"Vision(s)"

This is a text I sent our boy Jay - a ridiculously huge Phillies supporter - the eve before the winner take all Game 5 NLDS showdown involving former Blue Jay hero Roy Halladay and oft under appreciated Blue Jay Chris Carpenter. 

It's not often I get these "visions" that pop into my head. They seem to be exclusive to sport and normally involve a huge underdog. The last one I can recall was way back in 2007.

My friends and I made the trip down to Columbus, Ohio for UFC 68. The main event featured heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia against Randy Couture. The Natural had been out of the fight game for a while and this was his comeback fight. Nobody in the world gave Randy a chance. Tim was at least a half foot taller and out weighted him by 50 pounds. Plus he was the reigning and defending champion.

As we made our way on foot to the stadium to watch the fight, I asked everyone in our party who they thought was going to win the main event. To a man, they all took the champ.

I told them about my "vision", which was a decisive Couture victory. Not only that but I mentioned that it was going to last all five and end in unanimous decision. I was laughed at. Repeatedly.

Since then, I have been waiting patiently for another one of these "visions" to come. I guess anyone can pick a huge underdog and be right, especially when it's a legit 50/50 bet. But the clarity and detail to which I was able to predict the result of that fight left my friends speechless.

Back to the Cards/Phillies match up.

Not exactly sure when this "vision" came. I believe it was that awkward time when lying in bed just before you fall asleep. I'll admit, this one was a little less detailed than the previous one. But I did see a gem and I did see the number 3.

Click here for the boxscore

Conclusion:

The next time I get one of these "visions", I'm pulling out the wallet.

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: 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..... 

Remembering: Roy Halladay

Well, your Toronto Blue Jays 2010 season has come to a close. Cito's tenure as manager is officially over. We here at 1BlueJaysWay look forward to the upcoming playoffs, offseason and to the beginning of the 2011 campaign.

As Roy Halladay and his Phillies are celebrating the clinching of the NL East, and preparing for his playoffs debut vs the Reds, what better time to take a moment and remember the greatest pitcher to don the Blue Jays logo.

Let's go back to a fall road trip I took in September of 2007, to Boston.

In March of 2007, I was browsing the internet and various MLB team sites scouting out a potential road trip to take in a Blue Jays game in foreign territory. I landed at redsox.com and stumbled upon two seats in the grandstand section behind home plate. The seats were restricted view, but it was Fenway Park, in September. Those who have had the pleasure to visit Fenway park know, that the restricted view seats are part of the mystique that is "America's Most Beloved Ballpark". I clicked buy and we were off to Boston, eventually.

Fast forward to September 5th. The 2007 Blue Jays were winding down their season, firmly entrenched in third place. The Red Sox were on their way to winning the World Series against Colorado. Having arrived in Boston earlier in the week we were able to take in the first two games of the series, one of which included a tough CG loss by Roy Halladay.

Our tickets were for the series finale. On the hill the pitching matchup was Marcum vs. Schilling.

The lineups were as follows:

Wells CF Lugo SS

Stairs LF Ellsbury LF

Rios RF Ortiz DH

Thomas DH Lowell 3B

Glaus 3B Drew RF

Overbay 1B Youkillis 1B

Hill 2B Varitek C

Zaun C Crisp CF

McDonald SS Cora 2B

Back to the Fenway Park experience, we decided to head down to the Fens' early to catch the last tour of the park before the gates opened. Tour tickets in hand, we went to the Red Sox team store, across Yawkey Way from the park. Two Jays fans in a sea of Red Sox paraphenalia ranging from jackets, hats, jerseys and Yankees toilet paper, something caught my eye through the windows of the store. It was a man strolling down Yawkey way wearing a Blue Jays t-shirt. That in itself was pretty cool, being that we were in the capital of Red Sox nation but upon closer observation I noticed it was a familiar looking Blue Jays player, check that, THE Blue Jays player, Doc' himself, Mr. Roy Halladay. Without causing much stir or having much regard about missing the Fenway tour, I grabbed Mrs. LastRow500's arm and quietly made for the exit. We crossed Yawkey way caught up with Roy, who graciously stopped to chat with this odd man who had made the 9 hour trek to see his beloved Blue Jays play, despite being 14 games out of a playoff position.

We chatted briefly, he thanked us for making the trip, shook my hand, and stood patiently for a photo:

I just wanna take the opportunity to say "Good Luck Roy" on your World Series hunt.

And thanks again for the memories.

As for the game? Who cares? The Jays won, Glaus and Wells hit homers, I sat beside Jesse Litsch's brother, got a ball from Adam Lind and met Jerry Howarth.

Weekly Round Up: June 21 - 27

Consider this your required reading for the week.  It's more like required viewing and a bit of reading but what you gonna do?

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick @ The Star:

Thanks to the humanity shown by the Jays, McDonald was home for the final 11 days of his father’s life, alternately laughing and crying but always celebrating a life well lived. McDonald recalled for the fans one of the highlight conversations from that final week.
“One year I struck out only once in high school,” he said. “We had a game where no umpires showed. They knew my dad was an ump so they pulled him out of the crowd. On a two-strike pitch, he punched me out on a curveball. We were talking in the hospital with a bunch of his umpire friends. I said, ‘Dad, was that really a strike?’ He said, ‘Son, it was a strike then and it’s a strike now.’”

This is a touchy subject for me.  I lost my Dad when I was younger and debated on whether or not to add this wonderful story.  In the end, this may end up being the story of the year and I am happy John had an opportunity to spend some time with his father before he passed away.  To hit a homerun in his first at bat back in the line up after his death, considering he had 13 in 1911 plate appearances over his 12 season in the Major Leagues, well that is something very special.      

Courtesy of MLB.com:

Hours prior to the Blue Jays' contest against the Cardinals on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre, an earthquake reading 5.5 on the Richter Scale sent shock waves throughout the city of Toronto, spanning as far as Boston, Chicago, and New York. While an earthquake in Toronto is practically unheard of -- the last one of this magnitude coming nearly 20 years ago -- this is the second time this month the Blue Jays have experienced a series of tremors.

Earthquake in Ontario?  Last year we had a bunch of tornadoes touch down and now this?  Yikes. 

Courtesy of Buck Martinez @ Sportsnet.ca:

BOB OWSNETT ASKS: I've always wondered what's involved in a pitcher's SIMULATED game? Does it take place under the stands with a strike zone target OR out on the diamond with a catcher? Are certain situations set up? Do they pitch a full game or just a few innings? Do they actually face batters, OR is it like throwing in the bullpen? Please enlighten me on this subject.
BUCK: Good question Bob. We always talk about a pitcher throwing a "simulated" game without much explanation. Generally this involves a pitcher coming back from injury. As he builds up his arm strength and stamina getting closer to major league action, the team will set up one of these sim sessions. The idea is to simulate the action of pitching an inning. He will face some of his own hitters, the catcher will call pitches and the pitching coach will serve as the umpire. The inning will consist of a regular sequence of pitches to a batter that has an at-bat. If he gets a base hit he doesn't run the bases but the pitcher will work out of the stretch. When three outs are recorded, the inning is over, the pitcher takes his normal break between innings and resumes the process. This simulated game is the last practice a pitcher has before he makes a "rehab assignment" in the minors as a final tune up before activation onto the major league roster. Of course I would always prefer they simulate no-hitters!

Buck does his weekly Q & A.  Usually pretty basic stuff but this was somewhat enlightening. 

Courtesy of MLBTR:

The Padres have acquired Kyle Phillips from the Blue Jays in exchange for a player to be named later, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter). The move represents a homecoming for Phillips, who was born in San Diego.
The 26-year-old broke into the major leagues for the first time last year, compiling five hits in 18 late-season plate appearances for Toronto. Over the course of nine minor league seasons with three different organizations, Phillips has a slash line of .265/.333/.381. Though he came through the minors as a catcher, he has spent most of his time this year at third base, hitting .258/.310/.333 in 71 plate appearances for the Jays' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star points out (via Twitter) that Phillips was stuck behind a slew of players on the Jays' catcher and corner infield depth charts.

Phillips was not going to see anytime behind the plate because of the following guys:
Arencibia 
Jeroloman
d'Arnaud 
Jimenez 

Things look good with respect to depth at the catching position here in Toronto.  Should we shop John Buck and see what we can get in return? 

Courtesy of Bob Elliott @ Toronto Sun: 

Paul Beeston’s November presidential visit to Halladay in Oldsmar, Fla. in was the date when there was no turning back.
“I didn’t tell Paul I didn’t want to come back,” Halladay said. “I said I didn’t want to sign long-term, keep my options open. I wanted a chance to win ...”
Halladay catches himself and adds: “basically I guess by me saying that, I was saying the same thing.”

A lot of interesting stuff came out about the Roy Halladay trade this week.  I'm glad this ordeal is over with and wish him well on the rest of his season.    

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick @ The Star:

“When (former GM) J.P. (Ricciardi) was still with them, he had come to us and said what about this extension, blah, blah, blah,” Brandy explained. “They offered us a lot of money. Like we said, it’s not about the money, it’s about putting ourselves in the position to attain the goals we set for ourselves. We said at this time we can’t sign that extension because we don’t know where the team’s going.”
The Jays sent an entourage to Tampa to meet with the Halladays at their home in December of ’08 prior to the winter meetings. The option for the best pitcher in baseball at the time was to sign an extension or else the Jays would explore trade opportunities.

“At that point we had been asked for a list of teams,” she said. “At spring training we said, ‘Look, if you’re going to (trade), do it now. Don’t do it during the year because it’s a media frenzy for the team, it’s a media frenzy for us. Either get it done or let us do our job. When they didn’t, we thought we would be here all year. We never went and said we want a trade. They came to us every time.”

 

This interview with Roy's wife Brandy was particularly insightful.   

Courtesy of Bob Elliott @ Toronto Sun: 

Isn’t it nicer, now that the Blue Jays clubhouse is so loose?
That real serious guy, who never smiled or laughed, has left.
In the spring, Shaun Marcum said with Roy Halladay gone the Jays clubhouse would be looser, the Jays would “have fun,” and Marcum would “talk to young guys.”
It was a shot at the departed Halladay’s intensity. People within the Jays organization have said the clubhouse was more relaxed once Halladay left with his all-too-serious attitude.

This story got a few of my fellow Jays bloggers pretty pissed.  What do you guys think?  

Big Game Tonight

Ladies and gentlemen, if you do not plan to be watching the game tonight I think it is fair to say you are not welcome here at 1BlueJaysWay anymore.  Doc will be facing his former teammates and I thought you may be interested in his career numbers vs our boys.

Roy Halladay (phi) - throws Right at tor - 7:05 PM ET - 

OPPOSING HITTER	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jose Molina	14	1	1	0	0	0	1	4	.071	.133	.143	.276
Alex Gonzalez	10	3	0	0	0	3	1	1	.300	.333	.300	.633
Nick Green	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	.111	.111	.111	.222
John Buck	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
Dewayne Wise	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
Lyle Overbay	3	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	.333	.333	.333	.667

 
I was asked to do a guest post by contributor Jay Ballz over at his site Phoul Ballz.com and gladly accepted.  Take a look when you have a chance, my current thoughts about life minus the Doctor are all there for all to see.

Remembering: Roy Halladay

 

I think I'm ready to talk about the trade now.  I know it took a while.  I have no idea where this one is going to go but I hope you enjoy the ride.....

Harry Leroy Halladay.  AKA Doc

Your Toronto Blue Jays selected him the first round, 17th overall, in the 1995 MLB June Amateur Draft as an 18 year old.  He rocketed through the minor leagues, reaching AAA by 1997 and the Majors in 1998 as a 21 year old.  Things looked good.  At the time we had three young right handed pitchers who seemed destined for success.  They were Chris Carpenter, Kelvim Escobar and Roy Halladay.

But everything became unraveled.  Carp suffered some devastating arm injuries, Kelvim was bounced between the rotation and the bullpen and Doc got sent all the way back down to High A ball in 2001.  He was told he needed to completely change his pitching mechanics and find some consistency.  Instead of bitching and moaning like some of our current players did about being demoted, Doc went down and just did his work.  I'm sure he was bitterly disappointed but he never let anyone know about it.  By the end of 2001, he was back up in AAA.  He started 2002 on the major league roster and went 19 - 7 in 34 starts amassing 239.1 innings and received his first of six all star game nominations.  In 2003 he won his only Cy Young award.  His numbers were ridiculous for a modern day pitcher.  22 - 7 record, 266 innings, 36 starts, 9 complete games.  But the most amazing stat for me in that season was his walk totals.  That year he faced 1071 hitters and walked 32 of them.  Mind blowing stuff.        

For his career he has 49 complete games in 287 starts, 15 of them shutouts.  17% of the time he took the ball, Doc finished what he started.  For me, the best part of any of his games was when the manager went out to the mound to talk to him for the first time in an inning.  Literally, a three second conversation ensued.  I can only imagine how it went, but if I had to guess:

Manager says, "Doc you look a little tired."
Doc replies, "What's tired?  Now go back to the dugout and let me get back to work."     

I remember early in the 2008 season when he pitched four complete games in a row and remarkably we somehow managed to lose three of them.  I guess that sums up his career here in Toronto better than anything else I could ever say.

April 12: 4 - 1 win
April 17: 4 - 1 loss
April 23: 5 - 3 loss
April 29: 1 - 0 loss

It was always a fast game when he was on the mound.  I figured it out that last year the average length of the games he started was 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Doc worked quickly, efficiently not wasting any time between pitches.  He pounded the strikezone, almost seeming to dare hitters to swing.  His focus was second to none and watching him set up his prey was an absolute treat for me being a former catcher.  

"I want to throw a lot of innings, and I want to give the team a chance," Halladay said. "I try to be aggressive and pitch to contact."

And give us a chance to win you did sir.

Personally, I felt we were the best team in baseball every five days.  I truly did.  We never needed to score many runs with The Doctor on the mound and we usually didn't.  I remember more than once writing the dates he was projected to pitch in my calendar and trying to keep them free so I could watch the surgeon preform his work.

Doc was always a bright light in a sometimes (mostly) dark season.

Day in and day out, he took the ball and executed.  To me, the mark of an athletes greatness in any sport is how he preforms when he doesn't have his A material or "best stuff".  Anybody can be great some of the time.  Some guys are able to be great more than they are not.  Doc was good enough to win, even with this offense, when he didn't have command of all of his pitches.  Normally it was his curveball that would disappear, occasionally it was his cutter.  On those days, he was forced to battle hitters.  Jacking up the pitch count and refusing to give in.  It was still good enough to give us a chance to win.

Over the years, people here in Toronto seemed to take his brilliance for granted.  They must have assumed Doc would be a Blue Jay for life due to the fact he signed TWO under market value extensions to stay.  Always saying, I just want to win and by signing for less we can spend that money on other players.  The players union must have been pissed with his decision for obvious reasons but he still did it anyway.  A true team guy.  A lifelong Blue Jay.  But then it all changed.....

Last summer we began to hear rumblings that Doc may be available on the trade market.  J.P. was just throwing his name around in the media and making it seem like he wanted to leave.  Selfishly I didn't want to believe it.  Not Roy.  ANYBODY but Roy.  The fans reacted and quickly made their voices heard.
  

But deep down inside, how could we blame him for wanting to leave? 

Doc waited most of his career for the brain trust to surround him with reinforcements, even providing them with the $ to do it.  There was always an excuse, first it was the difference in the Canadian dollar vs the US dollar.  We made our revenues in CAD and paid our expenses in USD.  When the exchange rate was at 65 cents, that excuse seemed valid.  But things slowly started to even out.  Still no help.  Then they bitched about not owning the stadium, so they tanked a few seasons and drove down attendance.  Ultimately they got the stadium for dirt cheap and did try to spend some money on players.....it just didn't work out.

Considering his on field success, it is almost easy to forget about Doc's contributions to various local charities when talking about his legacy here in Toronto.  But if you don't mention it, you are missing a big part of what made him so special.  He and his wife Brandi owned a box in the SkyDome and even had it renovated, paying for it to be done themselves.  It was appropriately called Doc's Box and every home game they treated children from nearby Sick Kids hospital to free baseball.  First class all the way.

So where does that leave us?  What are we suppose to do now?

We have lost a warrior.  An true ace.  The ultimate competitor.  

But we had to do this deal.  Ask any Toronto sports fan about what happened with the hockey teams former captain and you will understand why we had no choice.  There was no way we could afford to let Doc walk for draft picks.  And he had given this organization EVERYTHING he had.

The young players we got in return will always be mentioned in the same sentence as Doc.  Always.  And I for one think that may be a bit unfair.  Replacing this type of player will be impossible.  Don't even try.

A couple of positive things will happen this year for Roy Halladay.  He will get a chance to pitch in the playoffs and maybe win a World Series.  He will also (finally) be recognized as one of the best pitchers in baseball by the American sportswriters.

I have no ill will towards Doc.  I cannot and will not cheer against him.  It is not in my current DNA make up to do so.  But seeing this breaks my heart.

        

I had every intention of writing this post link free.  But I believe some of the articles that I have been saving since he left are a worthwhile use of your time.  This may take you a little while to get through but I think you need to see these:

1. Dirk Hayhurst tells a great story. Click here 
2. Ghost Runner on First recalls a day in the life existence of Roy Halladay. Click here 
3. You Don't Know Dick Griffin chats with Brandi Halladay. Click here
4. USA Today tries to open some eyes. The Audio Q&A link is still active. Click here
5. The Cito talks about losing his ace. Click here
6. Shaun Marcum talks about losing Doc. Make sure to watch the 1 minute video. Click here
7. The prospects traded for Doc speak up. Click here
8. Bob Elliot follows Doc around for a day. Click here
9. Jason Stark @ ESPN does open some eyes. Click here
10. Roy Halladay's career stats. Click here
11. Roy Halladay's contract information. Click here
12. King Jordan observes a change in the clubhouse this year. Click here
13. Mop Up Duty wrote this a few months after I posted this. A must read 

Conclusion: 

This post took a lot out of me.  I started it about two weeks ago when I thought I was able to talk about Roy being traded.....and I was wrong.  Every time I revisited it since, I would think about another story or fact that I could use to help me convey my feelings.  I could probably have kept writing about Doc for a while longer but I'm happy with this for now.  Hope you enjoyed reading it.

The healing for me has finally begun.....

Weekly Round Up : Mar. 15 - 21

Consider this your required reading for the week.  Make sure to check out the comment section. 

Courtesy of The hall of Very Good:

 
Now that the constant Roy Halladay trade rumors that plagued the Blue Jays last season are a thing of the past…Toronto fans can focus on Vernon Wells inching toward 200 home runs for his career.
Sure, Halladay and his amazing track record north of the border was something of Canadian folklore, but this is Vernon Wells, people.
Vernon. Wells.

Courtesy of TSN via The Canadian Press:

Vernon Wells can understand why Toronto Blue Jays fans booed him so often last season.
He batted .260 with 15 home runs, 66 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .311. Players signed to US$126-million, seven-year contracts are supposed to do better than that.
"Obviously they were frustrated with me," said Wells. "I felt the same way."

Not even gonna say sorry Vernon.  Operation Opt Out is still a go.

Courtesy of Jordan Bastian:

Writers tend to stick to a series of unwritten rules that radio and tv reporters may or may not also follow. One is, if you're not there on time, too bad. We're all competitors after all. When you become a ball scribe, it's not like they hand you a "How to conduct yourself in the clubhouse" pamphlet, though. You just figure it out as you go.
With today's happening in mind, here is the first edition of The Writer's Guide to Clubhouse Etiquette. This will likely be an ongoing topic on this blog. For now, here's a list of 10 rules for you to chew on.

Close second place in the required reading weekly award. 

Courtesy of Mike Wilner:

Regarding Adeiny Hechevarria

Second, and more importantly, he would still be under the Blue Jays’ control for at least six years.  The length of the contract doesn’t change that.  He’d be eligible for arbitration once his contract expires if he’d accumulated between three and six years of major league service by then and he’ll be eligible for free agency after the season in which he reaches six years of major-league service.
He could potentially be under the Jays’ control through the 2018 season.

Major League service time.  Learn about it here.

Courtesy of Bob Elliot @ Toronto Sun:

Regarding Randy Ruiz

He violated baseball’s drug policy, first when caught using a banned substance, Winstrol-Stanozolol, late in the 2004 season at class-A Lakewood, and again the next July when he was suspended 30 games at double-A Reading in the Philadelphia Phillies system when caught a second time.
“I took fat-burning pills that contained Winstrol,” Ruiz said Saturday. “I’ve always had a problem with my weight. I wanted to be a guy who came into the clubhouse with a cut body and other players went: ‘Wow!’ That mistake cost me the chance to be the MVP of the Eastern League, maybe the triple crown.”
Ruiz said he was criticized by fans, media and even friends.
“My friends said: ‘No wonder you hit all those home rune,’ ” said Ruiz, who batted .349 with 30 homers and 87 RBIs in 89 games at Reading, wearing the suspenders for the remainder of the season.

Some of the shine just instantly wore off of this guy for me.....

Courtesy of Fan Graphs:

Toronto will enter the 2010 amateur draft with the 11th overall pick and something to prove after blowing three of its four top picks in 2009, which may have been one of the last straws that broke the former GM’s back. The organization also has nine picks in the first three rounds of the 2010 draft, so it has a real chance to improve the talent and depth in the system. With that said, the club had a similar draft bonanza in ‘07 and those prospects haven’t developed quite as well as the organization had hoped. The club also has its back up against the wall with a couple of the picks (those received for failing to sign ‘09 draft picks James Paxton, Jake Eliopoulos, and Jake Barrett). The representatives for the players chosen in those slots will know that the club has to sign the picks this season or they will lose those compensation picks for 2011.

FYI: that will be picks 38, 69 and 113.  Look for us to take sign-able guys in these slots.  Maybe some fourth year college players? 
 

Courtesy of Sporting News:

As with any mock draft formulated with the big day more than three months away, the list is bound to change incessantly. So why not throw out some reaches here and there just to start?
Below is the first half of our Mock Draft. Later today you'll see the second half.

1. Washington Nationals
Bryce Harper, c, CC of Southern Nevada
2. Pittsburgh Pirates
Christian Colon, ss, Cal State Fullerton
3. Baltimore Orioles
Jameson Taillon, rhp, The Woodlands (Texas) HS
4. Kansas City Royals
Deck McGuire, rhp, Georgia Tech
5. Cleveland Indians
Bryce Brentz, of, Middle Tennessee State
6. Arizona Diamondbacks
Drew Pomeranz, lhp, Mississippi
7. New York Mets
Anthony Ranaudo, rhp, Louisiana State
8. Houston Astros
Kris Bryant, 3B, Bonanza H.S., Las Vegas
9. San Diego Padres
A.J. Cole, rhp, Oviedo (Fla.) HS
10. Oakland Athletics
Rick Hague, ss, Rice
11. Toronto Blue Jays
Chris Sale, lhp, Florida Gulf Coast
12. Cincinnati Reds
Austin Wilson, OF, Harvard-Westlake H.S., North Hollywood, Calif.
13. Chicago White Sox
James Paxton, LHP, Kentucky
14. Milwaukee Brewers
Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State
15. Texas Rangers (for Matt Purke)
Karsten Whitson, RHP, Chipley H.S., Chipley, Fla.
16. Chicago Cubs
Josh Sale, of, Bishop Blanchet HS, Seattle, Wash.

Get to know these names.  We got a nice first round pick coming our way in the First-Year Player Draft this June.  Anybody got any guesses or preferences yet?

Courtesy of Fan Graphs:

When the Blue Jays traded Roy Halladay they essentially signaled their 2010 surrender. This could not have been an easy decision. Halladay had been with the Jays his entire career and was, by no slim margin, the team’s most popular player. Even with him the Jays stood little chance against the Rays-Yanks-Sox triumvirate. Without him those chances diminish to near nonexistence.

Ouch.  Life minus the Doctor summed up in one paragraph.
 

Quickly:

Let's recap the bets I currently have regarding your Toronto Blue Jays this year. 

20 bucks on Vernon not reaching the following line: .280 30HR 100RBI
20 bucks on the Jays finishing with less than last years total of wins, which was 75.  If the repeat with 75, I still win.

Like shooting fish in a barrel.  One more of these slam dunks and I got my opener ticket paid for!

More Quickly:

Our boy LastRow500's is down in Florida doing some reporting for us.  You need proof.  You get proof.  Click here.  

Follow us on twitter for some live game updates, Wednesday for sure and possibly Tuesday of this week.

Weekly Round Up : Jan. 25 - 31

 

A must read authored by bullpen hopeful Dirk Hayhurst.  Rock solid stuff.  

“When you have a passion for something, it’s easy to find the time to do it well,” I once heard him say.  How do you replace that kind of leader?  A year of baseball in Toronto minus the Doctor.....I still can't talk about it yet.  I really can't.

Paxton Affair Update:

The good Canadian boy filed his appeal as expected on Wednesday.  His lawyer, Rick Johnson, is certainly earning his $300 an hour wage on this one.  Check out these quotes.

"They're engaged in extortion," Johnson said. "They won't let you play – even though you're eligible to play – until you talk to somebody they can't make you talk to."

"What is happening to James is a travesty, but this case has larger ramifications for the 360,000 or so student-athletes who ... have been misinformed that they have no rights and must submit to NCAA Gestapo tactics under the direction and approval of their colleges and universities," said Johnson in an interview with the Kentucky Herald on Wednesday.

He claims the NCAA can't annul Paxton's eligibility without direct evidence he has broken a rule, and that UK can't force a meeting with outside investigators.  Wow.  This guy actually believes this stuff.  I got some direct evidence for ya Rick.

On Thursday it was reported, his appeal was granted.  The court agreed that its next available three-judge motions panel available after Feb. 8 would consider Paxton's request. UK has until Feb. 8 to file a response to the request.

In the past I have used the terms clusterfuck and shitshow separately to describe this craziness.  But I'm starting to wonder if it is actually possible to have a shitshow clusterfuck.  Or would it be clusterfuck shitshow?  Either way, I think this thing is headed in that general direction.  I'm starting to see why Beeston walked away from this one.  

Courtesy of CBS Sports fantasy news: 

Blue Jays add more spring invitees	Updated 1/27/2010
News: The Blue Jays added the following farmhands to the non-roster spring training invites list: 1B David Cooper, 2B Brad Emaus, C Matthew Liuzza and pitchers Zachary Stewart and Daniel Farquhar. They also extended invites to: catchers Kyle Phillips and Brian Jeroloman.	Analysis: Cooper, Emaus, Stewart and Farquhar are potential sleepers in long-term keeper leagues. We don't expect any of these players to make the major leagues roster out of spring training, though. Ignore them on Draft Day.

Early in the week we added a trio of catchers to offset the not so small army of pitchers that will be in camp.  Liuzza, Phillips and Jeroloman are going to be squatting in the Florida heat quite a bit.  Tough on the legs/knees and seems more like punishment for doing something wrong but somebody has got to do it.

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick Griffin @ The Star:

He got a whopping 2 comments on this one!  And one of those comments was a total diss.  Who is this Chris Stedron fellow and where will he be sitting on opening day?  I'm not really one to talk but he is a "professional" and I am sitting in my basement.  Just saying.

Apparently Boy Wonder has quickly learned the number one management responsibility: DELEGATING.  He decided to hand off the entire arbitration file to his assistants.  And he sold it to them by saying that they would get "experience" at it.  Genius. 

"He could do it in his sleep," LaCava said. "But he wanted us to try our hand in it. At the end of the day we all got some great experience and we got fair deals with all the players that were good for the player and good for the organization. That's what he wanted."

I'm guessing he did this to create another layer between the agents and him.  Due to his "file-to-go" strategy deadline, I'll bet he wanted to be able to enter the negotiations at the last minute if need be.  So he sends in the troops to handle the numbers while he sits back quietly and waits for issues to arise.  Nothing comes up, everybody signs the deals, high fives all around.  More Genius. 

Courtesy of Rotoworld:  

RHP Jesse Litsch is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Febuary 3.  Great news.  He had the major surgery on June 12 of last year.  Along with newly acquired RHP Shawn Hill, they will lead the second (hopefully) or third (probably) wave of starting pitchers for your Toronto Blue Jays this season around mid to late June.   You know what comes to mind whenever I think about our five man rotation.  Two words: Cannon Fodder

 

Baseball Prospectus predicts 73 wins.  Is that gonna be 7 pitchers with ten each or what?

Look on the bright side, if the Nationals can't sign consensus 1st overall draft pick Bryce Harper this year, we may get a shot at him if we suck a little more!  Speaking of which, I think all of us are going to have to start scouting the draft class of 2011.  We should have a very high pick and consequently get very nice player.  I'm going to look into this more.....    

Courtesy of Fangraphs: 

The organization received compensatory picks for the three players that did not sign in ‘09, but the club loses some leverage; if the players they choose in those positions in ‘10 do not sign, then the club does not receive compensation in 2011 and you can bet the players’ advisers will be all over that.

This article belittles the brain trust with respect to their drafting.  New guy gets a pass on this for now.  But if I may say this: PLEASE draft some high school players.  Especially early.  Will you do it if I say pretty please. 

Courtesy of CBS Sports fantasy news: 

Breakout: Edwin Encarnacion, 3B

Considering Encarnacion was clearly on the rise when he hit 26 homers in 2008, the Reds and Fantasy owners pulled the plug on him awfully quickly last year. Of course he struggled: He had a bone floating around in his left wrist. The Reds eventually discovered the problem, but by then, the damage was done, at least as far as his batting average went. Little do most people know he rebounded to hit .274 with seven home runs over his final 95 at-bats, picking up where he left off in '08. He has improved his walk rate over the last couple years and only needs to improve his consistency to become a potential 30-homer guy. Why not in his age-27 season? He'll probably go undrafted in mixed leagues, but you'll want to keep your eye on him out of the gate.

I have a vested interest in E5 for the 2010 season.  I got him for a mere 3 bucks in my AL fantasy keeper league.  I'm just not sure what to do with him.  I wonder how his face is doing?  Even more than that, I wonder how his left wrist is doing?  You remember he had surgery on it late October.  Baltimore-based hand specialist Dr. Tom Graham shaved a large bone spur off the hamate bone in Encarnacion's ailing wrist.  Sounds painful.     

 

As predicted we are being overrun by lists.  They are everywhere.  I jumped on the grenade and read them  all for you.  This is my favorite.  Fangraphs put this piece out almost three months ago before we traded Doc.  Consider it prerequisite reading for the list:

FanGraphs’ Top 10 Prospects:
(2009 Draft Picks/International Signees Not Included)

This is a tough system to rank beyond the Top 3 because the organization had such a down year in ‘09 with a lot of prospects (hopefully temporarily) wiping out. On the plus side, there are quite a few talented players who are one good season away from shooting up the depth chart. The loss of Roy Halladay was a huge blow to the organization, as well as baseball in Canada, but the trade did infuse some much-needed talent.

1. Brett Wallace, 3B/1B, Triple-A
DOB: August 1986 Bats: L Throws: R
Signed: 2008 1st round – Arizona State University (St. Louis)
MLB ETA: Mid-2010 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
Wallace is the guy that was always destined to be a Blue Jay. The club drafted him out of high school in ‘05 even though he was an almost impossible signing due to his commitment to Arizona State. The club then had hoped to grab him in the ‘08 draft, but St. Louis got to him first. Finally, the club nabbed him in a deal with Oakland (for Michael Taylor, who was obtained in the Roy Halladay deal). Wallace had a busy year in ‘09 and played with three different minor league teams in double-A and triple-A. Overall on the year, he hit .293/.365/.458, which is not bad at all considering it was his first full season and he had a lot of change to deal with. The left-handed hitter fared very well against southpaws with an .897 OPS. Wallace projects to be a 20+ home run hitter with the ability to hit .280-.300. However, he needs to get a little more loft on the ball if he’s going to be a consistent power hitter. His walk rate took a bit of a hit with the promotion to triple-A (6.5%) compared to his double-A rate (11.7%), so he could stand to make some improvements in that area.

2. Kyle Drabek, RHP, Double-A
DOB: December 1987 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2006 1st round – Texas HS (Philadelphia)
MLB ETA: Mid-2010 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
Repertoire: 89-96 mph fastball, plus curveball, change-up
Drabek had an excellent ‘09 season while returning from Tommy John surgery. He began the year in high-A ball and allowed 49 hits in 61.2 innings of work. His walk rate was solid at 2.77 BB/9 and he did not allow a home run, despite an average ground-ball rate. His strikeout rate was a nifty 10.80. Moved up to double-A, Drabek’s FIP rose from 1.82 to 3.83 but his walk rate was still good at 2.90 BB/9. His strikeout rate dropped to 7.10 K/9. He gave up nine homers in double-A, as his HR/9 rate increased to 0.84 and his ground-ball rate dropped a little below average. Overall, he allowed 141 hits in 158.0 innings of work. The right-hander will probably begin the year back in double-A where he can hopefully improve his worm-burning numbers before moving up to the hitter’s haven that is Las Vegas. Drabek has the potential to be a No. 1 or 2 starter.

3. Zach Stewart, RHP, Double-A
DOB: September 1986 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2008 3rd round – Texas Tech University (Cincinnati)
MLB ETA: Mid-2010 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
Repertoire: 88-93 mph fastball, slider, change-up
The club’s No. 1 prospect before the Halladay trade, Stewart is more suited to this position on a team’s Top 10 list. The right-hander has good stuff but the jury is still out on if he’s a starter or reliever. Toronto seems committed to him as a starter, which makes sense considering the bullpen depth that the club has at this point. Stewart pitched for four teams and at three levels in ‘09. He began the year in high-A ball and posted a 2.63 FIP in seven starts. Moved up to double-A, he posted a 2.77 FIP in another seven starts. Jumped to triple-A with the Reds, he moved to the bullpen and had a 3.42 FIP in nine appearances before moving to Toronto where he had a 3.42 FIP in 11 games. His control dipped with each promotion, going from 1.70 to 2.43 to 4.90, so he clearly has some more work to do. On the plus side, his strikeout rate rose from 6.80 to 7.54 to 10.52. Along with his excellent K-rate, Stewart produces a lot of ground-balls (53% in ‘09). If he can sharpen his change-up, he could be a solid No. 3 starter.

4. J.P. Arencibia, C, Triple-A
DOB: January 1986 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2007 1st round – University of Tennessee
MLB ETA: Mid-2011 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
It was an ugly year for Arencibia, who balked at making adjustments to his approach at the plate, which led to a dismal walk rate of just 5.2% (although it was an improvement over ‘08). Arencibia had a breakout year in ‘08 by hitting 27 homers and driving in 105 runs between high-A and double-A. However, his wOBA dropped from .402 in high-A to .348 in double-A… and it continued to slide in ‘09, down to .316. His strikeout rate has gone from 18.5 to 21.0 to 24.5% during that same span. His BABIP also bottomed out in ‘09 at .269, as his triple-slash line was just .236/.284/.444 in 466 triple-A at-bats. It was bad timing for Arencibia, who likely would have been in line for the starting gig in Toronto in 2010, if he had had even an average year at triple-A. On the positive side, Arencibia has made huge strides on defense and now projects to be an average-to-above-average MLB catcher. Unless his hitting improves, though, he could be relegated to platoon work or a back-up gig on a championship-caliber team.

5. Moises Sierra, OF, Double-A
DOB: September 1988 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2005 non-drafted international free agent (Dominican Republic)
MLB ETA: Late-2011 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
With one of the strongest outfield arms in all of minor league baseball, Sierra made huge strides at the plate in ‘09. Just 21, he hit .286/.360/.393 in 405 at-bats at high-A ball. His walk rate has improved each of the past three seasons and it was 7.4% in ‘09. His strikeout rate has dropped each year and it was just 16.3% in high-A, as Sierra is obviously becoming more confident at the plate. He also improved his base running in ‘09 and stole 10 bases in 12 tries after being successful just 12 times in 23 tries in ‘08. On the negative side, his power has yet to develop, although he has the potential to hit for power. His ISO rate has dropped each of the past three seasons from .154 to .118 to .106. The club was obviously happy with Sierra’s performance in ‘09, which included a wOBA of .353, and he received a late-season promotion to double-A. After appearing in just nine games at that level last season, Sierra should return there for 2010. He is a breakout candidate for the new season.

6. Brad Mills, LHP, Triple-A
DOB: March 1985 Bats: L Throws: L
Signed: 2007 4th round – University of Arizona
MLB ETA: Mid-2010 40-Man Roster: Yes Options: 2
Repertoire: 86-90 mph fastball, plus change-up, curveball
Mills almost made the club out of spring training in ‘09 – after an excellent ‘08 season – and his value skyrocketed early in the year. Unfortunately, he had some ups-and-downs at triple-A and also battled injuries, which has caused him to fall out of favor with a lot of prospect watchers. Despite his “off year,” Mills still posted a 3.80 FIP at triple-A and showed acceptable control with a walk rate of 3.74 BB/9 and a good, but not great, strikeout rate at 7.68 K/9. Given two starts in the Majors, Mills tried to nibble and lacked confidence in his fastball and curveball, both of which had negative values in a small sample size (7.2 innings). If healthy in 2010, Mills should open the year back in triple-A but he could be one of the first pitchers called up.

7. Travis D’Arnaud, C, Low-A
DOB: February 1989 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2007 supplemental 1st round pick (Philadelphia)
MLB ETA: Late-2012 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
D’Arnaud could be ranked higher on this list but I’m taking the conservative approach as he played at low-A in ‘09. Like Wallace, the club had tried to acquire this catcher via the draft but he was nabbed with the 37th overall pick by the Phillies. Toronto, picking 38th, ended up with Brett Cecil (a nice compensation). D’Arnaud, who turns 21 shortly, hit .255/.319/.419 in 482 at-bats in low-A ball last year (His numbers were depressed by a .279 BABIP). He showed good power potential with 38 doubles and 13 homers (.164 ISO). The catcher also had a pretty good approach at the plate with a walk rate of 7.6% and a strikeout rate of 15.6%. He has a good defensive reputation but he threw out just 23% of base stealers. The system suddenly has good depth at the catching position with the likes or Arencibia, D’Arnaud, and Carlos Perez.

8. Henderson Alvarez, RHP, Low-A
DOB: April 1990 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2006 non-drafted international free agent (Venezuela)
MLB ETA: Mid-2013 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
Repertoire: 88-93 mph fastball, plus change-up, slider
Alvarez is an exciting prospect because his fastball has been gaining velocity over the past two seasons and now sits comfortably in the low 90s, and it has excellent sink. That good downward movement resulted in a ground-ball rate of 51.4% at low-A in ‘09. The right-hander gave up just one homer in 124.1 innings of work, while also posting a 2.43 FIP as a teenager. He also showed excellent control for his age with a walk rate of 1.38 BB/9. Still learning how to set up hitters, Alvarez’ strikeout rate was just 6.66 K/9 but his breaking ball has strikeout potential. He’ll move up to High-A ball in 2010 at the age just 20.

9. Carlos Perez, C, Rookie
DOB: October 1990 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2008 non-drafted international free agent (Venezuela)
MLB ETA: Late-2013 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
The organization has not had much luck handing out large contracts to big-named international free agents, but Perez joins Alvarez and Sierra as one of the Jays’ best under-the-radar Latin signings. The catcher is solid defensive (albeit it with the usual youthful development needs), and he’s also becoming quite a force at the plate thanks to his solid batting eye. Perez, 19, made his North American debut in ‘09 at rookie ball and hit .291/.364/.433 in 141 at-bats. After walking more than he struck out in the Dominican Summer League in ‘08, he posted a respectable walk rate of 9.8% in the Gulf Coast League. He also showed some line-drive pop (.142 ISO) and he is more athletic than most catchers.

10. Danny Farquhar, RHP, Double-A
DOB: February 1987 Bats: R Throws: R
Signed: 2008 10th round – University of Louisiana-Lafayette
MLB ETA: Late-2010 40-Man Roster: No Options: 3
Repertoire: 88-94 mph fastball, cutter, slider, curveball, change-up
There are a number of other prospects that could have slid in here such as Gustavo Pierre, Tyler Pastornicky, Justin Jackson – interestingly enough all shortstops – because the system has so many sleepers in it right now (but few “can’t miss” names). Tim Collins was also an option here, but he projects to be a left-handed reliever, so his ceiling is a little lower than Farquhar who could develop into an eighth-inning guy, if not a closer. The right-hander comes at hitters from a variety of arm angles and can reach the low-90s from a sidearm slot. Perhaps because he throws so many different pitches – and with so many angles – Farquhar’s control has suffered and he posted a walk rate of 5.91 BB/9 in double-A. That obviously has to improve before he’ll have much success in the Majors. Despite that fact, he posted a 10.05 K/9 rate and allowed just one homer and 31 hits in 45.2 innings at the double-A level.

I want to thank all of you that voted in our first poll.  We asked you if you thought Rogers is trying to sell the team.  The "for sure" side stormed out to a huge early lead but eventually got caught by the "no way's".  It ended up being a draw.  Well not exactly.  I voted twice for yes by accident.  So the no's won it and I hope you guys are right because I don't want to watch some untrustworthy American buy my team and threaten to move it to Vegas.