12:15 AM Eastern
OK, so I’ve been down in Florida since Friday night and haven’t posted anything on the blog yet. Sorry about that, but it’s been quite the whirlwind. There’s nothing like having four months off and then being thrown into the fire immediately.
I got to the park on Saturday morning figuring I’d have my regular pre- and post-game responsibilities with the broadcast and maybe get to do a little extra colour since Alan Ashby was away for his daughter’s wedding, so I did all the pre-game prep, waited around the clubhouse for an hour to try to get Vernon Wells for the pre-game show (he said he “might” be able to do it, but couldn’t - or didn’t) before landing Aaron Hill, and then went up to the booth to get ready for the game. We were discussing how the pre-game would go, and I asked Jerry what he wanted from me in the broadcast. He said, “Oh. You’re going to do the 3rd, 4th and 7th.”
Now, I’m not someone who is stunned into silence all that often, but that did it rather nicely, thank you. I had been doing some play-by-play on our webcasts in the past, but never on the over-the-air games. It was a fantastic gesture on Jerry’s part to allow me some play-by-play time, and I’m very grateful. The feedback here on the ol’ blogaroo has been mostly positive, about which I’m very happy. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you’ll enjoy our coverage of the World Baseball Classic next week.
As far as the games themselves, Roy Halladay and Jesse Litsch looked terrific, B.J. Ryan and Ken Takahashi looked awful, and Travis Snider, Jason Lane and Hill stuck out for me with the bats. Snider showed again, like he did in September, that he’s comfortable hitting with two strikes, and that he hits the ball HARD. Lane threw down a couple of singles on Saturday after homering in consecutive games, and kept hitting this afternoon in Port Charlotte with a deep fly out and a hard line single. He also made a really nice grab up against the wall on what I thought was going to be a three-run homer by Pat Burrell, but wound up being just a sacrifice fly. With Hill, it was just seeing him on the field looking like his old self again. The ground single in the first on Saturday was the swing I remember from a guy who hit .291 in each of his last two healthy seasons.
Now that I think about it, Brian Jeroloman really stung the ball today as well. He lined out twice, hard - once to right and once to a leaping Evan Longoria, who turned it into a double play, before singling in his third at-bat.
The stories of Ryan and Takahashi were similar, but the upshots are completely different. Ryan is going to be fine, and we may never see Takahashi again. B.J. just couldn’t find the plate on Saturday, facing six hitters and allowing two doubles and three walks. He seemed to be 3-0, 3-1 on everybody, but a guy like that knows what he has to accomplish down here and has all spring to get it done. Let’s just hope that he’s still working out the kinks if he gets called on to pitch against Canada on Saturday (or next Tuesday, as the case may be). Takahashi got smacked all over the yard in his inning and two-thirds today before mercifully leaving after turning his right ankle fielding a bunt. He looked completely overmatched, totally out of his league.
I’m really enjoying getting the chance to see some of the young guys we’ve been talking about for the last little while, as well as watching Adam Loewen re-learn being a position player. He certainly didn’t look out of place in right field, and he looks like a hitter at the plate, but in the games I’ve seen he’s 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. That, of course, means nothing. I’m not going to see much of the Jays the next few days because Team Canada reports for duty Monday afternoon and I’ll be switching gears to go cover them until they’re done at the WBC. That’ll include tomorrow’s workout, as well as games against the Jays, Phillies and Yankees before they and I head north Thursday evening.
A couple of things to mention before I go, first baseballically:
-There was mass confusion this morning when Cito surprised us in his pre-game chat by saying that he didn’t see Casey Janssen starting the year in the rotation and that he was considering using Jeremy Accardo as a starter. The latter stunned us more than the former, and every other source that I and every other reporter spoke to said there was no chance Accardo would be starting. Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg also said that he planned to have Janssen ready to throw 100 pitches by the end of Spring Training. I had thought that Cito simply confused Janssen and Accardo with each other, since neither of them pitched for him last season and they often get mentioned together, but he insists that wasn’t the case. Still, Accardo won’t be starting. He could be stretched out, though. Cito talked a lot about the fact that the inexperience of the rotation means that the Jays will need some relievers who can go three or four innings at a time. If he doesn’t make the rotation, Janssen could be that guy. So could Accardo or Brian Tallet, and the Jays may be looking at Brandon League as a two-inning guy, someone to take care of the 6th and 7th to get the ball to Scott Downs in the 8th.
-There has been a lot of talk about the Jeff Blair story regarding the Jays trying to work a sign-and-trade with the White Sox for free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera. If the Jays were to simply sign him, they’d forfeit their first-rounder in June and the Sox would get a sandwich pick as well, so I said on The JaysTalk today that the Jays would have to give the White Sox a package of comparable value to those two picks. After giving it some more thought, though, it occurs to me that they probably wouldn’t, because if no one signs Cabrera (and no one is close right now), the Sox get nothing. Cabrera would be an improvement at short over Marco Scutaro, but he’s no panacea, and at 34 isn’t a guy who’s going to be around all that long. I wouldn’t deal one of the top relievers for him (Downs, Carlson, League, Accardo, Janssen), but that may be the asking price. I didn’t include Ryan on that list because I doubt the Sox would want him in such a deal.
-Non-baseballically, Florida continues to never cease to amaze me. I’m staying in a rented townhouse with fine journalist Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press, and we went exploring around the neighbourhood last night. I wanted to find some reading material, and after failing to find a bookstore (why would anyone want to go to a bookstore?) we wound up at the magazine rack of a nearby 7-11. I couldn’t find anything better than a “Details”, and went to buy it with a travellers’ cheque but the cashier couldn’t find a pen. She tore up the front, rummaged through the office, nothing. She found a toothbrush, but no pen. Her second-in-command decided he would go look for one in his truck. No dice. I asked if they had any pens for sale, nope. Finally, about ten minutes in, after much cursing and taking her lord’s name in vain, she found one. Then she had to try to figure out how to put the cheque through. Ahhhh, Florida.
Also, one of the 73 strip malls within a two-mile radius of our place is a big one, equipped with a Publix supermarket and a few nice little restaurants. It also has a small cupcake shop, about a visit to which I have been fighting hard with my inner fat guy. So far, I’m winning, but maybe not for long. Regardless, the shop is called “Cupcake cupcakes”. Sigh.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome, as is constructive feedback on the weekend’s play-by-play work (note: telling me I suck is not constructive)!
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Hey Mike. Hope you are not unwell…Just a couple things. First off, im tired of hearing all this crap from jays “fans” about trading Halladay because he “deserves to play on a winning team.” We have the best pitcher in the league and if he did not want to play here then believe me, he would not be playing here. Secondly, as far as Aaron Hill goes, if he has a productive spring and looks to be back to his form of 2007 would you put him in the number 2 spot in the lineup to start the season? I think he was born to hit there. Thanks Mike, and good luck with your gig at the WBC…
MW: I think Hill eventually becomes a two-hole hitter, and it probably happens this year. I’d still like a little more on-base up there, though.
- Trevor BHey Mike,
Heard a bit of the game today, good to hear baseball back on the radio again. Any chance that The JaysTalk being posted on the blerg?
Congrats on the WBC gig by the way.
MW: I don’t think we’ll be able to get that JaysTalk up, just kind of forgot to put the wheels in motion. But the rest of them will be!
- WesHey Mike,
I really enjoyed your play-by-play this weekend! One small critisism, though, was that you seemed to say ‘line drive’ a lot instead of saying ‘fly ball’ at all. Were there no fly balls? Other than that, it was excellent to listen to. Good luck with the WBC, I’ll be listening from work, like always.
I was wondering if you knew what the Fan was going to do when the Jays and Raptors play at the same time once the regular season starts in April? Which game is going to be on the Fan 590 and which one will be moved up or down the dial?
I know it’s still more than a month away, but I was just wondering if you had an idea of what was happening.
MW: I don’t know whether the Raptors or the Jays will take precedence when there are conflicts. It may have to do with the Raps’ position in the playoff race at the time, but maybe not. As far as the criticism, thanks - I’ll keep an eye out for that. I do remember saying “lazy fly ball” at least once, though. But I try to keep it real, trajectorially.
- Justin from ArdtreaWhat kind of scribbler travels without a pen and then blames the poor sods at Seven Eleven for being inconvenienced? For that matter, who the heck uses traveler’s cheques these days? Mike, they have these new things called credit cards (and they even accept them at Seven Eleven).
Seriously though, are there any hints that Rogers may grant any more money for J.P. to spend on the ‘09 campaign?
MW: I’m not a scribbler, I’m a broadcaster, and I’m not paying an extra 3% on everything I buy in order to use a credit card. On ‘09? Nope.
- Cleveland MarkGood morning Mike, hope you’re well. I listened to the last bit of the game of Saturday, and all of Sunday’s game, and I thought you did quite a good job. Your enthusiasm and happiness at being baseballically employed (see what I did there?) came through loud and clear. You were bang on with your play by play, I could easily visualize what was happening on the field. Sounds like Longoria is in great fielding shape already. I found there were some moments of silence which would have been nice if they were filled with some more information about the players or the game, but I suspect that is hard to do in spring training when so many of the players are virtually unknown and have no stats yet. Still, it was great to hear your voice, and of course, for me the moment that brings great happiniess as a signal that baseball is back, Gerry’s voice. Good work.
I do have one question though. While Gerry was talking to the assistant GM some of the comments made me think that Takahashi’s signing was not so much about Takahashi himself as about signing a player, any player, from Japan to announce that the Jays are now actively looking and are interested in Japanese players. Do you think that is the case and if so, is that a good move? Personally, I think it is, because broadening your interest to any available talent pool can be good, but what do you think? Thanks.
MW: I definitely think that Takahashi’s signing was more about opening up the Pacific Rim than about the player himself.
- kitaMike,
Congradulations on the play-by-play…your call on Crawford’s triple really stood out!! I have a question about the pitching. Why has Cito said the lefties are safe - specifically, why Tallett over Janssen, Accardo or Fraser? Thanks Mike.
MW: Cito likes the jobs that all four lefties did for him last year. Honestly, I would think that Tallet would be in competition for a spot, too, but not according to the skipper.
- SandyMike,
I enjoyed your play-by-play work - nice job.
One question: why are you messing around with travelers cheques? Especially in the USA? You can take out money virtually everywhere or use credit…
MW: I don’t want to pay the extra charges for using an ATM or a credit card.
- Kieran RoyMike,
Suprisingly enjoyable play-by-play on the weekend. Although, I still felt you were more of an ‘anaylst’ persay but you were still good.
Question though:
Do you honestly believe Jesse Litsch can be a legit #2 pitcher? He was the best in the AL in the last part of last year and is someeone to be excited about?
MW: Litsch was the best what in the AL in the last part of last year? Thanks for the back-handed compliment.
- Eric BMr. Wilner, I have been extremely impressed with Jason Lane this spring. If he continues to hit like this, will he make the team out of spring training? I’m also looking forward to seeing more of Adam Loewen. I believe he’s the real deal and I’m looking forward to seeing him in a few years…
MW: You’re going to have to wait at least a couple of years to see Loewen in the bigs, but I’m having a good time watching him, too. I don’t think Lane has a chance to make the team unless someone gets hurt.
- LoganHi Mike,
I know its only very early in the Spring, but I can’t help but worry about BJ Ryan. last season, I watched him closely and it was clear that he wasn’t letting loose with his pitches. he was clearly holding back as his delivery was not the same as in past seasons. He has been shaky so far this spring. I wonder if he is still holding back? Its probably to early and you may think I’m a total idiot, but if BJ does not rebound, do you agree that Brandon league would be ready to move into that role? Again, I know I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but its just a thought. Please don’t lower the boom on me LOL
MW: First of all, you have to remember that the Jays’ coaches, trainers and front office staff have been watching Ryan even closer than you have. If there was something physically wrong with him that he wasn’t able to work through, he wouldn’t be out there. Sure there’s a chance that he’s hurt, but there’s an equal, if not greater chance that it’s just the beginning of March and he’s trying to work his way into game shape on the mound. I do think, though, that guys like League (who struggled today), Accardo (who got destroyed today), Downs, Carlson and Janssen are all capable of stepping in and closing if need be.
- Iani heard u on the radio on saturday. great work1 looking forward to the game on saturday. going with my almost 3 year old. anything i should be aware of for pre or post game festivities inside or outside the skydome?
MW: Nothing of which I’m aware.
- karim kanjiGood job on the play-by-play on the weekend, Mike. I look forward to your work on the WBC broadcasts. I must say that on Saturday especially, Mr. Howarth was in fine comic form - I love it when he gets those puns and one-liners in there - some of them more subtle than others.
And although the Jays aren’t supposed to compete on paper, I’m quite looking forward to seeing what they can do this season. As Denny Crane once said, “Hope springs a kernel.”
- RobYou Suck…. just kidding but who do you think will be in the SR after Halladay.
MW: I think it’ll break as Litsch, Purcey, Clement and one of Janssen, Cecil or Richmond.
- SadamHi Mike
I tuned in late and heard you on Sunday in the middle of an inning. You were so smooth that I just thought that Ashby had a cold. Good work!
MW: Thanks, I think.
- Mike BHi Mike,
Heard your Play-by-play, sounds good!
my question today is this: Who is this Jason Lane, where did he come from, is he a prospect? can we expect more of this from him in the near future?
MW: Asked and answered, see above (somewhere).
- Scotty DMike, good work on the play-by-play…can tell that it is spring training for the broadcasters as well.
Do you think Cito takes into consideration what went on before he arrived? No one in their right mind could think that Accardo belongs in the starting 5. Its almost an embarrassing notion to think that a manager would think that? Has Cito lost is marbles in the offseason or what?
MW: Cito hasn’t lost his marbles, I’m sure it was an honest mistake. Thanks for the backhanded compliment!
- Brett VMike. I have a question about 2 guys. Adam Loewen and Jason Lane. What’s their chances of breaking camp with the club. Another question: how will Canada’s batting order look for the USA game Saturday?
Peter, St.Catharines
MW: Neither Loewen nor Lane will make the team. Loewen probably won’t play in the bigs again until 2011. We don’t know what the batting order will be yet, but indications are the top 6 will be Barnwell-Martin-Votto-Morneau-Bay-Stairs, so it probably finishes up with Teahen-Weglarz-Orr.
- PeterSounds like the jays are seriously discussing matt bush as a rotation man…ugh..gotta love the reclamation projects..I hear Goose Gossage could still throw a mean slider
MW: What’s Bush, though, 30 years younger?
- jpEsquire is a great read, Mike, much better than Details.
MW: I couldn’t agree with you more, but nobody had it.
- Johnny WasHi Mike,
Have you got anything on Matt Bush? I hear this guy could be the real deal.
MW: They love the arm, but the guy hasn’t even pitched double digit innings as a pro.
- marcMike,
I sympathize, but who uses travellers cheques these days?
My TD bank card works just fine in any machine throughout Europe, so why wouldn’t you just use one in the States?
MW: Because I don’t want to get dinged every time I use it.
- GregJPMike,
Congrats on getting to be on the big stage next week. I like Canada to feel the home-loving (even though I’m sure many Americans will be there) and get the W.
Back to the Jays- I have no problems with JP the person, but the facts are that to compete in our division we need to do more with less (ala the Twins, A’s, Rays of recent). We need to get the absolute best out of each player. We need to build a young, solid foundation of youth through our farm system. We need to carefully spend our money on key free agents.
JP has failed on all accounts, and I see no reason why he hasn’t been let go. For the past few years we have underachieved at an incredible rate. We have certainly not been frugal with money but we have blown it on guys like Frank Thomas, BJ Ryan (who spends that type of money on a closer who is only marginally better than any replacement?), and Vernon Wells recently. Of course nobody is perfect in the draft but don’t you cringe everytime Tiny Tim takes the mound or Troy Tulowitzki makes an impossible throw look routine? Look at some precedent- Leafs, Raps (until everything imploded) changed GM’s and everything turned around. I am tired of watching a poor team fighting for 3rd/4th place year in and year out with no prospect of october baseball.
I would like to hear your comments.
Thanks
MW: It’s REALLY unfair of you to blame J.P. for not getting Tim Lincecum when he was drafted four picks BEFORE the Jays took Travis Snider. That aside, I find it very difficult to say that the guy who has put together the best pitching in baseball over the past two years - including the best staff in the AL in the last 20 years in ‘08 - along with arguably the best defense, has failed miserably.
- EliMike…Loved the Jumbo Video story..Lived south of your place of work at Bathurst and Eglinton for the first nine months after our marriage, right beside the big synagogue (it’s name escapes me) and my wife being Jewish, she introduced me to all the fine delicatessens in the area and a whole new diet, since my mom’s from England and fish and chips is big time….. The wife used to call me “wonder bread and mayonaise” somewhat mockingly…..Miss all that good food within walking distance after moving to Etobicoke and finally Brampton, where its more fast food. Oh well after dreaming of good rye bread and pickled herring, its back to baseball…Mike, this indefinite tag on Johan Santana’s injury, is it panic time in N.Y.?
MW: It’s never panic time.
- chris m.Good job Mike on the PlaybyPlay!
You are one step closer to taking over Jaime Campbells spot on the tv broadcasts.
MW: I don’t know about that.
- DaveMichael of the Ballyard:
Do you know how it came to be that Canada got a WBC series, and if that’s likely to ever happen again anytime soon?
One thing you baseball journalists can say that none of the people who bash ya’ll, rightly (Griffin’s case) or wrongly (mostly yours), can is that you get paid to watch baseball in Florida for the better part of a month. But you should be fishing instead of looking for bookstores — we have enough of those here.
MW: Fishing? Not me.
- JCLListened to the game Sunday, you were a natural, great work.
Cabrera signs with Oakland. I think Jays fans should be happy, Cito would’ve hit him leadoff and his career OBP is in the .320’s.
MW: Thank you, and I agree (with the second thing you said).
- Mike MToday I pitched 1.1 ip and gave up 6 walks.
JP took me 6th overall in the 2005 draft, passing up the real talent in the draft once again.
Time for the JPfans, few and far between as they now are, to try to blame Cito.
MW: Yeah, the first-year player draft is such an exact science. No GM ever makes a mistake with a top six pick. And of course, Romero is all of 24 years old now, so he’s legitimately a huge bust.
- Ricky RomeroIs there a possibility that Shawn Camp might be streched out and given a go at the rotation, or not?
MW: He hasn’t been mentioned among the (seemingly) dozens of candidates, so I’ll say not.
- JeffMike,
Good work on the broadcasts. I listened to both games and there were only a couple times that I noticed any dead air. Did you find you were nervous, or how do you think you did? Did you give any consideration to asking or requesting Tom Valcke join you at the WBC? Have you ever been to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame?
MW: I wasn’t nervous, just really excited. It’s not up to me to decide who takes part in the broadcasts and no, I have never been to the Canadian Baseball HOF, but I’m looking forward to going sometime - hopefully soon!
- DJJAYThe best staff in the AL in the last 20 years? Mike, I love you, but sometimes you sound more like an employee than an analyst.
Better than the Yankees in the late 1990s? Better than the Red Sox in 2004? Better than the White Sox in 2005? Geez, I think most baseball people would even rather have Oakland’s staff in 2003 — Zito, Muldur, Hudson, Lilly, Harden — with Foulke closing and Rincoln-Bradford in set-up roles.
Don’t get me wrong, J.P. did a very good job patching together a staff last year. And, up until this winter, he deserves credit for being able to sign coveted players (Glaus, Ryan, AJ, Thomas). With his temperment, he’d be an excellent college basketball recruiter.
After his first few seasons in the wilderness, he’s also done a better job recruiting in the last couple of years. Witness the emergence of Snider and (here’s hoping)Brett Cecil.
Still,there is no explaining
the Jays inactivity this past winter. Historically, the best architects in team sports (Sam Pollock, Red Auerbach, Buzzie Bavasi) have always tinkered with a winning line-up, ensuring the team remains focussed and hungry.
And those were GMs of teams that won championships. Toronto finished in fourth place last year. And all we’ve done over a fall-winter that saw us lose more than half the starters you were bragging about, is sign up a couple of pitchers (Maroth-Clement) with buzzards circling over their arms.
It’s not smart baseball. Nor is it smart economics. The Jays aren’t the Leafs. Outside the NHL, Toronto sports fans have to be romanced more than a little before they fall in love.
This team ain’t going to get it done, I’m afraid. If they win more than 75 games I’ll eat David Wells’ shorts.
MW: You can’t compare J.P. to those greats, for obvious reasons, but the decision to cut payroll wasn’t his. As far as those other pitching staffs you mention, none of them had an ERA lower than the Jays’ 3.49 this past season. They were also the first team to lead the league in both starters’ and relievers’ ERA since the 1967 White Sox or some such. I’ll try to get Wells to send you a pair of his shorts in September, because that’s a bet you’re going to lose.
- stevejust wondering: what would you have picked-up had you been able to find a half-decent bookstore?
you sounded great this weekend btw.
MW: Thanks! I was looking for an Esquire, and I found one, as well as the Bill James Handbook.
- andrewHey Mike. Don’t forget to stop at that big Target store in clearwater. Canada only has walmart. I have a question. I was looking at the scorecard for the game on feb 28th vs ATL and it read (BS)<<<blown save next to Ryan’s name but he came in for the 3rd inning. How is it possible to get a blown save in the 3rd inning? Is it just because he is a closer?
MW: No, it’s because it’s spring training, and starters can get wins no matter how short their outings. That Super Target is a fine place, it’s true, but it’s too far away from where I’m staying this year.
- Matt from BCHey Mike,
I just finished reading MoneyBall and there was some stuff in there about JP. It said when the Jays signed JP he was going to use the moneyball idea and build the team like Billy Beane does, and in the first year he cut the pay role and we did a liitle better but then he goes out and signs BJ Ryan which is really stupid. The moneyball idea with a closer is take a no nome guy have him close get some saves then let him leave when his stats are good then repeat the process. Now JP has put together the best pitching staff but after reading Moneyball there is no way that JP has been trying to build the team like Beane.
MW: Ricciardi didn’t cut the payroll, ownership did. He hasn’t tried to build the team like Beane, but he’s done a lot of similar things. Still, there’s no hard and set fast of “Moneyball” rules, other than exploit inefficiencies in the market.
- PaulHi Mike,
so looking forward to baseball! I was just wondering, I haven’t heard Brian Wolfe’s name come up at all as a potential starter, or for that matter for anything. Is he still with the Jays? What is his status? I know in the past the Jays sent him down to stretch him out.
Go Jays Go!
MW: He’s still here, but not being considered for a rotation spot. He’s one of the righties competing for a spot or two in the bullpen, and isn’t likely to make it because of the numbers game.
- Gary WHilarious! Not your play-by-play (which I enjoyed), but your responses on this blog are great! I’m with you on the stupidity of paying ATM fees and credit card service charges - burning money!
On the Jays tip, I’m wondering if you know of anything that Scott Rolen might have done in the off season to try and minimize his time on the DL? (I mean did he try something new as opposed to doing the same thing and hoping for a different result.)
MW: He dropped his hands in August of last year to take pressure off his shoulder when he hits, and his September was tremendous.
- VavaMike - I liked what I heard on the weekend and am looking forward to the WBC coverage. I have a suggetion for your consideration. A phrase you may want to use. I’ve been missing this for many years since it was something many Tom Cheek fans will recall.
Usually late in a game when the Jays were down a run with the heart of the order coming up, Tom would typically remind us what we needed was “a bloop, and a blast”. I loved that expression. Maybe it’s because the WAMCO Jays tended to deliver.
Anyway it is something I have not heard in years. So consider it an “homage” to Tom if you are wondering whether to use it. Know at least this die-hard listener would be smiling.
- RezMW: and I’m not paying an extra 3% on everything I buy in order to use a credit card.
I thought “travellers cheques” had a fee. If you got them for free you have a good deal with your bank.
MW: I guess my bank likes me. What’s with the quotation marks?
- KenThis team ain’t going to get it done, I’m afraid. If they win more than 75 games I’ll eat David Wells’ shorts.
MW: I’ll try to get Wells to send you a pair of his shorts in September, because that’s a bet you’re going to lose.
- steve
Anybody who is really that confident that the Jays will win more than 75 games can make a lot of money by betting on the futures line at most casinos. The Jays are listed between 74 and 75. Even money bets.
CHONES predicted AL Wins:
American
East
Yankees 97
Red Sox 96
Rays 89
Blue Jays 75
Oriles 74
MW: Didn’t you say the CHONE had them at 80 wins or so last week?
- Ken