Gotta At Least Ask the Question

Sooner or later everybody has a baseball related question. Below you will find some fine people I recommend you try bothering first.

Nowhere on this list will you find Damien "Suck My" Cox. Did you hear him try to talk baseball on PTS? Skip ahead to the 18:30 mark. Jesus. Shut the fuck up hockey guy.

Blue Jays Baseball related:

Gregor Chisholm: Beat reporter for your Toronto Blue Jays answers between 5 and 10 questions every week.

You Don't Know Dick Griffin: Toronto Chapter Chairman of the BBWAA obviously gets hammered and then tries to answer a lot of questions every Wednesday.

Buck Martinez: TV play by play broadcaster did a weekly segment last season and normally only answered a few questions. No word whether he's going to do it again for 2011.

Samuel Wilner: Host of Jays Talk sporadically contributes a mailbag comprised from a selection of the very best comments left on his (shit) blog posts.

Prospect Porn related:

Jim Callis: Heart and soul of Baseball America answers 3 questions on a fairly regular basis.

Conor Glassey: Another BA writer is in mailbag start up mode.

Adam Foster: Founder of Project Prospect has a shit load of quality scouting reports / videos on players and he doesn't mind sharing the wealth.

Keith Law: Klaw does his thing every Thursday. Whatever.

Fantasy Baseball related:

Todd Zola: Fantasy juggernaut Lord Zola answers your questions every Monday.

The Staff @ Fantasy Gameday: Creators of the mighty, must have ADP fantasy tool specialize in keeper league specific questions.

Weekly Round Up: Oct. 11 - 17

Consider this your required reading for the week.

Consider this your required listening for the week.

Courtesy of MLBTR:

Thanks to the average fastball velocity data available at FanGraphs, we can make all kinds of fun lists.  Today we'll compile the hardest-throwing free agent relievers (minimum 20 innings in 2010).

1.  Kyle Farnsworth - 94.9
2.  Jesse Crain - 94.8
3.  Kerry Wood - 94.4
4.  J.J. Putz - 94.0
5.  Jose Contreras - 94.0
6.  Joaquin Benoit - 94.0
7.  Guillermo Mota - 93.9
8.  Frank Francisco - 93.4
9.  Rafael Soriano - 92.9
10.  Jason Frasor - 92.8

Looks like Frasor got over his "dead arm" phase from early on in the season. He's a type A free agent. Can you say: sign and trade?

Courtesy of Fuck Yeah The Maple Leafs:

Even Leaf fans hate Damien "Suck My" Cox. Perfect.

Courtesy of Bobby Elliott:

While Roy, his father also named Roy and Linda, spent hours at the park, taking turns throwing batting practice to their son as Miranda and Heather tracked down fly balls. Heather remembers her brother taking her fishing at the Arvada reservoir.
They were pals. Roy caught a fish, named it Mr. Blue Gills and made the fish talk to Heather, age 7, before tossing it back.

Bob really digs deep for some quotes in this piece. 

Courtesy of King Jordan:

With his incredible Major League debut aside, how does J.P. Arencibia's less-than-inspiring performance impact the direction of the team with regards to the catching situation for 2011?
--Trevor P., Mississauga, Ontario
To be honest, Arencibia's production down the stretch this season probably will not impact Toronto's plans too much. He received very little playing time over the final month of the season, making it difficult for him to show much in the batter's box or behind the plate.
Beyond that, the fact remains that Arencibia has nothing left to prove in the Minor Leagues. It is time for the Blue Jays to give him a shot in the Majors. Whether that means he will be the starting catcher or part of a tandem when 2011 opens is the big question.
All-Star John Buck can be a free agent and he has earned a full-time job as well as a long-term contract. Veteran backup Jose Molina's contract with the Jays includes a $1 million club option for 2011. Exercising that option would appear to make more sense if Arencibia is in the plans as the starter or if a shared role is in the young catcher's immediate future.

Our boy LastRow500's gets his question answered by King Jordan! To follow him on Twitter click here.

Courtesy of Beyond The Boxscore:

I read this article at least three times and still don't quite have my head around it.

Courtesy of Baseball America:

Pacific Coast League Top 20 Prospects

1. Buster Posey, c/1b, Fresno Grizzlies (Giants)
2. Mike Moustakas, 3b, Omaha Royals
3. Michael Pineda, rhp, Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners)
4. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, Fresno Grizzlies (Giants)
5. Dustin Ackley, 2b, Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners)
6. Logan Morrison, 1b/of, New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins)
7. Tanner Scheppers, rhp, Oklahoma City RedHawks (Rangers)
8. J.P. Arencibia, c, Las Vegas 51s (Blue Jays)
9. Justin Smoak, 1b, Oklahoma City (Rangers)/Tacoma (Mariners)
10. Brett Wallace, 1b, Las Vegas 51s (Blue Jays)

Some pretty impressive names on this list. Nice to see J.P. getting some love. You could argue that the PCL MVP should be higher on the list but.....

Courtesy of Bobby Elliott:

After the draft, the Jays asked Sweeney not play high school baseball.
“They didn’t want me to get hurt, but I wasn’t going to sign before Aug. 15, so we figured if I got hurt there was time for me to get healthy,” said Sweeney, who hit the first pitch he swung at for a home run down the right field line against the Waterloo West WarHawks.
The infielder found out — yes, found out — he’d agreed to terms in mid-August after his Thomas Jefferson High Jayhawks lost 3-2 to top-ranked Mason City, a game in which he was walked intentionally four times.
“My parents came over ‘sorry you lost, but congratulations, you just agreed to terms with Toronto,’ ” Sweeney said. “The Jays phoned after I’d left for the game two hours away and told me not to play. But my parents didn’t want to let the team down.”
Gary and Lori Sweeney kept the news secret, although they told Kellen’s coaches. Gary is a production planner on the Quaker Oats assembly line, so he knows all about timing.
“All the girls back home ask when I’m going to Toronto,” Sweeney says with a smile. “I tell them it doesn’t work that way.

'Gary is a production planner on the Quaker Oats assembly line, so he knows all about timing.' Ah, what?

Courtesy of MLBTR:

The problem is, few careers resemble Bautista’s. He played for four teams in 2004, played five positions in 2006 and seemed destined for a career as a utility man when the Blue Jays acquired him in 2008. And in 2010? He made the All-Star team and led the major leagues in extra base hits and home runs.
If your head is spinning, imagine how arbitrators - the decision-makers responsible for settling salary disagreements between teams and players -  would feel after considering Bautista’s case for a few hours. The Blue Jays have a history of avoiding arbitration, so there seems to be a good chance that they don’t go to a hearing this time, but the potential for one will shape the sides’ discussions.
The Blue Jays can argue that Bautista deserves a limited raise, but they have to be careful, according to one longtime arbitration consultant.
“You lose a lot of credibility with an arbitrator if you have a guy who had a monster year and you start pissing all over him,” says Michael Vlessides, who has faced most leading baseball agents on behalf of various MLB teams over the course of the past two decades.
 
Anybody that gets quoted as saying "pissing all over him" in an article, is cool in my books. I included the comments thread in the link because there really are some drastically different points of view on J-Bau.

Courtesy of Morgan Campbell:

Technically, Bautista can play with Licey if he chooses. As a native Dominican he’s free to play for his hometown team according to both the Winter League Agreement — a rulebook ratified last winter between MLB and four Caribbean leagues — and the Jays.
“We’ll address all the players the same way,” Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos wrote in an email to the Star. “It’s up to the players if they choose to participate in winter ball.”
But the Winter League Agreement’s “extreme fatigue clause” allows teams to curtail winter league action for players with more than 503 plate appearances. This season Bautista totalled 683 plate appearances and 569 at-bats.
Whether or not the Jays ask him to sit out the Dominican season, Bautista’s top baseball priority is still the team that pays him the most.

I wonder how they settled on the number 503? Why not a cool 500?

Courtesy of Rob Cribb:

About 70,000 samples from football, hockey, basketball and baseball — from amateur to professional levels — were submitted to WADA-accredited laboratories last year.
North American testing was conducted in WADA labs in Montreal, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.
Of more than 6,000 tests on hockey players, which included both professionals and amateurs, 1.3 per cent came back positive. In baseball, the figure was 2.5 per cent for nearly 20,000 tests. Basketball had 2 per cent positives in about 11,000 tests. And football’s 42,000 tests produced 0.77 per cent positives.
The findings come with caveats, Howman said, including the fact that some leagues test for fewer substances than WADA and conduct testing when the likelihood of catching cheaters is low.

Interesting read.

Courtesy of Nick Cafardo:

Source: Sox bench coach Demarlo Hale getting second interview with Blue Jays

Second interviews = legit interest. It's tough keeping up to date with the manager search and realistically by the time anything is published, it's old news. 

Weekly Round Up: Sept. 27 - Oct. 3

Consider this your required reading for the week.

Consider this your required listening for the week.

Consider this your required viewing for the week.

Courtesy of John Lott:

Before the Toronto Blue Jays played their last game of the 2009 season, Lyle Overbay visited manager Cito Gaston in his office in the visitors’ clubhouse in Baltimore.
This was just two days after a story broke that said Gaston had lost the confidence of his players because he was too aloof, too “old-school.” A few veteran players, Overbay among them, spoke publicly about a communication rift that had increasingly undermined team morale as the season progressed.
Personally, Overbay was frustrated that Gaston had made him a platoon player. So before the last game, the first baseman walked in and asked whether Gaston had determined his role for 2010.
“He said, ‘I’m going to play you every day. You’re going to be our first baseman,’ “ Overbay recalled yesterday.
Then Overbay told another story.
“I remember early this season, we were looking for somebody and Cito’s door was shut, and some of the guys didn’t want to knock on it. I said, ‘I’ll go knock on it.’
“I think after that, some guys saw it was no big deal. It’s weird how he’ll sit there and preach how his door is always open, but guys still won’t go in.”

Alright. That is that. Now, who is gonna lead this team to the promise land? Anybody got a favorite candidate? 

Courtesy of Bruce Arthur:

“I agonize over every decision, more than I ever thought I would,” says Anthopoulos, leaning back in a chair in an empty conference room in the Rogers Centre. “God, every decision feels like it’s huge. You make decisions, but before I make a trade I talk to everybody, ask a million questions. It might sound a little bit insane, but it’s that important.
“If I talk to 10 people, maybe one gives me a link that leads to something else. If the janitor has a good point to make, it might help us.”
“He likes the tension of an argument,” Jays president Paul Beeston says. “Alex, he’s remarkable in that he doesn’t mind having the debate.”

An insightful piece on our General Manager and all the challenges he has faced in his first year on the job. 

Courtesy of Craig Calcaterra:

For now let us merely note that if Frantz has the guts to make an actual accusation, he should make it. To state, in plain language, that he doubts that Bautista's accomplishments are genuine. To do otherwise -- to make oblique reference to the mere possibility that Bautista cheated and to blame figures who haven't played baseball for several years for "the questions that remain" -- is cowardly.
And that goes not only for Frantz, but for anyone who wishes to join in the increasingly popular pastime of trashing Jose Bautista. Ladies and gentlemen: if you have evidence, or even reasonable suspicion that Bautista -- a player who has had at least two PED tests this season -- has used PEDs, come out and say it.  If you don't, please spare us your insinuations to the contrary.

Hey Damien "Suck My" Cox, I think he's talking to you.

Courtesy of John Lott:

Aaron Hill was openly displeased when manager Cito Gaston took him out of Sunday’s game after the seventh inning. The Toronto Blue Jays’ second baseman, who has struggled at the plate all season, was not in the lineup for Monday night’s game against the New York Yankees.
“He’s fine,” Gaston said before the game. “I just want to give him a day off to rest his mind and just clear his head. He’ll be back in there tomorrow.”

I hope Aaron can get off to a hot start next season. We need him. We really do.

Courtesy of Satchel Price:

These guys are supposed to be really damn good. And all of them were really damn good at one point, because that's how you convince someone to give you $20M per year to do something. But how have the four members currently in New York's $20 Million Club fared this season? Well, if you guys were looking for a New York-centric post (because I'm trying to be unique today!), you're going to get one, because you could never really make a post like this with a team from any other city.

A look at our free spending fucking divisional rivals infield. Nice job on the wildcard, fags.

Courtesy of Zack O'Malley Greenburg:

Travis Snider, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
Bourdett: I’ve been projecting a breakout for Travis Snider for a couple years now, so forgive me if I sound like a broken record.  I actually thought this was the year it would happen, but unfortunately, a wrist injury in May completely derailed his 2010 campaign. It may seem like Snider’s been around a while, but it’s important to note that he doesn’t turn 23 until February, an age at which most high draft picks — Snider was Toronto’s first-round pick back in ‘06 –  are tasting the majors for the very first time (Snider’s hit .252/.317/.434 as a 20-22 year old over 651 big-league plate appearances). Snider’s a great bet to enter 2011 with a starting outfield job in hand, and if he can continue to make strides with his strikeout rate — he shaved about five percentage points off his K-rate between last season and this season — I see no reason why he can’t hit .260-.270 with 25-30 homers next year.

Aaron Hill, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays
ZOG: Take a glance at Hill’s Mendoza-line batting average this offseason and you’ll be tempted to dismiss him as a 2B-eligible Russell Branyan. But take a closer look and you’ll be rewarded handsomely. He’s never hit below .263 in his career, his strikeout rate has remained stable, his walk rate has actually increased slightly in 2010, and at age 28 he’s still in his prime. Most telling of all, his BABIP sits at .196, nearly 100 points below his career average and 30 points below anybody else in either league — which means that, statistically speaking, Aaron Hill is the unluckiest man in baseball. He may never exceed his 2009 total of 36 home runs, but he could easily top this year’s 26 and approach last year’s .286 average. With his value depressed as it is, Hill could be one of the biggest steals of 2011 on draft day.

Forbes doesn't fuck around.

Courtesy of Baseball Card Bust:

Joe Carter is a World Series hero and a five-time All-Star, but in 1992, his biological clock was ticking. Much to the chagrin of his teammates and to the hilarity of the sports media, Carter began mothering the rest of the Blue Jays. Starting in spring training, the Jays would walk into their clubhouse and find packed lunches in their lockers. Carter would pace the room, wiping off dirt from David Wells' face with a saliva-moistened Kleenex, yelling at Jack Morris to pick up after himself and encouraging wildman Tom Henke to find himself a nice girl and settle down already. He grounded Roberto Alomar for missing curfew the night before a big series against the Yankees. He even acted as clubhouse matron during the All-Star Game. In this photo, Carter is seen wiping a stray booger off All-Star teammate Mark McGwire's nose while handing him a cup of homemade lemonade. Annoyed by the man's unconditional love, the Blue Jays could come up with one solution: They pooled together enough money to buy a black-market Salvadorian orphan named Enrique and left him on Carter's doorstep one August night. And while they were happy to no longer have the man they had come to call "Joe Mama" on their case all the time, the locker room seemed a little emptier without Carter's peanut butter cookies.

I am so happy I found this site. Take a look around if you got a minute. Awesome stuff.
 

BAS 4 Life

Gotta ask the question: How many kids out there are going to try copy this swing?

Weekly Round Up: Sept. 6 - Sept. 12

Consider this your required reading for the week.

Consider this your required viewing for the week. 

Courtesy of John Lott:

“Kyle certainly deserves it,” Anthopoulos said. “He had a great year. His last start was outstanding. It was important for us for him to pitch in a playoff atmosphere. He did a great job. He did everything we asked, and his innings total is pretty much identical to what it was last year.”
Drabek’s first outing will come Wednesday in place of Brett Cecil, whose start has been pushed back to Friday in Boston.
According the current rotation schedule, Drabek would make his home debut Sept. 22 against Seattle and his final start, again at home, against the New York Yankees on Sept. 28. 

It's been confirmed that this game will only be shown on SportsNet One. Now that REALLY sucks for those that can't get the channel. Look for this hashtag to explode: #StupidSportsnetOne 

Courtesy of Damien "Suck My" Cox: 

The confusing part is that with Paul Beeston back in charge, the disliked J.P. Ricciardi gone, a local boy running the front office and an appealing youth movement, it was expected this would the year GTA baseball fans began to feel more enthusiastic about the team.
Instead, attendance suggests the Jays are less popular now than they were last year, and definitely from three or four years ago.
'Tis a puzzlement.
Wtih Jose Bautista swatting homers at a major league-leading pace, an impressive young pitching staff featuring Brandon Morrow and some exciting prospects on the way, one might have thought there was an opportunity at hand for the Jays to recover some lost ground, not lose more. Generally speaking, local media types have approved of the direction of the team, some suggesting this has been nearly a triumphant season despite a record just about .500. Moreover, its not like any of the other pro teams in town are producing championship-quality teams.
So what's the reason behind the drop? Well, the stadium, of course. The Rogers TV issues haven't helped. Having a caretaker manager doesn't exactly get the masses excited. And, as has been the case for a long, long time, no meaningful games in August, let alone September, kills interest. Playing in the tough American League East continues to be an issue, although another competitive season from low payroll Tampa Bay is gradually taking away the division in which the Jays play as a meaningful excuse.
The season began with some shockingly low numbers, but then there was some recovery. Now, it seems the season may end on a low, which has to leave the Jays thoroughly puzzled as to what it will take - if anything - to bring the people back. 

This guy needs to stop writing about baseball. Seriously. 

Courtesy of Klaw: 

Pettitte isn't that great a prospect, as he's old for the level, but New Hampshire starter Zach Stewart was extremely impressive in his seven innings of work, striking out 10 (also against a weak lineup) with just one walk and ten groundouts against just one air out.
Stewart showed four pitches, pitching at 90-96 with sink and some tail with a tight, out-pitch slider at 83-87 that he threw for strikes, even back-dooring it to left-handed hitters for called strikes. His changeup was the biggest surprise, as another scout at the game told me he hadn't seen it this good before; it's mostly straight but has good separation from the fastball at 81-85 and his arm speed is excellent. He also used a fringy curveball with good depth, but he didn't command the pitch as well as he did the slider.
Stewart worked aggressively with everything and had good tempo. He stays over the rubber before driving forward with a long stride, although his arm action is a little long in the back and he pronates relatively late in the delivery. I know several scouts see Stewart as a sinker/slider pen guy, but I see four pitches, a good frame, and a pitcher who likes to attack hitters, and I see a potential No. 2 starter, maybe a No. 3 if the changeup isn't always where it was tonight. 

Klaw had something positive to say about your Toronto Blue Jays. Seriously. 

Courtesy of John Lott: 

Asked whether he wants to succeed his old friend Cito Gaston as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, Nick Leyva does not hesitate.

"They know I'm interested," he says. "Why wouldn't I be? This organization is going in the right direction. You have a young, aggressive general manager. He's got a plan. You'd be foolish if you didn't want to be part of that."
The general manager, widely credited with Midas-like qualities in his rookie year, is Alex Anthopoulos, now deeply engaged in his next big decision: culling a long list of contestants for the job Gaston will vacate at season's end. 

Do we go outside the organizations? Do we look within the organization? Both have their pros and cons. Discuss. 

Courtesy of Baseball America: 

A team bursting with impact prospects will represent the United States at the 2010 Pan American Qualifying tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The team will scrimmage Sept. 25-28 at USA Baseball's National Training Center against teams from Puerto Rico and Canada, then plays in the tournament Oct. 1-10. The event serves as a qualifier for the 2011 Pan Am Games, with the top eight teams earning entry, and the top six teams also qualify for the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup. 

Brian Jeroloman gets the call to represent his country. Great honour for him. I see him as our AAA starting catcher next season with d'Arnaud, Jimenez and Perez breathing down his neck. 

Courtesy of MILB: 

Dunedin Blue Jays closer Matt Daly joined fellow pitcher Joel Carreno as a Dunedin record-breaker in 2010, setting new single-season marks for both saves and appearances in the D-Jays' 4-3 win over Tampa on Saturday.
Daly, 24, notched his 31st save in his 56th appearance, breaking Connor Falkenbach's save mark from 2007 and Ben Weber's appearance mark from 1993.

Falkenbach's saves record was the most recent record set by a Blue Jays player, and with both Daly and Carreno breaking records in 2010, they became the first D-Jays duo to accomplish that feat since pitchers Cameron Reimers (hit-by-pitches) and Aaron Dean (earned runs) did the deed in 2001.
The 13th round draft pick in 2008 out of the University of Hawaii has had a stellar 2010 campaign, going 2-2 with a 2.50 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .214 batting average. His 31 saves came in 33 chances, a remarkable 94% save rate. He also struck out 63 in 57 2/3 innings. He was named a first-half Florida State League All-Star, as well, pitching in the FSL All-Star Game back on June 12.
Daly now has 56 saves in his three seasons with the Blue Jays organization and 32 overall with Dunedin, having notched a save during a late-season call-up in 2009. 

Straight rip of a press release. Looking forward to seeing how Matt does in the AFL. 

Courtesy of John Lott: 

Bautista opened the year as the leadoff hitter, later batting sixth and seventh before his burgeoning power production prompted manager Cito Gaston to install him in the No. 3 slot on June 24.

Since then, Bautista has batted .296 with 23 homers and 56 RBIs. In the same span, Wells has hit .262 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs, a sharp drop-off from his early pace. At the time of the change, Wells was batting .281 with 16 homers and 42 RBIs. 

So I had this thought. Why not put J-Bau in the clean up spot next year? Move Vernon to the 5 hole and bring Lind back up to the 3 hole. I'm kinda getting tired of seeing Esco take the bat out of J-Bau's hands.

 Courtesy of James Christie: 

Toronto Police have turned over documents removed from Toronto Blue Jays offices to U.S. authorities in connection with the perjury case against seven-time Cy Young winning pitcher Roger Clemens.
Two Toronto officers executed the search in June, an Associated Press report said, and assisted the U.S. Justice Department by forwarding two boxes they obtained, according to Toronto police spokesman Constable Tony Vella. The police spokesman would not say whether the documents were medical records.
The Blue Jays are maintaining silence on the Clemens matter. Blue Jays physician Dr. Ron Taylor said through an associate “he did not know under what circumstances the documents were obtained and will make no comments,” while Blue Jays spokesman Jay Stenhouse said the club will not comment “about matters pending before courts, other than to confirm that it is our policy to comply with all valid legal process.”
Jays president Paul Beeston did not reply to a phone message seeking his comment. 

He is still the very best pitcher I have ever seen in person. Check out his numbers as a Blue Jay. Fucking insane.

 Courtesy of Jeff Blair: 

But I do know Anthopoulos is a smart guy, and I know that smart, first-year general managers pick their spots. You can’t take over as GM of a team managed by someone with Cito Gaston’s track record knowing that your boss – president and chief executive officer Paul Beeston – wants a comfortable exit for the guy who helped bring the city two World Series titles. You can’t fight bitterly for every inch of your turf, not when you know that Beeston stared down the players during last year’s September clubhouse revolt. So you save your powder, knowing you are just weeks away from making your franchise’s most important managerial hire since Gaston was fired.
When you are asked about Snider’s handling, if you are Anthopoulos, you point to his age: 22. You point to nine home runs in 222 at-bats, shrug and say, essentially, “could be worse.” J.P. Arencibia’s lack of playing time? “No,” you would say, “John Buck was an American League all-star." 

I have been meaning to post about The Cito for a while now. I am suppressing the anger. It's becoming un-healthy. 

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick: 

“It’s more about the opportunity I have to pick these guys brains as much as possible and watch games on a closer level,” Arencibia said. “Watch the hitters, watch what’s going on. Sitting in on the catcher-pitcher meetings before games and stuff like that. That’s the way I’m going to have to learn.”
Arencibia has a lot to learn. Following his fabulous August debut, he caught sporadically and when he did, pitchers struggled. He must improve his pitch-calling and his understanding of the major-leagues. He must form relationships with the pitchers he will work with next year. He needs to play.
Even if the Jays plan on re-signing Buck, especially if the Jays plan on re-signing Buck, they could easily ease his workload in September and it wouldn’t hurt him. As for Arencibia, following his second straight successful season at Triple-A he was asked if he was ready for the majors.
“I’m the Pacific Coast League MVP,” Arencibia said with quiet confidence. 

You Don't Know Dick absolutely nails it. Why not play the kid? What the fuck do we owe the Skankees or Tampa Gay? 

Weekly Round Up: Aug. 16 - 22

Consider this your required reading for the week.  You Don't Know Dick does a nice season recap.

Courtesy of Forbes:

Adam Lind, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
Swanay: Many were predicting superstardom for Lind after his breakout 2009 season in which he hit .305 with 35 homers and 114 RBI. Instead, his 2010 OBP (.297) is less than his 2009 AVG, and he’s hitting just .230 with 17 homers and 54 RBI. His .280 BABIP is only partly to blame. Lind’s K% has increased from 18.7% to 25.7%, while his HR/FB ratio has dropped from 19.8% to 13.3%. He’s swinging at a higher percentage of pitches outside the strike zone (34.6% vs 24.7%) and making contact less frequently (66.2% vs 70.5%). Expect a .250 AVG with 6 homers and 22 RBI the rest of the season, which makes his value equivalent to those of J.D. Drew, Rick Ankiel, and Alex Gordon.

Forbes doesn't fuck around.

Courtesy of Baseball America:

Bill (Galloway, New Jersey): Of the top 50 picks in the 2010 draft class that signed contracts, who do you feel has the potential to be the biggest sleeper and go far beyond expectations?

Jim Callis: Based on lack of hype and not draft position (because guys slid for financial reasons), I'll say Jays righthander Asher Wojciechowski. Plus fastball and slider, should move quickly. 

Great news and a great job by Jim Callis covering the draft this and every year. 

Courtesy of Shi Davidi

McGuire, meanwhile, is a physically imposing power arm with the type of frame the Blue Jays targeted in the draft. The 21-year-old features a fastball in the 90-94 m.p.h. range with a good slider, plus a change and a curve.
Some have compared him to John Lackey.
"I'm a four-pitch guy," said McGuire. "I do my best to run and sink (the fastball), sometimes it co-operates, sometimes it doesn't.
"I really try and locate, that's kind of my thing, I'm not going to overpower anybody but I'm going to locate as good as anybody. I mix in a curveball and a change-up that are more get-ahead pitches. I'll use them for strikeouts occasionally, but I'd say my strikeout pitch is my fastball or my slider."

Some details on Deck's repertoire.  Look for him to start his pro career in Lansing next year.
 

Courtesy of Baseball America:

Dickie Thon isn't a flashy defender, but makes all the routine plays. He has good feet, soft hands and an above-average arm. His bat is a little inconsistent right now, but he profiles as a good top-of-the-order hitter. He has gap power and could grow into some home run power as he continues to fill out and drives more balls. Thon is an average runner out of the box, but is above-average under way. He has good baseball instincts and projects to steal 20-30 bases a year.

A decent scouting report on Dickie.  The question I got is: How long before he gets moved to 2nd base? 

Courtesy of Buck Martinez: 

BRIAN ROSE ASKS: Hi Buck, in a Red Sox-Jays game last week, I saw a Boston pitcher lick his fingers while on the mound and in possession of the ball. Has the rule been changed to allow this?

BUCK: Brian, the rule has changed a bit regarding a pitcher going to his mouth on the dirt part of the mound. In years past a pitcher had to step off the dirt before going to his mouth; now he can go to his mouth while on the dirt but not on the pitching rubber. The penalty comes if he doesn't wipe his hand on his uniform before touching the ball. Not wiping off his hand after going to his mouth will force the umpire to call a "ball" and the at-bat will continue.

Buck takes some questions and this one caught my eye.

Courtesy of Our Boy Jesse:

C A.J. Jimenez is done for the year due to a tear in his elbow.  He's back in Florida right now.  Surgery is required.  Cross your fingers.

A.J. has had a cannon of an arm behind the dish.  Hope he is able to get healthy quickly. 

Courtesy of MLBTR:

Jose Molina

Toronto

None

54.545

Don't look now but Jose Molina is creeping toward Type B free agent status.  May explain why cult hero J.P. Arencibia didn't play as much as expected while here was up in the big leagues. 

Courtesy of Scott Carlson:

Now those of you who have followed the Blue Jays closely, based upon TV ratings, not attendance figures, and the dozens of you who I've met while on the road, so I know there are a bunch of you, know that the Blue Jays starters have been knocking on the no-hitter door several times this season. For the casual fan, here's a list:

Pitcher	Inning	Date	Opponent	Broken Up By
Brandon Morrow	8.2	08/08	Rays	Evan Longoria
Ricky Romero	7.0	04/13	White Sox	Alex Rios
Brett Cecil	6.2	05/03	Indians	Jhonny Peralta
Shaun Marcum	6.1	04/05	Rangers	Vladimir Guerrero
Shaun Marcum	6.0	08/16	Athletics	Conor Jackson
Jesse Litsch	5.2	07/11	Red Sox	Marco Scutaro
Brandon Morrow	5.2	05/31	Rays	Sean Rodriguez
Brandon Morrow	5.1	04/19	Royals	Yuniesky Betancourt

It's been quite a year on the mound but still no one has been able to nail down a glorious no hitter.

Courtesy of 500 Level Fan:

The bottom line is that it was yet another complete game one-hitter by a Blue Jay.  Maybe because so many Blue Jays are taking no-hitters deep into games this year, or maybe because Morrow’s game is so fresh in my mind, it seems like these one-hitters happen quite often in Toronto’s history.
With a little help (well, a lot of help actually) from retrosheet.org and baseball-reference.com I was able to put together a list of everytime a Jays pitcher has thrown a complete game one-hitter.  The feat has happened on 16 occassions:



2 of the 16 one hitters thrown by Blue Jay pitchers happened this year.