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The Dock Team

Here’s the thing about A.J. Through his seasons in the MLB, he has had scouts and everybody talking about his enomorous potential. When Burnett is on his game, he is simply dominant, and nearly unhittable, especially to right handed batters. Since the all-star break he really setlled in. Post All-Star break he posted a 8-2 record, a 2.86 ERA, 1.18 WHIP a BAA of .230, while striking out 105 hitters over 94.1 IP. Which is phenomonal, and I guess he showed his potential everyone has talked about for years.

The good things about Burnett. It seemed as though since Cito Gaston took over as manager for John Gibbons, Burnett has really shown his potential and what a dominating force he is on the mound. He has a devastating knuckle curve which is nearly unhittable and can simply over power hitters with a 95-98 mph fastball. The staff ace Roy Halladay tried to express to him the importance of poise and how to concentrate on the mound. For once in A.J.’s career it seemed that someone finally got through to him. The Jays showed what they’re capable of doing when their bats are hot as they rode a 10-game win streak right at the start of September, but yet again another Blue Jay September surge fell short. Too little, too late. The Blue Jays finished with the lowest team ERA in all of baseball, and with the hitters doing their part for once, the Jays were a force to be reckened with. The September surge and managerial changes could prove to be a factor in the decision of Alan James Burnett, as well as the front office changes in bringing back Paul Beeston as the interim CEO. Burnett said to have almost been in tears after being taken out of the game for his last start of the 2008 season, when the crowd left him with a standing ovation and loud chants across the stadium of “A.J.! A.J.!” At the end of the season Burnett made it seem that there was a good chance he was staying with the Jays in hopes of winning a World Championship next season.

Not so fast, this is A.J. Burnett we’re talking about.

Now the not so good things. The pitcher who seemed to always get in one bad inning. That bad inning where he would give up a run or two and erupt giving up 5 or 6 after getting frustrated and pounding the catcher’s mitt with repeated fastballs. The Burnett who seemed to always get injuries and could never have a healthy season. The inconsistent Burnett who would strike out 10 batters in one game, and the next be pulled in the 5th inning. The thing is, it seems to me Burnett is all about three things. Money, money, and more money. His last contract year was 2005 with the Florida Marlins. The year he posted a 3.44 ERA with a 12-12 record over 209 IP. The year he struck out 198 batters. Burnett has only had 30+ starts in two seasons. Both of the seasons were 2005, 2008. Both seasons where his current contract ran out at the end of the season. 

In 2005, he signed a 5-year $55M deal with the Jays, with a 2-year player option for the last 2 seasons. The 3 seasons are up, and now Burnett can file for free agency any minute he wants. After a season of 18 wins and 231 SO. Come on, be realistic, what is the man going to do? Cash in. 

If he signs an extenstion with the Jays, will he just go back to his old self until another contract year? Would we see the inconsistent injury-prone A.J. were normally used to seeing? If he signs the 2 year extentsion, you think he will be healthy all 4 seasons and strike out 200 and win 15 games every year? No, it won’t happen.

Right now the Jays need to make a decision, and J.P. Ricciardi really wants to lock up A.J. and has made the decision of offering him the extension. Right now, I would do the same thing, if the rotation was healthy going into 2009, maybe not.

Shaun Marcum is out for all of next season, and Dustin McGowan is out until May or June. For a team that wants to be playing baseball in October next year, without Burnett would this rotation really settle it?

• Roy Halladay
• Jesse Litsch
• David Purcey?
• Casey Janssen or Scott Downs?
• Scott Richmond?

No.

If Burnett doesn’t sign, that’s what the rotation could look like for the start of 2009. Not pretty for a team that wants to win a championship, and keep in mind McGowan is out until May or June. So if they sign Burnett, let’s hope he has finally reached his potential and can concentrate on the mound, because they will need him to do that if they want to see post season action for the first time in 15 years. Riccardi has his work cut out for him this off-season, even with Burnett next year, I still think the team could use some help in the starting rotation. But free agents I’d like to see in Toronto is a whole different story.

Next blog(s): Why Blue Jays fans should start worrying if we don’t see October baseball north of the border in the very near future. Realistic free agents I’d like to see on the Blue Jays roster in 2009. 

It will run from  1 November to 6 December and the preview is on Friday 31 October at 5.30pm – you can download your invitation here.

I know a certain reader who did the jig tonight….

 John Gibbons

Gibbons and Trey Hillman have managed against one another at every level from Class-A to the Major Leagues. Gibbons started his coaching career as a minor league roving instructor with the Mets from 1991 to 1993. As he moved up in the Mets system, he squared off with Hillman, then a manager in the Yankees farm system. In 1996, Hillman was the Florida State League Manager of the Year. His Tampa Yankees finished first in the regular season with a 84-50 mark. Gibbons’ club, the St. Lucie Mets, went 71-62 and won the Florida State League Championship with playoff wins over Clearwater and Vero Beach.

In 1998, Gibbons and Hillman were reunited in the Eastern League. Hillman was in his second season with the Norwich Navigators while Gibbons managed the Binghamton Mets. Both were promoted to the Triple-A level for the 1999 season. Over the next three seasons, Hillman skippered the Columbus Clippers while Gibbons led the Norfolk Tides.

Managing eventually took the pair out of the country. For Gibbons, that was just across the border in Toronto, where he led the Blue Jays from 2004 to 2008. Hillman’s odyssey continued in Japan, as he skippered the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters from 2003 to 2007. Gibbons and Hillman squared off in April and May of 2008, with Gibbons and the Jays taking 5 of the 7 contests. Now in 2009, the two will work side by side.

Kevin Seitzer

Kevin Seitzer’s relationship with the Royals goes back nearly three decades. Seitzer, a prep standout in Lincoln, Illinois, was scouted out of high school by 2008 Royals Hall of Fame inductee Art Stewart. Seitzer’s batting skills impressed Stewart to the point that Stewart knew that the young player would someday play in the Major Leagues. Seitzer decided to attend college at Eastern Illinois in the fall of 1980. Stewart continued to track Seitzer’s progress at Eastern, and in 1983, the Royals selected the right-handed hitter in the 11th round.

Late in 1986, Seitzer arrived in Kansas City. A year later, the story at the beginning of the season was that Seitzer would play third base, which had been manned by George Brett since his arrival in late 1973. Brett moved to first, and Seitzer fit in right away with an offensive year for the record books. Seitzer tied Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett for the league-lead with 207 hits. The total was the most by a Major League rookie since Tony Oliva’s 217 in 1964. He was the fourth Royal to collect 200 hits in a season, and is still the only rookie to accomplish the feat. Seitzer tied a franchise record with 6 hits on August 2, 1987. He is the only player, home or visiting, with 6 hits in a single game at Kauffman Stadium. No other player has had more than 4.

Seitzer played for the Royals through the 1991 season before going on to Milwaukee, Oakland, and Cleveland. He coached for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007 and currently runs a successful baseball training facility along with his former teammate, Mike Macfarlane.

ATH welcomes both John Gibbons and Kevin Seitzer to the Royals coaching staff. We look forward to watching them build relationships with the players in 2009.

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He gives good a perspective on how other teams, and also other people for that matter,
 percieve the Jays looking forward.  More importantly, looking forward post-A.J. Burnett.  Here is the link, for those that are interested:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=bryant_howard&id=3588364

He pulls quotes from Red Sox first baseman, Sean Casey, and J.P. Ricciardi throughout the article.  I find it interesting that the article gives you the idea that the Blue Jays future success is only dependant on the return or departure of A.J. Burnett. 

Don’t get me wrong here, A.J. Burnett has been a big part of our sucess this season.  But he is only one player, and a pitcher at that.  The reason for the Blue Jays being a scary team that no in the league wants to face, is the rotation and bullpen.  Joe Maddon, Rays Manager, says “the Blue Jays have the best front-end rotation in the league.”  He is right.  We certainly haven’t been winning games, until recently, with our bats this year. 

If the front-end of the Jays rotation is so feared, then what are we without one of it’s pieces?  According to this article, and the impression of the Blue Jays ’from the outside looking in’, is apparently not much.

This brings up questions, coming into next season, that Jays fans have been thinking about all year.  Is A.J. replaceable?  How deep really is our pitching (in the minors etc..)?  Are our front-end starters really that dominant?  What about Litsch, Marcum, Purcey, McGowan?  Can they be one of the guys capable of replacing Burnett at the front-end?  Can our offense be a strongpoint? (we’ve been a lot better under Cito)

Very Important Questions:

Is there a chance A.J. will not opt-out?  Do we want to sign him if he does? (for a catastrophic amount) Do we give up on J.P. Ricciardi like we gave up on ‘his boy’ John Gibbons?  Can we have the kind of year Tampa has had?  Can this team beat Tampa?

The article ends with this quote from Sean Casey:  “Look at Tampa. We feel like Tampa is winning every night. It seems like in order to win this division when you’re not one of those top two, you have to have one of those perfect years. You have to win every night like they’re doing, and we’re still right on their heels.”      

Under Cito, do the Jays have to ability now, to put together one of these years?  We have definately proved that during the second half of the season.  Does that make you, as a Jays fan, confident?  Or is the loss of A.J. Burnett the ‘end all be all’ for this team?

It will hurt, but I think that that is a bit of an exageration.  If the fate of the Blue Jays, post-A.J. Burnett, turns into a mediocre and disappointing season in 2009.  Then the ’evil economics’ of baseball will have reared its ugly head on the Jays again.  Succumbing, once again, to the ‘Evil Empires’ of New York, Boston and maybe now LA.            

Cito was around here for years. In 1992, he become the manager for his first full season, after the past season he became an interim manager. The team won two world series back-to-back world series in ’92 and ’93. He became very famous around the Toronto area.

The Blue Jays remain convinced that their team is better than its performance in the first half of this season. A postseason berth might seem light years away, but Toronto is still clinging to some semblance of hope.

Given the way this year has played out so far for the Blue Jays, that hope might be more in relation to next season. There’s a long way to go for a Toronto club that struggled mightily with the bat in the season’s opening act, leading to sweeping changes on the coaching staff.

It’s a project that Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is more than willing to take on and one he might not have accepted if he didn’t believe Toronto had the talent to improve. In Gaston, the Jays now have a manager with an extensive resume and a walking reminder of the Blue Jays’ glory years. 

Cito replaced John Gibbons as the Blue Jays’ manager on June 20 in Pittsburgh. Since then the Blue Jays have gone 12-9 under him. The Blue Jays might reside in last place in the American League East, but Gaston believes they can still turn things around.

“As far as the future here, I think we have a good-looking ballclub,” Gaston said. “I don’t think this is going to happen all at once, but I think it’s going to be good. I think this club has a chance to be a good ballclub, whether it’s this year or next year.

“There’s a reason I’m back here. I don’t mean just because they asked me. I just think there’s a bigger plan to all of this. Hopefully, I can guide this team in the right way, and we can have another World Series here in the near future. I don’t think it’s that far away — I really don’t.”

Source:http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080708&content_id=3095023&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Let’s take a look at how much credit or blame the three teams deserve for the whacking of their head men:

New York Mets – Split Grade – A (for the move) / F (for the way it was handled) / C (for the aftermath)

Give them credit for being the first ones to the dance.  The Mets shocked their fan base by firing Willie Randolph while most of us slept back on the East Coast.  In fairness, most weren’t surprised by Willie being let go so much as how it was done.  Without wasting space here, let’s just say The Mets officially proved they can no longer be considered the classier of the two New York baseball teams in terms of how they handle manager dismissals.  Somewhere in baseball heaven, this is, of course, no relief to Billy Martin.

Randolph needed to go.  After last season’s choke job and being under .500 as a club for over a year while having one of baseball’s largest payrolls, that much was clear.  The Mets went to Jerry Manuel as a replacement and a solid one at that.  Manuel was once upon a time the manager of the year for the Chicago White Sox.  Since, his promotion, Manuel has won a couple of games and threatened to “cut” Jose Reyes, which got him a lot of negative publicity.  Given the Mets’ play over the last year, maybe it’s past time to let the players know they could be whacked too…

Seattle Mariners - Split Grade – A (for the move) / C (for McLaren’s replacement)

Second up on this week’s hit parade was Seattle’s John McLaren.  Seattle, with a relatively high payroll considering their market, was expected to do big things this year.   About the only big thing they’ve managed to do is lose and lose big.  By the time he was fired, Seattle was 25-47 and seriously threatening to become the first team with a plus $100 million payroll to ever lose 100 games in a season.  Now, McLaren won’t have the chance to guide his team into that record book.

For what it’s worth to McLaren, perhaps he can take comfort in the fact that Seattle let his boss GM Bill Bavasi go as well. It was obvious something had to be done about this season and it’s obvious this mess wasn’t all McLaren’s fault.  A long time assistant, McLaren took over last year when Mike Hargrove quit on the team.  Although Seattle won 88 games last year, you couldn’t help noticing that their play down the stretch was even worse than that of Willie Randolph’s Mets.  Seattle lost 15 of 17 and didn’t make the playoffs.  Ouch!

And for help the Mariners turn to?  Jim Riggleman.  Yes, Jim Riggleman a two time former manager who hasn’t been the top guy for a MLB team since 1999 (the last Millennium).  Give Seattle credit for finding a veteran hand to guide them through the rest of the season.  Plus, his career sub .500 winning percentage as a manager suits the team perfectly…

Toronto Blue Jays – Split Grade – (B- for the move) / (D+ for Gibbons’ Replacement)

As much as the Mets firing was greeted incorrectly as a surprise in many parts, the Jays’ firing of manager John Gibbons was a true surprise.  Gibbons was sure he was safe for this season.  Turned out, he was very wrong.  The bigger shock was the direction the team decided to move in post-Gibbons.  The past!

It’s clear Toronto has underachieved over the last few years.  They never have come close to seriously threatening the BoSox and Bronx Bombers’ domination of the AL East.  Maybe that brought on a pang of nostalgia.  How else do you explain the Blue Jays hiring Cito Gaston for a second act in Toronto?

Gaston’s first act was a success to be sure.  Two World Series titles looks fantastic on a resume absolutely.  That said, second acts rarely work in sports or in life.  It’s tough to reclaim past glory. 

Doubt that fact?  How do you explain these second term failures?  Joe Gibbs in DC.  Red Holtzman in New York.  And the second Sonny and Cher show (the one after they were divorced and bet you thought I was going to go for the obvious Bush joke!).

Cito Gaston, despite winning two titles, never was thought of as a top tier major league manager back in the day.  Incorrectly or not, that’s the lingering perception.  Since he ended his first run in Toronto over a decade ago, he’s never managed again.  This second act will determine Gaston’s legacy.  If he can right the ship and return the Jays to glory, then he’ll be thought of as a great manager.  If not, he’ll be thought of as, well, Cito Gaston, a guy who won two championships a long time ago.  Yawn…

PS – While Gibbons is gone for those looking for more blood, it might be good to keep an eye on Jays’ GM J.P. Ricciardi.  The GM has been on the scene in Toronto for some time and has failed to turn things around while recently embarrassing the organization for his comments on Reds’ player Adam Dunn.  Ricciardi apologized, but ultimately will he be “Dunn” in to?

Now onto the good stuff……..hitting!

Of course, the plethora of hits goes un-televised.  But hey, maybe they hit better without that sort of pressure.

I had the game on the radio this afternoon, I tell you it sounded like a thing of beauty.  I want to touch a bit on the hit-fest (17 in total) and also about Gibbon’s lineup for the night (and what I would’ve done).

So all the Jays enjoyed today’s game correct?  I mean why not, 17 hits, 12 runs, great defense, looked pretty good!  Except one note sticks out like a sore thumb….

Alex Rios, 0-6, with 9 runners left on base.  Ouch.  This is the type of the game where everyone should be rolling.  Loose and pressure-free, Rios should’ve been leading the charge.  As noted earlier it seemed like he was starting to come along, hopefully this is nothing serious.  It would be nice to see him bounce back with a huge game tomorrow night in L.A.

Aside from the Rios thing, every other starter got a hit which is nice to see.  Let’s keep ‘em rolling.

Ok, last entry I mentioned the likelihood of seeing Scutaro, Eckstein and Mench.  What I didn’t see coming was Brad Wilkerson coming in and Overbay sitting out. 

What I would argue about that move is the recent play of Overbay.  His past 7 games he’s batting .318 (7 for 22) and his average is now at a respectable .273 and climbing.  Compared to Wilkerson, who is batting .209 overall and .235 his past 7.  The move just doesn’t make sense unless Overbay specifically requested the day off (which I doubt he would have).  Both are left-handed batters, so there is no pitcher-batter “mis-match”, and Wilkerson is batting less than Overbay against lefties this year (.188 vs .208 respectively). 

It seems to me that Lyle Overbay is starting to heat up, and I think it is in his best interest to see as many AB’s as possible to keep the flow going.  Especially against left-handed pitching…in a laugher like this it might be good for him to get some swings against a lefty with no pressure so he can work on seeing the ball from that side of the mound in preparation for the close games.

All that being said, Wilkerson goes 1-4 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored.  So what do I know.

Scutaro and Eckstein continue to be on a tear.  Marco going 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 R and David enjoying his time back going 2-3, 2 BB, 1 RBI. 1 R.  Not too shabby if you ask me.

Jays fly south to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a 3 game set starting tomorrow night at 10:05 ET.

Dustin McGowan (3-4. 3.90) vs. Jared Weaver (4-5, 4.16)

Go Jays Go

**Note: In-game stats taken from

 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20080529&content_id=2794408&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp&team=away

It seems that Scutaro will likely get the start at shortstop tonight in place of Eckstein (not 100% verified, but reported from http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080528&content_id=2785980&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor) 

I like the call from Gibbons here.  Make sure Eckstein doesn’t aggravate anything and it gives Scutaro the chance to swing the bat.  Plus, this rotation is easier in Oakland with the alternating lefty-righty-lefty pitching the Jays see in these 3 games (the first being yesterday).  With the right-hander up today you allow for Stairs to enter the lineup (likely the DH with Inglett in the outfield), and you can play Marco at shortstop.  Look for tomorrow to be very similar to yesterday, with Stairs available off the bench (Lefty starter for the A’s) and having both Eckstein and Scutaro in the lineup again.

Having Joe Inglett around has worked out too.  His ability to play everywhere keeps a lot of options open, especially now when trying to work in Scutaro, Ecks, and Stairs.

Eckstein had a nice little return to the plate (little shaky on the defensive side to start, e.g. first ground ball of the game) going 2 for 3.  Hopefully he can build on that and start to get on base regularly (which is the reason they brought him in).

Moral of the story: the Blue Jays are deep this year.  Deeper then they have been in years past.  They look to be in good shape if the middle of the order can start producing some runs.

Overbay is locked in, Rolen has been solid since his first plate appearance as a Jay.  Stairs is playing a critical role yet again this year.  The key pieces that are missing (aside from Wells, but I’m talking active roster here) are Hill and Rios.  If the tandem of Hill-Rios-Rolen catches fire you will see the difference in the other 6 in the lineup. 

Hopefully Wells will come back and be able to contribute this season.  My only fear is looking at what happened to Overbay.  Only now is he starting to find his groove after breaking his hand last year.  If Toronto wants to be competitive, Vernon has to come back off the DL and swing the bat like he did pre-shoulder surgery.

So easy to speculate, yet often times (especially for Jays fans) painful to actually bear witness to.  

But hey….You Gotta Believe.

Go Jays Go 

Anyways, despite not playing a part in the sweep-clinching W (I feel my attention produces wins), I am stoked (bro) the Jays’ pulled it off. In extra innings no less. And Rios actually contributed. Although he only had one hit, it produced one of the runs in the 3-2 11 inning victory. The Jays’ once again rode a early inning burst to the W with a 2 run 3rd.

Otherness, Gibbons almost fucked up pitching assignments once again as he only had one reliever left in the pen when the game ended. I guess you could argue that Shawn Camp could have remained in the game had the Jays not scored the run in the 11th, but thats not encouraging either. Whatever we got the W and thats all that counts.

Apparently (I say this because I have no first hand knowledge of such an occurence. Besides numerical evidence) Dustin McGowan was wild tonite this afternoon. I thought Gibby may have performed another premature pull until I saw his pitch count. 104 in 5 innings? Shit. I’m a little concerned with Chairman Gow’s last two outings.

Jesse Crain once again shit the bed by allowing the game clinching run for the second straight game. Right on Jesse.

Scotty Roles ended his streak of Masterful plate discipline by swinging on the first pitch in 3 of his ABs and only seeing a total of 11 throughout his 5 plate appearances. Whatever, I ain’t mad at cha. Guy scored the game winning run for the second straight game.

The Beej!! locked down the save to pull out of a inexplicable tie with Scotty Downs. The universe has been remedied.

Tomorrow sees the Jays travel to Philly to face Jamie Moyer. Epitome of the Senior Circuit right there. We’ll also by seeing David Purcey. Hopefully Moyer’s lack of velocity will counter Purcey’s lack of control.

I would just copy/paste, but I don’t have the story saved on this particular computer. Needless to say, I’m sure it would’ve been the greatest thing you read all day.

To summarize, Roy Halladay OK on birthday, Scott Rolen makes odd play on basepaths, but Twins screw up defensively for the second straight night ultimately leading towards their demise. Oh, and John Gibbons makes a joke about Canadiens because both Matt Stairs and Justin Morneau went yard in the first inning. He also admitted that he has no fans. Per my blog post early last week, I’m in agreement.

Unrelated note — did anyone watch the end of that Lakers/Jazz game last night? Maybe I’m just seeing things, but on Pau Gasol’s two big rebound putbacks late in the game it certainly appears he pushed off to get the board. They ended up being the nails in the coffin for the Jazz, which was disappointing despite the fact I’m not much of a Utah fan.

Shaun Marcum pitched a gem through eight innings, striking out nine while allowing just one hit. It took awhile, but the Jays offense finally supplied him with a run in the seventh, then spent more than 15 minutes tacking on five runs in the eighth (it probably was closer to 25 minutes, but I wasn’t paying close enough attention while working). So Marcum, now with a 6-0 lead, nearly 100 pitches under his belt and no fewer than 15 minutes getting cold on the bench of course would call it a night. Or at least he would have if a capable manager was running the show.

But Marcum plays Gibbons, who went to the Dusty Baker school of destroying pitching arms, so there went Marcum back out for the ninth inning. Sure enough, Marcum gave up two runs on three hits after he recorded two outs in the ninth and had to be relieved.

I was no doubt more emotionally invested in this than normal because Marcum started on my fantasy club that was in the middle of one of its biggest moves up the standings this season. Regardless, I fail to see a good reason for Marcum to even be in the game at this point. What purpose could it possibly serve? Even if Marcum retires the side there like he almost did, what does that prove? Protect your pitchers’ arms!!! You’re going to need those come September!

Maybe Toronto will bring in a manager who knows that next season…

That was me, for the past 3 weeks I’ve been without my laptop and frequenting public computer labs.  Upon graduating from a College course in Public Relations, they stole my computer rental and took away some key programs, like Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office.  I was able to get them back, however, and now I’m good to go, so you can expecting some more fancy designing (i.e. The Carmona/Corona label below).

So, now that I have my laptop back, it is time for the Blue Jays to win again.  Pleeeeease!  Man, Wha happend when I was gone!  Murphy!  Six game losing streak and we fall into last place in the AL east?  It is definately a sign that I need to keep up with this blog, in order for the Blue Jays to win. 

To me, it is now becoming obvious that the Blue Jays need to shake things up a bit.  John Gibbons, wow, you are definately on the hot seat.  The way Frank Thomas was handled, in Toronto, was despicable.  I solely blame this on management.  Thomas was a clubhouse leader, proven to produce, and committed to making the Blue Jays a winning club this season.  The Jays need guys like that, we definately don’t need to be getting rid of them.  No doubt, he will have a big year with Oakland now, and that may come back to bite the Jays in the future.  It is obvious what the Jays are, all pitching and limited offense!  Soon, we will be crying for a big hitter and this whole situation will haunt the team. 

On the flip side of that coin, the Jays are deep enough, this season, that we will be okay.  Matt (‘the lumberjack’) Stairs (I call him the lumberjack because he looks like one and swings a bat like one) will be inserted into the lineup more often, and the Jays will also see what they can get from Adam Lind (not much recently!). 

The big question here is:

Does this make the Jays a better team?

No, definatly not in the long run.  I’m sure that Thomas would have had a huge year for us, in and towards the second half, following his usual trend of being a second half star. 

Are the Jays still okay without Thomas?

Yes.  The big additions to our team, this season, were Rolen and Eckstein.  They bring the winning attitudes, and Rolen looks, in my estimation, to be poised for a great year.  They, are what will really make the difference for this team.  My prediction that the Troy Glaus for Scott Rolen deal, would be the best move J.P. has ever made as Blue Jay’s GM, is starting to come true in it’s initial stages.  Stairs will hit for a higher average but will have less homerun pop, and we are all waiting on (‘the heartbreak kid’) to come around.  It that those things happen, the Jays will be good, if not great this season.  Here is hoping Blue Jay fans.

With Thomas, I don’t buy into the conspiracy.  Benching Thomas was a management decision and a very bad one.  J.P., sticking to his strategy of making players happy, released Thomas because the position Gibbons put him in.  What do you think about the conspiracy?  Was it management or front office?  Really, if you know, I would also like to know.             

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays front office appears to be as impatient as a collegiate Athletic Director.

Win or go home..or at least somewhere besides here.

That’s the message Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi delivered to future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas. The longtime Chicago White Sox first baseman turned Designated Hitter is officially out of the Blue Jays organization.

After being told he would be taken out of the lineup and, at least temporarily, inserted as a part-time player, Thomas resorted to similar antics that drove him out of Chicago. Rather than working with management and finding his way out of an early season slump (.167 average, 3 homers, 11 RBIs), he agreed that the best option was to part ways with the Toronto franchise on Sunday.

“I’m angry,” Thomas told the Toronto Star. “I know I can help this team. My career isn’t going to end like this.”

Jays manager John Gibbons contends that sitting the slumping Thomas was the only option if his team has any chance of keeping pace with perennial AL East powers Boston and New York. Toronto (10-9) is currently 2.5 games out of first place behind Boston (13-7) and Baltimore (11-8), and a half game ahead of the mediocre Yankees (10-10).

Thomas, however, thinks there were other motives behind his release — like helping pay for renovations made to Rogers Centre. The 39-year old slugger needed only 304 more at bats (1,000 total plate appearance between the 2007-08 seasons) to qualify his contract agreement that would have guaranteed a $10 million salary for next season.

“When I talked to Frank, the one thing I mentioned to him was that, ‘Your role will probably be diminished and, just knowing you, I don’t think you’re going to be happy in that role,’ ” Ricciardi told MLB.com. “He said he wouldn’t be happy in that role, so he thought the best bet was just to move on.”

After a similar start last season, Thomas led the team with 26 homers and 95 RBIs. In a young season in which the Blue Jays are in the mix, you still have to wonder if money played into the decision to bench the DH.

Thomas isn’t the only AL East DH that is off to a bad start. In fact, he currently has better numbers than Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Ortiz has started the season a disappointing 12-for-75 with 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, and 15 strike outs. His .160 average, .267 on base percentage, and .240 slugging percentage are also lower than the former Blue Jay. But Boston has yet to show any signs of releasing Big Pappy.

If Ricciardi and Gibbons were afraid of Thomas turning into a clubhouse poison, their best bet is to stay on the good side of recent acquisition Scott Rolen. The primary reason Rolen is in Toronto is because he couldn’t get along with the management of his two former employers.

Despite winning Gold Gloves and Rookie of the Year honors in Philadelphia, the third-baseman had frequent spats with the Phillies skipper and demanded a trade. And his tenure in St. Louis under Tony LaRussa ended in similar fashion. All it took was being benched during the 2006 playoffs in an effort to rest an injury to jumpstart controversy in the Cardinals dugout.

Now that Rolen is finally back from his latest rehab assignment, get ready for sparks to fly in Toronto. And as for talks of picking up Barry Bonds, forget about it. If Ricciardi goes through with the rumors, get ready for the Blue Jays to be the most negatively publicized club this year. The Steinbrenners might actually have some competition in 2008. Be on the lookout for reports of a Frank Thomas jersey buried underneath Rogers Centre.

I Dub Ye Coach Whitt…

…So good luck tonight to Jesse Litsch and the Jays. And I will post a much longer and more in-depth blog later on tonight or tomorrow afternoon.

-Stanton X

“We just gave the game away. Personally, that’s what I think,” Towers said. “Today was just a game that I felt we were in complete control of and we should’ve won and we didn’t. All around, it just wasn’t a great game played by us.

“I just don’t think that we consistently put ourselves in positions to make plays ahead of time,” he continued. “I don’t think we were heads up. I don’t think we consistently show up as a coaching staff and as a team every day, and I think it shows sometimes.”

Are you kidding me?? Our marginal fifth starter, fresh off a season that would make most grown men put a bag over their head and move to a country that had never heard of this baez-boll you speak of, is preaching about consistency, calling out the defence (although only 8 other pitchers in the league can match his 3 errors this season) whining that he was on a short (90 pitches) leash, and blasting our bullpen for allowing 2 runs in 4 innings? What happened the hemming, hawing, a-couple-of-baserunners-just-broke-my brain-but-I’m-happy-to-be-in-the-bullpen-as-long-as-I’m-on-the-team Josh?

A month of decent starts and now he’s kicking ass and taking names. That game ticked the heck out of me, too, but I did the emotionally healthy thing and burnt my Jays jersey to a crisp on an impromptu mound Damaso Garcia style. Pissing on everyone else to the media is for whiners and, uh…above-average players. So I’m calling the shot- JT is out the door, for a bag of doughnuts if need be.

Using the same rationale as clutch hitting (below), ALL the effects not directly related to the team’s ability to score or prevent runs have added up to less than two games over the entire season. There is simply not a manager in the league who could squeeze a 55-43 record (7 more wins) out of a team that has scored 9 more runs than they’ve given up.

In fact, looking at two universally lauded managers- Jim Leyland and Tony Larussa, it’s interesting to see that their teams have exactly the records that their runs for and against predict, despite the notion that they can conjure up wins out of thin air.

There’s still a lot they might be doing to help their team score more runs in the long term (such as nurturing players and putting them in positions where they are more likely to perform) and the short term (shrewd pitching matchups, defensive alignments) – but as a rule of thumb it takes 10 runs saved/added to equal a win, and that’s a lot of good moves to have a noticeable effect.

Usually when people complain about a manager it’s usually for not coming up with the right move in a specific situation that would have won/saved a close game. And those almost entirely even out- no manager defies his team’s numbers.