Weekly Round Up: Oct. 25 - Oct. 31

Consider this your required reading for the week.

Consider this your required viewing for the week. And consider this a close second place.

Courtesy of 500 Level Fan:

I no longer think it is a terrible idea to sign Manny Ramirez.

In two words, here’s why:

Motivation.  Legacy.

In this writer’s opinion, Manny Ramirez has truly been motivated five times in his career:

1. 1994: His rookie year in Cleveland, to prove he belonged in the majors – .269 average, 17 HR, 60 RBI, .878 OPS, 2nd in ROY voting

2. 2000: His final season in Cleveland, a contract year – .351 average, 38 HR, 122 RBI, league-leading 1.154 OPS, All-Star, Silver Slugger

3. 2001: His first year in Boston, to prove he was worth his contract – .306 average, 41 HR, 125 RBI, 1.014 OPS, All-Star, Silver Slugger

4. 2004 World Series: To prove he could perform in the World Series – .412 average, 1 HR, 4 RBI in 4 games, 1.088 OPS, World Series Champion

5. Second half of 2008: First arrival in LA, to prove Boston wrong for trading him – .396 average, 17 HR, 53 RBI in 53 games, 1.232 OPS, 4th in NL MVP voting

There’s no way a beat up Manny Ramirez was motivated upon arriving in Chicago last year, to a team that doubted him and was already out of the pennant race.

So why will he be motivated in 2011?  Because of that second word: legacy.

Jeremy has got some great points right there. I'm still torn. Gonna have to wait and see if the White Sox offer arbitration.....cuz if they do, than forget about Man Ram in Toronto.

Courtesy of Chris Zelkovich:

The Toronto Blue Jays payroll will increase for the 2011 season and could rise even more if the team is in contention next summer.

Rogers Media president Keith Pelley said in an interview Wednesday that the team’s payroll will increase over the winter, mainly because of the number of Blue Jays eligible for arbitration. Those eligible include American League home run champion Jose Bautista and pitchers Brandon Morrow and Shaun Marcum.

“Obviously, the payroll will need to be increased to be able to sustain the team we had this year and then compete for a championship,” Pelley said. “This team is poised to be a competitive, exciting ball club for the next 10 years.”

A new talking head in charge. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Courtesy of You Don`t Know Dick:

How about from the player’s side, Bautista’s feelings of loyalty to the Jays for giving him the opportunity to play every day after four years of journeyman status? Or what would be best for him moving forward — a multi-year deal after just one superb season, with lingering doubts playing on the bottom-line offer, or a second fabulous season that would erase any doubts and set him up for life?

“It depends on how you look at it,” Bautista said. “From my point of view as a player, I’m not worried by any concern that the team might have whether I can repeat it or not. I have no problems with an arbitration deal and going back out there and hopefully doing as well as I did this year. Maybe I won’t hit 54 home runs. I want to be a productive player. That being said, I can also hit 60.”

Congats on the Hank Aaron Award! So where does he finish in the MVP vote? 

Courtesy of John Lott:

Butterfield refused comment on his other options, but he would have had no difficulty finding work elsewhere. He is highly respected throughout baseball and has always been popular with his players.
He said he does not know Farrell well, but developed respect for his work as Boston’s pitching coach over the past four seasons. Former Red Sox pitching great Curt Schilling was among many of Butterfield’s baseball friends who spoke highly of Farrell, he said.
“Curt Schilling is someone I have the utmost respect for, and he thinks John Farrell is one of the brightest, best men in all of baseball,” Butterfield said. “That was certainly good enough for me.”
Butterfield played five years in the minor leagues and began his pro coaching career at 26, eventually managing five years in the minors. Now 52, he remains confident he will manage in the majors.

I give him a lot respect for sticking around with the team. Now go out there and make Adam Lind into a first baseman, God damn it.

Courtesy of Roto Graphs:

Because as bad as last year looked, there was a progression in his numbers that might give his owners some hope. Here are his isolated slugging percentages, starting with his rookie year, and not including last year: .125, .113, .136. And his flyball percentages: 22.9%, 24.7%, 30.0%. And his groundball percentages: 56%, 58.2%, 50%. And his HR/FB: 7.9%, 9.1%, 10.1%. If only last year’s .062 ISO, 28.4% flyballs, 53.6% groundballs and 3.3% HR/FB didn’t spoil the fun, you could say that his batted ball profile was trending towards more power.

A decent article written from a fantasy perspective on Esco. Does anyone really care if he hits bombs? Don't get me wrong, it's always nice to have but I would much prefer to see him work the count and get on base for the big boys.

Courtesy of John Lott:

Backup catcher Jose Molina will return to the Toronto Blue Jays next season, providing them with a veteran presence to complement the expected full-season debut of J.P. Arencibia.
The Jays have picked up Molina’s US$1.2-million club option. Molina, 35, batted .246 with 12 RBIs and a career-high six homers. He threw out 40.6% of potential base stealers.
In his 11-year career, Molina has a .236 average while stopping 37.7% of steal attempts against him.

As expected, we exercised the option on Molina. Classic catch and throw guy. Whatever he does with the stick is gravy.

Courtesy of Shi Davidi:

In John Farrell he certainly believes he's found that man, a former big-league pitcher who has worked both as a farm director and pitching coach and whose only real question mark seems to be a lack of previous managerial experience.
The 48-year-old from Monmouth Beach, N.J., named the 12th manager in franchise history Monday afternoon, is an articulate speaker with a commanding presence and a winning background.

His challenge now is to leverage a strong and wide-ranging resume to take charge of an entire team, and match wits with four elite rival managers in the American League East.
"There were a lot of very qualified candidates out there, but what it came down to was who had the chance to be the best manager, long term," said Anthopoulos. "It was very difficult for me to go into this process and hire someone who I felt could be good but not great, it's not the way I operate, I don't think it's what we need in this division and to get where we need to get to.
"I had to hire someone that I felt had a chance to be great."

This was the best write up I could find on our new fearless leader. I must say, seeing him in a Red Sox uni up till the point he was hired made me angry. My hatred for them runs deep.