Adam Lind's Leash Runs Out

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

My apologies for being a little late to the party with a reaction to the Adam Lind demotion. I wanted to let my thoughts percolate for a while on the issue and formulate a somewhat coherent post, rather than just my knee-jerk reaction.

Much like with Travis Snider last season, I don't think Adam Lind's demotion to Triple A was warranted. So it came as a shock that month and a half into the season, the Blue Jays decided that the best thing for Lind was to send him to Las Vegas and work out the kinks.

I definitely think that Brett Lawrie's suspension had something to do with this move. With Lawrie still occupying a roster spot, the Blue Jays needed somebody to take over the hot corner for the weekend.

It's really all about timing; Lind was about 45 days away from accumulating  5 years of service time, which would've allowed him the right to refuse minor league assignment (hat tip to @Minor_Leaguer). Rather than release or demote a player that didn't really deserve it, the Blue Jays chose to burn Adam Lind's last remaining option.

Some are saying that this could be the last we'll ever see of Adam Lind with the Toronto Blue Jays, but I don't believe the end is nigh for him. For one, it doesn't really make sense to trade Lind right now because his value could not be any lower.

Secondly, finding a taker for the remainder of his contract would be an adventure in itself. Nearly every American League team has an established first baseman, so the National League is really the only prospective landing spot for Adam Lind.

Here's the thing about Adam Lind; 2009 was a career year for him, but ever since then ... he's been the same player that he's always been. I don't think much has changed with Lind, he hits for power, he doesn't draw many walks, and he's an okay defender.

The only thing that has changed ... is the expectations for Adam Lind.

With the American League (and especially the AL East) being a hotbed for slugging first baseman, Lind simply doesn't measure up to the competition. I don't think the Blue Jays necessarily need somebody the calibre of Adrian Gonzalez at first, just so long as that offensive output is made up at some other position.

Adam Lind is one of the lone holdovers from the previous Blue Jays regime, and while the team as a whole has upgraded at most of the positions, first base has always remained a point of contention. So maybe that's why the expectations for Lind have risen to such great heights.

I don't doubt that Adam Lind will be back with the Blue Jays in the near future. But moving forward, Lind's position within the Blue Jays organization has really come into question.

Unless Alex Anthopoulos has a clear vision to upgrade the first base position, maybe the best solution might be to just let Adam Lind ride things out and decline his option years; a similar situation the Blue Jays potentially faced with Aaron Hill.

For better or worse, Adam Lind is not the reason why the Blue Jays are 21-18. If he performed better, Toronto might have a marginally better record, but it takes more than one player to make that much of a difference.

Trust me, it frustrates me just as much as you to see Adam Lind clog up the cleanup spot in the Blue Jays lineup. But that's not Adam Lind's fault, that's John Farrell's fault for continuing to parade him out there for 21 games in the four spot.

At his low base salary, the Blue Jays can continue to afford to employ Adam Lind at first base. There are certainly much worse options out there at a much higher price tag right now. Maybe it requires a creative solution on the part of the manager and general manager to maximize what's left in Adam Lind's bat.

Lind's leash may have run out, but his time with the Blue Jays has not.

Flashback Friday: The Mike Sirotka Trade

These days, the Blue Jays front office has built a reputation for their shrewd moves. They've mastered the formula of extracting high ceiling players from other teams and maximizing their potential with the Blue Jays.

Alex Anthopoulos AKA "the Silent Assassin" has been instrumental in acquiring players like Brandon Morrow, Yunel Escobar, Colby Rasmus, Kelly Johnson and Sergio Santos just to name a few.

But there was a time not that long ago when the Blue Jays as being the fleecees not the fleecers. For this week's Flashback Friday, we look back on one of the worst trades in Blue Jays franchise history, the one involving none other than Mike Sirotka.

Mike Sirotka was not a household name at the time of the trade in January of 2001 but by the time the dust had settled on the deal, Sirotka's name was one that Blue Jays fans would not soon forget.

Gord Ash was the General Manager of the Blue Jays at the time, and he dealt with the then rookie General Manager of the Chicago White Sox, Kenny Williams. The two would craft a six-player trade that would send David Wells and Matt Dewitt to Chicago in exchange for pitches Mike Sirotka, Kevin Beirne, Mike Williams and outfielder Brian Simmons.

David Wells and Mike Sirotka were unquestionably the cornerstones of the trade, as the White Sox were getting a 20-game winner, and the Blue Jays thought they were receiving a promising young starter whose best days were ahead of him. They thought wrong.

Sirotka showed up to Blue Jays Spring Training camp in 2001, but it was revealed that he was suffering from a shoulder injury. He was eventually shut down by the Blue Jays and he would actually never throw a pitch in the Major Leagues ever again.

Just to add insult to injury, not only would Mike Sirotka never appear for the Blue Jays, but the team was also on the hook for the remaining $6.6 million dollars on his contract.

The trade was surrounded in a great deal of controversy because the Blue Jays thought the White Sox sent them damaged goods. Sirotka apparently passed the initial physical, but a second test by Dr. James Andrews showed a possible torn labrum.

That should've been a red flag right there as a visit to Dr. James Andrews is essentially a kiss of death for any pitcher. The Blue Jays claim that the White Sox didn't disclose all the proper information, but Kenny Williams assured them that he did let Toronto know about Sirotka's shoulder injury.

After Gord Ash and the Blue Jays discovered the severity of Sirotka's injury, they went to the commisioner to try to appeal the trade, but the claim was denied. Here is what Bud Selig had to say about the issue:

"After careful consideration of all the information before me, I uphold the transaction and deny the Toronto club's claim for relief.

Although there is a dispute about whether certain facts about Sirotka's condition were disclosed before the clubs agreed to the trade, the Toronto club talked directly to Sirotka about his health on the day of the trade and believed it had the opportunity to make the trade conditional. The Blue Jays never elected to do so."

Selig's advice to the Blue Jays was essentially "buyer beware" and he did not overturn the trade or force the White Sox to compensate them for Sirotka.

Considering what happened with this trade, somebody in the Blue Jays front office really dropped the ball on the whole Mike Sirotka trade. The fact that they knew about his shoulder troubles and went ahead with the trade anyway is just mind-boggling.

Either the front office was so confident in Mike Sirotka's abilities that they were willing to take that risk on him, or David Wells demanded a trade and the Blue Jays needed to deal Wells for whatever they could get in return.

Either way, this trade was a big blunder of the Gord Ash era, and could very well have been the beginning of the end of his time as the Blue Jays General Manager. He was ultimately fired from his post later that season.

It was a costly lesson learned, but one that hopefully still resonates with the front office to this day. It's imperative that General Managers do their homework on prospective trade targets, especially when it comes to injury history.

One wonders what Mike Sirotka's career with the Blue Jays could have been like, but at least there's one person out there in the Sirotka fan club.

Image courtesy of @mybabyisaverage

Brett Lawrie Unleashes on Bill Miller

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

Brett Lawrie is used to slamming his batting helmet into the ground celebration ... not anger. Like most, I always assumed Brett Lawrie's aggressive style of play might cost the Blue Jays a few games, but never like this.

Lawrie is a very rare breed of baseball player these days in that he wears his passion for the game right on his sleeve. You never have to wonder how he feels about a particular situation, because it's always very clearly shown on his face and his play on the field.

I very much appreciate Brett Lawrie's enthusiasm, but passion's evil cousin anger reared its ugly head last night. While I can understand why Brett was so upset, it definitely does not in any way excuse him for slamming his helmet towards an umpire.

His outburst towards Bill Miller notwithstanding, did Brett Lawrie have a case? Both the 3-1 and 3-2 pitches were questionable, so let's take a look at what set Brett Lawrie off.

3-1 Pitch

The overhead cameras really caught how truly far this pitch was off the plate. At no point does the ball even come close to crossing the plate, not even in the back corner. Perhaps Jose Molina's incredible pitch framing ability had something to do with it.

3-2 Pitch

Now, the 3-2 pitch isn't quite as ludicrous ... if anything it's a borderline call at the top of the strike zone. One can argue that Brett Lawrie was going to trot down the line regardless and Bill Miller was also going to call it a strike no matter what.

The catalyst for the overreaction on the 3-2 pitch was Lawrie's reaction to the 3-1 pitch; he was nearly half way to first base by the time Bill Miller called strike two. Perhaps Miller thought Lawrie was trying to show him up, and in turn he retaliated by calling an emphatic strike three.

As I said off the top, Brett Lawrie is a very passionate ball player. He plays the game 100 percent unfiltered, and while most fans can appreciate that, maybe it rubs some people the wrong way. And that can even include some umpires around the league.

Having said that, it doesn't excuse umpires like Bill Miller and Bob Davidson to umpire with an agenda. In a perfect world, the Major League umpires would be held accountable for their actions just like the players, but what happens to the umpires will remain behind closed doors.

Unfortunately, what most people will remember from this incident is Brett Lawrie's freakout and nearly hitting an official with his batting helmet. In no way am I condoning what Brett did, but it's instances like these that really show the glaring inefficiencies of Major League officiating.

I do sympathize somewhat with umpires because they do have a thankless job. But the men in black should just stick to calling balls and strikes, fair and foul balls, and not be seen or heard from. And yet there are some like Bill Miller who find it necessary to insert themselves in the game.

This all hearkens back to a very old school style of baseball. The Bryce Harper/Cole Hamels plunking brought the whole issue of pitchers intentionally hitting opponents to light, and the Lawrie/Miller incident brings the umpire's influence issue to the forefront.

It's one thing for players to go eye-for-an-eye and plunk each other to send a message, but it's another when an umpire gets involved and tries to show up a player by making a ridiculous call just to send a message.

Both Brett Lawrie and Bill Miller were both in the wrong last night for what they did. But there's one big difference; Brett Lawrie will have consequences for his actions, and Bill Miller will not ... or at least, we'll never hear about it.

Video: Bautista and Lawrie's Dugout Dancing

It all started with Edwin Encarnacion, and now it looks like the rest of his teammates are getting in on the fun of dancing in the dugout.

Over the weekend in Minnesota, Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie put on their best dance moves in the dugout. It really must be getting contagious in the Blue Jays clubhouse.

A Review of the New Blue Jays Uniforms

Image courtesy of TheStar.com

During the Back2Back reunion in 2009, the Blue Jays went into the vault and dug their old home white uniforms for the special occasion. At the time, I recall thinking just how great it was to see those old uniforms back once again.

I don't think I was alone in hoping that these uniforms would reemerge one day again in some shape or form. Luckily, our prayers were answered.

It might seem odd to review the new Blue Jays uniforms, but I figured now is a good a time as any to evaluate how they look. After all, at this point we’ve been able to see the new set in action for over a month now.

A few weeks ago, Eric from Definitely Not Jays Talk asked me about my thoughts on the new uniforms and I said I could not be more pleased with the results. The Blue Jays could not have done a better job of rebranding and re-imaging themselves in the off-season.

At first, I was a little unsure about the new serif font (which is Penumbra Half Serif for those counting at home), but now I think it’s grown on me. The in-game graphics on Sportsnet and the Blue Jays website look very sharp and crisp; a stark contrast to the previous logo and uniforms.

While the fans were pretty vocal about their thoughts on the old set, I was very surprised to hear that Alex Anthopoulos despised them just as much as we did.



Maybe it was the bright lights, the comfy red chair and George Stroumboulopoulos' boyish charm, but I was a little shocked to hear the General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays use words like "brutal, awful and embarrassing" to describe the previous uniforms.

And the new set really does put the old one to shame. I think the huge difference is obviously the incorporation of the colour blue back into the uniforms. I can’t say for sure if it’s the exact pantone of Blue, but the colour is brilliant both literally and figuratively.

One of the best things about seeing all those photos from Blue Jays Spring Training earlier this year was the sea of blue. It really is a much more appealing colour to the eye, and it manages to be eye-catching without being gaudy like the Marlins Marlins uniforms.

With the black, it seemed like the logo faded into the background whereas the new uniforms are distinct. That particular hue of blue that's the most predominant in the blue alternate uniforms was the perfect choice.

I know the Blue Jays won’t come outright and say which of their three jerseys has sold the most, but I’m willing to bet it’s the blue alternate. I own one myself and if you haven’t seen one up close yet, trust me when I say the uniform is even more beautiful in person.

I’m not usually one to buy a white uniform, simply because it becomes a magnet for dirt and beer spills, but I’m leaning strongly towards picking up a home white jersey as well. It's a very classic looking ensemble, capped off with that beautiful blue cap.

You’ll notice that the Blue Jays actually have four different uniform configurations this time around: the home whites, the away greys, the home alternate blue with home white pants, and the away grey pants combined with the home alternate blue jersey.

Even the away grey jerseys are very sharp looking. I think having the constant of the blue cap for all three versions of the uniform was a very wise idea. In previous years, I had no idea which games dictated which cap/uniform combinations.

Were the away greys always worn with the “toothpaste T” caps? Were the alternate home black uniforms always worn with the primary logo cap? There was a bit of confusion as to which caps always went with which uniforms.

My only criticism is that you’ll notice the actual size of the Blue Jays logo is very different depending on on which cap it is. The fitted hats all feature a fairly large sized bird on the front, but several of the adjustable caps have a much smaller primary logo on the cap.

Images courtesy of Jays Shop

For those such as myself who just can’t pull off a fitted cap for one reason or another, you’ll have to resort to an adjustable cap with a much smaller logo on the front. But this issue doesn’t really pertain to the player’s caps, just to fans looking to buy caps.

I think the Blue Jays made a very wise decision to go with the solid blue cap rather than going with a white-paneled front cap. As much as I love my old Blue Jays cap, I find it to be more of a novelty or fashion cap rather than one you'd want to see on the field.

That's where I think the Baltimore Orioles made a crucial mistake in the design of their new uniforms. While they also decided to go back to their roots, the Orioles opted to go with the white panel cap to go with their home uniforms.

Even though I endorse the O's reverting back to the cartoon bird as their primary logo, there's something that doesn't sit quite right with the white panel cap. Personally, I think it would look much better with a solid black cap instead.

I guess that goes to show that very subtle things can make a big impact on the overall look of a new uniform. If the Blue Jays chose to use a white panel cap, who knows how people might have reacted to the new uniforms. It may only be a minor thing, but it's those details that make all the difference.

To the untrained eye, there might not be much difference between the old logo and the new one, and perhaps that was all part of the plan. Eventually I think it will get to the point down the road where people will see the new logo and just assume it’s the old one.

A new generation of Blue Jays fans are going to grow up watching this team, and all they'll ever know is the latest version of the logo and the uniform. And I think that's a good thing because this set is an homage to the old one, and not a carbon copy.

I can possibly see a tweaking of the primary logo down the road, but the new Blue Jays font itself doesn’t need to change. The bird could be streamlined a little bit and I think the size of the maple leaf could be taken down a touch.

Much like some of the fans who were kids during the heyday of the Blue Jays dynasty, I think the new Blue Jays logo and uniforms have matured as well. Where the old logo may have looked a bit minimalist, the new bird has evolved.

The fans have grown up ... and the logo has grown up too. But this one set that's going to stick around for many years to come.

Flashback Friday: Ernie Whitt's McDonald's Commercial

Have you ever been sitting in your local McDonald's enjoying a nice McChicken sandwich, only to look up briefly and see Ernie Whitt across the restaurant? Apparently this scenario happened for one young lady.

For this week's Flashback Friday, we take a look back at Ernie Whitt's McDonald's commercial from 1986.

This isn't the first time that a Blue Jays player has been featured in a McDonald's commercial, as George Bell and even Bobby Cox have appeared in spots for Mickey D's.

The most incredible part of this commercial is that there was a time where Blue Jays caps were only $1.99. Heck, you can't even get a large fries for that much these days!

Video courtesy of the ever-awesome RetroOntario Youtube channel