The Blue Jay Hunter

Building a Bullpen

2012-01-25T12:44:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-24T10:17:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-16T10:33:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-10T11:29:00.000-05:00


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.

AA's Suggested New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-05T11:10:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of the New Year's Resolution Generator

Far be it from me to tell anybody else what their own New Year's resolutions should be, but I at least wanted to offer my resolution suggestions for the Toronto Blue Jays.

They aren't your typical "go to the gym" or "quit smoking" goals, for Alex Anthopoulos I have to create a special list of resolutions. Knowing his reputation as the Silent Assassin, I'm sure these have been on his radar for years anyway.

Resolution One: Sign Brandon Morrow to a Contract Extension

Outside of Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow is really the only other mainstay in the starting rotation who is all but guaranteed to keep his spot. Romero was awarded his contract extension last summer, and Morrow is certainly next in line to get his.

Brandon Morrow is entering his fifth year of team control, meaning he could very well walk away a free agent by season's end 2013. That's a dangerous proposition for the Blue Jays, which means AA should lock Morrow up sooner rather than later.

If Alex Anthopoulos was hoping this past season would provide answers as to whether they should sign Morrow long term, he probably walked away with more questions than anything. A Jekyll/Hyde 2011 instilled a few doubts about Brandon Morrow, so the Blue Jays should approach this situation with cautious optimism.

With his history of injuries, I'd be less inclined to give Brandon Morrow a five-year contract like Ricky Romero's, but would rather buy out his two final years of arbitration and tack on a few extra years to make it a four-year deal at most.

The potential for Morrow to be a dominant starter in the AL has always been there, it's just a matter of everything clicking for him at once, and more importantly staying healthy.

With so many question marks surrounding the Blue Jays starting rotation, they're going to have to take a bit of a calculated risk and extend Brandon Morrow. It's far better than the alternative of letting him go for nothing and losing a solid number two starter.

Resolution Two: Figure Out What to Do With Travis Snider

This resolution has actually been a few years in the making, but 2012 is the year that this will all hopefully come to a head. This time around, AA needs to figure out what the Blue Jays are going to do with Travis Snider.

Unlike the Brandon Morrow dilemma, there isn't as much of a sense of urgency to resolve the Snider matter, but it's quickly creating a log jam in the outfield with the bevvy of outfielders and really only one full-time position available.

The key to 2012 will be trying to find out how to utilize Travis Snider to their full potential. Should he just be the starting left fielder outright? Or perhaps John Farrell should platoon Travis Snider and Eric Thames in left?

I'm not saying Snider's name needs to be handsomely written in calligraphy on the lineup card every single game, but there's no sense in having Travis Snider on the roster if he isn't going to get consistent at bats.

If they can't find a way to get Travis into the lineup, then I'm sure another team will gladly take to the task. If Snider finds himself on the bench more often than not, then you can sure Alex Anthopoulos' Blackberry will be ringing off the hook with offers.

Resolution Three: Find a Second Baseman

As of now, the Blue Jays do have a starting second baseman for the 2012 season in Kelly Johnson. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess as to who will slot in up the middle infield next to Yunel Escobar.

Judging by AA's aversion to signing free agents, it's pretty evident the Blue Jays won't be dipping into the free agent pool to find a second baseman. Which means it's either going to come down to a Kelly Johnson extension, or a trade for a new second baseman.

I assumed the Blue Jays were just going to sign Kelly Johnson to a 2-3 year contract extension at season's end, but maybe they really only see KJ as a band-aid solution.

There's no telling which second baseman would be tops on AA's wish list, but you can be sure he'll be trying his best to bring them to Toronto. Getting all this done before the 2012 off-season really puts the Blue Jays under the gun to find a long-term second baseman.

One other faint possibility is the prospect of shifting Yunel Escobar over to second base, and giving the reins at shortstop to Adeiny Hechavarria. However, most reports indicate Hech is nowhere near ready to make the leap to the major leagues, and he'd need to be ready to start by Opening Day 2013.

Adeiny only made the call from AA New Hampshire to AAA Las Vegas in mid-August, and 116 plate appearances is not nearly a big enough sample size. Not to mention, Hechavarria's defense up the middle as well.

Again, that really puts the club in a tight spot to find a long-term second base solution, so perhaps keeping Kelly Johnson around for the next couple of years is the safest bet.

Bolstering the Bullpen

2012-01-02T00:08:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

After five months on the south side of Chicago, Jason Frasor is now back in familiar territory with the Toronto Blue Jays. For his family's sake, I hope he didn't already sell his place in Toronto back in July.

Bolstering the bullpen was one of Alex Anthopoulos' top off-season priorities, and with the acquisition of Jason Frasor and pending a physical of Darren Oliver, AA can safely cross that one off the list.

The miraculious part of all of this is the Blue Jays were able to plug the holes in the bullpen by means of just a few trades. All it took was three prospects to get two major league relievers in Sergio Santos and Jason Frasor.

Even though the Darren Oliver signing isn't official yet, one can assume the terms will be pretty reasonable as well. When all is said and done, it's a very small price to pay to assemble a team of high calibre relievers.

When it comes to Frasor, I think it was a case of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone". Jason Frasor was a mainstay with the Blue Jays bullpen for so long that I think I just took him for granted.

During his eight year tenure with the Blue Jays and 465 career appearances, Frasor quietly developed into one of the most unheralded and underrated relievers in the club's history. I think part of the reason for that is he never really settled into a defined role until his final few seasons.

It's incredible to think Frasor had two different test drives as the Blue Jays closer; once during his rookie campaign in 2004, and another in 2009. Then there were a few successful stints as the setup man, proving that Jason really has bounced all over the bullpen.

All I can say is it's very reassuring to have a veteran right-handed weapon like Jason Frasor back in the arsenal, and I'm sure John Farrell will thoroughly enjoy his presence back in the bullpen.

So with the recent additions of Jason Frasor, Sergio Santos and Darren Oliver, the Blue Jays have shored up a good looking bullpen (on paper at least). There's no question there is now a great deal of bullpen depth on Toronto's 40-man roster.

Assuming the Blue Jays go with a four-man bench and seven-man bullpen, that means the relievers will likely be comprised of Sergio Santos, Jason Frasor, Casey Janssen, Carlos Villanueva, Jesse Litsch, Darren Oliver (pending) and Luis Perez.

That leaves Joel Carreno, Chad Beck, Aaron Laffey, Jim Hoey and others on the outside looking in. Personally, I'd consider Carreno a favourite to crack the Opening Day roster, but even if he doesn't, it's a luxury to have him in Las Vegas waiting in the wings just in case of an injury.

After a bit of a disappointing season in regards to relief pitching, Alex Anthopoulos has quickly remedied the situation and bolstered the bullpen quite nicely. What used to be a bit of a weakness on the roster will hopefully be a strength.

There will undoubtedly be some question marks on the roster this coming season, but at least relief pitching is one aspect of the Blue Jays game that we won't have to worry about very much in 2012.

Asking a King's Ransom for Starting Pitchers

2011-12-22T16:16:00.001-05:00

Is it just me, or has the market for starting pitchers been especially crazy this off-season? And not just contracts delved out to free agent SP's, I mean the market for selling starters as well.

It really has been a seller's market these past few months. If the recent trades are any indication of what it takes to acquire an innings eater, I can fully understand why Alex Anthopoulos has been reluctant to give up the farm for a starting pitcher.

One name that has been constantly swirling around the Blue Jays blogosphere and Twitterverse has been Felix Hernandez. Sure, he could step in and immediately take the reins as the Blue Jays ace, but at what cost?

If the Nationals gave up their #3, #4 and #9 prospects just to get Gio Gonzalez, you can only imagine what kind of king's ransom it's going to take to pry Felix Hernandez away from the Mariners.

And that's assuming that the Mariners are even considering offers for Felix, because all reports indicate that they're not shopping him whatsoever. But one wonders how many more 60-something win seasons it's going to take for the M's GM Jack Zduriencik to change his tune.

So if it took four elite prospects for Gio Gonzalez, what can we expect in the way of a package deal for Felix Hernandez?

If we're talking just prospects alone and no players with Major League experience, I think it takes at least five of them and maybe even six. We're talking all your favourites: Travis d'Arnaud, Jake Marisnick and/or Anthony Gose, Daniel Norris, and others.

All of those guys would undoubtedly be high on the Mariners wish list. Conversely, if the Blue Jays included a few Major Leaguers, that would thin out the herd as far as prospects goes, but it would mean parting with someone like Brett Lawrie.

Now you can start to see the high price it would take to get Felix Hernandez. The Blue Jays would be getting one of the best starting pitchers in the game, but they'd have to clear the cupboard bare of their best talent to bring him to Toronto.

Not to mention, Felix is only signed for the next three seasons. So after the Blue Jays ship off their top prospects to Seattle, they could just be back at square one come 2015.

The same scenario can be applied if the Blue Jays wanted Matt Garza from the Chicago Cubs. If there's any shed of truth to the rumours that Toronto is interested in Garza, it would still take a boatload of prospects or major league-ready talent to get him.

Garza is only under team control for two more seasons, and there's also a danger he could walk away as as a free agent as well if he didn't sign a contract extension.

To be honest, I'm not even all that crazy about Matt Garza anyway. Sure, he made a living as a Blue Jay killer there for a few seasons (2.14 ERA and a .236 OPP AVG), but I don't think that makes him a trade target.

Another thing that doesn't jive with the plan is neither Felix nor Garza have team-friendly contracts. Felix is set to make $58 million total over the next three seasons. Matt Garza is hitting his final two years of arbitration and his salary could jump to over $10 million a season.

There's no question that both these starters have all the talent in the world and would slot in nicely to the Blue Jays starting rotation. But they're the furthest thing from a bargain, and are receiving top-tier free agent money these next few seasons.

Starting pitchers are always a hot commodity, and for whatever reason an even hotter commodity this off-season. I think it's because every team can always afford to upgrade their pitching and there's always a need for innings eaters.

It would be great to watch Felix Hernandez take the mound every five games for the Blue Jays. Subsequently, that would mean not being able to see Anthony Gose play every day, or Travis d'Arnaud behind the plate, or even Kyle Drabek on the mound.

To me, that's way too high a price to pay for one pitcher who would only be around for the next two or three seasons at minimum. Even if only one of the Blue Jays top five prospects pans out, having them under team control long term is worth more than any ace short term.

Alex Anthopoulos' Christmas Wish List

2011-12-22T10:27:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered what the holidays were like at the Anthopoulos house? If it's anything like I've ever envisioned, it involves a young Alex stockpiling his crappy Christmas gifts and trading them for an NES and a Teddy Ruxpin.

Fast forward 2012 and Alex is ready to do some holiday shopping (whether he wants to admit it or not). Last Friday AA was asked on TSN Radio what his Christmas Wish List was for the Blue Jays, and he responded with this answer:

"We need to shore up the bullpen, add a front/middle rotation starter, and a middle of the order bat."

None of this is earth-shattering news as Anthopoulos has reiterated these needs several times this off-season. It's not new information, but the timing of these needs certainly couldn't be better.

The Blue Jays are in a very unique position because they can cross all three of those things off the list via free agent signings. The only thing it's going to take is money ... and lots of it. And yet the burning question is "are the Blue Jays willing to spend it?"

Alex could very easily fulfill those needs for some bullpen arms, a starting pitcher, and a big bat. The players that fit the bill are still out there, and a crop of this caliber of free agents might not be available again for a long time.

Incredibly, the Blue Jays have not signed one single free agent at all this off-season. Almost all of the player acquisitions have been via trade, with a few arbitration offers sprinkled in for good measure.

So to help out Santopoulos a little bit, I've conducted a list of free agents who fit the criteria the Blue Jays are looking for. If AA wants to do a little last-minute Christmas shopping, he should get on the phone.

Bullpen Help
Top Tier: Ryan Madson, Francisco Cordero, Dan Wheeler
Middle Tier: David Aardsma, Chad Qualls, Mike Gonzalez, Brad Lidge

The Blue Jays already have their closer in Sergio Santos, but a little more back-end bullpen help couldn't hurt. Madson, Cordero and Wheeler are three of the best options still out there, but they would undoubtedly also command the most money.

Perhaps if the closer market cools off considerably in the next few months and the Blue Jays can get one of them to sign to a similar deal like Kevin Gregg did in February 2010, then it's safe to take a pass.

The market for middle tier relievers is still very saturated with the likes of Qualls, Gonzalez and Sherrill. Chad Qualls might be a good addition for the Blue Jays, but it all boils down to the right price. Anything around $2 million would be reasonable for Qualls.

Front/Middle Rotation Starter
Top Tier: Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt, Hiroki Kuroda
Middle Tier: Rich Harden, Jeff Francis, Joe Saunders, Jon Garland

Originally I had Yu Darvish penciled in as the number one free agent target for the Blue Jays, but we all know how that ended. So rather than rehash those memories, let's look at some alternatives.

Edwin Jackson is a perfectly acceptable consolation prize in the Yu Darvish Sweepstakes. In fact, I'm a little surprised a team hasn't signed him already, unless he was just waiting to see what was going to happen with the Darvish posting.

The feature I really like about Jackson is his durability. His past five seasons, Edwin Jackson has averaged 195 innings pitched per season. I wouldn't expect him to have a career year, but one thing Jackson would certainly do is eat up innings.

The rest of the field of free agent starting pitchers doesn't really excite me at all, as most come with a history of injuries. Oswalt, Harden and Francis are three prime candidates, and Saunders and Garland have been mediocre starters who always command top dollar for some reason.

Middle of the Order Bat
Top Tier: Prince Fielder, Carlos Beltran
Middle Tier: Carlos Pena, Casey Kotchman, Vladimir Guerrero

Much like the field for starting pitchers, there is one player here who fits the bill perfectly for what the Blue Jays need: Prince Fielder.

On paper, a middle of the order comprised of Jose Bautista and Prince Fielder would be one of the deadliest in the American League. With Fielder, you're getting a player with a proven track record and he's arguably in the prime of his career right now.

As a Scott Boras client, it would come at a hefty price and a long-term contract. I can't see Fielder wanting anything less than 7-8 years, and as much as I like the prospect of Prince Fielder in a Blue Jays uniform, I'm not certain what a 35 year old Fielder is capable of.

The next best bat on the list is Carlos Beltran, who oddly enough has been connected to the Blue Jays as well. At 34, Beltran would really only be a band-aid solution and would command a shorter-term contract, but likely a higher salary.

Carlos Beltran would be a nice toy to have, but like the bratty kid who's going to get a billion gifts for Christmas, it's a toy the Blue Jays don't really need. Beltran only adds to the logjam in the Blue Jays outfield, and if he were to DH he would then push Edwin Encarnacion to the bench.

As inconsistent as EE was in the first half last season, I'd much prefer his $3.5 million salary to potentially $10 million for Beltran for the same offensive results.

The middle tier hitters is an area where the Blue Jays can afford to take a flyer, as Pena and Kotchman could potentially ink one-year deals. The same problem arises though, as signing one of these guys either pushes Lind or Encarnacion off their position.

In conclusion

By no means am I endorsing the Blue Jays head to the open market to fill all these positions and sign the best players available; that's just not Alex Anthopoulos' style. However, if money suddenly weren't an issue, the team could very easily fill these voids and set up the roster nicely.

With the exception of Prince Fielder, I think the internal candidates to plug these gaps would be much more cost effective and potentially just as good as any other free agent. And they could do it for just above the league minimum salary.

Why sign Chad Qualls when you have Joel Carreno? Why sign Edwin Jackson when you have Kyle Drabek or Henderson Alvarez? Why sign Casey Kotchman when you have Edwin Encarnacion?

If it makes sense to spend they cash to land a free agent, then I don't think the fans will show much resistance. After losing out on Yu Darvish, I think everybody might be a little too anxious to spend the dough just for the sake of spending it.

Here's the catch 22 when it comes to payroll; if the organization goes out and spends a bunch of cash and fails to deliver results, then the naysayers will have a heyday. It's a very fine line that AA has to ride and I definitely don't envy his position.

Regardless of when or even if the Blue Jays sign any free agents at all, here's wishing you all a safe and happy holiday and may Santopoulos be good to you all. I'm wishing for one of the new flashy alternate Blue Jays jerseys myself.

Happy Holi-Jays, everyone!

Yu Darvish Negotiating with Texas, Not Toronto

2011-12-20T10:11:00.000-05:00

After rampant rumours and speculation, the decision on which team Yu Darvish will negotiate was revealed: it turns out he'll likely be taking his talents to Texas (pending negotiations), not Toronto.

Are you a little disappointed the Blue Jays lost out on the Yu Darvish Sweepstakes? You have every right to be. After all, it seemed like Toronto had a legitimate shot at Darvish and were heavily favouredfrom the onset of his posting.

My initial reaction was one of disappointment, but then it was quickly followed up by a huge sigh of relief. An elation that the Blue Jays wouldn't have to shell out $50+ million just for the negotiating rights with Yu Darvish.

It turns out losing out on Yu Darvish might actually be a blessing in disguise for the Toronto Blue Jays. Heck, we don't even know how close or even if the Blue Jays were any where within earshot of the $51.7 million the Texas Rangers put up.

We know the Blue Jays put in a bid on Darvish, but maybe it was just a feeler bid at $30 million. Maybe they went up to $40 million, or maybe they just narrowly missed at $51 million. Unless Alex Anthopoulos is willing to share, we'll never know whether Toronto had no shot whatsoever or were on the cusp.

Again, after the reality check from Bruce Arthur's Yu Darvish piece on Sunday, it all makes sense with what Alex Anthopoulos is trying to build. I don't believe he pinned all his hopes on signing Darvish, and rightfully so.

The funny thing about the whole Yu Darvish thing is it doesn't really change AA's game plan. Sure, Darvish would step in as a great top/mid-rotation starter, but the farm system is stocked with talented starting pitchers.

I'm not saying Deck McGuire, Justin Nicolino, Drew Hutchinson or even Kyle Drabek are going to turn out to be superstars. But odds are, the more high ceilings prospects the Blue Jays have, the better the odds at least one of them will turn out to be successful.

As others have indicated, it makes much more sense to add a piece like Yu Darvish when your team is close or at the onset of turning the page rather than a few years away still.

It might have taken the Blue Jays 3-4 more years for the Blue Jays to work out the kinks and put themselves in a good position to contend, and by then Darvish would be the final years of his contract. Then it's back to square one trying to find the next Yu Darvish, and now the wallet is $120 million dollars lighter.

So where do the Blue Jays go from here? I think they take the money they would've spent on Yu Darvish, deposit it back into the bank and get back to business as usual.

The Blue Jays don't need to spend that money like a hole burning in their pocket. There's no point in spending money just for the sake of spending it, that's not what successful organizations do.

Some think Toronto should allocate that Yu Darvish money towards a Prince Fielder contract. If the Blue Jays were truly serious about Fielder, I think they would have signed him already. A deal for Fielder would not necessarily hinge on one for Darvish ... it's not like there was only enough money to sign one or the other.

Yu Darvish likely would have helped the Blue Jays shortcut their plan, but it would have come with a very hefty price tag. And with a dollar amount like that attached to one player, very rarely does a player ever live up to a contract.

The Texas Rangers may have won the rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish, but that doesn't immediately make the Blue Jays chopped liver. Nothing changes the fact that Toronto is home to a fairly good, young team.

The one thing I really noticed in all this hype about Yu Darvish coming to Toronto is there is a ton of Blue Jays fans out there, a lot more than even I thought. There are a lot of passionate fans who really want to see this team return to the glory days of the 80's and 90's.

After all this, I just hope those fans are just still as excited about the 2012 Blue Jays season. Because even though Yu Darvish won't be on the roster, Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie, Yunel Escobar and many others still will be.

Playing Devil's Advocate On Yu Darvish

2011-12-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of CBC.ca

Up until yesterday, it was full speed ahead on the Yu Darvish Express. I was all for the Blue Jays signing the Japanese phenom. But then something planted a seed of doubt that sprouted some thoughts of apprehension.

It all stemmed from an article Bruce Arthur of the National Post wrote on Yu Darvish. After getting wound up in the Yu Darvish hype, I found this article to be a big reality check and really brought me back down to earth.

Essentially, Arthur said that fans should be surprised if the Blue Jays land Darvish, because it doesn't really fit in with the model that Alex Anthopoulos has been building since he took over the helm.

The main point that Arthur mentioned that really clicked with me is the Blue Jays spent $70 million dollars total on player payroll in 2011. If there's any truth the rumours, the Blue Jays could have paid $50 million plus just for the negotiating rights for one player.

If you take that payroll information into consideration, then it really puts things into perspective.

Why would AA take close to an entire year's worth of team payroll and bank it on merely a posting fee alone? Then factor in the potential contract and the price for Yu Darvish completely eclipses the entire team's payroll.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the Blue Jays sign Yu Darvish. Judging by the buzz around the blogosphere and Twitterverse the past week, I think it's safe to say most fans feel the same way.

Nothing's even set in stone with Darvish, and yet there has been a buzz with fans that I haven't experienced since the 2006 off-season. When the Blue Jays signed A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, and acquired Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay.

The caveat is none of this fits in with "the plan". It goes against everything Paul Beeston has ever said about the posting process, and it contradicts the model which AA has built since day one.

Alex Anthopoulos painstakingly worked to create a lean mean payroll and acquire players with high ceilings. We just witnessed him trade to get a closer in Sergio Santos with a team friendly contract, when he just as easily could've found one on the open market.

Also, this whole Yu Darvish thing doesn't jive with the recent comments about payroll parameters. If the Blue Jays are truly holding back, why would the payroll restraints suddenly become nonexistent?

As a quick aside, as @ChrisArnold33 pointed out to me on Twitter, if the Blue Jays were actually in on Mat Latos "to the end" as Peter Gammons reported, why would they bid high on Yu Darvish?

The Blue Jays would have had to send a boatload of players to San Diego in return for Mat Latos. A move like that seems much more feasible and follows the pattern of what Anthopoulos has done in the past.

Admittedly, I'm just as anxious as any of you are about the Yu Darvish news, but the unique thing about this whole situation is the Blue Jays are in a great position no matter what happens.

Either they get the rights to arguably one of the best pitchers on the market, or they put that money back in their pocket and Alex Anthopoulos sticks with the blueprint and marches forward.

Assuming the Blue Jays don't win the Yu Darvish bidding process, the first reaction might initially be a little disappointment, but that will be followed up by a huge sigh of relief.

If the Blue Jays get Darvish, it might put them over the top, but if they don't get him it's not like Toronto immediately plummets to the bottom of the AL East. This is by no means a "make or break" situation for the club.

In this whole Yu Darvish situation, it helps a little bit to play devil's advocate. On one hand, it would really send a message that the organization is willing to pony up the cash when necessary. But on the other hand, why risk that much money and deviate from the plan?

No matter which stance you have on this issue, I think we can all agree the framework is there for the Blue Jays to become contenders.

Getting Yu Darvish doesn't necessarily change the framework of "the plan", it just advances the timeline for when it will hopefully come to fruition.

Is the Price Right on Yu Darvish?

2011-12-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but as a kid, one of my favourite things about staying home from school was getting to watch the Price is Right. There was something special about Bob Barker and how he corralled those hysterical people on stage.

Perhaps it was because the Price is Right was the forbidden fruit of midday television to youngsters, but it was always a treat to forget school work for a day and catch the gameshow gambit with the Price is Right and Family Feud.

How on earth does any of this pertain to Yu Darvish? For entertainment's sake, I picture the bidding process like an episode of the Price is Right; except once contestants place a bid, they have to wait four business days for the results.

The similarities between the Price is Right and the Yu Darvish bidding process are few and far between, but I'll just stick with my game show theory for the time being. At least it helps the time pass by until the winner is revealed.

Until then, we can only speculate as to which team had the winning bid and exactly how high that dollar amount was, but you can be sure the Toronto Blue Jays at least made some sort of play for Darvish.

While I'm all for bidding on Darvish's services, it's a little contradictory to the comments that Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos have made over the past few weeks when it comes to payroll. Beeston isn't a fan of the posting process, and AA won't confirm or deny anything ... about anything.

I'll agree the whole posting process is a bit contrived, but unlike MLB free agency, there are no biases or player preferences involved. It's all about the Benjamins, baby.

It must make executives extremely anxious as they're going in completely blind, not sure whether their bid blew the rest out of the water, was in the middle of the pack, or a completely lowball offer.

It wouldn't shock me if the Blue Jays placed the highest bid, but I don't think they were planning to go for broke on Yu Darvish. An offer of say $50-$60 million sounds reasonable, but anything beyond that would be in the realm of overpriced.

Something tells me a sleeping giant like the Washington Nationals offered some crazily stupid amount. Heck, if they can afford to pay Jayson Werth $126 million, they can easily afford the Darvish posting fee.

However, if the Blue Jays were in fact the ones who won the bidding on Yu Darvish, it would definitely be sending a message that they want to win sooner rather than later. I wouldn't necessarily consider it a blockbuster signing, but it would definitely be up there.

But is Yu Darvish the kind of pitcher that could push the Blue Jays over the top? I want to say yes, but the realist in me says no. Sure, his stats look great over in Nippon Professional Baseball, but how would Darvish fare against major league hitters? I'm not so certain those numbers would translate over the American League, especially the AL East.

If the bid on Yu Darvish is "sky-high" like MLBTR is reporting, then that means either one of two things; the Blue Jays either got blown out of the water (which is fine), or they are so sold on Darvish that they're willing to do whatever it takes to get him.

After all, Alex Anthopoulos was only one of two General Managers to make the trip to Japan to scout Yu Darvish earlier this season. AA could have just as easily sent a scout to gather intel, but he went himself and I think that speaks volumes as to how serious the Blue Jays were about Yu Darvish.

The interesting thing about the whole bidding process is once we finally find out who actually won this thing, that's when the real fun begins in contract negotiations. So whichever team wins the bidding rights, if they don't work out a deal, then it's null and void and Yu Darvish goes back to playing for the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

And just in case you're wondering ... yes, Plinko is hands down the best game on the Price is Right, and yes, for some reason the music from Cliff Hangers scares the crap out of me.

The Crowded Outfield

2011-12-13T10:32:00.000-05:00


Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

"Outfielders here ... get your outfielders here!" The Toronto Blue Jays don't have and old-timey vendor hocking outfielders down on Bremner, but with the surplus of players who can patrol the outfield, they may as well have.

With yesterday's puzzling acquisition of Ben Francisco, that now makes six outfielders on the Blue Jays roster: Colby Rasmus, Travis Snider, Eric Thames, Rajai Davis, Jose Bautista and Ben Francisco.

But if you add up all the guys with big league experience in the outfield, that list actually balloons to 12 players. Needless to say, the Blue Jays have a bevvy of bodies to cover only three positions in the outfield.

In his conference call with the media yesterday afternoon, Alex Anthopoulos reiterated his plan was to go with five outfielders for 2012. That might seem like overkill, but considering the injury woes Blue Jays outfielders have sustained these past few seasons, that might not be such a bad idea.

AA also said the trade for Ben Francisco won't precipitate another move, which I find hard to believe. Francisco was a non-tender candidate by the Phillies, and why would you acquire a backup outfielder unless another one was on their way out the door?

All signs certainly seem to point to one of the Blue Jays outfielders being dealt, the burning question is which one? Bautista and Rasmus are immediately out of the question, which makes Travis Snider and Eric Thames the top two candidates.

After the news broke of the Francisco trade, some thought this all but signaled the beginning of the end for Travis Snider. There have been plenty of rumours this off-season about the Blue Jays possibly shopping Snider, and now those fires have been stoked once again.

Even though the writing may appear to be on the wall for Travis Snider, I actually think it's Eric Thames that has a far better chance of being traded and could possibly fetch more in return on the chopping block.

We've endured the Travis Snider saga for the past four years, and nothing would set my soul ablaze with satisfaction that to see Snider do well. Of the two, Snider still has the higher ceiling ... even after all the injuries and trips to the minors.

At this point though, the Blue Jays would be selling low on Travis Snider. His potential is limitless, but Eric Thames just barely nudges ahead of him on the depth chart. So it doesn't make sense to trade away a player the Blue Jays have invested in since 2006.

Snider comes with more upside, but Thames just put in a decent rookie campaign during 95 games in the majors. So which of these two outfielders looks more attractive to potential trade partners?

As great as a season that Eric Thames had, if I'm a rival executive I'm gunning for Travis Snider. He's the diamond in the rough with a ton of upside and lots of service time left in his career.

Ideally, I'd like to see the Blue Jays hang to Travis Snider and include Eric Thames in some sort of package deal. One could argue that we've seen the best that Thames has to offer, and while I don't claim to be Miss Cleo, I can't foresee Thames improving upon his rookie campaign.

There's always the possibility trading Thames could come back to bite the Blue Jays, but that's the cost of doing business. Pure and simple, you have to give up talent to get talent.

The Blue Jays have much more time and energy invested into Travis Snider than they do Eric Thames. While Thames' journey to the majors seemingly came out of nowhere, Snider's story has been under the microscope and heavily publicized since day one.

Maybe they would be more willing to part with a nice surprise like Eric Thames than a highly-touted prospect such as Travis Snider? Which means perhaps the time is now to cash in on Eric Thames while his value is at its highest, and to hang on to Travis Snider while his value is at its lowest.

As it stands, that outfield is only big enough for three full-time outfielders, and there's six guys who could all take those spots. All I have to say ... is may the best men win.

If You Come, They Will Build It

2011-12-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of Canada.com

"Payroll parameters"; it was a phrase that was dropped by Paul Beeston earlier this week at the Winter Meetings, and it's a phrase I have a feeling we'll be hearing quite often these next few years.

What exactly does payroll parameters even mean? I'm still not quite sure, but the gist of it seems to be that even though the Blue Jays could spend up to $120 million in payroll, they aren't going to.

Alex Anthopoulos is usually pretty tight-lipped about things like this, but Paul Beeston's comments in Dallas were a little disconcerting:

"We’re still capable of going to the US$120 million payroll once we start drawing the people."

Some might have taken Paul Beeston's words out of context, but what I got from it was "if you come, they will build it".

AA typically shies away from mentioning anything about payroll, and maybe that's just his nature or perhaps it's more of Paul's area as the team president. After all, Beeston has reiterated a few times that the money was there if the Blue Jays needed to boost payroll.

As exciting as it is to hear the president of the Blue Jays feed us this news, the key thing that Beeston said was "once we start drawing the people". Which means that it's in the hands of the fans to help bring up the payroll?

Whether it's in print, on the radio, TV, or any corner of the blogosphere, there's nothing that irritates me more as a fan when people call my (our) fandom into question. Citing "real fans would come down to the ballpark and support this team" just makes by blood boil.

Trust me, the people that truly support the Toronto Blue Jays are going to the Rogers Centre. They're the season ticket holders, they're flex pack holders, they're Toronto Star pass holders, they're 20 ticket pack holders, and they're even the single game ticket buyers.

These folks are there game-in and game-out, and have been for a very long time. In the media, we don't hear about all the fans that were at the Rogers Centre watching the Blue Jays, it's about the fans that weren't.

If Paul Beeston insinuated the Blue Jays would be more aggressive in the pursuit of free agents if more fans came down to the ballpark, that's backwards thinking. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way; fans won't flock to the Rogers Centre in hopes that payroll will increase.

If the Blue Jays want to boost attendance, it's very simple; they have to win. And I'm not just talking one season of making the playoffs, I'm talking the Blue Jays need to be perennial contenders.

Look at the heyday of the Blue Jays in the late 80's and early 90's; they were favourites year-in and year-out, and the attendance numbers reflected that. The Blue Jays were the hottest ticket in town because they were a successful team.

I always chuckle when people say "player X would bring more fans to the ballpark". I'm sorry, but one solitary baseball player doesn't drive attendance numbers through the roof. Sure, it's a bonus to see your favourite player in action, but ultimately fans go to see the team.

The latest example of this can be seen at JaysFansWantFielder.com, whose proprietor suggests that fans would to go X amount of more games if the Blue Jays signed Prince Fielder. It also suggests fans should cancel their Rogers services if the team doesn't pony up the money for Prince.

While the site has accumulated over 1200 "signatures", let me ask those people this; if the Blue Jays signed Prince Fielder but then the team tanked, would you still attend all those extra games to promised to go to? I highly doubt it.

What it all boils down to is a winning team on the field puts fans in the stands. The segment of the extremely loyal fan base will always be there, but the market the Blue Jays are trying to capture are those casual fans. And right now, they might not see the value in going to the Rogers Centre unless the Blue Jays are in contention.

Maybe the Blue Jays hands are tied when it comes to payroll, and maybe they have an endless supply of cash at their disposal. Only the top executives know the truth, but it's not right to dangle a figure in front of the fans and then take it away.

Most folks can see past the arbitrary $120 million dollar payroll amount Paul Beeston lobbed out there and realize what really matters is building a solid foundation and then filling in the pieces later. But the casual fan might see it as "if they can spend up to $120 million, why don't they?"

Those are the exact same fans that the Blue Jays are trying to get down to the ballpark, yet it's also the exact same fans they're alienating by saying they have cash, but aren't spending it.

One can argue the big caveat of the J.P. Ricciardi era was all the big money contracts he shelled out during his tenure as the Blue Jays General Manager. I'll agree they may not have been the best contracts in the world, but there's no questioning J.P. wasn't going full tilt to build a winner.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning whether Alex Anthopoulos is going about things the right way, because I believe he is. What I am questioning is the organization's willingness to spend money ... or at least their public stance on increasing payroll.

I'm willing to chalk it up to a slip of the tongue by Paul Beeston. Perhaps all those questions at the Winter Meetings about Prince Fielder and Yu Darvish finally got to him and his comment was a way to deflect any more questions about spending.

If the money is there and it makes sense to spend it, then do it. But don't dangle a number in front of fans like a carrot and promise them if they buy more tickets, the Blue Jays might just buy that shiny new free agent.

If you build it, they will come ... not the other way around.

Kelly Johnson, Will You Accept This Arbitration Offer?

2011-12-07T10:39:00.000-05:00

In just a few mere hours, somebody could walk away with an arbitration rose, or they could just walk away.

Except if it's the latter, there won't be a limo waiting with a camera inside waiting to film that quintessential single tear rolling down the cheek. Come midnight tonight, we'll know whether ~~Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and~~
Kelly Johnson will accept salary arbitration.

Note: I probably shouldn't have waited until the 11th hour to post this, as Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco have now signed contracts with the New York Mets. Kelly Johnson is the sole player left to either accept or decline arbitration.

Kelly Johnson

Will he accept arbitration? Definitely ... maybe.

With the plethora of multi-year contracts being dealt out to middle-of-the-road infielders, it seemed all but certain that Kelly Johnson would test the free agent waters. But now, I'm not so sure.

If Clint Barmes, Jamey Carroll, and Jerry Hairston Jr. were all awarded multi-year deals, then a second baseman of Kelly Johnson's calibre would have no problem getting a deal.

Most thought that Kelly Johnson's modified Type A status would make him a much more attractive option, and they were right. But why is he still undecided ... is KJ waiting for the Blue Jays to table a multi-year offer before he declines?

Judging by the way Alex Anthopoulos likes to work, I don't think tabling an offer is at the forefront of his priorities at the Winter Meetings. He's likey looking to pick up a second baseman via trade.

But if nothing pans out via the trade route, then the Blue Jays do have Kelly Johnson as a backup plan. The only problem is an offer from Toronto has to look more attractive than any other possible offers Kelly Johnson has out there.

I can't recall where I saw it on Twitter, but someone suggested that Kelly Johnson should just accept arbitration and the Blue jays should bring him back for one year. KJ could then build off a better season in 2012 and hit free agency and go for a better deal next off-season.

It's a bit of a risky strategy, one employed by Carlos Pena this past off-season. By his standards, Pena had a down year in 2009 but then signed a $10 million dollar one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs in hopes of rebuilding his stock.

Pena had a better 2011, but nobody's beating down the door now to bring Carlos Pena to their team. The Cubs have an arbitration offer out on Carlos Pena, and much like Kelly Johnson, he has yet to accept or decline.

If I'm Kelly Johnson's agent, I'm not necessarily taking whatever offer I can get, but if it makes more sense to just accept arbitration from the Blue Jays and take a $7 million dollar one-year deal, I'm doing it.

On the other hand, if a 2-year $15 million dollar offer comes up, then I'm taking that too (this is why I could never be an agent, I'm a horrible negotiator). I guess it all depends on how much Kelly Johnson enjoys that extra year(s) of security that comes with a multi-year contract.

If KJ is a betting man, then he'll accept arbitration and try to have a career season and go for the big money next off-season. However, if Kelly Johnson wants to play it safe, then he should go with whoever offers the biggest/longest contract.

The funny thing is the Toronto Blue Jays could be the team in both of those scenarios. We'll know before the crack of midnight tonight.

Sergio Santos Swapped to the Blue Jays

2011-12-06T14:56:00.002-05:00

Well, the search for the new closer of the Toronto Blue Jays has come to an end; it will be Sergio Santos.

In typical Silent Assassin style, Alex Anthopoulos pulled off yet another blindsided trade, shipping prospect Nestor Molina to the Chicago White Sox for Sergio Santos.

At first, I was a little puzzled by the move because it was just a few weeks ago that John Farrell stated the club had internal discussions that Nestor Molina might be the closer of the future. Having worked with him first hand in Lansing and then New Hampshire, Sal Fasano sung the praises of Molina as well.

Perhaps that was just the Blue Jays talking up their prospects, but then they turned around and traded away their "closer of the future". I'm not sure how serious those discussions were about Molina as closer, but something must have changed since then.

Sure, Toronto could've given Nestor Molina the ball out of Spring Training camp as the closer and gone the rookie closer route. It certainly would've been a cost-controllable option, but there would have been questions about Molina's ability to jump to the majors.

Was that just the Blue Jays trying to add more value to one of their highly-touted prospects? If it was, that was a genius move, but one would think a team's scouting report wouldn't be influenced by what another team says in the media about said prospect.

After the initial puzzlement wore off, I looked at Sergio Santos' contract details and suddenly this swap started to make much more sense. Santos is under contract through 2014 and has three options tacked on to the end of the contract. So if they wish, the Blue Jays can control Sergio Santos until 2018.

That being said, unless Santos transforms into one of the elite perennial relief pitchers in the league, I highly doubt the Blue Jays will be exercising all three of those options for $6 million, $8 million and $8.75 million respectively.

Having a reliever of Santos' calibre for six years is a very valuable commodity, and one I'm sure Alex Anthopoulos prefers to signing Jonathan Papelbon, Heath Bell or Ryan Madson to ridiculous amounts of money.

Judging by the way the closer's market has boiled down this off-season, the price for signing free agents has been very steep ... maybe even much steeper than Alex Anthopoulos anticipated.

Trading one of your top prospects for a reliever is always risky business, but this is not something AA isn't accustomed to. Molina was highly-touted as a starter, but he must have been projected at best as a reliever. In that case, the edge goes to the Blue Jays.

With Sergio Santos, the Blue Jays get a good compromise; a reliever who has two seasons of experience in the big leagues, and who can close out games if need be. He doesn't even necessarily need to be the closer, but he more than likely will take the closer's reins for now.

Now with Zach Stewart and Nestor Molina moving from Toronto to Chicago, I'll have to keep a close eye on the White Sox starting rotation the next few seasons. It will be interesting to see what comes of both of those young arms.

In the meantime, Sergio Santos will take his post at the top of the depth chart in the Blue Jays bullpen. He will no doubt be a pleasure to watch as he misses opponents bats.

And here's a fun fact about Sergio Santos: he didn't give up an earned run on the road all season until September 3rd. In total, he only gave up five runs on the road. Talk about a road warrior!

Santos also held opponents to a .129 AVG on the road and had a 1.47 ERA away from home. Again, I might just be cherry picking stats here for the sake of making this trade look great, but Sergio Santos looks to be a fine addition to the Blue Jays bullpen.

Prince Fielder's Premium Price

2011-12-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

Are the Toronto Blue Jays in on Prince Fielder? Are they not in on Prince Fielder? After what happened on the weekend, I'm a little confused.

The initial "report" out of Cleveland saying the Blue Jays were the frontrunners to land Fielder seemed a little odd to me. Why would an Indians beat writer have the scoop on what the Blue Jays were doing? Unless of course it's Jordan Bastian ... former super Blue Jays beat man.

Then of course it seems like Alex Anthopoulos is adamantly denying any reports. Which makes sense because from the very beginning AA said they were not looking to make any big splashes in the free agent waters this off-season.

Even though my brain tells me the Blue Jays want no part of the Prince Fielder sweepstakes, my inner fanboy is teaming with excitement that Fielder in Toronto might be a faint possibility.

And this is exactly why I think folks on the outside looking in believe the Blue Jays are one of the best fits out there for Prince Fielder; ramping up the payroll is not an issue with Toronto, and he Blue Jays have a need for Fielder.

With the new Blue Jays regime spearheaded by Alex Anthopoulos, I feel like I've been conditioned to detest signing any free agent to a long-term contract. Locking up Jose Bautista was one thing, but paying for Prince Fielder is another.

Players of Prince Fielder's calibre will unquestionably come at a premium price, but the question Alex Anthopoulos and the rest of the Blue Jays front office have to ask themselves is "is it worth it?".

If the Blue Jays truly feel like they have all their ducks in a row and are very close, then by all means they should go for it. Somebody like Fielder doesn't come around very often, and if he's the final piece of the puzzle then it definitely makes sense.

I can't speak on behalf of the organization, but I'd think it's safe to say they aren't quite there yet. One could argue that starting pitching is actually more of a question mark than offense for the Blue Jays, and the team should be looking to upgrade and develop their pitchers further.

While it would be great to get Prince Fielder at his peak with a 5-6 WAR season for the next few years, if the starting pitching continues to be a concern than it will be all for not. I think the team needs to get that in order first before adding any additional pieces.

It's like going to the Pizza Hut buffet and just piling up your plate with breadsticks; sure, the breadsticks are tasty and you could probably eat a million of them, but you need to balance out the plate to have a proper meal. Throw a couple slices of pizza and some salad on there too to even things out.

And now suddenly I have a craving for the Pizza Hut buffet.

Come Back, Kelly Johnson

2011-11-30T11:44:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Images

Here's a question for you; what stands between Yunel Escobar and Adam Lind and has around 400 assists every season? Currently, no one .... because there is a giant gaping hole at second base on the Blue Jays roster.

When Toronto initially acquired Kelly Johnson back in late August, I think most assumed he was not only going to fill the immediate void left by trading Aaron Hill, but that Johnson would also be the Blue Jays second baseman for the foreseeable future.

I myself thought it would go down like this; the Blue Jays get to "test drive" KJ for a couple months, then offer him a 2-3 year deal with an option, and everyone walks away happy. The Blue Jays lock up another position, and Johnson gets a nice paycheque.

Fast forward to today and all Kelly Johnson has to do is decline Toronto's arbitration offer and the Blue Jays will be back at square one for their second base conundrum.

I know a lot of it has to do with the Type A status and the compensatory pick due to free agency, but the Blue Jays need to ask themselves a serious question: are those picks worth letting Kelly Johnson go for?

With all the changes recently to the CBA, one can completely understand why Alex Anthopoulos would want to amass as many picks as he can before the new rules come into effect next year. But right now, I think a bonafide second baseman is much more important than a draft pick.

Judging by the amount of money guys like Clint Barmes and Jamey Carroll have fetched already this off-season, it's a buyer's market for middle infielders. Kelly Johnson will not have a problem finding a multi-year deal somewhere.

And what's even more enticing is his modified Type A status means the team that signs him does not have to surrender a draft pick. All the more reason for a prospective buyer to target Kelly Johnson.

However, this scenario plays in favour of the Blue Jays as well. Although it would seem like a cardinal sin for AA to give up a draft pick to sign a Type A free agent, the Blue Jays don't have to worry about that because they'd be signing their own player.

The power now lies in the hands of Kelly Johnson and his agent. They have until next Wednesday to either accept the Blue Jays arbitration offer and hopefully work out a multi-year contract, or Johnson becomes a free agent and goes elsewhere.

Although the Blue Jays would undoubtedly have to overpay to keep Kelly, I'd much rather see them shell out the dough to keep Kelly Johnson around. I'm guessing he'd command around $8 million per season, but I feel like that money would be well spent.

Sure, Mike McCoy or Luis Valbuena could fill the void at second base. Virtually anybody could come in and fill those shoes. But neither McCoy nor Valbuena can hit for power or get in base like Johnson can, and that's why he's going to come at a premium.

I'm not saying spend money for the sake of spending money on this one, but at some point the front office is going to have to pony up on certain contracts and pay above market value to lock up certain positions for more than one season.

Even though their collapse was the centre of much attention, I look to the ever-dangerous Boston Red Sox lineup as an example of a great batting order. There are virtually no breaks through the 1-6 hitters in their lineup, meaning nowhere to hide for opposing pitchers.

I think in order for Toronto to get to Boston's level, they really need to mimic how the Red Sox have solid hitters in the top two-thirds of their order. The Blue Jays lineup hasn't quite reached that upper echelon, but they're getting there. Adding Kelly Johnson to the mix would certainly help balance out the lineup.

The tough task for Anthopoulos and company now is they have to make Kelly Johnson an offer he can't refuse if they want him to stay. That's why I'm saying the Blue Jays will have to overpay because KJ can sign anywhere else at fair market value.

Perhaps the Blue Jays have some grandiose plan for second base; maybe it means Adeiny Hechavarria breaking camp, maybe it means giving Luis Valbuena a shot at the starting gig, or maybe the Silent Assassin trolls another team for their starting second baseman.

Whatever ends up happening, I don't think it's a bad idea to at least table a multi-year offer to Kelly Johnson. If he accepts, great ... second base is taken care of for the next little while. If not, then Toronto takes the pick and plugs the hole by some other means.

Personally, I would just feel a whole lot more comfortable having that position locked up rather than use the "throw stuff against a wall and see what sticks" strategy.

The Best Moustaches in Baseball: Part Four

2011-11-23T08:59:00.001-05:00

There was a time when they were as commonplace as beer in the clubhouse, and cigars in the dugout. When it was much more common to find a man with one than without one. Heck, even a few ladies had them, too.

No one can explain exactly why, but there's something very special about the relationship between the moustache and the sport of baseball. While the moustache itself is not limited to one specific sport, it's history is most closely tied in with baseball.

Now they are viewed more of as a novelty, but there was a time when growing a moustache was a right of passage for a baseball player. Take a look through a stack of old baseball cards from the 70's or 80's, and you'd be hard pressed to not find some sweet staches.

The deep-rooted heritage between moustaches and baseball grows much longer than the hairs on Rollie Fingers' soup trainer. So we must venture further up the nostrils of baseball moustache history with another installment of the Best Moustaches in Baseball.

Bobby Grich

It's very rare in this age in baseball to find a player who has spent his entire career with just two teams. Grich played 17 seasons in total, split between the Orioles and the Angels.

And through most of his career, he donned a well-coiffed moustache. Bravo Mr. Grich, bravo.

Bob McClure

Representing the fu manchu contingency on this year's list, Bob McClure's moustache is reminiscent of the moustache glory days.

For full effect, McClure combined his cookie duster with the throwback Milwaukee Brewers cap and a head of hair that would even make Ron Burgundy a little jealous.

Gary Gaetti

Gaetti has the distinction of being the only player in baseball history to hit home runs in his first two playoff plate appearances.

That kind of posteason prowess can be attributed in large part to his moustache, since the opposing pitcher Frank Viola likely lost his focus while admiring Gaetti's moustache.

Jim Dwyer

Dwyer played for a total of seven teams throughout his career, but was known as the quintessential pinch hitter. He ranks 16th all time with 103 pinch hits.

Not that any child dreams of growing up to be a professional pinch hitter, but judging by his photo with the Expos, Matt Stairs must have taken after Jim Dwyer as a prolific pinch hitter himself.

Ken Phelps

I know this looks like a photo of a character that Adam Sandler concocted for his next box office flip, but I assure you Ken Phelps and his accompanying moustache are in fact very real.

In my opinion, Phelps not only takes the cake for the top moustache in this edition, but overall hilarious baseball card photo as well.

Dave Winfield

Dave Winfield doesn't necessarily win style points with his traditional moustache, but it's the longevity of his moustache that deserves recognition.

Much like iconic mastachioed men such as Burt Reynolds and Tom Sellick before him, it's hard to imagine Winfield without his moustache.

Robin Yount

As is shown in his picture to the left, Robin Yount mastered the art of business in the front, party in the back, and distinction above his upper lip.

Yount was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but perhaps his distinction as one of the best moustaches in baseball is equally as impressive. Except it doesn't come with a bronze plaque ... yet.

Rick Sweet

Lastly, Rick Sweet caps off this year's crop with another bushy cookie duster. And I have to say, it's a very sweet stache, indeed.

Sweet represents the third Seattle Mariners moustache on this year's list, which leads me to believe the Mariners instituted mandatory moustaches for each player on the roster.

And just in case part four of the Best Moustaches in Baseball just only began to tickle your fancy for lip ticklers, be sure to check out the three previous installments:

The Best Moustaches in Baseball
The Best Moustaches in Baseball: Part Two
The Best Moustaches in Baseball: Part Three

Let's not forget the entire reason for all of this, Movember. I'm sure there's somebody you know; a friend, coworker or family member who is growing a moustache this November to help support Prostate Cancer Research. Please do what you can and support those participating in Movember.

After all, come month's end, most of those moustaches may be gone, but thanks to the internet, the best moustaches in baseball will live on forever.

Reactions to the AL MVP Vote

2011-11-21T15:16:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of Big League Stew

When it comes to overall amazing specimens in baseball, Jose Bautista is one of the best. There's no question he can hit, field multiple positions, he's an astute baserunner and is a great leader to his team.

Apparently those requirements are not enough for Jose Bautista to win the American League MVP Award, as decided by the BBWAA. I guess Jose will have to add the ability to pitch well and sell hot dogs if he wants to garner more votes.

Just so there is no confusion about what an MVP means, the Baseball Writers' Association of America clearly states the following for voting criteria for their Most Valuable Player Award:

Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.
Number of games played.
General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.

All I can say is, really ... Justin Verlander? 13 of 28 voters decided a pitcher was the best player in the entire American League this season, and only 5 thought Jose Bautista was the best. I guess I have to rethink my theory that the writers were hip to new statistics.

It's not the fact that Justin Verlander won the MVP that irks me, because I'm sure we all entertained the possibility that might actually happen. What irks me is how the entire AL MVP results were a complete and utter mess.

In the grand scheme of things and as ludicrous as it was, one stray first place vote for Michael Young did not make or break anyone's candidacy for AL MVP. It was the collective of several votes like a second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth place vote for Young that really gave this year's results a black eye.

Keep in mind that I and several members of the blogosphere may be a little biased towards Jose Bautista. But if you went around the league, I'm sure you'd find most would agree he was at least one of the top five players in the league in 2011. The results show that four writers thought he wasn't.

Again, it's these little things that really set me off and question why some writers have a ballot in the first place. What reasoning did those four writers have for leaving Jose Bautista out of the top five?

Was it because he didn't play for a playoff contender? Was it because he played in Canada? Or was it because he only led one of the triple crown offensive categories? As crazy as all these reasons sound, I'm sure some of them influenced how some writers filled out their ballot.

One could've argued that Jacoby Ellsbury was actually Jose Bautista's closest competition in the AL MVP race. Had Ellsbury won, I wouldn't necessarily have been happy about it, but I would've respected that decision because he was a formidable candidate.

So not only did Jose get hosed, so did Jacoby. He was left off one ballot entirely, and received a 10th place vote for one writer. His voting cluster is much more consistent, but again ... despite what happened to the Red Sox, don't you think Jacoby Ellsbury was at least a top five player in the AL?

In the end, we can't really be mad or disappointed by any one writer's opinion on who was the most valuable player to their team in 2011. It's their prerogative on who they deem as the best in the American League.

What we can be upset at however, is the ability to let the narrative take over and cloud people's judgement on who is the AL MVP. I still believe that had not the Verlander bandwagon been started by whomever, he would never have been in the discussion.

I hate to say it, but this year's American League MVP results clearly send a message that tangible things like cold, hard statistics are being overlooked in favour of intangibles.

Jose Bautista once again had another hell of a season. He now has a third place AL MVP finish to go along with last year's fourth place finish, and hopefully one day he will add that elusive MVP trophy to his collection.

One of these years, perhaps the writers will get it right again.

Everyone Has an Opinion on the New Blue Jays Uniforms

2011-11-21T09:42:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy of CTV.ca

Even though the majority of folks would say the new Blue Jays logo and uniform is a universal success, not everyone is a fan of the brand new design. There's always one in every group, isn't there?

I'm sure by now you've seen the post criticizing the new primary Blue Jays logo. There are some fair points in this post, but then BlogTO went one step further and offered an alternate design.

Image courtesy of BlogTO

Admittedly, most of what I've said on the blog and Twitter this past week has extremely positive (borderlining on homerish), but that's not to say the new logo isn't without its faults.

I think most of the criticisms people have with the new logo are associated with the version wrapped in text and circled with the double lines. To be honest, I'm not too crazy about it either.

The combination of the regular font along with the split-letter font doesn't look consistent, and the maple leaf stem not lining up with the baseball is a minor issue. But luckily, the primary logo being used on the cap and uniform is just the basic bird, sans the font wrap and baseball.

This proposed design change by Rob in the above image frankly looks too similar to the old logo, in my opinion. The thickness of all the lines is much more consistent than what the Blue Jays presented on Friday, but it's just too close to the original for my liking.

Side by side, you can really see the differences between the old and new Blue Jays logo. They are all very subtle, and I've already had trouble convincing some people I know that these two aren't exactly the same logo.

I don't believe the Blue Jays are going to be using the font-wrapped logo with double lines very much anyway, so there isn't really all that much to worry about. I'll be the first to admit it isn't perfect, but isn't that what gives a team logo character?

It's hard to appease every single fan, but if you've seen the polls on the National Post and Toronto Star's website, nearly 8 out of 10 people love the new Blue Jays uniforms. I'd say that qualifies the new uniforms as a resounding success.

Now on to some more positive feedback, reactions from around the blogosphere on the brand new Blue Jays logos and uniforms:

The authoritative opinion on sports logos, none other than Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net also has a few small qualms with the new set, but other than that he says the uniforms are a home run.

Of all the new uniforms unveiled by teams this past week (Miami, San Diego, Baltimore and Toronto), Uni Watch gives the Blue Jays top marks in what they say was the "perfect week in uniform unveilings". It must've been the equivalent of a uniformed solar eclipse for them.

Rob Neyer of SB Nation is a fan of the new livery (livery?), but he said the previous installment of the Blue Jays uniforms were panned as the worst in baseball. Rob, be careful ... you don't want to make the angry bird any more upset than he already is. The poor angry bird just lost his job!

Infield Fly has fashion writer Emma Yardley weigh in on the new uniforms, and she definitely likes what she sees with the Blue Jays going back to their roots.

500 Level Fan knows what he wants for Christmas this year ... a blue alternate Blue Jays jersey. I hope Santopoulos brings one to each and every good little boy and girl Blue Jays fan this year.

Something Old, Something New: the New Blue Jays Uniforms

2011-11-18T12:43:00.002-05:00

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

The new Toronto Blue Jays uniforms adorn each one of these characteristics; they're an homage to the original logo from 1977, but with a modernized look for the 21st century. In short, the new uniforms look fantastic.

When the logo was first leaked back in September, I have to admit my initial reaction was one of confusion. The new version looked very similar to the old one, and along with my others I wondered why the Blue Jays just didn't revert back to the old logo as most of us were hoping they would do.

Upon further investigation, the subtle differences in the logo became more apparent. The lines and colours were streamlined and overall it made the Blue Jays logo look much cleaner and less dated.

Fast forward to today and after first glimpse of the brand new uniforms, I can safely say the Blue Jays have another winner on their hands. It's a great compromise between the traditional Blue Jays look while also looking very modern at the same time.

The part of the press conference which I enjoyed the most was the video montage below of the players talking about what the Blue Jays logo means to them. It gave me chills when J.P. Arencibia said "this is what I grew up knowing ... this bird ... this uniform".

The Blue Jays brought back a key characteristic that was so pivotal in previous uniform designs, and that's something as simple as the colour blue. After all, it makes up half of their name, so it only makes sense for blue to make a triumphant return to these uniforms.

Noticeably absent in the new uniforms is the lack of a white panel home cap. While I was a huge fan of the original white panel cap, I think the solid blue actually looks much better with these uniforms ... even the home whites.

The solid colour looks less like a novelty or custom-made cap and more like a traditional baseball cap. And it manages to fit in beautifully with the home whites, road greys, and alternate blue uniforms.

Speaking of the alternate blue uniforms, it's been many years since the Blue Jays sported a solid blue uniform, and Ricky Romero displayed why it's so great to have that uniform back in the repertoire. I have a feeling that alternate jersey will be a hot seller, next to the home white jersey.

It's also nice to see the split-lettering font make a return which was very prominent in the Blue Jays uniforms up until 1996. Except this time around it's a completely different font, but still manages to look similar to the old jerseys.

The only thing I'm not so crazy about is the overall design of this logo below. The combination of the regular font with the split lettering font along with the baseball and circle looks a little off, but the rest of the logos look fantastic.

The new font is just another minor tweak to the Blue Jays uniforms, but it actually ends up making a huge difference. And I guess that's the best way to summarize these new uniforms; a bunch of minor changes add up to a brand new look.

Ultimately, these uniforms are a perfect marriage between the past and the present. They pay tribute to the glory days from the 80's and 90's, but at the same time these uniforms present a classic look that hopefully will be around for many years to come.

Some might say that this uniform and logo change is just a cash grab for the Blue Jays, but I would argue that the team was in dire need of a change anyway. The uniforms that came in during the 2004 season now look very dated, even though they've only been around for seven years.

Trying to create a modern-looking sports logo is the same as trying to keep up with the latest cell phone. By the time you've already bought it and brought it home, the phone is obsolete. So instead of trying to be on the cutting edge of design, it's better to go retro.

That's not to say these new uniforms won't ever be tweaked or added to in the coming years, but these versions stand a much better chance at holding up over a longer period of time.

Looking back, there are so many iconic images from the past featuring Blue Jays players in those original uniforms. It conjures up so many great memories of the Blue Jays dynasty era, and today officially marks the beginning of a new era.

Hopefully these Blue Jays uniforms will not only be the uniforms today's fans will come to know and love, but the next generation of Blue Jays fans as well.

One Last Sneak Peek at Possible New Blue Jays Uniforms

2011-11-17T11:06:00.008-05:00

In just over 24 hours, the Toronto Blue Jays will hopefully reveal their brand new uniforms. For some of us though (myself included), that's just too long to wait. Not surprisingly, we were also those kids that opened their gifts on Christmas Eve.

Tao of Stieb already did an excellent analysis of the teaser video that was posted yesterday, and after a dozen or so replays, I scoured the video of any glimpse of new information or images of these new uniforms which have been shrouded in secrecy.

Fellow Blue Jays fanatic @Rallycap_Andy noted that fans are trying to pick this teaser video apart for any semblance of content, not unlike what happened with Cloverfield a few years ago. And yes, I also got sucked into that "play a game, get a cryptic clue" thing.

I've taken a few stills from the video and enhanced them a little bit to make the features stand out a little more prominently. First up, Yunel Escobar:

It's hard to catch with the naked eye, but right around the seven second mark, you can make out the faint outline of the bottom of the primary Blue Jays logo. It looks to be the leaked logo back from September, and placing it on the cap fits perfectly.

Next up is Jose Bautista in what appears to be the new Blue Jays road grey uniforms. At the nine second mark, there is a brief glimpse of what looks like the "T" in "Toronto".

Judging by the serif on the font, it's the same one used in the invitation sent out to the media last week. But there's one difference; the rumoured split font that was prominent in the throwback Blue Jays font is making a return.

Compared to the raw font below, the "T" above looks to be in line for the proposed road uniform font. Originally, I thought it might be the first "T" in Toronto, but by the curving on the font it looks like the second "T".

Finally, there's a very interesting screengrab of the back of the possible home white uniforms. Adam Lind's name is displayed prominently in the back in a sans serif font:

Here's the issue; the font in this screengrab above is nowhere even close to the one of Jose Bautista. ~~This leads me to believe there will be completely separate fonts for the home and away jerseys.~~

It's really not all that uncommon, as the latest Blue Jays uniforms also used entirely different fonts for their home white uniforms and alternates as they did their away uniforms.

Update: As Chris noted in the comments section, I am completely over thinking this whole font thing, the throwback jerseys had solid block lettering on the back of the uniforms. Please disregard my note about different fonts.

Even if all these guesses are completely off base, what little we actually did see in the teaser video is very promising. Friday can't get here soon enough!

Sizing Up Jose Bautista's MVP Chances

2011-11-17T09:01:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

I have to admit, I've been very distracted by Friday's new uniform reveal, but for the time being let's take a moment to depart from the jersey talk and focus on another matter; that of the American League MVP voting.

At season's end, I made one last plea for Jose Bautista as MVP, which was essentially just discrediting the rest of the candidates rather than building up Bautista's case. The same stance remains even now, but I'm still not 100% confident that Jose will get the hardware he deserves.

There are a few promising signs, however. The fine folks at SB Nation selected Jose Bautista as their MVP, and so did the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. In both instances, Bautista just narrowly beat out Jacoby Ellsbury for top spot on the ballot.

These results could very well mirror the BBWAA's results for American League MVP, which will finally be revealed on Monday. However, I'm not positive that the Baseball Writers' Association of America will get it right.

The problem is unlike previous years, there is no clear favourite in the American League. Obviously yours truly is a little biased towards Jose Bautista, but cases could easily be made for Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Verlander, and even Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson.

Had the Red Sox made the playoffs, I believe this year's MVP conversation would hinge on the classic "the MVP needs to come from a winning team" argument. Ellsbury could very well have garnered more first place votes because he "carried his team into the playoffs", but that's one pre-written narrative that had to be crumpled up and thrown in the trash.

I think most voters are probably either writing down Bautista or Ellsbury's name on the top of their ballot. The first place ballots are likely going to be split right down the middle, with perhaps a stray first place ballot for Justin Verlander.

Since there is no obvious front-runner, that's why those those second, third and fourth place votes are going to be as crucial as ever, and could end up deciding the American League MVP.

Here's what makes me a little nervous about Jose Bautista's chances, though; I think this entire award hinges on voter's stances on Justin Verlander's place on the AL MVP ballot. If even one or two voters believe Verlander was the best player in the league this year and Bautista was second best, that will cost Jose four points.

Again, I'm not saying it's completely ludicrous for a pitcher to be considered for the Most Valuable Player Award. The problem is there were a few people that piped up mid-season that Justin Verlander should be considered for AL MVP, and that's when the bandwagoners got wind of it and all hopped on board. Had nobody pined for Verlander, I doubt we'd even be having this conversation.

For those who believe Justin Verlander should place ahead of Jose Bautista, let me give you this food for thought courtesy of the BBWAA website in regards to their instructions for voting for MVP:

There seems to always be a debate about the definition of the MVP. What does the ballot say?

Dear Voter:

There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier.

The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931:

1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.
2. Number of games played.
3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.
4. Former winners are eligible.
5. Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.

Go back and look again at number two on the list, number of games played. Justin Verlander played in 34 games in 2011, Jose Bautista played in 149.

Judging how voters have been hip to sabermetrics these past few years, I'm optimistic that Bautista has a decent shot at MVP. If the same writers that awarded Cy Young Awards to Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke are voting on MVP, then Jose will be one of the top vote getters.

Ultimately, each of the baseball writers are entitled to their own opinion, but as in any voting circle, some voters might have their preconceived notions, and some might have been prey to the narratives when casting their ballot.

Jose Bautista should win the American League MVP, but will he?
That's up to the BBWAA to decide.

Revisiting the B.J. Ryan Contract

2011-11-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of Canada.com

Any time somebody says the Toronto Blue Jays need to sign a big name closer, there is one name that is brought up time and time again to refute that school of thought; B.J. Ryan.

The 5-year $47 million dollar contract given to Ryan is used as a prime example why closers should not be handed long-term contracts. And yet, closers continue to reel in big deals, as Jonathan Papelbon proved last week. So should anyone be surprised that the asking price for free agent closers are astronomically high?

In order to learn from one's mistakes, sometimes it's best to venture into the past and look back at what went wrong. It's a subject that only a self-admitted masochist might delve into, but considering that the Blue Jays are currently in the market for a closer, I think it's only fitting to revisit the B.J. Ryan contract.

Let me first paint a picture for you to give you an idea of what the landscape looked like for the Blue Jays following the 2005 season. After finishing with an 80-82 record, J.P. Ricciardi had been given the green light to ramp up the payroll, and with some cash to burn, J.P. inked B.J. Ryan to the most lucrative deal in baseball history for a closer.

The crux of the argument I've always stuck by after all these years is that the Blue Jays should not have signed a capital "C" closer who only had one year's experience prior as a closer in the first place. I'm not necessarily saying every closer that signs a contract has to be experienced in that position, but it only bodes well ... especially if they'll be with the team multiple years.

B.J. Ryan may have been the best closer out on the free agent market, but I certainly wouldn't say he was one that warranted being awarded the highest paying contract ever for a closer. But the Blue Jays had money to burn, and so they locked up a closer and continued to assemble their 2006 roster.

Despite the huge price tag, B.J. Ryan immediately made an impact with the Blue Jays that first season of his deal. The honeymoon season in 2006 with Ryan was awesome; he captured the fans with his enthusiastic run from the bullpen and the celebratory fist pumps.

Within that first season, Ryan proved any doubters wrong by having one of the best seasons by a reliever ever in Blue Jays history. If Ryan's 2006 season was any indication of what was to come, then the ninth inning was something they wouldn't have to worry about in a long time.

The announcement that B.J. Ryan would have to undergo Tommy John surgery was a huge shock at the time. Ryan was a pillar of that Blue Jays bullpen, and it felt like things might crumble without him. However, Jeremy Accardo and Casey Janssen stepped in and bolstered the back end of the Blue Jays bullpen quite nicely.

As exciting as it was to watch B.J. Ryan, I think in the back of my mind I pondered "if a relative unknown like Accardo can fill in as closer on a league minimum salary, why do the Blue Jays need to pay B.J. Ryan almost $10 million a season to do the very same thing.

2008 was the inception of what Stoeten coined as "Uncle B.J.'s Wild Ride". Ryan came back from Tommy John surgery but did not have that same poise as his inaugural season with the Blue Jays. Compared to 2006, his K% dropped from 31.9 to 23.3 and his BB% ballooned from 7.4 to 11.2.

And then 2009 was the beginning of the end. Ryan started the year as the closer, but those control problems reared its ugly head once again. B.J. began to find himself inserted in progressively lower and lower leverage situations until he was eventually let go by the Blue Jays on July 9th 2009.

At the time, I suppose J.P. Ricciardi thought that the best course of action was to cut ties with Ryan and eat the remaining $15 million dollars on his contract. And since B.J. couldn't even pitch his way out of the bottom of the fourth inning without getting lit up, the writing was on the wall.

Of the 40 final batters that B.J. Ryan faced in 2009, he only managed to retire 25 of them. At that point, I can't say I blame the Blue Jays for letting go of Ryan. However, they were the ones who got themselves into that mess in the first place.

If we go by FanGraphs dollar value statistic, B.J. Ryan would have had to put up five consecutive 2006 season's worth of value to get anywhere remotely close to the $47 million dollars the Blue Jays paid him. Basically, Ryan needed to string together five career years to justify that price tag.

Unless you're Mariano Rivera, it's damn near impossible to expect a player to consistently perform at that level, let alone a relief pitcher. The closer's position is an ever-revolving door, and locking into one player for that dollar amount and duration is like playing with fire.

The optics of the signing also may have had something to do with it; it may have partially been about the message Toronto wanted to send to the rest of the AL East.

The signing of B.J. Ryan and A.J. Burnett combined with the acquisitions of Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay signaled that the Blue Jays were willing to up the ante and spend the cash to build a winner.

However, they learned one very expensive lesson with B.J. Ryan - paying top dollar does not equal top talent. If anything, it means paying top dollar could mean you end up with the equivalent of a very expensive paperweight.

Could These Be the New Blue Jays Uniforms?

2011-11-10T08:50:00.001-05:00

Image courtesy of The Star

The holidays may just be just over 6 short weeks away, but as far as Toronto Blue Jays fans are concerned, Christmas arrives on November 18th.

It's officially the worst kept secret in Blue Jays land, but the team is rumoured to be revealing their brand new uniforms and logo next Friday at 12:00pm with a formal on-field announcement.

Invitations went out to the media earlier this week, and Mike Cormack of Sportsnet hinted that the font used on the invitation may in itself be a clue as to what we can expect from the new uniforms.

Personally, I'm dying to see the new uniform and logos and can't wait to see the unveiling. And since I'm so damn impatient, I decided to do a mock up of what could be the new Blue Jays font along with the leaked logo.

Dark Blue Uniforms

Design A: Home Uniform

Design B: Alternate Uniform

Medium Blue Uniforms

Design C: Home Uniform

Design D: Alternate Uniform

Again, this is a total shot in the dark on my part and it was just me Photoshopping what I think the final products could turn out like. I did two different colour schemes, one for each shade of blue in the leaked logo.

Originally, I was leaning more towards the medium blue uniforms, but now I'm starting to warm up to the navy blue coloured versions. It's not the typical "blue" in the traditional sense, but I think the navy blue looks much better than its counterpart.

However, I would give the edge to the medium blue home jerseys because that colour of font tends to stand out more against the white than the dark blue. It could just be that I've been staring at these things for hours, but the navy begins to look like black after a while.

Even if the colours and the designs are nowhere close to what is finally revealed next Friday, I hope the Blue Jays do end up using that font that was on the invitation and on the above illustrations.

Just like the leaked logo itself, there's an old-time feel to it with a modern twist to it, and would compliment that revamped Blue Jays logo extremely well.

My favourite Blue Jays jersey of all time was their 1994-1996 alternate uniforms, and going the dark blue route for the new uniforms (even if it's only for the third alternate jersey) would surely make a lot of Blue Jays fans very happy.

Let me know what you think I'm completely out to lunch with these designs, or if they just might be close to what we'll eventually see next Friday at 12:00pm noon. Feel free to vote on your favourites in the poll below.

Update: Thanks to @LaconicDesign for offering up this much more attractive design of the possible new home uniforms.

Click image to enlarge

Which Design Could Be the Next Blue Jays Uniform?

Expectations Clash on Travis Snider

2011-11-08T08:52:00.001-05:00

Meats don't clash; it's the meme so famously connected to the player on the Blue Jays roster who is an admitted meat aficionado, Travis Snider. Over the years, we've come to discover his love for all things beef, pork, chicken, and even giraffe.

While all those delicious and succulent meats don't clash on one single plate, there is one thing that does clash; expectations for Travis Snider. Some view him as a stud outfielder with 30+ home run pop, and others see Snider as a dime a dozen outfielder.

Gregg Zaun reiterated multiple times during the season that it's sink or swim time for Travis Snider, and I couldn't agree more. The Blue Jays are long overdue to find out whether they have a legitimate stud on their hands, or just another outfielder.

And much like Zaun, I really didn't notice anything different with Snider's swing after he was called back up from Las Vegas in early July. If anything, they might have tweaked his swing slightly, but did it warrant a trip to the minors?

Isn't that something that could've been done with work from Dwayne Murphy and a little extra batting practice? I don't doubt there was some part of Snider's swing that needed work, but it's not like he looked like a kid swinging blindly at a pinata.

There was something fishy about Snider's demotion back then, and there's still something suspect about it now. And just in case there wasn't enough doubt planted in everyone's heads, the Blue Jays sent him back down again at the beginning of August.

Even though it feels like Travis Snider has spent a great deal of time with the club over the years, he's actually only accumulated just over one year of service time. If it feels like the Travis Snider Experiment has been a work in progress, it's because it has.

2012 will mark the fifth season that Travis has spent with the team, and yet amazingly he'll only be 24 years old when Spring Training camp kicks off. Just as a comparison, Eric Thames is a player who is at a similar point in his career, and he's soon to be 25 years old.

Despite Snider's young age and low service time, it still feels like we're nowhere closer to finding out where the Blue Jays stand with him.

By all indications, 2011 was going to be the year where we would find out if Travis Snider was going to sink or swim. It seemed like Alex Anthopoulos and John Farrell were ready to back their once highly-touted prospect and were willing to give him a chance to live up to the hype.

Instead, 2011 was another year of confusion and I hate to say it, but regression for Travis Snider. Now there are even more question marks than ever about him, and whether he'll be ready to reclaim a starting position for next season.

The problem now is there is a young crop of players who have elevated their game to Snider's, and even surpassed it. Eric Thames is a perfect example of that, and arguably he has a leg up on the others for the starting left field job.

So to give the reins to Travis Snider for the left field position is almost unfair to Eric Thames. Again, I hate to say it but Thames is way ahead of Snider on the outfield depth chart at this point. Snider may have more upside, but Thames offers more consistency.

But it's hardly all Travis Snider's fault; I think the powers that be were a little guilty of mishandling him this season. It looked like they didn't want to see him fail at the major league level, and instead hid him in the shadows of Las Vegas.

Not that I'm trying to relate developing a baseball player to raising a child, but with both situations I think you have to let them make their own mistakes. Even if that means Snider batting below the Mendoza Line at the All-Star Break, he needs to understand what that feels like in order to make him a better player in the future.

After all, it's not like the Blue Jays were playing for a pennant back in April and May. Better for Snider to work out the kinks now then a few years down the road when they could be in contention and really need to know what they have with Travis Snider.

The funny thing about this whole situation is if Travis Snider were not with the Toronto Blue Jays, he'd be the exact kind of player that Alex Anthopoulos would be gunning for. Snider is a high ceiling player, but a victim of his circumstance. A change of scenery and a change to play every day would no doubt unearth his potential.

And don't think that other GM's aren't thinking the exact same thing about Travis Snider, because I'm sure they'd be willing to trade for him in a heartbeat. Being under team control for just under five more seasons also makes Snider an attractive acquisition.

I think 2012 is the year that the Blue Jays need to decide whether they want to give Travis the reins and let him have an everyday job, or they need to trade him. With so many young talented players in the farm system, the organization has to figure out where Snider is a viable option in the outfield for the immediate future.

And if he doesn't fit into those plans, then it's time to send him to another team and get as much back in return as they can. You can only yo-yo a player around so much before they begin to develop a yearning for a change of scenery.

Yu Want the Blue Jays to Sign Darvish?

2011-11-03T08:53:00.001-04:00

Call me completely oblivious but I had no idea who Yu Darvish was until this year. He may very well be one of the best pitchers available this offseason, and yet the name Yu Darvish never really struck a chord with me.

That was until recently. With the offseason officially here and the fires of the hotstove starting to get stoked, Darvish is the one name out of all the free agents that could very well be the most intriguing case.

The guys at Mop Up Duty and Jays Journal have a great handle on all the Darvish happenings, but now the possibility of him coming to Toronto really starting to come to the forefront.

MLB Trade Rumours went through their Top 50 Free Agents post, as well as their predictions for where they think those free agents will sign. Not surprisingly, MLBTR has the Blue Jays as the frontrunners to get Darvish.

Despite Alex Anthopoulos' tendency to be tight-lipped on possible signings, we know for a fact that he scouted Yu Darvish in Japan at the end of August. For those debating that may have just been a move to drive up the price of Darvish, you don't travel half way across the world on an 18-hour flight unless you're serious about signing somebody.

Surely when asked about the situation, I'm sure Alex would respond with a typical Anthopoulosism: "I'm just doing my due diligence". There's a big difference though between due diligence and flat out gunning for a player. I think the Blue Jays are doing the latter.

It's unfortunate the Blue Jays still don't have Rob Ducey as their Pacific Rim/Asian scout, because this is where that personnel would really come in handy. One of AA's first duties as the Blue Jays GM was actually letting Ducey go, a move I'm sure he might slightly regret now with the prominence of Yu Darvish over in Japan.

Nevertheless, I'm certain the Blue Jays are being extremely thorough in scouting and researching Yu Darvish. I trust the front office will leave no stone left unturned, and if it gets to the point where Toronto puts in an offer, then it will be a very well thought out offer.

There's no questioning that Yu Darvish would be a high risk/high reward signing for the Blue Jays. Simply due to the dollar figure attached, anything less than a stellar stay in Toronto might be viewed as a disappointment.

However, if Darvish carves up the AL East competition as he did the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball, a $100 million dollar contract might begin to start looking like a bargain.

But do the Blue Jays really need to spend close to $100 million or more for another Brandon Morrow? If Toronto really needed another mid to back-end starter, they could just as easily move Jesse Litsch back into the starting rotation.

Litsch might not light up the competition as Darvish would, but at least Jesse would be dependable starter they could rely on to hopefully rack up 125 innings or so as a mid-rotation guy. And he would do so at a fraction of the price.

When folks say they're wary of the Blue Jays signing Yu Darvish, I can completely understand why they're hesitant. Handing over $100 million dollars to somebody who doesn't have a lick of Major League experience is a risky move. But so is signing Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder to a $200 million dollar contract.

One could argue that signing Yu Darvish would actually be less risky than going after one of the top free agents like Pujols or Fielder because Darvish would command far less money, on a much shorter term.

As with any deal, there is a possibility it could end up being a complete bust. However, we've learned first hand from the Vernon Wells trade that there is no such thing as an immovable contract. Anyone can be made available for the right price.

Nearly every team is looking to upgrade starting pitching. If Darvish falters, the Blue Jays could certainly find a way to parlay Yu Darvish into at least something.

It might be the lack of baseball to the brain, but as the offseason continues, I'm falling more and more in favour of the Blue Jays going after Yu Darvish rather than Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, or even C.J. Wilson.

With a very promising young pitching staff coming to fruition, the Blue Jays don't necessarily need to sign Yu Darvish to complete the puzzle. But in the American League East, it's not enough to have everything fall into place ... you need to be the first one to complete that puzzle.

The parts are all there for the Blue Jays to build a contender, it's just a matter of assembling it. And Yu Darvish may be that one piece that helps Toronto get there just a little bit faster.

Happy Halloween! The New Blue Jays Logo Jay-O-Lantern

2011-10-31T09:02:00.008-04:00

It's hard to believe it's only been three days since the official end of the 2011 baseball season. And already, I'm resorting to adding any semblance of Blue Jays to ordinary activities just so I can keep my sanity.

This year, I decided to carve a pumpkin with the rumoured to be new logo for the Toronto Blue Jays, but it actually ended up looking more like the old Blue Jays logo. Have a look at the split screen and let me know what you think.

Here's a wider angle of the Jay-O-Lantern for full effect:

And it appears as though this whole Blue Jays pumpkin carving thing may be catching on. I'm not sure if you've seen Jose Bautista's Twitter profile picture lately, but he's chosen last year's Bautista inspired Jay-O-Lantern as a Halloween treat for his followers.

If you have any Blue Jays inspired jack-o-lanterns, feel free to let me know via Twitter @BlueJayHunter or feel free to send a picture to bluejayhunter@gmail.com and I'll post them here on the blog.

Have a Happy Halloween everyone!

UPDATE: check out this great Jose Bautista pumpkin carving courtesy of Blue Jays on Fire. It definitely gets top marks for its likeness to Joey Bats ... way better than my version last year.

And this take on the old school Blue Jays logo courtesy of @_skennedy. This is a great carving as well, and I especially like the hat on top of the pumpkin. Nice touch!

The 1992 World Series: Much Closer Than I Remember

2011-10-27T08:53:00.003-04:00

When it was learned which teams would face each other in this year's Fall Classic, I think most baseball fans let out a collective groan. A Rangers/Cardinals World Series? How could that ever possibly be exciting?

Well, Texas and St. Louis have us collectively eating our words as this World Series matchup has suddenly been one of the most exciting to watch in recent memory. On the eve of what could be the end of one very close World Series, I'm reminded of another: the 1992 World Series.

Actually, I was reminded of it by the 1992 World Series Coke can that I have sitting on my desk. I was too young to realize it at the time, but the World Series between the Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves was much closer than I remember.

Talk about a nail-biter of a World Series: all four of the Blue Jays wins were one-run victories, games which could have very easily gone either way. Especially Game 6, which ended in extra innings.

Interestingly enough, the Atlanta Braves actually outscored the Blue Jays 20-17 throughout the 1992 World Series, but Toronto squeaked out just one more hit than the Braves, 45-44.

The interesting parallel relating to this year's World Series is the Cardinals have actually outscored the Rangers 22-19 by and lead by 3 runs and yet trail the series 3-2.

I guess it just goes to show you that World Series matchups which might possibly look like a snoozer on paper may actually turn out to be one of the greatest in recent memory. Just ask the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays.

Back Off Boston, Find Your Own Manager

2011-10-24T08:48:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

It's only natural for people to want what they can't have. But when people get really desperate, that's when something so incredibly unattainable might seem like the only glimmer of hope.

I can only imagine that's how the Boston Red Sox front office must feel like right now. With Terry Francona and Theo Epstein effectively jumping ship, it sounds like they're hoping somebody else will try to captain this Titanic of a wreck back to shore somehow.

I can hearken the Boston Red Sox situation back to this analogy; perhaps Terry Francona played the part of the relaxed parent; the one that tried more to be the player's friends rather than the strong parental figure they needed.

And on the other hand, we have John Farrell; since Francona may have lacked the stern presence, Farrell had to be the disciplinary in the clubhouse. He was the one that the players may have been fearful of, but they respected Farrell.

Again, this is all just speculation on my part, but coming from a household with two polar opposite parental figures, I can safely say this scenario is all too familiar. Once John Farrell left Boston, it sounded like the Red Sox lacked that hard-ass parental figure they needed to keep them straight.

So now the Boston Red Sox want John Farrell back as manager to help restore some order to a team whose reputation has been tarnished. It's a very tall order, but one that apparently Boston is hoping Farrell will consider.

First off, the fact that anyone is Boston is thinking they can just poach John Farrell from the Blue Jays just goes to show how desperate the Red Sox are. If they're looking for their former pitching coach to bring semblance to their team, that's very high and mighty of them.

Secondly, can you really imagine the Blue Jays would let him go that easily? Last year, the front office painstakingly sought out a new manager and screened dozens of candidates. Remember the Blue Jays Managerial Candidate Bracket?

And then to let John Farrell walk right back to a division rival is such a turncoat move, I can't ever fathom it even happening. Why would Farrell even want to go back there, let alone why would the Blue Jays let him?

By returning to the Red Sox, John Farrell would be returning to familiar territory and the relatively same coaching staff. John didn't have that luxury when he took the manager's job in Toronto, and might be a selling feature of going back to Boston if he's allowed to select his coaching staff.

Other than that though, it doesn't seem like a very attractive option for John Farrell to vacate a job after one year, only to make a lateral move to a different team. Then he has the uphill battle of trying to wrangle in a seemingly wild clubhouse. Not exactly the ideal situation for a new manager.

John took his bumps in bruises in his first full year as a manager in the Major Leagues, but that's to be expected. I can't speak from experience, but I imagine the best way to learn in that environment is to make mistakes.

By taking the manager's job in Toronto, I think Farrell was at least granted that grace period that he otherwise might not have gotten in Boston. By leaping into a pressure-cooker environment in Beantown, there must be very little wiggle room.

Not that the Blue Jays don't expect to be contenders either, but their timeline for contention is a little longer than the Red Sox. As we saw, Terry Francona's head was immediately on the chopping block immediately following game 162.

Knowing what John Farrell knows after five seasons with the Red Sox and seeing what transpired this season, I can't ever imagine John would want to return to that environment.

The Red Sox can inquire all they want about bringing back John Farrell, but he's ours now. Back off Boston - find your own manager.

How To Spell Relief in St. Louis: Rzepczynski and Dotel

2011-10-19T08:56:00.001-04:00

Does anybody else find it strange to see two players who were in Blue Jays uniforms in late July, poised to appear in the World Series?

It's more of a testament to what can happen in September, but at the time of the trade, did anyone actually think that the deal involving Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel would be a turning point for the St. Louis Cardinals 2011 season?

If you listened to any of the Cardinals playoff coverage, that's what they made it sound like. Dotel and Rzepczynski not only helped St. Louis get into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, but they also helped them stave off the Phillies and Brewers.

I'm not going to dispute the talent of Marc Rzepczynski or even Octavio Dotel. Both guys have a good track record, and to be honest, along with losing Zach Stewart, I think Marc Rzepczynski was the second most valuable player in that trade going to St. Louis.

Earlier in the year, I think everyone can agree that the Los Angeles Angels got fleeced by taking on Vernon Wells contract. The Blue Jays were the undisputed winners in that trade, and no one could fathom why Tony Reagins would agree to that trade.

I think in some corners of the universe, people are thinking the same thing about the Blue Jays and Colby Rasmus. After the Cardinals traded him to Toronto, they rode off into the World Series while Rasmus struggled down the stretch.

To some, the Blue jays appeared to have lost that trade. However, it's shortsighted to declare a winner and a loser with only two months of results to look at. And yet the Cardinals are heralded as the winners because they got rid of a bad seed in Colby Rasmus and subsequent thorn in the side of Tony LaRussa.

I can't say for certain why the St. Louis Cardinals decided to give up on their star centre fielder, but I imagine part of it had to do with Rasmus' strained relationship with the manager. And it's unfortunate because it makes Colby out to look like the bad guy and LaRussa comes out smelling like roses.

If anyone is still convinced the Cardinals clearly won the Colby Rasmus trade, need I remind them this; Colby Rasmus is an everyday player at a premium position in centre field who is under team control for four more seasons.

Edwin Jackson is a free agent at the end of the season and Octavio Dotel only has an option for 2012. Again, the only thing that may come back to bite the Blue Jays is an emergence of Marc Rzepczynski who is under contract for over four more seasons.

In the end though, both teams got what they wanted out of the trade; the Blue Jays have an everyday centre fielder for the foreseeable future, and the Cardinals shored up some bullpen help and a back end starter for their playoff run.

The results paid dividends for the St. Louis Cardinals in the short term, but I have a feeling this trade will weigh heavily in favour of the Blue Jays in the long term.

Besides, we all know the real reason why the Cardinals made the playoffs in the first place. It was all thanks to this celebratory dance by Octavio Dotel at Busch Stadium in St. Louis back in late June.

Should the Blue Jays Buy or Trade for Franchise Players?

2011-10-14T12:42:00.002-04:00

Image courtesy of CTV.ca

Most stars are built from the ground up, not bought on the free agent market.

Despite what the New York Yankees might believe, paying top dollar for free agents doesn't necessarily ensure an elite level player will continue to perform at an elite level. Just ask them about A.J. Burnett.

I read a very interesting post over at Some Thoughts on Baseball the other day which got me thinking about this topic. Peter had a great breakdown of finding out how baseball's biggest stars were cultivated by their respective teams.

He calculated how the American League's biggest stars were acquired, whether it was via the draft, a trade, free agency, or otherwise. I was surprised to find out that a minute percentage of the AL's best players were signed as free agents.

Peter figured out that a mere 2 out of 37 position players from the AL that posted a WAR of 3.0 or better in 2011 were free agents, accounting for a mere 5% of the league's best players.

The timing of this information could not have been better as some of the game's biggest names are set to test free agency once the playoffs are over. Outside of CC Sabathia opting out of his contract, Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols are undoubtedly the two largest names out there.

I'll admit I get a little googly-eyed when I think about the possibility of the Blue Jays signing Prince Fielder. He seems to be that one big piece Toronto really needs to make a run at contention, and it would take is a boatload of cash to sign him.

However, the more and more I think about it, going after Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols or otherwise does not seem like the right move for the Blue Jays. Paying top dollar for a free agent is basically the anti-Alex Anthopoulos move.

Let's just speak hypothetically for a moment; if the Blue Jays did in fact lock up Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, I'm not saying their skills would immediately drop off once the ink was dry on the contract. But history dictates that paying the max amount of money based on past performance is not a wise move.

Image courtesy of FanGraphs

It's a slight dip, but the WARGraph shows that Albert Pujols is already trending downwards as he enters his thirties. Prince Fielder has yet to get there, but his WAR by age isn't going to continue to progress upwards either. And that level of performance is not sustainable for the entire duration of a long-term contract.

It's a necessary evil for some General Managers to delve out big contracts, but it must drive them berserk that they're paying this free agent X amount of dollars in hopes that they'll continue that level of performance, when in fact it's more than likely to come down.

So where does that leave the Blue Jays? They're continuing to develop players the right way in the minor leagues, but as most executives will likely tell you, they're not coming up fast enough. There needs to be another way to supplement talent until those young players are ready.

That's where the trade comes in handy. It's been the Silent Assassin's primary weapon since taking over as GM of the Blue Jays, and it's netted him Brandon Morrow, Yunel Escobar, and Colby Rasmus just to name a few. And one could argue those guys haven't even hit their peak yet.

The Cincinnati Reds may be adamantly denying they're shopping Joey Votto, but that is the exact kind of move that Alex Anthopoulos would make. The only issue is the Blue Jays would need to package elite prospects or a couple of established Major Leaguers to land Votto from the Reds.

Think the kind of haul the Blue Jays received in return for Roy Halladay, except double it because Joey Votto is under contract for two more years, where Halladay only had one remaining year when he was traded to Philadelphia.

The idea is to acquire somebody like Joey Votto in the midway point of the bell curve, so that the Blue Jays get maximum value from the player during their contract years. And then when that player hits free agency and becomes too expensive to retain, let him walk. It's almost a miniature Moneyball model ... sort of.

Of course, the only advantage to signing a big name free agent is all it takes to get them is money. Albeit hundreds of millions of dollars, but it's something that's replenishable. Elite talent however, that can be much more difficult to replace.

That's why it seems like a bit of a counterproductive move to give away a boatload of prospects just to get Joey Votto for only two years. It feels like it might be a one-step forward two-step back scenario, and then after two years the Blue Jays are in the exact same position ... except minus those blue chip prospects.

So if buying high on Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols isn't the answer, and selling the farm to get Joey Votto isn't a viable option for the Blue Jays, then what is the answer?

Considering Alex Anthopoulos' reputation as the Silent Assassin, it's probably something we haven't even thought of yet.

The BBA Ballot: Awarding the Year's Best in Baseball

2011-10-10T10:18:00.000-04:00

The collective known as the Baseball Writers' Association of America had some tough choices to make prior to the end of the season; they somehow had to whittle down a bevy of players to their top choices for their end of season awards.

As a quick aside, why is BBWAA the acronym for the Baseball Writers' Association of America? Shouldn't it just be BWAA? Since when did baseball become two separate words like "base ball"?

Anyway, the winners of these awards won't be announced until mid-November, but in the meantime the Baseball Bloggers Alliance is collecting ballots for their own end of season awards which will be announced in the coming weeks.

The following is my ballot for the BBA's end of season awards:

Connie Mack Award (Top Manager)

3.) Jim Leyland
2.) Ron Washington
1.) Joe Maddon

I don't know whether it was his hipster glasses, his quasi-silver fox mullet, or his affinity for having the team dress up on road trips, but there's something about Joe Maddon that's very likable as a manager. And luckily he has a great track record too.

Even if the Rays didn't squeak into the playoffs at the last possible second, I likely would've voted for Joe Maddon anyway just because he managed to squeeze every single ounce of productiveness out of his 25-man roster.

Willie Mayes Award (Top Rookie)

3.) Eric Hosmer
2.) Jeremy Hellickson
1.) Mark Trumbo

It seems like for the past few years, it's been a newly-crowned closer that has taken the Rookie of the Year honours. While closing is a high-pressure environment, it must pale in comparison to the daily grind of playing a position day-in and day-out.

This year's cast of rookies was very impressive, including a couple of late-season additions in Brett Lawrie and Desmond Jennings. But ultimately, I think the best freshman in the American League this season was Mark Trumbo.

With the absence of Kendrys Morales, Trumbo stepped in and became the everyday first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels. He also settled in nicely as the Angels number five hitter and picked up the slack left by Vernon Wells in the lineup.

Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever)

3.) Jonathan Papelbon
2.) David Robertson
1.) Mariano Rivera

As much as it pains me to write down the names of a couple of Yankees and a member of the Boston Red Sox, I have to tip my cap to Rivera, Robertson and Papelbon. They all pitch on two of the brightest stages in all of baseball, and to put together seasons like they all did is pretty incredible.

Once again though, it's the Sandman that takes the top spot among relievers in the American League. Coupled together with David Robertson, Mariano Rivera and Robertson were among one of the best 1-2 bullpen punches in all of baseball.

Walter Johnson Award (Top Starting Pitcher)

5.) Jered Weaver
4.) Dan Haren
3.) James Shields
2.) CC Sabathia
1.) Justin Verlander

I can't imagine Justin Verlander wouldn't win the American League Cy Young Award by a landside, but for a pitcher being touted as the best in the league (and possibly even MVP as well), he certainly wasn't far and away the best pitcher in the league.

CC Sabathia very quietly put together another CC-esque season with the Yankees, but all the "Verlander for MVP" talk overshadowed Sabathia's equally impressive 2011 campaign. In the end, I'm awarding my first place vote to Justin Verlander ... but not by much.

Stan Musial Award (Top Player)

10.) Ben Zobrist
9.) Alex Gordon
8.) Ian Kinsler
7.) Adrian Gonzalez
6.) Evan Longoria
5.) Dustin Pedroia
4.) Curtis Granderson
3.) Miguel Cabrera
2.) Jacoby Ellsbury
1.) Jose Bautista

If you read my final plea for Jose Bautista as AL MVP (and not Justin Verlander, Jacoby Ellsbury and Curtis Granderson), then this ballot should come as no surprise. Call me a homer, but I believe Jose Bautista was the MVP.

History has shown these past few years that most voters are hip to Sabermetrics and don't judge a player's season by your traditional triple crown statistics. The past two AL Cy Young Award votes clearly demonstrate a movement away from the conventional measures of a player's worth.

Nobody deserves to benefit more from this movement than Jose Bautista. He led the league in home runs (43), slugging percentage (.608), and finished a mere hair behind Miguel Cabrera for the highest on base percentage (.447).

Forget that prerequisite that some people say the MVP most come from a playoff-bound team, forget momentum from the second half, forget whether certain players come from New York or Boston.

The best player in the league is the best player in the league bar none; there should be no outside factors swaying votes or determining who finishes where in the voting. All those outside factors cast aside, Jose Bautista should be the best player in the American League in 2011.

Revisiting the Mike Napoli for Frank Francisco Trade

2011-10-05T09:01:00.002-04:00

Next to Miguel Olivo, he is perhaps the most infamous Blue Jay in recent memory to likely never actually put on a Blue Jays jersey.

Mike Napoli spent a grand total of four days with the organization, but some would argue the ripple effects of his departure are still being felt today.

When the trade went down in January, it seemed like a bit of a head-scratcher as the Blue Jays were giving up a position player for a reliever with a history of injuries. At the time, I was so giddy Alex Anthopoulos was able to dump Vernon Wells' contract that it didn't really matter what happened after that.

Some are saying that this is one of AA's first big missteps as a General Manager. On the surface, Mike Napoli's 5.6 WAR season far outshone the 0.5 WAR season put together by Frank Francisco, but it's not quite that simple.

Of course, it sucks a little to watch Mike Napoli hit 30 home runs and post a .410 on base percentage for the team that the Blue Jays traded to him. I think it stings even more because Mike Napoli had the kind of season we had all hoped Adam Lind would have.

I believe Adam Lind is part of the reason why the Blue Jays traded away Mike Napoli in the first place. Simply put, they didn't really have a spot on the roster for Napoli after Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion had all the first base/designated hitter positions locked up.

Here's the part that stings about Mike Napoli's season in Texas: although he didn't get the minimum 502 at bats due to some injuries, Napoli still put together a career year in just 113 games played.

His .410 on base percentage ranked third in the American League behind only Miguel Cabrera and Jose Bautista (among batters who had at least 430 plate appearances). Napoli also ranked second in home runs per at bat with a ratio of 12.3 HR per AB (minimum 425 PA's).

Pro-rate those numbers to a 500 AB season and Mike Napoli could have possibly hit upwards of 40 home runs for the Texas Rangers. But who's to say he would've had the exact same season with the Toronto Blue Jays?

Mike Napoli is an extremely versatile utility player and would have no problem fitting into the lineup on most rosters, but the way Toronto's roster looked in January, frankly there was no place for him to get everyday at bats.

Had the Blue Jays not brought back Edwin Encarnacion on that one year contract plus an option, I'm almost certain Mike Napoli would have been slotted in as the full time DH.

Although he never said it outright, Alex Anthopoulos insinuated he gentleman's agreement with Edwin Encarnacion that EE would get the lion's share of at bats at DH. Thus eliminating the need for Mike Napoli on the Blue Jays roster, and instead Alex Anthopoulos flipped him for a commodity they really did need, a relief pitcher.

Player for player, Mike Napoli obviously had the much better season. Regardless of who it is, I'm never really in favour of trading position players for relievers. In my opinion, above average position players offer more value than solid relief pitching. I'd take a team of Mike Napoli's over a team of Craig Kimbrel's any day.

When you really think about, the Napoli/Francisco deal was the antithesis to the typical Alex Anthopoulos trade. Typically he attempts to acquire high ceiling talent, but at the very best the Blue Jays would've gotten a good reliever out of the deal.

On paper, it was a one-for-one trade with Mike Napoli for Frank Francisco, but I don't look at it that way. Essentially that trade was a sub-deal of the Vernon Wells deal. The trades never happened in succession, but I look at it as a three-team trade.

The Mike Napoli trade would not have happened had the Vernon Wells trade not gone down. After Alex Anthopoulos was able to ship Vernon's contract off to Los Angeles, anything that happened after that was a win.

When Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli came back in return from the Angels, the Blue Jays were playing with house money. It was basically a salary dump by the Angels, but Toronto did acquire two players of value in return, as well as getting $86 million off the books.

Viewing the trade in terms of just Mike Napoli and just Frank Francisco, then Alex Anthopoulos may have been a little trigger happy to get rid of Napoli and bring in Francisco. However, if you look at the bigger picture, that $86 million dollars shed in payroll is worth far more in the long run than Napoli's 5.6 WAR season in 2011.

If this trade ends up being one of the biggest "blunders" of the Alex Anthopoulos regime, then the Blue Jays will be in fine shape.

Is this Comment from Joe Carter?

2011-10-03T08:54:00.000-04:00

Typically, I take anonymous comments here with a grain of salt. Whether they be outlandish, unconventional or even vicious comments, I almost always respond to them.

But last night, I received the mother of all anonymous comments that left me absolutely speechless.

It was left on the "Is the Legacy of Joe Carter Overrated?" post that I wrote back in May, and if you look at the very bottom of the post, you'll find this comment:

"Ian, I guess the 396 HR's I hit didn't matter also.
Maybe I just got lucky for 16 years.

You may want to define my career with the WS HR, but it is much more than that. How about in '86 when I was 1 HR, 1 SB, and 1 triple away from doing something that had never been done in the history of the game. ( 300 AVG. 100 RBI's, 100 runs, 200 hits, 9 triples, 29 HR and 29 SB and double digits in doubles).

All these numbers you guys come up with don't mean a thing to me. The bottom line is wins and championships. Everybody has a job to do on a team, mine was to drive in runs and hit HR's.

Do you want stats or championships?? It's a lot of guys that would trade their stats for a championship ring anyday. So don't lose focus on why we play the game!!!! Rings not stats!!!!"

- Joe Carter (Yes the real Joe Carter!!!)

Anonymous comments can come from anywhere and claim to be anybody, but I have a sneaking suspicion this one just might actually be the real Joe Carter (and not just because they say they're the real Joe Carter).

How do I know that? The comment came from near Kansas City, which is Joe Carter's hometown. Again, it could just be somebody from Kansas City pretending to him, but why would they go to the length to type out a comment just to troll a baseball blog?

Rather than assume that this person wasn't Joe Carter, just for a moment let's assume it actually was Joe Carter. If that's him, whoa. Just by the dialogue used in the comment, it sounds very similar to things Joe Carter has said in previous interviews, re: statistics.

If I were Joe Carter, I wouldn't blame him at all for being pissed off for finding that post and being very angry with somebody challenging their entire career. After all, what Major League baseball experience do I have? Zero.

But thanks to advanced Sabermetrics, we have the benefit of looking back and taking a second glance at player's careers from a different perspective. The Sabermetric movement arguably helped Bert Blyleven get into Cooperstown, and I'm sure it will do the same for others down the road.

If this was truly Joe Carter that left this comment on that post, then I am absolutely flabbergasted. My childhood hero now knows who I am, but now he only knows me as some blogger who tried to badmouth his career accomplishments on the internet. Not exactly how I envisioned this happening.

That is not what I intended to do at all, I merely just wanted folks from my generation to challenge their perception of what Joe Carter meant to the Toronto Blue Jays, aside from the historic home run in the 1993 World Series.

The article did not come from a place of malice or hostility at all. I never thought in a million years that the man I looked up to for so many years (and still do) would ever lay eyes on this blog, let alone a blog post that questioned his legacy.

As I'm sure anybody who's ever frequented this site can attest to, Joe Carter was my childhood hero. When I was younger, I prided myself on telling people that "Joe Carter was my favourite player way before he hit that home run!".

During my very first Blue Jays game at the Skydome on October 3rd 1992, I watched the Blue Jays clinch the pennant and Joe Carter hit his 34th home run of the season. At that very instant, I knew Joe Carter would be my favourite player.

There was a streak of about 2-3 times where I tried to catch Joe Carter down at the Rogers Centre during one of his several appearances in 2008 to try to get an autograph. For one reason or another, I just never made it to the ballpark in time.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, if I was that big of a Joe Carter fan, why would I write something with such cruel intentions? Would I really be that vindictive towards Joe Carter if I still have a decorative plate with him on it back from when I was a child?

I'll tell you that the "Is the Legacy of Joe Carter Overrated?" post was the hardest one I've ever written in my life. Not in terms of research or in the time put into it, but just the fact that I was writing something that was criticizing the very man I grew up idolizing.

Nobody knows for certain whether or not that was even Joe Carter who left the comment on the post, but if it was, and if you're reading this Mr. Carter, I apologize if it came across as trying to tarnish your career accomplishments.

It's not something that I'm extremely proud of, but do I stand by my work ... just as you stand behind your body of work of 396 career home runs and 1445 career RBI's. No one can deny that's an amazing feat, and nobody can ever take that away from you.

As I'm sure most people will agree, the vision of Joe Carter rounding the bases is something that will remain ingrained in our minds forever. We'll be telling our grandchildren about the 1992-1993 Blue Jays, and at the centre of that story will be none other than Joe Carter.

As the commenter said, "don't lose focus on why we play the game ... rings, not stats". You can choose to venture further down the rabbit hole and look further at the statistics aspect of Joe Carter's career, but ultimately he was a winner. And at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

Or it was just a troll pretending to be Joe Carter after all, and I've been duped. I guess we'll never know for sure.

One Last Plea for Bautista as MVP (and not Verlander, Ellsbury or Granderson)

2011-09-30T12:16:00.005-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

Most Valuable Player; what exactly does it mean?

Should the emphasis be on most, should it be on valuable? It's a subject that's gotten murkier and murkier as the year progressed, and now that the regular season is in the books, it's time to try to make some sense of it all.

I think where folks are getting confused about the MVP award is that they're trying to judge which players have been most valuable to their team, when in fact they should be judging which player has been the most valuable, period.

It's nearly impossible to quantify which player has been most valuable to their own team, because every situation is completely different. Judging how valuable Jose Bautista has been to the Blue Jays and how valuable Jacoby Ellsbury has been to the Red Sox are like comparing apples and oranges.

Just to reiterate how silly the rationale is that the MVP candidate must come from a playoff team, let's eliminate all the candidates who won't be playing October baseball: Jose Bautista, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez.

When we test that theory, it just goes to show how outrageous this school of thought is. So it's not fair to hold Jose Bautista's team against him when he has no control over what the other 24 men on the roster do around him.

And just in case you weren't sick and tired of the MVP debate already, here's one last plea for Jose Bautista to win the AL MVP. It actually turns out to be a plea not to vote for Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury, or Justin Verlander.

Not Curtis Granderson

One of the biggest arguments against Jose Bautista's MVP chances last year was that while he was far and away the most impressive slugger in the league, his .260 batting average was not that of your typical MVP.

Now one year later, Bautista finished with a .302 batting average and yet his chances don't seem any better. Aside from home runs, doubles and RBI's, Jose Bautista improved in all offensive categories compared to 2010.

What frustrates me is that although Jose Bautista's AVG was .260 last year and people wrote him off for that, they are miraculously able to ignore Curtis Granderson's .262 AVG and yet still put him ahead of Jose Bautista on their ballot.

The big advantage Curtis Granderson has over all the other candidates is he plays on the biggest stage on earth for the New York Yankees. His rise to the top has been well documented around all corners of the baseball world in 2011.

That's the only explanation I can find why Tracy Ringolsby picked Curtis Granderson as his #2 MVP candidate, behind Justin Verlander at #1 and Michael Young at #3. Shockingly, no mention of Jacoby Ellsbury or Jose Bautista anywhere.

On paper, Jose Bautista clearly had the better offensive season, but what about the other side of the equation, defense?

With Curtis Granderson, I feel like there's this perceived notion that he's a really good fielder, when in fact he isn't. Since Granderson has a reputation as being a "fast" player, I believe people just automatically associate that with being a great centre fielder.

The best centre fielders are the fastest ones, right? I think that's where Curtis Granderson is getting the benefit of the doubt because his reputation as a base stealer lends to him being a good fielder.

I'll be the first to admit that Jose Bautista isn't a spectacular fielder, either. Much like Granderson, I think Bautista's reputation proceeds him; it's Jose's strong throwing arm that allows him to have the eminence of being a good fielder.

Not that fielding should be determined on statistics alone, but at the end of the day, that's the only body of work people can really work from. It's not based off a visual memory bank of great catches in the outfield.

Curtis Granderson's UZR was -6.2 compared to Jose Bautista's -8.3. And when it comes to Total Zone Fielding Runs, Granderson comes in at -2 compared to Bautista's 0.

Just as a frame of reference, Brett Gardner had 35 Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average this season.

Not Jacoby Ellsbury

Once again, the thing Jacoby Ellsbury has over Jose Bautista is he plays a premium defensive position, with a difficult outfield configuration at his home ballpark. Unlike Curtis Granderson though, Ellsbury handles centre field very well.

Whether you prefer Baseball Reference's interpretation of WAR or FanGraphs WAR, both Jacoby Ellsbury and Jose Bautista are ranked in the top two of both versions respectively.

The difference between the WAR's for Bautista are slightly different; an 8.6 WAR according to Baseball Reference, and a 8.4 WAR on FanGraphs. Apparently FanGraphs WAR is more weighted on defense, which would explain why Jacoby Ellsbury is up there with 9.6 WAR as opposed to 7.2 on BBREF.

It pains me to say this, but Jacoby Ellsbury is definitely and admirable foe for Jose Bautista as American League MVP. I can definitely see him getting the lion's share of the votes, and they would all be warranted.

I alluded to it off the top, but I think a positive side affect of the Red Sox not making the playoffs is that it should help voters look at Jose Bautista and Jacoby Ellsbury equally, and not lean more towards the Red Sox because they would have made it into the postseason.

Ellsbury would have been hailed for "saving the season" with his 3-run home run on Sunday against the Yankees, perhaps swaying some indecisive voters. But thanks to the Red Sox collapse, we don't have to worry about that scenario.

Not Justin Verlander

Not everyone holds Jose Bautista in as high a regard as the legions in Toronto, and I'm cool with that. A first place MVP vote for Jacoby Ellsbury or even Curtis Granderson is understandable. But what really frustrates me is an AL MVP vote for Justin Verlander.

You're telling me that a man who played in only 34 games is more valuable than a man who plays upwards of 162 games? Given, Verlander faced 882 batters this season and Jose Bautista only went to the plate 655 times, but position players always play both sides of the game.

Jose Bautista was there day-in and day-out, whether it was at third base, right field, or at the plate. Justin Verlander had the luxury of watching every half inning from the dugout, while Jose Bautista was accumulating 3-4 at bats per game.

And despite the story that's been spun by the media the entire season, Justin Verlander was not the head and shoulders best pitcher in the American League this season. Another solid season from CC Sabathia was overshadowed by all the Verlander hype.

For the people trying to justify voting Verlander as MVP, the crutch to their argument is "where would the Tigers be without him?" Yes, Verlander won 23 games, but only 5 of them came against teams with a winning record.

And again, Justin Verlander did not single-handedly win 23 games all by himself for the Detroit Tigers. They would not have 72 wins without him as opposed to the 95 they have with him now. It's another discussion for another day about the pitcher's win statistic, but suffice it to say those wins don't mean very much in my book.

I'm not against the idea of voting for a pitcher as MVP entirely, but not when there was such strong field of position player candidates, and not when that pitcher wasn't far and away the best in the league.

Overall

While I would love for Bautista to win the MVP, I don't expect him to garner the votes necessary to take the award. More than likely, it's going to go Jacoby Ellsbury or heaven forbid, Justin Verlander. However, Jose should hopefully have a strong showing and land in at least the top three.

Don't get me wrong, Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury and Justin Verlander all had fantastic seasons. I'm not discounting anything they did in 2011. All I'm asking is that the writers with AL MVP ballots disregard player reputations, narratives, or any other intangibles that might sway their vote.

Whether or not their team made the playoffs, select whom you believe had the best overall season, and don't consider any outside factors. Don't look at the names ... look at the numbers, and it should be clear who was the best in 2011.

Reflecting on the 2011 Blue Jays Season

2011-09-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Getty Images

It seems like just yesterday we were tipping out caps to a departing Cito Gaston and beginning the search for a new manager. My, how the time flies in Blue Jays Land because another season has come and gone already.

As we watch our cohorts play October baseball, now is the time to reflect and look back upon the 2011 season. It's difficult to summarize what happened this season in one blog post, but I think the best word to describe this year would be: change.

Change came in the way of a new manager, and change also came in the way of many long-time Blue Jays packing their backs and leaving the nest. Change came in the way of many new faces within the organization.

The 162 game schedule came with its fair share of highs and low, so here are the highlights via 22 posts at BJH from earlier this season. Enjoy!

The Home Opener Hangover	The Yunibomber Strikes
Bob Davidson Hates the Blue Jays	Walk-Off Wins Don't Clash
Johnny Mac for Prime Minister	Travis Snider's Demotion
Welcome to the Show, Eric Thames	Jo-Jo is Winless No More
All All-Star Eyes on Bautista	Dotel Celebrates Encarnacion's Home Run
Welcome Home, Roy Halladay	10 Facts About Jose Bautista's First Half
Edwin Encarnacion's Baseball Bizarro World	Christmas Comes Early with Colby Rasmus
Introducing the Man in White	Kelly Johnson joins the Blue Jays
Farewell, Johnny Mac: 10 Defensive Gems	The Jose Bautista Staredown Version 2.0
What's Wrong with Adam Lind?	The Winding Trail Back for Dustin McGowan
Perfect 10 in Extra Innings	The Leaked Blue Jays Logo

Lessons Learned from the 3rd Annual Fantasy Baseball Leage

2011-09-29T08:52:00.002-04:00

A big congratulations goes out to Team Balco for capturing the BJH Fantasy Baseball title. It was a well-fought battle down to the file, and all contestants who made it to the post-season should be proud of themselves.

Incredibly, both of the semi-final matchups ended in a 6-6 tie. Having been familiar with all the tiebreakers from last year, it came down to which team had the better record against the other team during the regular season.

It continues to amaze me each season just how close the matchups are. If I'm ever fortunate enough to make it into the playoffs in the BJH Fantasy League, I know that drawing a tie sometimes isn't even enough.

Here's a look at how the playoffs went down:

Pitching at a Premium

After our draft, I was so proud of myself for spending a grand total of $36 dollars on my pitching staff. That strategy definitely came back to bite me in the ass, because I placed dead last in the ERA and WHIP categories.

Luckily, a pre-season trade to bring in Madison Bumgarner was the only saving grace on the pitching staff, as the rest of the squad was a revolving door of waiver wire pickups which included Barry Zito, A.J. Burnett, and Bruce Chen.

It was a lesson well learned; do not be afraid to pay top dollar for top starters. I'm convinced it takes at least two solid starting pitchers to even have a shot at cracking the playoffs in a 20 team league.

Revolving Door Closers

Speaking of revolving doors, again it's very apparent by my choice of closers why my team only managed to finish 14th out of 20 teams. A duo of Kevin Gregg and Javy Guerra as closers would fail more often than not.

The problem with closers is that it's such a difficult position to gauge prior to Opening Day that drafting any closer can be a crap shoot. Just like the real world, you'll probably have to overpay for a big name early on, and try to swoop in late to close a dark horse closer candidate.

Also, make sure to watch the waiver wire like a hawk, because at any given moment a reliever can go down and other can take their place at a drop of a hat. That's why following @CloserNews on Twitter is a must.

Know when to cut the cord

It's the same conundrum for all managers every year - when to sell high, and when to buy low. Gauging talent and hot streaks is crucial to fantasy baseball triumph, and distinguishing between the two of them can be the key to success.

The decision to either trade or drop somebody altogether is a very tough decision which is amplified even more so by an auction draft. I justified keeping Alex Rios on the roster until July because I stupidly paid $30 dollars for him on draft day.

I should have cut the cord many months prior, and maybe could have picked up somebody off the waiver wire for $0 dollars and their production would have doubled that of Alex Rios.

On the other hand, you don't want to give up on a player too early, either. If players historically have bad April's or May's, take that into consideration. Otherwise, tread lightly when dropping premium talent.

In Conclusion

I'm not sure if I really should be offering any fantasy baseball advice here because last year I finished in 12th place out of 20 teams, and this year I slipped a couple of positions down to 14th place.

Just like in real baseball, the margin of error is very slim in fantasy baseball. One bad week can come back to haunt you big time, and especially when it comes down to a tiebreaker situation.

Thanks once again to all the managers who participated in the 3rd Annual BJH Fantasy League Baseball, and congrats to this year's champion Team Balco. See you all again next year!

Henderson Alvarez: Quietly Effective

2011-09-28T08:57:00.001-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

The Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation has had its fair share of candidates throughout the season, but one of the frontrunners for the 2012 pitching staff might be right under their nose: Henderson Alvarez.

Coming off another strong start last night, Alvarez has very quietly put together a very impressive rookie campaign. I would dare even say impressive enough to earn him a spot in the starting rotation next season.

We saw how Kyle Drabek floundered the big league level earlier this year, and yet Henderson Alvarez miraculously made the transition from AA New Hampshire to the Major Leagues without so much as a hiccup.

Perhaps the most encouraging news about Henderson Alvarez was his ability to go at least five innings in all 10 of his starts this year. For John Farrell to know he can depend on his young starter to go at least five innings is huge.

Also, Alvarez' ability to keep his walks down has been paramount; in 63.2 innings of work, Henderson Alvarez has only walked eight batters total. Just as a comparison, Kyle Drabek walked six batters in one start on May 16th.

Even though his fastball has been clocked in 97 MPH, surprisingly Henderson doesn't miss very many bats inside the strike zone (90.6%) or outside the zone for that matter (76%).

For a pitcher who predominantly throws fastballs, Alvarez keeps the ball on the ground and out of the air for the most part. That 53.5% ground ball rate explains why he's been able to go five innings or more in all his starts.

If Henderson Alvarez can continue to develop his slider as John Farrell is hoping he will, then that could become a very effective out pitch, much like it has become for Brandon Morrow.

With other starters like Brett Cecil and Kyle Drabek earlier the season, you never know what might happen. Henderson Alvarez on the other hand, has remained remarkably consistent since his debut on August 10th.

It's pretty early to start making predictions for next season already, but I think he'll definitely be a mainstay in the starting rotation come 2012. Pencil him in as the Blue Jays fourth starter, maybe even as high as the number three starter.

Next to the bullpen, undoubtedly the starting rotation is the area that needs the most attention in the offseason. I'm not sure whether Alex Anthopoulos will plug those holes via free agency, trade, or promotion from within, but with Henderson Alvarez in their back pocket, at least that's one less starter they'll have to worry about.

Data courtesy of Henderson Alvarez' FanGraphs page

The Quintessential Adam Lind At Bat from 2011

2011-09-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

Pitch F/X courtesy of Brooks Baseball

It's no secret that Adam Lind has battled demons this season both on and off the field. Whether it was in the form of injuries, the transition to first base, or in the form of becoming a new dad, Lind has been a little distracted on the field ... and it has shown.

Quickly glancing at the Pitch F/X above, it might not look so bad. However, if you click on the image and look right at Lind's ankles, you'll see the pitch placement of where Adam Lind swung and missed. It's not pretty.

I've seen golf swings by my brother that were better looking than Lind's hack on strike three, and my brother has played golf all of about three times in his entire life. At least he swings in the general vicinity of the ball.

Had Lind just stood there and not swung, the ball likely either would've hit him or skipped all the way to the backstop and probably scored the game-tying run from third base. Instead, Adam Lind swung at a pitch ankle-height and inside which ended the game.

For those masochists out there who are looking to dig a little deeper, check out it from the MLB GameDay angle. I think this one actually makes it look a little worse.

That at bat in the top of the ninth against Sergio Santos basically encapsulated Adam Lind's entire season; he's had ample opportunities hitting cleanup, but failed to capitalize on most of them.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh on a guy who just witnessed the birth of his first child. But this was not an isolated incident, it was a pattern that presented itself for the better part of the entire season. What I'm saying is Adam Lind was basically masquerading as a cleanup hitter in 2011.

While part of the blame lies on the player, I would also say John Farrell should shoulder a brunt of the blame as well. Why did Farrell continue to run Lind out there in the number four spot when he was clearly struggling?

It hearkened back to CitoCity in 2009 when the manager paraded Alex Rios and Vernon Wells in the 3 and 4 spots night after night, and didn't make a change until a third of the way through the season. I think some of the onus lies on the manager as well.

In the grand scheme of things, this was really just one at bat and one bad pitch that Adam Lind swung at. I fully admit to making a mountain out of a molehill here, but these were the kind of games the Blue Jays need to win if they want to make the playoffs.

And as the Red Sox and Rays can surely attest to, every single game counts. You can't just give away wins because they will come back to haunt you later, and the Blue Jays need to capitalize on opportunities such as the one last night in Chicago.

Unfortunately, when the game is on the line, I just don't trust Adam Lind anymore. When I turned to Sportsnet and saw the bases loaded with Adam Lind at the plate, my mind foreshadowed what was about to happen; a strikeout.

I sincerely hope that Adam Lind can clear his head in the offseason and recharge his batteries in the offseason and do whatever he needs to do to come back in 2012 as a refreshed player.

I wouldn't expect Lind to return to his 2009 self, but something a little better than his 2010 and 2011 incarnation would a nice compromise.

Moneyball Movie Review

2011-09-26T08:57:00.001-04:00

Image courtesy of Movies.About.com

"The first one through the wall always gets bloody" - this idiom uttered by Boston Red Sox Owner John Henry perfectly encapsulates what this movie is all about. Being a trailblazer sometimes comes at the expense of criticism.

The film Moneyball was adapted from the critically acclaimed book by the same name, written by Michael Lewis. In the movie, Brad Pitt plays the central character - Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane.

Initially, I thought that the enemy was the New York Yankees; the organization where money is never an issue. Or, as Billy Beane referred to the Yankees in the film, the Yankees just "used other teams as their farm system".

While the Yankees embody the shortcut to success, they are not the enemy in Moneyball. The main antagonist in this film is conventionalism: in the form of A's manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), head of scouting Grady Fusion (Ken Medlock), and the general baseball community.

The entire film is about Billy Beane fighting conventionalism in many forms, all the while battling demons from his past as a former highly touted five-tool prospect. Being only one of a few former players turned General Manager at the time, Beane saw baseball much differently than other executives.

Right from the start, Beane has the uphill battle of trying to rebuild a team who lost three integral pieces of their roster and has to turn to unconventional methods to fill those gaps. That's why Billy Beane recruits an economics major from Yale, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to right the ship once again.

A large part of the success lies in part due to Peter Brand, and the scenes that Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill's characters share are very entertaining. The clashing styles of their characters work in a very strange way, much like I'm sure they did in Oakland's front office.

Having read and reviewed the Moneyball book over three years ago, I had a tough time recalling which elements of the book were prevalent in the film. The only noticeably absent thing from the movie that was prevalent in the book was Beane's drafting strategy. However, Beane's tendency to avoid selecting high-schoolers is not something I would re-write into the film.

In fact, considering that this film was adapted from a non-fiction book, I'd say they did a fantastic job of crafting it into a modern-day baseball movie. Kudos to the screenwriters for finding a way to convert a book predominantly about statistics into a compelling movie.

In one of the early scenes of the film, Billy Beane is at a table surrounded by the Oakland A's scouts as they attempt to figure out how to replace the power of a departing Jason Giambi with talent within their farm system.

The dialogue used by the scouts to describe the prospects is a plethora of tired, old cliched phrases that in no way actually quantify a player's worth. If that was an accurate portrayal of how baseball scouts still operate, then it's no wonder Billy Beane turned to the Moneyball philosophy.

Watching Peter Brand help turn the Oakland A's team into an on-base machine made me wonder if the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees do the exact same thing in their respective war rooms. Both teams are notorious of grinding games to a halt, but both the Red Sox and the New York Yankees teams take lots of pitches.

It seems to be no coincidence that these teams that control the pace of the games see the most success. They let the game come to them and capitalize on their opposition's mistakes. If that isn't a strategy that's already being employed by other teams, then maybe it should be.

Billy Beane's pet project in the film (and the book for that matter), was failed catching prospect Scott Hatteberg. After they pick him up as a reclamation prospect from the Boston Red Sox, Hatteberg blossoms in his new role as a first baseman.

Witnessing Hatteberg's character and player development in the film, the very first thing I thought of related to the Blue Jays was none other than Edwin Encarnacion. The two players arguably have a similar career arc; notoriously bad fielders/throwers at one position that found new life at another.

That's where I feel the Moneyball influence is very prevalent within the Toronto Blue Jays front office. It seems like there are shades of Billy Beane in Alex Anthopoulos, as AA tries to reincarnate Edwin Encarnacion as an effective player just as Beane did with Scott Hatteberg.

Overall, the Moneyball movie isn't really a rags to riches story of a team that went from worst to first. It's about a team that went to the playoffs, and then went to the playoffs again the following year. But the second time around, they did it without integral pieces of their 2001 run.

The 2002 Oakland A's aren't presented like the conventional underdogs similar to the Cleveland Indians in Major League. Yet, you still find yourself cheering for the Oakland A's as Billy Beane and Peter Brand use Sabermetrics to fight conventionalism.

We all know how the Oakland A's 2002 season ended; by a 3-2 series loss in the ALDS by the Minnesota Twins. The team assembled by Billy Beane managed to win 103 games during the regular season, but they couldn't win the last game of the season.

The 20-game win streak was by far my favourite part of the movie. It's no secret what happened during that run, but even in the movie, I got goose bumps when Scott Hatteberg hit the walk-off home run to win the 20th game.

The only criticism I have of Moneyball is that at two hours and six minutes, the movie may be a little on the long side. Although, it doesn't feel like a two hour flick because the pacing in Moneyball is pretty consistent.

I wouldn't even say one has to read the Moneyball book to develop an appreciation for the movie, as the film stands on its own as a great piece of work, let alone perhaps one of the best baseball movies out there.

It's no Bull Durham, it's no Major League, but Moneyball is a solid flick. Baseball fans will really enjoy it, and even if you don't like baseball, the performances by Pitt, Hill and the rest of the cast make it all worthwhile.

In Moneyball, Pitt's character Billy Beane says "it's hard not to be romantic about baseball". And after watching this movie, you'll find it difficult not to fall in love with the game all over again.

Animated Gif: Edwin Encarnacion's Walk-Off Home Run

2011-09-23T11:36:00.001-04:00

Click image for Animated Gif

Do you think there was any chance Edwin Encarnacion was watching tape of Carlton Fisk or Bill Mazeroski before tonight's game? Because EE certainly mimicked their actions to help will the ball fair and over the fence.

Thanks to his walk-off home run, the Blue Jays finish the season with a 11-0 record at home in extras and are now in the record books as the only team to accomplish that feat in a single season. Thanks Eddie for helping the Blue Jays go out on top at home!

Acid Flashback Friday: the 1992 World Series Parade and Celebration

2011-09-23T08:53:00.000-04:00

Each year, Toronto sports fans anxiously await with hope and optimism that their team will make the fabled parade route down Yonge Street. Luckily, the Blue Jays only had to wait 15 years after expansion to celebrate their first championship.

For this week's Acid Flashback Friday, we take a look back at the 1992 World Series Champion Parade in Toronto. Apparently 52,000 fans packed the Skydome that day to honour the World Series Champs.

The parade and Skydome celebration is broken up into eleven segments in total.The players don't actually arrive to the stage until about halfwaly through part five, but feel free to peruse the rest for some interesting interviews and montages.

The celebration at Skydome was emceed by Jerry Howarth and the late Tom Cheek. The broadcast in its entirely is nearly three hours long total, and every member of the Blue Jays roster and training staff gets a chance to take the mic and thank the fans for their support.

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Part Ten

Part Eleven

Among some of the highlights: seeing Jack Morris and Mike Timlin in cowboy hats, Roberto Alomar singing the Atlanta Braves fight song, hearing Dave Stieb's pronunciation of the word "grown", and Todd Stottlemyre's comment about thanking his wife.

And of course, the penultimate moment of Dave Winfield unveiling the 1992 World Championship banner. If you skip through everything else, at least make sure you watch the final video of Winfield's speech and the banner reveal in Part Eleven.

The Leaked Blue Jays Logo: Is it Legit?

2011-09-22T12:58:00.002-04:00

Image courtesy of The Star

At first, I thought it might have been a hoax; but as reputable news sources and websites continue to jump on this story, I'm starting to think more and more that this will be the new Blue Jays logo.

When Getting Blanked first ran with the story yesterday, there was something about the logo that didn't sit quite right. My initial reaction was that the photo looked doctored and way too similar to the original Blue Jay to be a new design.

The first red flag is none other than the red leaf; it just doesn't look like it belongs. With the size of the leaf, things look a little disproportionate and heavily weighted on the ride side of the logo. But I guess with the beak on the left side, it kind of evens things out.

Then I thought, if the Blue Jays were going to mimic the old logo so closely, why not just revert back to it anyway? I would be perfectly content in just going back to the old uniforms from the glory days anyway.

However, if we examine the old logo and this rumoured logo side by side, they are actually quite different.

The major changes are: the removal of the baseball in the background, a more streamlined, modernized Blue Jay, a much different colour scheme between the top and bottom of the bird, and obviously a much bigger maple leaf.

And actually, it's almost as though whoever designed this logo melded the old Blue Jays logo with the cap logo from 1999. Here they are side by side with the leaked logo:

I know the Blue Jays have a tough task of trying to reinvent the wheel here, but if this logo is in fact legitimate, I think they have a winner on their hands. I actually prefer the new colour scheme over the old one anyway, and the streamlined Blue Jay is still an homage to the past without looking too dated.

The maple leaf placement still seems a little weird to me, but it's something I can definitely get used to ... and it's already growing on me. It will be interesting to see how this new proposed logo would be worked into the uniforms, and which colours they might use.

Anyway, all signs point to it being pretty authentic. The MLB logo placement on the new Blue Jays logo and the new Miami Marlins logo is in the same spot, and the font above the new logos is the same as well. Then again, anybody with Photoshop could easily put that together.

So what do you guys think: if this new leaked logo is in fact the real deal, do you approve?

Frankly, I think they could have done much worse. Just look at the new Miami Marlins logo for example. That salmon colour should have no place in a professional sports team logo ... ever.

Old Blue Jays logos courtesy of Chris Creamer's Sports Logos

How Close Are the Blue Jays to Contention?

2011-09-21T12:55:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of The Star

Remember the fabled “five-year” plan? It’s something we can joke about now, but during the previous regime, it felt like an empty promise. It sounded similar to something a politician would say to win over indecisive voters.

For J.P. Ricciardi, the plan worked … at least for a while. Admittedly, I even bought in to it and was thrilled to see the Blue Jays ramp up their spending on player salaries past the $100 million dollar mark.

Even when all those things came together, it never really felt like the Blue Jays were close to contention. Rather than being proactive and bolstering their farm system and scouting, it seemed like they were waiting for either the Red Sox or Yankees to fall out of contention for their window of opportunity.

Fast forward to 2011 and things are even more competitive than ever. What used to be a two horse race in the AL East has now become a three horse race. As the Red Sox can surely attest to, the margin of error is slimmer than ever to reach the post-season.

After watching the contrasting styles at the helm of J.P. Ricciardi and Alex Anthopoulos, one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t structure your entire strategy around what other teams are doing around you. The Blue Jays certainly should be cognisant of what the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays are doing, but their plan shouldn’t be based on external factors.

With the way things are proceeding for the Blue Jays, I think most can agree that the Blue Jays are on the path to success, but the real question is – how long will it take them to get there? Personally, I believe it’s sooner rather than later.

If you asked me at the beginning of the 2011 season when I though the Blue Jays might be ready to make a run for the playoffs, I likely would have answered 2013 or 2014 at the very earliest. With all the acquisitions and trades this year alone, I’d say that timetable might have been moved up to 2012.

The thing that really indicated the Blue Jays might be pushing for the playoffs now was the acquisition of Colby Rasmus. Toronto already had a centre fielder in place with Rajai Davis (albeit a very streaky one), so the upgrade in the outfield to me signaled a slight shift in AA’s plan.

One thing is for sure, the bar for excellence has been raised in the American League East. And it takes a culmination of every aspect of the team (pitching, hitting, defense) clicking on all cylinders at the same time to even have a shot at the playoffs.

The Yankees and the Red Sox pitching staffs have left something to be desired, and yet despite those shortcomings, they are poised to capture a couple of playoff spots. So for the Blue Jays to surpass them, Toronto has to be that much better.

As for areas where the Blue Jays can improve, obviously the bullpen and the starting rotation are the two major concerns. I’m not certain whether that means they need to bolster the bullpen and rotation with free agents or offseason acquisitions, but as it currently stands, there are just too many question marks on the pitching staff for the Blue Jays to be contenders.

Maybe like the Atlanta Braves, everything will just click with a young bullpen and not much will have to be done at all. Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters seemingly came out of nowhere and become the equivalent of Ward/Henke from the Blue Jays glory days.

As far as the starting rotation is concerned, I think the Blue Jays need solid efforts from at least three of their five starting pitchers. Ricky Romero can be counted on, Brandon Morrow is working his way back into the good books, but after that it’s a lot of “what if’s”.

Sometimes, even the best laid plans go awry. Alex Anthopoulos could go out and sign C.J. Wilson and Jonathan Papelbon and both could have horrible seasons. History dictates they would probably be okay, but you never know what could happen with free agents.

Nobody can say for certain whether it will take two years, five years, or ten years for the Blue Jays to put together a squad that can compete with the elite of the AL East. But I think we can all agree that AA is going about things the right way.

Bolstering the scouting staff, developing players in the minor leagues and acquiring high-ceiling talent is a much more sustainable strategy than just plucking the best free agents off the market and hoping for the best.

Even with the most highly-touted prospects, there are never any guarantees whether or not they will develop into the superstars they may be billed as. But the more high-ceiling players the Blue Jays have like that in their system, the better the chances at least one or some of them will actually pan out.

Nobody wants to shoot themselves in the foot and guarantee that the Blue Jays will make the playoffs within the next five years. As comforting as that might be to hear, I’d rather see the Blue Jays go through their growing pains in the short term to so long as it leads to long term improvement and success.

Perfect Ten in Extra Innings

2011-09-20T13:41:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Getty Images

The Toronto Blue Jays have battled all season long to keep their heads above .500. It's been a back and forth struggle as they have never dipped five games below .500, and they have never reached more than four games above .500.

If it were up to them, I'm sure they would much prefer every game at home in extra innings, because that's where they are undefeated this season at 10-0. Toronto has not lost a single game all season at the Rogers Centre beyond the 9th inning.

With four additional walk-off wins in the bottom of the ninth, that means the Blue Jays have walked off 14 times this season, or 18 percent of their win total. Now folks no longer dread a game going into extras at the Rogers Centre.

Perhaps the best piece of news comes via animated giffer and infamous Tweeter @James_In_TO, that the Blue Jays 10-0 record at home currently stands as the Major League record for the most wins in extra innings at home without a single loss.

If the Blue Jays can hold on for their final three games at home and not lose past the 9th inning, they would indeed become the all-time winners at home during a single season in extra innings.

Congrats to the Blue Jays on hopefully retaining this dubious record, and let's pray for no more "free baseball" this week at home. Or at the very least, if it does happen, Brett Lawrie is somewhere in the immediate vicinity on the lineup card.

The Weekend That Was

2011-09-19T08:59:00.001-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

I have a confession to make; I was a horrible Blue Jays fan this past weekend. Of the three games against the New York Yankees, I only watched one. It's not something I'm proud of, but just wanted to get that out of the way.

So you'll have to forgive this mishmash of topics, as there really isn't one cohesive theme to this post. Just a grouping of a bunch of random thoughts in one place.

First off, congratulations to Brandon Morrow on what was likely his best start of the season. And of course I decided to let him go off my fantasy team this week, and he throws eight innings out shutout baseball.

Just another Saturday morning garage sale

I was at the game on Saturday, and the Blue Jays had their annual Jays Care Garage Sale. Having never been to one of these, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But they did have some pretty interesting things for sale.

Most of it was just merchandise autographed by former players; baseballs, bats, hats, etc. I thought it was funny they were selling a Brett Wallace game used bat. Did he even ever have a major league at bat before he was traded?

Nothing really peaked my interest at the table, so I ventured down to the Jays Shop where everything was 50% off. And also being a sucker for bobbleheads, I couldn't stop myself from purchasing a $3 dollar B.J. Ryan Bobblehead.

The weirdest thing was the guy right behind me in line had a B.J. Ryan Bobblehead as well. As the line snaked around the store, I overheard him say "I can't believe I'm standing in a line this long for something that's $3 dollars".

So I turned around, and low and behold the two of us had the exact same thing in our hands. We both acknowledged how odd the purchase was, but that at the price, it was too hard to resist.

C.B. Bucknor was kung fu fighting

As far as the game was concerned on Saturday, the thing I noticed the most was how home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor was having way too much fun calling third strikes on the Blue Jays.

Not to mention his strike zone was a little questionable, but he always called third strike with an emphatic punch. From my vantage point, it looked like he was doing kung fu or something.

And just to back up my suspicion that Bucknor was favouring the Yankees that game, any time the Yankees struck out, it was a very subdued version of his emphatic motion. I think C.B. wanted to look good on the highlight reel.

Let's go easy on Adam Lind

Lastly, I was reading John Lott's article on Adam Lind from Saturday's National Post and couldn't help but feel sorry for Lind. He's had a tough year, but some folks are writing him off completely and pulling the trigger on a trade to send him elsewhere.

We all have our own demons, and Adam Lind has obviously struggled with them this past year. The transition from DH to first base has taken a toll on him, and it has undoubtedly affected other aspects of his game. It's no secret to him, his manager, or the fans for that matter.

Baseball is an escape from the everyday for most of us, but the players have to live with it 24/7. If you or I have a bad day at work, we just go home and shake it off. But all the fans get to see Adam Lind's bad days at work, and after having that many bad days in a row, it must really add up.

All of Lind's hard work at first base has paid off, but it has some at the cost of his effectiveness at the plate. With the season winding down, I hope Adam Lind can clear his head and come back in 2012 as a renewed player.

Acid Flashback Friday: Roy Halladay's Beehive Commercial

2011-09-16T08:53:00.000-04:00

Toronto Blue Jays_ "Beehive" :30TV from Gary Holme on Vimeo.

Over the past few years, the Blue Jays have put together some pretty memorable television commercials. For me, none were as memorable as the crop of spots put out in 2008.

For this week's Acid Flashback Friday, we take a look at Roy Halladay's "beehive" commercial from the Blue Jays advertising campaign.

After watching a bunch of hapless hooligans attempt to knock down a beehive with rocks, Roy Halladay walks up out of nowhere and throws a stone as precisely as his cut fastball to bring the beehive down.

Halladay's robotic preciseness plays well into this commercial, and I think my favourite part is Doc celebrating with a subdued fist pump and walking away from the situation as the kids fight off swarms of bees.

For someone whose moniker is "Doc", you'd think he might have been a little more concerned for those children's health. Oh, who am I kidding ... those punks probably had it coming, anyway.

Animated Gif: Brett Lawrie Crashes Into Jason Varitek

2011-09-15T08:58:00.000-04:00

Click image for Animated GIF

There's no question Brett Lawrie is a show-shopper; but for a brief moment, Jason Varitek put the brakes on the Blue Jays most promising young player.

Unfortunately, I didn't see this happen live, but as you can tell by the multiple angles of the impact, Brett Lawrie ran full tilt into Jason Variek in attempt to lodge the ball free and score a run.

This is the second Brett Lawrie animated gif this week alone, and it's gotten to the point where creating a Tumblr solely devoted to Brett Lawrie animated gifs has crossed my mind.

It was a somewhat questionable play to send Lawrie home as he was out by a mile, but in a close one-run game, I can see why the Blue Jays would want to be aggressive and force the action at home plate.

I don't think Lawrie was anticipating the throw to come to the plate that quickly, but he was barreling down the third base line faster than a locomotive, and hit with the force of one, too.

Is there any chance Brett played hockey as a kid in Langley, BC? Because he treated Jason Varitek's body as if it were the boards at his hometown hockey rink. With Varitek's helmet flying off, it looked a lot worse than it actually was.

Some wondered had Lawrie slid into home rather than running full boar to the plate, would he have had a shot at getting the tag down? In my humble opinion, no. Lawrie doesn't strike me as the kind of player who would be graceful enough to pull off the swipe tag.

From the time the ball hit the bat, Brett committed to putting the pedal to the floor and he was going to come at Varitek like a Mack truck. But instead of lying there writing in pain on the ground, Varitek held onto the ball.

Varitek appeared to just brush off the incident as though a wayward mosquito had just flown into him by mistake. You wouldn't know it by the animated gif, but Brett Lawrie was the one who received the brunt of the collision as he suffered a bruised knee and had to exit the game early.

Thankfully, it did not affect his ability to don a tutu after the game. Maybe this means the next time it looks like there will be a collision at home, Lawrie will just grand jete over the catcher and land on home plate safely

The Morning After a 18-6 Loss

2011-09-14T08:32:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

Judging by the box score, you might think it was the New England Patriots that defeated the Toronto Argos. Even though it was similar to a football game score, rest assured that was a Major League baseball game.

Even being the eternal optimist, I'm having a tough time trying to find a silver lining in last night's 18-6 loss at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.

Pitching was not the specialty of the evening, as nearly everyone on the Blue Jays pitching staff (save for Chad Beck, who only threw one pitch) had trouble shutting down the Red Sox. Those three outs in the bottom of the eighth were especially difficult to watch as five runs were scored with two out.

Ordinarily, six runs would probably be enough to outscore the competition. However, this is a team with the Rays nipping at their heels. Kevin Youkilis is playing through bursitis and a hernia, which means the Red Sox aren't screwing around.

Although, I do recall Jose Bautista played with a hernia from May to September last season and still managed to hit 54 home runs. Kevin Youkilis doesn't disguise his feelings on borderline pitches, so I can image the same applies for injuries.

Aside from Jose Bautista's 42nd home run, J.P. Arencibia's 23rd home run, David Cooper's 3 for 5 night and Adam Loewen's great catch in centre field, there really wasn't all that much to look back on with fond memories.

Wait ... there actually is a silver lining! After much debate, Brandon Morrow stayed firmly planted on the bench on my fantasy baseball team. The temptations of high strikeouts was tempting, but ultimately I couldn't do it.

Though it didn't really help much as Cole Hamels and Justin Masterson gave up a combined 10 earned runs anyway. And the Fantasy Baseball Gods had their way once again.

Brandon Morrow's Eerily Opposite Home/Road Splits

2011-09-13T14:25:00.001-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

Something odd happened while I was doing a little pre-liveblog research for tonight's Blue Jays/Red Sox game. After combing through Brandon Morrow's home and road splits, it was very apparent that he is two completely different animals.

The tale of Morrow's differences at the Rogers Centre compared to away games were very well documented last season. But this year, it's as if the Baseball Gods have flipped a switch and reversed his splits for 2011.

	W-L	ERA	BA	SO/9	BABIP
Home 2011	4-8	6.91	.284	10.5	.357
Road 2011	5-2	2.97	.188	10.3	.249
Home 2010	8-1	2.74	.221	10.6	.312
Road 2010	2-6	6.72	.281	11.3	.384

Marc from Over the Monster jokingly said on Twitter that the Man in White has it out for Brandon Morrow this year. I suggested that the Man in White only works on one-year contracts, and Morrow had not renewed his services for the 2011 season.

It's very eerie how completely opposite Brandon Morrow's home and away splits are from 2010 and 2011, and perhaps the culprit is right there in the table as well: BABIP. Could that be the reason for the polar opposite splits?

FanGraphs had a great post last week painting a brighter picture for Brandon Morrow in the future. They suggest his strand rate of 64.4% has lead to more runners crossing home plate, and his pitch selection may also be causing problems as well.

Comparing his pitch types year over year, Morrow is relying more heavily on the fastball and slider this season, and veering away from the curveball and changeup. Given, the fastball and slider are Brandon's bread and butter pitches, but maybe it's time to change the plan of attack when things aren't working.

It's especially frustrating for Brandon Morrow owners in fantasy baseball because the potential for racking up K's is huge, but lately it comes at the price of ERA and WHIP as well.

At this very moment, I still don't know whether to leave Brandon Morrow on the bench, or to have him start tonight. With it being the finals in my one league, I don't think I'm going to leave it to chance. However, Murphy's Law of fantasy baseball dictates he'll throw a complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts.

By no means do I think it's time to panic or suggest he needs to be converted back into a reliever. Brandon Morrow has been the victim of an unusally high BABIP once again, and hopefully things will even themselves out next year.

Brandon Morrow is a bit of a victim of his own circumstance though; his "all or nothing" power pitching style doesn't bode well for that batting average on balls in play. And it still baffles my mind that opponents have not yet grounded into a double play with Brandon Morrow on the mound.

But if Morrow's home and road splits reverse again next year, I think we can attribute that to none other than the great power of Jobu.

The "Where Were You in '93" Contest

2011-09-13T08:52:00.003-04:00

It stands as one of the most polarizing moments in Canadian sports history; one of those universal "where were you" anecdotes that everyone has a story for.

When Joe Carter helped the Blue Jays win Game 6 of the 1993 World Series with that infamous walk-off home run, it solidified the Toronto Blue Jays as World Series Champions.

Now you can relive that glorious moment over and over. Play the "Where Were You in '93" Contest, and you could win a free copy of "Baseball's Greatest Games: 1993 World Series Game 6" DVD courtesy of A+E Home Entertainment/MLB Productions.

All you have to do is fill out your name, email address, and where you were when Joe Carter hit that fateful home run on October 23rd, 1993.

Your answer could be as simple as jumping up and down your parent's couch in excitement (my answer), maybe you were lucky enough to have been there for the calamity around the Skydome, or perhaps you were only in your mother's womb at the time.

Regardless of where you were, I'd love to hear about it. Some of the best answers may also be used in a future post chronicling where Blue Jays fans were when Joe Carter "touched 'em all", as Tom Cheek so famously said.

Five winners will be selected to win a copy of "Baseball's Greatest Games: 1993 World Series Game 6", and I'll contact you via email if you are one of the lucky ones chosen.

Best of luck and thanks for entering!
Contest closes 11:59PM EST Thursday September 15, 2011.
Winners will be contacted via email on Friday September 16th.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Animated Gif: Brett Lawrie Tackles J.P. Arencibia

2011-09-12T13:03:00.000-04:00

Click image for Animated GIF

If it seems like Brett Lawrie has been involved in the lion's share of animated gif's around these parts latey, it's because he has.

This one is a few days late, but it's of Brett Lawrie bolting from the dugout and running towards J.P. Arencibia after Saturday afternoon's walk-off win versus the Baltimore Orioles.

Judging by how quickly Lawrie was running towards Arencibia, I was a little frightened for his life. It must be been a little scary for J.P. watching a 215 pound jacked-up teammate barreling down on him. After all, there doesn't seem to be a "mellow setting" on the Brett Lawrie dial.

Luckily, J.P. was not speared to the ground by the Canadian equivalent of Goldberg, and he even avoided being jerseyed by Brett Cecil.

Fun Frank Francisco Facts

2011-09-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

At times this season, Frank Francisco has been a really fun pitcher to watch. During the past few days for example, he has looked like the closer we had all hoped he would turn out to be.

And then there were other instances where Francisco has looked downright awful. With appearances on both ends of the spectrum, it's been the Jekyll and Hyde season for Frank Francisco.

Even though it hasn't been an open and shut year for Frankie, my gut tells me Alex Anthopoulos is going to try to bring him back in some capacity next year. The prospect of gaining a Type B draft pick is promising, but the Blue Jays could use the stability of a veteran reliever in that bullpen next year much more than the pick.

So in honour of Frank Francisco's roller coaster season, I've comprised a list of Fun Frank Francisco Facts (FFFF's for short) that may sway you to keep Frankie around, or let him walk as a free agent.

Take away Francisco's three worst outings (3 ER in 0.1 IP on May 20th, 3 ER in 0 IP on July 7th, and 2 ER in 0.1 IP on July 1st) and his ERA would only be 2.74.

Just to show you how slim the margin of error is for closers in the AL East, take away Kevin Gregg's three worst outings, and his ERA would only be 3.04.

Francisco's durability in back-to-back outings has some into question, as 6 of the 20 earned runs surrendered by Frank Francisco were when he came into the ballgame on zero days rest.

Up until this season, Frankie had allowed 7 home runs off lefties in 183 games with the Rangers. This season alone, Francisco has given up 5 home runs to lefties in 22 games with the Blue Jays.

Much like the Blue Jays themselves, the day/night splits for Francisco are astonishing. His ERA is 1.75 in 15 games during the day compared to 5.10 in 34 games at night.

Of his 49 appearances, Frank Francisco has only posted a clean inning (no hits, runs or walks) 14 times. He has allowed at least one hit in 30 of his 49 appearances.

Talk about all or nothing; the same team that has the most home runs this season off Francisco (3) has also struck out the most against him (14 SO's): the Boston Red Sox.

The batting order position that gives Frank Francisco the most trouble is the number three hitters who are hitting .409 off him. The next most troublesome batting order position? The number seven hitters who are hitting .381.

Acid Flashback Friday: Dave Winfield Hits a Seagull

2011-09-09T08:47:00.000-04:00

The patron saint of the Toronto Blue Jays may be the Cyanocitta cristata, but go down to the Toronto waterfront they're few and far between. More often than not, you'll see unofficial mascot of Toronto's waterfront; the seagull.

In between scouring for food and just being an general nuisance overall, you'll occasionally see these birds down by the ballpark. Unfortunately for one seagull, his insatiable love for baseball cost him his life.

For this week's edition of Acid Flashback Friday, we take a look back on that fateful day on August 4th 1983 when Dave Winfield socked a seagull with a baseball at Exhibition Stadium.

The video below featuring former Blue Jays president Paul Godfrey and the Blue Jays batboy Jeff Pinchuck. In it, Pinchuck explains his side of the story in this whole mess:

Dave Winfield insisted it was merely an accident, as he was simply tossing back and forth with the batboy when a seagull suddenly flew into the path of the ball. And as the photo above indicated, Jeff Pinchuck had to drape a towel over the seagull.

The police had a different story though, as the batboy had to turn over the seagull as forensic evidence afterwards and they actually sought out Winfield after the game to charge him with cruelty to animals.

Following the game, a bevy of Toronto Police officers issued a warrant for Dave Winfield's arrest. As ridiculous as the charge was, Winfield cooperated with the authorities and went downtown; he was booked and bail was set at $500 dollars.

Winfield was issued to appear back in court on August 12th, and the maximum sentence could have been six months in jail. Luckily, the very next day all the charges were dropped and Dave Winfield was a free man.

Due to the incident, Winfield missed the Yankees bus to Hamilton that night to catch their flight home. The good sport that Pat Gillick was, he drove Winfield personally to Hamilton so he could join his teammates.

Perhaps the best quote of all came from Winfield's manager at the time, Billy Martin:

"They say he hit the gull on purpose? They wouldn't say that if they'd seen the throws he'd been making all year. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man."

It's ludicrous to think a baseball player would ever be charged with cruelty to animals for accidentally hitting a bird with a baseball, but it actually happened in Toronto in 1983. I don't remember Randy Johnson getting arrested for this, do you?

Nine years after the tragedy, Dave Winfield joined the Blue Jays roster;
as one bird replacing another in the circle of Blue Jays life.

Sources: NY Daily News, ESPN

Taking a Page from the Red Sox

2011-09-08T12:23:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Getty Images

Walking in runs ... coming back late only to lose the game late ... and running into the final out. Are you sure this the Boston Red Sox we're talking about?

We've been accustomed to the Blue Jays being guilty of a few of these traits this season, but not the Boston Red Sox, right? It may have only been one game, but in the end Farrell Ball beat out Tito Ball.

It was as if the Blue Jays took a page right out of the Red Sox playbook by working counts late in the game, and letting the opposition work themselves into trouble. This is a trait we haven't seen on display very often, but it came at the most opportune time.

The turning point in this game was obviously Edwin Encarnacion's 3-run double, however I thought it was going to be Yunel Escobar's strikeout with two men on. He took a couple of questionable pitches, and the last one was an outright filthy slider from Daniel Bard.

For Eric Thames to show as much restraint as he did in the following at bat was something very out of character for him, and yet very pleasant surprise. By taking those high fastballs, he allowed Bard to work himself into trouble.

Credit also goes to J.P. Arencibia for drawing a walk as well, down in the count 0-2 and then taking then next four pitches. Arencibia has bit of a reputation as a hacker this season (121 strikeouts in 110 games) and yet again he coaxed the free pass off Bard as well.

When John Farrell commented earlier this week about how he wanted the Blue Jays to play a slow style of baseball similar to the Yankees and Red Sox, I thought he still might be suffering from pneumonia-like symptoms. However, this is evidence why that strategy works.

With an opposing pitcher who was struggling to find the strike zone, the Blue Jays hitters let Daniel Bard go wild, and then punished Matt Albers when he was forced to throw a strike. Their patience paid dividends.

Is it a mere coincidence that two of the most notorious stragglers in baseball are among some of the best? I'm not sure if there's a direct correlation, but controlling the pace of the game (and at times grinding it to a complete halt) definitely plays in favour of the offenders.

By taking lots of pitches in the 8th inning, the Blue Jays allowed themselves to open a window of opportunity to come back and beat the Red Sox. Now I'm starting to think this tortoise-like pace of baseball isn't such a bad thing after all.

The Winding Dusty Trail Back for McGowan

2011-09-07T08:52:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

Some may have said Dustin McGowan didn't have the chops to make it back to the major leagues. After injuries sidelined him for over three years, the easy thing to do would've been to throw in the towel and walk away. McGowan didn't.

There was something very special about watching Dustin McGowan's long-awaited return to the mound last night. At the time, it felt so surreal to watch someone who I admittedly though would never pitch in the bigs ever again.

It was if we were transported back to 2008; a year in which the Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation comprised of Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Shaun Marcum, Jesse Litsch, and Dustin McGowan.

And just to show you how much the roster has changed since mid-2008, the only surviving members of the Blue Jays roster are Casey Janssen, Jesse Litsch, Adam Lind, Shawn Camp and Dustin McGowan (h/t @BFullmer_Fan).

At first glance, a 14-0 drubbing by the Boston Red Sox would be a cause for concern. But much like John McDonald's home run on Father's Day last year, the game itself was secondary to the moment.

It was as if Dustin McGowan just picked up where he left off in 2008. He didn't blow away the competition by any means, but he held his own against one of the most deadly lineups in the American League. Not too shabby for your first outing back in three years.

I don't know if it was fate or what, but had Luis Perez not been knocked out of the game, we might have seen Dustin McGowan get the chance to throw four innings. Odds were he would make an appearance, but who knew he would do the grunt of the work?

Ever since there was talk of Dustin McGowan returning to the Blue Jays, I've always been in favour of moving him to the bullpen. With the bevy of starters the Blue Jays have at their disposal, it didn't seem necessary to have Dusty back in the rotation.

I think that performance last night changed a lot of people's minds ... including my own. If that is a small snippet of what McGowan can offer in a starter's role, then maybe having him as a starter isn't such a bad idea after all.

No matter what capacity the Blue Jays decide to use Dustin McGowan, it was just great to have him pitching again. For McGowan to overcome as many setbacks as he did over three years was nothing short of spectacular.

Plus, he brought back his patented McGowan mutton chops. I think that's a sign he'll do just fine from hereon out.

Brett Lawrie Discovers the Man in White

2011-09-06T11:07:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via AP

By all accounts, Brett Lawrie hit yesterday's massive walk-off home run on his own accord. Lawrie took Dan Wheeler deep to end the game all by himself ... or did he?

Upon reviewing the home run replay, it appears as though Brett Lawrie may have received a little help from the fabled "Man in White", who was indeed in the outfield seats during yesterday's game.

Who exactly is the Man in White and what does he look like? The screencap below reveals the deep, dark secret the Blue Jays have been hiding for years:

Click image to enlarge

Up until this point, I'm sure you're aware this post has been satirical in nature, but I assure you that screencap is 100% real. I wish it wasn't, but it was taken mere seconds after Brett Lawrie's ball landed in the outfield seats.

Who in their right mind still wears an "I'm With Stupid" T-shirt out in public? Not to mention, the fan felt very artistic and designed the shirt by hand with black magic marker.

To this Man in White, I say congratulations on sporting a shirt (a homemade one nonetheless) with a meme was at the height of its popularity over a decade ago. You sure showed the guy sitting to the left of you!

As clever as that shirt was, I think he'd look much better in a shirt from the BJH T-Shirt Shop. In honour of the occasion, perhaps a white Spydome shirt?

Now we can finally put a lid on the whole ESPN "Man in White" investigation and just chalk it up to some guy in a trucker cap and a homemade "I'm With Stupid" shirt who couldn't stop flailing his arms about.

Animated Gif: DeWayne Wise Breakdances

2011-09-06T08:44:00.004-04:00

Click image for Animated Gif

We all knew DeWayne Wise was a great fielder, but who knew that he was also a breakdancer?

Wise put his dance moves on display for the fans in a very acrobatic catch in the outfield, and after landing he performed some sort of breakdancing move on his dismount.

Upon watching him spin on the AstroTurf like a piece of cardboard, I immediately remembered that DeWayne Wise appeared as a backup dancer on the album cover art for the cult classic "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo".

Needless to say, although breakdancing is a great hobby to have, DeWayne Wise shouldn't quit his day job to pursue the art of breaking full time.

Labour Day Leftovers: Adam Lind and Mike McCoy's Walk Rates

2011-09-05T09:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a little nugget of knowledge for you to digest before the Blue Jays take on the Red Sox this afternoon. I was combing through some stats during Friday's Blue Jays/Yankees liveblog, and found some rather interesting news.

I don't know if this reflects more poorly on Adam Lind's season, or better on Mike McCoy (or Mikey Mick as he has been affectionately coined by Stoeten and Drew), but here goes:

Adam Lind has 28 walks this season.
Mike McCoy has 20 walks this season.

Here's the caveat: Adam Lind has coaxed 28 walks in nearly a season's worth of plate appearances, 480 to be exact. While Mike McCoy is only 8 walks away, he's done so in only 139 plate appearances; and McCoy has 341 less PA's than Lind does.

If you break it down, that means Adam Lind is drawing a walk every 17.14 plate appearances. Mike McCoy is taking a base on balls every 6.95 plate appearances.

Again, I'm not positive whether this looks worse on Adam Lind or if it further proves Mike McCoy's Slap Chop-like versatility, but it's a very sobering statistic that McCoy nearly has as many walks as Lind.

Acid Flashback Friday: A Fan's First-Hand Account of Dave Stieb's No-Hitter

2011-09-02T08:54:00.003-04:00

Image courtesy of Canada MSN Sports

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Dave Stieb's historic no-hitter in Cleveland, and despite Brandon Morrow's best efforts last season, Stieb's still stands as the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history.

The club honoured this occasion with a great on-field celebration, bobblehead giveaway, and they even painted the number 37 into the mound. One year later, the feat is still just as impressive.

For this week's Acid Flashback Friday, we take a look back again at Dave Stieb's no-hitter on September 2nd, 1990. The difference this time around is we have someone who was there first-hand who experienced Stieb's no-hitter.

Earlier this season, a man by the name of Bruce was kind enough to email me to tell me he had come across the blog in searching for information about Dave Stieb's no-hitter, and offered to send me pictures to post from such event.

Bruce, his wife and two kids were lucky enough to be there in the stands at old Cleveland Stadium to witness history in the making. Here is a first-hand account of the momentous occasion:

"My wife and I, along with our son and daughter, visited the Cleveland area the weekend of September 1st and 2nd and took in the Sunday afternoon ball game at the old Cleveland stadium. Back in those days, we were true Blue Jays fans.

During the seventh inning of the game, we began to realize that Dave Stieb was throwing what could be the game of his life. We were well aware that he had flirted with a number of possible no-hitters in the past, and knew he was capable some day of getting one.

He had not allowed a single hit heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. I had brought along my film SLR camera with a 300mm lens and started taking photographs of Dave Stieb as he pitched this seventh inning. I had taken 12 or 14 photos, not knowing if any of them would even turn out.

In the bottom of the ninth, after getting the first two batters out, he walked the third. Yes, I had to look this up, but I do remember the third out. It was a fly ball to right field.

I can still remember Dave Stieb looking up at the ball heading out into the outfield and watching it land in the glove of Junior Felix. He stepped off the mound with his head down and was then surrounded by his teammates.

What a feeling it was to be there at that time to watch Dave Stieb and his teammates as they celebrated this no-hitter and to hear the Cleveland fans applaud his feat.

After returning home, I had the film processed and then went through all the pictures that I had taken. This photo was the best of the lot:

I had it enlarged to an 8 x 10, and the following year our family traveled to Florida and visited the Blue Jays at Spring Training in Dunedin, Florida.

While watching the Jays work out one day I was able to meet Dave Stieb and asked him to sign and date this photograph.

This was a very cool anecdote from Bruce on not only Dave Stieb's no-hitter, but also getting the chance to get him to sign the photo above at Spring Training in Dunedin the following year.

Thanks for Bruce for providing the inspiration for this week's Acid Flashback Friday post. If you have anything you'd like to see from Blue Jays yesteryear, please send your suggestion to bluejayhunter@gmail.com.

Is It Time to Pony Up and Get Prince or Pujols?

2011-09-01T08:50:00.001-04:00


Image courtesy of Zimbio via Getty Images

Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols; these are two names I never ever thought in a million years the Toronto Blue Jays would have a chance of signing. Maybe "never ever" has turned into "faint possibility"?

One year ago, the fate of both these players seemed fairly certain. It looked like the Cardinals were going to sign Pujols to a ginormous contract extension, and Fielder was going to go to the highest bidder on the market.

At this time, the Blue Jays were also putting the wheels in motion of transitioning Adam Lind to first base. Two impending free agents like Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols were probably the furthest thing from their minds.

However, a lot can change over the course of one year; while the Adam Lind at first base experiment has gone swimmingly, the batting cleanup project has not. After 11 seasons with the Cards, Albert Pujols may be a free agent for the first time in his career, and Prince Fielder is still going to get paid handsomely.

How does all of this pertain to the Toronto Blue Jays? Very simple - the two biggest free agents on the market this offseason will be first baseman, the Blue Jays could always use a better first baseman, and there is plenty of cash for them to sign one.

For a team such as the Blue Jays who are merely a few pieces away from becoming a true contender, somebody like Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols would definitely help put them over the top. But is it worth all that money?

Under the current regime, Alex Anthopoulos has yet to sign a free agent to a multi-year deal. While fear of commitment can be detrimental in a relationship, this can be a good thing in baseball. Paying top dollar for a player whose best years are behind them does not seem like a road Anthopoulos is willing to go down.

For a few years now, it's been all about building through the draft, signing international free agents, making lucrative trades. The previous regime went out and paid top dollar for the best free agents, and look where it got them.

For AA to deviate from the plan now after instilling the vision of "building from the ground up" would be contradictory to everything he's stood for since taking over the helm in 2009. The game-changer though is if upper-upper management decides the time for contention is now, and the best way to fast track the plan is to sign a top free agent.

Is it just money after all ... the Blue Jays wouldn't have to give up anything in the way of talent or prospects in order to get Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols. And we know the pockets run very deep, so money is not an issue.

If the Blue Jays wanted to go after Pujols or Fielder, there is no question the money is there to do it. They would essentially be bidding against the Yankees, but at no time has there ever been anything said about a "cap" for the Blue Jays.

First thing's first, if the Blue Jays hypothetically sign Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, I think that signals the beginning of the end of Adam Lind. Sure, they could revert him back to the DH role, but Edwin Encarnacion does the same job (maybe even a little bit better) and $1.5 million dollars cheaper next year.

Plus, Adam Lind's team-friendly contract makes him a very attractive player to acquire via trade. Not to discount everything I said about Lind earlier this week, but there would be too many cooks in the kitchen at first with Lind and either Fielder/Pujols.

If the Blue Jays decided to let the purse strings fly open, who should they target; Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder? Both sluggers are looking for $100 plus million multi-year deals, perhaps even record-setting contracts.

At 27 years old, Prince Fielder is four years the junior of Albert Pujols (and one year younger than Adam Lind mind you). In the baseball business, those four years are the equivalent of big money, which means Fielder is going to want multiple years ... maybe even upwards of seven I'm guessing?

At 31, Albert Pujols can't be as ambitious as Fielder with the length of the contract demands, but he can certainly ask for top dollar. No matter who signs where, I figure Prince signs longer-term but Pujols signs for more money.

With all this being said, if I had to spend my money on either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, then I'd put my cash on Prince Fielder. As much as a long-term deal frightens me, I can't see Fielder dropping off to the point where he becomes worthy of being DFA'd.

If you look at the Blue Jays lineup as it currently stands, it's good ... but it's not great. On any given night, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees one through six hitters are among the best in the league. Pluck any of those players and put them on any other team and they immediately become their best player.

The Blue Jays have a handful of players like that at their disposal, but not quite the core their adversaries in New York and Boston do. All it would take is somebody like Prince to put Toronto in the stratosphere of the Yankees and Red Sox.

With the addition of Prince Fielder, it could really be that watershed moment that turns the tide for this franchise. Just like when the Red Sox acquired Adrian Gonzalez in the offseason and immediately became the favourites to win it all, so too could the Blue Jays if they land Prince Fielder.

The Alex Anthopoulos regime thus far can be summed up like this; a series of small, calculated moves which are designed to lead to the promised land. Signing Prince Fielder would be one big move ... and if it happens, get ready to buckle in.

Happy September Call-Ups Eve

2011-08-31T12:52:00.000-04:00

‘Twas the night before September call-Ups, when all through the clubhouse,
The players were stirring, and flames of speculation ready to douse.
Their bags were all packed by the door with great care,
In hopes that Santopoulos soon would be there.

Ah yes, it’s that time of year we all look forward to … September call-ups. On the eve of the roster expansions, we await to hear which prospects will get the call to join the Blue Jays in Baltimore and embark on their major league career.

As a byproduct of where the Blue Jays are developmentally, we’ve been fortunate to watch most of the club’s highly touted prospects. Eric Thames, Henderson Alvarez, Brett Lawrie, Joel Carreno and Brian Jeroloman already occupy spots on the roster.

Jeroloman still has to receive a lick of playing time, and September could very well provide that window of opportunity for him. The Blue Jays do need a backup catcher for 2012, and a tandem of Arencibia/Jeroloman appears very enticing.

Arguably the two most anticipated September call-ups for the Blue Jays will be Dustin McGowan and Adam Loewen. While Loewen is not currently on the 40-man roster, there is a spot free for him to be added … which means he can join the big league club.

The countdown clock has been ticking on Adam Loewen now for quite some time, and with minor league free agency looming, the Blue Jays will need to decide what to do with him sooner rather than later.

Loewen has played his season in Las Vegas predominantly in right field, but also has experience at first base and centre field. Depending on how severe Colby Rasmus’ injury is, perhaps Adam gets playing time in centre field … but more than likely, it would be in left field.

It’s a very tricky situation for the Blue Jays because they essentially have to decide within the next four weeks if they want Adam Loewen to continue to be part of the organization. After three seasons rebuilding him as a position player, I can’t imagine the Blue Jays would let Loewen walk away that easily.

And then we have Dustin McGowan; it’s been a long and winding road back to the major leagues for the former mainstay in the Blue Jays rotation, and hopefully he’ll get another opportunity to reclaim that title.

I know the Blue Jays have said on multiple occasions they are trying to stretch Dustin McGowan out into a starting pitcher, but like most, I think he’s much better served in the bullpen.

Not that I claim to be a doctor or anything, but wouldn’t the strain from tossing 5-6 innings every five days be much more than throwing one inning on back-to-back days? Again, I know next to nothing on conditioning, but wouldn't 5-6 innings over the course of one week be better for a pitcher than lumped into one outing?

Aside from Loewen and McGowan, maybe we’ll catch a glimpse of Adeiny Hechavarria, David Cooper, Moises Sierra, or even Alan Farina or P.J. Walters? The bullpen could definitely use the backup.

What's Wrong with Adam Lind?

2011-08-30T08:52:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Daylife via Reuters Pictures

At times, he's looked like one of the elite first baseman in the league. There have also been other times he's barely been above replacement level.

As the season nears an end, the Blue Jays appear to have an identity crisis with their first baseman. So which is the real Adam Lind?

It's something I've been racking my brain over the past few days. Aside from the obvious drop off in walks and home runs and skyrocketing strikeout rate, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what's wrong with Adam Lind.

A few weeks ago, it was fairly easy to see that Jose Bautista's struggles were correlated to him chasing the high fastballs time and again. Adam Lind's issue on the other hand, is a completely different story.

After scouring through all the Pitch F/X data, there were no red flags alerting me to bad habit that Lind has suddenly developed. If anything, since mid-July he's actually done a decent job of not swinging at fastballs high in the zone.

The next option was to check out the percentages from his at-bat results over at Texas Leaguers. Now we're starting to get somewhere; I graphed his at-bat results from April 1st to July 19th, and then from July 20th to August 25th.

Adam Lind At-Bat Results - April 1st to July 19th

Adam Lind At-Bat Results - July 20th to August 25th

One might be concerned with Lind's increased strikeout rate and lack of singles since July 20th, but those don't really concern me. What is a little alarming is Adam Lind is grounding out way more and drawing a lot less walks.

During that span from July 20th to August 25th, Lind has drawn a free pass four times; and two of those were intentional, and one was a hit by pitch ... which means Adam Lind has drawn one walk in 33 games.

It was frustrating to watch Lind again last night because just when it appears he is on the verge of righting the ship after that two-run home run, he falls back into his old bad habits and strikes out on seven pitches in his final two at-bats.

And all of this is happening while Adam Lind continues to occupy the cleanup spot in the Blue Jays lineup, arguably the most coveted slot on the lineup card. Lind has flourished as well as flounder in the role, and now I think it's time to get him out of that high leverage batting position until he can sort himself out.

I don't think a month-long slump like this is putting into question Adam Lind's future with this team, and yet it certainly has the odd few a little worried about the first base situation ... but by no means is Adam Lind is jeopardy of losing his job.

One interesting theory lobbed out there by avid Jays tweeter @coolhead2010 is that Adam Lind is having a tough time picking up the spin on the breaking ball. Which would explain why it appears all of Lind's strikeouts come on offspeed pitches down and away (otherwise known as Rajai Davis' mantra).

At this point in the season, there's no question we're witnessing Adam Lind at his absolute worst. However, we've also seen him at his best earlier in the year. So where exactly does the real Adam Lind lie? Somewhere in between.

Blue Jays and Rays Are New Divisional Foes

2011-08-29T08:56:00.000-04:00

One would think the big bad Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees would be the two most formidable foes for the Toronto Blue Jays. It actually turns out the Blue Jays greatest adversaries are the Tampa Bay Rays.

This season alone, the Blue Jays are 4-10 versus the Rays, and their track record doesn't bode well either. The past four seasons combined, the Blue Jays are 23-45 (.338) against the Tampa Bay Rays, compared to 26-40 (.393) versus the Red Sox and 30-36 (.454) versus the Yankees.

So if Toronto can rise to the challenge against a perennial contender like the New York Yankees, why do they have so much trouble with the Tampa Bay Rays? If anyone has an answer, I'm all ears. This series was just more evidence of the Blue Jays struggles against the Rays.

I got the same feeling in the pit of my stomach as when the Red Sox swept the Blue Jays at home back in mid-June. Toronto was outscored 35-6 in that series, and Tampa Bay has outscored them 24-6 ... and there's still one more game to play tonight.

It's a little disheartening because it really felt like over the past little while, the Blue Jays were really making some progress. The offense has been clicking, the starting pitching has been adequate, and the bullpen hasn't been awful.

Then comes a series like this against Tampa Bay where after treading water at .500 or above it since July 27th, the Blue Jays have now dipped below.500 for the first time in five weeks. The momentum they built up

Just more proof to show you how much of a dog fight it is playing in the American League East. Each and every single game is important, and sometimes you have to claw and scratch your way for those extra wins just to have a shot at the playoffs.

As Jonah Keri says, it's that extra 2% that helped propel the Tampa Bay Rays into the post-season. They didn't need to be astronomically better than their competition, they only had to be a little bit better. That 2% was the difference maker.

But for two teams that seem to have a very similar strategy, one team is 14 games above .500 and the other is one game below .500. Similar strategies, slightly different results.

Until Bud Selig imposes a balanced schedule, the Blue Jays are Rays are going to continue to meet approximately 18 times a year. And if this young Blue Jays squad wants to return to the playoffs, they're going to need to fare much better against divisional foes ... especially the Tampa Bay Rays.