Weekly Round Up: Oct. 4 - 10

Consider this your required viewing for the week.

Consider this your required listening for the week.

Courtesy of Patrick Rishe:

The criteria for the ‘most efficient’ teams is combining low ‘cost per win’ with at least 87 wins (5 games above .500).  Hence, the 5 most efficient teams from the 2010 MLB season are:
1)  San Diego Padres (90 wins…$419,656 per win)
2)  Texas Rangers      (90 wins…$612,404 per win)
3)  Tampa Bay Rays  (96 wins…$748,688 per win)
4)  Cincinnati Reds   (91 wins…$795,072 per win)
5)  Atlanta Braves     (91 wins…$927,284 per win).
Honorable mention goes to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Minnesota Twins and the Colorado Rockies.  The Blue Jays won 85 games in the incredibly tough American League East while paying $737,088 in payroll per win.

Forbes doesn't fuck around.

Courtesy of Shi Davidi:

"I'm not sitting up there in our office with our baseball operations team saying, 'OK we won 85 games, if we make these six moves that will equate to 10 wins,"' Anthopoulos said Monday during a lengthy chat with the team's beat writers. "It's not that easy. I've heard stories and talked to teams where they've done simulations and there are just too many variables, you're dealing with human beings.
"If the focus is on making the team better and continuing to look for value whenever you can get it to build that team, at some point the wins will continue to pile up and we'll get to the point in-season, that hopefully we're going to look to add a piece. Then when you get to that playoff area, that's when you make a big splash."

A very close second place on the required reading for the week. Take a moment and check it out.

Courtesy of Steve Simmons:

A Blue Jays insider indicated that Gillick was asked to film a clip for Cito, but never got back to the Jays to arrange a time or a place.
It has been well-documented that Gillick did not truly want to hire Gaston as manager in 1989 and wanted to fire him following the playoff loss to Minnesota in 1990. But each time, situations and his partnership with Paul Beeston changed the equation. Over his amazing career, Gillick hired managers in Baltimore, Seattle and Philadelphia after leaving Toronto, but did not offer positions to Gaston with any of those teams.

I was wondering why Stand Pat wasn't in the house for The Cito's love in.

Courtesy of CBS Sports:

2011 PREDICTION

With Tampa Bay slashing payroll, the opportunity is there for Toronto to make a play for third -- and they'll try to do just that, but figure to fall just short, just like 2010. Poor Toronto -- if they weren't in the AL East, it'd be a near-lock to make the postseason.

I have heard that one once or twice before.....

Courtesy of Robert Macleod:

The Blue Jays will audition designated hitter Adam Lind at first base during spring training but other than that, unless Anthopoulos swings some sort of a trade, it is quite possible Overbay will be their man.
“He’s a free agent, just like John Buck and Scott Downs and Jason Frasor,” Anthopoulos said of Overbay. “Lyle has started out slow and has really bounced back. He’s played his usual Gold Glove defence at first base. And he has a good on-base percentage. The batting average is down for him but I think it’s tough when you dig yourself the hole that he dug himself.
“Realizing all those things and factoring all that in I like Lyle, I always have. I think the organization does. It’s all about what the off-season brings, what trades will present themselves, what other free agents are out there.”
Anthopoulos said he has no idea how the experiment with Lind might work out.

If anyone out there has a good reason why we should re-sign Lyle - at any price - please enlighten me. I just don't get it.

Courtesy of Robert Macleod:

Anthopoulos said the Blue Jays cannot be counted on to crank out as many home runs next season, so it is imperative they locate a new bat or two to add more balance to the attack.
Anthopoulos will also have his work cut out for him with at least 15 Blue Jays eligible for arbitration, including Jose Bautista, who led the majors with 54 home runs. It will be daunting trying to arrive at a new contract with a player who had never hit 16 before in one season, and Anthopoulos said it will be important to keep things in perspective.

Boy Wonder has a massive to do list. I'm thinking the "file-to-go" strategy gets used this offseason. Maybe more than once.

Naturally Doc threw a no hitter in his first playoff game. Fuck me.....