Building a Bullpen

Image courtesy of Voltron Central

I'm not exactly sure how one builds a bullpen from the ground up, but I've always envisioned it as a process similar to constructing Voltron (or Megazord for the Power Rangers generation).

Separately, the members all have their very own strengths and weakness, but when they come together as one entity, they form a solid cohesive unit. One that's able to defeat the evildoers of the American League East. That's how you construct a bullpen, right?

On paper, the latest addition to the bullpen in Francisco Cordero doesn't really make very much sense. The Blue Jays already have their closer and a bevy of relievers in the bullpen depth chart.

Occasionally, plans change and you have to roll with the punches. That's why it seems like Francisco Cordero seems like the Blue Jays second choice after Koji Uehara rejected a trade to the Blue Jays.

Both Cordero and Uehara are set to make $4 million this season, but Koji would be the far more coveted asset. Things didn't turn out how AA wanted, so he went with then next best thing in Cordero.

Prior to this news, one would have assumed the Blue Jays bullpen was all but set for the 2012 season. Santos, Janssen, Oliver, Frasor, Villanueva, Litsch, and Perez were slated to be the seven guys that would break camp coming out of Spring Training. Just as plans changed, the Blue Jays changed with it.

From the outside looking in, it might appear as though the Blue Jays were trying to assemble a bullpen for a contending team. But I think Alex Anthopoulos has an ulterior motive here. He's trying to stockpile relievers and parlay them into prospects at the trade deadline.

The new CBA basically rained on AA's parade and now he has to change his entire game plan. Instead of hoping for Type B free agent compensation, he'll be looking to poach prospects from other teams who will be looking for bullpen help come July. Employing the "buy low, sell high" strategy is actually a pretty good strategy.

Relief pitchers seem to be the hot commodity at the trade deadline these past few seasons, and AA can really capitalize on that by signing Francisco Cordero, Darren Oliver, and others. Come July, I'm sure there will be at least a few managers that will be knocking down his door trying to pry them out of Toronto.

It just doesn't make sense to sign Francisco Cordero for one year (with no option, mind you) if the team is planning on having him ride out the entire season as a member of the Blue Jays. Any one else could just as easily step in and do the same job for far less money.

Now that leaves Jesse Litsch and Luis Perez to battle for the final spot in the bullpen, and I initially thought they easily would've been shoo-ins. Along with Joel Carreno and others, one of either Litsch or Perez will be on the outside looking in come Opening Day.

If the 2011 trade deadline is proof of anything, it's that the Blue Jays are not afraid to deplete the bullpen and leave themselves short-handed in the long-term if it allows them to acquire the talent that allows them to be better in the long term.

In its current incarnation, this is a bullpen that's built to win. It's a relief corp that is constructed to be a contender, but it's not a bullpen that's meant to stay together. Some of these guys are going to be moved at the trade deadline.

Omar Vizquel and the Veteran Presence

Image courtesy of Omar Vizquel's Twitter profile

Under normal circumstances, a General Manager would be off their rocker for signing a 44-year old infielder. It just doesn't make sense to bring in a player who made his debut a year before Brett Lawrie was even born (hat tip to @ecb282).

But these aren't just any ordinary circumstances, this isn't your ordinary team, and this certainly isn't your run of the mill General Manager.

So I guess when you can't bring back Johnny Mac, you sign his mentor instead. Omar Vizquel is the latest infielder who will get an invite to Spring training in just under a month and will compete for one of the coveted roster spots.

In a vacuum, signing Omar Vizquel does not fit into the plan for this team whatsoever. However, there are other factors at play here ... factors that perhaps are being overlooked. Yes, I'm talking of course about the dreaded intangibles.

It's not something that you'll find on Baseball Reference or FanGraphs, but ask any coach and I'm sure they'll tell you it's a quality that might be just as important as those cold hard statistics: veteran presence, and more importantly ... experience.

If it's not on paper and if it's not trackable, some folks will immediately dismiss its value. If it's not quantifiable or measurable, then how can you determine its importance? With the shift towards the Saber movement, are intangibles like veteran presence being overlooked?

Perhaps Alex Anthopoulos and John Farrell truly see the value of bringing in a 44-year old Omar Vizquel, somebody who's old enough to pass as his teammate's fathers. There has to be some value in that, otherwise why would the Blue Jays offer an invite to Omar Vizquel?

It's not for his bat, it might partically be for his glove, but mostly I think it's to use Omar Vizquel almost as another member of the coaching staff. Except he doesn't wear a windbreaker in the dugout.

In attempting to determine Vizquel's role on this team, some speculated that he might be the perfect mentor to the young Adeiny Hechavarria. It makes perfect sense; he's a work in progress, and I'm sure Omar is a fountain of knowledge and Adeiny would try to soak up as much information as possible.

Then I remembered a piece on Sportsnet from last year on Chris Woodward. He served as a mentor to the young and developing players in Las Vegas, which shows the organization is definitely interested in "clubhouse guys" and father-like figures for their young impressionable players.

Toronto's minor league affiliates are blessed to have a bevvy of very talented coaches and training staff members. But if I'm a player, I'd probably retain more information from somebody who's in the trenches every day than somebody who's coaching on the bench.

Me personally, I'm more likely to listen and look up to a cooler older brother who listened to Motley Crue and drove a Mustang than my old man who drove a Taurus and listened to Hall & Oates.

And I think that's partially why the Blue Jays recently signed veterans like Darren Oliver and Omar Vizquel. They're both talented players, but they also have a lot to offer in the way of experience and knowledge.

People might scoff at that notion, but I think that's partially why players like Oliver and Vizquel continue to play the game well into their 40's. It's not just because they can still pull it off, it's because they are teeming with valuable intangibles ... ones that can't be found in the box score.

If Omar Vizquel can mentor Adeiny Hechavarria and Yunel Escobar and help them become that much better, then his contract will be worth its weight in gold.

Randy Johnson Almost Traded to the Blue Jays

BJH Artist's Rendition

In 1948, Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck said: "sometimes, the best trades are the ones you never make".

Midway through the 1948 season, the Indians nearly sent their star player Lou Boudreau to the St. Louis Browns. Due to an uproar by the Indians fans, the team didn't pull the trigger on the trade and he remained with the club.

Keeping Boudreau would prove to be the right move as the Indians went on to win the 1948 World Series and Lou Boudreau picked up the AL MVP Award.

While it's true that occasionally the best move is no move, isn't it fun to wonder what might have happened if certain trades actually took place while others didn't?
 
The Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter is the prime example of a trade that changed the course of the franchise. Ultimately it led to the Blue Jays winning two World Series, but what if they didn't do that trade? Or what if they did pull the trigger on another blockbuster trade?

This all stems from a post I a stumbled across over at Cooperstowners in Canada. Kevin tipped me off to a piece by Mike Zeisberger in the Toronto Sun which revealed arguably the biggest trade in Blue Jays history that never happened:

Randy Johnson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Steve Karsay and Mike Timlin.

It could have been a veritable powder keg that may have altered the Blue Jays timeline entirely, but instead it just fizzled out. Had Seattle Mariners GM Woody Woodward not gone golfing on August 1st 1993, perhaps Randy Johnson would have been a part of the 1993 World Champion squad.

Peter Gammons echoes Mike Zeisberger's sentiments in this piece centred around last year's Hall of Fame inductions. Miraculously, the Randy Johnson trade has somehow remained quiet for all these years.

"Gillick had two deals going, one with Oakland for Rickey Henderson (Steve Karsay and a player to be named later), one with Seattle for Randy Johnson (Karsay and Mike Timlin). 

He wanted the Johnson deal, but Pat couldn't find Woody Woodward (Mariners GM), who was playing golf. Sandy Alderson called and took the Henderson deal. 

Problem was, Rickey being Rickey, he wanted money to waive his rights. While that was being negotiated, Woodward called and said he'd take the Johnson deal. 

Pat Gillick felt he had given his word to Alderson, even if the deal hadn't been finalized. So he put the Seattle deal on hold."

Despite losing out on Randy Johnson, the Blue Jays ultimately fared very well in 1993, but one wonders what might have happened had Woody Woodward been at his desk that day to answer the phone when Pat Gillick called.

Ricky Henderson didn't really do very much in the 1993 ALCS and World Series, but he was more of a rental player to help the Blue Jays solidify their spot on the playoffs, whereas Randy Johnson could have been a new building block for the franchise.

 

Might the Blue Jays horrible stretch during the mid-90's have been avoided with Randy Johnson in the starting rotation? Knowing what we know now, obviously trading for Randy Johnson would have been much more lucrative in the long term that getting Ricky Henderson for the home stretch.

But can you imagine what the 1994 Blue Jays rotation would have looked like? Randy Johnson, Dave Stewart, Juan Guzman, Pat Hentgen and Al Leiter.

Or if history played out as it did in the late 90's, how about a 1998 Blue Jays rotation comprised of Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Pat Hentgen? It's mind-boggling to think that could have been a possibility.

Unless we see Doc Brown around these parts with a time machine, that's one alternate time line that will remain untraveled. But it's still fun to ponder what could have happened.

THe BJH Guide to the Blue Jays on Twitter

My, how things change over the course of one year. In December of 2010, I put together a post of all the Blue Jays on Twitter. Back then, there were only seven players on Twitter and that number has ballooned to ten just one year later. 

And that doesn't even include the multitude of minor league players and Blue Jays alumni that are also on Twitter. Much like Twitter itself, there are more players on Twitter and they're tweeting more than ever before.

Some may think Twitter is just a bunch of digital noise about mundane happenings, but I think it's a great way to gain some insight into the lives of our favourite players off the field.

It also allows fans to interact with the Blue Jays where they might otherwise get the opportunity to. After all, if it wasn't for the internet and social media, how would be ever have found out that Travis Snider is the quintessential carnivore?

So just in case you aren't following all these guys already, here's the BJH Guide to all the Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter.

J.P. Arencibia (@jparencibia9)

By now, everyone knows that J.P. Arencibia is the preeminent Twitterer on the Blue Jays roster. He's a proponent of multiple hashtags, enjoys long walks on Miami beach, and sharing pictures of his dog Yogi.

He tweets about anything and everything, and one thing that's very evident in his post-game interviews as well as his tweets is J.P.'s sense of humour. He'll even toss out a little self-deprecating humour every once in a while, which just goes to show how down-to-earth Arencibia really is.

J.P. also uses Twitter to interact with his fellow #TeamUnit members, which is the Blue Jays/Maple Leafs supergroup spearheaded by the Blue Jays catcher. Heck, they even have their own line of merchandise for sale.

Out of all the Blue Jays on Twitter, I think J.P. Arencibia uses the medium to its full potential. J.P. truly gets what it's all about, and always makes the most of his 140 characters.


Brett Lawrie (@blawrie13)

I'm not quite sure what the standards are for one to be a "beauty", but whomever is one of the lucky few to be followed by Brett Lawrie must surely fulfill that requirement.

What must have began as an inside joke within the Blue Jays clubhouse found its way to the internet thanks to the power of Twitter. It seems like J.P. and Ricky rag on Lawrie the most about it, but it's all in good fun.


Jose Bautista (@joeybats19)

With over 145,000 followers and growing, Jose Bautista stands as the most popular member of the Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter.

Jose takes the bilingual approach to his tweets, often times tweeting in both English and Spanish. He's also very supportive of his teammates, and frequently complimented them on clutch performances during the season.

Bautista also enjoys hanging out with Scottie Pippen, watching the Steelers, and returning to his homeland in the Dominican Republic and doing some fishing with his fellow countryman Edwin Encarnacion.

And how cool is it that Jose Bautista has a screencap of himself from MLB 12 The Show as his avatar?


Ricky Romero (@rickyro24)

Ricky Romero has not only evolved into a leader on the field, but the clubhouse as well. He's a strong but silent type, and his Twitter feed reflects that persona.

Ricky is undoubtedly a big family man, and very humble for a guy who came from a modest upbringing. He seems very grounded for a guy who just signed a $30.1 million dollar contract extension this past season.

But he hasn't let the success go to his head, as Ricky just bought his parents a new house and he even surprised his mom with a a shiny new Benz for Christmas.

Growing up in East LA, Ricky was in very close proximity to a wide range of pro sports teams. Which explains why he grew up a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, LA Lakers, and his beloved San Francisco 49'ers.

RR must be on cloud nine as his 49'ers will be partaking in their first NFC Title game since 1997. For those counting, Ricky was 14 years old the last time the 49'ers had a shot to advance to the Super Bowl.

Oh, and his dog Ace is pretty cool, too.


Travis Snider (@Lunchboxhero45)

I can't recall if Travis Snider was the original Blue Jay to start sending out his thoughts 140 characters at a time, but he certainly was one of the first. Travis has very quickly learned how to make the most of that very short character limit.

Perhaps the most entertaining thing was Snider's Christmas dinner power rankings, complete with pictures of every appetizer, side dish, and main course. Those bacon-wrapped little smokies sound and look incredible.

I have to give credit to Travis for displaying the patience of a Tibetan monk with some of his followers. He tackles his haters head-on and prefers to take the "kill them with kindness" approach to any naysayers.

Snider is very active on Twitter and does a great job of interacting with his followers and answering their questions. Considering all the turmoil he experienced in 2011, Travis has remained incredibly upbeat and optimistic.


Brandon Morrow (@2Morrow23)

A few years back, there was an interview with all the members of the Blue Jays starting rotation, and Shaun Marcum made a comment about how Brandon Morrow wasn't a chatty fellow, but when he did pipe up, Morrow's one-liners were gold.

I get that sense from Brandon Morrow's Twitter feed as well; he doesn't seem like a talkative guy, but when he does speak, people pay attention.

Morrow is probably most well known for his exchange with Casper Wells, in which he apologized for on Twitter. It was the social media equivalent of a bro hug.


Edwin Encarnacion (@Encadwin)

Currently, Edwin Encarnacion only has 37 tweets to his name, and only about half of those are in English. I'm considering taking up Spanish just so I can translate the remainder of EE's tweets.


Kyle Drabek (@kyledrabek4)

I've never met Kyle Drabek in person, but judging by his online persona, he seems like a very quiet and reserved young man.

Scanning through his feed, the majority of Drabek's tweets are centred around football and food. Naturally, those two things go hand-in-hand, but other than that, there isn't much insight into Kyle's extracurricular activities.

Much like his pitching career, I think Kyle Drabek is still trying to discover himself both on the field and online. It's a bit of a work in progress, but Kyle has lots of time to learn the ropes of social media.


Eric Thames (@EThames14)

Eric Thames is the latest member of the Blue Jays to sign up for Twitter, and it didn't take him very long to make a huge impact.

Just to further substantiate that Eric Thames is the second coming of Shaft, he tweeted a picture of his latest off-season project: his beard. He is definitely one bad mother ... shut your mouth!

Thames also wins bonus points for his infatuation with early 90's wrestling references, quoting Hulk Hogan and discovering Bret Hart headbands on sale.


Darren Oliver (@southpawDO28)

And lastly, we have the latest addition to the Blue Jays roster: Darren Oliver. Up until a few days ago, I didn't even know that Oliver had an account until Ricky Romero alerted me to it.

One very cool thing that Darren Oliver used his Twitter feed for last season was he gave fans the chance to play against him in Words with Friends for a chance to win Rangers tickets.

In a related story, I think Dave just found his new favourite Blue Jay. Make that two admitted Words with Friends fanatics on the Blue Jays roster, the other being Colby Rasmus.

For a full list of current Blue Jays, minor leaguers, and Blue Jays alumni, check out my Blue Jays Players Twitter list. Or for more information on the Blue Jays on Twitter, visit the Blue Jays Social Media Clubhouse.

Something or Nothing? Anthopoulos on Prime Time Sports

Image courtesy of Fan 590

Alex Anthopoulos is a tough nut to crack ... probably the toughest. He's like the Macadamia Nut of General Managers. That must make AA a very tough interviewee, because he never really gives that juicy sound bite folks are yearning for.

Bob McCown tried his best on Prime Time Sports last night to pry answers out of Alex Anthopoulos. Most of the interview was a lot of the same we've heard in the past, but it got very interesting close to the end.

McCown finally nailed AA on specifics on who is the favourite for the starting left fielder's position, the starting rotation, and J.P. Arencbia and Travis d'Arnaud among other things.

17 minutes into a 20 minute interview, things finally started to get juicy. There was something close to the end that Alex Anthopoulos said which really perked my ears.

I'm not sure if I'm making something out of nothing here, but when Bob McCown asked Alex Anthopoulos if this was his team today, this was AA's response:

"Right now I would say yes, but I'm hopeful something will break in 2-3 weeks, but as we sit here today I think this will most likely be the team going into Spring Training."

When I heard this the first time, I interpreted this as Alex has something on the backburner that he's hoping will materialize in the next few weeks. Whether that's a trade or a free agent signing, I can't be sure.

I wouldn't expect Alex Anthopoulos to suddenly depart from his strict "no commenting on players" policy, but perhaps after 20 minutes of Bob McCown berating him over and over about Yu Darvish, maybe AA let something slip.

The way Alex nonchalantly brushed it aside leads me to believe it could be something, as if he knew he said something he wasn't supposed to and tried to move on from it very quickly.

Was AA perhaps just throwing the fans a bone to gnaw on after a dubious off-season? I hate to speculate on something that was only three seconds long, but with Alex you can't leave any stone unturned.

It would be very out of character for the Silent Assassin to hint that a deal is in the works, because then it contradicts his entire philosophy. Then again, it's live radio and anything can happen. Remember "Wednesdays with J.P." and how Adam Dunn doesn't even like baseball?

Take a listen to the interview on PTS here, and the clip in question begins around the 20 minute mark. Again, it could be something, or it could very well be nothing at all. I guess we'll know for sure in 2-3 weeks.

Penciling Brett Cecil into the Starting Rotation

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

Last week, John Farrell remarked that Brett Cecil is one of two players (the other being Colby Rasmus) that the club is really counting on to contribute to the team's success in 2012.  

While most fully expect Rasmus to improve on his roller coaster 2011, I'm not so sure the same can be said about Brett Cecil. He may be one candidates to take one of the three remaining spots, but I really only feel comfortable penciling Brett Cecil into the Blue Jays starting rotation.

In my eyes, Brett Cecil is like a left-handed version of Shaun Marcum minus the control; a soft-tosser who strikes out his share of batters with a changeup, but who has trouble leaving pitches up in the zone.

Brett Cecil's starts in 2011 had a "buckle-up, brace for impact" vibe to them. A "plan for the worst, hope to escape out of the fifth inning" quality.

Whenever I sat down to watch a Brett Cecil start, I had no idea what to expect. Suffice it to say, I guess that makes me a poor choice to be the president of the Brett Cecil Fan Club.

John Farrell has lofty expectations for Brett this year, but frankly I feel like we've already seen the best we're going to see out of Brett Cecil. 2010 was a career year for Cecil aided by a favourable win-loss record, but maybe that season was his peak.

I'm in the camp that an eventual move to the bullpen would likely benefit Brett Cecil the most. Working in short stints a reliever rather than long outings as a starter could help keep his control ... under control. Heck, if it worked for Jesse Litsch, why not Brett Cecil?

As time has progressed, it's beginning to become evident why the Blue Jays made the decision to transition Jesse Litsch from the starting rotation to the bullpen. Litsch was seemingly a guy the Blue Jays could count on for 5-6 innings, and that's why the move seemed like a bit of a head-scratcher at the time.

I think the key here is Listch was "okay" as a starter, but he wasn't "great". After Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow, the Blue Jays could very easily find three "okay" starters like Litsch or Cecil to occupy the back end of the rotation.

In order to be a 90-win team though, they're going to have to raise the bar and rely on "good" starters. It's one thing to have a back-end rotation comprised of innings eaters, but it's another to have starters who can throw quality innings.

That's why if I had to fill out the depth chart for the starting rotation today, Henderson Alvarez and Kyle Drabek get my vote ahead of Brett Cecil. There's a huge amount of upside with both of those guys, and I just can't imagine Cecil ever pitching better than he did in his sophomore campaign.

I don't actually mind Brett Cecil in the starting rotation for the interim. Barring any injuries or trips to the minors, the Blue Jays can probably depend on him for 150 plus innings this season. Cecil's experience should also give Farrell a semblance of some familiarity in the back end of the rotation.

That being said, the ideal starting rotation that I envision over the next few seasons does not include  the services of one Brett Aarion (no, that's not a typo) Cecil. The potential exists for Henderson Alvarez and Kyle Drabek to quickly eclipse Brett in the Blue Jays depth chart.

All this may be asking a bit much of the number four or five starter, but frankly ... if the Blue Jays want to make a run in the next few years, they need to know whether Brett Cecil can handle the workload and put forth quality innings.

And if he can't, there are plenty of other starters they could use to fill the void.