Weekly Round Up : Mar. 15 - 21

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

Courtesy of The hall of Very Good:

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

Courtesy of TSN via The Canadian Press:

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

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

Courtesy of Jordan Bastian:

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

Close second place in the required reading weekly award. 

Courtesy of Mike Wilner:

Regarding Adeiny Hechevarria

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

Major League service time.  Learn about it here.

Courtesy of Bob Elliot @ Toronto Sun:

Regarding Randy Ruiz

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

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

Courtesy of Fan Graphs:

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

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

Courtesy of Sporting News:

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

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

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

Courtesy of Fan Graphs:

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

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

Quickly:

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

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

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

More Quickly:

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

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

Vernon Wells Wins Lottery (again)

Today March 1, our centrefielder receives $8.5 million dollars.  That figure represents the final part of his $25.5 million dollar signing bonus, which is a term of his current contract.

I have said all I need to say about Vernon Wells before.  At least with him projected to be hitting cleanup, he will get the opportunity to put up some decent numbers:

"I want to be there," he said. "I want to get back to doing what I'm accustomed to doing and that's helping this team win and driving in runs."

I would prefer it if we put him in front of our reigning silver sluggers.  Jose Bautista had this to say about hitting in front of the big boys during the end of last season:

"In the leadoff spot, I saw a lot of good pitches to hit, so hopefully if I’m in there again, I can take advantage of that.”

Lyle Overbay had a lot to say on the topic and You Don't Know Dick actually wrote something insightful.  Click here for some of Dick's rare magic.

Now I'm not saying Vernon should lead off, although it is not the worst idea I have ever heard.  What I am saying is that Vernon NEEDS protection in the line up to be a successful hitter.

Lind and Hill = protection.  Overbay and E5 = not so much.

What are your thoughts on him hitting in the four hole for us?  Will he be successful there?

2010.....Destined To FAIL?

When thinking about the upcoming season, numerous things keep me up late at night.  There are quite a few issues that will undoubtedly contribute to our losing record.  I have decided to pinpoint one that seems particularly hopeless considering the circumstances.             

These are the ground ball figures in percentages of the potential starting pitchers for your 2010 Toronto Blue Jays.  These stats represent the number of times a ball was hit on the ground as opposed to in the air or on a line. 

Romero: 54% 6th overall in MLB
Rzepczynski: 51.2%
Ray: 48.1%
McGowan: 2007 53%  2008 41.4%
Hill: 2008 46.3%  2009 30.2%
Marcum: 2008 43.1%
Cecil: 42.6%
Morrow: 2008 33.1%  2009 37.3%
Tallet: 36.3%
Litsch: 2009 34.4%  2008 48.5%  2007 48.1% 
Richmond: 33.6%
Purcey: 31.5%
Mills: 14.8%

From this I can conclude there will be quite a few balls going up in the air off the opposing teams bats next year, most likely toward the outfielders.  Now let's take a look at those projected outfielders Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) for the 2009 season:

Adam Lind, LF: -8.1 
Travis Snider, RF: -2.4
Travis Snider, LF: 0.0
Jose Bautista, RF: 5.1
Jose Bautista, CF: 0.6
Jose Bautista, LF: -1.9
Joey Gathright, CF: -0.9
Joey Gathright, LF: 0.7
Joey Gathright, RF: 0.4
Jeremy Reed, LF: 3.7
Jeremy Reed, CF: -0.8
Jeremy Reed, RF: -1.3

Which brings me to the 3 time gold glove outfielder.
Here is our savior's career UZR:

2009: -18.2
2008: -14.3
2007: -1.1
2006: 7.5
2005: 3.2
2004: 9.9
2003: -18.3
2002: -8.8

Anybody want to take a guess at which three years he won the award?
What worries me the most is the steady decline.  


Not pretty.  Although there is one combo that doesn't look as bad as the others.  Snider in LF, Vernon in CF and Bautista in RF provides average to above average defense in two of the three outfield positions.  Look for these guys to be on the field when anybody named other than Romero or Rzepczynski is starting.

After discussing this with The Human Rain Delay, we decided that maybe we could try a rover out there.  Let the shortstop play up the middle alone. 

Or we could ask the commissioner's office if it would be OK if we played four across like they do in slopitch and kill the DH.  That might help with the black hole / void space that is Vernon Wells in center.

I am a big believer in matching your strengths to other strengths as a team.  Over the 162 game season, your weakness will be magnified for all to see and exploited by other teams.  You can help minimize them by acquiring players that fit into your team vision.  Check into what the Mariners are doing.....can you say pitching and defense?

For example, if you have a couple of guys on your roster that can run, group them together in the line up and turn em loose on the base paths.  That way they are not caught behind a slow runner thus neutralizing their speed.  If your team has a few guys that can slug, group them together and put a couple of on base guys, lead off type guys, in front of the them so that there will be runners on when it is their turn to hit.  If your pitching staff throws a lot of ground balls, go get some vacuums / human walls to play the infield positions.  And if your pitchers can't keep the ball on the ground, find some rabbits to play the outfield that can go deep into the alleys and make plays for them.  This type of stuff only makes sense.

 The brain trust has done none of this this off season.  

All they have done is plug holes and brought in players that are cheap.  We have made no attempt to match our strengths as a team.  We traded for a fly ball pitcher, re-signed a slick fielding shortstop that can't hit, then signed another slick fielding shortstop that can't hit, a catcher that can't throw anybody out, yet another right handed reliever and a bunch of stiffs on minor league deals that can't do anything.

What good does it do to sign players that bolster your already average infield defense, if you know that most of the balls that are going to be put in play are going to go to your well below average outfield defense?

Your name's Vernon

Hat tip to Chris Creamer's Blog for the pic.

So what the fuck are we going to do with Vernon Wells III?

We drafted him 5th overall in the first round of the 1999 draft.  He once won three consecutive gold gloves for his defense and a silver slugger for his hitting.  He ranks fourth in home runs on the all-time career list with the team and should move into second sometime this year.  He is a former All Star.  He had the most hits in the AL in 2003.  He is our clubhouse leader.  He is the team player association representative. He has his own foundation which is dedicated to supporting and protecting children in need.  He is our longest serving active player with 1236 games.  We have grown up with him.  I once waited in line for three hours to get his autograph and was fucking happy to do it.  And he's got a shit load on money coming his way.  I mean a fucking truck load.  He is scheduled to make $107 million in the five years.  Check this out.....miracles really can happen:

 

Vernon Wells of

7 years/$126M (2008-14)

• signed extension with Toronto 12/06

• $25.5M signing bonus ($8.5M payment each March 1, 2008-10)
• 08:$0.5M, 09:$1.5M, 10:$12.5M, 11:$23M, 12:$21M, 13:$21M, 14:$21M
• full no-trade clause
• Wells may opt out of contract after 2011
• award bonuses: $0.25M for MVP, $0.2M for WS MVP, $0.15M for LCS MVP, $0.1M for most All-Star votes in league
• Wells to donate $143,000 annually to Blue Jays charity
  

For the sake of comparison: Here are the other players in MLB making 20+ million next season.

1. Alex Rodriguez
2. CC Sabathia
3. Johan Santana
4. Manny Ramirez
5. Mark Teixeira
6. Derek Jeter
7. Miguel Cabrera 

For the sake of reference: Rogers paid 25 million FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING STADIUM.

Where I'm from we have a phrase to describe what I'm feeling right now.....

 

On a good note: It's not my money.  It's not your money.  And I don't think we have to worry about him getting any "bonuses" considering we are not getting anywhere near the playoffs and he sure as hell is not getting anywhere near the All Star game.  Someone offered that contract to him and he signed it.  Every single last one of us would have done the exact same thing given the chance.

Here is his stat line for the 2009 season:

630 AB .260 AVG 15 HR 66 RBI 84 RUNS 164 HITS 48 BB 17 SB .711 OBPS*
* Good for 4th worst outfielder rating in all of baseball.

You say: It was a sub par year.  I have a gut feeling he will bounce back.  It was just one bad year, that's all.  He showed a lot of heart playing through pain.

I want to believe you.

I say: In the interest of being thorough let's look at his three year average.   Just so happens to be the same three years since Vernon inked his monster deal.  This is, GULP, how do I put this.....concerning?

547 AB .265 AVG 17 HR 75 RBI 77 RUNS 145 HITS 42 BB 10 SB .745 OBPS

So how much of a down year was it?  Fuck, he had over 75 extra at bats and the only stat line he showed improvement in worth noting was stolen bases? Fucking stolen bases?  The extra AB's actually HURT his average.  Think about that for a minute.  Is this about what we should come to expect from V-Dub in terms of production?  Has he peaked offensively? 

I really hate to put my foot on a man's throat when he is down but hey.....why the fuck not, what else I am I doing?  It actually gets worse.

In 2007 he underwent major left shoulder surgery in the off season.  His prognosis was he should be ready for spring training.

In 2008 he missed about 2 months of time on the DL with hamstring and left wrist surgery.

Last month he underwent "successful" surgery on his left wrist.  Again.  His prognosis is he should be ready for spring training.

As a fan, I want my players to play as good as they can. I want the manager to put them in a spot in the line up where they have the best chance to use their skills and succeed. I want us to root for them no matter what, no matter how bad it seems.

HOWEVER

It's downright sad watching this fat, bald guy try to patrol center field still.....let alone hit.  He has turned into a "guess" hitter.  He is breaking down physically.  He doesn't walk.  He swings at far to many pitchers pitches.  He NEEDS protection in the line up to be successful.  He won't get that hitting 5th, 6th or 7th in 2010 which is where Cito will choose to put him.

 

Yeah I said it again.

I guarantee we can't trade him even if he waived his no trade clause, we ate salary and he has a climb in production.  He is getting killed at home by us fans. I'm guilty of it, so are you.
 

The only silver lining for all you positive thinkers out there is this: He has the option to opt out of his contract after the 2011 season.  Since we are stuck with him until then, we need a plan.  We need to decide together.  I vote for making his life a living hell.  It will make me feel better.  Fuck him.  Fuck his family.  Fuck his pussy American Eskimo dog Lacee.  Fuck his man crush Michael Young.  Fuck yo couch Vernon.  Fuck JP for signing him.  Fuck Godfrey for taking it to ownership. And finally fucking fuck Ted Rogers for giving it the thumbs up.  Given that long list there shouldn't be any shortage of targets that we can direct our rage filled voices towards but unfortunately for Vernon, he is literally the only villain left still employed with your Toronto Blue Jays.
 
Conclusion:

I propose initiating: Operation Opt Out

Do what you have to do. Get this stiff outta here. We have two full years to get it done.  Look on the bright side: I graduated college in less time. We have to make it so bad that he walks away from 63 million dollars. Not likely. So let's get right to it.  Consider this article a head start on step 1 of How to: Heckle.  I'm sharpening my pitchfork.

I will give all you non believers a free pass for the entire 2010 season.  I didn't want to believe it either and I still hope to be proven wrong.

But if he doesn't pick it up drastically, I expect you same people to return to earth, face the facts and join me with Operation Opt Out come 2011.  I will be keeping a seat warm for you.