Weekly Round Up: Double Shot

You see what I just did right there?

Missed last week's round up due to the 3 day bender I went on after the Vernon trade was officially completed. Much has happened in Blue Jay land. Check it.

Consider this your required reading.

Consider this your required listening.

Consider this your required viewing. This one was a close second place.

Courtesy of Kirby Arnold:

Wakamatsu, still considered one of baseball's best young managerial prospects, said he had coaching opportunities with four teams before going with the Blue Jays under new manager John Farrell.
"People asked me, 'Why not Baltimore, why not Milwaukee, why not Oakland?'" he said. "The impression I got from (Blue Jays general manager) Alex Anthopoulos, (assistant GM) Tony LaCava and everybody in the front office really blew me away. I felt really good about Johnny Farrell. It felt like the right fit and I think I needed something like this to rekindle myself.

Great read on the Wak.

Courtesy of Shi Davidi:

Hill, with six seasons under his belt, is now the longest-tenured Blue Jay while Bautista — who is eligible for free agency after the 2011 season but is believed to be engaged in talks on a long-term deal — embodies many of the qualities the team would like to have going forward.
The longest-tenured player on the team is reliever Jason Frasor, who made his debut in 2004, but the heart and soul of the pitching staff is now left-hander Ricky Romero.
Those four players, along with starter Brandon Morrow, first baseman Adam Lind and outfielder Travis Snider, may all end up shouldering some of the burden in Wells' absence.

So.....ah.....which one is it then? Hill or Frasor

Courtesy of Robert Emrich:

MiLB.com: You're moving to an organization that has an established second baseman at the big league level in Aaron Hill. Has the idea of switching positions been discussed at all?
Lawrie: I've been working out at third -- they've wanted me to play some third. I felt comfortable over there, I think I am going to go into Spring [Training], where third is where I'm going to be put at.

This interview via an MLB.com reporter was posted on MiLB.com an hour before..... 

Courtesy of Jonathan Mayo:

2. Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays: Toronto got the top Canadian prospect from the Brewers in the Shaun Marcum deal and he's another one still learning the position after being drafted No. 16 overall in 2008. Lawrie can flat-out hit and should have power and speed at the big league level. He may never win a Gold Glove, but a Jeff Kent-like evolution isn't out of the question.

This one was posted on MLB.com. Nice to see the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing in other organizations as well isn't it?

Courtesy of Jonathan Mayo:

3. Kyle Drabek, Blue Jays: Doug's kid had a pretty good first season in Toronto's organization after coming over from Philadelphia in the Roy Halladay deal. He was the Eastern League's Pitcher of the Year and made his big league debut in September. With one of the best breaking pitches in the Minors, Drabek also throws a lively fastball and a changeup that's improved considerably. A strong competitor, he's ready to take on the AL East as part of the Jays rotation.

Mayo also liked two of our catchers, and a shortstop. Throw in a top 60 list and you got yourself a couple of busy weeks.

Courtesy of Justin Bopp:

Courtesy of WAR Graphs:

Courtesy of Sporting News:

But the 33-year-old lefthander readily admits he will not miss facing the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays in a third of his team's games this season.
"Face it, that had has much to do with it as anything," Tallet said. "Let's be honest. It's a brutal division."
So brutal that it can wear on teams such as Toronto, which enters every season as a long shot to contend. The Blue Jays have won at least 83 games in four of the past five seasons but have yet to finish closer than 10 games out. That can put a drag on players.
"You start to accept (you're not going to win)," Tallet says. "And that's the worst thing a player can do."
Tallet isn't the only refugee from the AL East hoping to find comfort in the NL Central. All six clubs have added at least one player whose most recent team resides in the AL East:
Reds: Fred Lewis, Blue Jays.
Cardinals: Tallet, Blue Jays; Lance Berkman, Yankees.
Brewers: Shaun Marcum, Blue Jays.
Astros: Bill Hall, Red Sox.
Cubs: Matt Garza and Carlos Pena, Rays; Kerry Wood, Yankees.
Pirates: Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays.

Take note fellow fantasy pool players. These guys are nice candidates to reap the rewards from moving from the AL to the NL.

Courtesy of Jim Caple:

28. Blue Jays

Toronto tried to improve its old logo a couple years ago. It failed.

Does anybody out there actually, you know, like the new logo? This guy clearly doesn't either.

Courtesy of Ben Badler:

The Blue Jays have agreed to terms with 16-year-old Dominican lefthander Jairo Labour for $350,000.
Labour, who is 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, became eligible to sign when the 2010 international signing period opened on July 2, but he developed into a better prospect later and has run his fastball up to 92 mph. Labour, who is from Azua, is a good athlete with a solid delivery and feel for spinning a breaking ball. 

A little prospect porn sprinkled in for ya. Everybody loves prospect porn. 

Courtesy of Bernie Puchalski:

After two years, he was promoted to assistant scouting director in 2003, but decided to take a step back to become the scouting coordinator with the Toronto Blue Jays because he worried what would happen if the Montreal Expos made their rumoured move to the United States.His ascent through the Blue Jays' ranks was dramatic. He became assistant general manager in 2005, vice-president of baseball operations in 2006 and, finally, the team's general manager in 2009.
"If there's one word you leave here with today, it's humility," he said. "There's more power in humility than you will ever believe."
Because of that humble nature, he drives around Toronto in a Honda CRV.
"I've got a raise, but I'm not changing the way I live.
"I don't need to."

Stay grounded. Stay focused. Do whatever you gotta do man, just win me a World Series before I die.

Courtesy of Jeremy Sandler:

But money probably means something — especially when the MLBPA pushes its members to go for the maximum — and a big contract would help Bautista help a lot of kids.
Taken together, unless the Blue Jays are right now willing to pay him premium power hitter money for several years to come, Bautista is likely going to take his chances and see what the market will bear.

The more I think about it, the more I don't see an extension being done with J-Bau at any point this season. And there is really nothing anybody can do about it. Consider that he has been playing/waiting his entire career to become a free agent and his 2010 season slash line of .260/.378/.617 looks a little video gameish. Perhaps his agent is driving the bus on this one or as the article suggests the MLBPA, either way, I say he plays out his final year of arbitration and takes his chances on the open market. Wouldn't you? 

Courtesy of Kevin Goldstein: 

Five-Star Prospects
1. Kyle Drabek, RHP
2. J.P. Arencibia, C
Four-Star Prospects
3. Brett Lawrie, 2B
Three-Star Prospects
4. Travis d'Arnaud, C
5. Deck McGuire, RHP
6. Carlos Perez, C
7. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
8. Zach Stewart, RHP
9. Anthony Gose, CF
10. Aaron Sanchez, RHP
11. Asher Wojciechowski, RHP

Nine More:
12. Eric Thames, OF: As of now, this spot might be low, because he could be solid, everyday corner outfielder.
13. Dickie Joe Thon, SS: This $1.5 million fifth-rounder has the tools to rank higher, but he needs more polish.
14. Adonis Cardona, RHP: The Venezuelan teen got a $2.8 million bonus, but he's raw, but he also has an absolutely huge arm.
15. Noah Syndergaard, RHP: A teenage righty with length and projection, Snydergaard needs to tighten up his secondary stuff.
16. Henderson Alvarez, RHP: Scouts love his stuff, yet wonder why the results rarely match.
17. Jake Marisnick, OF: A tremendous athlete, but he's far away from being a tremendous baseball player.
18. Griffin Murphy, LHP: He possesses a good fastball, better curve, and--like many young Jays pitchers--tons of projection.
19. Kellen Sweeney, 3B: The younger brother of Ryan has the same pretty swing from the left side of the plate.
20. Chad Jenkins, RHP: This 2009 first-round pick had a so-so full-season debut, but looks like future innings-eater.

BP weights in on the much improved farm system. I tend to take this list a little more seriously than the one BA puts out. What about y'all?

Courtesy of You Don`t Know Dick:

Need a clue that something with the Jays and Young could be in the works? Vernon Wells was asked during a Tuesday conference call where he’d been when Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos called to ask him to waive his no-trade clause, to consent to go to Anaheim in trade.
“I was at the Mavericks-Lakers game with my wife and, ironically, with Michael Young and his wife,” Wells said. “I got the call at halftime and missed most of the rest of the game.”
Ironically? Why would Wells use that word for something that was merely coincidental?

Hate to point of the obvious here Dick but Vernon didn't go to college. Just relax. This is not a "clue". This is obviously a writer for a sport in it's offseason trying to make up a story out of absolutely nothing in order to sell some papers. As always, a trip into the comments section provides some interesting reading. My favorite is courtesy of Adhoc: 

a teachable moment for Griffin

Hey Griff - Even if Wells used the term 'ironic' because he knew the Jays were looking to acquire Young, it would still be a coincidence; there's nothing ironic about it. Have you been studying at the Alanis Morissette School of Irony?

Courtesy of  Jeremy Sandler:

But baseball sources confirmed to the National Post that Toronto also included a cash payment to the Angels.
Jon Heyman of SI.com, who broke the news of the money changing hands and is one of the most reliable insiders in the business, pegged the amount at US$5-million.
All cash transfers greater than US$1-million must be approved by the commissioner’s office.
When confronted with this information on Wednesday, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos offered only a cryptic reply.
“We agreed for the deal to be that deal, that was the deal that was announced,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything more to it. I think people are trying to read way more into this, like way more. There’s not. There’s no smoking gun. There’s no conspiracy theory.”
In truth, the only conspiracy comes from the two teams involved in their attempts to keep the money quiet.
This is what Anthopoulos said last Friday when directly asked about dollars changing hands in the deal:
“I guess what I would tell you is the deal that was consummated is the deal that we announced, which is  a 2-for-1 deal,” he said. “And that ultimately was the final transaction of Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera.”
Why Anthopoulos or his Angels counterpart Tony Reagins would try to cover up the payment is more of a mystery than anything else.

Alright, seriously now. I was starting to embrace the lack of commenting from the braintrust PRIOR to a transaction taking place.....but are we also suppose to except them not commenting on transactions AFTER they are completed as well? WTF is going on here? 

Courtesy of Tom Valcke:

Toronto Blue Jays legendary closer Tom Henke leads the 2011 class of inductees who will be enshrined on Saturday, June 18^th in St. Marys, Ontario.  “The Terminator” will be joined by Kelowna, British Columbia native Allan Simpson, the founder of Baseball America, the monthly publication commonly referred to as the Bible of the baseball industry, and posthumous inductee George “Dandy” Wood, born in Pownal, Prince Edward Island, who played almost 1,300 games in the major leagues back in the 1800’s, but whose Canadian citizenship was only uncovered a year ago.

Bob Elliott, an icon in baseball journalism, will be presented with the Jack Graney at the ceremony as well.

God damn this song was fucking awesome. Terminator, Terminator, you can bring him in now but he's even better later. Been singing it for the last hour now.

Courtesy of Ian Harrison:

As they delightedly discussed the deal on Twitter, Jays fans called their GM the “Silent Assassin” for trading a supposedly untradeable player without even a whisper of rumour beforehand. Anthopoulos didn’t comment on the moniker when Canadian Press reporter Shi Davidi informed him of it during a conference call last Friday night.
Talk? Come on. That’s not how the Silent Assassin rolls.

Actually, in fact, that's how the Blue Jay Hunter rolls dude.