Weekly Round Up: It's been a while.....

Yeah so whatever. My e-mail account and Twitter feed are cluttered. It's downright silly at this point. Plus, it's not like I plan to stop looking for new sexy cowgirls on line anytime soon.

What I have done is turned in my BBA membership card, turned off sitemeter and remembered why I started up this bitch in the first place. It's not about pages views. It's not about making money. And it's certainly not about writing out everything that happens, as it happens, everyday.

What is it about you ask?

That's simple. A place where we are all free to discuss Blue Jays baseball. That and I need somewhere to keep all this shit together. An outlet if you will.

Anyways, a long overdue round up for y'all.

Consider this your required reading.

Consider this your required listening.

Consider this your required viewing. There were a couple of honorable mentions.

Courtesy of Jim Callis:

Every year, there's usually at least one prospect who gets caught in Top 10 limbo, and this year it's Lawrie. He would have been our No. 1 Brewers prospect, but he got traded to the Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum before our Milwaukee Top 10 came out—and after our Toronto Top 10 was published. So Lawrie won't make a Top 10 in our magazine or on our website, though he will appear in the 2011 Prospect Handbook.
Here's the scouting report that would have appeared with our Brewers Top 10 had Lawrie stayed put:
The Brewers put Lawrie on the fast track in 2010 by assigning him to Double-A Huntsville at age 20, making him the second-youngest regular in the Southern League. Very confident to the point of cockiness, he was anything but intimidated and got better as the season progressed and he adjusted to the higher level of competition. He led the league in runs (90), hits (158), triples (16) and total bases (250). Lawrie has very strong hands and a quick bat, allowing him to wait on pitches and drive the ball to all fields. He's not a prolific home run hitter but piles up extra-base hits by shooting the ball into the gaps. Lawrie needs to balance his aggressiveness with more plate discipline, however. Though he stole 30 bases, he was caught 13 times and his speed is just average. Lawrie has smoothed out some of his rough edges in the field but still must work on making his hands softer, as evidenced by the 25 errors he committed in 131 games at second base in 2010. He has solid arm strength but may not have the first-step quickness to remain at second. He won't have to be a Gold Glove defender because his bat will get him to the big leagues and keep him there. If he has to move to an outfield corner, he'll still provide enough offense to profile as a quality regular.
Lawrie will rank No. 2 on our Blue Jays list, between righthanders Drabek and Deck McGuire. I don't think Lawrie will stay at second base and think his big league home will be right field. He should join Toronto at some point in 2012.

So there. Even if Lawrie does turn out to be a corner OF, he is still suppose to profile as above average there. Currently, he slides right in at number 2 on the BA list of best prospects in the system.

Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal:

J.P. Ricciardi came to the Mets in November after eight years as the Toronto Blue Jays' general manager—eight years of running a team that only once finished higher than third in Major League Baseball's best division.
So now that Mr. Ricciardi is a special assistant to Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, the prospect of having to wrench supremacy in the National League East away from the Philadelphia Phillies doesn't fill him with much apprehension.
"The AL East always had two or three teams coming at you," he said by phone recently. "After having done it so many years against the Yankees and the Red Sox and Tampa being good through that cycle, I'll take my chances. Even though the Phillies are really good, I'll take my chances over here."

Pussy.

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick:

The comfort that Wells has found later in life has come from the fact he realizes that he is not worth what he is being paid, but, in fact who is?
“I think the most important thing about getting contracts like this is you get to go out and do so many different things in the community,” Wells admitted.
“You get to go out and impact lives. The way I feel about it, I was blessed with that contract to go out and do things. Everybody would say I’m not worth the money and I would totally agree that I’m not worth that contract, but I don’t think there is anybody . . . but I know what I can do with that contract will far outdo what that contract’s worth.”
Jays fans, understandably, only care about results on the field.

In other news, winter is cold and the CN Tower is really tall.

Courtesy of Jeremy Sandler:

In less than a week, the Toronto Blue Jays should know if a 14-year streak is going to continue.
The club has not gone to an arbitration hearing with a player since reliever Bill Risley in 1997. But the Jays have a major league-high nine players eligible this season and a team-imposed deadline of Tuesday to clear them from the books.
Toronto’s timeline shrunk last year when general manager Alex Anthopoulos said the team would not negotiate after salary figures were officially submitted for arbitration. That policy is expected to continue this season.

By my calculation the team imposed deadline or "file-to-go" strategy if my memory serves correctly is on Tuesday around mid day. I predict a flurry of signings in the next 24 hours or so to keep us happy.

Courtesy of Jeff Caplan:

Lance Berkman, a career National League outfielder and first baseman with the Houston Astros, agreed to be traded last season to the New York Yankees. He knew he wouldn't play first base for the Yanks. That is property of Mark Teixeira. Berkman went to the Bronx Bombers to serve solely as DH and perhaps a game here or there at first.
When New York came to town late in the regular season, Berkman -- who is 34, the same age as Young -- talked about what it's like to hit and then not trot out to your position.
"At the time, I had never not played every day and I didn’t realize how much I appreciate being out there and playing defense," Berkman said. "That’s one of the byproducts of this trade is it’s made me realize I love to play defense and play it every day. I knew I liked defense, but to me the game is so much easier from a rhythm standpoint, from a timing standpoint when you know you’re going to be in there and when you get to go out there and play the field."
Pretty strong words.

I thought I would include this one for all you E5 will be a great DH types out there to consider. You know who you are.

Courtesy of Cathal Kelly:

Good Lord, we need to move on. How about we try the Blue Jays.
“It seems to me like they’ve got everything in place. It feels like, to me, like they’ve got it right and they shouldn’t touch it now. They feel me to like a bow and arrow, like they’re ready to launch.”
Are we talking playoffs?
“I’m not going to push it.”

A psychic’s look at your Toronto Blue Jays future fortunes. Yeah. Right.

Courtesy of Chris Jaffe:

According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Toronto Blue Jays have lost 2,709 games in franchise history. There have been more important losses, more heart-rending losses, and more memorable losses, but none of losses were quite as lamely filtered away as one that came 10,000 days ago today.
After nine innings, they battled the Orioles to a 4-4 tie in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. The top of the tenth got off to a great start for the visiting Blue Jays, as Cliff Johnson led off the frame with a go-ahead homer. Jays led, 5-4. As an added bonus, Barry Bonnell followed that up with a single. Things were going great.
They were about to go stupid.

A great reminder on one of the reasons why teams like to carry an extra lefty in the pen. Keeping guys close at first base late in a tight game is a weapon that far too many managers don't use nearly enough.

Courtesy of Roto Professor:

The Closer: Octavio Dotel
He became the front-runner for the job once he signed his free agent contract, but he is far from a lock to maintain it all year long. In fact, it is arguable that he is even the best man for the job.
Dotel pitched for three different teams in 2010 (Pirates, Dodgers & Rockies), compiling a 4.08 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. He certainly still is a strikeout artist, posting a strikeout rate of at least 10.55 each of the past four seasons. However his fastball, which is a pitch he throws over 80% of the time, has been losing a little bit of zip in recent years:

• 2007 – 93.5 mph
• 2008 – 92.5 mph
• 2009 – 92.6 mph
• 2010 – 91.7 mph

That certainly makes you wonder if he will be able to sustain the lofty strikeout rates or if a regression could be in order.
Another question is his control. He’s never posted good control numbers (career BB/9 of 4.09), but he has been even worse over the past two years with walk rates of 5.20 and 4.50. Throw in his struggles against lefties (they hit .301 against him in 2010 while his strikeout rate was just 7.66 and walk rate was 7.25) and there should be major concerns with his ability to shut down games (in the AL East he’ll have to face batters like Mark Teixeira, David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzalez and others).

In fact, it's over 85% if you include the cutter, which clocks in at a cool 89.7 MPH. I have to think the guts of this article is bogus. It's basically saying Dotel throws a slider and a fastball. That's it. A cut fastball, regardless of the fact it has the word fastball in it, in my opinion, is another pitch altogether. It has to be thrown slower and thus moves more than a fastball.

A more appropriate statement to make regarding Dotel's velo in "recent years" would be: Since 2007 he has thrown the fastball almost 60% of the time and it comes in between 92 and 93 MPH. He mixes in a cutter and a slider.

Unfortunately all the shit about lefties is accurate.

All that said, I'm looking forward to watching him break some bats for us this year and try to remind yourself during one of the inevitable meltdowns this upcoming season that shitty bullpens do make the game of baseball more interesting.

Courtesy of R.J. Anderson:

Offenses driven behind low on-base percentages and high slugging percentages have existed throughout the history of the league (with league context being key in defining what a high slugging percentage defines). But recent seasons have led to a proliferation of these offenses. Perhaps we should take to calling them the Joe Carter offenses in honor of the Blue Jays’ legend with a slugging percentage of gold and an on-base percentage of tinfoil. I fully understand that even if the Jays returned the same lineup they would be unlikely to replicate their 2010 feats. Still, I wanted to know how the teams alongside the Jays fared in the year thereafter.

This is a must read.

Courtesy of R.J. Anderson:

What Bautista’s season means is simple and complicated. Bautista owned 59 career home runs in more than 2,000 plate appearances entering the 2010 season. He then added 54 jacks in 683 plate appearances. A journeyman becoming the most feared batter in baseball in the blink of a winter is an unpleasant thought because history provides little comfort. Keep Bautista’s lack of a 20 home run season in mind as you read the accomplishments of the other players to hit 50-plus in a single season.

This too.

Courtesy of TSN:

With the Toronto Blue Jays being better than expected last season, fans of the club hope that the Jays can contend in the AL East in 2011, but what should they expect in 2011 from Jose Bautista, who led the majors with a surprising 54 home runs last season?
In order to help Jays' fans get a glimpse of what could be, we're collecting different projection systems' results so fans of Canada's lone MLB team can see what others are expecting the Jays to do.

Some projection systems go head to head. Interesting to note the differences.

Courtesy of Matt Klaassen:

2. Edwin Encarnacion, July 4, -.224 WPA. The Jays were playing the Yankees on Independence Day when Encarnacion came up to the plate in the tenth with runners on first and second, no one out, and the score tied at six. He bunted into the air to the third baseman and Adam Lind got thrown out at second. The Jays went on to lose in the bottom of the inning.

As a manager, it's not really fair to ask your player to do something in a game you know he can't do. In extra innings against the Yankees? That is just plane stupid.

Courtesy of Scott Carson:

Now, there's a new sheriff in town and his name is John Farrell. While he's a former pitcher and pitching coach by nature, he's been around the game long enough to have a strong opinion on what direction he would like his team to take at the plate. Based upon his introduction to the Toronto media and subsequent comments at the winter meetings, you Cito-bashers out there -- and I know there are more than just a handful of you -- must be enjoying the fact that the Jays will be bringing a lot more 'small ball' into the mix.

Sounds like anyone you might know?

Weekly Round Up: Nov. 8 - 14

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 Dave Feschuk:

You can certainly see the argument for making more free-agent noise, and pronto. Call me impatient; a more aggressive approach would get my vote. Selling hope is nice, but an average crowd of 20,068 showed up to watch hope this past season.
Still, while franchises built around annual marketing campaigns would probably urge a young GM to sign the biggest names available, consequences be damned, Anthopoulos says he isn’t being asked to be a This-is-the-Year salesman. He’s got a honeymoon of a chance to be a full-fledged architect of something special. He’s building at his pace.
If magic happened and 2011 happened to be The Year, he said, he’s more likely to announce it in July, and make the appropriate acquisitions on the fly.
“We’re told to look for ways to improve the club ... and if the right baseball opportunity is there, the funds will be there,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s not about spending for the sake of spending ...”
He’s not spending for the sake of spending, and maybe that seals it. Manny being Manny in Toronto, and certainly Manny being happy in Toronto, seems unlikely.

I found this article on unusual MLB contract clauses. It says Manny "to be paid out in 16 installments of $1.94M, from 2011-2026." So the way I see it, he could sign for a small discount this offseason and still get paid.

Courtesy of TBO.com:

DUNEDIN - A driver plowed through the Toronto Blue Jays training facility today, running through fences before coming to a stop next to a batting cage.
Pinellas County deputies said Robert E. Gibson, 50, 1440 Wildwood Court, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries suffered in the one-vehicle crash.
Deputies said Gibson was heading east on Solon Avenue in his 2002 Ford F150 pickup at about 4 p.m. when the truck left the road and ran into the Cecil Englebert Recreational Complex.
Authorities said Gibson drove through two fences, across the ball field, through another fence leading to the batting cage area before coming to a stop.
No one else was injured. Gibson's truck sustained heavy front-end damage and had to be towed from the scene.
The crash remains under investigation.

This guy either hates baseball or he is really upset with the lack of free agent signings up to this point by your Toronto Blue Jays.

Courtesy of Bobby Elliott:

The Blue Jays have inquired about the availability of Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke.

This one sentence sent shock waves through the fanbase. 

Courtesy of Mike Fast:

Release Point Consistency
Which pitchers have the most consistent fastball release points from game to game?  Looking at game-to-game consistency apart from the major shifts on the rubber or in arm angle provides a more interesting answer.  The values presented below use the root-mean-squared change in release point from game to game with changes over about six inches removed from the calculation.
Here are the pitchers with at least 300 innings in 2008-10 and the most consistent release points from game to game.

Pitcher	RMS Change (inches)
Shaun Marcum	1.6
Ricky Romero	1.6
Jarrod Washburn	1.6
Josh Johnson	1.7
Chris Carpenter	1.7
Justin Verlander	1.8
Aaron Cook	1.8
Nick Blackburn	1.8
Jon Lester	1.8
A.J. Burnett	1.8

Very, very interesting read.

Courtesy of Jim Callis:

Q: How do the four righthanders the Blue Jays selected in the first and sandwich rounds of the 2010 draft—Deck McGuire, Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Asher Wojciechowski—rank in terms of ceiling?

A: We posted our Blue Jays Top 10 Prospects list online on Friday, with McGuire at No. 2, Wojciechowski No. 6 and Sanchez No. 9. (To find out where Syndergaard checks in on our Jays Top 30, you'll have to buy the 2011 Prospect Handbook.) Those rankings are based on a combination of potential and likelihood of reaching that potential, so Rob's question is an entirely different matter.
McGuire has a good arsenal of pitches and definitely the most polish of the group, but he conceivably could rank fourth in terms of pure stuff when all of those pitchers are finished products. Wojciechowski has the best present fastball, sitting at 92-94 mph and touching at 96, but Sanchez and Syndergaard already touch 95 and have a lot of projection remaining in their slender frames. McGuire operates at 90-94 mph.
There's not much to separate McGuire's slider, Sanchez's curveball and Wojciechowski's slider. Syndergaard has made good strides with his curveball in the last year, but he figures to have the fourth-best breaking ball of the quartet. Syndergaard might have the best changeup in the long run, however, as none of them have one that stands apart from the rest right now.
Sanchez has the biggest upside of the four Jays premium picks, followed by Wojciechowski, McGuire and Syndergaard. McGuire is a lot closer to his ceiling, which is why he ranked the highest on our Jays Top 10.

Little bit of prospect porn for ya!

Courtesy of MILB:

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player J.P. Arencibia of Las Vegas, International League Most Valuable Pitcher Jeremy Hellickson of Durham and Albuquerque's John Lindsey, who led Triple-A with a .353 batting average, are among the 10 players selected to the Topps Triple-A All-Star Team. The best performances in all Minor League Baseball classifications are again being honored by the Topps Company of New York in conjunction with Minor League Baseball.
J.P. Arencibia, 24, of Miami, hit .301 with 32 homers and 85 RBIs on his way to earning MVP honors in the Pacific Coast League. In 104 games, the Las Vegas 51s catcher had a .626 slugging percentage and a .986 OPS. The Toronto Blue Jays selected Arencibia in the first round in 2007 out of the University of Tennessee.

J.P. gets the nod to be part of the Topps Triple-A All-Star Team. Isn't that like being named the valedictorian of summer school?

Courtesy of Matt Eddy:

The number of MiLB free agents has declined steadily in the past four years, falling from 602 in 2007 to 561 in ’08 to 536 in ’09 to 533 this season.
Any player who was not on a 40-man roster on Nov. 6 qualified for free agency if he had accumulated at least six years of service time (minors and majors inclusive) while still bound by his first uniform minor league player contract. That contract is broken if the player is released or granted free agency by other means before he logs six years. [Update: Teams also can re-sign players to minor league deals prior to Nov. 6 to prevent them from joining the free agent ranks. This is what we've seen in the past few installments of Minor League Transactions. ME.]

Toronto Blue Jays (17)
RHP: Lance Broadway (AAA), Clint Everts (AA), Dirk Hayhurst (AAA), Steven Register (AAA), Merkin Valdez (AAA)
LHP: Willie Collazo (AAA), Zach Jackson (AAA)
C: Raul Chavez (AAA), Jonathan Jaspe (AA)
3B: Shawn Bowman (AA)
SS: Manny Mayorson (AAA), Jesus Merchan (AAA)
OF: Jason Lane (AAA), Chris Lubanski (AAA), Ricardo Nanita (AA), Welinton Ramirez (Hi A), Aaron Mathews (AAA)

A complete list of all Minor League free agents. Anybody jump out as a must re-sign?

Courtesy of King Jordan:

Considering Bautista is eligible for arbitration this winter -- or possibly in line for a long-term extension -- the Silver Slugger certainly helps his bargaining position.
"I would think it does," Bautista said with a laugh. "I'm not an expert on what gives you leverage, or more bargaining power, but I can tell you this: If I didn't receive it, I probably wouldn't be in the same position now. Accolades are always good in the negotiation process."
Bautista said that he and his agent, Bean Stringfellow, have yet to enter into contract talks with the Blue Jays. Toronto's right fielder said he understands -- given that the Jays have been dealing with hiring manager John Farrell and piecing together the team's coaching staff -- and he hopes to begin discussing his contract around mid-December.
"The team has been busy with all the stuff going on," said Bautista, who earned $2.4 million in 2010 and is eligible to become a free agent next offseason. "They were doing the managerial search, the coaching staff. I think they're going to get to the negotiations down here pretty soon, but I haven't heard anything yet."

Courtesy of Craig Calcaterra: 

The Worst:  I hated the caps with the big maple leaf they wore in the Roger Clemens era, but I really hate the “Jays” lettering on the current duds, especially the black alternates.  Like so many teams searching for a sartorial identity, the Blue Jays have settled on something that is simply generic.  If you were making a movie about baseball and couldn’t get the rights to use real major league teams, you’d come up with something that looks a lot like what they wear these days.
Assessment: If they’re not going to embrace the big Jay head in the middle of a pullover shirt, they should at least try to do something memorable and maybe even a little audacious.  What they have right now is so blah.

I'm not a fan of the most recent uniforms. Neither is this guy. 

Courtesy of Fox Sports:

Blue Jays: The Jays are in contact with the Marlins. Uggla could fill a void at third base, and the Jays are again willing to spend for the right players. They also have shown a willingness to carry potential free agents with the idea of collecting draft picks if those players sign with other clubs.

Uggla to the Jays? Seems like the Marlins are in sell off mode (again)

Courtesy of Mike Fish:

Alomar and his family name remain beloved in his native Puerto Rico. Little more than a year ago, he captured headlines back home by marrying Maripily, dubbed in gossip circles as the Paris Hilton of Puerto Rico. The celebrity couple was all smiles last summer for his enshrinement in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, where he was honored for his All-Star play and championship seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. These days, Alomar stays busy with a clothing line he's launched, splitting time between Toronto, Tampa and Puerto Rico. But since retiring in 2005 as a 12-time All-Star, his baseball legacy slightly tarnished by the infamous spitting incident with umpire John Hirschbeck, Alomar's life has also been littered with soured relationships and legal wrangling. At least four women, including his estranged wife, have accused Alomar of being HIV positive and having unprotected sex with them. Alomar has steadfastly denied being HIV positive.
Amid the lingering personal turmoil, Alomar looms on the cusp of his greatest professional achievement. His name tops the list of players who'll be under consideration when Hall of Fame ballots are mailed out next month, and his Cooperstown induction is almost a foregone conclusion. His first time eligible last year, Alomar fell just eight votes shy of the required 75 percent of ballots cast. He was a favorite for election, though media accounts indicated some voters were reluctant to make him a first-ballot selection because of the spitting incident.
"His dream is to make the Hall of Fame," Maripily said of Alomar, a lifetime .300 hitter and one of the game's best-ever second basemen. "He was disillusioned that he did not get in [last year]."
Alomar told Newsday after the vote he was shocked by not being elected: "I'm surprised. I'm real, real, real surprised. Sometimes you have to deal with the good and the bad."

A look into the personal problems of the best Toronto Blue Jay to ever wear the uniform. Sad really. Moral of the story kids: don't marry anyone dubbed in gossip circles as the Paris Hilton of Puerto Rico.

Courtesy of Dave Cameron:

He’s probably best known for his brutal defense at third base, where he’s earned the nickname E5. In six years of mostly partial playing time, he’s still managed to rack up an awful -44.5 UZR, over half of which comes from his error problems. His career fielding percentage is .936, which is pretty terrible for a guy who also doesn’t have very good range. Toronto fans hate his defense with unbridled passion. He scored a 29 on the Fans Scouting Report in each of the last two years – remember, the rating is out of 100. That puts him in the same company as Jonny Gomes, Manny Ramirez, and Jose Guillen. Yeah.
Walks? He’s not a big fan of those, either. He’s drawn 216 unintentional free passes in 2,548 trips to the plate. He’s not an uberhack, but it would be charitable to call him anything other than a free swinger. What Encarnacion can do is hit the ball over the wall. He’s got significant home run power, averaging 24 home runs per 600 at-bats in his MLB career to date, and launching 21 in part-time action last year. Those home runs are why he was available on waivers in the first place, however.
As a 5th year arbitration eligible player with some decent counting stats to point at, and a $4.75 million base salary in 2010 to build off of, he’s looking at a pretty decent arbitration award this winter. If the A’s choose to offer arbitration, he’d probably be looking at a $6-$7 million paycheck in 2011. The Blue Jays had no interest in paying him that much, which is why they cut him loose to begin with.

I was hoping we could swing a trade for E5 but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Weekly Round Up: Nov. 1 - Nov. 7

Consider this your required reading for the week.

Consider this your required listening for the week.

Consider this your required viewing for the week.

I have decided to include this blast from the past circa 2001 for your enjoyment.

Courtesy of Bobby Elliott:

The search for the next Blue Jays manager was exhaustive, thorough and involved as many as 25 employees.
Almost everyone but Rogers Centre ushers, who were not asked to look under the seats for potential candidates, helped in the search.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos began the process in the spring, accelerated it in September, began interviewing at the end of the season, cut the field to his finalists ...
Weighing the input of his staff of advisers and scouts, Anthopoulos brought three finalists in for one-on-ones with Paul Beeston in the presidential suite. And on Oct. 22, John Farrell accepted the job to manage the Jays.
A look behind the scenes at Anthopoulos’ most important challenge in the spring with 150 candidates, shrunk to 46 to 19 to five to four to one.

Bobby does another one of his time line pieces. Rock solid as usual. Sounds like lunchtime at Il Posto in Yorkville is a good place for the autograph seekers of the world to scope out.

Courtesy of Nick Cafardo:

But the more homers he hit, the more skeptical some became. Bautista was hurt by speculation that he might be using performance-enhancing drugs. He took his lumps as columnists raised the issue.

“Maybe I wasn’t loud enough about it, but it was disappointing to hear those things,’’ he said. “People say things and write things without proof.

“I’ve been tested since the minor leagues. I was tested five or six times this season. I did what I did with hard work and dedication to my hitting. I’ve worked hard my whole career to get to the point where I got last year. It didn’t happen overnight.

“It’s upsetting and disappointing that some people don’t think hard work and dedication allow you to have good results. It’s very unfair and it needs to stop, but it’s just something I’m going to have to deal with.’’

What is more remarkable is that Bautista played with the injury from late April.

“There was a two-week period when I first heard something pop that it really hurt,’’ he said. “It was annoying the rest of the time more than anything, but it was there.

“I can’t say that during that two-week period it prevented me from hitting more home runs, but it probably prevented me from getting my hits or extending a single into double or something like that. It was just one of those things that was there and I had to play with it and deal with it.’’

Strongest language I've heard come from J-Bau regarding the PED`s allegations.  

Courtesy of Klaw:

Question:
This piece on CNBC's website http://bit.ly/9qxAlT says that if the Yankees offer Cliff Lee 5 yrs at $120M Texas can offer 5 yrs at $111M and it would be the same net once NY taxes are accounted for. Do players and their agents pay attention to this?

Answer:
Of course they do. It was an issue in Toronto because Canadian taxes are so high. (This was a chronic argument between me and Ricciardi; I argued it was strictly financial, but he said - I believe he said this publicly - that players didn't want to come play in Canada. I think one look around the streets of Toronto in the summer time would convince any player, especially a single player, that Toronto is an awesome place to play.)

Klaw answers some questions in his weekly chat. Perhaps now he can focus his hate on the New York Mess instead of us, but I doubt it.

Courtesy of Shi Davidi:

Snider has also embraced perhaps his most unusual quote, taken from a nachos taste test he performed for a Toronto community magazine in 2009. One of the plates sent his way featured both beef and chicken and he responded to a question about it by saying, "Meats don't clash."
While one enterprising blogger, The Blue Jay Hunter, began selling shirts featuring the quote and Snider caught some ribbing from his buddies back home, he's used the phrase a couple of times on his Twitter feed.
"I'm a big meat-lover, obviously," Sinder said. "Meat-lover's pizza, meat-lover's omelettes, those kinds of things, I do honestly believe that meats don't clash and when I saw that article ... and I got to show some of my buddies back home, they were like, 'You're ridiculous, what are people asking you about nachos for?'
"I said, 'I don't know man. You gave me the name Lunchbox and they've ran with it, we'll just see where it goes.'"

Nice to see Ian getting a much deserved shout out right there! His blog, The Blue Jay Hunter, is top notch.

Courtesy of Chris Toman:

"If it makes sense, and the value is there, we have full authority to be able to move forward," Anthopoulos, the Blue Jays' general manager, said recently, in reference to ownerships' willingness to increase payroll.
Anthopoulos will entertain the thought of dangling his young talent, who are contributing towards his goal of long-term sustainability, for players who can contribute immediately in a move to remain competitive.
"I'm not opposed at all to taking prospects and trading them for big-league players," Anthopoulos said.
It's a likely scenario given Toronto's strong farm system.

Trading prospects for MLB ready talent. Huh. That`s a new one. Maybe we are getting closer.....

Courtesy of TSN:

As part of the 14-man committee appointed and chaired by Selig to examine ways of improving the game, Beeston is in position to influence the process more than others.
Only when it comes to adding teams to the playoffs, it seems others have been working their influence over him.
"I'm not completely there yet," he said in an interview this week. "But I listen to all the arguments on both sides, I think you have to have an open mind about it. There are some compelling arguments in favour of expanding the playoffs and the ones against it go back to tradition.
"We as an industry are different from the other sport leagues and being different there's a sanctity to a schedule that lets the best teams proceed to the playoffs."

Nice to have a guy on the inside. 

I say: take your time deciding on the potential extra playoff teams Mr. President but for fuck sakes can you please work on getting us a balanced schedule? If we didn`t have to face the Yankees, Red Sox and Tampa Bay for just about a third of our games each season, then perhaps we can get in under the current playoff structure. 

Courtesy of TSN:

Alex Anthopoulos can pinpoint the exact moment his mindset as general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays changed. The instant when the "light bulb went off" came during a conversation with Cincinnati Reds GM Walt Jocketty during spring training in March.
Anthopoulos was digesting the decision to give Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria US$10 million over four years. Weeks earlier, Jocketty had outbid Anthopoulos for another Cuban, left-hander Aroldis Chapman, and praised him for accepting the risk in signing Hechavarria.
"He said, 'That's how you're going to get better, you're going to get better if you take a shot, you're going to have to take a shot at times,"' Anthopoulos recalled during a recent interview.
"I looked back at my off-season, trade talks, dialogue ... and I just found myself being so much more conservative than I needed to be or wanted to be."
The main takeaway for Anthopoulos as he heads into his second off-season as GM is that while risk shouldn't be embraced recklessly, it's OK to swing and miss once in a while if the potential reward is worthwhile.
Since he believes playing it safe won't help the Blue Jays overcome the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, they must find other ways to close the gap in the American League East, and taking more calculated gambles is one way to accomplish that.
"If we're going to do what everyone else is going to do in this division, we have no chance of getting better," said Anthopoulos. "If it's the easy decision and everything lines up, the I's are dotted and T's are crossed, well everyone is going to look to do it and you're probably not going to be able to do what you want to do.
"We're going to have take chances at times and make moves that may open us for criticism, but we also have to look at the upside of the moves. They may backfire and may not work, but if they hit, we're going to do really well.
"And that's how we're going to get better."

Courtesy of Fan Graphs:

If the Jays offer arbitration and everybody declines – obviously the best case scenario – the Jays will come out of this with at least 5 supplemental draft pick and two second round picks. If Frasor and Downs were to go to a team with an unprotected pick – this year, the 19th pick, held by the Detroit Tigers, is the first unprotected pick – the Jays could pick up two more first rounders. In this ideal situation, the Jays could pick up an utterly massive haul, with eight picks in the top 50 of the draft. Said haul becomes even more impressive when we consider that the upcoming draft in 2011 is considered to be one of the deeper drafts of recent times, and far deeper than the 2010 draft.
If, however, the Jays do indeed on offering arbitration to these five relatively marginal players, there will be risk involved. As a whole, the five players had a salary of $13.15 million. Because of how arbitration works, it’s a near lock that every player would see a salary increase. Buck and Olivo are both coming off career years. Frasor put up a solid 3.68 ERA, and Gregg (3.51) and Downs (2.54) were even better. If the entire group accepted arbitration, I could see a total salary of $20 million to possibly $30 million, on top of the $1.25 million buyouts for Olivo and Gregg.
The difference is nearly equivalent to the potential value of the picks that the Jays would acquire. According to Victor Wang’s research from 2009, a first round draft pick is worth about $5.2 million, a supplemental pick worth $2.6M, and a second round compensatory pick (guaranteed to be in the top half of the 2nd round) worth $0.8M. Therefore, that the type Bs – Buck, Olivo, Gregg – would contribute $2.6M in value each (total $5.8M) and the type As could contribute either $7.8M or $3.4M (range of $6.8M to $15.6M, for a total range of $12.6M to $21.4M).

A lot of us, myself included, were wondering out loud about whether or not the $500K buy out for Olivo was to much to pay for a draft pick. As it turns out, it is not.    

Courtesy of MILB:

"That's the key for me, that's the reason they sent me here," Rzepczynski said. "I need to get ahead and learn and work on my fastball command, throw my sinker in the zone and get quick outs."
The Jays also sent the former fifth-round pick to the AFL to get in some more innings after he broke a finger on his pitching hand during Spring Training. He began the year with Triple-A Las Vegas and made a dozen starts before going 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 12 outings for Toronto. Much of his success came in September, when he won three starts and compiled a 2.86 ERA.
"I got hurt, I missed about six weeks, and I had only 130 innings and they wanted me to get to 170 innings, so they're sending me here to get my innings up," he explained. "And working on throwing the fastball more for strikes, those are the two main things I'm trying to do."
The Jays hinted earlier this month that Rzepczynski's role may change next season, depending on how the roster fills out. With top prospect Kyle Drabek set to compete for a rotation spot, Toronto may look to use Rzepczynski out of the bullpen. He said he'd prefer to start but is open to whatever the organization has planned.
"They sent me here to start, so next year we'll see how Spring Training goes," he said. "If they put me in the bullpen, then they put me in the bullpen, but I'd like to start. They sent me here to be a starter, so I'm just working toward that for spring."

Rzep is a man among boys in the AFL. He is just there to get some innings in and tell some war stories.

Weekly Round Up: Oct. 25 - Oct. 31

Consider this your required reading for the week.

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

Courtesy of 500 Level Fan:

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

In two words, here’s why:

Motivation.  Legacy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy of Chris Zelkovich:

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

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

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

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

Courtesy of You Don`t Know Dick:

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

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

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

Courtesy of John Lott:

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

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

Courtesy of Roto Graphs:

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

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

Courtesy of John Lott:

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

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

Courtesy of Shi Davidi:

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

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

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

Weekly Round Up: Oct. 18 - 24

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 ESPN:

The contract Wallach signed earlier this month to become a member of the Dodgers' major league coaching staff after managing their Triple-A Albuquerque affiliate the past two seasons has a list of clubs with which he can talk to and a list of clubs with which he can't. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, Wallach was allowed to make those lists himself while negotiating the deal, which the source said was unusually beneficial to Wallach in terms of both length and financial compensation.

Because there are so many major league managerial openings this winter -- there were eight when the offseason began and there still are six -- the Dodgers didn't want Wallach to interview for all of them, presumably because that would have held up their effort to fill their coaching staff. So Wallach was asked to prioritize those eight clubs based on his level of interest before any of those teams even requested permission to talk to him.

It isn't clear how many teams are on the "can-talk-to'' list and how many are on the "can't-talk-to'' list. But the source said the Brewers and Blue Jays are the only teams that requested permission to speak with Wallach.

BULLSHIT.

Courtesy of MILB:

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, have been named the Eastern League's top team for most outstanding promotional effort, community involvement and overall operation for the third consecutive year, earning the league's nomination for Minor League Baseball's prestigious Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy.

Danielle Matteau, the Fisher Cats Director of Public Affairs, has been awarded the league's nomination for the Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year Award for the third straight season. The Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year award is given out annually to one woman who has made an outstanding contribution to her club, league or to baseball. 

The MacPhail Trophy and the Rawlings Award winners will be recognized at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Orlando, FL on Monday, December 6.

"We are truly honored to receive the Eastern League's nod for this tremendous award for a third consecutive season," said Fisher Cats President Rick Brenner. "With so many deserving teams in the league vying for this honor, we are humbled to again be recognized for the hard work and commitment our staff put forth all year long."

During the 2010 season, the Fisher Cats welcomed a total of 391,472 fans to regular season and playoff games at Merchantsauto.com Stadium, including 14 standing-room-only crowds. August saw the highest monthly attendance in the team's history with 110,285 fans enjoying Fisher Cats games.

Congrats!!!!1

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick:

The Jays need a manager who will be there for the next three to five seasons to avoid a “win at all costs” mentality at the expense of player development.

In the hiring process, the Jays also will insist that the new manager retain Bruce Walton as pitching coach. Walton’s work this season with the young rotation and his ability to communicate with manager Cito Gaston in the latter’s final year were key. Keeping Walton would be an easier request to make of a first-time manager.

Interesting.

Courtesy of Daniel Girard:

With an eye to figuring out the process of hiring a major league manager, the Star turned to a guy who’s done it three times.

Dan Duquette spent more than 20 years in the majors. He scouted for the Milwaukee Brewers, was director of player development and general manager with the Montreal Expos, and GM of his hometown Boston Red Sox.

During that time, Duquette hired three big-league managers: Felipe Alou in Montreal and Kevin Kennedy and Jimy Williams in Boston.

“Who’s going to be best able to help you win games?” Duquette said simply, in assessing the ultimate question clubs must answer with their decisions.

But in coming to that conclusion, Duquette, who now runs a tournament facility and sports camp for boys and girls aged 8 to 18 in Hinsdale, Mass., said the process is lengthy, multi-layered and designed to explore the long list of things required of a manager, from strategy to personality to influences.

Enlightening.

Courtesy of mlbdepthcharts:

Latest Player Updates
10/19/10 - IF/OF Callix Crabbe, OF Adam Loewen, and OF Dan Perales re-signed to minor league deals
10/06/10 - RHP Dirk Hayhurst activated from 60-Day DL and outrighted off 40-man roster

Updates.

Courtsey of TSN:

Opposing pitchers can take some solace knowing that even a sports hernia couldn't slow down major-league home run leader Jose Bautista this season.

The Toronto Blue Jays slugger underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia in Philadelphia on Thursday, a procedure that "was done without complication" and will need about a month to heal.

The 30-year-old, who ripped a franchise record 54 homers in 2010, first began experiencing soreness in his lower abdomen in May.

An examination revealed the injury -- a weakening of the muscles or tendons of the lower abdominal wall -- and team trainers and doctors decided he could keep playing without inflicting more damage.

As things turned out, damage was inflicted on opposing pitchers, as Bautista finished the season with 124 RBIs, 109 runs and 100 walks to go with all the home runs in his first all-star campaign.

He also stole nine bases while providing elite defence in right field and third base.

"If we felt he wouldn't have been able to run full speed, or do the things he wanted to, or all those types of things, we wouldn't have allowed him to play," general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in an interview.

"He had it, but it really did not impact him at all."

Un-fucking-believable.

 

I probably should give my take on our next skipper.  In keeping with the theme this week, I'll sum it up in one word for ya.  

Ballsy

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. 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?