He's awful this year.
Finally. Is it just me or are Orlando Hudson's pants about 5 sizes too big?

2004-08-11T18:46:00.000-04:00

For those of you who were wondering where Jason Arnold has been he's popped up in the Florida State League pitching for single-A Dunedin. He's been bothered by shoulder pain and is rehabbing. He threw three innings yesterday giving up 3ER's on 7 hits. Though he didn't walk anyone and he K'd 3. I'll keep an eye on his situation and will keep you up to date as to how he's doing. Good to hear he's out on the mound again though.

2004-08-11T13:26:00.000-04:00

Hell of a job by David Bush last night. The kid went 7 innings giving up 8 hits and more important, struck out 7 and walked none. Remember, this was done against the best offense in the bigs. It's hard to get excited about a Blue Jay loss but a showing like this is extremely exciting. Halladay - Lilly - Batista - Bush is starting to look real good next year.

Minor League update: New Blue Jay Eric Crozier went 2-3 with a walk and an RBI for Syracuse. He's now 4-10 with 1HR, 1 2B and two walks. Pretty good start. Some of you have made reference to Phelps potential salary next year as a reason for the trade. That's probably true as he's eligible for arbitration and could be due a large increase in his salary. But, according to ESPN.com he's only making $344,000 this year and as bad as he's been I don't see him getting anything more than maybe $800,000, $1 million at the most. Knowing his minor league power numbers, I really don't think and additional $450K is much of a risk. The guy has power. I like Crozier but I think JP gave up on Phelps too early.

In New Hampshire, Aaron Hill continues his torrid hitting by going 2-2 with a walk last night. On the season he's now up to .283/.360/.394. He's not showing much for power but the average and ability to get on base is there. Combine his stats with the numbers for Russ Adams .274/.349/.385 and the Jays will have two middle infielders who can get on base at the top of their lineup for the next few years.

Speaking of Russ Adams. We can expect to see him get called up in September and for him to play a roll at SS next year. I think we'll see Chris Woodward get non-tendered and Chris Gomez will probably be brought back in to split some time with Adams until he's ready to take over the position every day. He's not going to be a star but I think he can be a good piece to the puzzle.

2004-08-10T21:58:00.000-04:00

Thank you Josh Towers. After being hammered in the first three games of the series the Blue Jays came back strong last night to beat the Yankees 5-4. Josh Towers who's been great as a 4th/5th starter for us this year threw 7 innings of 5 hit ball giving up only 2ER's in the process. Jason Frasor made things a little interesting in the 9th but he finally did slam the door on the victory. Congratulations to Gabe Gross who went 2-4 and hit his first Major League HR last night. It really could be a plus for the Jays if they're able to get Gross, Alex Rios and David Bush established this year.

The boys now head to Cleveland to battle the tribe. I mentioned this before but the Indians can rake. Check out how this offense ranks in ALL of baseball: Average-2nd, Hits-2nd, Runs-1st, OBP-1st, SLG-9th, BB-6th. Talk about getting it done with the stick. On the other hand though, their pitching has been horrendous. They rank at the bottom of the league in just about ever category. If this team develops a couple of pitchers over the next 1-2 year and makes a nice move in the free agent market they could be back to the powerhouse we all remember. Mark Shapiro has done a really nice job with this club.

2004-08-09T20:19:00.000-04:00

As some may have expected, the Toronto Blue Jays fired manager Carlos Tosca after Sunday's loss to the Yankees. To some this may have come as a surprise but to me I thought it was more of a question of when, not if. JP hinted at this at the beginning of the year when he said he wasn't sure if Tosca would be the right fit for the team when they were ready to compete. He was brought in to teach the younger kids and for the most part a lot of the younger guys have grown up.

For any of you who watched this weekend's games against the Yankees this may come as a welcome move as the Jays really did play awful. You'd think a bunch of guys (only Hinske, Wells, Batista, Lilly, Halladay and Lightenberg! are signed beyond this year) who are playing for a contract next year would play with a little more zest in front of a sold out crowd in NY. Guess not.

I really doubt John Gibbons is the answer as he will probably just captain the ship until the end of the year. This begs the question as to who is next in line to take over? The conversation won't turn serious until the off-season when replacements are more readily available. My guess, it will be someone with a little more experience as an in-game manager and someone with a more disciplinarian style. We shall have to see.

For now, we'll just have to sit back and hope the Jays can put together a solid seven or so weeks and JP can figure out who's going to contribute and who's not next year. It's good to see both Alex Rios and Gabe Gross up in the big show getting at bats. Why not get them broken-in this year in a less stressful situation.

2004-08-08T20:53:00.000-04:00

More on this tomorrow but Carlos Tosca was fired as manager today. Watching most of the action against the Yankees this weekend I can't say I'm surprised. He's been replaced by John Gibbons who was the first base coach. No word yet on who will replace Gibbons at first base.

2004-08-06T22:33:00.000-04:00

The way tonight is going I hope my company covers carpal tunnel. Anyway, just caught word the Jays have traded Josh Phelps to the Indians for Eric Crozier who is a 26 year old 1B/OF type who hits from the lefthand side. More on him in a minute. My first reaction is wow, I really thought Phelps could have turned into something. He has Adam Dunn written all over him. I don't like this deal though. Phelps is hitting .188/.252/.290 vs RP and .321/.370/.633 vs LP so far this year which is not good. But, he has hit .272/.348/.518 vs RP and .297/.372/.450 vs LP for his career. He is still only 26 and isn't making much so I think it is a little early to give up on him. Why not wait until he gets hot and deal him for maximum value? He hasn't been in the lineup consistently in months. I just don't think you deal young power hitters who are making more or less the major league minimum. Delgado is clearly gone at the end of the year so who knows what the plan is at 1B. Though there will be a lot of people on the market I'm sure.

Onto Crozier. I don't like the deal because I don't think the Jays should have given up on Phelps so early but it does look like Crozier is a solid power guy who might just be a lefty version of Phelps. So far this year he's hit .294/.372/.568. He's got 20HR's and SO/BB ratio of 67-36. Early reports have him heading to Syracuse for now and might get a call in September. We'll see. Looks like the boy can hit though.

Last part to this deal is the Jays have called up Gabe Gross to replace Josh Phelps roster spot. He's hit the tar out of the ball lately in Syracuse so it's time to see what he's got. He's been dealing with a shoulder issue all year so I don't think we'll see him in the OF but we'll have to see. I'll be keeping a close eye on Gross and Crozier.

2004-08-06T22:10:00.000-04:00

Back by popular demand (popular demand? Didn't you just start this site?) it's Tyler Haskins' game log!! Today's game is being played by the Evil Empire and the Jays. I've got a fridge full of Harp's and I'm ready to go. Today's game is brought to you by the Yankee propaganda engine - the YES network.

7:40- Got home a little late and all I missed was 7 runs and and two HR's. From what I've caught the Cat and Alex Rios got a couple of hits and Carlos hit the first pitch he saw into the RF stands. Looks like Matsui hit a 3-run shot and John Flaherty hit an RBI single for the Yankees.

7:43- Let's see if the Jays can answer back and score a couple off of Vazquez. Zaun bounces out to 2B. Man, I really thought we'd be able to deal this guy. He's been good and he's cheap. He's exactly the type of guy a contender should want. "Cough. . . Dodgers. . . Cough"

7:50- The dreamiest guy in NY Derek Jeter. Hell of a bunt by Jeter and a solid play by Hinske. Hinske's really gotten a lot better at 3B this year. Forget the improved error numbers (only 3 thus far). He's just played the position better. By the way, Jeter is not right. His hand is bothering him (last I heard he's got a broken bone in there somewhere) and I'll think we see him bunt a lot more for the rest of the season.

7:53- Ahhh. Pizza is here. Pizza. Beer. Baseball. Life is good.

7:55- Arod. I still can't believe this guy is playing 3B. Wow, heck of a play by Gomez. He's played a solid SS as we're waiting for Russ Adams to get up here.

7:58- And just as their contract demands the YES broadcast team talks about how often a guy (Gomez) makes a great play and then leads off the next inning like there's some kind of relationship between the two events. There are some cliche's baseball could do with out.

8:01- We're in the top of the third and Michael Kay hasn't trashed Moneyball. This must be a record. Give him another inning or two.

8:05- Matsui HR's. Really, this guy is having a much better season this year and last year he got all the hype. Double by Bernie. Great throw by Rios. Almost turned a double into an out and would have it Gomez would have held onto the ball. Kid can throw a seed out there.

8:08- Ground ball to 2B by Olerud. Here comes the productive out speech. "Olerud is such a great veteran. He just knows what to do in that situation." Ummm, how about he just got released by the last place Mariners and can't hit anymore.

8:10- This is wrong. Douglas is getting teed off on and Flaherty is bunting in the 3rd inning for a run. Wrong. Torre may deal with NY well but he isn't that great of an in-game manager.

8:11- Ridiculous!!!! Douglas just got tossed for hitting a guy in the shin with two strikes when he's been trying to give himself up. That might be the worst call I've ever seen!!! This guy should be fired. Thanks blue, because of you I've now got to clean the pizza off my wall as just wiped it across the room. I've been married a month and my wife is looking like she's about ready to divorce me.

8:17- It's nice to see Justin Miller back with the uniform on. We need him back throwing well.

8:18- I'm still angry. How do you toss a guy in a situation like that. Grrrrr!!!

8:23- Yup, wrist is killing Jeter. Good call T. At this pace the game may end Sunday morning.

8:26- Great. I'm 0-2. Someone want to tell my why Hinske just didn't step on 3rd. (Getting angry over here!)

8:28- Single for Matsui and 2 runs score. 10-3 Yanks (Drinking heavily now. "Honey, where do we keep the vodka?")

8:37- Hinske K's. I know he's been hitting better of late but I'm just not sure what to make of this guy. The guy hit 45 doubles last year in 449 AB's. I really thought he'd turn some of those into HR's this year. He OBP is down as well. Not a good sign.

8:39- Hell of a play by Hudson as he ranged to his right and threw out Olerud (never mind the fact that Olerud would lose a race to a stop sign). His hitting is extremely frustrating but he's flashed some good leather this year. Strike that. He's been good with the leather since he came up.

8:42- "Lord, grant me this one come back victory and I'll never ask for another. See, it's been a tough season for the Jays and all my friends are Yankee fans. That's a tough combination. A men."

8:49- Why is Chis Gomez leading off? Honestly, Tosca has some crazy lineup shenanigans (Tonight's Aflac trivia question. "I swear to God, I'll pistol wip the next guy that says shenanigans" What movie? Answer later tonight.) going on right now.

8:55- Hinske is playing a better 3B. But, he still throws the ball to first like he's scared out of his tree he's going to throw it away.

8:56- Honestly, Sheffield has one of the most violent swings in the league. I don't know how he doesn't throw his back out or drop a kidney or something. Regardless of the fact that he's a Yankee, he is one of my favorite players to watch hit though. Those hands are lightning quick.

9:00- Just hammered it. Another 2 hit game. I love Rios. I haven't been this impressed with a Blue Jay rookie since Juan Guzman came up. (Geez, I hope I didn't just jinx him.)

9:06- Nice, Kevin Frederick. . . Nasty slider. I think he'll be part of a real power bullpen for the Jays next year. I really like this guy.

9:10- Dude is dealing. He just made ARod and Matsui look pretty bad and popped out Bernie on a nice 3-1 pitch.

9:15- That was quick. Jays just went down 1-2-3 on 6 pitches. Bubba Crosby takes over in RF. I'm sure the rest of the scrubs for both teams aren't far behind.

9:27- Rios couldn't have played that double to RF any better. The throw to Hudson was perfect and Hudson's throw to home was perfect. Well done boys. Hit's for average, good arm, speed, WILL hit for power. Is there anything this kid can't do?

9:32- You know, Vazquez has looked good but not great. I live in south west CT and see lots of Yankee games but I haven't seen the dominant Vazquez that pitched in Montreal. Not sure what his deal is but he just hasn't been quiet as dominant.

9:36- I'm really disappointed with the way Speier has pitched. Had a good K/BB (66-23 in '03) ratio and a good ERA (4.05) in Colorado last year and I thought he'd be an asset to the pen this year. His stuff still looks pretty good but the numbers aren't there. I know it's a blowout but he's dealing right now. I'd like to see JP bring him back next year to see if he's a more positive contributor. With a 4.71ERA it shouldn't be too hard to bring him back relatively cheaply.

9:43- CJ Nitkowski. If you're a Yankee fan it must be nice to see any lefty on the mound but Felix Heredia.

9:46- Wait a minute. Since Douglas got tossed, shouldn't Nitkowski get tossed for hitting Hinske? Isn't that the rule?

9:48- Trivia answer: Super Troopers. Maybe the best comedy movie ever created.

9:49- Wow, just looked this up. Hinske is hitting .276/.331/.379 vs. lefties and .255/.324/.400 against righties this year. That is a lot better against lefties than I would have ever thought.

9:50- Reed Johnson grounds into a DP to end it. Wow, talk about a crappy game from a Jay perspective. Good game by Rios and some pretty good bullpen work but other than that, not good.

2004-08-06T08:29:00.000-04:00

ESPN's front page article this morning is about the songs players listen too before they step into the batters box. Does anyone really care about this stuff? Would you really watch a game to see what song Jeff Conine plays when he hits? Is it just me or does ESPN wish it were MTV? Seriously, could they produce another segment on sports and music? We're in the middle of a pennet race, the Olympics start in 1 week, the NFL football camps are in full swing and ESPN's front page story is what? The downward spiral ESPN has taken over the past couple of years is truly troubling.