7:00 PM Eastern
Good news - Roy Halladay and Aaron Hill have been elected to the American League All-Star team and will be off to St. Louis next week; Adam Lind has a shot to go as well, on the ballot for the Final Vote.
Bad news - Marco Scutaro and Scott Rolen weren’t rewarded for their spectacular first halves but then, with the Jays in fourth place and barely hanging onto the good side of .500, you can’t really make the case for four of five of them getting invites.
Good news - The Jays rallied from a 4-0 deficit to take an 8-4 lead on the Yankees in the 4th inning, with some big two-out hits from Raul Chavez, Scutaro and Hill.
Bad news - The Jays managed only one hit after that five-run 4th and let a big lead slip away. Also, it appears as though B.J. Ryan has reached the point where he can’t get anyone out.
Good news - Ricky Romero gets the start tomorrow afternoon as the Jays look to avoid the sweep, and he takes a 20-inning scoreless streak into his first-ever start in New York.
Bad news - Andy Pettitte takes the mound for the Yankees in opposition tomorrow, and his 18 wins against the Jays are the most he’s had against any opponent save the Baltimore Orioles.
Good news - Scott Rolen got another hit! The Caveman is now on a 22-game hit streak, the longest of his career.
Bad news - B.J. Ryan seemingly can’t get anyone out anymore (it’s really making an impression, ok?).
Good news - Here’s this afternoon’s edition of The JaysTalk, for your listening pleasure:
Bad news - It’s The JaysTalk! There is no bad news with regards to The JaysTalk!
Good news - Starting tomorrow, Monday the 6th, the Fan590 will be carrying a daily, one-hour program dedicated solely to the discussion of the greatest game there is - Baseball Today will be on Monday through Friday at noon Eastern and (for the time being, at least), be hosted by yours truly. It’s still kind of open as to what kind of show it will be. I’m going to want audience interaction. I’m going to want discussion of not only the goings-on in Blue Jay land, but across the landscape of MLB. I’m going to want to have the audience learn about newer metrics to measure and predict performance. I’m going to see if I can get a Blue Jay or two to pop by in studio (when they’re at home, of course) to chat and take phone calls. All kinds of things. Tomorrow’s premiere edition will be a phone-in show, because I’m going to want to hear from you, the listeners, about what you want from a daily hour-long baseball show.
Bad news - Adding more work to my ever-growing plate means taking some work off of it as well. I’ll be contributing less to the ol’ blogaroo while I’m hosting Baseball Today. Whether that means posting less, answering fewer comments or not answering comments at all for a while, I’m not sure. We’ll have to see how things go.
Softball update - Playing catch-up here, I have two games on which to update those who are interested, both wins. In the first game, I went 3-for-5 with a three-run triple and a pair of singles (I think I scored three runs). In the second game, a measly 1-for-4 with an infield single.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome!
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GREAT NEWS MIKE!
Main question - will you be posting the Baseball Daily show here every night?
MW: I hadn’t had any plans to, but I’ll see what I can do.
- Renegadegee only 2 bad contracts! I didnt realize you were allowed 2 bad contracts every year that accounted for 40% of your payroll! it is clearly time to get rid of JP. this charade has gone on way too long and it isnt funny anymore.
MW: How’s that math work?
- jasonWhat site I could listen to your new program in the US?I used to get FAN590 independant of MLB.com while I was in Upstate NY.Now I can get it only on MLB.com and it gets cut off after the game is over.
MW: You have to come here, to fan590.com. Or listen when I post it on the blog every night.
- abdur R.JalalzaiHi Mike,
I think you should be dropped to the 6 hole because of that 1-4 in softball ha ha! (just kidding)
Well, It is safe to say that there really is no place for BJ Ryan. He can’t get big league hitters out right now so I guess its mop up duty for him for the rest of the season. It is too dangerous to use him even in the 6th inning. I think he needs work but in the minors. That is the best place for him to work things out (if he ever will). However, I doubt he would agree to a demotion. Otherwise, I think you have to bury him on that bullpen. He is like a batting practice machine right now.
MW: It’s all true.
- Ian from WhitbyNow that the Jays hopes of a wild card are pretty much nil, why not bring Snider up and let him succeed or fail. (Assuming he’s healthy)
MW: I think they will bring him up once he hits his stride in Vegas. He’s only been back for a couple of days.
- dave_12Hi Mike
After the Jays started the year 27-13, since then they are 15-28, which is probably the worst in the AL (glad the Nats are in the NL!). Can’t really blame them a whole lot though, what is it 7 pitchers on the DL? Where do they go from here - stay the course? Get a new pitching coach? Wait till next year? They are probably out of contention from playing meaningful baseball this Aug-Sep once again. Then they will likely not renew JP, and then we get a new GM to start rebuilding all over again.
MW: They actually started 27-14 (26-14, then they won) and are 15-27 since. I don’t think they need a new pitching coach - they led the league in pitching in ‘07 and ‘08 - nor do I think that if a new GM comes in, it’ll be a big rebuild. This team is in good shape for the next few years.
- LeeYou missed some additional bad news: Cecil was pretty unimpressive today. Way too many walks. Very frustrating. Also, is he supposed to have a plus fastball? It doesn’t look like a real out pitch for him.
MW: Yeah, it doesn’t, does it? I’m thinking that’s part of the wetting-the-feet process.
- bgGood news about the baseball show. We’ve needed something like that for a long time.
Richmond to the DL, whatever. I think my arm’s getting a little sore just being a fan. This simply can’t only be bad luck.
MW: Sure it can.
- Flaming MoeHey Mike,
Was David Purcey an option when Richmond went on the DL? Mills had two starts in the majors and got crushed both starts. Purcey has been down in AAA for a while, when will he get a chance to get back to the majors?
Thanks Mike…
MW: When he learns to throw strikes, or so we’re told. He’s scheduled to pitch tonight in Vegas, so he wasn’t really an option, I’m guessing.
- tom stewartHi Mike,
- Jayis it possible for you to post “baseball today show”
on your blog?
Hey Mike,
Great interview with JP. I found the discussion on trading Wells and Rios for “whatever [JP] can get” quite insightful. His comment on Rolen’s performance this year compared to last is a particularly useful way to look at both Rios and Wells, - Rios is still Captain Potential and Wells is only a year removed from a very productive though injury shortened season in 08 - one that many commenters on this blog might do well to regard.
In response to your comment on my last post, I did not mean to suggest that JP had anything to do with the recent (and persistent) bad luck of the club. I was merely using JP as a metonym for the team, which, upon retrospect, was fairly unclear.
Can’t wait for the new hour long show, though I must admit that I’ll miss your usual bloggage.
- BrandenHey Mike. For some reason I wansn’t able to get the Jaystalk on the internet stream after the game. It was a replay of the pre-game show when it sould have been the Jaystalk. I listened after you posted it on the blog though.
MW: Something weird happened with the stream at the beginning of The JaysTalk yesterday. I’m told it was because of the length of the game.
- Matt from BCHi Mike,
Wow ! That’s awesome. Congratulations on the new program. It’s about time there was a daily show just for baseball. I know you will do a great job and I will be listening for sure. It will be disappointing if you cut back the bloggage, but I know there isn’t always enough hours in the day for everything you want/need to get done.
Good luck !
MW: Thanks!
- kimGood news: The Jays are done with the Yankees after Monday.
Bad News: The Jays will probably be back at .500 in the near future
Good News: B.J. Ryan is the highest-paid mopup man in major league history, called upon in the fourth inning to get some key outs.
Bad News: Not sure how Dominic Denucci is even an upgrade over Bautista or Millar. Chances are, those guys would have brought in a runner from third with one out and might have got a hit so far in the series.
Good News: At least Denucci seems to be an upgrade over Shannon Stewart and Barry Bonnell, but not so sure about Hinske, Catalanotto or Junior Felix.
Bad News: with six starters on the DL (Marcum, McGowan, Litsch, Janssen, Richmond, Bobby Ray), what is certain about the Blue Jays’ pitching staff in 2010?
MW: Who is Dominic Denucci?
- Ken PaganGonna miss the intensity of your blog responses… and I guess I should call my local station and as them to pick up our show instead of the oddly out of season ‘Leafs Lunch’ we get in London.
Otherwise, Cecil’s control issues notwithstanding, where has his inside fastball gone? He hit three guys in his first start, right? Didn’t see a lot of leaning out over the plate for a couple of games after that did we? Now he looks like he’s being too fine. And refresh me on why Hayhurst gets two batters and Camp gets 3-4 innings… is Dirk not stretched out for more than an inning, ’cause given Ryan or Dirk, I’d be content with more Dirk.
MW: I’d be content with more Dirk, too. I had thought he was as stretched out as Camp is, but he’s had a lot more success in shorter outings.
- Greg WMW: And yet, that may be what has to happen, given the financial situation here.
Mike, what has to happen here is they have to get bums in seats. If they don’t do that they are finished no matter what, and Rogers loses a fairly sizable investment.
MW: Ticket revenues are actually up year over year.
- isabella reyesAt this point, if you were the Jays, would you consider designating B.J. for assignment, knowing that you’d have to eat his contract for next year? Or do you think he can turn it around?
MW: It’s a very, very tough call. At this point, I wouldn’t release Ryan. I’d wait until August and see if someone was dumb enough to pick him up on waivers.
- Mike MHey Mike,
From a non-blue jay perspective, who do you think deserves to go to the All-star game by the final vote? I think it’s between Adam Lind and Ian Kinsler. Lind has been a key offensive player in the blue jays line up and if the all star game was on an AL field he definately would have been voted in at the DH spot. Kinsler and Hill i think are neck and neck on second base- both doing well offensively and defensively (with the advantage to Hill for average, stolen bases for Kinsler)- its a darn shame that Pedroia was voted in because he plays for a popular team. Also, I don’t think any other 3rd baseman deserves to be in the final vote if its not Rolen since he has been a human highlight reel… and his 22 game hitting streak ain’t too shabby either.
p.s. I hope Halladay’s non-doc performance yesterday won’t hurt his chances to start the all-star game
p.s.s. Do you think B.J. Ryan has any confidence in himself whatsoever anymore? I don’t think anyone else does. Quickly, one more thing -> who’s more overpaid? Ryan or Wells? I say Ryan since even though Wells isn’t outstanding offensively this year, he’s coming around and his defense is always solid
MW: It’s a tough call between Kinsler and Lind because Kinsler is also a gold-glove calibre defender. But Carlos Pena is leading the league in home runs, so the case could be made for him even though he’s not hitting for average at all. I think Ryan still has a lot of confidence in himself - whether or not he should is an entirely different argument. There’s no question that Ryan is doing far less to earn his contract than Wells.
- ajWell, Mike, this is great news. Can’t wait to hear you talk ball daily, and as much as I enjoy Hockey Central, do we really need to hear hockey speculation (cause that’s all there is in the summer) every day in the off-season? God love The Deacon, but his blood pressure suffers when he has to fill in for Millard during the summer.
- Dave MI suppose this doesn’t respond specifically to the above, but I am a frustrated long-time Jays fan and have something to say. It seems to me that the Jays are not producing position players through the draft and their farm system. It seems to me that since the draft of 1999, the Jays have only had two position players who have become regulars (Hill and Lind) and none from the drafts since 2004. A succession of cast-offs from other teams have been brought in, supposedly to give Jays farmhands time to mature, but it seems no one is ready yet. To me this speaks to either poor drafting or poor player development or both. Sure, the Jays have had injuries and Wells and Rios are not producing, but the cupboard on the farm is bare as far as position players are concerned. If I am wrong, why aren’t they bringing up some position players from AAA to give them a chance to get some experience and develop at the major league level? Given the Jays limits on how much they can spend, having a strong farm system is all the more important. JP was supposed to be building a strong farm system and has had plenty of time to do that. I believe it was last year that Baseball America ranked the Jays farms sytem as just about the worst of all the major leaague teams. I understand that due to injuries some young pitchers have had to be brought up before being ready for the major leagues (except Romero, it appears). How can it be said that JP has done a good job and deserves to keep his job? In the past, I have felt that you have been an apologist for JP. Your comments please?
MW: I happen to think that it’s a lot tougher to develop great pitching than it is to develop great position players, and there’s no question that under Ricciardi the Jays’ pipeline of young pitching is among the best there is. Keeping them healthy has been another issue, though. You’re right, though, that they haven’t developed enough position players - Hill, Lind and Snider are really the only ones, and they’ve had a really hard time coming up with young, controllable good catchers and shortstops.
- BlairBad news — the Jays are toast
I thought they would still be contending at the all star break. Mathmatically they’re not out of it but realistically they are. Both the hitting and pitching lineups look the worse for wear right now. Unfortunately that means they won’t be trading for any help this month. They’ll have to struggle along with who they have. Not fun.
MW: Funny, isn’t it? When they’re 27-14 there is “no reason they can’t make the playoffs”, and then they go 15-27 and they’re “toast”.
- JCSeems to me the Jays should have been able to call up a pitcher for the last 2 Yankee games before they bring up Mills Tuesday. I see teams do this all the time to get an extra arm in the pen. I would think the simple move would have been to activate Downs.
BTW, when’s he back?
I hope your kidding about “newer metrics” in your new show. My advice would be to get media guys on from other towns so we get to hear what’s going on around baseball.
Are you also kidding me with a softball update? Play hardball and man up Mr. Wilner.
MW: I wish I could, but I can’t find a baseball league for old guys like me with the right kind of timing so that I can actually play. Downs would have been activated if he was ready, he’s obviously not. Last I heard he was still at least a couple of days away. If they had called someone up just for the two days between Richmond’s start Sunday and Tuesday’s Rzepczynski start in Tampa, then they’d have had to leave that guy down for 10 days before he could be recalled again. Or, if he wasn’t on the 40-man, risk losing him to waivers.
- Shawn in Caledon1) I agree with you it looks like Ryan is done. What possible options do the Jays have in dealing with Ryan. If they release him like they did last year with Thomas would they still be on the hook for the full 10M of his contract. I don’t believe he would accept a stint in the Minors to try and work it out and I am doubtful that it woould help anyhow.
2) After seeing Cecil pitch a few starts, I’m not sure what makes him stand out that makes people think he is going to be really good. In fact I was more impressed with Mills and his ability to create swings and misses and therefore strikeouts. If he can keep the ball down I I think he will be successful.
MW: 1 - Yes, they’d be on the hook for the whole $10 million next year, his contract is guaranteed. The best option is to wait until August and hope someone is dumb enough to claim him on recallable waivers. 2 - We haven’t seen enough of what makes Cecil stand out yet.
- Steve from NJThe term would be sunk cost.
That is, whether or not you keep BJ or release him, the money that you owe him cannot be recouped. This is a fact.
What can be recouped is a roster spot and BJ can be flipped for a reliever who has a chance at getting some big league hitters out with some degree of regularity.
To say that the jays will keep ryan because of the amount of money he makes leads me to believe that this concept of sunk costs is not fully understood by Jays brass. I dont quite understand that. Its Micahel Lewis 101.
By keeping BJ around you only double his negative impact on your organization..perhaps triple it.
the money he is owed is immutable.
the roster spot he eats up is a factor that can be remedied.
but by keeping him on it you essentially doulbed his negative contribution.
since he is on the roster, there will be times when he ACTUALLY has to participate….now he has hurt you in a third way.
to believe that he will somehow turn it around, at his age…with the amount of time he has been out from surgery, is seriously placing a bet on a long, long shot.
getting rid of frank thomas took some foresight but that move was made easier by real money being recouped.
this will be a decision that will tell us all alot about this organizations sagacity.
MW: You’re right, the money being spent on Ryan is indeed a sunk cost. I don’t agree that the chance of his turning it around is as long a shot as you do. How is the amount of time he was out with his Tommy John surgery relevant? He had a decent year post-surgery last season. And he’s only 33.
- General ZodB. J. has to be released immediately! If you can’t use the guy unless the game is a laugher (even though Cito for some reason brought him into a 1 run lead), what is the point? He takes up a valuable roster spot and weakens the maneuverability of the pen.
And Dave Dellucci is showing why Cleveland released him. Why hasn’t JP given Randy Ruiz a shot as DH, his numbers are great. Yes, he is a right-handed bat and the Jays’ need a left-handed bat more.. but until Snider is ready, Ruiz has to be better option than Dellucci. Lind is more than adequate in left field until Snider is ready.
MW: I’d love to see them give Ruiz a shot.
- Kelly PfeifferHey Mike,
Glad to hear you’re getting another show! Any chance of posting it on the blog or elsewhere on the website for those of us baseball heads who can’t always listen at noon?
My one suggestion for your new show is that every day you could have a short historical sequence… either something specific like “on this day in baseball history” or else less date dependent where you hi-light one of the countless amazing stories, stats, facts or anecdotes from the 100 plus years of this incredible game!
Also, I know you’re taking on more work but I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping that you keep up on the blog. I know I don’t post every day but I certainly read every day. There are a lot of people in this town (myself included) who really appreciate what you’re doing for baseball in Toronto. Please keep it up!
Anyway, all the best with Baseball Today. I’ll definitely be listening every chance I get.
- SiguyMike, first off I would like to start this completely positive coment with a very strong ABOUT TIME we had a show to listen to or watch that is dedicated to the greatest game and in mine and Im sure alot of other peoples opinion there could not be a better person hosting the show. My second coment is a big congrats to Doc and Aaron on being selected as All Stars, I have a feeling that these 2 will be getting more acknowledgement in the post-season awards as well (Doc with the Cy Young and Hill with comeback player of the year). I will be voting for Lind for the final spot as should anyone that follows this team. The VOTE FOR LIND campaign is officially on.
- Chrismike, if you want to get an idea of what life would be like without roy halladay, only take a look at the indians. last year with cliff lee going 22-3 the indians finished .500, but this year now that lee has come back to earth the indians are 17 below. take halladay of the jays and you have truly a horrible team
MW: The Jays played .500 while Halladay was on the DL with four of his rotation-mates.
- manuelMike,
I’m worried that Roy isn’t going to start the All-Star game for the AL. Obviously, he deserves it and I thought he was a virtual shoe-in for so long this season, but today I learned Tim Wakefield has never gone to an All-Star game in 17 years in the bigs. He has the same amount of wins as Roy this year, has the popularity of playing for the Red Sox (wouldn’t FOX love an All-Star matchup featuring Boston’s Wakefield vs. New York’s Johan Santana?), and Joe Maddon’s Rays have seen the Red Sox and subsequently Wakefield more this year than Halladay. I hope Maddon does the right thing and starts Halladay, but he may give Wakefield the sympathy vote….
- Ryan from Hamilton
MW: Why would that be something that would worry you? It would be great if Halladay got the all-star start, but it’s not the end of the world if he doesn’t.
- RyanIt’s too bad Scoot didn’t make the All-Star team (Rolen, too), as I was a convert. But, his poor hitting in the past couple of weeks has dropped his BA down 20ish points. That won’t get you in, when other SS are hitting .300
If Scutaro returns to his old ways of getting on, I wonder who could become an effective leadoff hitter for the Jays?
MW: Overbay!
- Romemike, remember when mark mcguires home run ball sold for 2 million. I thought to myself, what a complete waste of money. the ball looks just like any other ball so it cant have any value. I wonder what that ball is worth today? I would guess 100 bucks.
MW: Maybe not even that much.
- manuelHello Mike
Following your blog format for today
Good news - I love the idea of Baseball Today
Bad news - The show is at noon during a workday - I can’t listen to the radio that time
A great interview with Ferguson Jenkins by the way. A very interesting philosophy about his approach on pitching - pitching to contact, you have able people playing behind you, let them catch the ball - and it makes sense.
Mike, why do you think that some pitchers nibble so much at the plate, or is it because they simply have no control of their pitches? I see pitchers get ahead with two strikes and then, instead of finishing the hitter off, they start nibbling at the plate and end up walking them?
Francis
MW: I think the biggest problem for pitchers is that so many of them don’t simply trust their stuff. They give far too much credit to the hitters and so they try to be too fine, and that gets them in trouble.
- francisHi, Mike:
A Headsup to any of your posters who may not realize it — it appears there is no limit to the number of votes that can be cast “per e-mail address” for the final A/S position.
I have already voted 75 to 80 times for Adam Lind, and the form keeps coming back for me. So the number of votes he gets is limited only by the amount of time we want to put into the voting process.
On another subject, your last caller today asked you to compare Hill with Pedroia. At first, your response was a bit confusing, as you said “there’s no argument that Pedroia is having a better year than Hill” — I almost fell off the chair, but then you went on to clarify that you were really saying “there’s no argment (to be made)…, and cited the stats where Hill is better (most of them). So in the end, it is clear that you are picking Aaron over Dustin, and I agree!
Take that, Mr. “Reality/check”!
Finally, a quick question. Any word yet on who gets called up to start Tuesday?
MW: Yep, it’ll be Marc Rzepczynski.
- NormMike,
What a frustrating series loss. A few comments.
Why did Cito bring Cecil out to start the 4th after throwing approx. 100 pitches? He wasn’t exactly sharp in this game.
Why is Dellucci playing instead of Bautista/Inglett/Adams/Bautista/Millar/Gaston? He looked absolutely terrible at the plate (out on 3 balls multiple times) was the only Jay without a hit (he has decent speed- is advancing the runner by bunt asking too much?) and left 4 on base.
And yes, BJ Ryan. Is he injured? Is he giving 100% effort? Hard to say. When the Beej works it’s like watching an alcoholic drive a flaming Hummer through a gas station. Why not DFA Ryan and bring up/sign a strike-thrower who can eat a few innings? Someone like Aceves maybe…..
MW: Aceves is kind of under contract to the Yankees. Cecil came out for the 4th because he had pitched an effective 3rd and the Jays have used the bullpen a whole lot lately. Dellucci is playing because they’re giving him a shot. Millar/Inglett/Adams have been tried and not done the job, and there’s only one Bautista.
- AdamHi Mike,
Congratulations to you and the Fan 590, long overdue as to a baseball show during baseball season. You will do a fantastic job - as per usual.
Rick Jones - As to your comment directed at me - I picked a number out the hat just to see if anyone actually noticed it and to get some to tone it down as to the current Jays team! However having said that, there are dozens of teams who have gone over 20 years without a pennant! My point was to let the few Jays bashers out there realize you can’t win it all every year - and there are some who never have!
Keep up the good work you do Mike - take care.
Thank you.
- Bob from BurlingtonHey Mike
I love the idea of you hosting a daily baseball show. My advice and I know you mentioned this is to really include all of the baseball teams in the discussions. The Jays are my team and the homer team, but they already have the Jays Talk slot. I know callers will mostly keep it about our jays, but I would love if you called players and hall of famers from other teams. I know the show will rock!!!! Thanks for the hard work you put into the blog and Jays Talk, love em both :)
- Brian NelsonHey Mike,
There is all this talk of the Yankees fixing their right field wall so as to push it back to make it a deeper power alley.
But what i think Mike, is that they did this on purpose. They built a park to benefit their heavily left handed batting lineup. And two of their three natural righties A-rod and Jeter, at least for this series have seemed to frequently hit the ball the other way in order to take advantage of their terrible architecture.
They say they want to keep it the same so that everyone can take advantage of the power alley until they correct it next year, when what i think is why would they want to make any changes.
What we need Mike is some switch hitters, because boy have the yankees benefitted a lot from switch hitters.
Anyways i think Ricky will salvage one win today, even though when he does give up runs its usually via the long ball so i hope he keeps the ball down.
Cheers,
MW: If the Yankees did do this on purpose, there’s not a thing wrong with that.
- paolohey mike, any updates on scott richmond?
MW: He has biceps tendinitis in his right arm.
- JaimeMike is it just me or am I imagining things but it looked like on the throw home by Hill yesterday that Chavez tagged the runner with his glove but he had the ball in his bare hand?
MW: That’s exactly what happened.
- mike glattMike, please explain how an organization does not have a true left fielder (supposedly the easiest of the outfield positions)they can call up to fill in. It’s sad when the best you can do is call up 2 converted infielders who have never been full time major leaguers and sign some other guy off the scrap heap. What is with this farm system?
MW: They have a left fielder, Adam Lind can play out there. So can Buck Coats if they want to give him a shot, and Randy Ruiz could come up and be the DH.
- MarvinHello Mr. Wilner
Why wouldn’t the Jays brass send Ryan down so he can get some regular work. Not sure it will help but it can’t hurt. I don’t care about his Ego or how much he makes, he doesn’t deserve to be with the big club now so why not send him down to see if he can improve with regular work. If not, then you have to throw up your arms and say, bad signing and we eat the 10 million next year. At least he won’t be hurting the big club and loosing games.
MW: There’s only one “o” in the word “losing”. They can’t send Ryan down without his permission since he has over five years of big-league service.
- KenMid 80s fastball with little command does not an out make
MW: I’m assuming you’re referring to Ryan.
- AndrewI am just trying to find positives for Wells and Rios. Wells, when on-base has done his best to help the team by stealing bases to move up into scoring position. Both Wells and Rios has done a pretty good job with the glove. Now, compare their stats to Marco Scutaro:
Scutaro 333(AB) 94(H) 25(2B) 6(HR) .381/.417/.282
Rios 332(AB) 88(H) 20(2B) 9(HR) .321/.419/.265
Wells 334(AB) 84(H) 22(2B) 8(HR) .304/.401/.251
Rios and Wells are off of Scutaro’s hit mark by only 6 and 10 respectively. Scutaro is hitting .282 and all three have the same number of at bats. These guys have hit alot of hard line drives that could have dropped for a hit or something. All three hitters are on pace to hit over 40 doubles and Rios has never hit over 24 homers in his career, he is on pace to hit 18 this year (2nd highest in career).
I know Wells and Rios should not be compared to Scutaro, who has been a utility/bench player throughout his career. But I just wanted to point out they are a few hits away from hitting over .280.
MW: Yes, they are, but Scutaro is leading the league in walks, and that makes for a very big difference indeed.
- ShakeelHey Mike!
Congrats on the new show! Or maybe not depending on whether you want the extra work or not. I will miss your blogs. Hope to listen in and participate.
Is there no way to have comments automatically show on your blog? Or hire a summer temp to go through them for Rational, reasonable comments!
Best wishes.
kk
- karim kanjiHi Mike, why in the world would Riccardi be bring up that disaster Brad Mills again. Why not give a chance to someone else ?
MW: Mills isn’t coming up, Rzepcyznski is, but way to show your understanding of the game by writing a guy off after two starts.
- Mike UMike,
I’m looking for you to cheer me up today!
I have had the same, low level, aspiration for the Blue Jays for several years now. Give me some meaningful end of season baseball. I’m not even asking for playoffs. Just give me some games that matter in August at least! The start of this season it looked like it might be possible. Injuries, and the inevitable coming down from our early tear are quickly slamming the door shut on my hopes.
Please, Mike. Cheer me up.
MW: Sorry. It might not happen. But you do know that they’re not an awful team, they’re not going to spend the rest of the season winning barely a third of their games.
- NeilReally excited about “Baseball Today”. While I’m at work and not able to call in, I’ll be listening online every day.
I’d like to throw some ideas at you for possible segments;
a) Minor League Report - (maybe once a week with focus on the Jays organization, but overall coverage of minors)
b) College Baseball - (Division 1. Profile some school programs and coaches players etc. )
c) Canadian University Baseball (runs for maybe 2 months late Aug-Oct, not full programs, but maybe updates on how the teams are doing etc)
d) Trade Deadline Show
e) Canadian Player Tracking (So many CAN players now. Who are they? What organizations are they with? How are they doing?)
f) Baseball Book Review (Tons of good baseball books out there…maybe get an author on to promote a new one, or older ones)
g) Promote the Cape Cod League. (Not sure how to turn that into a show, but just feel any baseball fan should get there to see how cool it is)
- Ryan McCallenMike,
Congrats on the new gig!!!
If the Jays are going to have $50 mil tied up with Wells, Rios and Ryan next year, this team isn’t going to be able to do anything significant. Scuataro is having a career year, so a drop off needs to be expected. Rolen is over 30 with injury issues. If they have someone to play 3B next year, I think he makes a good DH.
I think Rios is the most moveable commodity unless Wells tears it up in the 2nd half. Whichever of Rios or Wells is not moved, the other would be in CF flanked by Lind and Snider.
Let’s hope the Jays can stay above .500. 2-5 is not exactly what anyone was hoping for.
MW: Because your expectations were changed with the great start. Before the season, most fans would have been thrilled with a .500 finish. Wells, Rios and Ryan will combine to make about $40 million next year.
- Aaron KerHi Mike
Glad to hear you are getting recognition in the broadcast world.
I guess as Blue Jay fans we now need to face reality. It was surely exciting at the start but it just proves that the pundits mostlt know what they are talking about.
Now I would like to hear your thoughts on what the Jays need to do for next year. One I assume is do their best to resign Doc, but after that what others moves do you think they should make
MW: You think the pundits who said this was a 90-loss team have now been vindicated? How bad do you think the second half is going to be? See above for the answer to your next-year question.
- Richard from ARHey Mike,
When Rios and Wells first started to struggle (although they have been better lately) everyone was saying there is no market for these two with the size of their contracts. The other day I heard on the Fan that some teams now might offer up prospects. Just wanted to know if the Jays are shopping them around or waithing for them to come around or both lol. thanks
MW: I don’t think they’re actively shopping either one, but I do think they’d definitely listen if anyone came calling.
- John McLeanI was away and got back and read your comments about Nolan Ryan. you seem to think i am a complete idiot for even thinking that Ryan was not a great pitcher. I decided to go on the web and see if i was the only one that had this opinion. It took me about one minute to find four very well respected baseball people who shared the same opinion as mine.
1. Tom Seaver said Ryan”was a good THROWER who could not control his pitches “I think you would agree that Seaver knew a thing or two about pitching. Not only was he a great pitcher but he was a teammate of Ryans for a number of years on the Mets
2. Buzzie Bavasi said Ryan ” was nothing more than a flashy 500 pitcher”. Bavasi was a guy who was in the game for 35 years dating back to the Brooklyn Dodgers.He also was Ryans GM from 1977-1980
3.Bill James one of the most respected people in baseball here are a couple quotes when comparing Clemens and Ryan” Clemens became a genuinley great pitcher Ryan was not” he explained Ryan was not a great picher ” because he never adjusted. He was in a sense a perpetual rookie. He could be behind the number eight hitter 2-0 with the bases empty and in his mind he was still working on a strikeout. The concept of let him hit and see what happens was never there for him”. The last quote from Bill James “his positive numbers will stagger you but his negative numbers will knock you out”. Those quotes pretty much sum up Bill james opinion on Nolan Ryan
4. The last is Mike Francesa a very well known talk show host in NY. who said anyone who thinks Ryan is in the same league as Pedro Schilling or maddux is nuts.” Ryan was a freak of nature not a great picher.”
The biggest diffrence between these four opinions and yours is these people saw Ryan pitch a lot you did not. I think you said you went to your first game in 1978 and you grew up in Toronto. you probably were not born when Ryan started his career and i know in the 80’s they were not showing Angel or Astros games in Toronto.Most of your argument is based on hear say and stats . These four guys saw Ryan pitch a ton and dont think Ryan was a great pitcher.I think anyway most people would value their opinion over yours so i dont think i am such an idiot after all waiting for your response.
MW: First of all, I never called you an idiot. Second of all, if you had used reasoned, rational arguments the first time you commented, you would have gotten a much different response from me. Instead, you wrote in and said that Nolan Ryan was, and I quote, “a LOOOOOOSER”. What exactly did you expect my response would be?
- elliottMike
BJ is just brutal.It’s sad to see as I’ve always been a fan of his.If I were in his spot,I would be totally embarassed and would suck it up and ask to be sent down to work on things and not hurt the team.Could the team do this if BJ requested it without putting him on waivers?He would sure gain alot of respect from this fan anyway.
MW: If he has options left, it could be done. Don’t hold your breath, though.
- terryHey Mike, I’m not able to call into baseball today, today, but I love the idea of a show! It’s about time there is a real baseball programme (Canadian eh) for us instead of listening to NHL free-agency all summer long.
Okay here are some ideas for a baseball show.
-Baseball book suggestions (non-fiction). I’m reading “The Yankee Years” right now and it’s a good read. I’m also looking for some more reading similar to “Moneyball” and even some more academic resources concerning baseball strategy (always fascinating). If you could get the author of Moneyball on the air, or even Bill James himself (!) for a Q and A that would be awesome.
-The idea that someone is suggesting on the show right now about coaches is a great one. Hearing from some of these baseball brains is always cool, especially if they got talking about specific players they have worked with, coaching philosophies, drills they do, etc. I’m sure there are also some great personalities in the minor leagues too that would be relatively easy to get a hold of.
-Something similar to what TWIB does with the Rookie of the Month, clutch performer of the month, etc. Maybe on a weakly or series-ly basis
-I also think it is important that the show isn’t focused too much on the Jays (as much as I love them) but for those of us that listen to TBJTW and the JaysTalk and watch and listen to all the broadcasts, I think we get our fill.
-Maybe profiling one MLB team every week would be cool, just getting to know some of their players, coaches, controversies, what the fans are saying, who the rising stars are, history of their ballpark, etc. I don’t even know if this is possible but it might be cool. Especially from the NL because I feel a lot of people do not follow that league as closely as the AL.
-People to debate the NL vs AL!
-An in depth preview of the all-star game!
Sorry, I ended up coming up with way too many ideas, I guess I’m just excited about the new show!
Fantasy blurb would be cool! And let’s give Peter from St. Catherines his own segment on the show! haha
I’ve always played fantasy baseball, but maybe you can describe the simulation and rotisserie stuff, I have no idea what that is all about.
Sorry for thinking out loud, but I hope some of these ideas sound good to you!
And let’s get some of the DrunkJaysFans.com guys on!
Thanks Mike
- scottCan we start a petition for Adam Lind for the Final Vote? I know Longoria (I think it was him) had some success with a small marketing campaign last season. This blog is a great way to get the word out and get people to vote for a great young star in the MLB! GO LIND
And while I am on the idea of petitions, let’s also get one going to get Rogers to work on getting the MLB Network in Canada!
MW: Get those petitions going!
- scottMike,
Really excited about this Baseball Today program. It’ll be cool to hear more of your thoughts on things all MLB-wise, expanding beyond the Jays-centric Jays Talk (and don’t take that as a diss to the latter). Is it ok to make suggestions pertaining to the show through the blog? I don’t have any at the moment, but I’ll be sure to share when/if they come up if you’d like. Also (and I ask these kinds of questions alot, I know), will there be any way of listening to archived episodes of this new show? I discovered this program about 50 mins too late, and would love to hear the full Inaugural edition!
P.S. I also feel I have to chime in among what are likely to be many comments expressing my disappontment that BJ Ryan was allowed to pitch in meaningful innings. What was that??
- MattBJ Ryan won’t be pitching anytime shortly unless the team gets blown-out. I wouldn’t pitch him if the jays were ahead 19/0. He’s got nothing on any of his pitches. He got lucky with a few batters who managed to get themselves out but that’s about it. It’s a huge shame and he seems like a nice guy, but he’s so much smaller than he used to be that I don’t see him managing to throw anything like the way he used to.
MW: I would pitch him if the Jays were ahead 19-0. I wouldn’t have a problem with that.
- reyesPS Stop with ‘The Caveman’ will ya? Fred Flintstone isn’t cute. Ringo Starr isn’t cute…
MW: I’m sorry, but I don’t find Scott Rolen cute.
- reyesMike,
What options do you have left with BeeJee but release him?
He is next to unless in the middle innings because he can only go one at best and he can’t be trusted in tight situations. Maybe we can turn him into a hitter with Adam Lowen?
MW: No, I don’t think that’s going to happen. And BeeJee?
- JWI caught some of the new ‘Baseball Today’ show today. I would have called in, but I was driving. So, I thought I’d throw my suggestions up here.
I’d love some fantasy talk. Maybe on a weekly basis. Analysis of players that are skewed to fantasy stats, I think would be interesting. And, very useful to the throngs of us in a pool.
I wouldn’t mind some updates on how the Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club are doing. The rest of the Intercounty League, too. Nothing major. But, I think it’s a cool little league.
It’s about time for the show! Hockey Central in July makes no sense, whatsoever. Good luck.
- RomeI just voted 1000 times for Lind…
C’mon people.. KEEP VOTING..
- MikeMike!
The tv just said that Marc Rzepczynski will start instead of Mills. Is that true??
MW: Yes.
- LukeMike,
What are the chances that JP shops McDonald at the deadline?
MW: Pretty high, I’d guess. But what could you get for him?
- DarylMichael,
Hockey Central at noon Baseball Edition.
Genius.
MW: It was Brian Angus’ idea.
- Uncle BenI know you’ll scoff at this, but this afternoon I was watching Bruce Drennan, he’s an afternoon sports talk show host out of Cleveland on the network SportsTime Ohio. SportsTime is owned by the Indians and Brennans show is called “All bets are off”. Brennan is reporting that if the Blue Jays fall any farther out of the race they are going to begin shopping Roy Halladay, so says an unnamed source. I’m certainly not saying this is true, but if you start hearing this on a constant basis, you’ll know where it started. SportsTime has a website, so it may be posted there as well.
MW: It started before the regular season even started.
- Jim in Ohio2 2uestions…
2uestion the first - the fisher-cats website has dopirak as only being 25, turning 26 at the end of this calendar yr (12/20/1983)…in the past, you’ve stated that they are hesitant to move him along because of his age, but since he got on their radar last yr, at age 24, how is that the case? i believe i’ve heard you say he was 27, were you mistaken, or am i misquoting? if you were mistaken, what are the other possible explanations for them moving him along so slowly? he’s earned his way to AAA it seems, judging by his AA #s, and a 25yr old AAA player isn’t ridiculous…that’s what romero was last year…
2nd 2uestion: which do you think is the worse contract looking from today, forward…the BJ Ryan deal that sees him making 10M next season when it looks like he’s pretty much done and won’t be able to earn a dime of that…OR…the vernon wells deal that is much larger and much longer term?
i think the obvious answer is the BJ contract, because though wells will never be a 23M player, he’ll be able to earn SOME of that money…however, at least with BJ it’s done with after next season, while with wells, 1/4 of their payroll will be tied up in the one asset, and COULD curb their ability to re-sign roy…
btw, i hate to write off the rest of BJ’s entire career like that, but for the sake of this question, let’s assume that he is basically what we are watching right now…
MW: 1 - Dopirak at 24 was old for the Florida State League last year, that’s what I was saying. He certainly wouldn’t be old for AAA. 2 - No question it’s Ryan.
- Jay BMW: I would pitch him if the Jays were ahead 19-0. I wouldn’t have a problem with that.
Wouldn’t you want to preserve the shutout?
And Scott Rolen is cute. All the women Jays fans I know are ga-ga over him!
How nice was it that Johnny Mac got a home run today? He’s actually hit quite well when he’s been playing, I believe.
By the way, I’m pretty sure I read that attendance at RC was down this year.
MW: Attendance as far as whole numbers is definitely down, but I’m told that attendance, as far as paying customers, is actually up.
- isabella reyesHello Mike
Did you hear the interview with Adam Lind, that his mother has a crush for Petite?
That was funny. So was your comment on Rolen and you are right, he is not cute.
A suggestion for Ryan. Why don’t they send him to the minors to work on his location?
I also have a suggestion for Vernon. Have him hit 3rd on away games and slide him to the 6th spot at home ;-)
Francis
MW: Ryan can’t be sent down unless he agrees to go.
- francisMW: Who is Dominic Denucci?
Dominic Denucci once held the WWF tag team championship alongside Bruno Sammartino in the 1970s and later won the belts again teaming up with Dino Bravo.
He is now playing left field for the Jays and has gone 0-for-11 with three strikeouts.
MW: Shows you how much attention I paid to wrestling in the ’70s.
- Ken Paganmichael,
been away, getting caught up on things. your blog is great for that. love it.
so we’ll use the “lifo” accounting method here.
1. they call up rzep. you say. is that because r. ray is hurt or just wanting to see yet another upcoming new guy with a great future from this organization. cause’ i know ray certainly pitched well enough up here the last time to warrant another call if needed. he looked good last time as i recall.
2. this romero is really impressing the heck out of me thus far. thought after all his minor league pro seasoning he had a chance to be a competent mlb pitcher & perhaps solid but not this.
this is a bonus going forward no doubt.
but i still like the makeup of cecil long term even more. i know that seems hard to say right now but i really do. we’ll see in the next yr. or 2 on that i guess.
cause he’s what michael? 2 maybe 3 yrs behind romero in age & development?
3. and the constant struggle to achieve in this al east division i think is starting to get to me.
i mean what does it take aside from the obvious?
just look at tampa would you. the worst team in mlb virtually for 10+ yrs. picking the best baseball prospects there is yr. after yr. (forever it seems) & they get lucky enough to push thru last yr. & probably won’t be able to this yr. as well.
you’d think the foundation would be there to be “the team” to chase for the next 5 yrs. but not in this division i’m afraid.
i enjoy seeing the yanks & sox as much as we do cause’ i’m a baseball fan & they’re the creme de la creme & all that…
but how do you rationalize to yourself this continual & apparent never ending struggle to compete in this seemingly impossible division michael?
i mean c’mon.. a-rod, jeter, texeira, damon, posada, matsui, sabatthia, burnett, chamberlain, rivera. gimme a break please….what’s the use anyway?
MW: 1 - Ray is still hurt. 2 - Cecil was drafted as a 20 year-old after two years at Maryland and just turned 23. Romero was drafted as a 20 year-old after two years at Cal State-Fullerton and will turn 25 in November. So yeah, about two years. 3 - I continue to be in favour of getting rid of the divisions and balancing the schedule.
- darrell bishopIf Scutaro returns to his old ways of getting on, I wonder who could become an effective leadoff hitter for the Jays?
MW: Overbay!
Just a second. I suggested Overbay to bat second a couple of days ago and you said he didn’t run the bases well enough…
To get back to Ryan, if his situation is this bad, I’m not sure why he wouldn’t go down to the minprs to try and get his mechanics fixed. What has he got to lose? He’ll get the $$$$ this year and next no matter what he does, but if he doesn’t fix himself, that is all the money he’ll ever see. And it’s a lot. But he could make more. His performance is a matter of record, so he can’t hide it or spin it. If he did a Halladay and went down, it could only reflect well on his commitment to his art. I suppose he could struggle through this season and try and fix himself over the winter, but he wouldn’t get the opportunities he would have now to pitch against reasonably experienced hitting in Double and Triple A. It won’t look good on his record, but coughing up walk after hit after walk doesn’t look good either. If I were his agent I would be putting a full court press on him to get him to go down for a while…
MW: It’s not going to happen. Can you name the last veteran of Ryan’s stature to agree to a minor-league assignment? I really can’t. As for Overbay, I didn’t say he didn’t run the bases well enough to hit second. You said “he can run” and I said “no, he really can’t.”
- isabella reyesMW if a new GM comes in, it’ll be a big rebuild. This team is in good shape for the next few years.
why would you need to rebuild if the team is in good shape?
MW: If you’re going to quote me, you have to quote the whole sentence. Please try again.
- manuelMW: The Jays played .500 while Halladay was on the DL with four of his rotation-mates.
mike, what is the jays record the past few years when halladay doesnt pitch?
MW: Let’s see…….since the start of the 2007 season through the end of the weekend series with the Yankees, the Blue Jays are 162-166 when Roy Halladay doesn’t start.
- manuelMike,
Rany Jazayerli wrote a fascinating article about the KC Royals and their injury problems, pointing out that their trainer is the only common thread through their long history of injury issues.
Given that George Poulis has been the Jays’ trainer through year after year of injury problems, at what point do you think the Jays should think about holding someone responsible for a streak that’s starting to defy random chance?
MW: Someone? Or Poulis, the guy who was elected to the all-star game by his peers this season?
- Rick JonesSo good to hear baseball talk on the radio in the summer.
I didn’t get to call in, but I heard a caller suggest having roundtable discussions with baseball reporters on the show. Allow me to second that. I always really enjoyed the writers roundtable segment on the pre game show.
- James HJAYS FANS
VOTE FOR ADAM LIND…HE DESERVES IT. I hope an All-star 3B goes down so Rolen can go back to STL
- ShakeelThe toppings contain sodium benzoate.
…
… that’s bad.
MW: It’s a very, very tough call. At this point, I wouldn’t release Ryan. I’d wait until August and see if someone was dumb enough to pick him up on waivers.
Would the Randy Myers lightning strike twice in Toronto?
MW: Potassium benzoate, but that’s cool. That lightning striking twice is the Jays’ only hope with Ryan.
- JohnGood news about Baseball Today, now if only it could be made available to those of us with noonday jobs…
re BJ this year vs last year: if I heard you correctly, the normal expected recovery from Tommy John surgery is 18 months; however, Ryan put in a good season in 2008 after surgery in 2007 i.e. barely a year later. Perhaps he pushed too much too soon and is paying for it now. Anyway, I hope things eventually improve for him as they have for other injured players (Rolen, Burnett)
MW: It usually takes 18 months to two years for a pitcher to come back from TJ, but some do it sooner without complication. Evidently, Baseball Today is available via podcast.
- rslHey Mike,
I’m living in New Zealand for the next 3 years, and am therefore fast asleep at noon EST. Is there any chance I might be able to listen to a replay of the new show on your blog (or elsewhere)? It would be totally “sweet as” if I that’s possible.
Thanks!
MW: See above.
- BrandenHey Mike, when I check the boxscores with the list of relief pitchers used, sometimes there is a letter and number by their name like H4 or H8 or H6, what does this stand for.
MW: Holds.
- Gary Ohey mike,
I was sooooo stoked when Hogie read my email on air to Adam Lind.
I had told him how greatly we appreciate his attitude towards the game, his effort, and his ability to be a great role model to young people. I also informed him that i have already voted over 300 times for Adam Lind.
Since my email mention, i have stepped it up and am currently at 600 since the final vote started. I will continue until 4pm thursdays, and i feel everyone should as he is a well deserving all star, not because of popularity but because of sheer skill and production.
MW: Keep it going!
- paoloIMO, if Ryan is going to comment publicly that the key to his getting his effectiveness back is regular work then the onus is on him to agree to a stin in Vegas where they can be under orders to send him out there every other day or 2 out of every 3 or something for a couple of weeks and let’s put that proposition to the test.
If he’s right, everyone wins (which he should want) and if he’s wrong, then we find out the bad news and can make informed decisions.
If, on the other hand, he refuses to agree to that, then he should bite his tongue about getting more work.
MW: Fair enough.
- WillRainHey Mike, a couple of things I want to run by you.
1) I know Cito likely won’t do this, but wouldn’t it make sense when Downs comes back to be the set up man and leave Frasor as closer? Reason being is that the combination of League/Carlson/Accardo have been really inconsistent and having a dominant reliever like Downs in that role would be of much more value.
2) With regards to the report that just came out, I believe the only way the Jays should trade Halladay is if he tells them he doesn’t plan to remain with the team beyond 2010.
MW: 1 - Why not make Frasor the 8th inning guy? 2 - Sounds good to me - unless, of course, they’re overwhelmed by a trade offer.
- Pramitif the rosenthal report is right it just makes me sick to my stomach
to think that an unbelievably stupid contract to wells is now handcuffing the organisation from re-signing roy halladay is the absolute epitome of bad management. I don’t care if it was Godfrey’s call, if you are the GM you either run the baseball club or you don’t. Epstein had the guts to take a stand when he thought his control over the team was not absolute.
I hate being over-dramatic, but this organisation is heart-breaking.
MW: It doesn’t appear as though you hate being over-dramatic.
- Paul OHi Mike,
Congrats on the new show!! I’m so excited. Now we have to get baseball talk on all year since Hockey is.
If you have any time to do bloggage, I hope you can still write the daily entry. They have been tremendous, especially if I can’t listen to the game. I’d suggest cutting back on the comment responses. I honestly don’t know how you managed to go through and respond to them all because I barely have time just to read them! You deserve a medal for your hard work and dedication over the years.
Good luck with the show,
loyal listen and reader,
MW: I do deserve a medal!
- MichaelAny idea if there is a limit for final votes, I’ve sat here for 10 minutes & voted 64 times so far for Adam Lind….
MW: From what I am led to understand, there’s no limit.
- PaulMW: Dopirak at 24 was old for the Florida State League last year, that’s what I was saying. He certainly wouldn’t be old for AAA.
i understood what you meant, but thought you overshot his age…what i meant was, that if you did overshoot his age (which i believe you estimated at 27), why did they leave him down in A so long…why so hesitant to move him to AA, and now AAA, where he would be age appropriate? i know he was a man amongst boys in A, but isn’t that all the reason to fast track him? they don’t need to worry about messing with his development since they wouldn’t hesitate to cut bait with him, and wouldn’t it have been more beneficial to see what they actually have in this guy rather than stashing him in the lower levels to contribute nothing to the future? at 27, yes he would’ve even been too old to be taking reps away from guys in AA and AAA, but not at 24/25…
MW: He was in the Cubs organization up until last season, and they didn’t advance him beyond A-ball. The Jays signed him as a minor-league free agent, and the spot they had available was in A-ball. For some reason, they wanted to take their time with him, but they did get him up to AA last year.
- Jay BCongratulations on the new show. I know your work load has increased greatly but could you possibly post last nights Jays talk. Love all the 80’s tunes by the way.
Thanks as always
- ukJayMike. Since Snider isn’t QUITE ready to be called up again (hitting at a .200 clip), do you agree with this - get rid of Delucci (he’s not doing anything against righties anyways), put Lind in left for a while and call up Ruiz.
MW: I’d like to see Ruiz get a look, for sure, but three games is a little quick to cut bait on Dellucci.
- Renegadehey mike
I think it is crap that pedroia is starting in the all star game over arron hill. if you look at the numbers side by side hill’s numbers are massivly higher then pedroia’s. Not to mention that hill is one of the main reason’s that the jays are even doing this good when pedroia just sits in boston having a little bit of an above average season but has only 2 more hr’s then john macdonald. I really think that hill deserves the start and i think that pedroia is tremendiosly over rated.
MW: Pedroia is the reigning AL MVP and was rookie of the year the year before that. Yes, Hill is having a better season, but the all-star game is also about the people that the fans want to see, and Pedroia is that.
- JasonFinally something to counteract the endless nonsense that is hockey talk on radio and TV in this country. It’s about time. I hope it doesn’t diminish the importance of Jays talk after the games though
MW: The importance of The JaysTalk? What do you mean?
- dave_12So Poulis is thought of as a nice guy by people who don’t work with him. That’s great. It’s his turn this year.
The Blue Jays have had a huge number of injuries this year, last year, the year before. Who’s to be held responsible? The people working the ticket booth?
MW: Why does someone have to be held responsible? Is there any team that has managed to keep most of its pitchers healthy on a regular basis?
- Rick Jones“The importance of The JaysTalk? What do you mean?”
Not sure what I meant there. I guess I hope they continue with Jays talk after the games
MW: Yes, they will.
- dave_12MW: Can you name the last veteran of Ryan’s stature to agree to a minor-league assignment?
Can you name the last veteran of Ryan’s stature who crashed and burned this fast and this publicly? He’s a vapour trail right now. Going down to the minor-leagues would be a public humiliation but it would be a humiliation with some kind of an upside. He’s trying to get his mojo back. Staying with the team and pitching only when the Jays are in blow-out games is a humiliation with no upside whatsoever.
MW: Lots of guys have fallen off the face of the earth in a hurry - David Ortiz and Magglio Ordonez to name a couple of recent examples.
- isabella reyes