VOTE FOR TOM CHEEK – DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST
1:20 AM Eastern
I’m not sure that’s more appropriate a title for this post because it’s the legal first name of tonight’s losing pitcher or because it’s a cool Batman sound effect that makes for a solid descriptor of the Blue Jays’ home run barrage of this evening.
No, I can’t believe that he legally changed his name to Boof, either. One thinks that legally changing his name to “Tool” or some such might have been more on-the-nose.
This is something that Jays fans could certainly get used to – down by four in the 5th and it’s NOT over? How terribly unusual! Home Runs to get back in a game and then another to take the lead? Didn’t know you could do that. Taking a starter off the hook after a poor outing? Surely you jest. And yet, as they say, all evidence to the contrary.
Alex Rios and Jose Bautista were the hitting stars tonight, each pounding out two singles, a double and a homer and driving in two. Their back-to-back jacks in the 5th got the Jays back to within a run so that Lyle Overbay could play hero the next inning with a two-run laser beam to right off of the much-maligned Boofinator.
Bautista, by the way, is proving to those fans of the fair-weather variety that sometimes things that look bad one week look really good the next. Take, for example, young Jose:
Aug. 22 – halfway through the Aug. 30 game: 0-for-14, 5 strikeouts.
Halfway through the Aug. 30 game – present: 7-for-10, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 3 runs scored, 4 RBIs.
In the overall, he’s now hitting .292/.280/1.091 – and you thought he was awful. That’s the thing about small sample sizes. The 0-for-14 was no more indicative of his abilities as a hitter as the 7-for-10 is.
The Blue Jays’ bullpen is incredible. Just thought that I’d point that out in case you weren’t aware. Four relievers combined to throw six innings of two-hit shutout tonight, with Jesse Carlson, Scott Downs and B.J. Ryan getting together to finish the game with four perfect innings. The Jays’ bullpen ERA is now a ridiculous 2.85 for the season. They have a WHIP of 1.22 and a K/BB ratio of 2.14:1. AS A COLLECTIVE. The next-lowest bullpen ERA in the A.L. is over a half-run higher!
These guys need to be appreciated, and when you look at the bullpen it’s more apparent than ever that J.P. Ricciardi needs to be fired. Why? Because Brandon League was a Gord Ash draft pick. Those other guys? B.J. Ryan – expensive free agent signee, Scott Downs – waiver claim, Jesse Carlson – minor-league free agent, Brian Tallet – trade for Bubbie Buzachero, Brian Wolfe – throw-in in trade for Corey Koskie, Jason Frasor – trade for Jayson Werth, John Parrish -minor-league free agent. And of course you can’t forget the injured – Jeremy Accardo – trade for Shea Hillenbrand, Casey Janssen – draft pick.
That’s a pretty cool way to put baseball’s best bullpen together. Shame the starting staff is only……….ooooh, also first in the majors in WHIP.
One thing I wanted to make sure to note, and I said it during the broadcast, was that I really love the way that Cito Gaston argues with an umpire. When Rios slid into third trying to advance on a Vernon Wells RBI single in the 3rd, he was tagged on the leg and called out by umpire Marty Foster. Replays showed that Rios was, in fact, out, but Cito thought the tag had been applied higher up on his body and that Rios had slid in safely.
Gaston came charging out of the dugout as fast as I’ve seen him do it in years, but he wasn’t sprinting like some managers would. When he got to Foster, he didn’t start yelling, didn’t turn his hat around to get in his face, didn’t storm about kicking dirt and making an idiot of himself. He didn’t even look as though he’d lost his temper. Instead, it looked as though he was almost SCOLDING the umpire. Not saying “I’m right, you’re wrong, you’re an idiot and you’re killing us”, but saying “I’m right, and you know I’m right, and you’d better shape up because you don’t want me out here again telling you how wrong you are.”
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I love this.
Shaun Marcum got scrummed before the game, since nobody got to talk to him before he left for Syracuse in the surprise demotion almost a week and a half ago. He said that the trip to Syracuse might have been just what he needed, and that Chiefs’ pitching coach Rick Langford, after seeing him throw one pitch, figured out that he was rushing and got him to slow down his delivery, almost like a Japanese pitcher, Marcum said, with a big pause at the top of the windup. Marcum wasn’t sure he’d use the modified delivery on Saturday, when he’ll resume his spot in the rotation (he’ll keep it for the rest of the year). He didn’t think that there were any attitude issues that needed to be resolved (though he did say the demotion was humbling), and he believes (and J.P. Ricciardi agreed after) that the rest of the season is an audition for him to secure a spot next year.
It’s amazing that a starting staff this good, with only one member likely not to return, will be in such disarray in the off-season. Ricciardi said that they’ve even thought about moving Downs in to the rotation next year.
Marcum also mentioned something strange. He said that when he was sent down, he “almost thought about going home” but he went down to Syracuse because he cared about his teammates too much to leave them like that. That was kind of cryptic, and I think it’ll be misinterpreted by most. I don’t believe Marcum ever actually thought about leaving the Jays, or quitting, or anything like that. I think saying that was just his way of expressing how disappointed and upset he was at the demotion.
Here’s tonight’s edition of The JaysTalk, for your listening pleasure:
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Remember, today and every day in the month of September, please vote for Tom Cheek and ONLY for Tom Cheek to be on the ballot for the Ford C. Frick Award to gain entry into the broadcasters’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It’ll make more of an impact on the voters if Tom alone gets the overwhelming majority of the votes. Just cut and paste the following link:
http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/awards/frick_2008/vote.jsp
It’s a bit of a pain to fill out all the info, but it only takes two minutes at the most, and Tom Cheek was certainly worth your time. Thank you.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome!
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Hi Mike,
We should never have traded Bubbie Buzachero. You have to hang on to names like that.
I like the idea of Downs starting. He did well a few years back spot starting for the last few months. Of course, this is assuming his role in the bullpen could be replaced.
I hope nobody minds, but I’d like to share a few Tom Cheek experiences here. If people aren’t into sentimental waffle, skip the post!:
1) I was at the game in 85 when we clinched against the Yanks and after running out of the bleachers onto the field with everyone else (and scooping up dirt from home plate and 2nd base in the process) we hung around afterwards outside Exhibition Stadium as no-one felt like leaving. Willie Upshaw and a very toasted Cliff Johnson came by and finally a beaming and champagne soaked Tom Cheek. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone smile so much. He was a deeply happy guy!
2) I took a year off backpacking around the world in 1992 (bad choice of years to do this) and a friend of mine sent me a tape cassete recording of an entire radio broadcast by Tom and Jerry (Mariners – Winfield home run to win the game – awesome). It felt so unbelievably good at the time to listen to Tom lying on a beach in northern Australia. Fortunately I kept the tapes.
3) When I finally figured out you could listen to games live on the internet in the late 90′s, hearing the voice of Tom Cheek after 6 years or so stopped me dead in my tracks as a wave of memories hit me like a hammer. It was as if my youth came back to me all at once. The familiarity and impact of his voice was so powerful, evocative and comforting.
4) During a summer visit to TO in 2003, I was driving from Ottawa on a perfect summer afternoon listening to Roy Halladay almost pitch a no hitter against Detroit (again). I just remember listening to Tom (and Jerry) and thinking how totally enjoyable the experience was and how much I missed it by living overseas. It was almost like a perfect moment.
It really hit me hard when Tom got sick and passed away. It still upsets me. Sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me that this affected me so much, but I don’t think I’m alone in feeling like this.
MW: You’re definitely not alone, and thanks for sharing your memories of Tom. Remember to vote every day. Unfortunately, for the sake of accuracy, I have to point out that Downs did NOT have a few good spot starts a couple of years ago. He made five starts in 2006 in which he managed to pitch a total of 15 1/3 innings. He was 1-1, 9.39 and allowed 37 baserunners in those 15 1/3 innings.
- Oz RobMike,
I sincerly hope they do not actually move Downs from the bullpen, I know they would get more innings out of him, but they’ve tried this before, and he just seems better suited as a reliever, don’t you think? Has there been a better reliever in baseball the last 2 years? He is so damn dependable, and I know the bullpen is deep, but it feels like if there is 1 guy who holds it together, it’s him.
MW: Downs has been terrific out of the bullpen, but the Jays would be better served with 180 quality innings from him than 80. The question is, how close to the same quality would he provide out of the rotation? So far, the answer over his career has been not close at all. But it’s probably worth a look.
- TerryHello Mike
It was interesting to read Marcum’s reaction when he was sent down to the minors. To me, it was not a demotion but rather a chance to work on his pitches and not hurt the major club. What is more interesting was that it was Rick Langford who discovered the problem with Marcum’s inconsistency. It shows you how fragile confidence of some major leaguer.
Two questions – Question 1 – There is talk about trading Ryan in the off-season. Why would you want to do that other than to save money or perhaps, getting a young fearsome bat?
Question 2 – there is a ritual that every baseball team do when defense come off the field after the third out. A ball is thrown by someone at the bench to the first baseman. What started that ritual and why is it done?
MW: It’s very tough to see Marcum’s demotion as anything but a demotion. That would be because it was, in fact, a demotion. Two answers: 1 – To free up money and improve elsewhere because the bullpen is still very, very strong without him. 2 – The ball is thrown by a coach to the first baseman so that he has a ball to throw around the infield at the beginning of the next defensive half-inning.
- francisWow. 4 left-handers combine to throw six innings of shutout baseball. What an incredible luxury for any MLB team to have that kind of resource upon which to draw.
And it’s not like they blew out the ‘pen to do it, either, with Downs, Ryan, League, Wolfe, and Frasor still available for tonight’s game…
Great fun. Downs in particular has been a pleasure to watch this year.
(Voted for Tom. Dislike all the personal info but it’s not like that stuff isn’t floating about in hundreds of other places…)
- James (from the 'Shwa)Have listened to the Tom & Gerry show since its inception.Great fan of both !
MW: It’s “Jerry”, actually.
- George Marshallhow do i VOTE ??
MW: Copy and paste the link in the post to which you’re commenting.
- George MarshallFor all you Tom Cheek voters out there, worried about having to fill in all your name, address etc details with every vote. I recall last year when I voted daily, the fields were filled in already. I’m waiting for the 24 hour window to pass so I can cast my 2nd vote later today.
I’m sure it must be something in my (Boof) browser settings that maintians the contents of the fields.
Perhaps some Internet guru can post the right clicks needed to preserve the fields so others can check theirs.
MW: If you don’t clear your cache, it offers to fill all the info in for you with the first letter/number.
- Ian CMike, I am not sure if you were being sarcastic or just a typo but you stated that JP needs to be fired because of his bullpen. He should keep his job because of what he has assembled. Great win last night. Its about time we hit some home runs.
MW: Sarcasm.
- DanHey Mike,
Great seeing Bautista coming around again last night. I was really hoping for the cycle but hey…
Q: Has anyone ever hit for the cycle in order(single,double,triple,home run)????
Have a good one dude,
O.
MW: Many players have hit for the cycle in order.
- OwenMike – nice Batman reference. I wonder if the Jays will face any pitchers named Biff…or CRA-AACK this year ?
Today is a day for optimism as our Jays are once again on the +6 threshold, and the hitting is coming around.
On this date last year the Rockies were 71-66 and had just started their 20-8 run to the Wild Card.
Yes I know – 90 wins won’t take the Wild Card in the East. There are many other obstacles and good teams in the way. I’m just sayin’ stranger things have happened.
MW: Stranger things have, but we’re getting to the point where not too many stranger things have happened.
- Ian CMike
as you so aptly point out the Jays pitching top to bottom is superb.
I sincerely hope that JP does everything in his poer to bring them all back. Talk of going after Ben Sheets is sort of rediculous. He is like AJ was in 06 and 07, cant stay healthy and he would cost probably about the same as AJ, so get AJ signed.
How can anyone in their right mind recommend trading BJ? He is now approaching full recovery from his surgery. The combination of Scott and BJ at the end will be nothing short of spectacular.
It seems all the Jays need to add is a power bat at DH. Thome??
I eagerly await your repsonse/critique
MW: First of all, Thome won’t be available. He only needs 58 more plate appearances to vest his option for next year, and it’s not like the White Sox are going to sit him when they’re neck and neck with the Twins in the Central. Getting A.J. signed is almost as ridiculous as going after Sheets. They’re the same guy, basically, but Sheets is younger and has had healthy seasons when he hasn’t been in a contract year, unlike Burnett. I don’t think the Jays will be in on either one, though. Many people in their right mind would recommend trading B.J. When a team is trying to get better it has to deal from areas of strength.
- Richard from ARHas anyone noticed that no longer are Lyle Overbay nor Alex Rios “leading the league” in GIDP?
In fact, with 20, Lyle is only tied 10th in the majors — trailing Vlad and Tejada who each have 26, as well as “big hitters” such as Derek Lee (25) Derek Jeter and Magglio (21 each), among others.
And by the way, the “esteemed” Jhonny Peralta is also worse than Lyle, at 24. (Do we really want a SS whose parents can’t spell his first name right?)
By the way #2 — Rios is at 18.
- NormHow many of the pitching staff are performing way above their heads (having a career year) and we should expect a bit of a regression to the mean?
Best defense and pitching in the league, should mean a whole lot more wins. Too bad the offence was bowling shoe ugly for the majority of the year.
I would feel a little better about the starting staff if Doc had a #2 behind him with soem experience. I saw that Ben Sheets is injured. How much will that affect his worth this coming offseason. The Jays just need to not get caught up in the inflationary market that the Yanks will create at 12:01 am when free agency starts.
MW: It’s not hockey. There’s no day when free agency starts at 12:01 am.
- Aaron KerWhy the change of heart about Sheets? You had previously mentioned that if JP were the GM he would certainly be after him. Last night’s post game you said he wouldn’t be in on him?
cheers,
MW: Sometimes one gets new information that leads one to change one’s opinion.
- ChrisI was watching my brother play a video game and looking at his stats, we noticed that his average was higher than his on base. I don’t know what exactly counts toward average that doesn’t count toward on base %. Can you tell me how this is possible?
MW: Sacrifice flies count against obp but not against batting average.
- CarlosMike I’ve been reading a few quotes here and there from JP about the plan for next year and its a bit puzzling to me.
JP has basically gone on record as saying the team isnt gonna do much in terms of free agency next year. He is seriously considering fixing the DH role from within with some sort of Snider/Lind/Bautista combo. I fully realize Snider has all the tools to one day be exactly what the Jays need. I just dont think it’s wise to go into a season, with the intent of winning, with that plan. It certainly would be the cheap way to go, but I just think it to be too big a risk. your thoughts?
as far as Rolen, watching his at bats last night it is clear that he still cant get around on the fastball, in fact he was hitting quite a few foul balls down the right field line and popping them up..two signs the ball was getting on him. Im hearing they’ve “changed his mechanics” and taken stress off his shoulder in so doing. They’ve also essentially reverted to what amounts to deep tissue massage and other new wave treatments to increase the range of motion. i see this all as denial. i just think that there’s a very real chance rolen as we know him might be done. even earlier in the year you will note a large percentage of rolen’s hits were on breakingballs..and once teams figured this out they pounded him with inside fastballs..i think one of the team’s top priorities should be to address the 3b situation in the offseason and that would not include bautista as a legit everyday plan. you state the inglett would be an option there but I dont recall him playing 3b this year..can he play 3b at this level?
MW: Inglett can play third in the bigs, and has done it in the past. I agree with you on the DH, and I don’t think the Jays will go into next season without a viable veteran bat in the position (Giambi? Ibanez? Manny?). As for Rolen, they’re a bit stuck. He’s under contract for another two seasons and they have to pay him $22 million. They believe he can be healthy, so they’re not likely to go out and spend big to replace him when they might not need to. He may be done, and if he needs another surgery he might just retire, which would at least help the Jays with their planning, if nothing else. Next year, if they have to go with Hill at second, McDonald at short and Bautista/Inglett at third it won’t be the end of the world.
- sammy jalalzaiAlso, do you think that Justin Morneau deserve the 2006 AL MVP award?
MW: Yep.
———————
Mike I just can’t believe you would say something like that, Derek Jeter was the obvious choice and I know he’s overrated but this was one instance he got screwed for playing in New York. Please Mike don’t let your hatred for Jeter stop you from saying who the most valuable player was in 2006.
MW: I think that Morneau deserved it. Jeter did have a great year, without question, but Morneau deserved the award.
- Doug BrownMike,
What was the point of pinch running for Lind in the 7th? Is Wilkerson that much of an upgrade in the feild that Lind should be taken out that early? I think Lind has been just fine in the feild, nothing spectacular but he makes the plays he has to make.
MW: Wilkerson is that much of a defensive upgrade. He was coming in for defense anyway, so why not take advantage of his better speed?
- DennyThe pitching and defense has been there pretty much all year. It’s really NICE to see the offense show up occasionally..
Let’s see now…Eckstein is gone and JP probably was pretty sure that it would happen. So he got Bautista. And he gave Lyle a day off at first, and then hit like a DH in this game.
In the short term, good moves by JP. City wasn’t using Eckstein, and he is using Bautista.
Steve (a charter member of the Vote for Tom club)
Steve
- SteveWHey Mike,
Nice to see the Jays prospects do good of late even though Purcey did nt have a good outing last night. You can sence that Purcey will be fine, wait intill he settles in! looking forward to that next year. Great game by Rios and nice to see Bautista hit one out for the good guys! He looks like he might be a steal because of his age, the future will tell that though. Defenetly has the power. Also looking forward to the off season to see what the Jays do far as free agents and if J.P. keeps his job or not! looks like he has done a good job in the farm system even though the results hav nt been there at the major leauge level.
Take Care!
- HardeepMike,
I seem to remember maybe a few weeks ago, you mentioned JP is very high on Ben Sheets and if he’s available you could see him going after him.
Lately, however, you have said repeatedly that you don’t think the Jays will be in on Sheets – when did this change in opinion come about and what was the reason for it?
Thanks.
MW: My opinion on the Jays’ potential pursuit of Sheets has changed because of new information I have been able to gather.
- ColeIf Bautista is intelligent enough, he’d know why he had such a great game…HE FINALLY SHAVED!
Mulliniks said something last night that I hadn’t heard before. He said when Rolen was really struggling with his left shoulder in early August, he thought his MLB career might be over. I don’t know how true is that. Did Rolen show concerns as serious as this?
MW: Not to me, but it’s not such a great leap. Rolen has mentioned that he doesn’t want to go through a 4th shoulder surgery.
- BeburgWhen I posted on the site yesterday saying that Bautista was a solid #2 hitter I was being sarcastic. It was fantastic that he had a great game, but you only have to look his lifetime OBP of .327 to realize that he shouldn’t be setting the table. I cannot understand why Lyle Overbay has never been seriously considered #2 this season.
I also believe that if the lead-off man gets on, it should be automatic that the #2 hitter be able to bunt the runner over to avoid the double play and let your #3 and #4 have a chance to drive him in. Especially at home!
MW: I think that Bautista could be a solid #2 hitter against lefties. To your second point, if you’re going to give a hitter the second-most plate appearances in a game, then he should be one of your better hitters, and not someone you want to see giving himself up to move a runner.
- Jim B“MW: The Blue Jays winning or losing doesn’t affect my sleep patterns, but I haven’t seen them lose year after year. This is looking like it’ll be their third winning season in a row.”
Big deal! How many times have they made the playoffs? You’re like a leaf fan in a jays fans clothing.
MW: Nah. The Leafs make the playoffs in seasons in which they have winning records – it’s hard not to in hockey.
- KDYou should also point out to everyone voting for Tom Cheek that you must fill out the second page with your info and submit that too for your vote to be counted.
At first I just thought that was optional and you just had to check Tom’s name and hit submit to vote, and I’m sure I’m not alone, so that might be a good reminder for everyone each time to make sure people’s good intentions don’t go to waste.
MW: Yeah, you do have to fill in all that extra stuff. It’s not optional.
- ColeJust heard Travis Snider on the bullpen I think. His maturity and cander actually blew me away. I know most young players say the right thing, but this was exceptional speaking for his age. Did you hear it ?
MW: I didn’t hear it, but would have liked to. Snider is a very mature kid – it’s just unfortunate that the circumstances of his young life have required that he grow up so quickly.
- Nicky Z.PS- Stop letting Josh from New Brunswick who thinks he’s frickin’ Peter Mansbridge on the show.
MW: That’s mean, but I kind of understand.
- Nicky Z.Hi Mike,
Some observations and questions regarding Ryan’s more frequent nervous ninths this year…
BJ’s 2008 WHIP is 1.265 while in 2006 it was 0.857 — a big change we have all noticed! However, with BAL from ’05-’03, his WHIP was 1.137, 1.138 & 1.371. Which is not so different from this year.
So my first question is why do you think BJ’s 2006 was so good? Was the TOR defence (or defense if you prefer!) that much better? The “park effect”?
And which number better reflects what you think we will see from BJ next year? Presumably, he should, be fully recovered by that time, which might help with his control which has been less consistent this year. Do you think the Jays can “sell” the 2006 BJ in terms of trade value in return?
Your thoughts? I’ll hang up and listen to your comments… ;-)
Vote Cheek: Early and Often!
MW: I don’t think the trade value will be great regardless, but I think that Ryan will likely be closer to his 2006 form next year as he gets farther and farther away from the surgery.
- CharlesMike,
I love the whole idea of trading BJ Ryan. Problem is, the market for $10 million closers is very very small and most teams that can pay a closer that kind of money already have one. The fact is small and mid market teams cannot afford to assign 10-20% of their payroll to a pitcher who at the very best is going to give you 80 innings a year. You’d think with JP’s 20+ years of experience we hear about every Wednesday (even though he doesn’t have to defend his job he tries to do it every single Wednesday) he would have learned this along the way.
Looking at the top 10 teams in terms of payroll the team with a real closer issue is the Tigers. The Mets have bullpen issues but still a pretty good closer in Wagner. Word out of Detroit has it that the Tigers could be looking at slashing as much as $30-40 million from their payroll next season but a lot of that is coming off the books with expiring contracts. So a deal with the Tigers would only work if you took a big contract back in return such as BJ + some young pitching for Ordonez.
The fact of the matter is that the BJ Ryan signing was just another shovel full of dirt out of the grave that Ricciardi has dug for himself. I can’t wait to tune in tonight to listen to Ricciardi not defend his job. Just like calling up Travis Snider 2 days before Sept 1 wasn’t a ploy to get his name in the news before all the other Sept 1 call ups were announced around baseball. JP Ricciardi is not stupid, he’s just not a good GM.
MW: Ryan and some young pitching for Ordonez wouldn’t be that bad.
- MattMike buddy,
Ive read a whole bunch of articles about Justin Jackson being the Jays top middle infield prospect… Is he being developed strictly as a 2bagger? Or is he getting some time at short?
Along the same lines of this, is Scott Campbell’s defense that lacking? He can sure tear the cover off the ball… Where do you see him next year?
ALSO!!!>>
Everyone on this blog vote for TOM CHEEK – FORD C FRICK!
http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/awards/frick_2008/vote.jsp
…and couple of my buddies were discussing your program/blog, we truly appreciate the work you do and the knowledge you spread. Thanks.
MW: Thanks! And thanks for another link to the Tom vote. Jackson is a shortstop, Campbell is probably the 2B in AAA next year.
- Andrew (Guelph)Hey Mike!!
Just a suggestion ,maybe you can pass it on to the rest of Tom Cheek’s fans. I made the voting site the “homepage” of my browser …so every time I open it the web page is there and I go vote!!
Thanks Mike!
MW: Excellent idea!
- homer samsonmike, i’ve heard alot of people on your call in show ask about moving aaron hill to shortstop. has everyone forgotten how bad he was the last time they did that? he made 10 errors in i think 39 games! which was almost exactly the same as russ adams that same season. it costs adams his career. hill is a fantastic second baseman and some people are just naturally better on one side of the diamond than the other. i believe this is the case for hill as the moment he started there you could see he was a natural at the spot. if they want to try someone other than johnny mac why not inglet maybe like scutaro he can handle any infield position.
MW: After making zero errors in 18 games at short in 2005, Hill made 12 errors in 63 games at short in 2006. Of course, that’s not a true indication of anything, really. He wasn’t awful there, and he’s a better fit at short than Inglett.
- darren in halifaxMike,
Tried twice to vote for Tom. Voting service won’t accept it. Stupid #@^$’n Hall of Fame.
MW: It won’t let me vote from home, for some reason. I vote from work. Good thing I work every day.
- Tom the InternMike,
I totally agree with you about Cito’s approach with the ump. I found it really classy and who knows, maybe even more effective. I’m sure the umps would much rather give a break to Cito in the future over a guy who trys to show them up with a circus act on the field. Just a quick question…Is it possible to have the online broadcast switch over from the PrimeTime replay back to live coverage once the Jays Talk is about to start? I understand the game is the online rights of MLB.com but I waited till 11:00 last night and as much as I like the Bobcat i really wanted the Jays Talk.
- IanHey Mike – tried to vote for Tom and couldn’t get it to submit properly. I tried two different internet browsers and neither would submit. Do you know if anyone else has had a problem?
MW: I have, as has Tom the Intern.
- Andrew SHey Mike,
So if you can’t repeat what Dave Berg said on the radio…can you print it here? Probably not…how about email to me?
MW: Sorry.
- Marlin LichtiHi Mike,
How easy is it to get an autograph from a player at the game? For example, if I go to the game today with my Morneau jersey sitting behind the visitor’s dugout, what are my chances like?
Thanks
MW: Probably not great, but you never know.
- FrankI agree with you 100% about Cito’s argument with the umpire. He talks with authority, calmly. In the past I remember many times when I’d hear fans talking on radio about his lack of passion– he’s not dispassionate, he’s just intelligent, and strong. That’s one of the reasons he has two world series rings.
- Richard Evans????
Thanks to Google.
In July of 1787, Lord Dorchester instructed John Collins to assist Sir John Johnson in the purchase of lands from the Mississauga Nation. On September 23, 1787, Sir John Johnson, on behalf of His Majesty, met with the Principal Chiefs of the Mississuga Nation at the Toronto Carrying Place (head of the Bay of Quinte). The subsequent treaty which followed this meeting was to later be termed the “Toronto Purchase”. The Mississauga Nation had purportedly surrendered the lands north of Lake Ontario.
???
MW: Interesting.
- Andrew SMichael,
As a dedicated reader of your blog I apologize for this non baseball techical question.
In voting for Tom they ask for a contact number.I give them my telephone number but this does not seem to be acceptable when submitting.
Any guidance would be sincerely appreciated.
MW: That’s strange. I don’t know why that would happen. This voting system seems fraught with bugs.
- shaibuWow. Downs in the rotation! I had thought about asking you a question about that possibility at some point, but thought again about how valuable he is in the pen.
He made a few spot starts in 06 and was the long man at that point if I remember.
If he pitches as well as he has in the past 2 years, I’d think he could be a legitimate #2 or 3 starter.
With the abundance of arms available in the pen, I would like this move.
How about you Mike?
MW: If he pitches as well as he has the last two years, he’d be an ace, but would he be able to pitch that well as a starter?
- ReneI read in the paper today that a couple of AAA teams including Syracuse are likely to be changing affiliation.
By my count there are 30 AAA teams in the I.L. and the P.C.L. which matches the 30 MLB teams. (I couldn’t find any mention of MLB teams having ties to Mexican League teams.) I assume there is a 1:1 matchup of teams. (?) So if one team wants to switch affiliation, does it not require a deal between all the MLB and AAA teams affected? Does this kind of thing run through head office or are the individual teams responsible for their farm team locations?
With apologies if I’m the Nth person to ask the question…
MW: A minor-league team wouldn’t end its affiliation unless it knew that it had another big-league team to bring in, and a major-league team wouldn’t end its affiliation unless it had a place to which to move. It happens all the time.
- James (from the 'Shwa)Mike,
I wondered after the back-to-back jacks when the last time the Jays did that, any idea?
When Cito came out, i got the impression that he was in part arguing for future calls, in part supporting Rios and in part arguing because he felt that a high tag should favour the runner. In this sense it was more an arguement about the methodology an ump should use than whether he was really safe or not.
MW: Except that it turned out it wasn’t a high tag. But I still think Cito was scolding. I can’t remember the last back to backs the Jays hit off the top of my head.
- JWHey Mike,
What’s the deal with the MLB tampering rule? I know that Pat Gillick got into some trouble when he became the Mariners GM, and made a call to John Olerud’s parents while Olerud was still a member of the Mets. So why doesn’t Hank Steinbrenner get his hands slapped for making comments like he did the other day about A.J. Burnett. “Everybody’s looking at [CC] Sabathia and [A.J.] Burnett, not just us,”. Since A.J. is still under contract for the next couple of years, wouldn’t this be the perfect example of tampering?
MW: It would if he’d actually said that he wants to sign him, but there’s no question the line is being straddled there.
- DmonWilner,
I’ve been gone for awhile and my post may be outdated, but I just listened to your archive of last week’s ‘Wednesday with JP’ and my first question is why didn’t you let that caller continue with his argument? I believe his name was Greg and he was making very lucid arguments against JP, but I guess that didn’t sit well with you so you let him go.
As I was looking at the standings today and if everything stays the same that would mean that the Rays and the Brewers would make the playoffs. If that happens, then that would mean for the past 7 years (ie. during J.P’s tenure) the only teams to not make the playoffs would be the following:
(1) Jays
(2) Orioles
(3) Royals
(4) Rangers
(5) Nationals
(6) Reds
(7) Pirates
That would put the Jays in the bottom 23% of the league. At the end of the day the ony result the fans are looking for is playoffs and unfortunately J.P’s teams have never been good enough.
I don’t think that J.P is warranted another year. This is not to say he’s been a horrible GM but he needed to be right 80% of the time and I think his record is closer to 55%. It is now time to give someone else a chance at running this team. I know you drink all of J.P’s koolaid (BTW, you may need to tone down your man crush of the guy), but he falls in love with his players too much and as a result won’t admit when it’s time to make a change. He’s got that George Dubya thing, where he thinks he’s always right and just wants the fans/media to ‘wait and see’ and he’ll prove them all wrong.
The thing is there is no evidence that will point to J.P making the right decisions at the right time on a consistent basis.
MW: It’s funny how some people argue that J.P. has no plan and can’t settle on a shortstop or third baseman, and signs players he doesn’t need and others argue that he’s reluctant to make changes. As to your first point, I let the caller go because he wasn’t talking to J.P., he was talking at him. It wasn’t a conversation, it was a lambasting.
- BobbyJust wondering what the all time record in modern baseball is for staff ERA and WHIP
MW: Good question. It’s WAY lower than the Jays’ this year.
- JamesHey Mike, what do you know about Bradley Emaus in Dunedin? Seems like he’s having a pretty solid year yet I’ve yet to hear word one about him.
MW: We talked about him in the comments a while back. I don’t know much – never seen him play.
- RonIV4TCT
For the rest of the month, before I go on and on about nothing here, I’ll be including that little thing at the top, to remind me that, before I type anything here, I should be able to say “I Voted 4 Tom Cheek Today”
I’ll be missing a lot of tonight’s Jays action due to slo-pitch playoffs, but should be able to catch the end of the game, and, of course, JaysTalk, with… mine truly? No, that just sounds wrong.
Great game last night, hoping for more of the same. Well, ok, not all the same…
- Dilly in Dundas (not the street)Mike, just why is it that you are so hyper-sensitve about the whole “Skydome/other stadium name” (I refuse to call it by any name other than the name I’ve grown up calling it) by correcting your callers/responses on here whenever someone calls it “Skydome” (there, did it again!). Does Ted Rogers lose out on any advertising revenue whenever someone calls the stadium Skydome (and again!) as opposed to the “R***** Centre”?
MW: Nope., but that’s the name of the stadium. I’m not hyper-sensitive about it, it’s just not called SkyDome anymore. I often refer to it as “The Dome”.
- ChrisFletcherHello Mike,
How about this trade.
Either Jeroloman or Arecibia and Brandon League for Lance Berkman.
Do you think this trade would be accepted by the Astros and be good for the Blue Jays.
MW: No and yes.
- vjPrior to Denard getting thrown out, Burnett’s SB rate was 72% for the season (and 74% for his career). Sam Cosentino and Jamie Campbell made it seem that this year’s 72% was an unduly high success rate. Thing is, the AL average is 73%. Presenting statistics without context is a serious pet peeve. These boys should know better.
MW: His SB rate for the last couple years has been pretty high, I think. I know last year’s was awful. So 72% is a significant improvement over last year, for sure, and likely the year before as well.
- Chuck VMike, what is Justin Morneau like as a person? Anything special about him?
MW: I’m a big fan.
- andrewMike, I’m voting for Tom Cheek in the Hall of Fame and I’m gonna ask my 30 classmates in my high school to vote too. Also, I wanna know your favourite Tom Cheek memory.
- andrewSo Burnett walks Casilla on 4 pitches to bring up Mauer, one of the best hitters in the game, with the bases loaded. Way to go, AJ.
Would it be possible to get him to opt out right now?
MW: The six previous shutout innings didn’t mean anything, I take it?
- JerryHi Mike,
Thanks for the Tom Cheek reminders. I’ve voted for him each day this week thus far and will continue to do so.
On another note, is Kevin Mench really the fastest man on the bench? At least he scored on the ball that ate up Punto
Watching Reyes get a “Bronx” cheer for intentionally walking Bautista was funny.
Enjoy the rest of the game! The Laurier Brantford group has great energy!
MW: They do. I can’t believe that Mench was the best choice to run there.
- Chris in the Village of IslingtonMike, I understand your opinion on A.J. optioning out of his contract. If the Jays are on the brink of being play-off contenders, why wouldn’t management sell him on being a vital part of the rotation,keep him and ADD another proven pitcher.Like a Pedro Martinez. I think this scenario would be more atractive to both A.J. and a proven big game pitcher this pitching staff needs. No offense to McGowan ,Litsch, Parrish or Purcey, but these guys are not going to push you into the play-offs and help you stay there.
It will drive me insane to see the Jays move Downs to the starting rotation. A proven reliable lefty out of the bullpen, who appears to be extreamly comfortable in that position. Please J.P. don’t fix what ain’t broken.
MW: When you have a deep bullpen and have a chance to get three times as many more reliable innings from a great pitcher, you take a look. As for your Burnett scenario, it’s certainly not going to be more attractive to him than the extra $50 million in guaranteed money he stands to make by opting out.
- daveSince Gaston took over we have seen League and Lind on a regular basis. These two guys are great and have been huge contributors. Did Gibbons have a problem with these guys?
MW: Lind certainly didn’t get much of a chance under Gibbons, but Gibbons is a big fan of his and had wanted him on the team even earlier than his original call-up. League was definitely not trusted by Gibbons at the beginning of the season, and when he came back a couple of weeks after Cito’s hire he had to earn regular work, and it took him a month of good work to do that.
- MikeGame 7 of the world series, you got a 1 run lead and you need 3 outs to win.
The following relivers are available: Cliff Polite, Aquilino Lopez, Juan Acevedo, Terry Adams and Jeff Tam.
Who ya goin’ with?
MW: Tough one. I’m going with Tam, since he was the closer on a championship team I had in the Fat Elvis League way back when. But why bring up all the poor relievers that J.P. has brought in (for a total cost of about $3 million, by the way, if that) when the Jays have the best bullpen in the game right now?
- Jay MoneyCan you give me reasons as to why you think Justin Morneau deserved the 2006 AL MVP Award because there were some people who disagreed with it?
MW: He had a great year, and the Twins started winning when he started hitting, in a nutshell.
- andrewWasn’t it ’05 when Downs made spot starts, not ’06? Or maybe it was both, but he was a lot better in 2005.
MW: In ’05, Downs made 13 starts, and wasn’t bad, it’s true. When you said “spot” starts, I automatically thought of the year where he just made a few spot starts. In 2005, Downs was 4-3, 4.30 as a starter, with 96 baserunners in 69 innings (1.39 WHIP) and 60 strikeouts.
- AndyOh, I wasn’t trying to take a shot at JP at all…just thought it was a kind of a fun question. Did you have fun answering it?
MW: I did.
- Jay MoneyJust so you know the Jays are currently 10th in the AL in OBP. Now it is very obvious that they are simply a bad offensive team that not only struggles with RISP. As well, I am shocked that you think Overbay is an adequate offensive player. He is incompetent at driving in runs. He is the only player on the team that has struggled the past two seasons. Its time to upgrade. the position. Lastly, Ricciardi is full of crap if he thinks the blue jays wont spend much money this offseason. They better spend money if they want to get better. According to you, they have $30 mil to spend. That should be enough to get a DH and and #3 starter.
MW: Should be more than enough for that. Overbay is, in fact, an adequate offensive player – better than adequate, actually.
- aviWho do you think is the better Canadian baseball player: Justin Morneau or Jason Bay?
MW: Bay has a better overall game in that he’s a terrific defensive outfielder and a very, very good base stealer, but Morneau is just an offensive monster.
- andrewHey Mike,
Any chance you will release a Jays podcast or something portable friendly? I want to be able to take this show anywhere.
Thanks.
MW: It doesn’t seem to be in the works.
- AndrewTravis Snider is the best Blue Jay ever!
Predie win tonight for the Jays…
- ZackHey Mike,
Just wanted to point it out for those who may be having trouble voting for Tom Cheek; there is a little box under the phone number info that should be unchecked if the phone number is not a mobile phone number. I think this might be a reason for some people not being able to vote.
MW: Cool, thanks. And use Internet Explorer – there seem to be issues with Firefox, at least on occasion.
- WesleySorry to repost about the tampering issue that I brought up earlier (44). But since A.J. Burnett isn’t actually a free agent until he opts out of his contract, he is technically under contract until 2010. Isn’t this a roundabout way of swaying A.J. Burnett to opt out of his contract? I understand that it is a given that he will opt out, but with the added incentive of knowing that everyone including the Yankees are looking at him it makes it hard for the Blue Jays to try and renegotiate something while he is still under their control.
MW: Yes. I hadn’t thought about it that way initially, but saying that everyone wants him is another way of saying that there’s a big, giant pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if he opts out.
- DmonWhen you all vote for Tom Cheek- you can vote for up to3 people- Don Chevrier adn Jerry Howarth are also on the list for a Jays connection. Also Buck Martinez.
MW: You can obviously vote for whoever you want, but my idea is to make Tom Cheek the overwhelming winner of the fan balloting, and that won’t happen if you vote for others as well. The others you mention are/were excellent broadcasters as well, but Tom Cheek belongs in the Hall of Fame.
- BobbyMike,
In the recent weeks there have been several reports released in the media jays related that have made me think there is a possible payroll cut coming from Rogers in 09. JP has suddenlly decided that he wants to fill all the various holes on this team from within. Snider is being auditioned for a starting role at age 21 for 09 with Lind filling the DH spot (most likely). Not long ago JP said mac’s bat would never be good enough for the bulk of time at short. Now he states, I believe in the star article, that he’s fine with a combo of mac and scutaro next year at ss. Also (as noted above)Downs name has now come up as a potential AJ replacement in the rotation and finally your comments regarding the jays no longer going after Sheets due to new info you have recieved. Am I just being paranoid or is there possibly a pay roll cut coming next year?
If there is a payroll cut coming would now be the time to trade Doc, while you could maximize his return?
MW: You’re just being paranoid. There’s no reason to believe that a payroll cut is coming. For clarity’s sake, J.P. said he’d be fine with Scoot/Mac at short next year IF he wasn’t able to upgrade the position in the off-season.
- ClintMW: What don’t I like about Joe Inglett? And I like Barajas, I just don’t like how much he gets out. I don’t know how much attention I should pay to your complaint, because you’re not nice at all and don’t seem to be worth my time, but tell me at least when I said it.
I dont care whether you think I am nice but at least I tell the truth. gee it’s funny how when someone tells the truth and says you made a mistake, then they are not nice. Isn’t that what you said you were all about, the truth? so then you should pay attention to my complaint. when you say something on the air for all the listeners to hear that is not factual well then that is not the truth, it is slanderous. and I dont need to tell you when you said it, just play the audio link, but you wont do that because you really don’t want to admit you made a mistake. you said the jays need to upgrade at catcher because barajas slug was only .391. and you called inglett a below avg hitter and then you said he was a worse hitter than hill, not sure what stats that is based on.
MW: You actually do need to tell me, because there’s an audio link attached to nearly every single post on this blog. The truth is that you don’t want to tell me when I said it, because I’ll listen and post exactly what I said, which will have been right. Also, let me add that there’s NO WAY I would have given a guy’s slugging percentage alone as the reason that the team needs to upgrade a position.
- chubbyHi Mike,
Yeah, I was referring to Downs starts in 2005…but it doesn’t matter.
I just don’t understand where all this talk about trading BJ Ryan is coming from. I haven’t really seen anything coming from within the Blue Jays about this, nor the Toronto media. Is it purely fan driven?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. BJ has done alright and the set up guys have done even better.
MW: It’s partially fan-driven, partially me-driven, I guess. I think it’s a good idea. You have to deal from strength to improve areas of weakness.
- Oz Rob“I’m right, and you know I’m right, and you’d better shape up because you don’t want me out here again telling you how wrong you are.”
MW: If you’re so right (and great job using a quote of mine, by the way), then why are you afraid to let me check it?
- chubbyI have voted 6 times for Tom and intend to do so as many times as I can. There is a small caveat such that voting is only permitted once every 24 hours, not once per calendar day. Since there are 4 computers in my house (don’t ask!), I was able to add more votes from different family members.
MW: Good family teamwork!
- TerryMike – Downs actually did have a few good spot starts in 2005. I was at a game where he beat Bonderman 2-1, pitching into the eighth, and I know he beat the Yanks in the Bronx late in the year. I think there were others that year too, but I can’t remember specifics.
MW: Those weren’t spot starts, though. He was in the rotation the last two months of the season.
- Mark McDonaldAh – fair enough.
MW: Huh?
- Mark McDonald