Baseball

Blue Jays quarter-season report card

2013-05-17T15:01:08Z

]]> The season hasn't begun the way the Blue Jays wanted, but some hope has emerged as Toronto has a four-game win streak going and has finally figured out how to use its bats. Here's a first-term report card for the Jays' key players.
The season hasn't started the way the Blue Jays wanted it to (their record is 17-24) but there is some light trying to bust through the gloom of a lousy start as the Jays have a four-game win streak going and have finally figured out how to use their bats.

Here is a first-term report card for the Blue Jays' key players.

Batters

J.P. Arencibia: D

About all Arencibia has done well is hit home runs, which, if you are only going to do one thing well, that's what you should do. He's hitting .236/.252/.493 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) with 10 home runs (just one behind the AL leaders), two walks and 49 strikeouts. If he could just take a few more walks. Last year he walked once every couple of weeks -- this year it's closer to one walk every four weeks. Add in that his defence is still a work in progress and you get the idea that Arencibia isn't a star.

Edwin Encarnacion: B

Encarnacion is tied for the league lead in home runs with 11 and his 30 RBIs lead the team. He had a slow start to his season: for the first half of April his batting average was under .200. But, like many of the Blue Jays' hitters, he's brought up his numbers over the last couple of weeks.

Maicer Izturis: D-

Izturis hasn't been hitting -- his slash line is .217/.242/.333 -- and he hasn't been great with the glove either. The sad part is that, of the two guys general manager Alex Anthopoulos brought in to play second base, he's been the better one.

Munenori Kawasaki: C-

When he was called up after Jose Reyes wrecked his ankle, Munenori gave the team a shot in the arm with his enthusiasm. He's fun and all with his dancing, fake steals and bowing, but he isn't hitting much: .235/.337/.279. And though he's made just three errors, they have come at the worst possible moments. I like watching happy players. It's a kid's game. The players should have fun. But that alone isn't enough to make you a ball player.

Brett Lawrie: D

Lawrie's defence has been amazing. He makes a highlight reel play almost every day. But it has taken his bat a long time to get going. He's hitting just .204/.272/.369 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. No matter how good his glove is, he has to contribute more with the bat. I'm hoping he is coming around: in his past five games, he's hitting .316. We can hope he found his stroke at the plate.

Melky Cabrera: C

An MRI showing quadriceps "irritation" explains why he has looked so slow. Like many of Toronto's other batters, after a bad start, Cabrera has finally found his stroke at the plate too, hitting .380 over the past two weeks. He's much more fun to watch when he hits. On the season he's batting .279/.316/.364 with one home run and 14 RBIs. His defence hasn't looked good. I'm hoping that, as his leg improves, his defence will too.

Colby Rasmus: D-

Rasmus has struck out in 45 per cent of his at bats. Once in a while he has a good game and I start to think he's coming around. The next day he'll strike out four times. His six home runs and a good glove in centre-field saved him from an F.

Jose Bautista: A

Like last year, Bautista suffered through a slow start. Having back spasms didn't help. He's flipped a switch in May, hitting .362/.476/.574 this month. In all, a .262/.376/.549 line gives us little to complain about.

Adam Lind: A-

Lind has had a great start to the season. He is hitting .286/.411/.468 and, after not hitting a home run in April, he has three in the last 10 days, including a game-winning shot in the ninth inning against the Red Sox. Maybe all he needed was a manager smart enough to keep him on the bench against left-handed pitchers.

Emilio Bonifacio: F

On the plus side, a little three-game hitting streak (six hits in his last 12 at bats) has brought Bonifacio's batting average up to .200 and he hasn't made an error in a month. That doesn't mask the fact that he's been awful.

Rajai Davis: B-

Davis was doing pretty good, and then he went on the DL. I'd like him more if he could stop chasing pitches in the dirt. As is, he should only play against left-handed pitching.

Mark DeRosa: B-

Speaking of players that should only play against left-handers, we have DeRosa. He's been much more effective now that Lawrie is back, sparing us from watching DeRosa play every day. He's hitting .304 against lefties and just .161 against righties.

Henry Blanco: F

I'm not sure why he's on the team. It isn't like the .138 batting average should come as a surprise to anyone. He's 41 now and wasn't much of a hitter when he was in his prime.

Pitchers

R.A. Dickey: C+

Dickey hasn't found any consistency this season. Some starts have been good, some have been terrible. He is 3-5 with a 4.83 ERA. Back problems haven't helped. His last start was his best of the season, with 10 strikeouts in six innings. Maybe he can build off that.

Mark Buehrle: F

If there was such a thing as an F+, he'd get the plus for his last start, where he pitched seven innings, allowing just one run, against the Red Sox. That showing brought his ERA under 7 on the year. Still, a 6.19 ERA is not acceptable, especially from a pitcher who will make $48 million US over the next three seasons.

Brandon Morrow: C+

Like most of the Jays' starters, Morrow has had good and bad days, but he's been one of the team's better starting pitchers. He hasn't pitched in 11 days because of back spasms, but he is expected to get the ball on Saturday.

J.A. Happ: B

Happ was Toronto's best starter in April, putting up a 3.86 ERA in five starts. Then, in his first start in May, he walked seven in 3.2 innings. The next start he took a line drive to the head and hurt his knee falling to the ground. He should be back to pitching in June.

Josh Johnson: D-

Johnson made four starts for the Jays before being put on the DL with triceps soreness. One of the starts was good, one was OK, one was poor and one was just awful. In all, a 6.86 ERA isn't what was expected of him when the Jays picked him up in the big trade with the Marlins. He should be back with the team in early June.

Casey Janssen: A+

Janssen is 10-for-10 in save opportunities. In 13 innings, he's only allowed four baserunners. The only problem is the Blue Jays haven't had enough save chances for him, and manager John Gibbons seems to be hesitant to use him in non-save situations.

Steve Delabar: B

Delabar's ERA is very good (2.05) but he's walking too many batters -- 14 in 22 innings.

Darren Oliver: B

Oliver's first few appearances weren't good, and we were wondering if he should have retired. But, for the last month, he's been great. Oliver has had big reverse splits: right-handers are hitting only .152 off him, while lefties are hitting .448 against him. That's very unusual for a lefty reliever.

Brett Cecil: A-

He's been great. Cecil is much better against left-handed batters, who he is holding to a .126 batting average, than right-handers, who are hitting .290 against him.

Aaron Loup: C+

He hasn't been quite as good as last year. He's leaving too many pitches up in the strike zone

Esmil Rogers: F

Rogers hasn't impressed me at all. He throws hard, but straight. Major leaguers can hit a fastball that is straight, and they have off him. His 6.27 ERA should have Gibbons thinking twice about calling him into a game.

Blue Jays are good ballclub simply playing poorly

2013-05-08T16:49:51Z

]]> I've heard it said, "I thought you said the Blue Jays were going to be good" a couple of hundred times in the last month. Yeah, I did. I still think there is a good team in there somewhere. Unfortunately, it isn't showing on the field.

What's gone wrong? Everything.

For the first month of the season, the Blue Jays couldn't hit or pitch or field. Unfortunately, there isn't much more to the game than that.

There have been injuries. The one guy that was hitting, Jose Reyes, is out until after the all-star break, after badly spraining his ankle making an awkward slide. That's a huge loss. Reyes was great hitting leadoff, providing a bit of a spark. Brett Lawrie missed the first two weeks of the season with an oblique injury. Pitchers Sergio Santos and Josh Johnson are also on the disabled list and neither is expected back until near the end of the month. Another starting pitcher, R.A. Dickey, hasn't been 100 per cent, dealing with back troubles. Jose Bautista has missed a few games with a sore ankle and back spasms.

None of that has helped, but then every team has injuries.

The real problem, for the Jays, is that almost no one is playing at the level I expected. Some of the bigger surprises:

1. The Blue Jays added three new starting pitchers in Dickey, Johnson and Mark Buehrle. The rotation was a problem at the end of last season. But with the addition of those three, it looked like they would have one of the best starting staffs in the league. It hasn't happened. A month into the season and the trio is a 3-8 combined with a terrible 6.31 earned-run average (and Johnson is now on the DL).

2. Melky Cabrera hasn't been the player we expected. On May 1, he was hitting .243 with just three extra-base hits. Beyond that, he has looked much much slower than I thought he'd be. On defence, he has shown little range in the outfield and looked awkward out there. On offence, he's been thrown out stealing twice in four tries. Toronto would be better off if he stopped trying to steal. Recent games have been much better, with a five-game hitting streak and his first home run of the season. Hopefully, he's come out of his slump.

3. Both members of the second-base tandem have been terrible. Maicer Izturis ended April hitting .193 and he's made some poorly timed errors. He, too, has started to hit of late, with six hits in the past three games, including a timely home run. Emilio Bonifacio, meantime, has a .160 batting average. He made a bunch of fielding errors in the first couple of weeks of the season and though his defence has improved, he still isn't hitting.

4. After missing the last half of spring training and the first couple of weeks of the season, Lawrie hasn't quite gotten his timing back at the plate. He's batting just .187. On defence, he has been terrific, making a highlight-reel plays almost every day. But he is going to have to get his bat going.

Gibbons not to blame for bad play

Who gets the blame for the bad start? Should manager John Gibbons be fired?

I'm not a big fan of blaming the manager or coaches for bad play. The players are grown-ups; their bad play is on them. I can't see anything that Gibbons has done that might have caused such an ugly start. I know it is easier to replace the manager than the players. But in this case, I don't see the point. He can't be expected to win games if no one is playing well.

Managers are hired to be fired and Gibbons has been fired before. But I think the Blue Jays have to give him more than a month to show what he can do.

Can they turn this around and get back into contention? Of course they can.

There are 128 games left of the season. It is too early to count them out. They have a long, uphill battle. But there is a lot of time left. I thought they would contend from the start of the season. Now it is going to have to be a slow climb.

Happ in hospital

There was a scary moment in Tuesday's 6-4 triumph at Tampa Bay. A hard line drive hit pitcher J.A. Happ on the side of the head. He went down in pain and was bleeding near his ear. It looked really bad. But the Blue Jays are saying that he just has a head contusion and is soon to leave hospital.

That's the best news we could have hoped to hear.

I find it hard to believe that Happ will be making his next start in five days. I don't know about you, but I would need a little time before facing live batters again.

Follow Tom Dakers on Twitter @bluebirdbanter

Did You See That? J.A. Happ takes line drive off head

2013-05-08T00:48:28Z

]]> J.A. Happ expected to leave the field under his own power Tuesday night.

But a line drive off the bat of Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Desmond Jennings changed all that.

With one out in the second inning of Toronto's 6-4 win, the Blue Jays starting pitcher was drilled in the left side of his head in by a fiercely hit ball by Jennings, and dropped to the mound in obvious pain.

The lefty was immediately attended to by team trainers after the frightening incident and lay motionless, face down, just in front of the mound for several minutes. He appeared to be bleeding from his ear, and appeared to move his legs before being placed on a stretcher and taken off the field.

He was reportedly conscious en route to the hospital.

Several Rays and Blue Jays players showed concern, some standing with their hands on their heads in seeming disbelief.

Watch the scary incident below:

*Warning: Video contains material some viewers may find graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Reyes injury puts Blue Jays in awkward positions

2013-04-15T16:49:12Z

]]> The Toronto Blue Jays will have to come up with some creative roster juggling in order to make up for the loss of all-star shortstop and offensive sparkplug Jose Reyes to injury. This isn't the way the Toronto Blue Jays would have liked to start the season. In just the 10th game, their all-star shortstop, Jose Reyes, makes an incredibly awkward slide into second base, badly spraining his ankle. He'll be out of the lineup for the next three months -- about half the season.

It hasn't been the start we expected. Poor starting pitching has combined with terrible defence and a slow start for many of the batters to make some of the games hard to watch.

Reyes was one of the few Blue Jay batters off to a great start with the bat. He was hitting .395 with five stolen bases and was great fun to watch -- a very exciting offensive player. Defensively, he showed less range than I expected, but that was more than made up for by his bat. The sooner he is back, the better.

To remain in contention with Reyes on the shelf, the Jays will try to improve their infield defence. It has been just awful. We knew going in that it wasn't likely to be good, but we didn't expect it to be this bad. Terrible defence is party to blame for the pitching not being as good as advertised. Watching ground balls that should be outs roll into the outfield or be booted has to make a pitcher afraid to throw strikes.

To replace Reyes at shortstop, the Jays called up 31-year-old Munenori Kawasaki. Toronto signed him this past off-season as a minor-league free agent. Last year, Kawasaki played for the Seattle Mariners, hitting just .192 in 104 at-bats. Before that, he played in Japan. In his first two games as a Blue Jay, Kawasaki's defence looked much better than what they were getting from Reyes, but his bat won't be anything close to the same. Kawasaki has had a nice start with the bat, picking up a hit and a walk in each of his first two games with Toronto.

Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is trying to work out a trade to find a better shortstop option.

Bautista back at third base

The Reyes injury has prompted a few other changes that will help the infield defence. First, Jose Bautista has volunteered to play third base. Mark DeRosa and Maicer Izturis had been manning the position, but their defence has been lacking, to put it nicely. DeRosa seems to have almost no range -- one step and a dive is about the best he can do. Izturis shows a bit more range, but his arm isn't strong enough for the long throw across the diamond. In five games at third base, Izturis made two errors.

Bautista isn't a great defensive third baseman -- he'd never win a Gold Glove -- but he has OK range and a good arm. According to FanGraphs.com, Bautista's career UZR/150 is -6.3 in 385 MLB games at third base. UZR per 150 games is a stat that compares a player's defence to the average player at his position. The number is the number of runs the player would save or cost his team compared to the average player: zero is average; +15.0 is very good; -15.0 is very bad. Bautista's might not be a great glove man at third, but he is much better than what the Jays have had this season.

The best part about Bautista moving to third is that it allows Izturis to play second base. Emilio Bonifacio played second in the majority of the first 10 games and was a train wreck. He has four errors in nine games, plus a number of mistakes not marked as errors in boxscores that still cost the team. Izturis is a much better defensive second baseman.

Lawrie may play second base

Soon, hopefully very soon, there should be another addition that will help make up for the loss of Reyes. Brett Lawrie has started to play rehab games in the minors. The interesting part is that the Jays are contemplating the idea of having Lawrie play second, allowing them to leave Bautista at third until Reyes returns. I'm not sold on the idea.

Lawrie has been very good defensive third baseman. FanGraphs.com credited him with a 5.6 UZR/150 in 2012. I think he has enough range to play second, but I'd worry about him turning the double play with his back turned on baserunners sliding into second. Brett did play second back in 2009 and 2010, when he was in the Milwaukee Brewers minor-league system, but as a Jay, he's only played third. I'd be happier with the move if they had him work at second during spring training. A position change with just a few minor-league innings to prepare is asking for trouble.

Whatever position he plays, getting Lawrie's bat back into the lineup will go a long way into making up for the offence lost with the Reyes injury. I'm guessing that Lawrie will be Toronto's leadoff hitter until Reyes returns.

With Lawrie and improvements made to the defence, the Jays should be able to stay in the race until Reyes is ready to play again.

Follow Tom Dakers on Twitter @bluebirdbanter

Jose Bautista's umpire-bashing could be costly

2013-04-04T18:00:26Z

]]> Jose Bautista caused a bit of a stir on Wednesday by talking to reporters about his outbursts with umpires. Bautista has always been pretty willing to let umpires and everyone else know when he disagrees with a call, and his latest comments won't endear him to major league umps. Jose Bautista caused a bit of a stir on Wednesday by talking to reporters about his outbursts with umpires. Bautista has always been pretty willing to let umpires and everyone else know when he disagrees with a call, and this line won't endear him to major league umps:

"Sometimes I have trouble more than other players dealing with my production being affected by somebody else's mediocrity. It's just the way that I am as a person. It's a tougher pill to swallow for me sometimes."

Umpires are people too. Nobody wants to be called mediocre, and major league umpires are, just like the players, at the top of their profession. Like ball players, umpires have to work their way up through the minors. They can spend years trying to earn the chance to make the majors, where life is better in almost every way (money, travel, hotels, etc.). When umpires make it to "the show" they're understandably proud. So calling them mediocre is something they remember.

They also, like just about anyone, don't like to be booed and yelled at by 50,000 people. When a popular player like Bautista turns around at the plate and makes it clear that he feels the umpire made a mistake, it turns the fans against the umpire. And let's face it: it doesn't take much to turn fans against umpires. We don't see things in the most balanced way, at the best of times. If there's an argument between one of our favourite players and an umpire, we take the player's side.

Umpires are professionals. They do their best (as much as I grumble about strike zones most games) and they really try to keep personal feelings out of their minds. But they are human. If someone inspired a stadium full of fans to yell curses at you, I'm pretty sure you would remember them.

I don't think Bautista has more calls go against him than the average player, but treating the umpires like they're fellow professionals can't hurt.

There's a right way and a wrong way to do things. A batter can let an umpire know that he disagrees with a call without letting the whole stadium know. A batter doesn't have to look back at the umpire when questioning a call. Without that visual cue, fans are too far away to hear what's being said on the field. If you were an umpire, which player would you prefer: the one that lets the whole park know when he disagrees, or the one that keeps it a private matter between the two of you?

I can understand that it would be pretty tough for Bautista to change. He plays with an intensity that I wouldn't want him to lose. He seems at his best when there's a chip on his shoulder, and that "everyone is against me" feeling drives him. If you want the guy that hits 40-plus home runs a season, you might have to live with the guy that has the occasional blow-up at the umpires.

'Welcome' back Farrell

Speaking of a stadium full of people booing, John Farrell returns to Toronto this weekend in his dream job of Boston Red Sox manager. I'm not normally a fan of getting on former Blue Jays when they come to town with their new team, but in this case, I'll gladly make an exception. I hope there's a full house at the Rogers Centre starting Friday night and I hope each and every one of the fans boos Farrell every chance they get.

I don't understand the point of booing other former Jays. Generally it isn't the player that decides he should leave. And even if he leaves as a free agent, I don't see why fans would take offence to someone that wants to go to a place where he'll be paid the most money. Most of us would do the same.

And coach Brian Butterfield, who went over to the Red Sox too, has been nothing but a professional and a gentleman about the move. The Jays passed him over twice for their manager job and couldn't guarantee him a role with the team this year. We should have no hard feelings towards him.

Farrell is a different case. He left in the middle of a contract. He made it clear that his heart always was with the Red Sox, even when he was drawing a salary from the Blue Jays. The "dream job" line he used in his introductory Red Sox press conference is something all Blue Jays fans will remember.

So, if you're at any of the games this weekend, you have my permission to boo him every chance you get.

What will Melky Cabrera give the Blue Jays?

2013-03-28T18:30:47Z

]]> ]]> Toronto Blue Jays' signing of Melky Cabrera surprised me.

To be fair, each of the big moves this off-season surprised me. Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is great at keeping rumors from getting out before he is ready to announce a deal. But with all the salary the Jays took on in their blockbuster trade with the Marlins, I figured the Rogers ownership wouldn't spend any more money. I thought they'd hit the limit.

The Jays needed to improve on the production they got from left field last year. It was a sink hole. In spring training last year there was a battle for the left-field job between Eric Thames and Travis Snider. Both had good springs, and the Jays gave the job to Thames on the theory that he had it at the end of the 2011 season and had done nothing to lose the job.

When the season started, Thames did everything he could to lose the job, but Snider injured his wrist, so at the end of May Rajai Davis took over. He wasn't much better. When Snider was finally healthy, he got the role and did OK for 10 games before Anthopoulos traded him to the Pirates for Brad Lincoln. A few hours later Thames was sent to the Mariners for Steve Delabar, and Davis had the job again.

Those three played the lion's share of Toronto's games in left field (Anthony Gose had a few games at the end of the season). Davis had a WAR (explanation coming) of 0.5, Snider 0.0 and Thames minus-0.6, adding up to a WAR of minus-0.1 from the Jays' three main left-fielders.

For those unfamiliar with WAR, a quick explanation (if you're comfortable with WAR, you can skip this paragraph). WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement. Basically, it compares a player to the average triple-A player that any team could call up to fill a spot. It takes into account all the things a player does on the field. For non-pitchers, that means base running, defence and batting. Knowing the mathematical formula for calculating WAR isn't important. The rule of thumb is that a WAR of less than 1 is a poor player, 2 is an OK player, 3 a decent player, 4 a good player, 5 an All-Star, and 6-plus is an MVP-calibre star. You should also know that different websites have different formulas for WAR, which can vary the final number slightly. I'm using Fangraphs' WAR stats.

The Jays needed better production from left field, but I figured they would try to fill the role with Gose, even though he needs more time in the minors, because he wouldn't cost anything. I was wrong. Anthopoulos signed Cabrera to a two-year contract at $8 million US a year.

That might seem like a lot of money, but had it not been for the 50-game suspension he received for testing positive for high levels of testosterone, Cabrera would have received at least a four-year contract offer, at double the yearly pay, from someone. For comparison's sake, note that the Yankees just traded for Vernon Wells and will pay him about $7 million for each of the next two years (the Angels will pick up the rest of the tab). That the Jays are getting Cabrera for just a million more a season amazes me.

But what should we expect from Melky this year? Looking back at his career:

Year    Age Team Games WAR
2006    21    NYY    130         1.7
2007    22    NYY    150   0.5
2008    23    NYY    129   0.2
2009    24    NYY    154         1.6
2010    25    ATL     147        -1.1
2011    26    KCR    155         4.2
2012    27    SFG    113         4.6

So, reading along, he came up young, and he had a pretty good rookie season. That's generally a good sign for a player's career. The best players make it to the majors at an early age. If a player can be average at age 21, you are looking at someone who is likely to be very good. But, in Melky's case, he didn't really progress over the next three seasons. He was traded to the Braves and had just an awful season for them. After the season, he signed with the Royals and suddenly he became a very good player.

I know what you're thinking: "That's when he started using PEDs." And you may be right. Coming off a terrible year, he may have been worried about his career and looking for an edge.

The question is: how much of the improvement came from a bottle and how much was a player entering his prime, finally figuring out the game?

Cabrera has talent. No one makes the majors at 21 without talent. The prime years for baseball players are generally 26-30. Players often take a big step forward entering those years. With Cabrera entering his age 28 season with Toronto, I don't think there were be a huge drop-off in production because of the lack of PEDs. I would think that Cabrera will be working extra hard to prove that the stats of the last two seasons weren't caused by cheating.

He is hitting great this spring. After Tuesday's game he had a .382 batting average with three home runs in 55 at bats (first rule of sports writing: don't read much into spring training stats, unless, of course, they support a point you are trying to make).

Last year, Melky was hitting .346 when his season ended after 113 games due to the suspension. He won't hit .346 again this year. That average was propelled by a .379 BABIP (batting average on balls in play), a number that isn't sustainable. This year his BABIP is likely to be closer to his career mark of .311.

We also have to factor in his new home ballpark, the Rogers Centre, which is a much better place for hitters. Home runs fly out of there much easier than at San Francisco's AT&T Park. Doubles and triples also happen more often on Rogers' harder-than-grass artificial surface.

My guess is that Melky will finish with a WAR of about 4, a batting average around .300, with 15 to 20 home runs, which is much better than the production the Jays received from their left fielders last year.

Spring training notes

Brett Lawrie will start the season on the 15-day DL, but the start date of his DL stint is backdated to the last time he played in a spring game, so he could be back on the roster as soon as April 6. Maicer Izturis and Mark DeRosa will split time at third base until he's ready to play.
Jose Bautista has hit five home runs this spring, so we can feel pretty confident that he is recovered from the wrist injury that cost him 60-plus games last year.
Edwin Encarnacion has missed a few games after he sprained a finger in the Dominican Republic's win in the WBC championship game. He took batting practice Tuesday and said there was no pain. He plans on playing Thursday.
Emilio Bonifacio leads the team in spring stolen bases and appears to have won at least a share of the second base job. He should be playing second on opening day.
Potential closers Sergio Santos and Casey Janssen both have missed time this spring with arm soreness but both look to be ready for opening day.
J.P. Arencibia caught R.A. Dickey's knuckleball several times this spring, including Dickey's two WBC starts, and has impressed his manager enough to get to catch Dickey on opening day. 41-year-old Henry Blanco has won the backup catcher spot over Josh Thole. I think Thole would be the better choice, but the team feels that he would be better off playing every day in Buffalo.
Starting pitcher Josh Johnson is having a great spring. He has a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings, with just one walk and 21 strikeouts. Johnson is a free agent after this season.

Romero hopes to follow Halladay's path back to majors

2013-03-27T16:34:08Z

]]> ]]> demoted Ricky Romero all the way down to Class-A Dunedin. The Jays have been working with Romero to change his mechanics, and it's taking longer than the team would like for the changes to produce results.

Romero made a start in spring training Tuesday, and while it was much better than his last few times on the mound, it still wasn't good. In 4 1/3 innings, he gave up three walks, six hits and two earned runs.

If you've followed the Jays for a few years, you'll remember that the Jays did the same thing with Roy Halladay after the 2000 season, when he had an ERA over 10. He was sent to A-ball and pitching coach Mel Queen totally revamped his delivery. Halladay came back to be the best starting pitcher the Blue Jays have ever had (though Dave Stieb might argue).

The Jays can only hope for similar results this time around. Queen, unfortunately, passed away two years ago. The good news is that Dane Johnson, the Blue Jays' minor league pitching coordinator, has had success fixing pitchers' mechanics before.

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Romero made the AL All-Star team just two years ago, but last year he had trouble hitting the strike zone. After walking 3.2 batters per 9 innings in 2011, that number jumped to an unacceptable 5.2 per 9 innings last season. This spring has been even worse -- he's walked 7.3 batters per 9.

The Jays feel Romero has been throwing across his body. They've been trying to get him to start his delivery from the centre of the rubber, so that he can have his whole motion move in a straight line towards the plate.

The Jays say they are demoting him all the way down to Dunedin so he can work on the new delivery in good weather. If he was in Buffalo, home of the Jays' triple-A affiliate, cold and rain at the start of the season could cause him to miss time and could slow the work on the new delivery.

There is no timetable for Romero's return to the majors. He will stay in the minors until the Jays feel he's back to the pitcher he was a couple of years back. Any change in delivery takes a while to feel natural.

Taking Romero's place in the rotation is J.A. Happ. The plan was for Happ to start the season at Triple-A Buffalo, and be ready in case of an injury. Happ has had a great spring -- he has a 1.89 ERA, with just three walks and 14 strikeouts in 19 innings (not that you should judge a player on a handful of innings, especially in spring training).

J.A. wasn't Happ-y (sorry, couldn't resist) with the plan to send him to Buffalo, so he'll be pleased to be staying with Toronto. He's been a pretty good pitcher in the majors for the few seasons, posting a slightly better than league average ERA. With the Jays' offence, a starter who can post a league average ERA can put up a pretty good win-loss record.

2013 is Blue Jays' year to contend

2013-03-21T13:33:03Z

]]> A flurry of high-profile off-season moves by GM Alex Anthopoulos, plus a healthy Jose Bautista, better luck with avoiding injuries, and some improvement from younger players could land the Toronto Blue Jays in the post-season for the first time since 1993.
I've been blogging about the Toronto Blue Jays for a few years now and those are the words I've always wanted to say. Finally, this year I get to.

This is the year.

There were a few (too few) hopeful moments during the J.P. Ricciardi era. Unfortunately, the Jays were never able to get past the terrific Yankee and Red Sox teams of the former general manager's time.

Alex Anthopoulos's first two seasons as GM were spent rebuilding the farm system, building for the future. He hoarded draft picks and traded for prospects any chance he had. His work paid off as the Jays went from having one of the lowest-ranked farm systems to one of the best in a very short time. But, being a long-time (and long-suffering) Blue Jays fan, I kept hoping he would make a "win now" trade. He didn't seem to have that in his DNA.

Not that I'm complaining about the moves Anthopoulos did make. That he could trade the immovable contract of Vernon Wells alone should be enough to put Anthopoulos into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'd have bet any amount of cheese doodles (currency in the world of bloggers) that it couldn't be done. Without that trade, there wouldn't have been the financial flexibility to make the big moves of this off-season.

Last spring, there was some hope that the "build for the future" tack was going to pay off early. The team had a terrific spring training record of 24-7 (repeat after me: spring training numbers mean nothing) and there was some hope that a youthful, enthusiastic team would be able to sneak up on the more experienced teams in the AL East.

For the first half of the season, Toronto was on the edges of contention, but a plague of injuries exposed a lack of depth at the top levels of the system -- not that any MLB team could have enough depth to succeed with the number of injuries the Jays had. The last couple of months of the season were very depressing.

The Trade

The off-season came, and once again I was hoping Anthopoulos had a "win now" deal or two in him.

But first came the mess of John Farrell trying to get out of his contract to go for his "dream job" managing the Red Sox. If a 22-37 record over the last two months of the season wasn't depressing enough, hearing that your team's manager craves the same job with one of your most bitter rivals, and the only team in the division to finish below you in the standings, was enough to drive a blogger to drink.

With Farrell heading out, Anthopoulos brought back John Gibbons for his second stint as the Jays' manager. In the end, good riddance to Farrell. I hope he chokes on his dream job.

For his first major personnel move of the winter, Anthopoulos signed Maicer Izturis to a three-year, $10-million US contract. It was the biggest free-agent signing of Alex's tenure as the Blue Jays general manager to that point. Not to knock Izturis -- he's an OK baseball player and all -- but $10 million is chicken scratch in baseball terms, and Izturis isn't the sort of player that gets your fanbase all excited about the season ahead. Fortunately, there was more to come.

To say the next deal surprised us would be an understatement. I didn't think Anthopoulos had this sort of move in him. To recap, though you all probably remember: Anthopoulos traded Yunel Escobar, Henderson Alvarez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Jeff Mathis and some of the Jays' top prospects to the Miami Marlins for almost everyone on their team that was to be paid more than the league minimum this season: Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck.

The trade filled the Jays' biggest needs: a leadoff hitter (Reyes) and a starting pitching (Johnson). Reyes gives the Jays their best leadoff hitter in years and is one of the most exciting players in baseball. Johnson was one of the best starting pitchers in the National League three years ago. He then ran into some arm troubles, but he's recovered now and should be back to what he was.

Buehrle has thrown 200-plus innings for 12 straight seasons. Last year no Blue Jay pitched 200 innings. On a team with as many injuries to pitchers as Toronto had last year, someone who can throw 200 innings is golden.

The trade added $30 million to the Jays' payroll for 2013, and more in future years. It instantly made Toronto a contender. I figured that was it for big moves. Wrong again.

Cabrera, Dickey arrive

Anthopoulos surprised us again by signing free agent Melky Cabrera to a two-year, $16-million contract. Cabrera hit .346 last year, with a .390 on base percentage and 11 home runs. He would have been in line for a contract netting at least twice the $8 million a year the Jays are giving him, if he hadn't tested positive for testosterone, earning him a 50-game suspension last August when he was playing for the Giants. How much of his production came from a medicine bottle is an open question, but he should be much better than what the Jays had in left field last year.

Anthopoulos wasn't finished. He sent top-prospect catcher Travis d'Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard (one of the organization's best pitching prospects), John Buck and a minor leaguer to the Mets for 2012 NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and a pair of young catchers.

It isn't a trade I would have made. I think d'Arnaud will become a very good major league catcher, which is a lot to give up for a 38-year-old pitcher. But Dickey isn't your average 38-year-old pitcher. He throws a knuckleball, and a 38-year-old knuckleballer can still be in the prime of his career. It takes a long time to master that pitch, but once perfected it can extend a pitcher's career well into his 40s.

Anthopoulos is betting Dickey will age well. He signed Dickey to a two-year contract extension (plus a team option year) at $12 million a season with a $1 million buyout, keeping Dickey under the Blue Jays' control through at least the 2016 season.

Beyond the big moves, Anthopoulos added some power arms to the bullpen, convinced 42-year-old left-handed reliever Darren Oliver not to retire and improved the team's depth at several positions.

With all those moves, plus a healthy Jose Bautista, better luck with injuries and some improvement from the younger players, this season could see the Blue Jays in the post-season for the first time since 1993. And most of the important Blue Jays players are signed beyond this season, so Toronto should have a very good team to watch for the next few years.

This is the year. It's going to be a fun ride.

Birthday Bio: Joe Carter

2013-03-07T16:00:14Z

]]> ]]> CBCSports.ca wants to wish a happy birthday to athletes and others involved in the sports world who left a lasting legacy on their games or are responsible for moments still talked about.

Today we say "Happy 53rd" to Joe Carter, the Toronto Blue Jays' World Series hero.

While Canada has produced some star baseball players, it was a guy from Oklahoma that's responsible for perhaps this country's most famous baseball moment.

Joe Carter was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the second pick of the 1981 draft and had stops in Cleveland and San Diego before arriving in Toronto in 1990, part of a blockbuster trade that sent Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff to the Padres while Carter and Roberto Alomar headed north.

That trade paid off.

Carter helped lead the Blue Jays to the AL East title in 1991, but that was merely a prelude to Toronto's first World Series win in 1992 against Atlanta. Carter hit two home runs in the series and recorded the last out at first base in Game 6 to seal the win.

But it wasn't until a year later, on Oct. 23, 1993, that Carter achieved legendary status with this World Series-winning, walk-off home run at what was then known as the SkyDome:

Some have argued that the homer was Canada's baseball equivalent of Paul Henderson's Summit Series-winning goal during Game 8 in Moscow in 1972.

It was also only the second time a player had hit a home run to end a World Series.

Carter left the Blue Jays as a free agent after the 1997 season, splitting '98 between Baltimore and San Francisco before hanging up his cleats at the end of that season.

Carter finished his 16-year career with 396 home runs, 1,445 RBIs and 231 stolen bases in 2,189 games. That's an average of 29 homers, 107 RBIs and 17 steals over a 162-game season.

He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, as well as the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, where they showcased a few more of his career highlights:

Where were you when Joe Carter hit the shot heard 'round Canada? Tell us your story in the comments section below!

Birthday Bio: Matt Stairs

2013-02-27T15:00:00Z

]]> CBCSports.ca wants to wish a happy birthday to athletes and others involved in the sports world who left a lasting legacy on their games or are responsible for moments still talked about. Today, we say "Happy 45th" to Matt Stairs, a Canadian baseball player known for coming up big in the clutch. CBCSports.ca wants to wish a happy birthday to athletes and others involved in the sports world who left a lasting legacy on their games or are responsible for moments still talked about.

Today, we say "Happy 45th" to Matt Stairs, a Canadian baseball player known for coming up big in the clutch.

The "journeyman" tag, while appropriate, doesn't do justice to Matt Stairs.

The former Major League Baseball player was born in Saint John, N.B., on Feb. 27, 1968, raised just outside of Fredericton, and then spent 19 seasons playing for 13 different MLB teams, and played in Japan.

So, yeah, you could say he's been around.

But how was he able to stick around so long? His given nickname of "Professional Hitter" had a lot to do with it.

Stairs toiled in the majors as a "hit man" of sorts, building a career .262 batting average, 265 home runs, and 899 RBIs, but his true value came from his innate ability to smack the long ball at clutch moments. The ever-valuable pinch hitter.

Which brings us to his crowning achievement -- Game 4 of the 2008 National League Championships Series. Stairs's Philadelphia Phillies (the ninth MLB team of his career) had just rallied to tie the game in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

And then, this:

After the game (a 7-5 win for the Phillies; they'd close out the Dodgers in Game 5 and go on to win the World Series against the Rays), Stairs called it the biggest home run of his career.

He also told the reporters gathered at the press conference that it made him feel closer to a team he had joined late in the season (his description is quite entertaining with its use of a curious phrase).

The hit also spawned a t-shirt, playing off a phrase usually reserved for life-threatening situations, but seemed apropos for what the man brought to his teams in their time of need:

Stairs retired in 2011, and still holds the record for most pinch-hit home runs in the majors, with 23. He was also inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame this past June.

Alex Anthopoulos, Blue Jays helping to distract angry NHL fans

2012-12-25T01:07:59Z

]]> For the first time in almost 20 years, Canada's lone remaining MLB team is creating more of a buzz than the country's favourite national sport. Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has turned a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 1993 into a contender. While in doing so, he's also helped to pacify swarms of angry NHL fans.
Lost in the sea of legal jargon that has engulfed the NHL lockout, alienated fans have been in desperate need of something to distract them from the 'make whole' provision, hockey-related revenue, 'disclaimer of interest,' or any other mind-numbingly frustrating terms associated with the months-long labour dispute between the owners and players.

After all, part of the essence of sport is the entertainment value. Sports are supposed to help us temporarily step away from the day-to-day grind and have something to get excited about. They're supposed to help spark lively debates and create a sense of unity, not drag people through the trenches.

Cue Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

He's turned a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since it won the second of back-to-back World Series titles in 1993 into a contender. While in doing so, he's simultaneously helped to pacify swarms of angry hockey fans.

And with the moves, Anthopoulos and his team have emerged from this off-season with a brigade of new bandwagon fans in addition to those die-hard ones that have supported the Blue Jays through hard times.

Blockbuster deal

It started last month when the now revered GM raided the Miami Marlins' starting rotation and top of the batting order in a mammoth 12-player swap.

Although it took several days of deliberation for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to approve the deal, Anthopoulos added one of baseball's most coveted prototypical leadoff hitters in Jose Reyes to the top of the lineup.

He also managed to turn Toronto's starting five into one of baseball's best almost overnight. Right-hander Josh Johnson is arguably one of the top hurlers in baseball when healthy. Lefty Mark Buehrle gives the Jays credibility and a crafty veteran presence on the mound. And let's not forget that Buehrle has a perfect game to his credit.

It's a rotation that already boasts fireballer Brandon Morrow and if lefty Ricky Romero can rediscover his touch and rebound from a horrific 2012, opposing offences will have their work cut out for them.

The team gave up a couple of promising youngsters including shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria and pitcher Henderson Alvarez among others, but it was a price Anthopoulos was willing to pay.

The Blue Jays then went out and added All-Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera. Granted, he comes with question marks after a 50-game drug ban last year, but if he can find even a fraction of the form that led the National League in hitting (.346 batting average) before his suspension, he'll be an invaluable piece to Toronto's puzzle.

Not done yet

But just when the buzz around the Blue Jays was beginning to cool off, Anthopoulos found himself in the middle of the R.A. Dickey sweepstakes a couple of weeks ago.

The 38-year-old Cy Young Award-winning knuckleballer didn't come cheap - at the expense of one of Toronto's best farmhands in catcher Travis d'Arnaud, along with pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard as part of the deal - but it continued to shape the Blue Jays into something they hadn't legitimately been in nearly two decades: a contender.

The deal pushed Las Vegas oddsmakers to declare them 15-2 World Series favourites as recently as last week.

And while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr continue to butt heads with the hockey season in jeopardy, Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays will be gearing up for spring training in a couple of months.

And so will droves of frustrated NHL fans.

R.A. Dickey worth the hefty price tag for Blue Jays

2012-12-18T01:58:45Z

]]> If you weren't convinced that the Toronto Blue Jays were going all in to win a championship in 2013 after their blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins last month, then you should be now with the acquisition of R.A. Dickey.
With the acquisition of National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey on Monday, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has added another elite arm to the club's starting rotation, which also includes Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero. That's now arguably the best in the majors.

The Blue Jays did, however, pay a steep price for Dickey, shipping prized catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud, heralded young hurler Noah Syndergaard, veteran catcher John Buck and teenage outfielder Wuilmer Becerra to the New York Mets. The Blue Jays also receive catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas in the trade.

The deal for the 38-year-old knuckleballer, who will make $5 million US in 2013, wasn't finalized until he passed a physical and signed a two-year, $24-million extension (that includes a $12-million club option for 2016). According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the trade had been contingent on Dickey signing an extension by 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

The Mets decided to part ways with Dickey after they couldn't come to terms with him on an extension.

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Long road to the majors

It hasn't been an easy road to stardom for Dickey. The six-foot-three right-hander was drafted in the first round by the Texas Rangers in 1996. But after selecting him, the Rangers discovered that Dickey had no ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. Fearing that Dickey's arm would break down, the Rangers signed him for just $75,000.

With an arsenal that included an average fastball, an unimpressive changeup and a mysterious forkball, Dickey did eventually make the big leagues and pitch for parts of five seasons for the Rangers with limited success. Prior to the 2005 campaign, he realized his forkball was similar to a hard knuckleball and he worked to perfect the pitch.

But success continued to elude him for several years, and after two mediocre seasons with the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins in 2008 and 2009, respectively, he signed a minor league deal with the Mets.

After spending the first month of the 2010 season in Triple-A, Dickey was promoted and finally excelled at the big league level, pitching superbly for the Mets in 2010 (2.84 ERA in 27 games) and 2011 (3.28 ERA in 33 games), before notching 20 wins and posting a 2.73 ERA this past season.

Naturally, there are questions about Dickey's advanced age and how his knuckleball -- which he throws harder than a traditional knuckler -- will fare against explosive American League East offences. But in six interleague starts against AL East clubs in the past three seasons, Dickey has recorded a 1.71 ERA in 42 innings. And over the past three seasons, the soft-throwing right-hander has been extremely durable. This year he topped the National League in starts (33), innings pitched (233-2/3), complete games (five) and shutouts (three). It's also important to note that knuckleballers' arms generally don't age as rapidly as other pitchers' arms.

Thole, Dickey's light-hitting batterymate, was also acquired in the deal. He'll likely serve as Dickey's personal catcher and save J.P. Arencibia from having to purchase a larger catcher's mitt.

Born in Vancouver, B.C., Nickeas, who hit .174 in 47 games with the Mets last season, will provide the Jays with catching depth in Triple-A.

Lofty cost

Dickey definitely makes the Jays better in 2013, but they paid a lofty cost for him. Acquired in the Roy Halladay deal in 2009, d'Arnaud was the club's top prospect. The promising 23-year-old catcher was hitting .333 with 16 homers in 67 games at Triple-A Las Vegas this past season before he tore the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The injury has left some wondering how well his knee will hold up behind the plate. And as heralded as d'Arnaud is as a catcher, talent evaluators point out that if he were moved to another position, his offensive output would look more pedestrian.

The 20-year-old Syndergaard was one of the Jays' top pitching prospects. The six-foot-five flame-thrower struck out 122 batters in 102-2/3 innings in Class-A this past season, but scouts are split on him. Some believe he'll be a No. 2 starter, while others suggest his lack of an effective breaking pitch will eventually relegate him to the bullpen.

Buck, who's set to make $6 million in 2013, was never really in Toronto's plans, while Becerra is an 18-year-old Venezuelan outfielder who made his professional debut in Rookie Ball this season. His power and speed convinced the Jays to give him a $1.3-million signing bonus in 2011.

The acquisition of Dickey is another "win now" transaction by Anthopoulos that nicely complements his November 19 mega-deal in which he landed Johnson, Buehrle, Buck, Jose Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio from the Marlins.

After a dreadful 73-89 campaign, the Jays desperately needed to improve their starting rotation, and what Anthopoulos has accomplished to enhance the staff this off-season has been remarkable. In addition to dealing for All-Stars Johnson and Buehrle, he has now reeled in the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner.

Market value

But was the price for Dickey too high?

I don't think so. The Royals surrendered Wil Myers, arguably the best offensive prospect in baseball, in a package for right-hander James Shields. Free agent Anibal Sanchez, a less successful pitcher than Dickey, just secured a whopping five-year, $80-million deal. So the price for top-flight starting pitching is incredibly high.

In isolation, this move might look like an overpay by the Jays. But when you analyze it in conjunction with the players acquired from Miami and the comparative inactivity of the Jays' American League East rivals, it's a transaction that makes sense. Next season, the Jays have a rare opportunity to rise to the top of the American League East and Dickey just might be the final piece to help them do this.

So although I hate to see the Jays part with d'Arnaud and Syndergaard, the acquisition of Dickey is the type of brave, bold move that the Jays need to make to capitalize on the short-term vulnerability of their division rivals.

It's also a clear statement that they're going all-in to win a championship in 2013.

John Gibbons is gutsy hire by Blue Jays GM

2012-11-20T18:18:08Z

]]> In hindsight, John Gibbons seems like an obvious choice to manage the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013.

Earlier this off-season, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos had indicated that he was looking for a manager that he knew he could work with and who wanted to be in Toronto. It also became clear that he was seeking someone with previous major-league experience.

Names like Mike Hargrove, Manny Acta, Jim Tracy and Jim Riggleman were being tossed around, but it should have dawned on us that Gibbons, who managed the Jays for parts of five seasons from 2004 to 2008, would be a prime candidate.

The 50-year-old San Antonio, Texas, native, who formed a friendship with Anthopoulos during his first tenure with the Jays, was introduced as the club's new manager at a press conference at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday morning.

Last season, Gibbons, who was also a first-base coach with the Jays in 2002 and 2003, managed the double-A San Antonio Missions in the San Diego Padres organization following three seasons as the Kansas City Royals bench coach. Gibbons becomes the second manager, joining Cito Gaston, to have two tenures with the Jays.

Judging by the reaction on social media, Jays fans energized by the club's 12-player blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins and the Melky Cabrera signing are underwhelmed with the hire. They point to Gibbons' middling 305-305 record and to the fact that he hasn't managed in the big leagues since he guided an underperforming Jays squad to a 35-39 record to start the 2008 campaign.

Unfortunately, fans best remember Gibbons for two incidents in 2006. The first came on July 19, when disgruntled designated hitter Shea Hillenbrand wrote "This ship is sinking" and "Play for yourself" on a display board in the clubhouse to describe his feelings about the team. Gibbons reportedly confronted Hillenbrand and challenged him to a fight. Three days later, Hillenbrand was traded to the San Francisco Giants.

On August 21 of that same season, Jays starter Ted Lilly had been staked to 8-0 lead, but after he surrendered five runs in the third inning, Gibbons made his way to the mound to pull him. Lilly initially wouldn't give him the ball and, after the left-hander begrudgingly walked off the field, Gibbons followed him into the clubhouse tunnel, where they engaged in a shoving match.

In Tuesday's press conference, Gibbons said he regretted those actions and that there was no place for physical contact with his players. Interestingly, Anthopoulos defended his manager, saying he had no problem with the way Gibbons handled those incidents.

These incidents tend to cloud the fact that Gibbons guided the Jays to an 87-75 record and a second-place finish in the American League East that season, the only time the club has finished that high since winning the World Series in 1993.

Firm but fatherly

Despite those confrontations, players generally loved playing for Gibbons and his firm but fatherly presence earned him respect in the clubhouse and from management. His actions in the Hillenbrand and Lilly incidents and his decision to bench slumping future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas in April 2008 show that he's not to afraid to hold players accountable -- something John Farrell was criticized for not doing in 2012.

As Anthopoulos said repeatedly during Tuesday's press conference, Gibbons is also excellent at managing a bullpen. During his first term in Toronto, he coaxed career seasons out of relievers B.J. Ryan, Jeremy Accardo, Scott Downs and Justin Speier. He also implemented successful platoons with several of his position players. The duo of Frank Catalanotto and Reed Johnson, for example, formed one of the most productive left-field combinations in baseball. Gregg Zaun and Bengie Molina also excelled sharing duties behind the plate.

In his first tenure with the Jays, Gibbons also gained valuable experience working with both young and veteran-laden clubs, so he learned when to teach and when to get out of the way. This will come in handy with the mixture of veterans and youngsters on the club next season. And with a roster that includes stolen base threats like Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, Brett Lawrie, Rajai Davis and Maicer Izturis, Gibbons said that he won't be afraid to run next season, but he added that his players won't run recklessly -- a problem for the Jays in 2012.

Shades of 2005

This off-season is starting to feel similar to the 2005 off-season. With Gibbons heading into his third season as dugout boss, then-Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi opened up Rogers' wallet to sign big-ticket free agents A.J. Burnett and Ryan and traded for first baseman Lyle Overbay and third baseman Troy Glaus.

Expectations were high for the Jays heading into 2006 and, saddled with that pressure, Gibbons guided the club to that respectable second-place finish. With the addition of two potential ace starters in Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, baseball's best leadoff hitter in Reyes and the National League's leading hitter in Melky Cabrera, Gibbons will once again be expected to lead the Jays into contention. He seemed to welcome these expectations at the press conference on Tuesday.

Given the field of candidates available and the criteria that Anthopoulos was looking for in a manager, we shouldn't have been surprised that Gibbons was a prime candidate. This is a gutsy hire by Anthopoulos. Gibbons may seem like an uninspired choice, but once you get past the incidents with Hillenbrand and Lilly and look at his assets and experience, he actually seems like a pretty good choice to lead the Jays back into contention.

Blue Jays send clear message with blockbuster trade

2012-11-14T13:31:30Z

]]> With apologies to Pat Gillick, who traded for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar on Dec. 5, 1990, the 12-player swap that Alex Anthopoulos reportedly consummated with the Miami Marlins should go down as the biggest in franchise history.

]]> Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos wasn't kidding when he said he had more money to spend this off-season.

With apologies to former GM Pat Gillick, who swapped Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar on Dec. 5, 1990, the 12-player blockbuster trade that Anthopoulos reportedly consummated with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night should go down as the biggest trade in franchise history.

Not only does the deal add approximately $45 million to Toronto's payroll in 2013 -- and more than $165 million in commitments over the longer term -- it transforms the Blue Jays into instant contenders. It also sends a clear message that ownership is willing to open up its wallet to try to win a championship in 2013.

This jaw-dropper of a deal, which is pending physicals and approval from the commissioner's office, will see starting pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, shortstop Jose Reyes, catcher John Buck and utility player Emilio Bonifacio join the Jays. The Marlins will also reportedly send $4 million to the Jays.

In return, Toronto will part with shortstop Yunel Escobar, pitcher Henderson Alvarez, veteran catcher Jeff Mathis, promising Cuban infielder Adeiny Hechavarria, outfield prospect Jake Marisnick and pitching prospects Anthony Desclafani and Justin Nicolino.

After a disastrous 2012 season, Anthopoulos vowed to improve the rotation this off-season, but he probably couldn't have dreamed that he'd have the opportunity to add two starting pitchers as good as Johnson and Buehrle in one deal.

An all-star in 2009 and 2010, Johnson missed most of 2011 with right shoulder inflammation. He rebounded to make 31 starts this season and post a respectable 3.81 earned-run average. Set to make $13.75 million in the last year of his contract in 2013, the 6-foot-7 right-hander, who will turn 29 in March, will assume a spot atop the rotation.

And you won't find a more dependable starter than Buehrle. The 33-year-old southpaw has won at least 10 games and pitched at least 200 innings in 12 consecutive seasons. He inked a four-year, $58-million pact with the Marlins prior to the 2012 campaign, but the deal is backloaded, so he'll make a reasonable $11 million in 2013.

With the departure of Escobar and Hechavarria, Reyes, who signed a six-year, $106-million deal with the Marlins last December, becomes Toronto's everyday shortstop and likely leadoff hitter. The electrifying 29-year-old won a batting title in 2011 and adds speed and spunk to the top of a batting order that showcased too many all-or-nothing hitters in 2012. A four-time all-star, Reyes has registered more than 30 stolen bases and 10 triples seven times in his 10-year career.

Buck, who enjoyed his best big-league season with the Jays in 2010, has struggled since inking a three-year, $18-million deal with the Marlins. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound catcher, who hit just .192 in 2012, is heading into the final year of his contract.

A super utility player, Bonifacio was limited to 64 games due to a knee injury this past season. But the fleet-footed 27-year-old posted a .360 on-base percentage and swiped 40 bases in 152 games in 2011.

The most impressive aspect of this deal for Anthopoulos is that he was able to acquire five solid big leaguers without parting with catcher Travis d'Arnaud and pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard -- the three prospects many consider to be the best in the organization.

Escobar slid offensively

The homophobic slur written in his eye black during a game on Sept. 15 served to expedite Escobar's departure from Toronto, but the confounding shortstop also experienced a down season offensively. Set to make $5 million in 2013, Escobar is the only player headed to Miami destined to make more than $3 million next season.

Just 9-14 with a 4.85 ERA in 2012, Alvarez took a step back in his development this season. And while he's just 22, it's concerning that a pitcher with a fastball that can reach the mid-to-high 90s could only muster 79 strikeouts in 187.1 innings this season.

Hechavarria, who will turn 24 in April, made his big-league debut to mixed reviews in 2012. In 41 contests, he proved he's ready to man a middle infield position defensively. But his lack of plate discipline is worrisome and it's unlikely that he'll be more than an average offensive contributor.

Mathis, who signed a two-year, $3-million extension in August, is a useful backup catcher and is stronger behind the plate than Buck. But Buck's superior offensive talents should compensate for his defensive shortcomings.

Parting with solid prospects

According to Baseball America, Marisnick and Nicolino are the Jays' second- and fifth-best prospects, respectively. A 6-foot-4, 200-pound centre-fielder, Marisnick might have been the best athlete in the organization. But he hit just .233 in 55 games at double-A New Hampshire in 2012. That said, he's only 21 and most scouts believe he'll still evolve into a solid big leaguer.

One of the vaunted mound trio, along with Sanchez and Syndergaard, that starred for class-A Lansing this season, Nicolino registered 10 wins and a 2.46 ERA in 22 starts. However, most scouts will tell you that the 20-year-old lefty possesses the lowest ceiling of the "Lansing Three" and project him to be a middle-of-the rotation starter.

Desclafani was another standout hurler at Lansing. In his first professional season, the 22-year-old right-hander won 11 games and posted a 3.37 ERA in 21 starts. Some suggest, however, that his future is as a reliever.

Defining trade for Anthopoulos

It's hard to wrap my head around the magnitude of this blockbuster. But this is the deal that will define Anthopoulos' tenure in Toronto. In the short-term, this swap is a decided triumph for the Jays and Anthopoulos deserves credit for positioning himself to take advantage of Miami's latest fire sale.

The deal makes the Jays' rotation significantly stronger and their offence more multi-dimensional. It also makes the club's managerial vacancy much more appealing.

From a business perspective, the trade sends a clear message to the club's playoff-starved fan base that its owners are willing to open up their wallets and are serious about winning a championship in 2013. And after a disastrous 2012, that's a message that their frustrated fans, who flocked to the Rogers Centre in higher numbers this season, desperately needed to hear.

Blue Jays could use a manager like Giants' Bochy

2012-10-29T19:14:15Z

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That's what I was thinking as I watched Bruce Bochy oversee his pitching staff, nurture his young position players and foster a never-say-die attitude in his San Francisco Giants during the club's unlikely run to its second World Series title in three seasons.]]>
That's what I was thinking as I watched Bruce Bochy oversee his pitching staff, nurture his young position players and foster a never-say-die attitude in his San Francisco Giants during the club's unlikely run to its second World Series title in three seasons.

Most importantly, the easygoing 57-year-old, who imparts his baseball knowledge in a deep baritone that's equally endearing and intimidating, seems to have the universal respect of his players.

What other manager could ask a two-time Cy Young Award winner like Tim Lincecum to move to the bullpen in the post-season without a whisper of protest? And not only did Lincecum not complain, he excelled in his new role and was a key reason the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in this year's Fall Classic.

But let's stop dreaming here. Bochy is under contract until the end of next season and the Giants have a team option for 2014, so he won't be coming to Toronto. I would, however, encourage the Jays brass to look for someone with similar qualities.

The humble Bochy is quietly assembling a Hall of Fame resume. In securing his second World Series title on Monday night, Bochy has now led his teams to as many championships as Hall of Fame skippers Tommy Lasorda and Dick Williams, and he now owns one more title than Cooperstowners Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver and Leo Durocher.

It's also important to note that the Giants are 8-1 in their two World Series under Bochy. So his teams are not only winning in the Fall Classic, they're dominating, which is a testament to how prepared his squads are and how hard they play for him.

With his 18th season as a manager now in the books, Bochy, who also enjoyed a nine-year big league career as a backup catcher, has accumulated 1,454 wins, which ranks 23rd all-time and puts him ahead of Herzog and Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson and just behind Weaver (1,480 wins). Remember that Bochy amassed many of those wins with the penny-pinching San Diego Padres from 1995 to 2006 and it's no coincidence that Bochy has been part of all five of the Padres' post-season teams (1984 as a player; 1996, 1998, 2005 and 2006 as manager).

So with this sterling resume, why isn't Bochy heralded as much as his dugout contemporaries like Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Lou Piniella?

Well, the fact that he's managed on the West Coast for his entire career hasn't helped his profile. Most in the heavily populated Eastern Time Zone are asleep when he's working his magic in the Giants' dugout. And though amiable, Bochy is not a self-promoter or a quote machine like Lasorda or La Russa. He prefers to deflect any praise to his players. Earlier this year, Giants general manager Brian Sabean described Bochy as the "most understated, underrated manager in baseball" in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

After he spent 12 seasons as manager of the San Diego Padres, Bochy was hired by the Giants prior to the 2007 campaign. Under his reign, three Giants draftees - Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner - have blossomed into elite starters.

And after losing closer Brian Wilson to Tommy John surgery in April, Bochy was masterful in piecing together a bullpen that by the end of the regular season was one of the best in baseball. A former catcher, Bochy seems to know precisely when to use his relievers, and the confidence of Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla and Jeremy Affeldt all seemed to peak in the post-season.

During the first half of 2012, young infielders Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt didn't look like big leaguers, but Bochy stuck with them and encouraged them, and his faith paid off. Both supplied elite defence in the World Series and now seem destined to be cornerstones of the Giants' infield in the future.

But Bochy's biggest asset is his ability to instill a never-say-die attitude in his clubs. Aside from losing Wilson to Tommy John surgery, the Giants were also forced to overcome the drug suspension of their best hitter, Melky Cabrera, in August. Faced with that adversity, Bochy didn't panic and instead penciled the speedy Gregor Blanco into his lineup more frequently. Blanco shone defensively and contributed some key hits in the post-season, and even when Cabrera was eligible to return, the Giants opted not to bring him back.

Bochy masterfully molded this disparate and fun-loving group of players into a unit that wouldn't accept losing, not in the NLDS when they fell behind 2-0 to Cincinnati and not in the NLCS when they battled back from a 3-1 deficit to oust St. Louis. Sure, the players won the games on the field, but their manager motivated them and infused the belief in them that they would prevail even when the odds against them seemed insurmountable.

So as the Blue Jays continue their search for a new manager to replace John Farrell, my suggestion is that they look for someone with the same qualities as Bochy.

The Giants manager is adept at getting the most out of his pitchers and the best out of his youngsters. He's respected and beloved, tough but nurturing. Most importantly, however, he knows how to unite a group of different personalities into a team that's dead set on winning.

That's exactly what the Blue Jays need in a dugout boss and exactly why Bochy should one day be considered for Cooperstown.