“On Thursday, Ricciardi said the idea of trading Halladay came up only after the pitcher told him he planned to test the free agent market when his contract runs out in 2010, but last night Halladay said it didn’t quite happen that way.

Instead of signing an extension or looking for a trade this year, Halladay said he told the team that he would rather play out his contract before deciding whether to stay in Toronto – a strong possibility, he now says – or sign elsewhere.”

Could you comment on this statement please? It contradicts what Ricciardi said on your show.

MW: I didn’t hear him say “strong possibility” that he stays. That statement doesn’t contradict at all what Ricciardi said – or at least not much. When Halladay says he wants to wait until after 2010 to make up his mind, it’s easy for the Jays to see that as him saying that he wants to wait until his contract is done and he’s a free agent to talk about it. That’s too late for the Jays. Don’t forget, too – Halladay still can’t be traded without his permission.

However, I seem to recall a few years back when he was “shut down” in mid-August or so because of “a tired arm” — not sure if he went on the DL or not.

If my memory is correct, would this not qualify as “arm problems” (albeit perhaps not serious)?

MW: Halladay missed almost half a season in 2004 with shoulder fatigue.

There may be other gimmicks to increase attendance. Maybe they could eliminate that foghorn after home runs and bring back B.J. Birdie. After home runs he could smash a certain hotel chains sign to pieces with a sledge hammer. They could even let some lucky fans do it. I guarantee you attendance would go up and those people would be happier radio listeners as well!

MW: I miss the free breakfast and internets. You’re right – it isn’t always easy or convenient to go to a game, but the special ones are worth making the effort.

2008 was the age 30 season for both Mench and Hinske.

In the previous season Mench had a .746 OPS and 90 OPS+ while Hinske had a .714 and an 83.

take a three year sample and it looks like this:

Mench: .764, 95
Hinske: .776, 101

Take a five year sample and it’s

Mench: .795, 101
Hinske: .748, 93

There is no significant difference in those players except which side they hit from. Anyone who calls signing Hinske smart and signing Mench dumb based on what was known of each player in March of 2008 is either (a) ignorant of the facts; (b) hopelessly biased; or (c) willfully lying to themselves – or some combination of the three.

THAT is why you call these things LUCK. Because there’s no rational way to know Hinske will be productive and Mench will suck on ice at that point.

By all means, bash the Wilkerson acquisition, or Dellucci…there is ammunition out there.

But citing Hinske while trashing Mench is just hindsight.

But cheaper than going to a Blue Jays game is going to the Beaches Jazz Festival, which is on this weekend. I was down there tonight myself, and I dare say, ALOT of others had the same idea. Can’t beat free entertainment during a recession, Mikey!

MW: Fair enough.

I find it very insulting as a fan to try to talk about true fans going 2 games and such

i feel that i am a true fan however until the “idiot Gm” as Bobby McGowan calls him is fired i cannot spend my money specificially on the blue jays …. paying to heckle A-Roid is different

also, i heard Bobcat call Rios dumb not only in baseball sense, but also in real life situations, what have your experiences been with him, and why does he kinda suck now… effort or intelligence as Bob McGowan said

MW: I’m surprised Bob would say that, because I don’t know that he’s ever met Alex. I wouldn’t call Rios dumb, but I don’t know him well enough to make that determination.

I think it does matter to rogers. If the fans dont like the team or the gm then they’ll stop going to games and stop subscribing to rogers cable. rogers is in a marketing business. they are trying to sell baseball to people and that involves public perception. it’s a tough sell if the fans don’t believe in the gm and the media keeps trashing him on a daily basis.

MW: We disagree.

I am amazed at how perfect your memory is of some obsure moment that happened years ago.

MW: It didn’t wind up so obscure when the guy hit 46 homers that year.

Perhaps it makes you feel good to insult me (and others who remain FANS but simply don’t want to spend money on a product they don’t believe in), but even if were right, how does that help the situation? According to your “indictment,” there is a problem with attendance, and that problem exists because there aren’t enough of those whom you call REAL fans. Insulting us or ignoring this problem won’t make it go away.

MW: I didn’t see an insult in there anywhere.

1) Doc. What can you say about him? Best Blue Jays ever.

2) The offense. Garza is a Blue Jays killer but it was an awful showing as usual lately.

3) The vitriol spewed at Wells and Rios tonight was palpable. In the 10th inning especially, I have never heard such offensive language+hatred from fans before.

4) I sat above the Rays bullpen and there were Rays relievers throwing food and drinks at fans (hecklers) during the game. That’s pretty shady even if like mentioned earlier – there are a lot of drunk buffoons out there.