Our Silver Sluggers

Of all the sights that Blue Jays fans were subjected to over 162 games this year, the one above is one that I never got sick of seeing.

For their incredible efforts this season, Adam Lind and Aaron Hill were rewarded as recipients of the American League Silver Slugger awards. The two brought strength and power back to the heart of the Blue Jays lineup in 2009, combining for 71 home runs and 222 RBI's.

Prior to the start of the 2009 season, like most folks I would have been happy to have one 30/100 hitter in the lineup, let alone two. As much as I was screaming that the Jays needed to sign a free agent big bat, Hill and Lind have proven that sometimes the best solutions come from within the organization.

Congratulations boys, job well done.

The Value of the Hometown Discount

It's a term that's been thrown around quite often during this week's MLB hot stove - "hometown discount". For those unfamiliar with the term, a hometown discount is when a player takes a bit of a paycut to play in the city that they grew up in, have family in, or where they started their career.

The problem with the hometown discount is that it seems like the valuation is at an astronomical level. To assume that a player would consider signing with club solely for the reason that it's their hometown is a bit ludicrous. While it may play some part in their decision, in my mind here are the top reasons why a player signs a contract with a particular team:

1. The money
2. The chance to win
   
3. Proximity to home
   
4. Strip clubs per capita

One such example was last year when A.J. Burnett decided to opt out of his contract with the Blue Jays. Some speculated that he might sign with the Baltimore Orioles so he could be close to his wife Karen and their family in Maryland. Unfortunately, Burnett was tempted by the $82.5 million dollars from the Yankees and the bright lights of New York.

Burnett's adversary and former mentor Roy Halladay could be one of the few exceptions to these rules. The team learned that Doc's number one priority was winning, followed by the opportunity to be close to home, and money was the least of his concerns. His Mormon lifestyle basically rules out any possibility for reason number four, but if he gets a few beers into him who knows what might happen.

Home for Halladay would either be in Colorado where he grew up, or in Florida where he lives during the off season. If Doc places a lot of weight on which city he plays in, that means the Rockies, Rays or even the Marlins would be suitors for his services.

Another recent example involving the Blue Jays is the talk of trading Lyle Overbay to the Seattle Mariners. Overbay is well known to have grown up in Seattle and enjoyed the odd Vanilla Caramel Frappe from Starbucks while thrashing around in his plaid shirt listening to Pearl Jam.

This situation is a little trickier because Overbay is not a free agent and doesn't really have a choice about where he is traded. But if a player does in fact have a no-trade clause, the hometown discount may not have that much baring on their decision.

So the next time you see the phrase "hometown discount" thrown around in trade talk and free agent speculation, remember that most baseball players couldn't give a damn if the ballpark is 20 minutes from their backyard. Just like Puffy said, it's all about the Benjamins baby.

Whether they want to admit it or not, the true reason why they sign on the dotted line in a certain city is because of one reason ... strip clubs per capita. Don't believe me? Just ask A-Rod.

The Best Moustaches in Baseball: Part Two

Many heroic male figures throughout history have used their facial hair to persuade, inspire and seduce legions of followers and admirers. Since the dawn of time, mankind has used many forms of facial hair to not only express themselves, but provide a sense of identity.

One of the greatest forms of said facial hair is the moustache; and no group of warriors have displayed the characteristics of a fine 'stache better than the men (and occasionally hormonally imbalanced women) of professional baseball.

In honor of Movember in which men across the world unite in growing moustaches to raise money for Prostate Cancer, I have decided to delve into the art of facial hair for part two of The Best Moustaches in Baseball.

This year’s version covers some ‘staches that may have been omitted from last year’s list or have just recently left their stamp as some of the best cookie-dusters in baseball.

Keith Hernandez

Before I knew Keith Hernandez the baseball player, I knew him as the guy who allegedly spit on Kramer and Newman. His two-episode stint on Seinfeld not only solidified himself as one of the coolest moustache-clad men in the majors who may or may have not banged Elaine Benes.




Sal Fasano

During his illustrious career, Sal played for ten different teams and along the way he made a lasting impression on almost every city that he played in. As Blue Jays fans, we had the pleasure of watching Fasano work his magic in a Blue Jays uniform during the 2007 season.




Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky

Not only was Hrabosky’s facial hair mean looking, just take a look at his name. It’s basically the baseball version of Vlad the Impaler or Atilla the Hun. Hrabosky followed in the footsteps of legendary closers like Rich Gossage and Rollie Fingers as having a badass ‘stache.





Ross Grimsley

Grimsley is the whole package – sporting a moustache and an afro that would make even the Ladies Man Leon Phelps jealous, Grimsely wasn’t just a looker. In 1978, his 20-11 record garnered him a seventh place finish in the AL Cy Young voting.





Jeff Kent

I’ve always said that if Jeff Kent could moonlight as a police officer if he ever felt the need to take up a second job. Now that he’s retired, you just might see Jeff Kent responding to a domestic dispute, or making a cameo appearance in a Super Troopers sequel near you.

 


Reggie Jackson

Not necessarily most revered for his prowess in the facial hair department, Mr. October still contributed towards the moustache culture with his classic but cool addition to the list. Did his stache help him hit three home runs in one game? No - but he looked damn good doing it.




So there we have it folks - part two of the best moustaches in baseball. Feel free to cast your vote on your favourite soup strainer below. The wondrous thing about the world of moustaches is that just like the hairs themselves, the history of moustaches in baseball only continues to grow as the years pass.

Who has the best baseball moustache of all time?

The Man Behind the Curtain Goes to Work

Occasionally it's best not to know what's going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately for the Toronto Blue Jays, over the course of this past season the disarray and inner workings of their organization were revealed for all to see. Now, Alex Anthopoulos has the dubious task of taking his place behind the curtain and starting the magical Oz machine once again.

Anthopoulos didn't waste any time this week as it was a relitavely busy weekend  - first there was the "state of the franchise" conference call on Saturday, and lately it's been the rumblings about the Jays wanting to trade Lyle Overbay to the D-Backs for Chris Snyder.

According to the Arizona Public, trade talks were well underway but were put to a halt when the Jays realized that Snyder's back wasn't all it was cracked up to be (sorry ... I couldn't help myself).

It appears as though AA is making good on his word that he would be active in the trade market this off-season and the wheels are already set in motion because a move like this would benefit the team two-fold:

1. Foreseeing any other major injuries from Snyder, the Blue Jays would have a full-time catcher up until the end of 2011. Hopefully by then, J.P. Arencebia will have made his triumphant debut and will be well on his way to becoming the future star catcher of this team.
 
2. Trading Overbay also sets in motion a search for a long-term first baseman. Although the move makes perfect sense, it sounds like AA does not want to move Adam Lind to first base no matter what. This must mean that he working on something else entirely that we don't even know about to bring in a first baseman long-term. Your guess is as good as mine on this one.

Moving on to the other big deal that didn't happen late last week ... it appeared as though the Blue Jays all but missed the boat on the J.J. Hardy trade and that the Minnesota Twins cashed in on this blog's most beloved mancrushes.

Little did we know, apparently Anthopoulos was working behind the scenes and the Blue Jays were one of the teams in the hunt according to Jeff Blair. Reports indicate that it would've taken Adam Lind or Travis Snider to land J.J. Hardy, and if that's true then it's no surprised the Jays balked at that proposed deal.

Maybe most surprising of all is that Russell Martin is another name being tossed around as a possible replacement behind the backstop for the Blue Jays. He could be an integral piece of a trade with the Dodgers which might ship Roy Halladay to Los Angeles for Martin and a couple of others. This is just a theoretical trade, but since this is just a sliver of information that's been leaked out, who knows what AA could be cooking up.

Whether or not any trades come to fruition this week at the General Manager's meetings, it's refreshing to see a General Manager take a different approach at this ballclub. Although it's uncertain how this team will finish in 2010 or  even 2011, I am confident that Alex Anthopoulos is putting together a winning team.

In the meantime, may he work his magic from behind the curtain and hopefully he won't come back out unless he has something spectacular to show us.

The Alex Anthopoulos State of the Franchise Conference Call

I woke up this morning wondering if Alex Anthopoulos had forgotten all about his promise to address the "state of the franchise" this week and give fans an update on which direction the Toronto Blue Jays would be taking.

After dragging in the city's best writers in on their weekend off, most of them stuck it out to ask AA all the pertinent questions about what's happening with the Blue Jays. You can listen to the full call here at the Fan 590, or just check out the brief synopsis below:

• AA feels like Toronto has the potential in the coming years to compete along with teams like the Angels, Red Sox, and other top market teams.
• He wants to continue to build the core of this team, and will continue to make changes to the scouting and support staff.
• When asked about trading Roy Halladay, AA said he was reluctant about trading Doc, but gave the typical J.P. Ricciardi statement "he has to be open-minded about a trade making this team better in the long term". In the type of tone that Anthopolous spoke of, it sounds like Halladay will be around in 2010 and if the Blue Jays can remain competitive next year then he could re-sign.
• Alex is NOT actively shopping any of his players, but he is pursuing alternatives to upgrading certain positions.
• He doesn't believe in adding three or four free agents in any given year.
• Aaron Hill will not be moved from second base to cover shortstop. Adam Lind will not fill in at first base, unless they need him to move somewhere else (like the rumoured trade involving Chris Snyder and Lyle Overbay)
• Anthopoulos doesn't consider this a "rebuilding phase" but more of a "building phase".

The overall tone from this phone call was hopeful for the future, but it seemed like the main focus for Anthopoulos was that they really want to develop the scouting and be more thorough with their player development. It sounds like they don't feel buying up high priced free agents is a long-term solution, and building a strong young core of a team is the only way that the Blue Jays will be able to compete with the Yankees and the Red Sox.

At no point was there a set dollar amount discussed in terms of payroll, however it does not sound like the 2010 payroll will be leaps and bounds higher than 2009.

Well, at least we have some answers now!

The Yankees as World Champions: bad for baseball?

Today the Yankees enjoyed a lavish ticker-tape parade down Broadway Avenue celebrating their 27th World Series Championship. While most folks in New York came out in droves to celebrate, the rest of the baseball world basically rolled their eyes and said "not again".

After watching the continued success of the New York Yankees as the most financially driven team in MLB, it begs the question - are the New York Yankees as World Series Champions bad for baseball?

In a word ... yes.

It's not just because I'm a bitter Blue Jays fan that hasn't tasted the victory of playoff baseball for sixteen years either. There are 29 teams in baseball I would rather see hoist the Commissioner's Trophy above their heads other than the New York Yankees.

So here are a few of my reasons in no particular order why I think the Yankees as World Champions are sending the wrong message.

1.) Team payrolls across the MLB are bound to go up

Whether it's predetermined or not, it seems like teams subconsciously emulate the formula of the previous World Series Champions. In the case of the New York Yankees, most clubs will probably take after their model which is "sign the best free agents at any price, so long as it means winning".

This means guys like Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and John Lackey are going to rake in especially fat contracts this off-season. It also sends the message that money equals success, almost the exact polar opposite from the Tampa Bay Rays model which was build a team from the minor league system upwards.

2.) It makes even more free agents want to flock to NY

I'm sure a large part of the reason why Pedro Martinez and Raul Ibanez signed with the Philadelphia Phillies was because they had a fairly good shot at winning another championship in Philly. For free agents that are getting close to the end of their careers and want an almost-guaranteed shot at the post-season, they will likely be seeking to sign with the New York Yankees.

3.) It doesn't promote home-grown talent

There was a lot of hype surrounding the "core four" of Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Pettite that have stuck with this organization since (almost) day one. Aside from those four guys, most of their roster spots are occupied by players acquired via trades or free agent signings (only ten in total came up through the Yankees organization).

The Yankees aren't notorious for drafting and developing great players, they are known for signing other team's great players. I realize it's all fair in love and baseball, but it feels like the Yankees would rather build a winning team with their pocketbook rather than their minor league system.

Again, let me reiterate that I'm not bitter and jaded (okay ... maybe a little) that the team I cheer for wasn't number one this year. However, I would have been happy to see the Phillies win the World Series. I would have been thrilled to see the Dodgers or the Angels win the World Series. Hell, it would even be fun (more so hilarious) to see the Nationals win the World Series. But there's something about watching the Yankees get their World Series rings that doesn't sit right.

It's almost like if the tallest, strongest, and fastest kid in grade seven won every single event at the track meet. Sure, it's great for that one kid - but for everyone else, it just creates an environment of resentment.

It's about as exciting as when the team with the highest payroll wins the World Series.

$200 million buys a World Series Championship

Very quickly, congratulations to the New York Yankees on becoming World Series champs. There was nothing overly dramatic about Game Six or the series in general, however good for the Yankees on coming out on top.

But for the New York Yankees organization, anything less than a championship this year would have been an utter disappointment. So after missing the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons, they went out and snagged the best free agents on the market in the hopes of building another winning team.

On Managing ...

This World Series in particular might have possibly been the most over-hyped when it comes to managing decisions. The media scrutinized Joe Girardi for only using a three-man rotation the entire playoffs, and they even grilled Charlie Manuel for something as simple as not starting the runners with one out.

Basically, people need to stop giving so much credit to Joe Girardi because I think even Cito Gaston could have managed the Yankees to a Championship. Just like the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays, when you have the best group of players, often times they will come through when needed and these minute coaching decisions don't really have an effect on the game.

Godzilla comes to life

After tonight's MVP performance, Hideki Matsui certainly bought himself a fat contract with whichever team signs him in the off season. Initially I thought he might be a good fit for the Blue Jays as a DH, but now it appears that the price tag might be too high and I find it hard to believe that Matsui would leave his cozy nest in New York to shack up in Toronto.

In closing ...

Whether we like it or not, the New York Yankees are the World Series Champs. However, if any other team in the American League such as the Blue Jays had a payroll of $200 million dollars, they could also very well be standing in the Yankees champagne-soaked shoes.

World Series Observations

After having the pleasure of watching five relatively exciting World Series games, there are a few things that have stood out in my mind as noteworthy. The following is a list of some observations from this year's series thus far:

• With his half-dozen mound visits per inning, Jorge Posada is the sole reason these World Series games take four hours to complete. It is my hope that Baseball Reference starts keeping track of this statistic next season, which will be called MVI (mound visits per inning).
• Ryan Howard strikes out a lot. And when he does, he always mutters something under his breath in disbelief … even when it’s a swinging strike three.
• Kate Hudson just might be the most famous baseball groupie since Alyssa Milano.
• Among many other things, Joba Chamberlain needs to wash his hat.
• It appears as though Chase Utley has starting using the John Stamos/Jesse Katsopolis line of hair products. Have mercy!
• There is so much loose jersey hanging off C.C. Sabathia, that the spare materials could be used as a tarp to cover the entire country of Cambodia.
• Cliff Lee is non-chalant about everything, so would he even get excited if the Phillies won the World Series?
• There is no stopping Mariano Rivera. If this World Series goes to a Game Seven, Joe Girardi might be best served to let Mo pitch the entire game himself.
• After seeing all the camera time that the Philly Phanatic has been getting, I realized the Yankees don’t even have an official team mascot. How sad is that?

The Alex Anthopolous Game Plan

Alex Anthopoulos has a plan for the Toronto Blue Jays. The problem is that he can't reveal the full details just quite yet.

He's been in the midst of attempting to rebuild this team, solidifying the coaching staff last week and now the next thing on Anthopoulos' agenda is the players.

Last week on Primetime Sports, Paul Beeston assured us that fans would have a better idea of what kind of expectations when it comes to total payroll by the end of this week. It looks like he and AA just might deliver in time before next week's General Manger's meetings.

Anthopolous dropped a few sound bytes about particular free agents and whether or not they would return next year. John McDonald, Rod Barajas and Marco Scutaro were names that he mentioned and could not say whether or not they would be back next year.

My suspicion is that at least two out of those three players will leave via free agency, with Johnny Mac almost certainly out the door. It simply doesn't make sense to pay John McDonald over $2 million dollars a year to play 30 games at shortstop

Of course the giant, glaring elephant in the room that Alex Anthopolous needs to address is what to do with Roy Halladay. Whatever happens with this team in the next 3-5 years basically hinges on whether or not Doc is traded this off season.

The longer that time goes on and the more and more that Roy Halladay sees his former teammate A.J. Burnett pitching in the World Series, perhaps he's developing a little bit of resentment towards the organization that has failed to make the playoffs the past sixteen years.

Not only would Halladay be looking for a winning team, but he could very easily find a suitor that would be willing to pay top dollar for him. Regardless of whether the Phillies win the World Series, many teams have seem the impact that adding an ace like Cliff Lee to the pitching staff can do to solidify themselves as a contender.

Teams like the Dodgers and Angels will be looking for that added insurance to get them over the hump, and Roy Halladay could be that player who gets them over the edge.

We will have to wait and see if that happens under the watch of Alex Anthopoulos, or if Doc just walks away via free agency at the end of 2010. Either way, the gears of change are in motion and things in Toronto are going to look a lot different next year.

Cito's staying put

For those who were hoping there might be some new blood in the Blue Jays manager's office next year, you're going to have to hold your breath for yet another season.

Sportsnet has confirmed that Cito Gaston will serve out his final year as the manager for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010. Following the end of the 2010 season, Cito will retire and remain on with the club as a consultant for the next four years.

News of Cito's comes on the heels of the announcement that Brad Arnsberg has accepted a position with the Houston Astros as their pitching coach. I'm still undecided as to what move will affect this team more - Arnsberg's departure or Cito's survival as manager.

So what does this all mean? Basically this move assures that Kevin Millar will be their full-time cleanup hitter next season, Randy Ruiz will be on the 25-man roster but spend all 162 games on the bench, and Jesse Carlson will pitch in almost every single game.

For a baseball franchise that's trying to turn over a new leaf with a new General manger and a new-ish President and CEO, this move feels counter-productive and merely puts the team in limbo until the 2011 season.

Even if the Blue Jays bump the payroll up to $120 million, what's the point if the coach is liable to not use those new players in the right manner?

Rogers can spend all the money they want on this team in 2010, but it seems like the money that will go towards free agents might just end up going to waste anyway.