We've Got A Outright Winner!

Our boy, Jesse, who it should be noted was participating in his first roster challenge, took it down with a mind-blowing total of 22 out of 26 on his ballot. No one else came close--no other ballot had even 21 correct players selected, considering Springer, Yates and Pearson all started the year on the IL and everyone picked them, and Payamps, Zeuch and Mayza all made the roster and nobody picked them. Jesse navigated the tough terrain and saved us from doing some basic math trying to figure out the quite random tiebreakers. For that, we thank you!

And with that, another 26 Man Roster Challenge is in the books. Hopefully all who answered the call this time around can join us again next year as we continue our search for the perfect ballot.

Let's go Jays! 

Interview With Our Boy Jesse

Here's a little something that we thought might be of interest. Our boy Jesse has written a book about baseball and took some time out of his busy off season schedule to answer a few of our questions. Please join us in sending your congratulations to Jesse on the accomplishment!

Q: How does it feel to be a published author?

I'd envisioned this moment for so many years.  Now it's here, and it's got me slightly dazed.  I don't think I'll really believe it, though, until I see my book on a shelf in a bookstore.

Q: How long has this book been in the making? Is it fair to say you’ve been writing it your whole life?

I've been a baseball fan my whole life, that's true, but I'd only date the true genesis of the book back as far as 2005.  I was an intern for the Brockton Rox, hosting the pre-game and post-game show, and I realized I was using the same words over and over to describe each game.  (Every home run was "hammered," every loss was "suffered.")  Frustrated with my own lack of creativity, I started brainstorming other words to use.  Things took off from there, with the majority of the work completed during the 2010 season.

Q: Where can people go to buy The Baseball Thesaurus now and will it be available in print form soon?

"The Baseball Thesaurus" is currently available through Apple Books, the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble NOOK, and through Vook.  The electronic version is priced at just $5.99.  It will be released in print before the end of the month.

Q: Who do you think will get the most enjoyment out of this book as the holiday season approaches?

Everyone.  I've heard from true baseball diehards that they were surprised by how many stories they had never read before, and I've heard from people with only a passing interest in the game -- and yet they couldn't get over how much they enjoyed reading about baseball.

Q: Being that you are a broadcaster for the Lansing Lugnuts, have you ever used a word/term/phrase on air that someone asked you about after?

All the time.  The third inning, actually, is my official "Baseball Lingo" inning, where I'll use a bit of slang in the top half and define it in the bottom half.  It's been a popular feature ever since I introduced it in 2008.

Q: Is there one or a few terms in the book that are your favorites to use either on air? Why?

Every year brings a new favorite.  "Wormburner" (a hot ground ball) caught on hugely two years ago.  When Drew Hutchison pitched for the Lugnuts in 2011, his change-up was termed "the dead fish," and that became fun to foreshadow. ("The 2-2 pitch....  The dead fish!  Swung on and missed, side retired!")

Q: How would you describe Noah Syndergaard’s fastball if you could only use the material found in your book?

Sometimes it's a chainsaw, making kindling out of the other team's lumber rack.  Other times, it's the ol' radio ball, able to be heard but not seen.

During the year, by the way, Noah described one of his heaters as an "angry ball."  I'd never heard that term before, but I love it.  You know exactly what he means.

Q: Did you encounter writer’s block at any point during the making of your book? If so, how did you manage to overcome it?

It was the opposite, actually, that got me in trouble.  I'd spend the entire day typing intensely, forgetting to eat and forgetting to exercise.  I would also flip madly through book after book in my library, trying to find any additional information/quotes/anecdotes that I could include.

Q: Seeing that Mike Redmond was the manager of the Lugnuts in 2011 and Sal Fasano was the manager in 2010, did you have an opportunity to quiz the former Big League veterans on their baseball lingo knowledge?

Oh, yes, mostly with Sal, but each guy gave a laugh and shrugged.  Here's the thing about it:  Sometimes the guys involved in the game don't even realize how much slang invades their vocabulary.  They're just talking, simple as that.  I picked up far more by just listening and asking innocent questions than by talking directly about the idea of "baseball lingo."

Q: Do you have any favorite baseball related books that inspired you to create The Baseball Thesaurus?

"The Dickson Baseball Dictionary" is the ultimate baseball reference tome and my foremost inspiration.  I wrote to Paul Dickson and asked for his blessing before proceeding.  Otherwise, I felt it might feel like I was stepping on his toes.  Other motivating baseball books:  Peter Morris' "A Game of Inches," Bill James' "Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame" (I wore that book out when I was a kid), Daniel Okrent and Steve Wulf's "Baseball Anecdotes," and everything by Rob Neyer.

Q: Describe the process of finding a publisher (August Publications) in this internet driven age we live in. Was it a challenge?

Oh man.  The timeline:

*  Summer 2009 & Winter/Spring/Summer 2010:  Wrote book.  (20,000 words)
*  Fall 2010:  Signed with a reputable New York City literary agent (DeFiore & Co.) who was enthused about the book and its potential; he asked me to bump the book up to 35,000 words, so I did so.
*  January 2011:  Informed by the agent that publishers loved the idea but didn't want to take the chance; agent wished me luck and moved onward.  Well then.
*  Winter/Spring/Summer 2011:  Sent out Thesaurus to anyone and everyone.  Dirk Hayhurst provided the most help, offering a new direction for the book (make it funnier and more inside-the-clubhouse oriented).  I wrote two pages of this, then quit.  There's only so much "inside the clubhouse" a person can write without jeopardizing his career in baseball.  I also sent the Thesaurus to Kevin Reichard of Ballpark Digest because, hey, why not?  I was sending it to everyone at this point, hoping for the best somehow.
*  Fall 2011:  Contacted by Kevin Reichard, explaining that (unbeknownst to me) he was in charge of August Publications and he wished to publish "The Baseball Thesaurus."

Fast forward 13 months, and I'm a published author.  Exhaustive work, success, disappointment, frustration, and success again.  It's been a rollercoaster ride.

Q: Which of the old school terms, not currently being used anymore, would you like to see make a comeback?

"Biff stick" - baseball bat.  I also love "gazoonie" to describe a rookie.

Q: Being around Low A ballplayers for basically half the year, do you sit and listen to their conversations for new material that you may not have heard before?

Oh yes.  The best players to listen to are hitters, who love talking shop.  I hear new synonyms for a home run every year.  

Q: Are you working on any other writing projects that you hope to get published as well?

I'm working on two different ideas for novels as well as a football thesaurus.  It's my aim to publish books regularly now that I've got this first one under my belt.

Follow Jesse on Twitter here

Be sure to check out his blog here

That Was Fucking Awesome

I have been meaning to head down to Lansing Michigan for a Lugnuts game for about two solid years now. Our boy Jesse holds it down in Low A ball and extended an open invitation for 1BJW to take in any game, anytime. Well the day finally came and it ended up being a do or die playoff game against the Cincinnati Reds affiliate Dayton Dragons. The game was suppose to be played on Thursday night, which happens to be Thirsty Thursdays, but due to a rain out in Dayton for game 1 of the series was pushed back to Friday. My friend who is and always has been a die hard Reds fan and I did some frantic juggling of our schedules and set out to enter the United States of America two days before the 10th anniversary of the senseless September 11th attacks. We were obviously concerned about the whole border thing and left from Guelph shortly after 11AM for a 7 o'clock game start. Everything went smooth (thank God) and we arrived at out hotel around 5PM. I strategically selected the closest place to the park I could find. Here's the view from our room:

Gates opened at 5:50 and after exchanging a few 3 dollar text messages with Jesse about tickets while killing some duty free beers we headed over. During our 3 block walk we observed numerous baseball themed bars that we figured would be a nice area to hang out after the game. Once at the park, we were greeted by a few statues. These ones in particular caught my eye:

What are you guys looking at?

Next stop was the box office. I instinctively headed to the will call and made it know that we were here as Jesse's guests. I was directed to the "special line" which was 2 windows down and was asked were I wanted to sit. Somewhat taken aback, I collected myself and figured that behind home plate was the way to go. My traveling partner agreed and as soon as the gates opened we rolled in. Killing the hunger pains was the first order of business. A wide selection ballpark treats were readily available. It was painstakingly narrowed down to either a foot long dog with grilled onions and peppers or a pulled pork sandwich. Pulled pork won out and we decided to head down to check out our 4th row seats and eat. Here's the view without any zoom:

Notice the blue sky

The next priority was finding our host. We didn't have to go far as he was on the main concourse chatting it up with 2 burly men wearing Matt Nuzzo jerseys. We waited patiently for them to finish and Jesse came right over and introduced himself to my friend. He informed us that the guys he was talking to were Matt's uncles who made the trip in from Boston for the game. Jesse took us up a flight of stairs, past a security guard to a air conditioned private lounge. The whole way everyone wanted a piece of Jesse. Season ticket holders needed a quick handshake, players girlfriends said hello and even the bartenders inquired about his shirt and tie combo. He came back with "It's playoffs. Time to step up your game." A ten minute conversation ensued which covered a wide range of topics. Everything from the challenges that face a Minor League team with respect to getting fans out, right down to specific questions about the top prospects on both teams. My idiot Reds fan friend wanted to know about uber speedster Billy Hamilton. I was all about CF stud Jake Marisnick.

Billy

 Jake

Jesse provided some great insight and even shared a story about current Blue Jay Yunel Escobar. The story goes that when he was in AA with the Braves, his entire team couldn't stand the guy. One game he was plunked and charged the mound. Normally everyone comes to your aid in this situation. Not this time. Yunel was pummeled while everyone intently watched from the dugout. Since Jesse was technically on the clock he had to bounce. With all the formalities out of the way, we headed back down to the concourse to find the refreshments.

Did I mention it was 2 dollar beer night?

The anthem was preformed by a very young girl who seemed unfazed by the several hundred people in the stands. Because the game was rescheduled from Thursday, where a full house was expected, to Friday there were plenty of good seats available. Check out the pipes on the kid no older than 6:

After a brief delay due to the ballpark lights being turned on, then off, then on again. It was now time to play ball. I must say I went a little nuts with the video taking to start off and by the sounds of it, I wanted to see some long hits or deep balls. First up lead off guy Jon Jones:

 

Next is the enemy Billy Hamilton. I think it's only fair to point out right now that this is how I roll with respect to heckling. No one is safe. And I can assure you, I was not playing it up for the camera. Probably the funniest part of this entire trip for me was when I sat down to upload and view all these videos.

Alright now it's time for Lugnuts starting LHP Justin Nicolino. Nice looking prospect. He hit 95MPH on the stadium gun and featured a sexy little change up and a breaking ball.

Here is Dragons starter Josh Smith. From what I was told, he was their ace. From what I saw, he needs a new challenge at the next level.

The game featured an eventful first full inning. The Dragons loaded the bases with nobody out and managed to bring across 2 runners for a quick lead. The Lugnuts stormed back in the bottom half with a run of their own. At the time the game had all the makings of a slugfest but in fact that was the only hit the home side would get until the bottom of the 9th. Both pitchers settled right into the groove until the rain started. At first it was light, then got progressively worse. My friend and I toughed it out as long as we could refusing to leave our seats for the cover of the concourse. In doing so we got a chance to know the head groundskeeper very well because he was standing right beside our seats in the tunnel leading to home plate. It took no time until we started referring to him as groundskeeper Willie. Just like everyone else involved with Minor League ball we met that night, he was a great guy. He shared his wisdom on numerous topics but the one thing he said that was especially comforting was that when the sides of the mound become dark brown from the rain he gets concerned. At that time the mound was still light brown. After every half inning, his crew headed out to the field to try to keep it suitable for play while the rain continued to fall. Here`s a shot of him and his tools of the trade:

After the 5th inning started I was completely soaked from head to toe. My camera and phone had been tucked away safely for quite some time now. No more videos. No more pics. Mercifully the sides of the mound turned to mud and a rain delay was finally called. We headed up to continue to enjoy the refreshments and dry off. I`m pretty sure this was my first rain delay because the Blue Jays play their games in a Dome. I guess it`s possible that I experienced one at the Ex but I don`t remember any specifically. None of my road trips to other MLB parks ever had one.

It must be said that the type of folks that show up to watch Minor League baseball are totally awesome.

One guy was decked out in Phillies gear from head to toe. I think he even had red shoelaces. As you could imagine we jumped all over this. Things like "I wonder what it's like being 50 games over .500?" and "you stole the best pitcher in baseball from us" were uttered in his presence. He took it like a champ and turned out to be a nice guy. He even threw a bit of a curveball at us when he said Ruben's best pick up may have been Polanco.

Another guy was wearing a Maple Leafs hockey jersey. This led to many, many jabs from us. At one point it seemed like he had enough and started making threatening motions. I quickly grabbed my buddy, jerseyed him and faked a couple upper cuts. Probably saved our lives.

There was also Mr. Rain Delay Guy as we referred to him. Before it was official while being pelted with water, I made the mistake of saying we had a rain delay. Buddy was sitting within earshot and corrected me by stating that in fact there was no rain delay as of yet. Once it was called I let him know how I felt about it. He eventually conceded that we were both right.

We did end up killing a couple beer in conversation with some guys who were actually close to our age. Nice fellows from nearby MSU who made a couple of suggestions on what to do after the game. Apparently East Lansing is the place to be because it was teeming with young, drunk college chicks. They got us up to speed and promptly left the park during the delay. Turned out to be a bad call boys.

I do have to mention our run in with team mascot Big Lug. I'm still not sure what exactly he is suppose to be. My guess is a dinosaur with some sort of skin disease and two lugnuts embedded in his nose. Looks painful.

Double fisting is the only way to go baby

This game turned out to be two half games really. Pre rain delay, where the pics and videos flowed and post rain delay, where it got just plain messy. Once we returned to our seats we were greeted with about 3 inches of water beneath our feet. Groundskeeper Willie was happy to see us come back and hooked up some game programs that had been signed by half the team. Rock solid.

In terms of the game, it became a battle of the bullpens. Some drama ensued in the 7th and 8th but the score stayed 2 - 1 Dayton. I did pull out the camera a few more times. First up OF Juan Duran:

Duran Duran Hungry Like The Wolf anybody? 

I know, I know WEAK effort. I think I totally redeemed myself on the next go around. I proudly present to you OF Jefry Sierra:

Might be some of my best work

In all seriousness, do you know what I can say about this baseball game? I can honestly say that it was the best game I have ever witnessed in person. The entire trip was a blast and I highly recommend it to all but I think it was the game itself that I will always remember. Two completely evenly matched teams going head to head with one of them having their entire season on the line. It's the kind of environment that breeds excellence. Fantastic at bats, stunning defensive plays. Every single thing was magnified and you could feel it in the air. If a player got on base the game grinded to a halt. Neither side willing to concede anything. Every single pitch mattered. It was playoff baseball in all it`s glory.

Here is how it ended up, with the tying run on 2nd base, two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning of a win or go home game:

I still don`t know why I pressed record on that particular pitch. I didn't film any other pitch in that at bat. It appears I didn't take any other videos in any of the 3 prior innings.

The next day on our way home I got a text from Jesse. The club wanted to dub his call of the game from the radio booth onto the video that I took. Here is how that conversation went down:

 

And now I give you the magic of good editing. Do let me know which version you prefer in the comments section below would you?

Go Nuts! Lugnuts!

We are happy to report that our boy Jesse will be back in the booth calling some baseball for his third season with your Toronto Blue Jays low A affiliate Lansing Lugnuts.

Hopefully we can get our hands on some top prospect interviews - before anyone else - for you all to celebrate and rejoice in after the roster gets assigned.

This right here is a straight re-post from The 2-2 Pitch which was originally written in September of last year.

When given the chance to make an update Jesse chose to stand behind his original prediction but adds:

"I’m sure that the rumors will start up about whether Deck begins the season with us or Dunedin this year, and there may very well be other fluctuations to come, but I still feel comfortable with that guess – regardless of how wrong it turns out to be~!"

This came about because of a terrific question sent in by a fan on the final LugCast of the regular season.

Here are my predictions for the 2011 Lansing Lugnuts...

Lineup:
C Carlos Perez
1B K.C. Hobson
2B Oliver Dominguez
SS Gustavo Pierre
3B Andy Fermin
LF Marcus Knecht
CF Jake Marisnick
RF Michael Crouse
DH Lance Durham

Key question: Lance Durham and K.C. Hobson are both left-handed hitting first basemen. They shouldn't both be here, and yet Hobson is a virtual Lugnut lock while Durham has spent the last two years with Auburn. Where else would you send him?

Bench:
C Jack Murphy
OF Stephen McQuail
OF Markus Brisker

Key question: How many struggling 2010 Lugnuts -- i.e., Ryan Schimpf, Balbino Fuenmayor, Eric Eiland -- return for 2011?

Rotation:
RHP Deck McGuire
RHP Drew Hutchison
RHP Daniel Webb
RHP Casey Lawrence
RHP Asher Wojciechowski

Key questions: This is a prospect-laden rotation, albeit totally right-handed. Does Sam Strickland slide into the rotation to give the Lugs a left-handed arm? Will we see talented 18-year-olds Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard sooner or later?

Bullpen:
LHP Sam Strickland
LHP Michael Kelly
RHP Scott Gracey
RHP Danny Barnes
RHP Milciades Santana
RHP Dayton Marze
RHP Drew Permison

Key questions: Once again, these are all newcomers with the exception of Gracey and late addition Barnes. Who else returns from the disappointing 2010 bullpen? A recommitted Brian Slover? A healthy Dustin Antolin? Aaron Loup or Matt Wright, just to make sure there are some more lefties in the pen? By the way, the numbers were just brilliant for Marze, Santana, and Permison last year. Hopefully they'll keep it up.

To follow Jesse on Twitter click here

Lansing Lugnuts Roster Transaction

LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing Lugnuts, in conjunction with the Toronto Blue Jays, announced Thursday that shortstop Ryan Goins has been promoted to Dunedin (A-Advanced, Florida State League) while corner infielder Randy Schwartz has been activated from the 7-day Disabled List in a corresponding move.

The Dunedin infield slot opened up for Goins following the trade of Tyler Pastornicky to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. The 22-year-old Texan batted .308 in 77 games with the Lugnuts this season, with a team-leading 91 base hits as well as 19 doubles, three home runs and 35 RBIs. Goins had his team-high 24-game on-base streak end on Sunday against Bowling Green.

The moves brings the Lugnuts’ current roster to 25 active players and three players on the DL.

------

DELETE: SS Ryan Goins, promoted to Dunedin (A-Advanced, Florida State League)
ACTIVATE: 1B/3B Randy Schwartz, activated from the 7-day Disabled List

Our boy Jesse caught up with Ryan in early May.  They discuss a 16 pitch at bat among other things.  We wish him well on his climb up the organizational ladder. 

 

Blockbuster

Boy Wonder does it again!

The Trade:

Your Toronto Blue Jays received SS Yunel Escobar and LHP JoJo Reyes in exchange for SS Alex Gonzalez, SS Tyler Pastornicky and LHP Tim Collins.

Analysis:

For starters, I will send it over to our boy Jesse for his take on the deal: 

This is a challenge deal.  A challenge deal (a term created I believe by Bill James) is where teams trade players of exact same positions, pitting those players against one another.  A challenge deal is much easier to evaluate in the long run because players at the same position are directly comparable.

Some examples of other challenge deals are:

• Scott Rolen for Troy Glaus  
• Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur
• Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan for Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge
• Wil Ledezma for Macay McBride

Toronto perspective:  shortstop Yunel Escobar is better than shortstop Alex Gonzalez (regardless of their stats this year) and minor league shortstop Tyler Pastornicky (playing “eh” in A-Advanced, though he’s still young); and left-hander JoJo Reyes is better than left-hander Tim Collins.

The Atlanta perspective is the exact opposite:  Gonzalez and/or Pastornicky is/are better than Escobar.  Collins is better than Reyes.  Anyway, three players are better than two.

By the way, Sal Fasano is a fan of Reyes.  Likes the way he pitches.

I neither defend nor disparage the deal right now:  Time will settle the winner and loser of this one, and probably pretty clearly, too.

I will add that Toronto’s system has a plentitude of middle infield prospects, causing Pastornicky to become expendable.  It is very likely that Lansing shortstop Ryan Goins now gets promoted to Dunedin, where I believe he will outperform Pastornicky’s production.  This moves Justin Jackson back to a full-time role at shortstop with the Lugnuts.

To hear what Jesse has to say about Tiny Tim Collins click ahead to 5:47.  I must warn you, it may pain you to do so.

    

More Analysis:

I, unlike Jesse, am ready to call this one right now: AA fleeced em.  I mean he should be wearing a ski mask into the office tomorrow.

First off, we got the best player in the deal.  Hands down.  No disrespect to Gonzo and the career year he is having but..... 

At this time last year Joe Polanski had Yunel Escobar rated in his top 100 baseball players, of any position in both leagues, including pitchers.  No way does a guy lose that type of ability in half a season.  It's just not possible.  Christ, he managed to get an MVP vote in 2009.

For argument sake, let's examine the offensive data.  Keep in mind his 2009 totals for AVG, OBP and Runs were good enough for top 25 in the NL.  More importantly his .373 batting average with runners in scoring position ranked third in the entire Major Leagues.  Also worth noting, he has hit .312 in the second half of the season for his career.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB
2007	24	ATL	NL	94	355	319	54	104	25	0	5	28	5	3	27	44	.326	.385	.451	.837	118	144
2008	25	ATL	NL	136	587	514	71	148	24	2	10	60	2	5	59	62	.288	.366	.401	.766	103	206
2009	26	ATL	NL	141	604	528	89	158	26	2	14	76	5	4	57	62	.299	.377	.436	.812	116	230
2010	27	ATL	NL	75	301	261	28	62	12	0	0	19	5	1	37	31	.238	.334	.284	.618	70	74
4 Seasons				446	1847	1622	242	472	87	4	29	183	17	13	180	199	.291	.368	.403	.771	105	654
162 Game Avg.				162	671	589	88	171	32	1	11	66	6	5	65	72	.291	.368	.403	.771	105	238

If those aren't nerdy enough for you.  I suggest you take a look at Fan Graphs.

Here are all his 14 home runs from the 2009 season courtesy of Hit Tracker.  Click the link for some videos of his bombs.  Start by watching the 459 footer he hit in Arizona off John Garland.  Love the trot.

What about his defense at shortstop?

Well let's shoot it over to the guy that has been watching him since he got to the big leagues former Blue Jay manager Bobby Cox.  Here is what he had to say in February of this year before he put him in the dog house:

"Escobar, to me, is a Gold Glove winner at short," Cox added. "He's as good as it gets."

For the 2010 season he has the most assists as a shortstop in the NL to go along with a top three range factor.  

How about his contract info?

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts he has 2.121 years of Major League Service time and is arbitration eligible for 2011-2013.  At that point, he can become a free agent.  He is currently being paid $435,000, which is just above the league minimum.  He is represented by the Wasserman Media Group which is only worth noting because they are not Scott Boras.

In the interests of being thorough I must mention a few things.  He has been labeled as having an attitude.  Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend to know what that means.  I can guess he plays the game with the same fire and passion that every other Cuban I have ever seen in the big leagues but here are the facts courtesy of Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:

• In 2009 he was removed from a game on June 14 because of a lack of focus. 
• On June 25, he took exception to a charged error by gesturing toward the press box and pouting in his next at-bat.
• He was benched by his manager for disciplinary reasons.
• He was deemed abrasively brash by opponents.
• all while continuing a tense relationship with the Atlanta media.

"People would perceive it as being flashy, but he's always said, 'That's just me," said Braves bench coach Chino Cadahia, who's been Escobar's interpreter since he made it to the big leagues.

"It's just a lot of people don't understand his whole story. But I'm not defending him to some of the things he's done, because they've been wrong, and I've told him they've been wrong. But at the same time, if they understood where he came from, how he was able to get out [of Cuba] and the stuff he had to do to do this, sometimes you understand a little better some of his actions."

"He has to be himself most of the time," Cadahia said. "But being himself, he has to be able to control being himself, also. We definitely want him to be Yunel Escobar. But he can be Yunel Escobar and not show anybody up."

Yunel had this to say about it:

"Us Latin players are a bit aggressive, and sometimes that gives off a bad impression," Escobar said in Spanish "We play a brash game, an aggressive game, and that's what I've been demonstrating here.

"People have misinterpreted those mannerisms. But honestly, I'm not a bad kid, and I don't disrespect anybody. I respect the game."

"This is the year I'm trying to focus on [learning English], because I've already been here three years since 2007, and a lot of people have wanted to talk to me, but I couldn't talk," Escobar said. "I'm getting tired of that. I have to express myself to people because a lot of people want to get to know me, but they can't because of the language.

"Things happened last year where there were just misinterpretations that brought me problems I've never really had before."

"Every year that passes, I feel more like this is my home, and I gain a little bit more confidence," Escobar said. "Since I got here in 2007, I've felt a bit out of place. I didn't know how they were going to treat me, because it was the first time I was in a big league clubhouse."

I think now is the time I drop this on you.  Must read.

All that and he hits into a lot of double plays.  Like over 20 a year.  And you could call him a little soft.  But that is it.  Promise. 

Some More Analysis:

On centerpiece Yunel Escobar:

"It's fair to say that if Yunel Escobar was performing like he did last year, it would have been a much more difficult deal to make," GM Alex Anthopoulos said.

“If Yunel was doing what he did in the past, he’s not available to us and this trade does not present itself. This was an opportunity for us to take a chance on a very talented player."

“We control the player for three years after this,”

“We feel as though he has a chance to be a core player. Certainly he’s having a down year but, again, when you look at what he did the years prior to that, (we are) getting a very high-ceiling, talented shortstop that was arguably coming into this year as one of the better young shortstops in the game.”

"It's never a bad thing to have two great players,"

"We're just as high on Adeiny Hechavarria. We absolutely believe he's going to be an All-Star caliber shortstop. When we get a chance to add another guy like that in Yunel Escobar, we're never going to shy away from the talent."

“When you have depth at premium positions … It’s an absolutely outstanding problem to have,”

"I certainly believe Alex Gonzalez is going to continue to have a great year and help the Braves get to the playoffs, their aspirations are to win the World Series, but Yunel Escobar, long-term, is a guy we think is equally as talented ... and he certainly has greater upside."

"Where there's smoke there's fire and we weren't going to roll our eyes at that,"

"Everyone we've spoken to has said, first and foremost, this is a good kid and that was the number one factor for us. There have been run-ins, other issues, and I think it's a product maybe of the style of game he plays, maybe it didn't mesh well with the Atlanta Braves."

“Everybody that we spoke to — former teammates, coaches, minor-league staff, everybody — the response was the that this was a good kid,”

"Jose (Bautista) said he was a good kid, quiet, not a problem in the clubhouse at all. But he does play a flashy kind of game and I think being in the environment we have here for him, I think this is an opportunity for him to thrive."

"When we looked at it, we said, 'Well, we're either going to go off of three years of track record that Yunel Escobar has showed as a young man, or the three months that he's performed so far.'"

"We think there could be some mechanical things that can be addressed in his swing, and I think he may need a fresh start and a new organization and a city like Toronto that embraces Latin players,"

"There's no question his power has been lacking from what it has been in previous years,"

"The biggest concern for us was the lack of power and we really had our scouts focus on batting practice and make sure the raw power was there and we were pretty diligent about examining his health. The raw power is still there, and we think it's just a matter of making some tweaks."

"He can still drive the ball in batting practice. I think it's just a matter of making some tweaks."

"If you look at the Cuban player, they play with a lot of flare, a lot of emotion, a lot of flash,"

"But I think it can be exciting for fans. Toronto fans love watching a high energy player who brings a lot of passion and desire to the shortstop position and I think he's going to be able to thrive in this environment."

"Just talking to Cito Gaston, he said Tony Fernandez was very flashy as well and he thrived here, he was a fan favourite."

"I think Yunel coming to a city like Toronto — that a lot of Latin players seem to love and enjoy for obvious reasons — it’s a fresh start for him. It’s a new organization. Getting with people like (manager) Cito (Gaston) and (hitting coach) Dwayne Murphy, that will unlock some things.”

"We did a lot of homework and we feel like this is going to be an environment for him to really thrive."

"At the same time acquiring someone like Yunel Escobar along with Jo-Jo Reyes -- two young, talented players (was key). Going into the season, Escobar was widely regarded as one of the best young shortstops in the game. He's 27 and he's controlled (rights-wise) for three years beyond 2010 and he also has a chance to be a core player."

On JoJo Reyes:

"(The Pacific Coast League) is a tough league to pitch in and we want to try to get the best out of Jo-Jo," Anthopoulos said "He's had time in the big leagues before. He was a highly touted prospect. It's just a matter of getting him into the right environment to get some success, to get some confidence going. His stuff is certainly there."

"He hasn't had a great performance this year,"

"We have some scouts that feel pretty strongly about him and think he has a chance to bounce back and be the player he was in the past."

On Alex Gonzalez:

"The production and the results speak for themselves," Anthopoulos said. "As I told Alex, the two most professional position players that I've probably been around in my time in the game have been Scott Rolen and Alex Gonzalez.

"Just the way he carries himself and the way he conducts himself, he's a tremendous teammate and a quiet leader -- not an easy guy to part with."

"It wasn't a reflection on Alex at all. He's absolutely exceeded any expectations we had for him. He's a plus player, a plus defender. What a tremendous competitor, tremendous person and good role model for the younger players. That's what made this so complicated."

On prospects Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky

"Both guys are very talented," Anthopoulos said. "I give the Braves a lot of credit. I think they did a great job from a scouting standpoint. The makeup of both players is outstanding. I spoke to both of them today. They're both tremendous kids, very hard workers, outstanding baseball players and very tough, intense competitors."

"We were reluctantly willing to give up both players,"

"But it was not an easy decision to make."

“We think Tim Collins can pitch in the big leagues right now as a 20-year-old with a great arm,”

“That was the cost to doing it.”

Boy Wonder has spoken.  It should be noted he sees Escobar as a top of the order hitter.

Conclusion:

I didn't even bother to mention the other players in the deal.  It's not because I forgot but more because this trade, to me, boils down to this:

We just traded a potential lefty bullpen stud, a potential back up infielder and a season and a half of a 33 year old Major League shortstop we got for nothing.

FOR

A potential All Star and a lefty with big league starting experience.