Inside Baseball with Jesse Barfield

I was surprised to turn on my radio Monday and hear that the Jays had cut ties with Reed Johnson. However, the news didn't come as a shock for Johnson who had prepared himself for an address change since Toronto signed Shannon Stewart.

"I prepared myself for it,” Johnson said. "In my mind, I've been released a couple of times already. Once we signed Stew, it was one of those situations where the two of us were prepared for either a release or a trade."

The decision to keep Stewart instead of Johnson simply came down to offence. Tommy Lasorda once said, "If you shake a tree, a thousand gloves will fall out of it. Give me a bat, and I will find a position for him."

I was surprised to turn on my radio Monday and hear that the Jays had cut ties with Reed Johnson. However, the news didn't come as a shock for Johnson who had prepared himself for an address change since Toronto signed Shannon Stewart.

"I prepared myself for it,” Johnson said. "In my mind, I've been released a couple of times already. Once we signed Stew, it was one of those situations where the two of us were prepared for either a release or a trade."

The decision to keep Stewart instead of Johnson simply came down to offence. Tommy Lasorda once said, "If you shake a tree, a thousand gloves will fall out of it. Give me a bat, and I will find a position for him."

Although Johnson was having a good spring and not showing any problems with his back, the Jays attempt to trade him was unsuccessful because teams still fear Johnson's health. See, herniated discs (which Johnson suffered from last season) usually heal slowly after surgery, and other teams are not sure if Reed can return to full strength.

But one thing the Jays will miss about Johnson is his grit. He is a hard nose player who plays the game right and is going to be missed in the club house. Reed won't have a problem landing a job somewhere, just look at the Mets who need a left-fielder right now due to injuries. He could be a good fit for them. No matter where he goes I wish him the best.

Injury bug bites Jays at wrong time

In the last week, it seems like the Blue Jays have been bitten by the injury bug. What happened?

Scott Rolen could potentially miss Opening Day because of a non-displaced fracture in his right middle finger. It happened during a workout before the game against the Phillies at Knolology Park. He was doing fielding drills when the injury occurred. Man, it couldn't come at a worse time, just a week before the team opens the regular season. Let's just hope he is a quick healer and then he will have to get his timing back together hitting which might add to his time out of the line up. We'll just have to wait and see.

B.J. Ryan probably is headed to the disabled list to start the season after just last week I was saying how good he was feeling. But a few days later, he suffered a setback. He said he experienced some minor discomfort that felt different from normal arm fatigue.

J.P. Riccardi said that Ryan is scheduled to throw in a bullpen session on Monday and is unlikely to appear in another game before the regular season begins. The Jays are being cautious because it's so close to the season but they are not really concerned. So all of you Jays fans can relax, B.J. should be ready to go real soon.

Players go to bat for coaches

Some of you may have been at the delayed Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays game last week when there was a dispute over the coaches getting paid a fee for going to Japan like everyone else.

It may have been a little inconvenient for you, wondering if you were going to even see a game, but let me tell you, as a former coach, it was so darn refreshing to have someone stand up and do the right thing.

Coaches often go over looked and have been underpaid for years, but the players have always seemed to go to bat for the coaches. There is a bond between coaches and players that is special and tend to be life-long friendships that many people never know about.

When Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, many players chipped in to help rebuild Ron Washington's home when he was the third base coach for the Oakland A's.

Kevin Youkilis, the player representative and first baseman for the Boston Red Sox said that, “coaches are a huge part of our success and they should be compensated. To us it's not a big deal, but for them, it's a lot of money."

It turned out to be a problem with the language of contract and poor communication. Thankfully, everything got resolved, the game was played, the coaches were paid, and they’re now in Japan. That is democracy in a nutshell. I love baseball.

Posted by Signa Butler at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

What is going on this year with these bench clearing brawls? Did anyone remember that it is spring training? Teams are supposed to be working on getting ready for the season. I didn't think that practicing for fights was a part of it.

It's not that teams didn't have their fair share of brawls in the spring before, but it seems to have escalated for the last few seasons.

What is going on this year with these bench clearing brawls? Did anyone remember that it is spring training? Teams are supposed to be working on getting ready for the season. I didn't think that practicing for fights was a part of it.

It's not that teams didn't have their fair share of brawls in the spring before, but it seems to have escalated for the last few seasons. Why would the Yankees’ Shelley Duncan slide cleats up into the Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura's knee? It's a spring training game, not a playoff game! You can play hard without playing dirty. Let's just hope Duncan, who is young, learns from this incident before he gets the reputation for being a dirty player. Come on, he grew up in the clubhouse, he should know better.

Speaking of fights, it reminds me of the one we had at the Old Exhibition Stadium against the Boston Red Sox.

Now, some of you may remember when George Bell and Bill Buckner got into it at first base. Words were exchanged and there was pushing and shoving. So when George came up to bat, we all knew what was going to happen.

Sure enough, Boston's pitcher Bruce Kison drilled him with a high hard one. George darted out to the mound and I guess he had a Bruce Lee flashback and nailed Kison with a flying kick to the groin. Then he turned around and gave the catcher a one-two punch, the benches cleared and the fight was on. Now, that was one of the craziest baseball fights I can remember.

Bench clearing brawls don't happen everywhere though. Did anybody see the movie "Mr. Baseball" with Tom Selleck? It's about an American player going over to Japan and having to adapt to the Japanese style of play. Having played for the Tokyo Giants myself in 1993 and loved it, the movie was pretty accurate. Matt Stairs can tell you a little about Japan, he played briefly for the Chunichi Dragons.

Anyway, in one game, Selleck's character got hit by a pitch, so he charged the mound. But in Japanese baseball, if it wasn't intentional, the pitcher tips his cap to the batter and it's supposed to be over. When I got pegged once, the pitcher tipped his cap, but I also saw the smirk on his face, so I knew it was intentional ... but that is another story. So I think it's a trick. Selleck's character had to apologize for his bad behaviour to his teammates.

Now can you see that happening here? Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox, who throws gas, drills one in A-Rod’s back. He then tips his cap at him and Alex just trots down to first base. The End. Yeah, right.

Jays notes:

Ryan looking sharp
How about B.J. Ryan getting it done? That's good news for Jays Nation (hey, everybody else can have a nation, a universe, why not the Jays?). B.J. is ready to pitch again and said he felt good. So if all goes well in the next two weeks, he could possibly answer that Opening Day bell. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.

Thomas ready to hurt
The American League’s pitchers may be in trouble. The Big Hurt (Frank Thomas) says his legs are healthy and that is very good new for the middle of the Jays lineup. See, Edgar Martinez once told me that his bat got slow when his legs got weak. So when he built them back up, the bat speed returned with a vengeance. Just goes to show how important your legs are in a baseball swing.

Halladay takes lead
It's so refreshing to see Roy Halladay step up and take the role of the leader. On every team, somebody's go to do it, sooner or later, so it's great that this early he is establishing himself as a leader so that his teammates will have someone to talk to. But also seeing that other guys are joining him just makes the core of the team stronger. That’s what creates a winning atmosphere. When a team comes together, gels like that, it creates a bond, a trust and they tend to play better. So far, I think we have seen that this spring.

New contract
And congrats to John Gibbons. It's always easier getting your job done when you know people have confidence in you.

Posted by Dan Tavares at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

With spring training now in full swing, competition is really heating up for starting jobs.

Now is the time to show the team what they have, step it up and go for it. This is basically a time to showcase your talent and catch the eye of the entire baseball world. So if you don't make it with one team, maybe you fill the need of another.

But I have to ask, do you think that spring training is too long?

With spring training now in full swing, competition is really heating up for starting jobs.

Now is the time to show the team what they have, step it up and go for it. This is basically a time to showcase your talent and catch the eye of the entire baseball world. So if you don't make it with one team, maybe you fill the need of another.

But I have to ask, do you think that spring training is too long?

That is a question that has been asked for many years and the answer depends on who you ask. If you ask an owner, it's a great money maker for them, because the fans are packing the ballparks. If you ask a pitcher, he loves it because he needs the innings so that he can build up his arm strength and work on his command. Those guys need all of spring training.

Hitters can get the 'blahs'

But then you get to the hitters. Most of them feel spring training is about two weeks too long and they get bored with the same routine every day. That's why you see many of the veteran players get days off and not make a lot of the road trips. And in some cases, a player may even have a complete off day where he doesn't even have to show up to the ballpark. Players and their families love those days, because you don't get many.

I remember I had a day off and took my kids to Disney World. Man, I can still see their little faces light up as we drove up to the Disney grounds. I don't know who enjoyed it more, them or me. Then the next day, I was recharged and ready to go. Sometimes, you need to clear your head for all the baseball stuff and just be a dad or a husband.

It's funny. People don't see a player like that, but we are just like everyone else.

Baseball is our job. We have a skill, which is playing baseball, pitching, hitting, fielding, throwing, catching, or whatever. But after we take off that uniform, we are just dads, husbands, or the guy that throws batting practice to our kids. I remember, my youngest son singing a song about our family, he got to the dad, and he was the "garbage man." See, my job at home is to take out the trash. And I better get all of it too. (You husbands know what I am talking about).

But seriously, how would you like it if 15,000 people came to your job and rated your performance? Do you think you would feel the pressure?

Master of pressure

Speaking of pressure, after batting practice one day, I asked Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, when he was with the Angels, how he dealt with pressure. He said, "I see the fans, but I don't feel them because I am thinking about the situation and what I have to do to be successful. It keeps my mind clear."

His focus in clutch situations was simply amazing! People still talk about how he hit those three home runs in one game to help the Yankees win the World Series in 1977. The fans at Yankee stadium kept clapping and chanting "Reggie, Reggie" over and over until he came out of the dugout and tipped his helmet.

The curtain call was born! No wonder they call him "Mr. October."

Jays looking sharp

Jesse Litsch helped his cause with four effective innings against the power packed Phillies the other day. He looked strong, striking out six and allowing only two hits. If that is a sign to come for the season, we are in for a lot of fun this year when he steps on the mound.

Aaron Hill is having a great spring. But that doesn't surprise me after the way he was swinging the bat last season. He is a well-rounded hitter who can go the other way when you need him to and still hit for power. And defensively, there aren't many better at second base (well, maybe a kid with my last name who plays for Cleveland).

Speaking of Josh, have you seen him play this spring? He looks like a totally different hitter. Over the winter he worked the kinks out and is now driving the ball like he is capable of doing. So, I am expecting a big season from him.

Posted by Signa Butler at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

As spring training begins, you may notice that the pitchers seem to dominate in the first few games.

That's because the hitters are still working on their timing and rhythm.

A hitter’s hands are so tender with all the extra batting practice that they hurt, but that all changes once they get that first blister.

As spring training begins, you may notice that the pitchers seem to dominate in the first few games.

That's because the hitters are still working on their timing and rhythm.

A hitter’s hands are so tender with all the extra batting practice that they hurt, but that all changes once they get that first blister.

Once you get that first blister, it turns into a callous and your hands are ready for the season. Oh, I can remember how I got to stop washing dishes in January so I could start getting my hands tough. It was great. Well, after I retired, I tried to bring up that topic again but it didn't fly, my wife mentioned I was a coach, not a player, so get the dishes washed. Hey, it was good while it lasted.

Take care of injuries early

To me, the off-season is the time to get any nagging injuries looked after and either get therapy or go ahead and have surgery.

Now explain to me why do guys wait until the season to get things looked at that were bothering them the season before? I just doesn't make sense to me. Again this spring there are a few guys that are limping into the season that could have an impact on the entire team.

Look, no one wants to go under the knife. But there comes a time when you have to have it done so do it when it least affects your team. You can recover with no pressure in the off-season, and give yourself enough time to heal in case they need to go in and adjust something. We all know that the body does its own thing.

Battling yourself and your body

Sometimes it's tough to get back on the field after an injury, and for some players, like B.J. Ryan, coming off of Tommy John surgery, it's like starting all over again. You can't anticipate how your body may respond in game situations, not just physical therapy or practice.

I know how I was a bit hesitant after a surgery, the questions that would pop up in my head out of the blue: "Will I be the same? Can I still do this or that?" It's all part of the mental therapy a player has to go through to reach his goal of being a dominant player again. You battle yourself first, then your body, then go out and help your team win.

B.J.'s arm is feeling good, he will find his release point, it comes with time and then he'll get the kinks out. Once that happens, watch out!!

Mattick a teacher extraordinaire

Speaking about getting kinks out. Bobby Mattick was an awesome teacher of fundaments for the Blue Jays organization. He scouted me my junior and senior year in high school and was instrumental in the Blue Jays drafting me. But it didn't stop there.

Bobby took the time to work on developing me, both physically and mentally. Bobby would sit us young folks down and talk to us about different aspects of the game - he was passing on his wisdom and love for the game to us. But it wasn't all fun and games with him. He would work your tail off!

OK, let me tell on myself, here. One time during an instructional league game, I loafed for a ball in the outfield and it hit off of my glove. Bobby pulled me from the game after we came in to hit and took me to the backfield with a LARGE bag of balls and his fungo bat (a bat specifically designed for practice purposes). He hit me fly balls, ground balls, pop ups, and every other kind of ball you can think of to me for about 45 minutes. I was about to drop, but I didn't dare let him know that, so I just kept going because it looked like he wasn't going to stop. After a while, I called time out and walked up to him and said,"Bobby, I will NEVER loaf after a ball again." And I didn't. I learned my lesson that day. So when I received my second consecutive Gold Glove, I told him I owed it all to him.

Guest coaches have a lot to offer

And isn't it great that the Blue Jays are bring back some of their former stars to be guest coaches? There is so much that these players can learn from a Cito Gaston, Dave Stieb, and Pat Hentgen. Those men played hard, with heart and can also pass on what it means to be a winner inside and out.

I just hope these players realize what these men have to offer them and take full advantage of their experiences. Hey, don't be afraid to ask questions, that's how you learn and grow.

Posted by Signa Butler at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)