Weekly Round Up: Another Double Shot

Consider this your required reading. Consider this a close second place.

Consider this your required listening. Consider this a close second place.

Consider this your required viewing. Consider this a close second place.

Courtesy of Ken Fidlin:

“I won’t be open to it after the hearing,” said Bautista following a workout at the Jays spring training facility.
“After the hearing, I believe we will notify the team that (a long-term deal) is not going to be a possibility, unless it’s in that window they have from the end of the season until the free agency period begins.”
It’s a crapshoot for both sides. By season’s end, Bautista’s value could be through the roof or plummet back into the real world.
Bautista contends the reason he will close off negotiations is that he doesn’t want any distractions for himself or for the team. Nobody should read into this decision that Bautista wants to play anywhere else but Toronto. He made that clear.
“My desire is to play in Toronto long term but, after the hearing, or during the season, I have come to the conclusion that it’s probably not the best thing for me to be negotiating any type of deal,” he said. “I want to focus on the game and trying to win ballgames.
“If I’m in that type of negotiation, it’s going to shift my focus from what I need to worry about and that’s baseball. I don’t want my mind to be elsewhere when I come to the ballpark to help my team win.”

I'll start off with the elephant in the room. I have said it before and I'll say it again, there is no way - if I'm Jose Bautista - that I sign any contract extension of any length for any amount. As an athlete all you can ask for is an opportunity to show how good you can be. J-Bau was given that last season for the first time in his career. And he will be given that again in 2011. I think he easily wins the arb case tomorrow and doesn't talk extension until that small five day window after the World Series ends.

Courtesy of Replacement Level Yankees Weblog:

I’ve updated the 2011 CAIRO projections to version 0.6 and have uploaded them to the site.  They can be downloaded at the link below:
Cairo_2011_v0.6.zip
I’ve basically just updated rosters again and fixed a few issues.  I’ve also added a projected standings page.

TM	W	L	RS	RA	Div	WC	PL	W+/-	RS+/-	RA+/-
Red Sox	96.2	65.8	831	687	45.6%	17.6%	63.2%	7.2	13	-57
Yankees	92.1	69.9	821	726	28.8%	19.4%	48.2%	-2.9	-38	33
Rays	87.9	74.1	737	663	17.3%	14.6%	31.9%	-8.1	-65	14
Blue Jays	77.2	84.8	709	738	4.2%	5.0%	9.2%	-7.8	-46	10
Orioles	76.9	85.1	739	788	4.2%	4.8%	9.0%	10.9	126	3

Here is the first of many predictions with respect to standings. 77 wins sounds about right to me.

Courtesy of Yankeeist:

Interesting stuff right there.

Courtesy of North Of The Border:

Four games will be nationally televised on Rogers Sportsnet, four games on bluejays.com while eight games can be heard on Sportsnet Radio Fan 590, with an additional two games being available on the Blue Jays network of stations. Specific details are below:

Feb. 26  --  vs. Detroit Tigers --  1:05 (FAN 590)
Feb. 27  -- at  Detroit Tigers --- 1:05  (FAN 590)
March 2 -- vs. Tampa Bay Rays  -- 1:05 (Bluejays.com)
March 5 --  vs. Detroit Tigers -- 1:05  (Jays Radio Network)
March 6 -- at Pittsburgh Pirates -- 1:05  (SNET/FAN 590)
March 11 -- vs. NY Yankees -- 1:05  (Bluejays.com)
March 12 -- vs. Pittsburgh Pirates -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 13 -- vs. Tampa Bay Rays -- 1:05  (SNET-1/Jays Radio Network)
March 15 -- vs. Philadelphia Phillies -- 1:05 (Bluejays.com)   
March 19 -- at NY Yankees -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 20 -- vs. Minnesota Twins -- 1:05 (FAN 590)     
March 23 -- at NY Yankees -- 7:05 (SNET)
March 24 -- vs. Atlanta Braves -- 1:05 (Bluejays.com)
March 26  -- at  Philadelphia Phillies -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 27  -- vs. Baltimore Orioles -- 1:05 (FAN 590)
March 30 -- vs. Tampa Bay Rays -- 4:10 (SNET)

Anybody know WTF the Jays Radio Network is and whether or not I have to pay the cheap bastards @ Rogers to get it?

Courtesy of Sporting News:

When talking about the A.L.'s top rookies, don't leave out Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia.
He heads into spring training with a starting job to be won. He's doing what he can to make sure he's ready.
"J.P. has been here since Jan. 3," said Blue Jays TV play-by-play man Buck Martinez, who resides in Dunedin, Fla., the Jays' spring home.

I'm so happy that we will actually have a Rookie of the Year candidate this season. Go get em J.P.

Courtesy of Sporting News:

Toronto also is asking Lind to learn to play first base after serving primarily as a DH the past two seasons. Regaining your batting stroke while learning a new position doesn't make for a stress-free spring.
"Sometimes you can make a drastic change and it can affect your hitting," Blue Jays hitting coach Dwayne Murphy says. "I hope it doesn't. I don't think it will."
The 11 games Lind played at first base last season were the only times he has played anywhere but the outfield or DH in his professional career, other than one game at first base in the minors. General manager Alex Anthopoulos prefers to have Lind take over for Lyle Overbay, who signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent, in the field because it will give the club needed flexibility at the DH spot.
Murphy doesn't believe Lind, 27, will have much trouble at the plate.
"He didn't have the year he wanted, but look at the numbers he put up— 23-72. So it wasn't like he had what I would consider a bad year," Murphy says.

Mmmm K. I guess.....

Courtesy of THT:

Drabek has the stuff to be a big league starter. He throws five pitches, although he didn't use his change-up against right-handed batters in his three September 2010 starts for the Blue Jays.

Average pitch speeds

Pitch	MPH
Change	87.5
Fastball	94.5
Cutter	90.9
Sinker	94.8
Curveball	84.9

Kid throws hard, that's for damn sure.

Courtesy of Baseball Prospectus:

Division	LHB%	SHB%	LHB+SHB%
AL Cental	35.6	15.6	51.2
AL East	37.8	15.6	53.4
AL West	27.8	19.4	47.2
NL Cental	25.9	3.7	29.6
NL East	35.6	17.8	53.4
NL West	31.1	11.1	42.2

With the exception of the Jays, each AL East team figures to have at least four left-handed and switch-hitting batters in their lineup most days. Even with the righty-heavy Jays included, the AL East is tied for the highest rate of switch- and left-handed hitters with the NL East. On the other end of the spectrum is the NL Central—coincidentally Dotel’s home for most of the 2010 season—with more than 70 percent of the expected starters batting right-handed.

I found this article particularly insightful. Take a second and check it out. 

Courtesy of Fanhouse:

Spring training and the 2011 regular season are just around the corner, which means it's time to take stock of the top potential future stars in the minor leagues.
Below are the Top 100 prospects in baseball right now, based upon my years of experience in the industry as a scout and talent evaluator.
In order to be eligible for the list, the player must be part of a major league organization and still considered a rookie (fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues and fewer than 45 days on an active roster, excluding September call-ups).

Your Toronto Blue Jays had 5 of the top 100 on this list.

Courtesy of Fox Sports:

As spring approaches, baseball fans' minds turn to the possibilities of the season to come. Which teams will emerge victorious? Which players will rise above the rest? And which rookies will capture our fancies?
As much as baseball fans appreciate the game's history, they also look forward to the future stars.
My list of baseball's top 50 prospects was compiled based on my personal scouting of the players along with input from all 30 teams including GMs, scouting directors and other evaluators in the game.
With that, let's take a look at the top players of the future going into the 2011 season.

And we had 4 of the top 50 on this one. Kyle Drabek at number 5 overall!

Courtesy of Minor League Ball:

A.J. Jimenez, Grade C:

Jimenez hit .305/.347/.435 last year in 70 games for Low-A Lansing, with 17 steals in 21 attempts, 18 walks, and 56 strikeouts. He's got impatience issues but Midwest League sources seemed to think he has a good chance to keep hitting at higher levels. His defense is also intriguing: he caught 51% of runners and didn't give up an excessive number of passed balls or errors. I gave him a Grade C in the book, but with the notation that he could take a big step forward in 2011. Looking at him again right now, you can make a really good case for a Grade C+ and that is how I would rate him today, though of course it is too late to change the book grade. He was drafted in the ninth round in 2008 from high school in Puerto Rico.

Don't sleep on A.J. when discussing our depth at the catcher position. Cannon of an arm, great wheels and he can hit. Look for him to start at High A and push d'Arnaud all year.

Courtesy of Fox Sports:

Lind, Hill and Rivera all performed below their career norms in 2010 — just as Wells did in 2009. As long as one of them reverts to the mean — like Wells last year — Bautista should be suitably protected. If that doesn’t happen, Bautista might lead the majors in walks, not home runs.
Either way, Bautista acknowledges that he won’t see the same (hittable) pitches that he did in 2010. By now, opposing managers and pitchers are well aware of the data, at Baseball-Reference.com and elsewhere, that says 52 of Bautista’s 54 home runs were to left or left-center.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Bautista said. “I don’t expect them to try to get me out the same way they did last year. I can’t try to hit home runs to left field if they throw it down-and-away.
“The good thing is that the changes I made (before last year) weren’t about hitting the ball out to left. I was just trying to get ready earlier, so my swing was on time. It was all about driving the ball more. If 85 percent of the pitches I see are outside, hopefully I can hit a lot of hard balls to right.”
I know what you’re thinking: He’s going to overswing. Actually, I don’t think he will. The guy drew 100 walks last year, second-most in the American League.
“The most impressive thing about Jose’s season was the pitches he didn’t  swing at; he had an unbelievable eye,” Hill said. “I think Jose will have another big year. He’s obviously going to have big expectations, but he’s been very good at just focusing on the task at hand.”

Man I can't wait for baseball season! It's going to be a lot of fun watching pitchers not let Bautista beat them this year. Somebody, anybody, needs to get hot early in order to give our opponent something else to think about.

Courtesy of SportsLogos.Net:

 
My $20 bet on the Toronto Blue Jays to take the 2011 World Series, $1020 in my pocket when they pull it off

Gotta love the spirit!
 

Courtesy of ESPN:

Is it hyperbole? Probably, but it might be fitting that Scioscia invoked baseball history, because last year’s Angels outfield was historically awful. It became a sore subject for fans, pitchers, coaches and, especially, one keenly interested observer.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful to any players, but we really had a lot of problems in right field and left field last year,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said recently. “There were balls falling short, over their heads, in the gaps … Torii [Hunter] was running everywhere and, to be a good hitter, you’ve got to have your legs.”
The ultimate zone rating data -- which seems to be as good as any defensive measure -- suggest that Juan Rivera (minus 4.9) was well below average as a left fielder, Hunter (minus 3.8) was well below average as a center fielder and Bobby Abreu (minus 6.2) was a borderline disaster in right.

Juan Rivera can't play LF - let alone RF - according to his old teams OWNER. Consider yourself warned.

Courtesy of Jeremy Sandler:

A pair of Canadians who less than two years ago looked to be on the path to the big leagues will not be among them.
In 2009, the Toronto Blue Jays selected University of Kentucky pitcher James Paxton of Ladner, B.C., 37th overall in baseball’s June amateur draft.
It was the highest the Blue Jays had ever taken a homegrown prospect since Canadian players were included in the draft in 1985.
Just 31 picks later, Toronto selected Newmarket high school pitcher Jake Eliopoulos with a second-round choice.
No general manager, scouting director or player would suggest 20 months is any kind of time frame to evaluate a baseball draft pick given development often takes four to six years.
But nearly two years later, both Paxton and Eliopoulos are unsigned and waiting to take the next step in their baseball careers.
Each pitcher took a different path to their current place in a kind of baseball purgatory.

Yet another update on The Paxton Affair. Shoulda just signed the fucking contract James.

Courtesy of The Seattle Times:

In that 2010 draft last June, the Mariners picked Paxton -- who is from Ladner, British Columbia -- in the fourth round (132nd overall). Many scouting analysts felt it was a shrewd sleeper pick by Seattle, and that the Mariners had stolen a potential first-round talent. Yet here it is Jan. 31, and Paxton still hasn't signed. Because he is no longer in college, Paxton was not subject to the Aug. 16 signing deadline. The Mariners thus own his rights until the week before the 2011 draft in June -- but Zduriencik is hoping it doesn't get that far.
"There has been a conversation or two over the course of the winter,'' he said. "It will be an interesting one, because here's a guy who lives just an hour and a half up the road, and there's a point in time he needs to get his career moving. You know, he's missed time in pro ball. I couldn't think of a better scenario for him and his family (than) to drive right down the road and play for the Seattle Mariners.
"As we move forward and we get closer, we'll see what happens. I would hope there's a motivating factor on his part to try to get something moving. Scott (Boras) and I have had a few discussions here and there over the winter, but we haven't had any lately."

This one is from the Seattle perspective. Total waste of a perfectly good 4th rounder right there guys.

Courtesy of SI.com:

Not every team buys into this type of program. Teams such as the Nationals, Orioles and Mets have had below average results for the studied period. (There are no accurate records of injuries before 1997.) Some teams, like the Blue Jays, show solid results, but have had difficulty over the past three years keeping pitchers healthy. In 2009, the Jays were a bit better than average overall, but broken down by pitchers and position players, there was a huge divide. The team couldn't seem to keep pitchers healthy at any level. There was no pattern. The injuries happened to different body parts. They happened at different levels. They happened to starters and relievers. They happened to American and Latin players. There was no pattern, just flukish results. The Jays stabilized to a more normal level with pitcher injuries in 2010, but while teams like the Mets improved over a horrendous '09 campaign that reached historic injury levels, they only made it back to below-average. How bad can it be? The Orioles lost over $30 million more than average over the last 10 years. The Nationals were worse, but they had that whole Montreal situation in there that I can't fairly adjust for.

A real good read on injuries in baseball.

Courtesy of Gregor Chisholm:

At the time, manager Cito Gaston was burdened with most of the blame. The 66-year-old was set to retire at the end of the season, and he was accused of sacrificing the long-term benefit of the club in order to finish his career with the best possible team on the field.
Anthopoulos said while he understands the criticism the organization received, the move was made because of the promise that was given to Buck.
"When we give our word to someone ... that's part of our brand," Anthopoulos said. "When I'm negotiating with an agent or I'm trying to recruit a player, and we have to tell them something, whether it's good or bad news, they know that we're going to honour our word and we're going to be straight shooters.
"People in the game are starting to realize that the way the Toronto Blue Jays operate, they're men of their word and they keep to their commitment."

In keeping with the same train of thought, this helps explain why Boy Wonder dealt Napoli away. I'm guessing he promised E5 full time at bats and Napoli had some trade value.

Courtesy of CBS Sports:

Check out the size of the bat Bryce Harper is swinging in the first half this video, which was posted to YouTube this week. It's a 36-inch, 47-ounce Marucci, custom made for the 2010 No. 1 draft pick.
If you're not familiar with bat sizes, that's like swinging a tree trunk. Most major-leaguers use bats between 32-34 inches and 30-34 ounces. Many years ago, sluggers would sometimes use heavy bats, notably Babe Ruth, who reportedly started his career using a 54-ouncer but in his prime was at about 40. I held one on the 54-ouncers in a Hall of Fame exhibit, and it's tough to imagine swinging it with any speed.
Heavier bats hit the ball farther (look here for more than you ever wanted to know on the subject), but it's a tradeoff for bat speed. Even though players are bigger than ever now, most sacrifice bat size for the confidence they can catch up to a 100-mph fastball -- and be assured Harper would look a lot different taking those hacks against Aroldis Chapman than in a BP setting. I asssume the monster bat is just for show and the 34-ounce models shown later in the video are his game bats.
(Also, in case you were curious, the bible verse Harper has engraved on his bats, Luke 1:37, reads "With God nothing shall be impossible.")

Overvaluing Arencibia

Alright. This may be a blanket statement but I'm just gonna go ahead and say that if you are a fan of any particular MLB organization, then you overvalue their prospects. It's just what we do.

Let's take a look at a Blue Jay specific example: J.P. Arencibia

He was selected in the 1st round, 21st overall, in the 2007 Amateur Draft. Entering the 2010 season, really smart people were writing shit like this about Arencibia. His supporters will quickly point out that he had 2 surgeries - one on his eyes and another on his kidney - which were clearly necessary and allowed him to regain his form.

He will be 25 years old when the 2011 season begins and it now appears like he will get a legit shot at cracking the active roster.

Here are his stats as a pro courtesy of Baseball Reference (notice the dip in 2009, then the resurgence in 2010)

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev		G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	21	Auburn	NYPL	A-		63	249	228	31	58	17	1	3	25	0	0	14	56	.254	.309	.377	.686
2008	22	2 Teams	2 Lgs	AA-A+		126	537	510	70	152	36	0	27	105	0	0	18	101	.298	.322	.527	.850
2008	22	Dunedin	FLOR	A+		59	262	248	38	78	22	0	13	62	0	0	11	46	.315	.344	.560	.904
2008	22	New Hampshire	EL	AA		67	275	262	32	74	14	0	14	43	0	0	7	55	.282	.302	.496	.798
2009	23	Las Vegas	PCL	AAA		116	500	466	67	110	32	1	21	75	0	1	26	114	.236	.284	.444	.728
2010	24	Las Vegas	PCL	AAA		104	459	412	76	124	36	1	32	85	0	0	38	85	.301	.359	.626	.986
4 Seasons						409	1745	1616	244	444	121	3	83	290	0	1	96	356	.275	.319	.507	.827

I went ahead and plugged those stellar 2010 numbers into the Minor League Equivalency calculator and this is what it spit out:

422 AB 53 R 101 H 29 2B 1 3B 23 HR 59 RBI 28 BB 92 SO .240 BA .291 OBP .474 SLG .765 OPS

This tool takes a body of work from a specific level in the Minors and converts it as though that body of work happened in the Majors. How accurate is it? Who knows.

Now, I'm not going to base an entire argument on this conversion but I think it helps to put things into perspective. A monster MVP type year in Las Vegas is not really worth getting all that worked up about.

Don't get me wrong, Arencibia clearly has power. And it looks like his power will play in the big leagues. Anyone who was lucky enough to watch his totally unreal MLB debut will tell you, he is ready.

What those same people won't tell you is he had just 1 hit for the rest of the year. Obviously he wasn't playing regularly and if I remember correctly when he did start, it always seemed to be against pretty good pitchers.

Matsuzaka
Buchholtz
Haren
Gonzalez
Price
Lester
King Felix
CC
Blackburn

So what is it that I'm trying to say? Here goes:

J.P. Arencibia may end up being a serviceable Major League catcher someday. But it will be how he plays behind the dish that will ultimately determine that. And it's probably gonna take a while till we figure that out.

By the time we do a couple of our other prospects, most notably Travis d'Arnaud and Carlos Perez, will likely be ready to take their respective shots. I would put A.J. Jimenez in that conversation as well.

Let's throw those 3 players numbers at their respective levels into the mighty Minor League Equivalency Calculator and see what comes out.

Why the hell not?

Travis d'Arnaud, again courtesy of BR:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev		G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	18	Phillies	GULF	Rk		41	151	141	18	34	3	0	4	20	4	2	4	23	.241	.278	.348	.626
2008	19	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A--A		64	267	239	33	73	18	1	6	30	1	2	23	39	.305	.367	.464	.831
2008	19	Williamsport	NYPL	A-		48	197	175	21	54	13	1	4	25	1	2	18	29	.309	.371	.463	.833
2008	19	Lakewood	SALL	A		16	70	64	12	19	5	0	2	5	0	0	5	10	.297	.357	.469	.826
2009	20	Lakewood	SALL	A		126	540	482	71	123	38	1	13	71	8	4	41	75	.255	.319	.419	.738
2010	21	Dunedin	FLOR	A+		71	292	263	36	68	20	1	6	38	3	1	20	63	.259	.315	.411	.726
4 Seasons						302	1250	1125	158	298	79	3	29	159	16	9	88	200	.265	.323	.418	.741

His injury shortened / 2 time All Star 2010 season in the pitcher friendly Florida State League had it happened in the big leagues, would have looked like this:

271 AB 23 R 52 H 15 2B 1 3B 4 HR 24 RBI 2 SB 1 CS 13 BB 70 SO .194 BA .239 OBP .296 SLG .535 OPS

A.J. Jimenez, BR:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev		G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2008	18	Blue Jays	GULF	Rk		19	52	47	5	9	2	0	0	5	5	2	3	16	.191	.255	.234	.489
2009	19	Lansing	MIDW	A		80	294	278	30	73	15	1	3	31	5	2	7	72	.263	.280	.356	.636
2010	20	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A-A+		72	301	271	36	81	22	0	5	55	17	4	18	61	.299	.340	.435	.775
2010	20	Lansing	MIDW	A		70	292	262	35	80	22	0	4	54	17	4	18	56	.305	.347	.435	.782
2010	20	Dunedin	FLOR	A+		2	9	9	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	5	.111	.111	.444	.556
3 Seasons						171	647	596	71	163	39	1	8	91	27	8	28	149	.273	.306	.383	.689

Midwest League to MLB conversation, which ends up being remarkably similar to d'Arnaud:

272 AB 19 R 58 H 14 2B 0 3B 2 HR 29 RBI 11 SB 5 CS 10 BB 66 SO .214 BA .246 OBP .290 SLG .536 OPS.

Unfortunately Carlos Perez only made it as far as the New York Penn League and the Minor League Equivalency calculator doesn't do short seasons.

These 3 young guys are all known as solid defensive catchers. But they all are at least 2 or 3 full seasons away from being seriously considered for the big leagues. Look for d'Arnaud to start in New Hampshire, Jimenez to stay in Dunedin and Perez to get the bulk of the reps in Lansing.

Point being catcher is clearly a position of strength for the organization.

Is J.P. Arencibia the most ready? For sure.

Is he the best we have? Maybe.

Will he bring back the greatest return in a trade? Most likely.

Will his value ever be higher? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

That's the real question I want to address. Let's just say that J.P. gets his well deserved shot in the big leagues and he puts up numbers that are similar to what he is projected to do. 

A .250 batting average with a .300 OBP and 20 homers with about 60 RBI. That would be if he got the lion's share of work behind the plate.

My question to you is this: Would his trade value increase or decrease after a season like that?

The floor is yours.....

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: 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?