11:25 PM Eastern
Oh, the vagaries of this great game!
Take the four-game sweep of the A’s and combine it with tonight’s easy win in Detroit, and it appears as though here plays a team that has everything working for it – great pitching, all kinds of scoring, opportunistic offense (.333 with RISP, 8/10 runners scored from third with less than two out), terrific defense. A team poised for a run at the post-season.
Problem is, you can’t do that. You have to toss in those three home games against Cleveland in which they could barely do anything right – certainly not the offense (.188 with RISP, only TWO runners reaching third with less than two out).
And that’s the story of the Toronto Blue Jays this season – mind-numbingly consistent in their inconsistency.
There are a couple of lights at the end of the tunnel, though. First off, they’re now 60-59, which is the same record that they had in 1989. Thing is, that’s where they left .500 behind for good that year. Game 118 was the take-off point. Mauro Gozzo beat Mike Boddicker and the Red Sox 4-2 to get the Jays back to .500, and the next day Dave Stieb got the win (7-2 over Boston) to get the Jays over. The Jays then ripped off a 14-3 that set them on their way to an eventual 29-14 finish and a division title.
Can this team do that? Maybe. Having Vernon Wells back certainly helps. If they do go on that kind of a run now, they’re right back in it, because that run will come against the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays. They just have to do it, is all, which is a hell of a lot easier written than done.
Shannon Stewart was released today, and much to my surprise, there were hardly any calls on The JaysTalk referring to the release and to how big a mistake the Jays made in cutting Reed Johnson at the end of March and all of that. I was more than surprised, actually. I was stunned. I figured The JaysTalk would be nothing but callers wanting to talk about Reed and how much of an idiot J.P. is for letting him go and how he should be fired.
In response to those non-callers, I’ll say this, as I’ve said all season long: Given the information that was available at the time, keeping Stewart was the right choice. Shannon had the track record of being able to hit both lefties and righties, which Reed didn’t have. And still doesn’t, by the way – he’s hitting .269/.313/.393 against righties this year. With the Jays knowing that Frank Thomas would be on a short leash and that Matt Stairs would likely take a step back, they wanted someone with whom they could be confident as an everyday player when the need arose. That wasn’t the case with Johnson. It didn’t work out – at all – but nobody had a crystal ball in Dunedin.
Here’s tonight’s edition of The JaysTalk, for your listening pleasure:
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As I mentioned on The Extendo, the Hall of Fame has moved up the fan balloting for the Ford C. Frick Award for the broadcasters’ wing in Cooperstown to September. Every day next month, you’ll be able to cast your vote for the Frick. I know a lot of people read this blog on a regular basis, and I appreciate that a lot. During the month of September, I’ll be asking that each and every one of you cast a vote for Tom Cheek every day. If we all do it, once a day, every day (heck, you’re on the internet anyway, right?), we can win the fan balloting for Tom, and that’ll go a long way to getting him right where he belongs. I’ll have more on this as we get closer to September, of course.
Reasonable, rational comments are always welcome!
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Mike, if being a GM is all about looking at past stats and hoping they continue to play out (regardless of age, recent injuries, spot in lineup, what league they were in, what division they were in, and so on) do you think I can apply for this summers opening? I also like the job perk that if it does not work out well I can say it was the players fault as they did not perform the way they should have..like why did Rolen, who was coming of career threatening surgery not hit .290 with 30 homers? Why didn’t a rapidly aging Thomas tear the ball up? Why didn’t an aging Shannon Stewart hit like a younger, entering his prime Reed Johnson? JP is right, they should have been better! Also, lastly why is Eckstein only batting .265? He batted much higher when he was surrounded by World Series calibre lineups in Anaheim and St.Louis?
MW: Very simplistic, and also just plain full of it. No one expected Rolen to hit .290 with 30 bombs, no one expected Thomas to fall off the table to the extent that he has, and Eckstein is having exactly the year everyone expected he would. But the failures of Rolen, Thomas and Stewart aren’t the reason the Jays are where they are.
- MatthewSorry Mike I can’t resist – the release of Shannon Stewart put on exclamation point on the fact that legions of Jays fans, including myself, were right back in March in protesting the dimissal of Reed Johnson, .300 avg, .364 obp, .444 slg, .808 ops. Sometimes, granted not all that often, the fans guess right. Call it coincidence, call it luck but the fans were right and JP, who is paid for his educated predictions, was wrong!
MW: It’s true. The way things turned out, the Blue Jays would have been better off keeping Reed Johnson. And again, there was no way to know that at the time. The fans (who were right) wanted Reed to stay because of his hustle, his heart, his defense and the fact that he’s a “true leadoff man” who “makes things happen” and “gets on base any way he can”. The first three things don’t really matter, and the last three aren’t true of Reed.
- DanielHi Mike,
No complaints tonight! Just a well played ball game. It’s nice to see this type of game for once. I enjoyed every moment of it. Go Jays! Marcum pitched very well and the Jays hit very well. That’s what happens when our bats and pitching come together. Just a great game to watch. Hopefully, they’ll keep it up. I think they’re gonna take 3 out of four with detroit. Are there any teams interested in stewart? I think he’ll end up on a national league team. Maybe the Phillies.
MW: I doubt very much that Stewart hooks on with anyone, but I hope he does.
- WarrenHey Mike,
on my last post, the second I hit enter I realized I was stupid for asking for Hardy.
Anyways, I love how some of your callers are convinced now that Rios is going to be a career .280 hitter with 10 HR power.
I just find it amusing that by that argument, one bad season can apparently define a career, yet 2 very good years dont? I’m still under the impression that he was pressing due to the big contract, despite some lack of hustle and some brain cramps. I think he will have a great year next in 09 and I would even put hard money that he makes the all star team, especially if they get a big bat in the offseason so he can have protection. A big reason I think his power is down, is because he gets pitcheed around so much because Wells has been gon so long and there was no other big threat in the lineup.
MW: It’s just simply a matter of the combination of pessimism and recency. A bad year, if currently ongoing, will always carry more weight than anything a player has ever done before.
- CoreyHi Mike
I don’t understand why people think that a winning team comes from some sort of a cookie cutter template. The first baseman (Overbay) has to hit 30 homers. The highest paid player (Wells) needs to be the leader in the clubhouse. There needs to be better chemistry, they need to try harder and on and on. There are so many pieces on a team and so many variables in a season. There is more than one way to field a good team and win a championship. With the excellent pitching staff and defence the Jays have, if they can add a good bat at DH and SS, I don’t see how they do not contend next year because the offence really just needs to be average to win games. It’s unfortunate it wasn’t this year. I just don’t understand the argument for starting from scratch.
Love listening to the crew do the radio broadcast and the Jaystalk. Thanks Mike.
MW: Thanks for leaving a reasonable, rational comment!
- HoweyGreat to see your man Overbay come thru again tonight a feeble strikeout and an even more impressive double play he didn’t hustle on. Oh an error too!?
MW: He’s by far the worst player in the history of Major League Baseball.
- tonyMMI am looking at the transactions record on bluejays.com, and it seems like the Jays are missing one player from their active roster. They brought Wells back from the DL (+1) then they sent Mench down (0), then they release Shannon Stewart (no effect), then they put Rolen on the DL (-1), then they brought Litch back (0) by optioning Parrish to AAA (-1).
MW: Mench was recalled when Rolen went on the DL.
- AliHere’s a thought that’s been rolling around in my head. What if Ted Rogers sees that he has an amazing rotation and bullpen, probably the best defense in baseball, and an offense that needs just a few more pieces, and realizes that if he budgets a competitive payroll for the next 3 years, the Jays will have a 3 year window to become serious contenders.
I’m thinking a budget arc of around 400 million over the next 3 years (about 133 million per season). He must know that he has a bunch of good, young, cheap talent coming up in about 3 years from the minors. So in the mean time, why not go for it, and do it seriously. None of that just-enough-to-keep-up stuff, I mean seriously contend. A payroll of 133 million, taking into account the roughly 30 million already coming off after this season would give them about 60 million to spend this off season. That’s easily enough for 3-4 years of Manny and Carlos or some other duo, a top FA pitcher to replace AJ, an every day SS (Furcal or Cabrera), maybe another bat, a backup catcher, or more pitching depth, whatever. You put that lineup out there, hope for good health, and assume they don’t under-perform for no reason, and it’s an instant playoff contender.
And if it doesn’t work, fine, but at least they honestly tried, which is something they haven’t done in a LONG time. Then after the budget arc, they can bring the payroll back down and compete with cheap, young, controllable talent.
Unfortunately, it just makes way too much sense for it to actually happen. You’d think the richest guy in the country would adequately fund his team in the AL East instead of just teasing us. Mr. Rogers, I know you’re an avid reader of the 24/7 JaysTalk, so make it happen!
MW: Do you think that a team has to be a top-3 payroll club in order to be adequately funded?
- Shawn1) why didn’t you post my comments last blog?
2) Have you ever heard of Scouts? or do you believe all simply look at a players carerr triple slash stats and make descions from their computers?
3) When you say “it was the right descion at the time” what you should be saying is “I agreed with the descion” which proves nothing more then the fact that you would be just as bad a GM as J.P. has been. or just as average of a GM as J.P. has been.
5) you always say you’ll trade anyone so long as it makes the team better!! right? good thinking I agree. But shouldn’t you be saying the same thing about the GM??? if you believe like I do that J.P. is an average GM or I think you probally believe J.P. has been slightly above average or even a good GM maybe? but can’t we find a great GM? isn’t that something Paul Godfrey should be looking for to make this team better?
MW: 1 – I can’t remember, but I only delete comments that are insulting or vulgar. 2 – What are these scouts of which you speak? 3 – No, when I say “it was the right decision at the time” what I mean is “it was the right decision at the time”. 5 – You should really get the counting thing down.
- MannyIf no one could have predicted Stewart’s decline, how come nobody wanted him and he had to settle for a minor league deal?
MW: Good question. But nobody wanted Kenny Lofton, either.
- Jay Moneymike, why do you insist of misstating the facts on a regular basis? you have said repeatedly that inglett’s ops is 1 point higher than rolens. this is absolutely not true. all you have to do is look it up. inlgett’s ops is .765 (down from .770 the day before) not .751 as you keep repeating which is higher than rolen’s. and rolen is making 10 mil per year vs inglett’s 300k. I don’t think you need to spend 10 mil to get a .750 ops. you don’t like it when people call and say overbay sucks. well I don’t like it when you go on the air and say things that are factually untrue.
MW: I’m sorry that you don’t like it. I wouldn’t like it either if I went on the air and said things that were factually untrue, which is why I don’t do it. The call to which you’re referring came on Sunday, and I said that going into that day’s game, Inglett had a .751 OPS and Rolen’s was .750. I look forward to your apology.
- chubbySad to see stewart let go. He looks like a lost ball player right now and i hope its not the end of the line for the once great hitter. My opinion, i think reed johnson is a good player but you never know when he’s going to run into a wall and break something being overly aggressive. He reminds me of darcy tucker. Stewart was the better choice in my eyes to be an everyday player though stewart was willing to ride the pine at this point in his career. Now do you think Adam Lind had anything to do with the departure of reed johnson before he was even on the roster. Did J.P plan to have Lind start thinking he could deal johnson for a prospect.
MW: Obviously, he couldn’t deal Johnson at the contract to which he was signed, which is why he didn’t trade him. I don’t know if Stewart looks lost right now, I haven’t seen him play since June.
- Rob HoughHey Mike,
You seem to be the only Blue Jays writer/FAN590 host that doesn’t hate on JP…
My question is how do you feel about how the rest of them talk about him? I chalk it up to not knowing the game, but then there are some of the writers who cover the Jays, and well, I’m hard pressed to say that THEY don’t understand the game… I mean, they cover baseball for a living!
I don’t read much of the stuff that’s out there on paper about my team… I stick mainly to the blogs, and if your answer is an “opinions are like a**holes” type of answer, that’s fine by me, but I’d love to know your stance on these guys…
Thanks!
MW: I think it’s a lot easier to be critical and negative than it is to look at the entire picture. Calling for someone’s head sells a lot of newspapers, being patient and explaining the truth about why a team is “mired in mediocrity” doesn’t.
- Lukehi mike;
- robert sMarcum looked great as per usual, he is definatley the number two starter next year behind Halladay. As for Shannon Stewart he is an excellent player but had an injury year so we wish him the best as he wasn’t paid much this year to join the roster. No big loss if Burnett gives you the silent treatment as their are four other starters to interview and he’s soon gone anyway; releasing Reed was a mistake and they didn’t give him a chance to rebound from his back surgury, they could have kept both him and stewart as vernon is injury prone, the only good thing from this is inglett is given playing time and he’s a keeper. Another mistake is not picking up Sexson or Edmonds especially who is playing great and both would have cost us a pittance but could bring us some badly needed run support. p.s good to see Vernon back and hitting well(no pun intended), keep up the good work Mike, and pp.s soften your stance on Macdonald, his defence is a tangible assest, and talk to Cito about letting Eckstien hit, not bunt, leave the bunting to Johnny Mac, thx.
Hello Mike
I was listening to McGown speaking the Richard Griffin, the two people who wants JP gone. What was interesting, when asked who would be the likely candidate to replace JP, they cited Cashman as one of the possibilities. I understand their logic for wanting JP out, the .500 club etc, but why would you think Cashman is the right person. Here is a man with unlimited budget, yet, he still failed in securing good pitching for the team to ensure success.
Question – What is your opinion of Cashman as a GM?
MW: I haven’t liked a lot of the things that Cashman has done, but it’s hard to know how many of the moves were his or were foisted upon him by ownership. He’s had his team in the playoffs every year, though the unlimited budget has helped no end.
- francisI was mowing my lawn yesterday and as I was about to finish, guess who showed up in his 1986 Monte Carlo?… Uncle Sidney! And he also brought a case of beer with him. Finally, to make the uncle-nephew get together perfect, he ordered a Pizza. It arrived just before the first pitch so things were looking flawless. When we finished the pizza during the bottom of 2nd, the baseball talk began.
The argument was over Carlos Zambrano. I said it’s kinda early but Uncle Sidney is already talking 250 wins and Hall of Fame. He thinks Zambrano is a beast, albeit a very talented one, who never gets injured and he’s only 27. Since Jays were winning, Uncle Sidney wasn’t in a complaining mode and he finally dozed off on the couch at the top of the 6th.
so what do you think about Zambrano and 250 wins?
MW: He’d have to win at his current yearly average until his age-38 season. It could happen, sure, but there are a ridiculous amount of things that could derail him between now and then.
- Beburg aka The 88mph manA (slightly edited) quote from another blog:
“I’ve lost count how many times these bums just don’t play up to there ability, as a ________ fan I am beyond fed up with the underacheiving”
Can you guess which team’s name appears where I have shown the blank? Answer below.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
(Answer — “Yankee”)
MW: Only a Yankee fan wouldn’t know the difference between there, their and they’re. Oh, wait…..
- NormHey Mike,
I heard that Red Sox pres. Larry Luchino could be leaving Boston. Any chance he could end up with the Blue Jays?
Thanks, love your work.
MW: There’s a rumour. Would he bring Theo and an extra $45M in payroll with him?
- Brent AkesonMike, if you could post a daily link to the vote for Cheek, we might really be able to make this happen. I suggest every Jays blogger do the same!
MW: I’ll try my best to do that.
- JimGiven his history as a hitter, do you not think it would have made more sense to keep Shannon Stewart on board and give him another shot and send down/release either Mench or Wilkerson?
I’m just fearful we’ll see Stewart sign on somewhere else and then find his stroke again and make the latest front office move look even worse.
MW: I’d be surprised, though it wouldn’t surprise me if he hooked on with someone next year and wound up being the same .290 hitter he’d been the last couple of years. As far as the Mencherson thing, I think they just wanted to keep someone who’d been playing in the bigs the last few months, and with Lind having become the everyday guy in left, that main reason for keeping Shannon around was no longer there.
- ColeMike.
Do you think the Jays will finish the season at,above or below .500?
MW: Above, just a feeling.
- MarkHey Mike, would you be able to post the link to vote for Tom once it becomes available?
Thanks, and keep up the great work!
MW: I’ll try my best.
- TylerMost fans probably don’t care about Reed Johnson anymore because the question has become moot: Lind is outperforming both, and has rightfully assumed the everyday role in left field. J.P. has presumably taken a sigh of relief.
But since you restarted the debate (:)), you say that “Shannon had the track record of being able to hit both lefties and righties.” False. Once again, you’re ignoring the previous four seasons. Not only did Stewart not hit well against lefties during that period (about .260), but Johnson actually hit better against righties than Stewart did against lefties. That .269 doesn’t look so bad after all.
MW: And yet, Stewart had rebounded to hit .274 against lefties the last two seasons, while Reed only ever had one good half-season in his entire career against right-handed pitching.
- ShmuelI think Adam Dunn actually had the Jays on his limited no-trade clause, so he would have had a final say in that.
MW: They could have been one of the 10 teams, I’m not aware.
- JaybirdHello Mike,
I’m not sure what you mean when you say the Jays can “get by” with John Macdonald at SS if the rest of the lineup is hitting. I assume you’re saying that a strong lineup can compensate for Macdonald’s lack of offense. That doesn’t make sense.
A player’s worth is defined by his ability to produce runs on offence and prevent runs on defence. Both those abilities combined amount to some sort of run-differential value – a numerical value that a computer of the future can determine, perhaps.
Is that run-differential value of Macdonald’s higher than Eckstien’s or Scutaro’s? That’s all that matters; the lineup around him is meaningless as to Macdonald’s own value.
There are other factors involved – salaries, for one. Also, a good defence helps pitchers throw less pitches.
But mostly, it comes down to a player’s effect on a team’s run-differential. One thing: a strong lineup puts on more baserunners in front of Macdonald than a weak lineup would – runners that he won’t cash in. As well, the hitters behind macdonald (the best hitters) will have less rbi opportunities than they would if a better-hitting, weaker-defence shortstop was in the lineup. In that sense, macdonald’s weak hitting has more of an adverse effect in a strong hitting lineup than a weak one.
MW: Except that McDonald is a good bunter, and a decent hit-and-run guy, so he can make reasonably productive outs, at least, in on-base situations. Your run-differential point is a good one, to a certain extent. You still have to score runs to win, and as I’ve mentioned going on 168,000 times this season, most of the Jays’ losses have come because they haven’t hit.
- Evan WhiteHey Mike,
That is amazing about the lack of Reed calls as soon as I saw the release notice I just kinda shook my head. It always easier to look at something with 20/20 hindsight but I am with you the Stewart signing was the right move at the time.
Look at it this way, for the people who want to bring up Reed Johnson, ask what they think of Adam Lind since if they liked Johnson so much and if he was that great wouldn’t he block Lind at that position? Although I imagine the same people that go after the Johnson move are the same people that yelled that Lind spent so much time in the minors (A move which seems to have paid off but who knows).
Finally I don’t know about you Mike, but I am sick and tired hearing people whine about the money that atheltes make. How we pay their salaries and they should bend over backwards for us. Talk to media, check, sign autographs, check, never spend time with their families so they can do these sorta things check. I’m amazed someone hasn’t asked for a Kidney yet.
Players are paid what they are worth, not just what their value is to the baseball team, but what their value is to their organization. There are marketing angles. Merchandising, advertising and likability for the fans. If a player generates 30 million annually for the organization he plays for whats wrong with wanting a fair cut of that? You always hear about the greedy players, they are just employees people. Get over it.
PS. I hear you are on the DJF podcast again, is this something you do on a normal basis?
MW: The players are very well-compensated for the amount of time they spend away from their families, so there’s no violin music coming from this end. I’m on the DJF podcast again because they asked but no, it’s not something I’ll be doing on a regular basis.
- Johnny GHey Mike. If you post a link sometime next month with the voting ballot then I’ll vote for Tom every day that I’m on the computer. You should get people at the fan to wear t-shirts that say “VOTE FOR TOM!”(cue from Napolian Dynamite) Anyway at the beginning of the season I agreed that the intentions of letting Reed go and to sign Stew where the right intentions. Now Reeds gone and Stewart is gone like an injured horse. One more reason to get the linch mob riled up in TO. BTW in the last comment you made to me you said that you didn’t think that AJ’s giving you the cold sholder would not aggrivate the common Jays fan. I would have thought that you’d imagine yourself on having a greater influence on how fans perseive the players. You are the All Great and Mighty Mike Wilner are you not!?!
MW: No, I’m not.
- Matt from BCIt would be nice if some of your listeners did a little research before phoning in.
Shannon Stewart had trade value?
Trading Cecil for Dunn so that the Jays could then re-sign Dunn as a FA? What a non sequitur.
Juan Pierre walks a lot and has a good OBP?
A little Google search would surely go a long way.
- Chuck VI thought it was the right decision at the time, but I am just a stupid fan. When Glaus was traded to the Cards, my friend called it right: Rolen has lost his power and will hit no more than 12 home runs (it looks like I lost this bet). Like me, he is just a dumb fan who watches MLB extra innings. My point is that why could a fan (a very studious one at that) see that but not professional talent evaluators?
Given their resources, The Blue Jays should have more crystal balls (scouts? analysts?) because their talent evaluation has been bad this year.
1. Said Frank Thomas (not about the money) was done and released him in April. He now has a better OBP than any Blue Jay and a home run every 22 at bats.
2. Brought in Wilkerson (done), Mench (done) and gave Matt Stairs (done) two years.
3. Brought in David Eckstein to ride the pine.
4. Fell in love with Aaron Hill, Alex Rios, and Vernon Wells and rewarded them with contracts prematurely.
5. Not one trade for a prospect at the deadline because the party line is “we are still in it” when it is clear that this is just a .500 team looking hoping to get lucky.
There have been some success stories like Jesse Carlson, but it has not been the norm.
Then again, what do you expect from a guy who looks at Adam Dunn through his crystal ball and can only see his poor batting average and strikeouts?
MW: 6. Put together the best pitching staff in the American League
- Jim Bi guess you and JP really hit the nail with the hammer with the Shannon Stewart signing…(MASSIVE SARCASM)
MW: What did I have to do with the Stewart signing?
- EShow many games back were the ’89 jays at this point?
and is there a site where i can read about the magic of 1989?
just for inspiration?
MW: Retrosheet is a good one
- Dan“I figured The JaysTalk would be nothing but callers wanting to talk about Reed and how much of an idiot J.P. is for letting him go and how he should be fired.”
Nope, when he’s fired its a cumulative effect of all his mistakes and non-playoff teams. I suppose he’s had good intentions to improve the team, but if you don’t make it to the playoffs it doesn’t matter.
MW: I point you towards Terry Ryan and his career record as a GM.
- CurtMike,
Reading your blog entry today made me (i hope rationally) wonder about the Rolen-Glaus trade (sorry to insist on that often discussed topic). What I am questioning is the team power aspect of this deal, not Rolen himself.
Indeed, even assuming at the time that Scott could stay healthy the entire season (assumption that i will make for all names later involved), the Jays knew they were losing power with this swap itself.
But you seem to also say that they had already thought about releasing (or at least benching) Frank Thomas if he could not perform well in April(while Thomas has been a notorious slow starter and they surely knew about it).
So, they were ready to accept, in addition to 3B, a loss in power power in the DH slot, and in LF as well (because Stairs numbers were as you said due to drop, or to much less an extend because they would prefer Shannon’s AVG to Reed ).
So here are my questions after the novel:
Couldn’t JP have at least foreseen the slugging part of the current Jays’ woes this trade would imply (besides the hitting with RISP part that he obviously could not), even with the fair thought that Vernon would bounce back and Rios could have repeated his numbers? Doesn’t that make it a bad trade despite the 2 more years of controlling Rolen and his stellar defence?
I know that Glaus wanted to escape the turf at Rogers Center, but it also appears that he was not against staying if JP could not reach a good deal.
Thanks,
Keep up the excellent work
MW: Your questions are fair. I’m sure Ricciardi foresaw a drop-off in power with Thomas and Stairs and the departure of Glaus. But I’m equally sure that it was fair to expect that Rios (20), Wells (25), Rolen (10), Hill (12), Overbay (15) and Stairs (15) would combine for at least close to 100 homers, as opposed to the 65 or so it looks as though they might get.
- Fred in FranceThe Captain is at it again.August numbers so far:
.368/.629 /.343
and not a word from Wilner..I love it!
MW: It’s nice to see The Captain swinging the bat well again. Especially since he didn’t do a thing in July. And OBP goes before SLG.
- The RatWhat was toronto’s record at the end of the 89 season? Will that record get them into the playoffs this year? If not whats the point of mentioning that season. Actually whats the point of mentioning that season anyway it was almost 20 years ago and that team has absolutely nothing to do with this team.
MW: The Jays finished 1989 89-73, which I think would be right there for the wild card this year. Why do I mention that season? Not to say that this team has anything to do with that team, but to show that the season is not over.
- KDYa.
I agree with the Stewart over Reed thing.
I even agreed with Rolen and Eckstein for Glaus (ouch).
M-Dub,
I’ve heard you say that you werent sure why Cito was sticking so steadfast with Barajas over Zaun.
This makes me chuckle.
Remember, JP was willing to let Zaun walk for Barajas before that went awry. So I mean whats hard to understand?
League looked awesome lastnight…never realized he was #22. You think hes going to be here awhile? I need a new jersey.
MW: Glad to have made you chuckle.
- slobberfaceHi Mike,
I was at the game last night in Detroit-Rock-City, and the friend with whom I attended the game and I had a pretty long discussion about Shannon Stewart being kept over Reed Johnson. I still think, regardless of what anyone else tells me, etc., that letting Reed Johnson go was the first mistake in this season of veritable mediocrity. Regardless of the fact that I was a Reed Johnson, and judging by the number of Johnson jerseys I see both at the Rogers Centre and on the road, I was not the only one to think that letting him go was a mistake. I understand that Stewart had the better past numbers, and was an all around ‘better player’, but I sincerely believe that a ‘dirt bag’ player like Reed Johnson is irreplaceable. Turns out that is true this season, but Joe Inglett is doing his best as our resident ‘dirt bag’, but he’s just not up to the Reed Johnson-ian calibre.
It boils down to this:
JP seems to have a knack for making the wrong decision at the wrong time, or he is haunted by an incredible amount of bad luck. I have given him the benefit of the doubt for many years, even being one of his supporters when all of my friends turned their back on him. It’s getting hard though, Mike, to continually support his decisions when so many of them have seemed to blow up in his face. I know darn well that he has also made some good decisions, but it’s just the bad ones that seem to stick out like sore thumbs. The amount of times I’ve said to myself while watching anbther painful loss, “If only we still had ‘so-and-so’…” is proof enough that I do not fully trust JP.
I think it’s time for a GM change, as I have given JP enough time to earn my trust… and that just has not happened.
I hope the Jays can make something of this season, as I will NEVER quit cheering for them. It’s been hard this year, though, and I can’t help but feel that some of JP’s mistakes are the reason for this tumultuous season.
- JeffMike,
What would you say the actual odds of the Jays being able to bring in a legitimate DH for next year?
I was reading somewhere the O-Dawgs contract with the D-backs was up at the end of the year. Would it not be a good idea for the Jays to bring him to play 2nd and slide Hill back to short or even 3rd if the are willingto make McDonald their everyday SS?
And I have to say, I have been an Overbay fan since he got here 3 years ago. Is tehre any market for him out there though? Maybe they can convert Lind to first and go after another outfielder?
Let me know your thoughts
MW: I think there may be a market for Overbay, but like Wells and Rios, they’d be trading him for pennies on the dollar. As for Hudson, I mean, it’s not like there’s a great-hitting shortstop out there on the free agent market, so Hudson would be a solid acquisition. Certainly he and McDonald up the middle would give the Jays a near-impenetrable defense.
- Brandon FMike, what was unreasonable about my comment yesterday? Are you now only posting comments you argee with? I have just returned from a few weeks away from this broken record of a blog. See you next year if they fire J.P.
MW: I don’t post comments that take shots at my integrity. Which is why I cut two lines from this one. I’m with you, sadly, on the broken record thing.
- Jason4 man rotation for the BIG 15 game stretch!
Mike – I’ve been looking forward to this 15 game stretch for a few weeks. I was hoping we’d go into this phase with a slightly better record. Nevertheless, if we can go 10-5 or 9-6 through this, we will have meaningful games in September.
I read a quote from Cito that said he sat down with JP and mapped out the rotation for this 15 game stretch with an emphasis on maximizing Doc and AJ’s number of starts. Now that Marcum is getting back to the swing of things, we can probably try to maximize his number of starts too.
Luckily we have two off days which can make a 4 man rotation work! Here are my thoughts on getting Doc, AJ and Marcum 4 starts each. That’ll give our “Big 3″ 12 out of the 15 starts with Litsch taking the other 3 starts, 2 of them at home. I’d have Purcey to the bullpen for long relief if needed on Litsch’s starts. It’ll require Doc and Litsch to go on 3 days rest just once with every one else on regular schedule. I’m not excited about Jesse going on 3 days rest against Boston – that might be a Purcey start with Richmond assisting in eating some innings (so not a true 4 man rotation, but it achieves the goal of getting the Big 3 in there for the Big 15 game stretch as many times as possible).
8/15 @BOS – Doc
8/16 @BOS – Marcum
8/17 @BOS – AJ
(DAY OFF)
8/19 NYY – Litsch
8/20 NYY – Doc
8/21 NYY – Marcum
8/22 BOS – AJ
8/23 BOS – Litsch (on 3 days rest)
8/24 BOS – Doc (on 3 days rest)
(DAY OFF)
8/26 @ TB – Marcum
8/27 @ TB – AJ
8/28 @ TB – Litsch
8/29 @ NYY – Doc
8/30 @ NYY – Marcum
8/31 @ NYY – AJ
What do you think? Can the Jays make this happen?
MW: There’s almost no way Halladay goes on three days’ rest, and not a snowball’s chance that Litsch does.
- T from NYHey Mike, a quick question. If Carlos Delgado’s contract doesnt get picked up by the Mets for next year, would you consider signing him for our DH next year? Thanks your time
MW: Sure, why not? I mean, I’d rather have Manny or Giambi, but why not?
- ChrisHey Mike
That light at the end of the tunnel you refer to is just the front of an oncoming train. Unfortunately this team will hover around the .500 mark until they get a substantial upgrade offensively.
The best free agents available are Teixeira, Bradley, Dunn, Ramirez, Burrell and Giambi. I would stay clear of headcase/injury prone Bradley, and i don’t think i’d touch Giambi either as he is in his declining years. Burrell is inconsistant from year to year, so i’d pass on him as well. Teixeira will likely cost way too much. I’d love to add Dunn, but you know there is no way the Major League leader in Homers is coming to Toronto anytime soon (thanks again JP). That leaves Manny Ramirez, and i’m not sure i’d shell out piles of cash to a guy who is 37, rarely hustles and can be a huge clubhouse distraction. The options really are not great. Unless of course we sign Bonds on the cheap, and spend the excess money on pitching….
MW: Bonds? Who’s that?
- rickMike,
I think your down right wrong in think that the Jay’s and Boston’s injuries don’t compare. You say that schilling shouldn’t count because they knew in the spring. That is down right wrong. As of April Boston was happy with his progress. As of May he was throwing from flat groud and June he was throwing from the mound. Janssen on the other hand was reported to be done as of March 12 by your network. So I guess his injury isnt a big deal cause the Jays knew in the spring.
If one team’s starting shortstop doesnt matter, than neither should another teams starting second basemen. Accardo is a key piece in the Jay’s bullpen, like Timlin and Aardsma.
Anyway, the point is and remains, that the Jays are not the only team in baseball that has to deal with injuries. So failing exceptional circumstance, useing injuries as an excuse is the swan song of losers. And i would have to say that the jay’s injuries this year are not exceptional circumstances. There may be a couple of teams in baseball that haven’t had a significant injury this year, but I can’t think of any.
Now, this this Stewart release, why release him now? He is rehabing, just went 6 for 22 ( a decent .272 ave)and could be a decent pinch hitter, spare OF, DH. Unless your afraid he’ll take time away from Bad Brad or Eck at DH.
P.S. – How do you like Overbay in the 8 spot?
MW: We’re going to have to agree to disagree, because as far as I’m concerned, you’re completely wrong about pretty much everything. I’ll give you Janssen, though – he’s the same as Schilling. We knew in March that Schilling was likely not to pitch at all this year.
- JWMike, the reason you didn’t hear anything about Reed last night is because you can’t admit when you are wrong, and all the Reed fans are tired of pointing out how rediculous this move was right from the beginning. You are still pointing out Johnson’s defficiencies, the fact he is hitting 269 off of righties. Have you been watching what we have had to put up with in his place? Wilkerson and Mench. If Johnson had stayed, J.P. would have never had to pick these 2 scrap heap players up. I said from the start gthat if they had traded Johnson to make room for Lynd, I could have understood the move. This line-up certainly needed a good left handed batter. I was going to phone in last night but just couldn’t stand being told I was wrong about something I am so obviously right about.
MW: Sigh.
- dan from elmvalei fully expect this team to sweep the Tigers then proceed to lose the next 4 after that…
MW: There are plenty of online gambling houses that will enable you to put money on that.
- MikeI have no clue as to why they would put a close to 300 average hitter on waiver when he is actually a better hitter than wilkerson who may contend for one of the worst players in the mlb. Kinda sad to see. this team is so inconsistent, they get swept by a horrible team and come and win against a very good offense and they are cliking their game on all cylinders. I’m just wishing we can carry this win into tonight. I am actually one of those few fans that liked the shannon move. I liked it becuase when i used to watch reed play, it seemed as if he can not play on the team everyday and would wear out. I don’t know about you but thats what i found, and it really bothered me. If you were manager would you make a run for sheets in the offseason? how about the yankees? i really love this guy so i just wanted t inquire about where he would possibly land?
MW: I’m sure the Yankees will be in on Sheets, but they’ll be in on everyone. If Ricciardi is still here, the Jays will be going hard after him. As for the Stewart/Wilkerson thing, Wilkerson is a better defensive option and is faster. Since the role they’re looking to fill now is off bench player, he’s probably a better fit.
- JaysFanThis has been beaten to death, but I’ll bite.
When Johnson was first released, I was against the move, and took a lot, and I mean a lot, of bashing from people that said it was ridiculously obvious Stewart was the better player. So I’m happy to bring it up over and over.
Johnson deserved a shot, but definitely didn’t get one. It was obvious from the moment Stewart was brought it, Johnson was gone. Johnson could have hit .500 in ST, but JP had his mind set on this ‘proven veteran’.
Fluke or not, a guy who hits .320/.390 deserves a fair shot, and he did not get one.
Fair enough, his numbers vs righties aren’t great, but we are one of the worst teams in the leage VS left handed pitching, compared to being the best (top 3 for sure), last year. Obviously the departure of Glaus, and the missing performance from our right handed bats play a roll, Reed would have helped no matter what. Johnson is absolutely killing LHP. Who do we have? Mench? Luckily, atleast Lind is doing very well against lefties, or we’d be even worse off. Makes me wonder why they wouldn’t at least keep Stewart for 4th OF and VS lefties, he did a better job than Mench. (Unless Stewart didn’t want that little of playing time and preferred to be released.)
Plus add in Johnson’s defense, and ‘grit’! (Okay I had to say that lol)
MW: The only thing I agree with you about is that Johnson deserved a fair shot but didn’t get one. Then again, what does one month of exhibition games prove when measured over an entire career of games that count?
- ju1cedMike,
I was wondering if you could explain to me how the trade deadline works in baseball, and more specifically, how players are able to be traded after the deadline.
MW: July 31st is the non-waiver trade deadline. Players can be traded after the deadline, but must clear waivers in order to do so. Trades can be made up until the last day of the season, but in order to be eligible for the post-season, a player must join the organization before September.
- JesseSorry Mike, I asked my Delgado question before I listened to the entire post game….Question regarding you, have you been aproached at all regarding being a part of anyones TV telecasts for baseball? If not Im very surprised
MW: Nope, never have.
- ChrisHey Mike,
So Parrish throws almost six innings in relief, giving up only one run and they demote him instead of Richmond who has an ERA a full run higher and hasn’t thrown out of the bullpen in years. This looks like a move just to keep Richmond up long enough so there’s no Olympics backlash.
There is no way Richmond is a better bullpen option than Parrish, Stidfole or Wolfe (who’s been lights out in Syracuse).
MW: OK.
- JeffHey Mike in 1989 do you think bringing in Gaston as the manager had any real effect or was it just a case of things working themselves out?
MW: I don’t know. I wasn’t there every day then, I probably only covered about a third of the home games for CIUT. But I’m led to understand the situation with Jimy Williams had become untenable.
- KDI still don’t understand why keeping Stewart was the right choice. OPS splits from baseball-reference.com:
Johnson:
2005 – RHP .737, LHP .753
2006 – RHP .869, LHP .867
2007 – RHP .513, LHP .913
Stewart:
2005 – RHP .729, LHP .654
2006 – RHP .721, LHP .700
2007 – RHP .756, LHP .699
Everyone talks about Johnson’s monster year in 2006 as being an aberration, but why isn’t 2007, where he was playing hurt, an aberration? In his previous 2 years, his OPS against lefties and righties was similar, while Stewart had shown a relative inability to hit lefties in his last 3 years.
Now for the sake of argument, assume that Reed really does hit lefties much better than righties. Now consider that the 4th outfield spot was supposed to be a platoon with Stairs, making Reed’s lefty mashing ability that much more important. With lefty Adam Lind in AAA being the obvious call up in case of injury, your fourth outfielder is more valuable if he can hit against lefties.
Now consider that Reed is a better defender, has a better arm, and can play all three outfield positions, has less history of injuries AND that his lefty/rightly splits may not be as pronounced as they appear to be – and I believe JP made the wrong move here.
MW: Re-read the post to which you’re commenting for my answer to your reasoning, and remember just how much 2006′s numbers were inflated by Johnson’s incredible start.
- ScottOnly you have a crystal ball Mike, in your own mind.
MW: I wonder what kind of human being can have such hate for someone he’s never met, nor has probably ever spoken to.
- brunoHi Mike.
I think JP has been given a much longer leash than the vast majority of other GMs past and present.
I’m sure MLB history is filled with GMs who were promised they would be given 4-5 years to rebuild before ownership expected them to contend, only to have the rug pulled out from under them before the promised time frame expired. JP is now in year 7 of his tenure, with an ownership group that has been very patient and a middleman in Paul Godfrey whom I assume acts as a buffer should the Rogers Board / Ted Rogers himself raise concerns about the team’s record. I suspect it’s a small minority of GMs who have had better working conditions, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that the team should be playoff contenders this year.
The fans have been patient. It’s amazing that there are still so many die-hard Jays fans given the length of time the team has gone without being a serious playoff contender and the relative short history of MLB in Toronto (as we all know, the three most popular sports teams in Toronto are the Leafs, the Leafs, and the Leafs).
At the end of the day, GMs are judged by the same criterion: winning. I don’t think an exception should be made in the Jays’ case. Blue Jay fans deserve as much.
James
MW: Again, check out Terry Ryan’s career record.
- JamesNo one ever mentions when praising reed “jesus jones” johnson that he has played in 77 games with 243 at bats this season. He is a part time player, a very nice 4th outfielder, an excellent bench guy etc. he is doing what we know he can do. in limited action he performs very nicely. The jays tried to get better. That’s a good thing.
I wish we had kept him too but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a reasonable decision to keep Stewart.
- jeremyHey Mike,
What do you think about adding:
a) Orlando Cabrera at shortstop
b) Manny, Thome or Giambi at DH (I’m guessing Teixeria is gonna way to expensive)
c) A middle to upper rotation guy
Do you think its possible for the Jays to do this and if so do you like the idea (or something similar to the idea)? I personally think this would provide great upgrades and I don’t think it is unreasonable financially.
Thanks,
P.S. Keep up the good work.
MW: I’m not a huge fan of Cabrera’s, I think he’ll get way more money than he’s worth. I’m all for the other two things, though Thome probably won’t be available.
- James R.Hey Mike,
Just wondering how you can call Juan Pierre a terrible lead off hitter?
He’s a career .300 hitter, who is lightening on the base paths (currently 4th in the majors in steals despite a lack of regular playing time).
Sure – he doesn’t walk much, but he doesn’t strike out much either (about once every 16.75 at bats – career), and I’d be willing to bet that his speed on the bases would come close to makeing up the runs lost by his inability to walk (taking extra bases, stealing into scoring position, and wreaking havoc on opposing pitchers batter concentration).
I’d say that those are exciting tools, from an underrated player who is better than any lead off hitter the Jays have ever had – with a better career OBP than the last real lead off man they had – Devon White.
I’d welcome him with open arms.
MW: You wouldn’t be the only one, but I still believe that a lead-off man’s biggest single job is to get on base, and he’s been below-average at that four years in a row.
- Richie D.Hey Mike,
Keep doing a great job – I Listen as much as possible on the radio and try to read your blog daily at work.
I can’t get over how many people jump off and on the bandwagon and then give you a hard time because you are just stating the facts and the truth. I guess people only grasp what they want to hear. Anyways just a question regarding how the Blue Jays are covered by the media and scrutinzed by the fans. Other than the big cities like New York,Boston,LA,Chicago what is Toronto like compared to the rest? Is there as much media and call ins shows about other teams that would be classified a mid market team like the Jays? Are people giving up on their teams as the way alot of people on this blog and your show seem to?
Lastly the whole pitching staff the Jays have – how many have been brought up or brought in – in the Riccardi era?
Again – Keep up the great job…
MW: Most other cities’ fan bases seem pretty similar – rarely happy, never satisfied, highly critical. As for the pitching staff, Halladay, McGowan and League were Ash draft picks. As for the others: Burnett (JP free agent signing), Marcum (JP draft), Litsch (JP draft), Purcey (JP draft), Ryan (JP free agent), Downs (JP waiver claim), Carlson (JP minor-league FA), Frasor (JP trade for Ash draft pick Jayson Werth), Camp (JP minor-league FA), Richmond (JP free agent from Independant League), Janssen (JP draft), Tallet (JP trade for JP draft pick Bubbie Buzachero).
- Ryan Sandershow do u feel bout league as our closer in the near future cuz i have way more confidence with him than ryan plus league throws harder than anybody else in the organization and he will cost less
MW: League has been the Jays’ closer of the future for at least four years now. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, and even an extended period of same (late 2006), but has never been able to put it all together to the point where he could be trusted to be “The Man”.
- JazzI was listening to the Jays talk and though i tried to call i could not get through. On the topic of first basemen what would you think of a trade involving Lyle Overbay and a pitching prospect such as some like David Purcey for Nick Swisher. Correct me if im mistaken but Swisher can play both first and OF failry well. If the Jays were to get him they would then have the option of using either him or Lind at first or LF. I just wanted to here your opinion on this.
MW: I like Swisher a lot, and if there’s a pitcher they can spare, I think the Jays would make that deal. I don’t think the White Sox would, though, unless the pitching prospect was really, really good.
- James CockburnMike,
I know this horse has been beaten to a pulp. But the Reed Johnston issue was wrong to me in more than one way. FIRST- No matter how you look at it, this was not a “big impact” choice. Your exchanging one 4th outfielder for another. Was it not understood that Stewart was going to be batting against lefties anyway? I won’t go into what Johnston brings to the table vs what Stewart brings to the table. You have exhausted that and so have I to my buddies who hate the Jays. I keep going back to the fact that yes, Reed over achieved in ’06 but other than his injury prone year in ’07 when has he been a liability? Why was he not given the opportunity to play his way out of the lineup? THere was no pressure to make a trade. Plus JP just finished making the Rolen trade and was quoted as saying this team needs more “dirtbag” players. You follow that up with getting rid of the King of dirtbag players. Cheers Mike, till next time.
MW: Just because a player isn’t a liability doesn’t mean a team shouldn’t look to improve upon him.
- AaronAsh’s Corner for August 12th. The pickings are rather slim for this day in Alan Ashby’s career. The only August 12th on which he recorded a hit happened in 1977 with the Toronto Blue Jays against the Kansas City Royals (again) at the Ex in (yet another) 9-8 loss, though this time it didn’t take extra innings to decide.
At least this one appeared on paper to give the home 9 a chance to win as RH Dave Lemanczyk (10-9 on a 39-71 team entering the game) was facing LH Andy Hassler.
Ash batted 8th that day and in the 2nd inning came to the dish with 1 out and Doug “The Red Rooster” Rader on 3rd following a lead off double and a Roy Howell groundout. His single to LF “put the Jays in flight” (copyright Jerry Howarth), and trailing the Royals 2-1. He was up again in the third (this time against RH Marty Pattin) with Roy Howell at 1B, but grounded out to 2B to end a three run frame which left the Jays up 4-2. In the 5th Rader stood at 3B again, this time with 2 outs and again Ashby singled, this time to RF off Pattin to tie the game at 6-6. Pattin was still pitching in the 7th when Ash came to the plate for the final time and drew a walk to load the bases with two out. Canadian Dave McKay followed with a clutch 2-run single to LF to bring it to 9-8, but LH Steve Mingori got Alvis Woods to fly out to left to end the threat and RH Doug Bird was money after that getting the final six Jays in order.
Another tough day for the battery as Lemanczyk somehow managed to complete this game despite allowing nine runs, six earned and facing 43 batters! No pitch count is given, but it’s safe to say that it was a lot. This loss left Lemanczyk at 10-10 (or as McCown loves to say, and some Jays Talkers love to parrot: “a .500 pitcher”, which of course completely discounts the fact that the team was now a staggering 33 games below .500) on the season. The Royals moved to 63-48 on the season and from this game would rip off a 39-12, only to once again be pennant bridesmaids to the Bronx Bombers in the ALCS.
Ash was nicked for an error on a fielders choice play, which allowed Amos Otis to tie the game at 4 in the 4th, but there was still more than enough baseball left on this day as it turned out.
Marty Pattin pitched to 20 batters (!) in relief of Andy Hassler that day and Doug Bird worked the six out save. Oh yes, baseball has changed a little bit in the last 30+ years or so. The home crowd didn’t go home happy that day, but those that loved offense certainly got their money’s worth.
- Tom the InternHey Mike
I hear you almost every night and I have to say you are right on alot of things when it comes to the Jays.. I have a quick question for you.. Do you think Wells should be moved over to RF and let Rios go to CF? The reason why I ask is because I think Wells big frame running around like he does in CF is causing alot of injuries for him.. He has the speed for the position no doubt about it its just when he dives for the ball he tends to get hurt.. You think its a good idea..
MW: No, I don’t. I have only seen Vernon Wells get hurt diving for a ball once in his major-league career.
- EddieYou may be right about Joe Crede but he is a bit younger and as far as free agents go, he won’t be getting a 2 year contract worth 11 million per season..
Orlando Cabrera is another SS available but he doesn’t hit for power..
- gumpForgive me for repeating this because I say it in another post. But if Reed Johnson was such a mediocre player–and I’m not going to argue with you about his abilities–why in hell did he get that contract from Ricciardi minutes before they cut him loose? They signed him on January 2nd. They let him go a couple of months later. That’s just bad business. Yes, Stewart looked like a better batter. But Stewart had had his opportunity and turned it down. However he didn’t get any other takers, did he? So he fired his agent and went back cap-in-hand to the Jays. Who should have taken a long look at why no one else wanted him and said no thanks. But no. Ricciardi jumps open-armed at this wonderful prospect, this diamond that everyone else thinks is paste. Come in, Mike. He did the same thing when he grabbed washed-up Brad Wilkerson, whom he’d coveted for ages. He did the same thing with Rod Barajas, who has worked out for us. But one out of three isn’t good at all. And it turns out that all those teams that didn’t want Stewart? They were right.
MW: Were all the teams that didn’t want Bonds right? And as for the Johnson thing, he was signed in January to a non-guaranteed contract, with the Jays taking the gamble that they could find someone better and it would only cost them about half a million to release Reed.
- reyesPersonally, like many fans, I dislike Brad Wilkerson. When the Jays signed him mid-season, is it just for the rest of the year or up and beyond?
MW: Just for the rest of the year. And Brad Wilkerson dislikes you, too, I hear.
- Adamhey mike, do you think the rays are going to make the playoffs, or do you still think they’ll miss out? There still playing pretty good baseball, and I can’t see the Yankees taking their spot in the playoffs, do you?
MW: I still don’t think the Rays will make the playoffs.
- ColinMike,
i’m sure you’re tired of answering about the burnett shunning you thing, but i’ve got a burnett related question…
in your time around the team, how have you perceived him as a teammate to the rest of the guys?
the reason i ask, is because he always seems to be among the first to meet a hitter at the top of the dugout steps to congratulate them on a job well done (for whatever the accomplishment may be), or the first to head over to congratulate/console a SP after Cito/Gibby has given them the handshake that signifies the end of their night, loved playfully dishing out the shaving cream pies when a Jays standout was being interviewed on TV post game, etc…
So, do you have any idea how he’s viewed by his teammates? And have you noticed him to put forth a conscious effort to be a good teammate/locker room guy?
MW: He seems to be terrific towards his teammates, and from what I’ve seen, they appear to genuinely like him.
- Jay BHey Mike,
A couple of things… Are you critical of the Jays for letting go of Stewart over say, letting go of Wilkerson or Mench? Shannon would be a vast improvement over Mench (0 HR, crap average) wouldn’t he? Also, last night Rios struck out but the ball careened away from the catcher and Alex sort of ran, stopped, ran again and eventually was thrown out by a step or two. I really think if he’d been running the whole time he totally would have made it. I find him very frustrating in this way. I mean, if you’re not sure if the catcher caught it, run hard until your first base coach tells you not to. You’re paid millions of dollars to play a game. The least you can do is play hard for god-sakes! Lastly, that play leads to a (definitely silly)question I’ve always had. If the batter has two strikes on him and the next pitch is obviously wild (say, three feet over his head or in any direction that would most certainly get by the catcher), can he swing at it for strike three and then run to first base?
Tom has my daily vote! It’s sheer bull he’s not in the hall yet.
MW: He can swing at it and run to first, but he’s taking the chance that the ball bounces back to a point where he can be thrown out. I’m not critical for keeping Mencherson over Stewart because, again, the position is now a bench spot.
- Scott BWith the free agent list not having a supreme crop of shortstops, who would you look to see the Blue Jays aquire via a trade? What about a J.J. Hardy, or a Brandon Wood? I think that both of these teams will need a closer next year, and with a healthy Janssen, and Accardo B.J. Ryan could be expendable.
MW: I’d take either one, though the Angels seem to be more comfortable with Wood at third.
- DmonMike,
I’ve been trying to take it easy on you, having some sympathy for your position. However, I have to respond to something you said on your blog yesterday in defence of JP.
MW: Because, again: Big Picture. This team is in far better shape than it was when Ricciardi took over. I don’t know how many different ways I can say that.
OK, Lets compare Ash’s last team, the ’01 Jays (Team Ash) to what I am sure is to be JPs last team the ’08 Jays (Team JP).
Obviously, the ’08 Jays have 40 games left so stats are not totally comparable but they give a good base to work from.
My conclusion from this brief study is Ash likely left the Jays in much better shape than JP will. Its at least arguable by somebody as skilled as yourself that they are leaving the Jays in similar shape. I think its impossible to conclude JP has left the team in “far better shape” than Ash did.
OF
Team Ash: Cruz, Mondesi, Stewart, Wells, Latham.
Team JP: Wells, Rios, Lind, Wilkerson, Mench.
Note, Rios was an Ash draft pick as was Wells. Jays OF has 73 HRs in 01, and 89 sbs. Team JP 25 HR, 35 steals as of August. Even defensively; no comparison offensively. Medium Advantage ASH.
IF
Team Ash: Delgado, Bush, Gonzalez, Lopez, Fletcher.
Team JP: Overbay, Hill, Scutaro, Rolen, Barajas.
Even defensively with Hill and Rolen’s futures in doubt. Offensively, team Ash scores 259 runs and JPs at 200 in August. More power with Team Ash, 75 HRs to 31. Slight Advantage Ash.
SP
Team Ash: Carpenter, Halladay, Loaiza, Escobar, Lyon.
Team JP: Halladay, Burnett, Marcum, McGowan, Litsch.
Carpenter, Halladay future 20 game winners, Cy Young winners. Loaiza future 20 game winner Cy Young runner up. Escobar future 18 game winner. Lyons now 8 year vet, converted stopper with more saves than BJ Ryan this year.
Team JP likely not leaving Burnett to successor. Marcum likely a gem. Halladay, Ash’s gift to Toronto. McGowan (an Ash draft pick) future in doubt. Litsch a potentially decent 5th starter. Marked Advantage Team Ash.
BP:
Team Ash: Koch, Quantrill,Plesac, Borbon, File.
Team JP: Ryan, Downs, Carlson, Fraser, Tallett.
Both good pens, but JP’s might be the best Jays have ever had. Marked Advantage JP.
`01 Jays record 80-82. `08 Jays record 60-59.
In 2001 Baseball America ranked Jays farm system 17/30, in 2008 ranked JP’s 30/30.
In conclusion Mike, you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts. I don’t think it can reasonably be argued that JP has left the Jays in better shape than Ash.
Hope this novella did not put you to sleep. Despite disagreeing with you frequently, I have become a loyal listener.
MW: Not once in this novella did you mention a single contract.
- ProkopecMike I just don’t get something, all the time on the Fan i hear people talking about Toronto needing another bat, a slugger who can drive in 100 and hit 30 out. Who out there is potentially better than Travis Snider,now im not saying this guy is 100% going to do well in the majors, but he’s for sure worth a call up, and for sure better than our DH at the moment and any guy that Toronto could get this offseason from Free agency. One question about Snider, since there’s no room in the Jays outfield for him right now, whos defensively a better left fielder, him or Adam Lind, and could either of them start playing first base?
Thanks Mike you’re the best pre/post game radio guy out there, you just cant get so upset at people who are idoits because frankly the world is full of them
MW: Snider is only 20 years old, so I don’t know how you can say with such authority that he’s better than what the Jays have now or anything the Jays can get in the off-season. I have never seen Snider play the outfield, so I can’t comment on his defense.
- Jesse ColauttiMike – it’s a coincidence but I happened to be looking at old photo albums yesterday and found one I made when I was a high school kid. I kept all my ticket stubs and boxscores from my summer visits to Toronto in those days. I discovered that 31 years ago yesteday I attended my first Jays game ever. Gene Mauch’s Twins beat the Jays but I got to see Rod Carew in person. He was 2 for 5. Alan Ashby was 1 for 4.
The next night I saw a thriller as KC beat the Jays 9-8. George Brett sat out so I had to settle for Hal McRae who destroyed the Jays. I still recall being amazed that a human could be a big as John Mayberry. For those who think Roy Halliday should sue for lack of support, that night Dave Lemanczyk pitched a complete game but could not overcome 4 Jays errors.
I’m sure you have similar fond memories of those warm summer nights at Exhibition Stadium where for $4 you got entry to the Ex AND a Jays game.
MW: I do.
- Ian CHi Mike,
I was wondering today if Mike Sirotka’s injury is similar to what Casey Janssen is currently going through ? Also, did Mike ever pitch in any league again ? I know he wasn’t ever in the majors again.
Why does baseball continue to reset a player’s stats when he switches leagues ? I find it ridiculous to look up how Manny is doing and only seeing a total of 4 homeruns beside his name. It’s not a pressing issue but I think it’s something that should be changed none the less, especially with inter-league.
MW: Most websites don’t reset the player’s stats these days. I’m not sure if they’ll ever stop the re-setting. Sirotka’s injury was very similar to Janssen’s and no, he never pitched again.
- DilsonI read on an SI article about Barry Bonds & it stated that he is only asking for
$150, 000 & according to Barry Zito he is a pretty good team mate. Does the risk really out weigh the reward for a team that needs a bat & still has an outside chance at the playoffs, there only 8 games out of the wildcard. And if you don’t like Bonds according to Sportsnet.ca Sheffield is on waivers would he be a good fit?
MW: Pretty much every player in the majors is on waivers.
- DMillsI think John Brittain pretty well nails it with this analysis.
http://drunkjaysfans.blogspot.com/2008/08/special-guest-post-dare-to-be-stupid.html
- GregJPMike, how do you think Canada’s men baseball team will do in the Beijing Olympics? Are they medal contenders?
MW: No, they’re not. But they weren’t in Athens, either, and came a couple of feet away from at least a silver.
- andrewIf Tom Cheek doesn’t get into the broadcaster’s wing then something is wrong with the world.
- RichardDo you think that a possible Pat Burrell signing would be out of the picture? He seems like a good candidate for their DH.
MW: I’m not sure he’s ready to DH quite yet.
- RichardMike – Like the blog and Jays Talk…great work. That said, your ongong and stuborn defense of Lyle (OBP) Overbay is perplexing. At least acknowledge to frustrated callers that he is a rally killer and is among the AL leaders in hitting into double plays. Cito’s dropped him to 8th in the batting order. He is well on the way of becoming the Larry Murphy of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Cheers,
JB
MW: And how sad would that be. Have I ever denied that Overbay is leading the team in GIDPs?
- JimMcdonald 5 for his last 14 with stellar, game saving defence to boot…Ecksein 1 for his last 10 and can’t trust him in the field worth a stich…CITO CITO CITO CITO CITO CITO CITO CITO
- MatthewWhy oh why didn’t I get that mlb package! That Boston/Texas game sounds like a ton of fun to watch!
Go Texas!
In other news, we played well tonight and League had another good inning. What to do with him? Keep him or package him for something worthwhile?
MW: He’s pitching really well and is under control for a while. Why keep him?
- reyesMike:
I remember earlier in the year when people were talking about AJ’s .500 record and you pointed out how he had a .500 record on a sub .500 team with Florida. That was one of the reasons you used to show that he was much better than his record showed.
Now using that same logic, does it not make sense that Cliff Lee with his 16-2 record playing for a team with a record 9 games below .500 looks outstanding? Add to that his league leading ERA and low opponents BA against him and he’s having a fantstic year.
- Peter B.Hi Mike,
What a familiar sight, the Captain and BJ always seem to have a good time laughing when the save is complete as was today. For us watching on tv, what do they talk about each time they complete a save? What’s so funny?
MW: They’re laughing at all the fans who think Ryan is done.
- FrankMike your right
Why would we waste our time on Byrd when our pitching staff is fine its our bats that need help..
- EddieHi Mike; love reading the blog twice a day, every day. You mentioned that you have never seen a reporter pay a player for an interview; when a subject matter expert like Don Banks or Dan Shulman come on The Fan to talk to the Bullpen guys or on Prime Time, are they renumerated for their time by the station?
Always wondered…
MW: You have to ask Nelson Millman about that. I know they don’t pay me to go on Prime Time.
- ZackHi Mike,
Why is it such a big deal if Sheffield is on waivers??? If I’m not mistaking, isn’t almost every player in the MLb placed on waivers around now to basically eliminate the deadline for trades? I believe the same thing happened last year with Andruw Jones. Am I right about this? Or am I mistaking? Great 2 game win streak
MW: You’re right. I have no idea why it’s a big deal.
- WarrenAre you really going to call hitting .274 “rebounding” (Stewart vs. lefties) but hitting .269 (Johnson vs. righties this year) not being able to hit? That’s quite a gap for a discrepancy of .005.
And Johnson hit .279 against righties in 2003.
MW: Yep.
- ShmuelWilner’s man crush on J.P. is embarrassing, sticking up for the GM on the ridiculous Steward over Johnson deal is a joke!
MW: Who is Steward?
- toddHey Mikey Mike what do you think of picking up Sheffield off waivers? I know he is having one of his worse batting years but as far as I remember Gary has always been a CLUTCH HITTER. Also I’m still astonished how the loss of Frank Thomas’s bat hasn’t been replaced by JP. Isn’t this the GM’s job? I believe all great GM’s add what their team needs especially with a team that is so close and has the best pitching staff in all of baseball.
MW: You could kind of say that Thomas’ bat has been replaced by Lind’s, but I’m surprised too that he didn’t go out and get someone, especially with the all-time home run leader just sitting around and looking for a job. I don’t think dealing for Sheffield would be the right move.
- Med“MW: Do you think that a team has to be a top-3 payroll club in order to be adequately funded?”
I never said anything about a top-3 payroll. I just suggested that Ted Rogers should give his team a huge payroll infusion for the next few years to give them a serious window for contention knowing that after that window he can get away with a low payroll because of the minor league talent coming up. Whether 130 million turns out to be top 3 or top 15 doesn’t matter, just that they are adequately funded to contend.
MW: But $133 million isn’t top-15, it’s top-3, or top-5 at least.
- ShawnMike, if it was decided that JP Riccardi was fired at the end of the season, which of these three GM’s would you most go after? Brian Cashmen, Theo Epstein or Terry Ryan?
MW: Probably Theo. But he’s the only one of the three who won’t be available.
- andrewhey wilner, my boy barajas is only 10 rbis off the team lead despite having 100 fewer abs than overbay and more than 200 fewer abs than rios. I hope he finishes in the lead just so I can rub it in your face. I told you he was a good hitter all year long. I told you in the offseason it was a good signing and he hit righties better than zaun and would take over him and you said he was worse than sal fasano. then when he got hot you said “wait 2 weeks now that he is starting” then what happened? he hit the tar off the ball. this team would be lost without him. you need to apologize to my boy barajas. oh and he’s second on the team in homers. what do you think about that? oh you think he should be waived because of his .307 obp right? thank god we have overbay to drive those runners in.
MW: I’m still waiting for your apology. And when did I say Barajas should be waived?
- chubbyMike
I thought the Dodgers had a code when it came to long hair, I see Manny still has the dreads. Do they in fact have a rule when it comes to length of hair?
MW: I know the Yankees do, but I didn’t think the Dodgers did. I have always had a hard time believing that hair length or facial hair or things of that nature have anything to do with how well a player plays.
- Scott G“MW: I’m still waiting for your apology. And when did I say Barajas should be waived?”
As an avid reader of the blog, I just wanted to say how silly I find responses like these to legitimate points. Chubby is obviously referencing your months-long preference of Zaun over Barajas, and you nitpick the one thing that he says that isn’t literal and harp on that. It’s seriously lame, because when Barajas was signed you said you can’t see how much better than Fasano he is, and for weeks callers were telling you this team needs to give Barajas more playing time but you were too enamored with Zaun’s OBP and plate-blocking ability to respect their opinion. At least Cito sees what many of us felt for months – that Barajas deserves the far bigger share of any C platoon. Are you still of the opinion that Zaun deserves the better half of the playing time? And don’t give me the “play the hotter bat” cop-out answer that you always give, because when people would suggest going to Barajas your opinion was never to only stay with Zaun if he’s hot.
MW: Chubby’s not your alter ego, is it? Anyway, I still am waiting for his apology. As for the second point, it irks me when people quote me on things I haven’t said. I never called for Barajas to be waived, just that the playing time be split more evenly. Zaun gets out far less than Barajas, this isn’t my opinion, it’s a fact. In the month of July, neither of them deserved to play, but Barajas still got the overwhelming majority of the playing time. This month, there’s no question that The Captain deserves to be out there a bunch.
- Ari“I’m not critical for keeping Mencherson over Stewart because, again, the position is now a bench spot.”
You weren’t critical of Wilkerson in the early going when it wasn’t a bench spot, not in the slightest. So again, you are using the current situation (like Barajas hitting much better than Zaun) to try and get out of opinions you adamantly held early in the season. Callers tried to explain to you the harm in going and getting guys like Wilkerson and Mench, but to you it had to be a win-win situation. Well, I think we can garner from Wilkerson’s 200 ABs that it HAS NOT been a win-win situation, because basically any other player would have done more with those ABs than Wilkerson does. So the risk in signing Wilkerson, like I tried pointing out to you back in May, was that you are taking away opportunity from other players and that we now see that JP had way too much blind faith in Brad.
Just another case of you being wrong and trying to dismiss it. And I don’t even know why – you know an insane amount of baseball, but you almost feel the need to validate yourself in here by trying to pretend like you’re never wrong. You are, you have been, and will continue to be.
MW: See, this I don’t get. I’m a human being, at least I was the last time I checked, and as a result I’m wrong a hell of a lot of the time. I don’t ever pretend that I’m always right, try to dismiss reasonable opinions that disagree with mine, or change my tune mid-stream to go with conventional wisdom or popular opinion. But again, the hindsight brigade comes out in full force whenever something doesn’t work out the way it appears as though it should. Would I have rather taken a flier on Wilkerson than called up Buck Coats or taken another look at Russ Adams? Absolutely. Did it work out? No. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a move worth making.
- Ari“If no one could have predicted Stewart’s decline, how come nobody wanted him and he had to settle for a minor league deal?
MW: Good question. But nobody wanted Kenny Lofton, either.”
Nobody wanting Lofton is proof of what, exactly? From the way you said it, you’d think that Lofton eventually had a tremendous 2008 and proved all those “nobody”s wrong. He didn’t, he remained unsigned. So the question remains – if no one could have predicted Stewart’s decline, where were all the offers?
Trust me, this isn’t about Reed, I have zero love for the guy and have no clue what the obsession over him is. There’s no doubt in my mind that JP entered this season with plans on cutting Thomas loose (otherwise he doesn’t cut bait 2.5 weeks into the season), and you yourself like to say that Stewart was the better option for a full-time job. Well, if the thinking was ever going to be that Stewart would play full-time (and thus that would mean Stairs is the permanent DH) then JP absolutely should have kept Reed. 3m for a guy that covers quite a few positions for you (in essence LF CF RF 1B DH) and does it quite well coming off the bench would have been a wise investment to back up Shannon Stewart and Matt Stairs everyday.
MW: But keeping them both wasn’t presented as an option. I don’t necessarily disagree with you here (which hurts me). I think that the best course of action may well have been to have kept Reed and had Stewart open the season in Syracuse on his minor-league contract, but I think Stewart wouldn’t have stayed in the organization if that had been the case. Remember, too, that Coats opened the season with the Jays only because of Rolen’s injury, which happened after Johnson had been released. Regardless, keeping Johnson may have kept Adam Lind down in AAA even longer than he was, which would have been the wrong thing.
- Arihey mike
All i hear from my friends is how stupid the blue jays/jp, are for getting rid of reed johnson and sticking with stewart. I don’t really know how i feel about this but longterm i feel that it was the best move. Most fans seem to forget that the jays had Adam Lind waiting in AAA, (whole most in baseball agree will be a great player). You can only let a young talent like that wait for so long. If you keep reed johnson then eventually your going to be right back were you were when it was reed and the CAT, a couple years back. so by gettting rid of him and keeping stewart they kinda dodged that and stewart wasn’t going to be around long (shorter than planned). As much as i love reed, cause i was a huge fan of him too, he didn’t have a great season last season, also was injured alot, so looking at that it kind of makes sense.
So yeah things didn’t work out great. sometimes that’s just how the ball bounces, no one is to blame for the unseen. jays fans sometimes need to just stop whining and look at what we got, Wells great CF, rios Great RF, and lind future great LF… our outfield is pretty much set, and right now we got wilkerson and mench too. I would argue that the eckstien was a worse trade, but that’s a whole other blog.
cheers
jeremy
MW: Eckstein wasn’t a trade, but other than that, your points are well-made.
- JeremyMike, can you explain the whole mlb wavier wire process to me because I don’t get it?
MW: I’ve explained it before in the last week or so.
- andrewMike,
You’ve probably never met him, but Steward is the in-flight attendant on all the team’s charter flights. I don’t think he ever played Major League Baseball though. You’ll have to get Jerry and Ash to ask him on the next flight.
- Tom the Intern“MW: But $133 million isn’t top-15, it’s top-3, or top-5 at least.”
What is it with you and payroll ranks!? If you’re suggesting that Ted Rogers wouldn’t do it just because of the aesthetics of being a top 3 payroll, that’s ridiculous. Plus, you have no idea what the other teams will do so you can’t predict a ranking now anyway. Just give your thoughts on the general idea.
MW: No, what I have an issue with is that you say that all the Jays need is to be funded “adequately”, and yet you come up with a number that would rank 3rd in MLB this year. To me, they’re already being funded more than adequately.
- Shawnre: a post a few days ago that asked for vernon wells to mind his language at the plate, and to curb the profanities for the children in the crowd and watching at home…
so now people are getting on him for being outwardly upset…at least it’s different from the usual cries of ‘vernon doesn’t show any emotion, it looks like he doesn’t even care’…but instead of putting his every movement under the scope, let’s please just enjoy what is possibly the most naturally talented, homegrown, position player we’ve had the pleasure of watching…
- Jay B“MW: No, what I have an issue with is that you say that all the Jays need is to be funded “adequately”, and yet you come up with a number that would rank 3rd in MLB this year. To me, they’re already being funded more than adequately.”
OK I promise this is my last post but how the heck is another year at 100 million with the current contracts enough to go out and get a big bat (preferably 2), another starter, an everyday SS, and Barajas/different catcher? You think that can be done with $25 million that they’ll have after this season?
I repeat, if Ted Rogers is serious about contending then he needs to give JP, or whoever is the GM, more than the current payroll. You’re stuck on the word “adequate” for some reason but I said “serious”. Adequate could be anything, it depends on the situation of the team. 40 million is adequate for the Marlins and As. But with the current Jays situation, with the current contracts, with the current needs, they will need a lot more than the 25 million if they want to be serious and instant contenders for the near future.
MW: I’m stuck on the word adequate, because that’s the word you used, and I quote: “You’d think the richest guy in the country would adequately fund his team in the AL East instead of just teasing us.” I don’t know if the $30 million will be enough to get what you think the Jays need, but they can certainly be creative in the trade market, opening up money by moving money elsewhere, like maybe B.J. Ryan.
- ShawnYour comments regarding Stewart’s .274 and Johnson’s .269 are hypocritical and intellectually dishonest.
MW: No, they’re not.
- ShmuelI have come to expect fair and rational commentary from your blog. But when it comes to Stewart vs. Johnson, there is no longer question that you are in complete denial and have a double standard. .269 can’t be so bad for one guy to be considered “can’t hit” while .274 is sufficiently good for someone else to be considered a “rebounding” performance. As if that weren’t enough, you think the guy who can’t hit at .269 can’t hit at .279 either, as evidenced by your excluding .279 from his list of “good” seasons. For the other guy, though, if .274 is “rebounding” then .279 is probably comeback player of the year.
It’s as if you just can’t admit that J.P. screwed this one up and the fans actually have a point on this issue. Throughout this entire debate you have constantly ignored, ad nauseum, the last few years of Stewart’s career, and the fact that Johnson has mostly performed as well or better over his brief career (see several earlier conversations I’ve had with you in which I cite statistics). You have ignored the underlying assumption declared and used by J.P. in deciding to choose Stewart, that Stewart is a career .300 hitter, and how recent history completely undermined any reasonable expectation that Stewart would be that good this season. You have said that we couldn’t reasonably expect Wilkerson to be good because of recent history, but have refused to use the same logic for Stewart. You have relied on bogus arguments, such as that Johnson doesn’t hit as well against righties, when the stated plan was for him to platoon with Stairs and thus to play mainly against lefties. And then you support post-facto arguments about the Jays’ knowledge that Thomas wasn’t going to stay by using a standard for Johnson that is incompatible with your standard for Stewart. And your standards are very real in your mind, it would seem, considering the vehemence with which you have continuously spouted Johnson’s “average” track record” and Stewart’s offensive superiority.
Stop writing this nonsense already.
MW: See, this is the thing. I was going to give you a measured response, backed up by facts, to show why I’m right and you’re wrong, but then you threw that last line in, so I’m not going to bother.
- ShmuelHow convenient.
MW: Huh? Remember, folks, if you don’t tell me what you’re talking about, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
- ShmuelI’m usually pretty good with reminding you what we’re talking about, but I figured that when I’m the only guy still commenting on a particular post it might not be necessary.
“How convenient” that you have an excuse not to present your “facts” in defense of Stewart, or of Ricciardi, or of yourself, whichever the case may be.
MW: Right. I went back and checked. See, when the comments are presented I only see the comment, not the thread, not what came before or after. Anyway, I spend way too much time on this to deal with people who insult me, so while the excuse may be there, you presented it yourself.
- Shmuel