2:45 AM
Fur your listening pleasure! The Haligonian was pretty funny.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome!
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Why is it that when there is a double steal that both players get credit for a stolen base? Shouldn’t the direction of the throw from the catcher determine which player gets the stolen base (in most cases the lead runner)? Or in the case in which no throw is made just give the SB to the lead runner?
It doesn’t seem right the the pitcher and the catcher get knocked with two stolen bases when they really only have a chance of getting one of the runners out.
The official rule for defensive indifference: The official scorer shall not score a stolen base when a runner advances solely because of the defensive team’s indifference to the runner’s advance. The official scorer shall score such a play as a fielder’s choice.
Maybe its just me but I think that the 2nd steal should be ruled “defensive indifference” because the defense normally does not make an attempt to get the runner out. In most cases the fielder choose to try and get the lead runner out and that sounds a lot like a “fielder’s choice”.
I’m sure there have been a fair number of people (who do not normally steal bases) get credited with a stolen base this way. Scott Rolen is a fair example, he has four stolen bases and I’m fairly confident that some of those (if it not all) have come from being the back end of the double steal. Scott is not a slow runner but is also not a base stealer, however he is getting credited with a SB when the defense makes no attempt to get him out.
MW: I’m guessing that the thinking in giving both runners credit for a stolen base is that if the catcher didn’t get the guy he was trying to get, he wouldn’t have gotten the other guy, either. Flawed, I know, but lots of stuff is.
- KevinMike,
At this point, who are your Rookie of the Year candidates from each league? I don’t really have a favourite for the AL (Beckham and Romero, perhaps) but have a few NL interests: Tommy Hanson, Andrew McCutchen, and Garrett Jones - in that order - though Jones is rapidly rising (but will he maintain it?).
MW: Honestly, I haven’t even thought about that yet. Wait until August.
- mattMike,
Another compound question - from where do you get your data? Do you have access to statistical information of which the average Joe cannot access (i.e., what is the source of your statistical data?) I only ask because you seem to have a talent for digging up relatively specific numbers quite rapidly while on the air, and while simultaneously maintaining a conversation to boot. It seems to be like you must have either a superior software for searching/organizing, or you have an assistant. Or you’re just that damn good with, say, baseball-reference. Whatever the case may be, what tips would you give to those who want to be able to parse baseball numbers fast and efficiently?
MW: I guess I’m just that good with baseball-reference.com. I don’t have access to anything that the general public doesn’t, nor do I have an assistant running numbers for me.
- mattHey Mike,
Wow! I went on vacation to my parents homeland in europe a month ago and now I’m back to see my team in the dumps and talk of trading away the best pitcher in baseball. Again….WOW!
Maybe its a good thing that i wasn’t here for all the drama. All I can say is I have alot of listening and reading to do to get caught up.
Thank you and the FAN590 for posting your blogs and postgame shows for people who miss out to go back and see how things have unfolded.
thanks mike
MW: You’re welcome!
- QuinnerHi Mike. I know there will be significantly reduced bloggage this week, but I feel the need to send something in anyway. I for one have had it with people booing Vernon at the Dome. It’s true that he’s performing way below his potential on the whole this year, but people might want to take note of his performance when he is not getting booed at every at bat (i.e. when he is on the road). The guy hit .400 last night in Seattle, and is hitting well over .300 in away games. If people want to turn Vernon’s performance around at home they might want to start by showing him encouragement instead of behaving like children and lashing out at him every time he steps into the batter’s box. He played 2/3 of the season last year, and finished with 20 homeruns and a .300 batting average. He is arguably the most talented player on the team, and a stand-up guy in the community. The fans’ behaviour towards him is an embarrassment for all of us.
- MGLove your show by the way.
Re the Eastern American League Division. It’s obvious that overall money rules (With the odd exception) and it’s difficult for those teams under the cap to compete. I think the league needs to think out side the box on this. One, consider game penalties instead of fines for going over the cap i.e. half a game in the standings for each $5,000,000 over the cap. If that’s too drastic; how about a rotation between the Central and Eastern division i. e. every year one of the Eastern teams would trade leagues with one of the Central Teams for one year. It would be good to see the Yankees out of our league for one year or to see Toronto in the Central League every fifth year. Think of the stratagies the general managers could put in place for these events. Overall one of these two ideas would make the Eastern League at least more interesting
MW: There’s no cap, but I get that you mean the luxury tax threshold. The ideas are interesting but, of course, they’ll never happen.
- JimMike. I had a very very hard time keeping my eyes open during the game last night, which is the case when the Jays are on the west coast. I had a nap in the afternoon, took a walk in my neighborhood, drank lots of beverages, mostly Coke, and I dozed off 5 different times during the game. By the time I got on the line for Jays Talk I was finished. I’m glad this is the last west coast trip of the year. Any other suggestion would be appreciated.
Peter, St.Catharines
- Petermichael,
i apparently nodded off right around the 4th inning or so & missed (at the time) the potential game saving grab by guy s. rolen.
i’m guessing it wasn’t that much more spectactular than the other similar plays he
makes on a seemingly nightly basis for this team.
question though on this very subject. is there any chance whatsoever that rolen doesn’t win his 8th gold glover award this yr? i mean at all? absolute slam dunk no?
and the only other observation i have on this matter is this. generally speaking people in & around the game have the opinion that due to injuries, age i suppose etc.. that we’re watching scotty r. on the backside of his career. but i’m assuming that’s with the bat only cause’ if he was actually even better & more webgemmish than this in yrs. past, can you even imagine what that must have looked like?
seriously…
btw, heard your post game show right to the end early this morning. man you’re in a good mood for 2 in the morning i must say.
anyway michael, please answer other questions above.
much appreciated. over & out.
MW: I only see one question and I have to answer no - there are no slam dunks for gold gloves. It seems that a lot of the time the award is either based on a player’s offense or just completely arbitrary. It could just as easily go to Evan Longoria.
- darrell bishopI saw that Marcum was at the game last night, what is his status? I know he has made a few starts in the minors. Do you think the jays are rushing him to come back or is he ahead of schedule?
MW: Neither. He tweaked his back in his last start in Vegas, so he came up the coast to check in.
- RoyceHi Mike,
This was your response to my criticism of J.P. talking about Halladay’s desire to test free agency in 011:
MW: I continue to think it’s awesome that J.P. gets roasted by the fans for lying, and roasted equally by the fans for telling the truth.
To me it’s not about lying or telling the truth. It’s about saying something stupid, or something better left unsaid. If Halladay is as important to the organization as J.P. says he is, then he should get more respect from his GM. What if a trade doesn’t work out and Roy is back next season? If I’m Roy I’m thinking “Great, now I get to answer questions all year about why I am going to test free agency.” If that was something he wanted people to know, then he should have said it, not J.P.
Being a GM in any professional league requires a certain amount of tact and self control. I like a guy who is honest, but doesn’t say more than he has to (this is one of the reasons I don’t like Brian Burke either).
I believe one of the reasons J.P. stopped doing his Wednesday show is because he knows he can’t trust himself to not say something stupid (honest or not).
I just don’t see what J.P. had to gain by telling everyone that Halladay was going to test free agency. To me, it was only in his own best interest, (to deflect criticism), to state this publicly.
I don’t roast lying or honesty, only stupidity and unnecessaryiness.
Thanks as always.
MW: I wasn’t referring only to you with that response but seriously - do you not think that if Halladay is here next year, the question for him from day one of Spring Training on wouldn’t have been about free agency and signing an extension and everything that goes with it, regardless of what Ricciardi said last week? I want honesty from the people of whom I ask questions, and I (and you) want to know as much as possible.
- Rob H.MW: Happ is their 5th starter, Halladay would be a major upgrade.
Certainly Happ might have been their fifth starter on paper, but has he not performed far, far better than a fifth starter in actuality? Obviously Hamels is their ace, but Happ has even been stronger than him.
He’s also been much stronger than Blanton, Moyer and Chan Ho Park as well.
Is Happ a better pitcher than Hamels or Halladay? Of course not (well, for Halladay anyway).
Would Happ truly be treated like a 5th starter in the playoffs for the Phillies? (Ie. not really ever pitching, it’s pretty rare teams use 5 starters in playoffs) I don’t think so either.
I’m not at all debating that Halladay is an upgrade on Happ, but it just seems a bit odd to me when the Phillies are trying to win now, that they would be seemingly so willing to deal a piece that is doing a great, great deal to help them win now in the deal.
It goes a bit counterintuitive too to what you were saying that you can’t get roster players off a contender at the deadline. This is not only a roster player, but at the same position you are trading for.
Do you see at all what I’m getting at and not think it’s a bit peculiar? Trying to shore up a rotation’s depth and strength by trading the SP who has been your best in the season just seems a bit off to me, even if you are getting arguably the best pitcher in the game back. It’s for that reason I’m surprised the Phils aren’t more willing to part with Drabek instead. Unless they are planning on bringing Drabek up late in the season and hoping he is ready too?
MW: I do see what you’re getting at, but I think they realize just how much of an upgrade Halladay is. I don’t think they see Drabek as this-year help.
- ColeMike, was on the Friday game (Halladay’s last one?). I drove 300 KMS and got home at 1:00 am after the ugly traffic of 401. I must say that I fully enjoyed that game and for those fans who missed it, I hope they get more chances to see Halladay in TO.
Also, I was one of the fans booing Wells on Friday. I was disappointed because I was the only one doing in my section. However, listening to your post-game comments on that night made me extremely happy. I was fascinated by your description of the fan who was leaning towards the Jays dogout and yelling at Well’s face -. I’m also happy that ‘m hearing more booing for Wells on Sunday’s game. I truly agree with your comment: Wells and we the fans are stuck to each other by that contract of his. Well, if he does not earn his money hitting nad performing, we fans will continue booing at him every single time he comes to the plate with runners on scoring position. You are great in stats… please provide wells stats with runners on scoring position this and last season…
Also, I am really happy to see how faithful and supportive the fans in the West… Last night there was more support for the Jays than for the Mariners. There is something TO fans can learn from that….
MW: Wells this year with RISP has been awful - .165/.256/.291. Last year, he hit .302/.362/.476 with runners in scoring position, which is just horrible, right?
- AxlIt’s been mentioned a few times that Vernon Wells is getting the “Larry Murphy treatment”. What is this? Who is Larry Murphy? Google didn’t give me any answers that made sense.
MW: He’s a Hall of Fame defenseman who spent a couple of seasons with the Maple Leafs. Leafs fans didn’t like him.
- T from NYMichael,
Over the years have you noticed a difference in the age players decline or the rate thereof?
I just wonder about the impact of modern medicine (not performance enhancing drugs) and advanced exercise techniques on extending baseball performance.
Obviously, it makes a difference when considering trading a 32 year old Halladay or possibly re-signing a 33 year old SS.
MW: Everything is up in the air until the steroid/hGH thing settles down - if it ever does.
- Uncle BenWho will the Blue Jays have working behind home plate next year? Will Arencibia get the nod even though he has not hit anywhere near the standards many had for him as the Jays future catcher?
MW: I doubt it.
- RichardHi, Mike:
A week or so ago I commented on Brian Dopirak’s promotion to LV, and asked what had happened to Harper — you said you would try to find out.
Did you ever check him out?
MW: The Jays released him and he signed with the Dodgers - he’s playing on their AAA Albuquerque team now.
- NormI think William from Halifax was actually from Newfoundland. He sure does love Holliday!!
MW: At least I got him to pronounce it right once. And why the shot at Newfoundland?
- jasonGood to see Hay Dirkhurst get some game action — if Scott Richmond comes off the DL to start on Friday, is Hayhurst the odd man out?
MW: Yup.
- NormHey Mike -
About your comments regarding Ricky Romero and his ROY candidacy … I think Ricky’s got his fair share of attention here in the US. I live in NY, and the reaction to his performance was surprisingly covered fairly. I was surprised because the Jays aren’t covered as well here. But Ricky was covered fairly - NY Times did an article on him when he pitched here, Philly media (Comcast) had great things to say about him, SI.com had him on the cover of their website one day, Verducci has talked him up, MLB Network analysts love the guy … so, he’s got some healthy media buzz here. All those media outlets have dubbed him the “next Johan Santana” or a “mini Santana”.
Question for you - where has that changeup gone? 3 starts in a row and it’s disappeared. His changeup was a mystery pitch to begin with and now it’s mysteriously disappeared. The case of the mysterious changeup! If you are interviewing him anytime soon, could you ask him about it … I think that pitch is so important for him. His fastball, curveball, slider combinaton is good (although Cecil and Zep have better sliders, and Ricky’s inconsistent with the curve), but seperates him from the rest of the pack is that changeup he flashed. But it’s gone. He’s not the next Santana without that.
Question 2 - Are you still working on nicknames for our “lefty army”? Cecil, Ricky, Zep …
MW: 1 - It seems to have gone missing, it’s true, and he’s no mini-Santana without it, indeed. I’ll check in if we don’t see it back on Sunday. 2 - Not really.
- T from NYhi mike, just wondering if you think J.P Ricciardi was unwilling or “to busy” to do Wednesdays with J.P. this year because he was convinced he was on the way out and could not be bothered anymore or what was the reason he all of a sudden could not commit that one hour a week to be on the show.
Keep up the great work Mike
MW: No, I don’t think that’s why he stopped doing it at all.
- StevenHi Mike:
I’m a longtime listener of the Fan 590’s baseball coverage. While I’ve disagreed with you a number of times, I respect your encyclopedic baseball knowledge and class—whether it be cutting off callers who proclaim that so-and-so “sucks” to understanding and appreciating that players and management are real people who deserve to be treated respectfully.
I share your view. Which is why writing this is proving to be very difficult. It’s never easy to be fired/let go. Most of us have had it happen in our lives—and there are few worse feelings one can experience. That being said, I do think it’s time that the Jays move in another direction with regards to the General Manager position. I’m sure JP is a good man who tries his best. However, after eight years, we need to see if there’s someone else out there who can put together a contending team.
Here are my thoughts on the topic–
Many, including JP, point to the fact that we play in the same division as big spenders Boston and New York and this makes it very difficult for us to win the AL East/qualify for the playoffs. However, wasn’t one of the reasons JP was hired in 2001 was for his assertion that the Jays didn’t have to spend lots of money to compete? That we needed to do things smarter (a la Oakland A’s and Twins)? I heard him say this a number of years ago and read about it in Moneyball.
Further, when the spending was increased in the last three years, the players JP brought in failed (for one reason or the other) to deliver us a “contending team”. Notice that I didn’t write “World Series title”, “American League champion”, “division winner” or even “playoff team”? I used the term “contending team”. At the end of the day, that’s the minimum I’m seeking in a General Manager—one that provides me with a truly interesting September every few years. As a fan who spends thousands of dollars on tickets/stadium food/merchandise each year, I don’t think it’s too much to ask. I think eight years is more than enough time to determine the overall effectiveness of a GM (heck, we gave Frank Thomas 60 at bats last year to prove he could contribute!). During Ricciardi’s time at the helm, we’ve gone through 4 different managers, an almost total overhaul of the major league roster (can’t think of anyone besides Halladay and Wells who are still around) and even a club president. During this same period, the vast majority of Major League Baseball teams (23 in all?) have secured a playoff birth at one point or the other.
Moreover, JP has also done very little to earn the affection of Torontonians. Whether it be choosing to live in the US during the season (I do realize that it may not really impact his effectiveness—but it does send the wrong message to the city and perception counts for a lot), lying to fans about Ryan’s injury or casting dispersions on Adam Dunn’s character, JP has been something less than a PR star. This wouldn’t matter very much if he was delivering contending teams. However, it just provides another point of aggravation after eight years of non-contention.
Mike, I know you’re a very smart guy and someone who, to a certain degree, supports JP and the job he’s doing. I also know you’ll be able to pull out a number of stats and/or points in support of JP. At the end of the day, as someone who pays his own way to games and is passionate about the game in general and this team in particular, I just feel that eight is enough to make a call on the GM.
MW: And you’re entitled to that opinion. He hasn’t delivered a contending team in eight years (though do remember that the first three years were spent paring payroll and such - they couldn’t have been expected to compete then). I’m sorry, I can’t blame him for the Jays’ failures the last two seasons, when they fielded really good teams but fell short. Two things with which I have to take issue - yes, Ricciardi said in 2001 that he could win cheap, but that year the Yankees led the bigs with a $109 million payroll. Two years later, they were at $180 million. And while you point out that a whole whack of other teams have made the playoffs since J.P. came along, you fail to point out that only ONCE has an A.L. East team other than the Yankees and Red Sox qualified for the post-season in that time frame.
- AlexMike….Do you think it’s just a coincidence that within a day of Michael Vick being reinstated by the NFL, that Bud Selig is contemplating welcoming Pete Rose back to the baseball family? Or is Selig’s mindset possibly that if a guy who commited horrific acts of inhumanity towards innocent, helpless animals can return, maybe a guy who committed acts against the morality of a sport can also return?
MW: I don’t think one has anything to do with the other.
- chris m.I just heard on the news that Boston has upped their ante on Halladay - scary thought. Boston is already a very good team.
It reminds me of the glory days of the blue jays, when they added David Cone to put some distance between them and the Orioles. Sure nice to have the money to do it….
Francis
- francisYou mentioned yesterday in response to another question that if Boston offered Buchholz, Bard and Bowden, that Toronto should take (or would) take the deal.
Yahoo posted an article this afternoon that Boston has reportedly “upped” their offer to the Jays, but it has only 2 of those guys above (Buchholz and Bowden) in the deal, along with Westmoreland, one of their top OF prospects. (Bard has been declared off limits)
Should the Jays pull the trigger on this offer, in your opinion? Is it better/worse than what the Phillies are offering, in your opinion?
MW: I have been told that the story isn’t true, but I don’t know if that’s the overwhelming offer that’s necessary anyway. As I’ve said before, if a team says that a prospect is off-limits in discussing Roy Halladay, then Halladay should be off-limits, too.
- ShawnStat lady - The Leafs have made the final four in the NHL four times since the Jays’ last playoff appearance.
MW: When you count all their losses as losses, the Leafs were 34-48 last season, 36-46 the season before, 40-42 the year before that. In ‘05-’06 they finished .500, and they were 45-27-10 in the pre-lockout season (2003-04), which was the last time they had a winning record.
Stat lady - The Leafs have made the “final four” four times since the Jays’ last playoff appearance. These accomplishments are what the fans remember. Do you think Leaf fans or Jays fans care about being above .500? They don’t. Getting to the final four is something that generates excitement in the city, and the Jays simply haven’t come close. They haven’t been in the final eight since 1993.
MW: Interesting move changing your argument there when you’re proven wrong.
Great discussion !! Good points Mike.
MW: This is from the same e-mail address as the stat lady.
- alecHalladay
Scutaro
Frasor
for
Buchholz
Bowden
Bard
Lowrie
Anything wrong with this?
MW: I’d do it.
- DougMike, thought you’d enjoy this great article.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=4359938
couple general questions:
1. if a player suffers an injury that ends his season, early in the season (such as litsch) does he get credited with a year of service time or is it prorated?
2.when we hear about slumping players taking “extra” batting practice, do they ever face pitchers throwing game speed? or is it just extra regular style batting practice with meatballs hurling at them?
MW: Excellent article - I liked it a lot! 1 - Players continue to accumulate service time when they’re on the disabled list. 2 - It’s just plain batting practice.
- General ZodMike, I’m Just looking ahead here to Tuesday August 18/09!
Red Sox: Roy Halladay
Vs
Blue Jays: Brett Cecil (TBD)
Whadaya think Mike? If I’m J.P. I’m dealing with the Red Sox! At least after what I heard may be the deal since getting a call from a buddy in Bean Town! Then, hearing close to the same thing on the Fan 590 this afternoon!
Good deal both ways as it is, and to boot the Red Sox and Jays, may work a 3-way deal somewhere else to send a ss the Jays way - that will seal the deal without a doubt!
J.P. is going to be in a tough spot for sure in the next day or two as to deciding where to send Doc!
Isn’t this nutty - one day it’s no way he is going anywhere and the next it’s just a matter of where not if!
I’m betting and hoping he will be a Red Sox before the end of this week. Or maybe, the Red Sox have put out this info only to make Philly up the ante and send Doc off to the NL!
You know also the Yanks are sitting in the weeds, scratching their collective heads right now wondering what they can do in order to prevent Doc heading to Bean Town.
Worst case scenerio for Doc going to Boston? This deal has the “potential” to make the Jays a very good team that may just finally put it all together in 2010 and really challenge. That is if they only deal Doc and stand pat with what they now have (other than a new ss)! That would be just horrible for Doc.
If no new starting ss, and if Mighty Joe can produce the rest of the season and into spring training in 2010, I could see him starting at 2nd with Hill at ss for the Jays!
Looking forward to seeing Doc in a Red Sox uniform! Not to worry Jays fans, Doc will make you better with or without him! Don’t fret, you will get to see him plenty when he pitches for Boston!
That call Mike from William in N.S. - was by far the funniest call I have heard on your show! That guy was hillarious and you handled that call with perfection!Great job! Ya gotta love those “Bluenosers”! I’m still chuckling over that!
Take care and thank you!
- Bob from BurlingtonHey Mike, long time no comment from me.
I have a question that really confuses me - what is so important about OPS? OBP is important because it’s a single stat that calculates the frequency of someone being on base, slugging is important for how many bases per at bat, but those two adding together simply doesn’t make much sense. It doesn’t mean anything realistically, and it’s hard to find stuff to prove that that stat is so important. I don’t know if I’m looking at it wrongly, or if it’s overlooked.
It is two separate stats added together, and isn’t it just as useless as “Wins + Losses”?
I don’t get it.
Looking forward to you solving the question I had for, like about a year.
MW: It’s not perfect, no stat is, but it gives a good overview and is a solid starting point for further delvage. But no, on it’s own, OPS doesn’t give you a clear picture at all. There’s no difference between a walk-free slugger who hits .280/.310/.500 and a power-free walk machine who hits .310/.405/.405.
- PeterIn the bottom of the 2nd inning with one out, Seattle had runners on second and third with the Canadian rookie Michael Saunders up to bat. Seattle was winning by one run and Rzepczynski was struggling with his control. His pitch sequence to Saunders was as follows:
0-0 fastball strike (swinging)
0-1 slider strike (swinging)
0-2 slider ball
1-2 slider ball
2-2 slider (foul ball)
2-2 fastball (ball…..set up pitch)
3-2 slider (strike three swinging)
Now I was watching this with a friend of mine. With first base open at the time of the at bat and Rzepczynski getting ahead with the first fastball, I mentioned to my friend that Seattle’s shortstop Cedeno was on deck and was hitting under .200 (BA) and because of him not being much of a threat with the bat, Saunders was not going to get anything good to hit for the rest of the at bat. Sure enough he got a steady diet of junk, topped off with a 3-2 slider.
The concept here being that he wasn’t too concerned if he walked Saunders because he wasn’t worried about pitching to Cedeno with the bases loaded. Rance Mulliniks said the same thing right after the 3-2 slider.
This is the same concept of protection (or lack there of) that you and I have debated about over the course of this season. When these situations come up it seems so obvious to me what’s going on. To people like Rance who have played the game it seems pretty clear what’s going on. I’m not sure why you don’t think this concept exists. To me, if someone puts together a metric that suggests that something (a concept) is not statistically significant or doesn’t exist but I witness this concept take place over and over, my first thought would be that maybe the person who put the metric together failed to capture something in the equation. We see this concept of protection or lacks there of all the time but you’re still convinced it doesn’t exist……What’s up with that Mike?
MW: I trust the math, the numbers, the facts more than I trust our impressions of things.
- RealityCheckIf Halladay gets traded then Rolen gets traded and then Millar gets DFA’d right?
MW: I think that they’ll try to trade Millar (I hear they might be interest!). They’d look to trade Rolen, Downs and Overbay if Halladay gets traded.
- RenegadeMW: Hopefully Tom and Bob Elliott will get in together.
Well, maybe the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Mary’s
____________________________
MW: This is from the same e-mail address as the stat lady.
Yea, she’s my mom. I don’t think you’re reading her posts very well…..or maybe you just want to be contrary where the Leafs are concerned.
MW: I don’t want to be contrary, I just want to make sure the truth gets out there, and hers was a pretty poor argument for someone who calls herself the stat lady. Tom and Bob Elliott are already in the Canadian Ball hall.
- alecwhy would they want to trade Downs instead of trying to re-sign him?
MW: Because he would seem to have quite a bit of value now, and he’ll be 34 when he hits free agency after 2010.
- Jamie TMike. There’s a new Aaron Hill commercial on Sportsnet. Basically talking all about him and how hes one of the best 2b in baseball. My question is this - if Halladay is traded, do you think the Jays marketing try to make Hill not the next ‘franchise’ player but the new face of the Jays?
MW: Probably.
- RenegadeAlso.. Snider went 2 for 4 tonight. He’s been hitting very well in July. Do you know if his Super2 is over yet?
MW: There’s no way to know for sure whether a guy will be a Super 2 or not. It’s not a set number of days. I think the Jays probably need a couple more weeks to be safe.
- RenegadeIchiro is the best contact hitter in baseball. I don’t know what else to say. Downs throws him a nasty slider that no human being should be able to hit, but Ichiro puts all bat on it.
- SteveHi Mike:
I’m a longtime listener of the Fan 590’s baseball coverage. While I’ve disagreed with you a number of times, I respect your encyclopedic baseball knowledge and class—whether it be cutting off callers who proclaim that so-and-so “sucks” to understanding and appreciating that players and management are real people who deserve to be treated respectfully.
I share your view. Which is why writing this is proving to be very difficult. It’s never easy to be fired/let go. Most of us have had it happen in our lives—and there are few worse feelings one can experience. That being said, I do think it’s time that the Jays move in another direction with regards to the General Manager position. I’m sure JP is a good man who tries his best. However, after eight years, we need to see if there’s someone else out there who can put together a contending team.
Here are my thoughts on the topic–
Many, including JP, point to the fact that we play in the same division as big spenders Boston and New York and this makes it very difficult for us to win the AL East/qualify for the playoffs. However, wasn’t one of the reasons JP was hired in 2001 was for his assertion that the Jays didn’t have to spend lots of money to compete? That we needed to do things smarter (a la Oakland A’s and Twins)? I heard him say this a number of years ago and read about it in Moneyball.
Further, when the spending was increased in the last three years, the players JP brought in failed (for one reason or the other) to deliver us a “contending team”. Notice that I didn’t write “World Series title”, “American League champion”, “division winner” or even “playoff team”? I used the term “contending team”. At the end of the day, that’s the minimum I’m seeking in a General Manager—one that provides me with a truly interesting September every few years. As a fan who spends thousands of dollars on tickets/stadium food/merchandise each year, I don’t think it’s too much to ask. I think eight years is more than enough time to determine the overall effectiveness of a GM (heck, we gave Frank Thomas 60 at bats last year to prove he could contribute!). During Ricciardi’s time at the helm, we’ve gone through 4 different managers, an almost total overhaul of the major league roster (can’t think of anyone besides Halladay and Wells who are still around) and even a club president. During this same period, the vast majority of Major League Baseball teams (23 in all?) have secured a playoff birth at one point or the other.
Moreover, JP has also done very little to earn the affection of Torontonians. Whether it be choosing to live in the US during the season (I do realize that it may not really impact his effectiveness—but it does send the wrong message to the city and perception counts for a lot), lying to fans about Ryan’s injury or casting dispersions on Adam Dunn’s character, JP has been something less than a PR star. This wouldn’t matter very much if he was delivering contending teams. However, it just provides another point of aggravation after eight years of non-contention.
Mike, I know you’re a very smart guy and someone who, to a certain degree, supports JP and the job he’s doing. I also know you’ll be able to pull out a number of stats and/or points in support of JP. At the end of the day, as someone who pays his own way to games and is passionate about the game in general and this team in particular, I just feel that eight is enough to make a call on the GM.
MW: And you’re entitled to that opinion. He hasn’t delivered a contending team in eight years (though do remember that the first three years were spent paring payroll and such - they couldn’t have been expected to compete then). I’m sorry, I can’t blame him for the Jays’ failures the last two seasons, when they fielded really good teams but fell short. Two things with which I have to take issue - yes, Ricciardi said in 2001 that he could win cheap, but that year the Yankees led the bigs with a $109 million payroll. Two years later, they were at $180 million. And while you point out that a whole whack of other teams have made the playoffs since J.P. came along, you fail to point out that only ONCE has an A.L. East team other than the Yankees and Red Sox qualified for the post-season in that time frame.
Very true Mike, howecer you fail to point out that their are only three teams in the AL east other than the yankees and the redsox.
So only the Jays and Orioles have not made the playoffs in that time frame.
MW: Are you back to cutting-and-pasting entire long comments? It’s really counter-productive, I have to tell you. Yes, only the Jays and Orioles have not made the playoffs in that time frame, but the Rays have only made it once. That’s the point.
- joshHi Mike,
What’s going on with Snakeface and do you think his recent form seriously detracts from his trade value?
MW: I can only imagine that his foot is still bothering him. I wouldn’t say it seriously detracts from his trade value, but it’s sure not helping. If they don’t trade Halladay, though, Snakeface isn’t going anywhere.
- OzRob