12:50 AM Eastern
In his storied major-league career, the great Johnny Damon has won games on numerous occasions for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. We can now add the Toronto Blue Jays to that list. OK, that’s kind of harsh. Damon dropping Marco Scutaro’s fly ball on the warning track in centre field with two out in the bottom of the 8th inning, allowing Joe Inglett to score what proved to be the winning run, was not what lost the game for the Yankees. The fact that it was his second dropped fly ball of the game made it stand out that much more, but Damon didn’t cost them the game. In fact, he scored the Yankees’ only run, so he kind of came out even.
What cost the Yankees the game was that they weren’t able to score enough runs to back a tremendous performance by a starting pitcher, and that’s a song we’ve heard many times before, just substitute the words “Blue Jays” for “Yankees”. One run on five hits in eight innings is weak for anyone, let alone the vaunted Yankee offense, and 13 strikeouts yet! The fact that they were facing A.J. Burnett makes that line more palatable - it’s not nearly as pathetic as being shut down on three hits over 6 2/3 innings by Darrell Rasner or something. I mean, come on.
Actually, the Jays were about to turn the same trick as the Yanks when Adam Lind and later Damon took them off the hook. For six innings, they made Rasner look like Cy Young Incarnate, as they’ve done with a boatload of mediocre pitchers this year, but Lind came to the rescue in the 7th, turning around a 3-2 pitch and landing it in the Yankee bullpen. Those home runs sure do help. Lind now has nine of them, two back of the team lead, after spending 2 1/2 months out of the picture.
It’s interesting that two teams that scored 15 runs each in their respective last games combined to score just three in this series opener, and I’m willing to give more credit to Burnett than Rasner for that. A.J. was dynamite. He seems to really have hit his stride these last couple of months, and it’s strange how the “.500 pitcher” talk has all dried up. Save for Bobby Abreu, Burnett had the Yankees eating out of his right hand all night. Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi struck out three times each, Damon and Derek Jeter twice each. In compiling his season-high 13 Ks, one off his career-best, Burnett got every Yankee but for Abreu and Robinson Cano. That great bastion of mediocrity has now won six starts in a row and 10 of his last 12. Not six decisions in a row, not 10 of his last 12 decisions, but starts. Just when everyone is finally coming around to see how good Burnett is, he’s about to walk.
And what an incredible play Lyle Overbay made in the 9th inning. Alex Rodriguez led off with a little looper over Overbay’s head, but instead of giving up after the ball got over him, Overbay chased it down in short right field, sliding to stop it. He then got up and fired a strike to second base to nail Rodriguez by a good five feet. John McDonald wisely secured his glove with his bare hand as A-Rod slid in just in case the Yankee got a little slaptastic - you never know with him. Overbay said after the game that he wasn’t sure he could get Rodriguez, but he was just being modest. I swear, when Overbay realized that Rodriguez was going to try for second and how far away he was when Lyle got to the ball, his eyes lit up. Overbay was a pitcher and right fielder in college, and threw in the mid-90s. We’ve only had a few chances to see him cut loose that unbelieveable left arm, but given the circumstances of tonight’s game, it’s safe to say that it will no longer be baseball’s best-kept secret.
Here’s tonight’s edition of The JaysTalk for your listening pleasure:
Reasonable, rational comments are always welcome, and really, those are the only ones that are welcome.
Hey Mike. Did you know that when Damon dropped the ball in the 8th, it was scored as a double and not an error? Whats up with that??? Anyway what happened in tonights game reminded me of a play where V-Dub dropped a fly ball hit out by Tony Clark when he played for the Yanks. V-Dub dropped the ball and the Jays lost. Now I feel better.
MW: I did know that it was called a double (that’s part of my job). In fact, I was just talking to the official scorer and he said that in his opinion, it would have been a great catch.
- Matt from BCWith all the talk about the Jays signing big slugging free agents this offseason (Manny etc.), I was thinking that, assuming that none of these guys could be signed, a trade could be made for someone having a pretty great season, but not getting much praise.
Aubrey Huff currently has 27 home runs for a .562 slugging and a .926 OPS!
Now I know he’s 31 and hasn’t had a year this good since 2003, but I doubt he’d cost us much more than a couple of mid-level prospects at most, and I think would be a pretty good plan B in case the Jays couldn’t sign anyone else.
Any thoughts?
MW: I would think that if the Jays were interested, they’d have claimed him on waivers, and they may well have, though nothing has come out to that effect. He’d be a good plan C, I think, but you have to wonder where he’s been the last three years.
- PeteHeard the suggestion that Jesse Barfield be added to Level of Ex. Yeah, it sounded silly to me as well. (Strikes me that if they’ve missed anyone, it’s Tom Henke.)
Anyway - as to outfield arms. I don’t know if Barfield had a “better arm” than Ichiro Suzuki or mark Whiten. But I do know this (because I happen to be researching the subject.) Barfield threw out base runners much more often than either Suzuki or Whiten. Or Vlad or Larry Walker. Over his career, Barfield threw out 14 baserunners per 1000 innings. Whiten was at 10.7, Suzuki is at 7.0. In fact, the only outfielder born in the last 100 years who threw out baserunners more often than Barfield was Chuck Klein - who played RF at the Baker Bowl, with its 260 foot right field.
By the way, the most impressive numbers by a recent or active player are from Jeff Francoeur, who throws out 11.8 base runners per 1000 innings.
MW: Runners thrown out, as a whole, doesn’t tell the whole story, because there are certain outfielders on whom players simply don’t run. It’s still impressive, though. because Barfield’s arm would definitely make people reluctant to run on him, so people would only run if they were sure they’d be safe or if they had to run, and he still got quite a few.
- Daniel McIlroyAside from the backup catcher, most AL teams have 3 other bench players. They are likely to sign a FA DH. Do you think it will be Scutaro, Inglett, and Stairs next year on the bench? Assume Hill is coming back healthy in this scenario.
MW: That depends on whether the Jays go out and get a shortstop, which would move McDonald to the bench and Inglett (assuming they stick with 12 pitchers) out. But so much can happen between now and next April.
- AriThe way tonights game played out, it sort of reminded me of that game with the Orioles at the end of 1989 when Phil Bradley led off the game against Stottlemyre with a home run off the leftfield foul pole and it stayed 1-0 until the eighth inning and Tom Lawless scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. That game went extra innings, but tonight it seemed they’d never score and then when Lind hit the home run I just knew they’s find a way to win. I’ve waited a long time for games like this.
At 65-60, the Jays are five games over .500 for just the second time this year (31-26).
A win tonight would not only put them 6 over for the first time since the end of 2006, but tie them in the standings with the Yankees. It’s funny how down here the media still talks about the Yankees playoff hopes but never include the Blue Jays in the conversation.
You mentioned Brian Jeroloman the other day and said he was playing third base. Did you mis-speak or did they move him from catcher? Thanks.
MW: I have never said that Brian Jeroloman was playing third base.
- Jim in Ohiomike, I laugh when you say “I told you these guys would hit”. actually these guys are not the same these guys that started the season. the reason the team is playing better is because the core group has changed. the original core group was not that good. you now have a different left fielder, shortstop, third baseman, second baseman, rh dh, and catcher. more than half your core group has completely changed. and the guys that have been carrying this team have been lind, inglett, and baby barajas.
MW: Baby Barajas? The truth is that the guys who have been carrying the team through their recent 17-9 run are Lind (1.002 OPS), Alex Rios (.869) and Vernon Wells (.820). Matt Stairs has the 4th-highest OPS on the club through that stretch at .764, just ahead of Lyle Overbay’s .753. Inglett’s next, at .745, and Barajas is ahead of only Marco Scutaro among regulars. Actually, the guys who have been carrying the team have been the pitchers. As for all the differences, there’s been an overall downgrade at second and at third, an offensive downgrade at shortstop, and only the left fielder or the DH is new, because one of them is Stairs.
- chubbyYou know Mike… I believe these guys will make the playoffs. Anybody else with me on that one?
MW: There are a few, but not many.
- Victor KovariFun stat, even despite their relative ages.
If you double Adam Lind’s at-bats, he falls just three short of the total Evan Longoria has, so let’s do that and see what kind of comparison we have:
AL: .302 - .337 - .545 - .882 — 22-8-18-70
EL: .278 - .352 - .533 - .885 — 27-2-22-71
Well now, woudja lookit that?
MW: Fun, but obviously flawed. Lind has had big-league time in two prior seasons, and he’s 25, while Longoria is getting his first kick at the can, and he’s 12.
- WillRain“That great bastion of mediocrity has now won six starts in a row and 10 of his last 12. Not six decisions in a row, not 10 of his last 12 decisions, but starts. Just when everyone is finally coming around to see how good Burnett is, he’s about to walk.”
You thinking the same thing I am, in that however many wins AJ gets this season is how much his yearly salary will be when he signs with a new team in the offseason?
Losing this guy is going to hurt, especially as he appears to have really settled in here in Toronto…
MW: He’s actually having a worse year, statistically, than any of his others here in Toronto, he’s just healthy. But no, I don’t think he’ll make $20 million a year in the off-season.
- LukeHello Mike, great Jays talk yesterday. I hate to do this to you in writing this long paragraph but have a couple of points to mention since your blog is pretty good & I can’t seem to phone in early enough on your every-so-popular hit show, Jays talk these days…hehe.
I know lots of complements are given to Burnett as deserved. We all know & agree he is a great pitcher & always has been but he hasn’t been known to shake that .500 pitcher label until now. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that since Cito arrived, Burnett is pitching better & getting the wins. I think giving confidence in players as Cito does & having them being accountable, pushes players in a good way with certain players & that stuff doesn’t appear on stats, & numbers. Cito, from what I can remember has left Burnett in at least 2 games longer than Gibbons would of in his current 6 game wining streak. Tonight against the Yankees & the other one was I believe against the Tigers in Detoit. That is 2 more wins that would have been no decisions. So, I disagree with you when you mentioned last night on Jays talk that the manger has nothing to do with Burnett getting 16 wins right now in the season. I think this is one of the reason why he has maybe been a .500ish pitcher earlier this year. Gibbons is a good manager but he was too much of a stats manager. He would match left-handed pitchers with left-handed pitchers & vise versa with righty’s a lot. Obviously, he has to play the percentages but I think he does it too many times than a better manager, who goes with instinct or just as simple as having confidence in a pitcher & leaving him in. He would pull pitchers sometimes too early & in this case with Burnett, would give him his no decisions. Like against the Yanks last night, Gibbons would of pulled Burnett in the 7th since his pitch count was at like 110. If not then, he would have been pulled when Bobby Abreau came up since he already went 2-3. Is there proof of this??..Of course not, but I am a huge Jays fan & get a sense of what gibbons would of done when watching as many games as I have in the last few years.
Anyways, just a question, do you think Burnett is having a healthy season & a great one since it’s his contract year because he is giving 100% & less in non-contract years??..Or you think it’s just a coincidence??…Keep up the good work on Jays talk, your time & hard work on the blog as always.
MW: You’re right on the difference between Gibbons and Gaston there, but that’s not to say that it’s Gaston’s doing that the Jays scored the go-ahead run in the inning after Burnett would otherwise have been yanked. As for Burnett himself, he actually isn’t having a great year (highest ERA and WHIP of any season with at least 5 starts since 2000), he’s just healthy.
- David F.Hey Mike -
I read a comment from Johnny Damon last night saying “AJ is a great pitcher, I hope he opts out at the end of the year.” Would he say that because he wants him to come to the Yankees? Or simply because he doesn’t want him in Toronto. It was the only quote so I wasn’t sure the context in which it was said.
Great job on the post game - I always try and listen after the game.
Thanks,
James
Saint John, NB
MW: Thanks. I think the answer to your question is both.
- JamesGood morning Mike, hope you’re well. I’ve been on vacation for a bit, but listening to the Jays on the radio of course, and they’re making things much more palatable for the fans these days, aren’t they?
I didn’t know that about Overbay, that he pitched. I loved that play he made too, and for all those people who say the Jays need a slugging first baseman, which slugging first baseman could have made that play? Not too many, that’s what I’m thinking.
I’m quite fond of Overbay, and not just because he looks a fair bit like Mr. Kita either. He’s a solid ball player, and I think we’re starting to see him finally geting over his hand breakage.
Speaking of first basemen, I’m hearing a lot of talk about Carlos Delgado being available. Is his contract ending this year, or are the Mets just willing to part with him in the offseason? Also, how would you feel about him as a DH. Not first baseman, I think he’s lost some steps there, but as a DH I think he’d be pretty darn good. What do you think? Thanks Mike.
MW: I was off the Delgado train earlier in the season, but he’s certainly turned things around the last couple of months. I doubt he’ll be available, though.
- kitaHi Mike. Two things; one, my favourite JaysTalk caller ever was last summer after a Saturday afternoon game. A gentleman called in and said that the Jays were one of the worst fielding teams in the league, to which you replied that they were second in the league in fielding percentage. He then said “that seems about right” to which you said “you just contradicted yourself and made absolutely no sense”. I laughed out loud; definitely a classic.
Question for you: do you think the sluggish/recessionary economy stateside will have an impact on player salaries going forward or is baseball immune? I know attendance is still breaking records around both leagues but wonder if at some point the bubble bursts a little bit with high gas prices, mortgage foreclosures, etc and salaries start to trend downwards.
Appreciate your hard work, as always.
MW: I think sports in general are immune. They may have to start flying commercial again, though, because of gas prices.
- ZackA.J will pitch for the Yankees next year. He’s been phenomenal against them this year and I am sure the bosses have taken a note and have pencilled him in for their next year rotation. 4 year 72million. Jeter and A-Rod just love his stuff and I am sure they’ll make A.J’s case stronger. I am confident about this prediction.
MW: I’m not sure how much money the Yanks will have after they sign Sabathia and Teixeira.
- BeburgMW:”Overbay was a pitcher and right fielder in college, and threw in the mid-90s”.
Wow! I am wondering why he was never considered for an outfield position here considering that everyone and his dog can play first base. The blue jays should utilize his arm every now and then.
- Beburghi Mike;
Great game yesterday, Lind is the best prospect the jays have developed(although Snyder is blue chip)and will be a 30/100 man soon. It will be a shame to see Burnett leave @ the end of the season, but he’s not worth the eighty million he will command offseason, the jays should go after Sabathia instead or sheets;
Overbay is indeed an excellent starter and has been criticized unfairly as he won’t hit like giambi, but is superior defensivley;
Lastly Mike, just a favour can you ask Riccardi if Adams, Coates and Richmond are coming up for the september callups? what about Snyder and Accardo, Great show and blog, thx.
MW: I’m sure someone will ask tonight, but I’ll say that Accardo, Coats and Richmond will all be up.
- robert sMike, on the radio I know you’ve been saying that A.J can be replaced with a Jon Garland type pitcher but A.J seems to pitch very well against the “beasts of the East.” Don’t you think A.J will be sorely missed by the rotation next year?
MW: Of course he’ll be sorely missed, he’s a terrific pitcher. But the Jays are confident that Marcum and McGowan can slide up a spot and make a terrific 1-2-3 with Halladay.
- Chris JonesWhat’s the difference between a trade made before and one after the trade deadline? Any rumours the Jays are trying to do anything?
MW: After the deadline players have to clear waivers before they can be traded. There’s nothing cooking as far as the Jays are concerned.
- The ChadHi Mike,
Wondered if you caught the baseball edition of Mythbusters the other day. It was very interesting. Among the myths that they tackled. Corked bats. They proved that a corked bat not only doesn’t send the ball further it actually cuts the distance by half.
I was suprised by this result. Now it makes think about people who have been suspended for having a corked bat in the past.
It was also interesting that they had Roger Clemens on as a guest. I was hoing they would dispell the myth about his steroid use but so such luck.
MW: I didn’t see it. That’s interesting, but I’d like to know the context. They also busted the myth that sliding slows you down, which turned out to be not true in general, but only in a certain circumstance.
- MattMike,
With Aj putting in another awesome effort last night, do ya think the Yanks might have a go at signing him next year???
O.
MW: See above.
- OwenHi Mike,
I read your blog daily, and this is the first time I have decided to write.
I was intrigued by your last point about Overbay having a great arm. Is it too far fetched about the Jays to make a switch in the future and have Lyle play third, given his strong arm and unbelievable defence? I know we have Rolen, but he might be used as a DH, thus getting less wear and tear.
Thanks for your daily wisdom.
Cheers!
MW: It would be problematic having a third baseman who throws with his left hand.
- DimiHello Mike,
believe it or not, I have long been a supporter of AJ Burnett, even defending him to friends of mine. But, strangely enough, now that he is performing particularly well (he has been great over his last 10 starts or so), I feel they may have to let him go (I realize it is not entirely in their hands). Not now, but at the end of the season. I would love for him to stay, but I think he may have priced himself out of the Jays’ reasonable range.
Now I have heard some rumblings that management will not pursue any high-priced pitching in the off-season. This is a direction I considered earlier and have thought a bit about. As it stands, I suppose the rotation would be Halladay, Marcum, McGowan (coming off an injury), with Litsch, Purcey, Richmond, Wolfe and Janssen (coming off an injury) battling it out for two or three spots, depending on McGowan’s recovery.
Now I am all for throwing the money at hitting, they certainly need it, but that pitching staff also seems like risky business. They could go from a major strength to perhaps something questionable. What is your opinion, Mike? Is this a wise course of action? Also, is there anyone I have not listed that may be a candidate for this low-priced rotation?
Thanks!
MW: Burnett leaving isn’t “not entirely” in the Jays’ hands, it’s not at all in the Jays’ hands. There are a few medium-level free agents you haven’t considered. I don’t think that the Jays will leave the bottom of the rotation to Purcey and Litsch unless Purcey shows a heck of a lot more over the last five weeks of the season than he already has.
- RoryMike,
Concerning my Rios question from yesterday, since I only get to sporadically listen to games while on the road, sometimes I have to reach for questions.
Tonight with a lefty on the hill will be a tough test for the Jays.
This roll that Burnett is on is exactly the reason they should have kept him to finish out the year. They wouldn’t be in this situation without him. Hopefully Halliday and Gaston can convince him to stay. Although he has to be entering into the Cy Young talk being tied for the lead in wins and leading the league in strikeouts. The ERA may still be a bit too high.
I think last night is a different game if Melky Cabrera is in CF. Where were these breaks in April? Don’t the Yankees win these kinds of games?
MW: They’re supposed to.
- Aaron KerBack to Casey Blake:
As I pointed out in the previous post, he is hitting better than any Blue Jay is this year (outside of Adam Lind) and his lifetime OPS is very good.
But what realistic options do the Blue Jays have? They won’t pay Manny for five and won’t pay Texiera for ten. Our GM has said he doesn’t like Dunn because he strikes out too much so I guess that leaves out Giambi and a bunch of other high walk/high strikeout home run guys. If you don’t get Raul Ibanez because he ends up getting stupid money, Casey Blake could be the guy who is undervalued and worth the price. He is now hitting better than Overbay and who knows where Rolen is physically next year. If you use some Bill James metrics, Blake creates 6.2 runs per game compared to Overbay (5.0) and Rolen (5.0). Bottom line is that I will take marginal improvements over none.
MW: The problem so many people seem to have with J.P. Ricciardi is that he goes for marginal improvements. I don’t think the Jays will have to settle for Casey Blake.
- Jim BThis Ash’s corner focuses on the people Alan Ashby was managed by. Our esteemed colour commentator had quite an interesting career, despite the lack of Hall of Fame/All-Star credentials.
His first manager was Ken Aspromonte and he didn’t get much playing time on a team (the Indians) that wasn’t too successful. His next manager with the Indians is a living legend, a Hall of Famer who broke the colour barrier for managers as a player/manager for the Indians in ‘75 and ‘76 and then a full time field general in ‘77. Under Frank Robinson, Ash’s playing time increased dramatically.
He moved on to our favourite team in 1977 under Roy Hartsfield and was part of a couple of teams that didn’t win much, but got a lot of us (including I would guess the host of this very blog) hooked on baseball. In 1979, off he went to Houston in perhaps the worst trade that one of the best GMs in baseball history ever made. No disrespect to the 3 players that came to Toronto, and I’m sure it seemed like fair compensation at the time, but Mark Lemongello, Pedro Hernandez and J.J. Cannon didn’t exactly set the world on fire.
Under Bill Virdon, Ashby enjoyed his greatest success in a team sense as the Astros reached the playoffs in ‘80 and ‘81. 1980 was a real heartbreaker for the ‘Stros. My fuzzy recollections recall a blown call of a popup that was actually a catch by pitcher Vern Ruhle leading to a late Phillie rally in the decisive Game 5. In ‘81, the Dodgers avenged a one game playoff loss the previous year and once again the Astros were bounced in the decisive game of the first round.
The Bob Lillis era arrived in the middle of the ‘82 season and lasted through the ‘85 season. Unfortunately, the team hovered right around the .500 mark and Lillis gave way to Hal Lanier in ‘86. Under Lanier, Ash enjoyed probably the best combination of individual and team success that he would experience in his career. 1986 featured a fantastic NLCS if you were a baseball fan, but not if you were a fan of the Astros. The Amazin’s bounced them in a thrilling six game series that was a lot closer than the final 4-2 count would indicate… The Jays Talkers who constantly bemoan the fact that it’s been 15 years since a World Series should look no further than the career of Alan Ashby to understand how fortunate the Blue Jays were in ‘92 and ‘93. For the better part of 17 years Ash plodded through the marathon of 162 (give or take) with his ‘mates on teams that didn’t reach the playoffs 14 times and when they finally reached the promised land they lost three very tight first round series that could have gone either way. That’s heartache people… ‘87 and ‘88 were mediocre years for Houston and Lanier was let go following the ‘88 season.
In 1989 Art Howe took over the team. He had been a teammate of Ash’s on the ‘79 team. Could there have been a more flashing neon signal to Ash that maybe Father Time had finally caught up with him? Nah, I think it had more to do with 17 years of foul tips, knuckleballers, batter overswings, broken fingers, creaky knees and an aching back. Might have also had something to do with that superstar catching prospect. Now, what was his name again… Oh yeah, Craig Biggio. Whatever the reason he took his final swing for Art Howe on May 9, 1989 pinch hitting for Biggio. It scored Kevin Bass from third on a sac fly against the Expos’ Tim Burke. Next up, the teammates,
- Tom the InternIt’s pretty funny you’ve actually got people googling Downs’ picture and looking for the, um, tattoo. I think I’m the only one who knew you were making it up from the beginning.
“Oh, you can’t see it in pictures. It’s made of some sort of space age material!”
lol
The cat’s out of the bag, Wilner. It’s over.
- Flaming MoeMike,
What do you think the team’s final offer for Burnett is going to look like? As well, do you think that Burnett is more likely to stay with the Jays if JP is in the GM’s chair?
The latter question is not to conjecture about the relationship between the two men; rather, it’s to speculate on where JP’s head is with respect to the importance that Burnett for the franchise.
MW: I think the Jays’ final offer will likely be 2 years, $24 million, the same that’s on the contract Burnett signed. Maybe they up it to 2 years, $30 million, but I’m not sure. I don’t think Ricciardi’s presence has anything to do with whether A.J. stays.
- mikeMW: Nope. Thomas I’ll give you, but Koch and Ligtenberg were paid a pittance, and Ricciardi had no way of knowing that Hinske would eat himself out of what appeared to be a very promising career.
Mike I like J.P. I really do im 50/50 on weather her should lose his job or not but the way you defend him is just really really annoying. Saying theres no way he could of known Hinske is going to eat himself out of a promising carrer is true but there was no reason to sign him to a long term contract!!! why not wait another year or two before signing him long term surely a major league GM has to know the risks of signing a player so young with only one MLB season. Further more if you continue to give J.P. a free pass on things “theres no way he could of known” then please stop giving him credit for things like the Downs signing the Tallet signing the drafting of Litch because theres no way he could of known they would be this good right!
and the Wells signing Mike I would say Mr. Godfrey was in favour of the signing but thats making a big assumption. To say that signing was totally Pauls fault is making a big assumption and I don’t think its true at all. You honestly think that if after the 2006 season J.P. has Vernons value as is high as it will ever be and he’s not worth the money we would have to pay him to keep him I want to trade him, that Mr. godfrey is going to say “no sign him long term I want to send a message to the fans”
Please Mike J.P. has done enough good things you should have to say things like “theres no way he could of known that” “not his fault upper managements idea” to defend him.
MW: If I ever write that “theres no way he could of known” something, I should lose my job immediately.
Sorry Mike I can’t spell does that mean you can’t respond to my baseball comment?
MW: It doesn’t, but that’s something that drives me nuts. As to your point, I don’t understand it. Hinske was the rookie of the year, and got a five-year contract that paid him less than $3 million per year. Was there a reasonable expectation that Hinske might go directly into the toilet? No. The Wells contract (the second one, he signed one with Hinske that worked out great) was an initiative from upper management. Those things are true.
- DaveMy question is concerning hustle from professional baseball players and the fact there seems to be very few players in the league who run out all of their ground balls at full speed.
I’m wondering, was this always the case, or was there ever an era were all players worked hard/sprinted 90 feet, even on routine ground balls?
Why don’t managers/front office people say something/do anything about this? Enforce fines? You are paying these people millions, you should at least get their best effort at all times. I really think running balls out and putting pressure on defenders would lead to more bases gained/force infielders to make more errors.
Often times you see the guys who are just up from the farm and trying to make the club run out their ground balls. Is it just some kind of unwritten rule that after you’ve ‘made it’ in the MLB this no longer becomes a necessity?
MW: I think so. There aren’t many players who run out every ball they hit - David Eckstein and John McDonald immediately come to mind. It’s infuriating to watch players who don’t do it, and sadly that’s the overwhelming majority.
- ColeI can’t believe I missed last nights game looked like a good one. I’m more excited about tonights game then I have been about any game all year hopefully the Jays can keep up their winning ways. I’m not a fan of Overbay or the contract J.P. because theres 20 guys in the minor leagues the Jays could have for nothing with Overbay’s skill set however that was an incredible play I got really exciting watching the highlighs of it.
PS. I had a dream last night that they Jays won 4-1 (tonight) and Purcey got 8 strike outs.
So hopefully my dream is more accurate then your predictions have been this year Mike. I hope you don’t take that the wrong way Mike when you make a prediction you should no your going to hear it if your wrong.
MW: I no. That’s why I don’t think I’m going to make any anymore. Sorry about yours, though.
- DaveMike,
loved watching the game tonight. Just wondering if you could mention to anyone down at the Rogers Centre to lose that stupid fog horn. Real amateur and annoying to boot. Or could you do us all a favour, find out where that button is and disconnect it.
Thank
MW: I’m not a fan, either.
- HowardSherrills arm exploded
- slobberfaceNot that it matters but on Sportsnet this morning, the caption on the screen when interviewing Damon said that he had 2 errors. Looking at the replay it looks like the dropped ball (missed catch) in the 8th should have been an error and I know Jerry thought so as well during the broadcast but I thought it was ruled a double. Was that changed afterwards?
MW: Nope, it was a double.
- Peter B.You could put together quite the All-Star team from the players that played on the teams Alan Ashby played on over the years. Sixty-four of them played on at least one All-Star team and six are in the Hall of Fame, with perhaps more on the way. See what you can come up with from this list of All-Stars listed at the positions at which they spent the most time (players) or made the most appearances (pitchers):
C: Dave Duncan, Ray Fosse, Ernie Whitt
1B: Chris Chambliss, Glenn Davis, Ron Fairly, John Mayberry, Boog Powell, Bob Watson
2B: Craig Biggio, Phil Garner, Davey Lopes, Joe Morgan (HOF)
3B: Buddy Bell, Ken Caminiti, Roy Howell, Ray Knight
SS: Leo Cardenas, Alfredo Griffin, Rafael Ramirez, Craig Reynolds, Dickie Thon
LF: Rico Carty, Jose Cruz, Willie Horton, Jeffrey Leonard
CF: Ken Berry, Cesar Cedeno, Jerry Mumphrey
RF: Kevin Bass, George Hendrick, Terry Puhl, Frank Robinson (HOF), Glenn Wilson
SP: Joaquin Andujar, Jim Bibby, Jim Clancy, Joe Coleman, Pat Dobson, Steve Hargan, Matt Keough, Bob Knepper, Mike La Coss, Dave Lemanczyk, Joe Niekro, Blue Moon Odom, Gaylord Perry (HOF), Jim Perry, Fritz Peterson, Rick Rhoden, J.R. Richard, Nolan Ryan (HOF), Mike Scott, Bill Singer, Don Sutton (HOF)
RP: Bill Dawley, Dennis Eckersley (HOF), Ed Farmer, Ken Forsch, Jim Kern, Dave La Roche, Aurelio Lopez, Joe Sambito, Dave Smith
Obviously some of these players benefited from the one player from every team rule, but I guess just like some players are better than others, some All-Stars are better than others. Besides, the whole All-Star debate will go on throughout the rest of baseball eternity and never be resolved.
Some of these guys have gone on in coaching, managing, general managing, public relations, broadcasting, MLB operations, some are not in baseball, and some sadly are no longer with us. There you have it: Ash’s All-Stars,
- Tom the InternMike,
I mean it with all seriousness when I say that one day your name will be placed on The Level of Excellence. You truly are a Toronto Baseball reporting legend!!
P.S. I’m a fellow New College alumnus as well…you did the college proud ole boy.
MW: I appreciate that, but it’ll never happen. Which is to say, I’ll never be worthy of it happening.
- BernardHi Mike,
Blue Jays fans are finally getting their moneys’ worth from AJ Burnett…just in time to lose him to an opt out clause.
Without having to pay Frank Thomas next year, how much more money will managment have available and/or be willing to throw at Burnett in to keep him around for say…three more years? Would AJ even consider staying in Toronto for an extra 5 million per?
Is he worth it or will there be equally talented pitchers out there with better attitudes worth going after to be the number two guy behind Doc?
MW: The Jays wouldn’t consider offering Burnett a 3 year/$51 million contract. It’s funny that so many people think the Jays are finally getting their money’s worth out of A.J. when he’s having his worst season as a Jay, statistically.
- marcHi Mike,
I was at the game last night and after the curious spectacle was over, I couldn’t decide what was more inept the Jays offence or Damon’s defence. After handing Josh Beckett his head on Sunday, a guy with a 9-14 record and 4.8 ERA makes the Jay hitters look dazed and confused. I wasn’t paying attention the whole night but when I did, Rasner’s fastball topped out at 89 mph.
Anyway, I had a chance to listen to your show on the drive home and there seem to be more than a few callers that believe Cito Gaston is some kind of saviour. Unless Cito can be a big bat that drives in runs in the middle of the line-up as well as manage, these folks might be in for a surprise. I’ve been a fan of the Jays since 1983 and I love Cito Gaston. He’s my favourite Jays manager with Bobby Cox coming in a close second. However, people seem to forget that this team went 20-10 in June under Gibbons. Yes, they are playing better but their continued shortcomings remain apparent. Last night’s bottom of the first is instructive. Second and third with one out and your four and five hitters due up - what happens? Wells strikes out and Lind grounds out - no runs scored. The offence managed nothing against Rasner after that until the Lind homer. If nothing else, Cito Gaston commands respect because of his success as both a player and a manager but he can’t hit for these guys.
I made a factual error in a post yesterday regarding J.P. Ricciardi. The Jays have finished as high as second (2006) in the division but still, they were no where near the wild card spot.
Finally, I’ve just started following your blog (my apologies) so you’ve probably answered this question many times before but were there no decent trade offers for Burnett?
MW: None that offered more than the two first-round picks the Jays will get when he leaves.
- Rob TheriaultWhy do you feel OBP is so important because a lot of baseball experts seem to disagree with you. For example, Richard Griffin said “Every statistic lies. You can make statistics say whatever you want to. I know because I wrote major-league game notes for 20 years. Batting average has been diminished in recent years, but will never become obsolete and the winner of the league batting title will always be recognized as someone special. On-base percentage gained importance because certain teams on a budget were looking at players they could afford and weren’t highly scouted, that weren’t talented enough as hitters to post high batting averages but could swat the occasional longball. So they looked for smart, disciplined, less-than-elite (usually college) athletes that could draw at least 10 walks for every 100 at-bats. This goal of considering the art of “not” swinging the bat as an offensive strength was aided and abetted by umpires whose strike zones were shrinking faster than the sales of gas-guzzling SUVs. You use the term loosely when you cite “baseball experts”. All I know is that I coach a team of bantam baseball players and we play certain teams that refuse to swing the bat, clearly looking for bases-on-balls. This may win some games at 14 years old, but is a serious problem in developing young baseball players as hitters. Considering on-base percentage more important than batting average is not baseball. Jack Cust has a better on-base percentage than Ichiro Suzuki, but who’s the better player?” What’s your responce to that?
MW: It’s an interesting comment that you would want me to respond to Griffin, as opposed to responding to an original thought of yours, but OK. Very, very obviously Ichiro Suzuki is a better baseball player than Jack Cust, but so is John McDonald. Cust, however, hits for more power and gets out less than either one of those guys. I think people have started to realize over the last few years that the guy who wins the batting title isn’t necessarily (and generally isn’t) the best hitter in the league. In my mind, not getting out is the best thing a hitter can do. But no one stat shows everything.
- andrewMike,
Usain Bolt did the unthinkable today. And I am pretty sure this guy is clean. If it’s proven that he’s clean(which should be in the next couple of days), where will you rank his 100m and 200m WRs in individual sports history?
I think after winning the 4 x 100 relay, he’ll take the limelight away from Phelps.
MW: How are you pretty sure he’s clean? And how are you sure that him not testing positive in Beijing will prove that he’s clean?
- Beburghonestly mike what do you think that Burnett can get on the open market if he opts out at the end of the season?
MW: 5 years, $80 million. When he opts out, not if.
- DaveMike, I love you, but you really need to drop the “snakeface” thing. It’s not funny, it’s not enjoyable to listen to and it’s actually pretty embarrassing at this point.
And I’m sure someone is going to point this out before me, but Brad Lidge was the last closer traded, not Gagne.
MW: That’s right! It was Lidge. And the Astros got back Michael Bourn - a speedy outfielder with a suspect bat, Geoff Geary - an unspectacular reliever, and Mike Costanzo - an ex-Chanticleer third baseman who seems a reasonable prospect. Not a great haul. As for the Snakeface thing, different strokes for different folks. If you don’t enjoy listening to something, change the station.
- Jay MoneyHi Mike,
The fact that he is showing everyone how good he is just as he is about to walk is exactly the problem.
I’ll be happy to get these last few starts out of him if he continues his recent hot stretch, but as soon as he signs with someone else, I’ll be happy to see him back to his ‘regular’ self. By that I mean the usual inning or two ‘blow up’ that Burnett has blessed us with so often these past 3 years.
Don’t get me wrong, I know he is a dynamite pitcher, but in my eyes, he doesn’t hold a candle to someone like Roy Halladay, who is ALWAYS dynamite, not just when he feels like it…
Thanks, Mike!
MW: You’re selling Burnett way short. But no one holds a candle to Halladay.
- JeffYou are simply amazing in terms of the level of arrogance that you so willing display. Over the years, I have listened to your somewhat childish “know it all” comments with disply; however, none can top your dismissal of the young, come to play spirit of the Rays during the early part of the baseball season. Please try to be a bit more humble in your commentary.
MW: Young, come to play spirit?
- LintonMike, I was wondering why the Yanks took Rasner really early and go to the bullpen. I thought I was at the game and it was very good to watch. I liked it when Lind hit the homerun to tie the game. But watching Damon drop 2 baseballs is very strange. And he even gave us the win which is better. I also lked when they through out A-Rod which was good or else Ryan would of bin in ttouble but they got him. I am also really happy with the way Lind is playing he has homered in 3 straight games. But AJ is just great
- DavidMike, you need a FAQ. Hopefully that would mitigate the same uneducated questions from being asked night after night. The FAQ could include:
* how post-July 31 waivers work
* who the impending free agents are
* whom you believe the Jays might be pursuing
* a link to the Cot’s web site on player contracts
* a link to baseball-reference so that people can look stats up themselves
* links to some of the prominent baseball analysis sites (BP, BTF, Hardball Times, etc.)
* a link to a book-selling web site for “How We Know What isn’t So” (an excellent study in reasoning)
* a link to a grammar site focusing specifically on the use of apostrophes when it comes to pluralization and posession (when someone types “the Jay’s” as a plural form, can you honestly take their opinion seriously?)
* a link to dictionary.com, specifically to the word “definitely” which many in the current generation insist on spelling with an “a” (even if one were to spell it phonetically, why would they include an “a”?)
End of rant/suggestion. Thank you. Keep up the good fight filling in where our education system has failed your listeners/posters.
MW: Thanks! And you’re right, it’s difficult to take the opinions of people who don’t know the difference between they’re, their and there and/or who pluralize with apostrophes. Honestly, I don’t think having an FAQ section would help much.
- Chuck Vmike
I was at the game yesterday and what a pitching performance and great defense. Yes, the Jays looked bad in their hitting. If we lost this one, we would have looked back at the first inning when we had two on, one out and could not get one in.
Looking to next year pitching wise, how do you think it will roll out?
There is Halladay, Marcum, Litch and the rest are question mark aren’t they? we are not sure about McGowan nor are we sure of Purcey.
Then the bullpen - who do you see leaving from the current roster?
MW: I think Litsch is a pretty big question mark, actually. Halladay, Marcum and McGowan are pretty set, beyond that, there are Litsch, Purcey, Richmond, David Romero, Brett Cecil and potential free agent additions. As for the bullpen, I think they’re all back, save maybe for Jason Frasor, who could be non-tendered.
- francisMike,
Great win for sure after the two game sweep at Fenway.
I am going to the games on Saturday and Sunday and am hoping to see Halladay on Sunday. Do you think they will pitch him on short rest on Sunday or give him the extra day off and pitch him against the Rays?
Thanks for your insight!
MW: Halladay is pitching on Thursday, so there’s no chance he goes on two days’ rest on Sunday.
- Darrenthe jays are playing fanatastic baseball at the moment. Only if they could do that on consistent basis throughout the season they would definitely be playoff contenders. I watched la angels baseball game last week,and I would honestly say they don’t hit for power but they play fundamentally sound game. I think their manager is so underated,and their shortstop got injured last week and their commentators were talking about the team being interested in johnny Mac or eckstein to fill in.
MW: Which makes one wonder why the Jays and Halos haven’t gotten together on a deal yet.
- yasinMike,
I am not sure where you get your information on the Jays bank but I am willing to take you at face value. I was always under the impression that they were not hurting but that they were unwilling to increase the payroll.
Now on the Burnett issue, I have always been a fan but I’ve also wished that he more consistent. So I am hoping that the Jays will open the wallet for A.J. and offer him market value. I’d much rather see A.J. than sheets in a Jays uniform next year. And as for signing, why do I feel like the Jays will target Giambi next year and then have to live with a .230 batting average?
As for Overbay, I don’t think you should select your 1st basemen based on his arm alone.
MW: I don’t think we’ll see either Burnett or Sheets in a Jays’ uniform next season. As for signing Giambi, I’m happy to live with the .250 batting average he’s currently posting if I also get the .390 on-base and .500 slugging.
- JWMike, does Adam Lind still get the same chances up in the big leagues if Reed Johnson stays with the Jays?
MW: Probably not.
- JordanMike
Ihear you defend jp saying that the jays have had numerous injuries which I can understand. However isn’t his job like any senior person to effectively manage his assets and ensure personnel are properly placed to carry out duties. For example retaining Gibbons, hiring of Dembo, demotion of Lind,shuffle of coaches to include third base coach who cost them games.Maybe we need to look at the volume of work.
MW: I think we do need to look at the volume of work, and when we do, we don’t find a man who deserves to be fired.
- davidHey mike, love your show, blog.
I hope the jays face and destroy Garza. We have made him look like a cy young pitcher every time we’ve faced him. I have some type of grudge against him. I want the jays to spank the rays, really batter them, wouldn’t that be nice? I still think they are not going to make the playoffs. Their offense is horrible, their pitching is very good but aside from sheilds and kazmir, the rest seem so so. They are not supposed to be this good. How are they performing so well in terms of record. i just do not understand?
MW: Sometimes teams do the radically unexpected. The Rays pitchers, especially the relievers, are performing way over their heads.
- JaysFanMike,
I know I came at you hard yesterday on the whole Gibbons/Gaston thing, I must admit I was frustrated by your response. To be more serious on this topic, I am used to some of the top banner sports journalists who take a hard line on all topics, which I am certain would include a very specific and forthright response on a question such as that.
Your response stated “obviously, Cito has the track record,” when the reality is both Cito and John have a track record, Cito’s is decorated with 2 championship rings and now an unbelievable turnaround this season. The Jays are 9 games above .500 since Cito took over from John, and the reality is Cito has made several noticeable changes to the team, things that are not “airy fairy” but rather tangible, and leading to results. Cito is/has been dealing with some significant DL problems, Hill, Wells, McGowan, Jansen, Accardo, Tallet, Rolen, Stewart - even not having Thomas at DH which John did have for some big hits early in the season.
In my opinion, you are not being responsible as a baseball journalist in your answer. You say you are a realist, you say JP primarily relies on track record to go on when evaluating talent or what “might” happen with a player after he signs, but you will not lend the same credence to the manager position. Finally upper management forced JP’s hand to fire Gibbons so they could bring in Cito. A man with a very good track record, a man that has delivered great results a man that continues to deliver great results.
If John were still the Manager this team would function from a John perspective. Inglett, Scutaro, Lind, Barajas, MacDonald, none of them would be everyday players, and these are the names that have really catapulted this team to the next level. League in the 7th, Downs in the 8th and Ryan in the 9th - what a concept, John could never have put that together, not sure why, there was not a lot of bullpen consistency. Rios and Wells have openly stated that Cito has relaxed them and opened up their games again. I could go on about the early bunting, the stolen bases, leaving pitchers in to handle their business and more, but believe the point has been made.
I know, like many many others I have talked to in my circle of Jaydom that Cito is a better manager past and present and we should be honoured and excited to have him and his staff back in the fold. I have heard/seen from several calls/blog posts that when people asked to bring back Cito at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, that you dismissed those callers/bloggers by saying that is not what we want to see, even pointing out his lack of success after the 2 championships. I find this hard to swallow, if Cito is not what we want - is John? There is another question for you to try to dodge. I find it humorous that you can tell us paying fans what we want to see and that Cito is not it - but John is, Mike you are not talking to a bunch of clueless monkeys. Some people, like myself have played and managed baseball at many different levels. I tell you the one clear thing we don’t want is someone telling us we do not want to see the most successful Blue Jays Manager in history as Manager once again, that is simply ridiculous.
MW: I’m sorry that I don’t live up to your high standard of top banner sports journalists.
- AEWhat a great defensive play by Overbay and Johnny Mac in the ninth last evening.
No doubt Johnny Mac was thinking of the “Bronson Arroyo play” you were alluding to, but also the outrageously ridiculous display of verbal cheating that A-Fraud committed (and got away with) last May 30th, I believe, when he shouted and caused that popup to fall between Mac and the now disgraced Howie Clark.
MW: If you’ll remember, McDonald appeared as though he wanted to tear Rodriguez’ head clean off after that play.
- Adrian, co-alumnusMike, how long is Adam Lind under control for the Jays?
MW: Lind is eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
- andrewYou said that Keith Law is often biased against the Jays. Can you give me some examples that show Keith Law is biased?
MW: Not off the top of my head.
- andrewSome blogger apparently has reverse-engineered the Elias formula, and will be giving positional updates as he does them. He started with AL catcher :
http://tigers-thoughts.blogspot.com/2008/08/projected-elias-rankings.html
It would be in the Jays best interests to give Zaun some more ABs, maybe as the DH instead of Stairs. Might as well try to bolster your chance at receiving those compensation round picks, which can be nice (McGowan, Cecil…).
MW: Interesting.
- AriWith AJ predicted to opt out at the end of the year, its being said he’ll get a 4yr deal worth around 50 million.
Is it possible the Jays will pony up that kind of cash to keep him around, or will they look elsewhere and take the draft picks?
MW: I would think that Burnett will do much better than that. The Jays will happily take the draft picks.
- ChrisMichael,
Griffin’s mail bag this week had an answer to the eternal question, “what would you do if you were GM.” His response was interesting, though some of it clearly a bit satirical in tone. But one idea caught my attention. He wanted to sign Carlos Delgado, not just for his DH bat, but in the expectation that he might play an important role in mentoring more maturity and focus in his fellow country man out there in right field.
Now, I know you’re of the opinion that these are grown men making millions of dollars who should be able to motivate and focus themselves. Clearly though the evidence suggests that Rios isn’t living up to your expectations on a frequent basis. So, even though you’ll disagree, for the sake of argument, can you grant me the possibility that such an influence might help Alex?
If so, do you think Delgado could do that job? (I understand there’s a team option on him?) Do you think that his late season resurgence with the bat is for real? Or is it his Indian Summer before fading into the dark winter of washed up sluggers? If the latter, are there other candidates for potential trades or free agents who could both contribute to the team, while serving such a mentoring role to Rios?
Thanks Michael.
Have fun. Play ball.
MW: I’m not a fan of signing someone to a hefty contract and giving him a major position on a team so that he can serve as a mentor. If Delgado comes here for a year or two to do that, what happens after he leaves? There is a team option on his contract, and a mutual option as well. I don’t think Delgado will be available.
- mikieI said you were not sure if you would have John MacDonald be your everyday shortstop. The question is, will he make enough of a difference defensively to compensate for his lack of offense. Try this.
Let’s assume that if he played everyday, he would have on average 4.5 chances per game or 745 per season. Also assume that he make 5% more plays than an average shortshop. That’s 37 more outs that he makes over the season. Add those 37 outs to the 125 hits he would get playing every day (3.5 at bats per game for 162 games @ a current .220 average) That would be the equivalent of a .285 average. I say he’s worth playing everyday!!!!!!
MW: Good math. But where did you get the 4.5 chances per game?
- Mike Springsteadmike!
it’s been a while since i last visited the great bastion that is The Jays Talk.
but i’m back! Yeah!
i’ll be in NY to watch Our blue jays at the end of this month. do u travel with the team? if so, i beg a picture with you and jerry and allan!
btw, how did the softball season go? team/personal stats please?
take care!
kk
MW: I don’t travel with the team, and all the softball stats are up there somewhere in the blog.
- karim kanjiHey Mike,
I loved the fact that Damon dropped the ball but wasn’t impressed that Scoots wasn’t running hard out of the box. He did the ol’ “Oh, I know I got all of that!” trot. With Captain Caveman booting the catch combined with his absolutely terrible throwing arm (God he looks awful when he chucks it), the Scoot should have been on third and available to score on a wild pitch etc. Agreed?
One more thing. Do you watch TWIB at all? Does it drive you a little nuts that they almost completely ignore the Blue Jays? Toronto has the best pitching in the Majors and nada, bupkus (sp?). It’s horse poop I tells ya! They did a spotlight on the Baltimore frickin’ Orioles a couple weeks ago for godsakes! It’s mind bottling.
MW: Scoot probably should have had a shot at third, but you’re right, he was either in the home run trot or the “he’s gonna catch it” trot. As for TWIB, I have the whole season so far sitting on my PVR but haven’t gotten around to watching any of it, though. When I was a kid, it always bothered me that they ignored the Jays, too. But who am I to know what goes through the mind of Buzz Brainerd?
- Scott BMike, did you agree with the defensive replacement being Mench last night ? Isn’t Wilkerson the better fielder ?
I’ve noticed on a few occasions that Cito will come out himself to speak to the pitchers, very different from Gibbons who would usually go out to give them the hook. Was Cito always like that or is that something that he’s doing this year ?
At what point does A.J. have to let the Jays know that he’s going to opt out ? 10 days after the world series ?
MW: Wilkerson is the better fielder. I was wondering about that, too, and I’m wondering if something might not be wrong with Wilkerson. Second question has been answered many times, and as for A.J., I’m not sure. It might be 10 days, might be sooner.
- Dilsonmike,
do you think its a coincidence Burnett is pitching this well since cito got here, or it has something to do with burnett liking him more then gibbons.
MW: Burnett’s WHIP under Cito is 1.244. His WHIP his first two seasons as a Jay under Gibby was 1.241. He got off to a rough start this year.
- John Terryhad this discussion with some friends, thought maybe you, and perhaps other blog readers, could give a different point of view…
when a hitter reaches on a fielder’s choice, error etc, why doesn’t it count towards their OBP?
i believe it should because so many of the faster players in the league, and those who choose to leg out every ball, stay out of double plays more, and cause the occasional error, whereas the slower and ‘lazier’ players have a tougher time staying out of the double plays, and put less pressure on fielders…
thoughts?
MW: When a hitter reaches on a fielder’s choice, the fielder could have put that hitter out if he so chose, so it counts as an out. When a hitter reaches on an error, the scorer is saying that the hitter should have been out on the play, if the defender had done his job, so it counts as an out.
- Jay BHas AJ cleared waivers? Is it relevant?
MW: I don’t know, and no.
- JoshHi Mike,
First and foremost, I must commend you on your knowledge of the game and really enjoy your sarcasm when directed to the many of morons who call in on a regular basis.
I agree this season is over.
The Jays dug themselves too deep of a hole in April and May. J.P may very well lose his job over the numbers at the end of the day which leaves me to ask who do you think is on the short list for G.M?
I doubt if Cashman will be available. The Yankees are going to load up for 09. I expect both Texeira and Burnett to be wearing pinstripes. What about Giambi or Milton Bradley as a DH for the Jays in 09?
MW: The Jays were 20-10, so I don’t know about them digging a hole then. I don’t know who is on the short list that may or may not exist. I expect Teixeira and Sabathia to be wearing pinstripes next year, but I’m not sure about Burnett. I’m all for Giambi, not so much Bradley.
- Brian ShugarJason Stark had an article today quoting some baseball executives about the value of Manny Ramirez. This one sounded like it came out of JPR:
“He wouldn’t play for me,” the exec said. “I’ll tell you that. I might cost my team a chance to go to the World Series. But we work too hard to put a team together to take on a guy like that. As soon as you open the vaults for him, you’ll wind up with the same problems Boston had.”
MW: That didn’t sound like what J.P. said on Wednesdays.
- Jim BHey Mike, I am curious who that guy last night is? The starting pitcher? I have heard about him before, but not really seen him the last few years. This must be a contract year, or something along those lines.
Mike, not sure if you have a lot of time on your hands, but I am wondering what the percentage of players in their last year of a contract have CAREER YEARS. That may be an interesting stat. I have a few names in my mind, but I am curious about others. I guess, the flip side of that is looking at those individuals and thier numbers the following year. Happens all the time, coincidence or not???
MW: You’re going to have to do that research, sorry. But there’s definitely something there.
- Jason DeneaulHi Mike.
Re. your reply to my post #40 in your ‘With Authoritah’ blog entry:
“MW: You’re right about Neagle, I put up the list, then checked to see if they were still Twins when Ryan came in and must have forgotten to erase him. Remember, too, that Marty Cordova was rookie of the year and Matt Lawton and Todd Walker had some very good years. I’m glad to have provided food for thought.”
After some of that thought, I’d have to say that although the collection of top young players / prospects Terry Ryan had waiting for him upon becoming GM of the Twins in 1994 was quite good, I’d have to give the edge to the young guns that JP Ricciardi inherited when he took over the Jays in 2001 (at least at this point in time as of course, many of these players are still playing in the big leagues and presumably have more to show us).
If we consider Vernon Wells vs. Torii Hunter a wash (very similar players with similar results to date), Halladay is obviously head and shoulders above Radke, I’d take Carpenter over Guardado (though Carpenter’s injuries have been troublesome, when he’s been healthy, he’s a Cy Young winner / candidate and World Series Champion), and I believe that when all is said and done, Alex Rios will probably best Corey Koskie.
I’ll say Knoblauch over Hudson even though Hudson has played very well in recent years when not hurt, and though we can’t really make a call at this stage of McGowan’s career and it’s tough to compare a starting pitcher vs. a catcher, we’ll put Pierzynski over McGowan. I’ll even grant you that your ‘second tier’ candidates as a group (Marty Cordova, Matt Lawton, Todd Walker) best the ones I could find that JP inherited (Kelvim Escobar, Reed Johnson, and say Jayson Werth or David Bush). Still, I think overall, the best young players / prospects JP inherited when he came to Toronto have a slight edge over the ones Terry Ryan had upon assuming the GM duties in Minnesota.
Also, re. the team payroll issue: While it’s true that Ryan’s team lost 84 games or more in each of his first six years as Twins GM, his team payroll was never higher than 22 in the league, and during his fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons with the Twins, the team payroll was 29, 30, and 30 (out of 30 teams), respectively. Conversely, though JP’s team payroll was in the 21 to 25 range in his early years with the Jays, his team payroll in his fifth, sixth, and seventh (current) seasons rank 16, 16, and 13 in the league. Thus, though Ryan’s record in his first six to seven years as Twins GM is not good, the man had far less money to work with vs. other major league teams at the time than JP has.
One last point: Re. my post #74 in your ‘The Comeback Kids’ blog entry: I mentioned I suspected that historically (say over the last 30 years), the percentage of general managers who produced a string of mediocre seasons with a given team yet went on to have great success with that club is probably quite low, and you said “…but Ryan is the first example that popped into my head. I’m sure there are countless more.” I’m wondering if you can name four or five others, because I think the Ryan example is probably a rare occurrence and far more GMs with results similar to JP Ricciardi or Terry Ryan in their first 6-7 years did not go on to produce playoff teams with that organization.
P.S. If you’re thinking about naming Pat Gillick with the Blue Jays from 1977 onward, I’d have to say that would not be a level playing field as the Jays were an expansion franchise and Gillick inherited ZERO top young prospects, had to build the farm system from scratch, and had a team that first year that mainly consisted of castoffs from other teams.
MW: Yeah, expansion GMs aren’t necessarily fair, but in some cases it’s better to start from scratch. I don’t know when I’ll be able to find the time to do that research.
- jamesI know it all worked out just fine and that most managers like to bring their closer in to start an inning, but I would have been tempted to let A.J. face Arod to start off the 9th last night. I know he had thrown 120? pitches, but he had also struck him out 3 times! Did Arod even foul a pitch off? I would have told B.J. that he would be coming in after Arod hit. Like I said, it all worked out though and we did get too see Overbays arm. I had no idea that he was a pitcher in college. Very few first baseman could make that play.
MW: Almost none. I’m not sure what was to be gained, in the overall, by leaving Burnett in to face one batter. Rodriguez hit a little ducksnort flare off of Ryan.
- dan from elmvaleMike, can you explain why the TV and radio broadcasts are not in sync? Ideally I would prefer watching the game on TV while muted and listen to the play-by-play by Jerry & Allen, but the whole out of syncness throws me off.
MW: I can’t explain that.
- GregI find it interesting that whenever someone points out how well Reed is playing in Chicago, you conveniently point out that he is only a part time player. Please compare him to the Jays part time players. Make sure you include how he bats with runners in scoring position.
MW: Oh, he’s playing way better than any of the Jays’ part-time players. That goes without saying (which is why I didn’t). But the thing is, there are many out there who are saying that the Jays would be a far better team now if Reed was still here - a part-time player can’t have nearly that kind of effect.
- dan from elmvaleIt’s so typical of this team to come out flat just when they had us all fooled that they were back in contention. Mike this offence is so pathetic they should actually thank Johnny Damon for his atrocious outfielding or we wouldn’t even have 2 runs scored in two crucial games against them. And they’re supposed to be trying to make some ground in the wild card race? This team, Mike, the frustrating timing with their hitting slumps….what a bunch of rip-off players if I ever did see a team stocked with them.
- Vito From HamiltonMike,
3 things:
(1)Despite what JP said tonight, I do not see how David Purcey can even be a thought in terms of having a spot in the starting rotation going forward…he’s been less than impressive thus far and he gives me no reason to believe he can help this team to win many games any time in the near future.
(2) Who do you think has a bigger head, Kevin Mench or Placido Polanco?
(3) Why does JP speak in terms of what they’re going to do next year when he’s not even guaranteed to be back himself? I also don’t like the fact that he’s shooting down the possibility of them having any chance of being involved in acquiring any of the upcoming free agent pitchers….He sure doesn’t give us fans much to look forward to. I smell another year of mediocrity in 2009!!
MW: 1 - Check out Chris Carpenter’s rookie season, or Roy Halladay’s second year. 2 - Mench. 3 - He’s under contract for next year, why would he not speak as though he was going to be back?
- Bernard SinghMike,
Unlike an unfortunately growing number of your callers, I’m not on the “Let’s trade Roy Halladay” bandwagon. I think it would be a very bad mistake to trade him unless the deal was such a doozey, you just couldn’t pass it up.
I know you don’t think we could get enough back to make the team better in his absence either. Hypothetically though: What do you think we could reasonably expect if we dealt the Doctor?
MW: Not enough.
- SiguyI was just at the game. Twice a fly ball went out to mid right field. Both times Eckstein and Rios went after it, and Eckstein slammed the brakes on quite a long way from the ball. The first time, the ball dropped in for a hit, and I was pretty sure that Eckstein could have made that play. The second time, Rios caught it. Has someone had a word with Eckstein about over-running in the wake of the Hill mess? Because he was nowhere near Rios and I don’t see how the two could have collided, but I’ve never seen an infielder stop short like that before.
Secondly, perhaps someone could tell Ricciardi that Richmond’s financial position before he made his couple of starts in the majors, is no one’s business but his, and does not need to be discussed on a radio show for all to hear. Another instance of Mr Diplomacy opening his big fat mouth without thinking first.
MW: First - I didn’t notice that from Eckstein. Second - I expect more from you, you’re just showing your complete and utter bias against everything that comes out of J.P.’s mouth. That’s a ridiculous statement you’re making. Everybody made such a big deal about the fact that Richmond was scraping barnacles off boats in a marina in B.C. for three years out of high school, and J.P.’s not allowed to mention it?
- reyesHi Mike,
I have an off the topic question about softball. I’ve been in Australia 16 years and have played organised baseball here, but have NEVER seen a softball game or heard of anyone playing in one. In Canada, softball is everywhere.
So how is it that Australia can beat Canada twice in the Olympics and get a medal every year? I’m baffled.
MW: Damn Sydney Olympics.
- Oz RobFor the record, and this is coming from a life-long Jays fan AND someone who’s followed the Marlins at every opportunity since their inception, AJ Burnett was, up until this year, a .500 pitcher with great stuff.
Also for the record, for most of the years he played in Florida, save for the World Series year, the Marlins were a pretty bad offensive team (not underacheivingly bad, but flat out bad), which would have a lot to do with AJ being not much better than .500 in his career after pitching 6 seasons in Miami.
To be fair, though, he’s had a few blow ups this year, too, which is something a guy with a solid make-up and great stuff (like a Roy Halladay or Jake Peavey) generally avoids more than once or twice in a season.
It’s just too bad he’s going to walk after the season (which he would be an idiot not to do after the contract the Mariners gave Carlos Silva last offseason). It’d be nice to have seen AJ put it together this well for more than half a season (consecutively, that is) in Toronto.
- ChrisMike,
When the Gentlemen called in and asked JP about taking a shot at Texeria in the off season, It seemed like JP was trying to say in a nice way that free agents aren’t exactly happy go lucky when it comes to Toronto. This totally contradics your philosohy that it’s all about the money when it comes to players. I personally think it’s about the baseball market in that city. Top list players love media attention. Baseball is not exactly at the top of the media agenda here in Toronto.
consider Toronto under JP lucky that they aquired Glaus and Burnett, signing them is one thing but JP has not been able to keep them happy. Thomas,Burnett,Rolland.
There was also a caller that mentioned that he would like to be reinbursed for the crapy inconsistant product on the field called the Toronto Blue Jays. You responded by giving the jays W-L record @ the Rogers Centre over the past couple of seasons.
The W-L record @ the Rogers Centre has nothing to do with the gentlemens disgust. The Jays tend to know how to take the sail out of their fans ship early on in seasons with slow starts, eventually leading to missed playoffs. If the Jays play .500 ball most of the way for two years, What does wins @ home have to do with anything, it’s all about overall play.
The sad thing, is that for the first few months of the season, you were letting the jays of the hook with their horrendous hitting, by saying it’s early. You must of had a way off perception that this was going to be the best hitting blue jay team in history and that their division would be the worst in the A.L.
Nothing new for you to look at things one sided, I mean JP sided.
MW: Reasonable, rational comments are always welcome.
- NeilMike,
Isn’t bringing up a specific player’s name at this point considered tampering (by GMs)? (i.e. asking if JP would be interested in going after Mark Teixeira). I realized that JP was not comfortable answering those questions tonight.
MW: A caller bringing up Teixeira’s name isn’t tampering, but obviously J.P. can’t answer a question like that.
- JaybirdMike, re the Elias catcher rankings (Post #57) — if I’m reading the parameters correctly, the list is showing Zaun as “having an option” (name in italics).
I wasn’t aware that there was an option involved with his contract. If true, what are the option details?
MW: It’s a vesting option, based on at-bats, that won’t vest.
- Norm#39. Here are a few reasons which makes me believe Bolt is clean.
1. He’s so confident before and after his races. Dancing, smiling and all. Cheats usually are opposite.
2. He just turned 22 and is 6′5″. So the legs are fresh and he’s physically blessed. Look at his long strides and leg speed. That’s evolution at work.
3. He recorded 9.72 and 19.76 not so long ago which means he was close to breaking the two records(his own and MJs). They get drug-tested all the time. Nothing came out positive.
So I think it’s only fair if we call him innocent until proven guilty and enjoy the records as fans. If he ever gets caught, then we can open the debate. Going by your theory, every athlete can be suspicious and if we’ve that frame of mind, then what’s the use of watching any sport. Doesn’t it take away the fun and excitement?
MW: It doesn’t take away the fun and excitement because the playing field is level. As to your points, Carl Lewis got drug-tested all the time, too, and Ben Johnson never failed a test until Seoul. None of Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi or Gary Sheffield ever failed a drug test, either.
- BeburgMike,
I’m honoured that you made reference today [on Toth’s show] about my comment re: Derek Jeter being the greatest leader/team player of all time. I still think he’s the greatest example of a team player. He’s never involved in controversy, has a clean image, works hard, produces, and has 4 world series rings to his name. Can Ken Huckaby or Alex Rodriguez make any of those claims? It’s not like the Yankees have won anything with Rodriguez there. And as for Ken Huckaby, well his only claim to fame is the play on Jeter, so in a way he should thank him or else he’d be unknown!
MW: It’s still ridiculous that Jeter should be considered the greatest leader/team player of all-time. Glad to head you dug the shout-out!
- BernardHey Mike
Just wondering what the Yanks are going to do with 2 star catchers (Pudge and Posada) next year when Posada returns. If the yanks try and get rid of them do you think theres any chance of signing one or putting together a package to recieve one of them.
MW: Rodriguez is a free agent after this season.
- James