Old is New

 Old is new again, and I am glad for that.

So when I first went to the mistake by the lake, I am sure that outside the stadium hard by the last hot dog stand, this logo greeted me in 1977, or it looked remarkably like this one.

I think the addition of the Maple Leaf in logo adds flavour, and with this being the only Canadian franchise, we can claim to the home flag emblem.


This at least cause me to by a new cap, a coffee mug, and embrace the old "blue" Jay symbol. I never like the black, the cocky, the angry Blue Jay,
I remember travelling in the United States with the old logo, people identified it immediately,  and it gave me recognition. Toronto's team, it has a brand, and brand is good.  Not sure why the Raptors were so short sighted. Purple and based on a trio of movies.  Guess they did not see that train leaving the station.

A Blue Jay

Anyone notice the high degree of blue in Blue Jay, I guess the new marketing agenda have those colours in their pencil case.










On a personal note, what else is there with blogs, but a couple of observations on this year's team.

1. Where the hell did this kid Yan Gomes from, kid can rake, watch for him.
2. Dusty's comeback in good shape, so far, crossed fingers.
3. Colby, don't make us regret trading half the bloody bullpen to get you
4. Farrell seems a lot more relaxed, perhaps not going to second guess himself.

We are at the half way point, or near abouts in camp, and battle lines are drawn between Snider, Thames, Davis and Francisco. 4 players for 2 jobs.  I have to think Raj Davis is safe, he has hit well, provides speed off the bench and backs up Rasmus.  No prediction on the last outfield spot, not yet anyway.

Rotation is set so long as McGowan and Alvarez continue to shine. Ricky Ro, Morrow and Cecil look good for 1-3 , so Drabek and Laffey go to Vegas. Villaneuva heads to his long role, and the pen is set with Janssesn, Frasor, Coco Cordero, Oliver and Santos. That is 11, and unless they decide to keep Luis Perez, and drop Vizquel, that is the staff.

I don't think that will happen, and I think Omar will stick.  If the rotation pitches well through April into May, and the bullpen does their job, this team will survive the first crunch and be above .500 through the quarter pole, and Omar's experience will steady the kids.

3 keys this year.

Rotation
Lawrie
JP Arencibia

If they get improvements to all 3, we can begin to think Wild Card.

Oh, it's spring, and I can afford to be optimistic.

Class in session

March 20, 2012

Just a few weeks left in camps, April approaches silently.  Most camps have their phenoms still participating in games, the top prospects continue to get long looks.  It is no different in Dunedin, where Jays brain trust followed Henderson Alvarez face a group of fuzzy faced Yankee farm kids.

It was a scheduled day off for the club, but a handful of scrubs performed, while John Farrell , Bruce Walton, and others watched a 21 yr old Venezuelan work on sliders, and off speed pitches.

The idea is Alvarez needs to develop control of his slider in different zones, and this was a good opportunity to experiment.  We got caught up in the games so much, we forget it is a time of learning for young players. Pitchers need a chance to fail, and see what works, and what their next side session will be focused on.

Roving pitching instructor Pat Hentgen spoke to that last weekend, "side sessions, practice sessions", and "how you prepare" are key components for how pitchers learn, and get better. Poor practise habits usually doom a pitcher to mediocrity, or demotion. 

Hentgen raved about all the wealth of talent in the system, but as a proud part of the organisation, I would be surprised if he wasn't.

Low A, High A and Double AA are well stocked...Hutchinson, McGuire, Jenkins, Syndagaard, Sanchez...the list grows yearly. It pushes forward and upward, and less talented arms will fall to the side. Always to challenge for a job. The teaching aspect is what Hentgen will focus on, the practise sessions, the prep.  Making sure they all get it.  Young players usually are a sponge for knowledge, but some believe their fastball is their ticket to the Show.  It helps, but it won't keep them there.

Pat has street cred, a Cy Young, World Series rings, so the kids will listen. It's a good roll for Hentgen, and allows more knowledge to be passed on, while Walton focuses on the 10 -11 heading north. Alavarez snaps off another hard slider, and Walton makes more notes.  Kid can use this in a game, against righties.

The next side session will be spent honing that new found slider, pounding it down in the zone. That is what Walton preaches, " down in the zone"...that is his mantra. If you watched Brett Cecil face the Phils you saw the results of Pappy's preaching first hand.  Cecil was effective when his ball moved in the zone, and cutters and off speed were kept down.  Shane Victorino hit an off speed pitch for a triple, and the pitch was up, so lessons learned.

More lessons planned today against Boston, but before school starts for real, more must be taught, and practised.  It is approaching the "dog days" of camp, soon arms will go dead, only to recover stronger.
But the teaching thing, that goes on and on.

Strasbourg broken down in frames, why, so he can learn release points, this learnin' thing is forever thing.

Spring Time

As I walk the dog each morning, on the back paths of Meadowvale, I hear cardinals chirping to each other.

I think they are probably seeking mates, food, attention, but to me, they signal spring arriving.

Of course today it is snowing, but after a 17 degree Wednesday, one can hardly mind the inconvenience of the white stuff.

Certainly it matters not to the birds, they know what the calendar says, and they know the changing of the seasons better that human folk.

It is also when with Mitch, in tow, that I plan my baseball strategies, of whom should I draft, what options are there.  I whistle and the cardinals reply, the dog thinks I am nuts, but it is my ritual, and I adhere to it.

I also bought a news Jays cap, and so the stars are aligned towards Opening Day with friends to watch the home team play the Indians.  My 5 baseball fantasy teams get slowly assembled, and I follow all the stories, the injuries, the projections to give me the best chance.

I confer with outposts in Sudbury ( Kev ) and Thunder Bay ( Glen ), to London ( Brad ) and the nations capital ( Rick ). Even the left coast ( Brad L ) and we talk and kibbitz about spring training, and what has everyone seen and heard. 

Spring is here, let's start talking baseball.

Out of my League

Baseball authors don't tend to be ex players, Jim Bouton comes to mind, but generally they know their own experience, but cannot retell the stories.

Not as a Ken Boswell, a Peter Gammons, or polished writer can deliver, but here again we have an entry by an obscure minor leaguer, Dirk Hayhurst. I guy who languished in the San Diego farm system and then got a cup of coffee with the Jays.

Hayhurst defies conventional wisdom because he writes as he thinks, and his style is unique. But fans love it, it honest and at times raw.

I read Dirk's first book, Bullpen Gospels and it was a great read. I recommend it , life on the road in the Texas league, plus Dirk's relationship with his family and living with his grandmother was absolutely hilarious. 

As the season approaches, I will begin looking at spring training stories and what bold predicitions for the home squad I feel safe making.

Teams are in camps and so it won't be long before we will have real spring training games, and position battles.

In the meantime,  I'd suggest buying this book. I have and so far it hasn't disappointed.

Winter of my Discontent returns

It could I have covered this ground before, but comments attributed to GM Alex Anthopolous suggest that we should not hold outr collective breaths that free agents or further deals be made, at least not those that would increase the payroll.

So to sum things up for theis off season, here are the changes.

Traded  a AA pitching prospect for Sergio Santos, should be a good move.
Signed Jeff Mathis as the back up catcher, Jeff batting average is not the reason for his acquisition.
Signed Ben Fransisco as a potential 4rth/5th outfielder.
Signed Darren Oliver to a 2 year deal ( 2nd year a club option )

Also, played cat and mouse with fans and media over Yu Darvish, and feigned marginal interest in Prince Fielder if he was interested at all.

All in all a real haul this off season. Matt Garza talks stalled due to incredible demands by the Cubs, and I suspect a similar set of demands from Oakland for Gio Gonzalez.

I feel like we are out in the cold this off season myself. 

Still we have a great "potential" rotation, and a great "potential" line up.

Emphasis on "potential ".

Fans might have been hoping for more, but as a small market team with limited resources (Rogers) we should not expect they had the ability to land marquee talent.   I can hardly wait for Paul Beeston to come on talk radio stations and admit to listeners that all Alex Anthopolous has to do is ask for money and it is there.  Also come July if the Jays are in the hunt, that we will take on payroll.   

Good for you Socks, come July you will be summering in the Kawartha's and making the trip to the park to see how many empty seats we have with a sub .500 record.  Then as usual, there will some comment on the lack of fan support, and that translating into a lack of revenue divided by the square root of "I don't give a crap".

Another year where we have to hope for maturation of Brett Cecil, Brandon Morrow, Henderson Alvarez and Luis Perez, or Kyle Drabek.  A bullpen with a 41 year old spot lefty, and well the same cast of characters as last year. No, there is no Jon Rauch or Franky McFrank Frank, but they have been replaced with cheaper less experienced dudes.

If I sound bitter, I am. This sham has gone on long enough, and I do think the bloom is off the rose for Alex.

Press conferences that he runs had better not start with payroll balancing, or cost certainty, or they will get ugly.

Larkin achieves highest honour

Today Barry Larkin climbed the last 10 feet and has reached the summit in baseball having been inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Having garnered 86 % of the vote, he easily made it and desrvedly so.

This was a player who spanned 3 different decades, 80's, 90's and into the next centennial.  Barry played short stop for the Cincinnati Red legs of the National League, and played one of its hardest positions, shortstop.

Gold Gloves were racked up, All Star invites, MVP considerations and all while bveing the key piece offensively in the Reds line up.

I would watch the Reds play the Expos just watch him field, or throw, and his abilities to be the game changer on offense made him the best hitting shortstop of era.


He only made the one appearance in the World Series in 1990, and excelled fuelling his team's surprise sweep of the Steroid induced Oakland A's.


And so this year at Cooperstown, he and the late Ron Santo will be the latest inductees.

Congratulations, one year late.

Prince Fielder American Tour for Cash

Hello Followers, and a Happy New Year to all !

We are getting closer to the pitchers/catchers countdown being posted on MLB's web site, so let's start the new year off right, and ask what the heck is the leagues biggest free agent ( salary and girth ) doing.

The Prince of Fielder is roaming the country seeking a big wad o' cash, with super agent Scott Boras telling every newspaper or TV reporter his boy Fielder will be getting a 10 year deal, you know, like he got for Arod, and like what that other 1st baseman got in LA.  You remember that Pujols kid, with the 2 World Series rings, and MVP's.  Well sure we do, we just have not seen that from Fielder, yet.

Prince was entertained in Baltimore, Seattle, Chicago, Texas, and Washington, plus the 30 other suitors reported by trustworthy Scott Boras.  Days are passing by, and no one has offered him a 10 year deal.
Peter Gammons reported he'd heard 3- 5 years were offered, and Boras rebuffed those remarks, made by an out sider, someone who does not have the ears of GM's. And while that might be the truth, I am going to give Gammons the benefit of the doubt, at least until proven otherwise.

The Orioles claim they are out, Boras says, well not completely, the Cubs have sniffed around, but made no offer, and Boras says they are being coy, and a big offer is coming. So far the only team that has discussed numbers it seems is the team I am sure he would never want to sign long term with, the Nats.
The Nats are in a slow building mode, and just ask them about long term deals, and they will answer..."Jayson Werth".
I suspect he wants to play in Chicago, and if he does, he will have to accept a lesser term, and manageable money. Theo Esptein would like to make a splash, but is in the process of trying to assess the Cubs needs....which is...every thing it seems.  Adding a 10 yr dead weighted deal does not seem like a smart play, besides, who else is offering 10 years ?  hands up ....

My thoughts are this will drag until late into January, only because of 2 things ;

1) Scott Boras' ego, needing the 10 year deal to prove to other clients that he 'da boss'
2) Lack of needy markets, no LA teams, no NY teams, no room in Boston, Detroit and Philly.

If there is a 3rd reason why I am guessing later in January, it is that if Texas does not iron out a deal in the next two weeks with Yu Darvish, he drops off their team, and maybe Boras wants to wait until the Rangers are maybe a player for Prince.

Meanwhile, Alex is rebuilding the Jays bullpen, with the acquisition of Darren Oliver, Aaron Laffey and the trade for Jason Fraser. This plus the minor league FA's he offered tryouts to, and the bullpen rebuild is complete.
Neither cost a much money, and Oliver's deal is essentially a 1 year deal, perhaps there is a club option as well.
I am still hearing from the local bloggers in Toronto that Jays are a player for Prince, if he could accept a 3 year deal. That story is a horse that won't run. Rogers is not spotting $ 50 million for 3 years of Fielder if the rest of the team is constructed as it currently is, you want at least 5 years of service, not 3.

So we have to be patient, and play Scott Boras' game of sit and wait for someone to blink, and the tour might start back up with stops in Atllanta, Tampa Bay, pass through Milwaukee to another drop in Chicago and Washington.  I hope Prince is watching his calories these days, that restaurant food, and room service will pack on the pounds.