A J Gonna Walk Out On Me : the '08 Blue Jays

predictions:
• after reaching the illustrious 14 win mark for the first time in his career AJ Burnett walks away from his remaining contract for a dumptruck full of money (from the Yankees).
• Wells and Overbay bounce back (somewhat).
• Thomas will be hurt.
• putting up Eckstein-esq numbers, Stewart will make the starting line-up - guaranteeing Lind will spend some much needed quality time with AAA.
• Rolen will be a mistake of Shakespeareian magnitudes.
• if we get the pitching from '07 and the hitting from '06 this team could finnish... no wait.... yes - 2nd place in the AL East!

oh one more:
• Rod "does not keep his word", "will never play baseball in toronto" Barajas will be booed mercilessly until i am hoarse.

I can't believe that it's already the 10th anniversary of the Canseco-Clemens-etc. steroid man-love party. Time flies when Tim Johnson isn't managing the club!

i heard they were trying to deal lind? he's out of options, no?

that seems to be a idea that's getting some play. since we now have 3 mediocre left fielders who have all surpassed their primes - why would we need a young slugger who hasn't come close to reaching his potential?!

i'd really hate to see this team deal Lind (and probably get grifted) without giving him another chance.

well, no one can accuse j.p. ricciardi of being conventional.

how can you trade a guy who can jump over joe garagiola?

Woo! they're showing a spring training game today on City!
(i have no cable so this is a big deal to me!)

omg! Kathryn Humphreys just asked Rios if he thought he could win in a fight with Debbie Clemens!

She was so damn funny.
To Zaun:"Is it awkward in the shower?" (about Rios being so beautiful).
Zaun: "Yes, yes it is"

"Does the bullpen phone ever ring, or is it like my phone in college?
It never rang *long pause* it never rang. *longer pause*
McGowan: "Uh..."

ha hahaha! man i hope they do some regular season games!
even tho it would annoy me in a regular season game the half assed coverage was pretty funny overall - "and we're back. i think we missed a homerun from someone!"

casey janssen, done for the year. can't say why, for sure, but let's say for now that on a walk through the woods, he encountered that lethal beast which hates pitchers: the fabrum bear!

no, no - it's a torn labia.

also - this is not good. hopefully he doesn't wind up being brandon league v2.0.

I was wondering when the season was officially going to begin.

ha ha haaaahhhhhh :(

I assume he tore his labrum, and in fact has nothing to do with his female genitalia? This is terrible news.

Blue Jays have officially released Reed Johnson.

aw that sucks! he was doing alright this spring too.

and also rolen is injured. end scene.

I heard League is hitting 97mph and very effective, so there's a plus over last season.

Inside sources are telling me Johnny broke his leg :(

Injured to start the season:
Rolen, Janssen, Ryan, Stairs(?), McDonald and did Burnett get over breaking his fingernail?

he was using a fake nail towards the end of spring training, but we'll see tonight how that works out.

Oh my god, i just got April fooled. McDonald being the best guy on the Jays, it's apparently funny to play with my emotions.

McDonald being the best guy on the Jays

Wait -- so are we being April Fooled now?

John MacDonald - best Blue Jay ever.

gregg zaun: corny indie fuck

throwbacks!!!

lol @ ellsbury
fiiinally gettin to wake

i'll be attending my personal home opener tomorrow - dare I hope for a sweep?!

Are you guys all from Toronto or does the world care about our baseball team? How random.

/sports fan, obviously..

most of us are not of toronto.
but i am, obv.

This is as good a place as any to say "eat shit, TBS!" But not because BOS-TOR is this week's game -- it's just that Chip Caray + Buck Martinez is a broadcast team from the 9th level of hell.

And yet Buck Martinez is still a better broadcaster than he was a manager.

haha, okay, but couldn't he just get out of the game and open a steakhouse or something...

You know, other than getting names wrong (Manny Ortiz!), making stupid points (um, was the problem w/ Toronto last year really their PITCHING?), making way too much about the Red Sox road trip, and just being kinda generally schmuckish, they really weren't that bad.

tell me buck was the one saying that!

(about pitching being the J's problem)

(last year)

[that was an awesome game i went to today, btw!]

Sox suxk

Buck was the one that said that. He then went on to say something about the Jays having to play sub-Angel small ball because of the Red Sox and Yankees ("you can't outhit them; you can't outspend them").

Wake me when Eckstein stops hitting Texas Leaguers just over outstretched gloves and just fair down the lines -- I could use the long nap.

Tho I have to say I liked how Manny Delcarmen was sonned yesterday -- in Saturday's game, Frank Thomas got the Big Hit off a change-up (low & awayish, smacked to left-center); Delcarmen & V-Tek, possibly aware of this, decide to start FT off with a fastball w/ the bases load, and he, um, you know.

:D

:/

:(

Buck was the one that said that. He then went on to say something about the Jays having to play sub-Angel small ball because of the Red Sox and Yankees ("you can't outhit them; you can't outspend them").

Haha I was just looking at tonight's boxscore as I read this

HA ha ha ha - an apt likeness.

:(

Marco Scutaro with one of the worst plays I've ever seen last night. Slow runner on first, fast runner at third, 1 out, 1-run lead, top of the 9th. Quick grounder to third and he throws home instead of taking the sure double-play. Misses the catcher by a few yards.

Always nice to have a spy on the other team, I guess.

ya - not the smartest play ever. but let's not lose sight of what's really unsettling about that 9th inning - Accardo has now completely shit the bed two nerve-racking appearances in a row.

that scutaro play made me livid.

last night, 12th inning, bases juiced: brandon league fresh off plunking a guy when lefty travis buck comes up, smacks a double (again, his 3rd of the game, 6th/series) and THEN Gibbons decides to waddle his fat-ass out to put in a lefty. His Split: -.032 -.038 -.070

Frank Thomas, grab some bench:

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays decided to send slumping slugger Frank Thomas to their bench on Saturday, a decision the angry veteran designated hitter feels is based more on his contract than his lack of production.

Thomas was given the news in a morning meeting with manager John Gibbons and did his best to control his frustration in the clubhouse afterwards. The 19-year veteran has a vesting option worth US$10 million in 2009 and he needs 304 more plate appearances for it to become guaranteed.

"It's pretty obvious," Thomas said when asked if he thought that was a factor in his benching. "Sixty at-bats isn't enough time to make that decision. I'm angry, I know I can help this team. My career isn't going to end like this."

Read more of this article: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i9GEWKdJhz1y-m_sbWZSnF0FlOXQ

it's gone from bad to worse, andy. thomas has been released:

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=234740&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3355502

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told ESPN's Peter Gammons that the release of Thomas was "by mutual consent. He doesn't want to be here if he's not going to play much, and we don't want him to be unhappy. He handled it with class, and I appreciate that."

this fucvking team.

Is JP heading up an actual MLB team, or a fantasy team? Did he find Mark Reynolds or Bill Hall on the waiver wire?

NOTE TO OAKLAND: COME GET THAT

Ricciardi is just being "fair" to Thomas by releasing him? 2007 rbi/homerun leader benched due to his (annual) slow start, not due to his contract? The sky is green and the grass is blue? Yea, I'll believe that why not. I can't wait for all the impending Bonds talk, that's going to be great ARGH

Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told ESPN's Peter Gammons that the release of Thomas was "by mutual consent. He doesn't want to be here

Had a real talk moment where I really thought he was going w/"and we don't want him here." How many days ago was it the Jays couldn't hit TEXAS RANGERS pitching?

Ricciardi is just being "fair" to Thomas by releasing him? 2007 rbi/homerun leader benched due to his (annual) slow start, not due to his contract?

They're paying him anyway.

Ricciardi is such an idiot for signing him to that dumb deal in the first place. Always a year late and an idea behind.

First line of the AP recap of Toronto's win over Detroit today, "David Eckstein hit a three-run homer, supplying some of the power Toronto might miss without Frank Thomas, and the Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Sunday."

My reaction: [pukes on floor]

like whoa

awesome.

Ricciardi is just being "fair" to Thomas by releasing him? 2007 rbi/homerun leader benched due to his (annual) slow start, not due to his contract?

They're paying him anyway.

-- Rock Hardy, Sunday, April 20, 2008 2:51 PM (Sunday, April 20, 2008 2:51 PM) Bookmark Link

frank's contract is incentive laden. no play = no $$$.

The ESPN story: The move leaves the Blue Jays on the hook for $7,081,967, the remainder of his $8 million salary this year in the $18.12 million, two-year contract the 39-year-old Thomas signed in November 2006.

huh, frank said it was a ploy so that they wouldn't have to pay him incentive money. i'd say 85% is probably good enough when you're hitting a buck 67.

The Oakland contract was the incentive-laden one, I thought. The only incentive in the Jays contract (or the most notable one, if it can be called an "incentive") was the 2009 option kicking in automatically after X number of PAs.

Still a stupid move, no matter how it's sliced.

April 23, 2006: .167/.231/.400
April 21, 2007: .197/.329/.328
April 19, 2008: .167/.306/.333

Still a stupid move, no matter how it's sliced

Posts effortlessly summarizing the spirit of J.P. Ricciardi

i think this can be summarized best my the 6th post on this thread:

well, no one can accuse j.p. ricciardi of being conventional.

my=by

which reminds me - to add to the list of greivances:

Reed Johnson: .349 | .408 | .395
Shannon Stewart: .235 | .341 | .294 (currently day-to-day)

Has Ricciardi ever gotten a player that Beane hadn't already got first (for less!)?

ricciardi blows dick, i cant believe he hasnt been fired yet

All he needs to do now is:

- re-up Overbay to a long-term deal
- trade for Kevin Millar
- sign Hee Seop Choi to a minor league deal, and bring him up after a week

Or perhaps sign Ruben Sierra to a minor league deal, bring him up after a week, and ensure he gets PT by benching Alex Rios. That would officially move JP ahead of Gord Ash in the mediocrity pile.

Reed Johnson: .349 | .408 | .395
Shannon Stewart: .235 | .341 | .294 (currently day-to-day)

Johnson's start doesn't upset me, because he won't sustain it and he was always one of the most overrated guys on the Jays. Not having a single decent power threat on a team that plays in one of the league's most favourable HR parks = BLEUSHGAHEHGEHHHHHH

Of course, if JP announces that he's signed Barry Bonds, then I'll take back some of what I said.

But who needs a guy like that when we have David Eckstein? New offensive strategy:

Eckstein scratches out bunt single
Pinch run for Eckstein with, uh, maybe Vernon Wells
Eckstein bats again (I remember playing self-pitch ball with four friends on the street when I was growing up, do you?)
Eckstein hits two run homer
We happy

LOL @ Jays. BPro 2008 rightly killed this team for their rather unique ability to make a lot of moves, spend a lot of money, and still come out as a mediocre club. They can throw enough weight around to convince moron writers that they're a dark horse every year, but it's a horribly constructed roster that includes way too many dudes who have exactly one skill.

Furthermore, if this is how they see a future HOFer out the door, I wouldnn't be surprised if they start to get a rep as being a team you don't particularly want to do business with.

But who needs a guy like that when we have David Eckstein? New offensive strategy:

Eckstein scratches out bunt single
Pinch run for Eckstein with, uh, maybe Vernon Wells
Eckstein bats again (I remember playing self-pitch ball with four friends on the street when I was growing up, do you?)
Eckstein hits two run homer
We happy

i went to the jays/o's game last tuesday and while they beat the snot out of the o's it was sort of amazing how bananas eckstein went after successfully completing a sac bunt. there was much high fiving.

(call all...) you're last point is probably the most damaging aspect of this whole ordeal.

so - that makes my prediction #3 for this team a reality. i just did not expect it to be his feelings that would be getting hurt!

xpost - ahhh - i know everyone here rolls their eyes when eckstein gets called "scrappy" and things like that - but i can't help but really enjoy watching the guy play. i'm glad the j's got him.

Just went back and looked at yr predictions....God, I always forget about the opt-out they gave Burnett. When will baseball teams stop being fucking dumb and giving dudes opt-outs?

Just to be clear, the Thomas deal was something like: if he reached 1000 PA in the first two years of his contract with the Jays (he was in his second year, already over 600PA) the Jays would have been obligated to pay him around 10 million in 2009. Releasing him opens up a spot for lefty Lind and Stairs in DH who can both field. I think it's more of a bad signing than a bad move to release him at this point. He seemed overmatched and wasn't providing any protection for Wells, but it was really about the 2009 money i think.

Sheehan, right on time.

He seemed overmatched and wasn't providing any protection for Wells

so so rong -- see Sheehan above (& Andy K's post more above)

Seriously, stats for ballplayers should not be made public until the end of April -- the way people go apeshit over 4-for-35 stretches at the start of the season, when a similar stretch wouldn't raise half as many hackles in July or August (except to cranky fantasy owners), makes me think it'd be in everyone's benefit to just keep the numbers on the QT.

Sheehan killin' it. Ricciardi is an idiot.

can someone paste that shit, i don't have a subscription

Sheehan is assuming Thomas would platoon with Stairs though? I think that would be an issue for Frank, who wants to hit 600 HR. And the one good series against Boston is a smaller sample size than the last ten games, so I don't get that point. I said he _seemed_ that he was overmatched, and Texas did walk Wells to get Thomas out on one occasion. He was also a calender month behind Joba's fastball.

I honestly don't know what to think about this though, he was our offensive leader last year fer chrissakes, and is only doing the same thing at this point as his excellent '06 and '07. All I know for sure is Ricciardi is full of shit and is stupid.

I think Lind should be up here as a good option, but Sheehan is definitely right about him starting LF in the first place.

The Blue Jays, following the example of new leadoff man David Eckstein, are running harder to first base. Their all-out style helps pressures defenders into errors, and even the lumbering Thomas was hustling before his release. The lone exception, one scout says, is Alex Rios. "He lets his frustration show right away," the scout says. "He wears his feelings right on his sleeve."

I'd be frustrated, too, if I was surrounded by a bunch of mediocre slap-hitting clowns running around like they have to find a toilet in the next 15 seconds.

ts: lumbering high obp sluggers vs slap hitting lawn jockeys who just might eke out an infield single or reach on an error. blue jays are totally gonna win the world series imo!

blue jays are totally gonna win the world series imo!

it's true! vegas has them in the top five to win it all in williamsport this year!

http://www.thederivative.net/img/1106_large3.thumbnail.jpg

THE ANTI-JOE SHEEHAN

Releasing Frank Thomas makes the Blue Jays better
By Gerry Fraley - SportingNews
Apr 21, 12:36 pm EDT

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Self-absorbed Frank Thomas smelled a rat when a rapid sequence of events led to Toronto releasing him. Thomas claimed the Blue Jays benched him on Saturday—and subsequently released him on Sunday—to prevent him from getting enough plate appearances to guarantee his $10 million salary for next season.

“The Big Hurt” always has been unable to see beyond his own situation.

There is heavy pressure on Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi and manager John Gibbons this season. If the Blue Jays, with a payroll at the $100 million level, do not at least contend deep into the season, Ricciardi and Gibbons will both likely be gone.

That affects every decision.

A year ago, the Jays could afford to wait as Thomas found his way out of a slow start and finished with 26 homers and 95 RBIs. They do not have that luxury this season. The reality, which Thomas does not recognize, is that he represented a hindrance to the club.

On Saturday, when Gibbons told Thomas that he would benched for the foreseeable future the Blue Jays’ record was 8-9, and they were inconsistent on offense. They had scored three runs or fewer in six of their 17 games.

Thomas was a deadweight. He was hitting only .167 with three homers and 11 RBIs. Nothing indicated that Thomas, five weeks from his 40th birthday, was going to break out of the slump. In his last 35 at-bats with Toronto, he had only four hits—all singles—and one RBI. Those few times Thomas reached, he clogged the bases.

With Thomas as the designated hitter, Toronto received little production from a vital spot in American League lineups. The Jays had already dropped him from batting cleanup last season to fifth this year. Going much lower would defeat the purpose of having a DH on a team not blessed with a deep lineup.

“The decision is the manager’s,” Ricciardi told reporters of Thomas’ benching. “It’s based on what he thinks is best for the team. We’re scuffling offensively.”

Releasing Thomas puts the Blue Jays in position to craft a more suitable lineup. They will be a better club offensively and defensively without him.

Adam Lind, a lefthanded hitter, is on course to become the everyday leftfielder. Lind is hitting .360 at Class AAA Syracuse, and the pitchers will be glad to see him, too. The leftfield platoon of Shannon Stewart and Matt Stairs is poor defensively.

With Lind in left, the Jays can use Stewart and Stairs were they belong: at DH.

“What I do know is we’re scuffling offensively,” Ricciardi said. “We’re putting out what we think is our best lineup to score runs, to give us our best chance at winning. That’s all it is.”

Also, replacing Thomas in the clubhouse with Scott Rolen, who’s on track to return mid-May from a spring training finger injury will change the Jays’ internal dynamics for the better. Rolen understands how to establish a productive atmosphere. Thomas never embraced the obligation of setting a tone for an entire team. That the Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005 when he was not around did not speak well of Thomas.

And what of Thomas?

On his way out of Toronto, Thomas defended his work to reporters and insisted that he remains an effective hitter. He still holds out hope of hitting 84 more homers to get 600 for his career, helping his Hall of Fame chances.

“One good week, and I’d be back on top,” Thomas said. “I know I haven’t hit the ball that well, but I’m not the only player. Look at (Gary) Sheffield with Detroit, (David) Ortiz with Boston. I know I can hit and get on fire.

“This is a shocker. It’s terrible. Don’t tell me I can’t help this team win.”

The Blue Jays loudly said that with their actions. When Thomas clears waivers this week, he will become a free agent available for the pro-rated minimum. If Thomas expects a deluge of calls from teams eager to add him, he will be disappointed again. The Big Hurt is the last to realize that he is finished.

Gerry Fraley, a free-lance baseball writer based in St. Louis, is a regular contributor to Sporting News.

noted clubhouse leader scott rolen

There is a lot of gold here, but his characterization of Rolen is particularly funny.

Shannon Stewart BELONGS at DH, for example, rather than just being cut.

Good thing we released that clubhouse cancer Frank Thomas before we let the division get away from us.

Rolen understands how to establish a productive atmosphere.

Incense? All-Frank Stallone iPod playlists? He knows someone who can get him a great deal on ergonomic locker chairs?

gaaaahhhhhhhhhh

4 straight CGs is intense

When is Gibbons going to get it through his thick skull that Halladay doesn't have to go nine every time out? How many games in the past two seasons were lost when Doc was left in games for the 8th and/or 9th with 110+ pitch counts???

Maybe after JP is shot and the guy that takes over fires Gibbons' stupid ready-for-glue ass?

not as intense as 3 straight CG losses!

i think he still only threw about 110-115 pitches total; but i was all wtf when i saw him coming out in the 9th.

yeah, i mean...yeesh. too bad the jays don't have someone to close a game like that out.

I can tell that Gibbons' mentality is "Doc's only thrown 95-100 pitches, so if he throws one more inning then he'll only be up to 110 or so, and that's OK", but the dumb fuck never stops to think that Doc might not make it through that inning, or that pitch #110 for Halladay might not be as effective as pitch #1 from half the guys in his bullpen.

His "strategy" is to live or die with Halladay, and if it doesn't work out then nobody should blame him because he stuck with his top guy, all in lieu of MANAGING A FUCKING BULLPEN and doing some thinking for once. Seriously, it's like Grady Little/Pedro, but several times each season!

I don't think it was necessarily a bad call to leave him out there. The reason for the Halladay losses has much more to do with the average 2.89 runs/9 we're giving him.
I mean WTF is this offense?

It's HUSTLE!

We'll have the fewest runs scored in the AL by the end of the year.

BANK ON THAT SHIZZ

On the bright side, we will probably lead the league in two-out singles in 4-2 games. And John Gibbons is bound to slug somebody by July, so that should be fun when it happens.

Naturally 85% of those two-out singles will come with nobody on base.

ahhh - an inverted Tabler ratio - the more people on base, the shittier the hitting.

Blue Jays pitchers have a major league-best 1.02 ERA since April 26, helping Toronto win five in a row after losing eight of nine.

!!!

I'd be more excited if this team could score more than four runs/game on a semi-regular basis.

I'd be more excited if this team had management/ownership that i did not want to stomp on a regular basis.

I'd be more excited if someone ponied up the cash and bought me season tickets, 200 Level, 3rd base side.

that would be quite the commute, dude!

Well, the sense of excitement is what matters.

Also, I'd visit more if I knew I had baseball tickets :)

you see, i'd be happy if someone bought me cable so i could simply watch - and i live just up the street from the place! (also - headin' to the game tonight - woo!)

do you have rogers internet Thermo?

yup.
not sure how to get into that box yet, if that's what you're going to say!

Rogers Sportsnet East broadcaster Ian Mendes: C/D?

(My best friend from first through fifth grade... until he moved to Canada.)

I've never heard him, I guess he does Québec/Maritimes

obv - not having cable i wouldn't know. but gis'ing his pic turn up a result i can only call "sundar-esq"!

http://magazine.carleton.ca/2002_fall/photos/mendes.jpg

Kevin Mench AND Brad Wilkerson? Go JP go!

What a tit.

:D

Sorry that's mean, but I just don't understand what Ricciardi's doing at all. It's like he's putting the team together by throwing jarts or something.

http://mlbastian.mlblogs.com/photos/spring_training/reed.jpg

ilbb: help me decide what the word bubble i'm going to place next to Reed should say.

"Nathan Haynes can DH, JP. Sign him."

"dfa'd for *that*!?

This afternoon, centre fielder Vernon Wells was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left wrist and is expected to be out from 6-8 weeks. In addition, reliever Jeremy Accardo was placed on the disabled list with a strained right forearm.

is that a joke!?
i can't bear to actually check.
fuck.

it's just a joke. don't worry. now go back to sleep.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/dysign/ilx/reed_says.jpg

i wish my friends would stop calling.
everytime they do there's worse news about this train wreck :'(

I've got good news!! Jays scored after 31 straight goose eggs!!!hurrrah!

Every time I watch Reed Johnson I'm like "that dude is great, Toronto fans must be really sad", but his line for the season isn't so hot: .254, .341, .316. I mean, it could be worse, but his slugging is pretty pathetic.

Matt (Toronto): Can the Jays score enough runs to contend?

Rob Neyer: (12:39 PM ET ) No. No way. No how. No chance.

I have to take five steps back from the computer to fully absorb the power of such a BOLD CLAM!11&!~!! I guess that's why they pay Neyer the big bucks.

i wonder if that was Matt Stairs.

Matt(Toronto): Is there any way I can carry this team all year (I am 40 after all)?

MENCH DH'd today and Thomas is currently hitting (cuz it ain't April and all anymore.) Seriously why isn't Ricciardi fired yet?

Toronto DHs '08: .224/.311/.362
Eckstein: .246/.315/.322

I take back my earlier comments about having the worst offense in the league seeing as we just swept the other "top" contender in that category (KC) and outscored them something like 16-5.

Mock poll:

Q: Can this last?

o Yes
o No

I vote for "enjoy it while it lasts because we'll be losing plenty of 5-1 games in August".

That's the spirit!

Jays have the best pitching in baseball, and their oh-fers with runners on had to bounce back. getting them on base in the first place (.339 team obp) is v. promising. The real team is somewhere between 11-17 april and the 20(?) win May, which is where they are now, 5 games over.
Also, Vernon who?

Though Litsch has to be playing WAY over his head

Sure, the team OBP is good (currently 7th in MLB), but they need a way of driving those runners in. Slugging .378 as a team (25th in MLB) means they're not getting it done with power, and if you're going to drive them in by singling other teams to death (see: recent Angels teams) then you need to hit in the .280-.290 range (which they're not, and won't do with the players they have now).

BBOOOOOOOO

This bullpen is suddenly looking terrible. When you've got Benitez coming into relatively high leverage situations in the 8th you are definitely in trouble.

well, the benitez situation is settled.

yay, DFA'd! And Wolfe's back

Aw, so sweet . . . Blue Jays fans giving Reed Johnson a standing ovation.

what happened? i went out for a smoke and when i came back in they had the fucking u.s. open on. this isn't sunday, no reason for golf in a bar.

GIVE 'EM HELL, JP

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/06/ricciardi-doesn.html

Blue Jays' LF: .230/.313/.309

DH: .214/.322/.365

Dunn: .227/.395/.514

Blue Jays' LF PLUS DH: 12 HR /54 RBI

Dunn: 18 HR/43 RBI

f u j p

Come on, Dunn would just clog up the bases. What if Dunn was on base when Eckstein or Scutaro came up? They might bloop a single to centre and wouldn't be able to stretch it into a double. It would be a disaster.

Adam Dunn on JP: "I don’t know the clown. I don’t know, and you can use the word ‘clown’ if you like."

"He’s not even in our country. This guy’s in another country talking ****."

At this point I kind of hope Ricciardi sticks around forever because I'm getting a kick out of his crazy old man rants. I fully support a "Coaches Corner"-ish segment with JP blabbing during the 7th inning stretch of every Blue Jays home game, or something to that effect.

xpost

Dunn's dig at Canada is pretty much uncalled for, however.

That's a pretty mild dig unless I missed soemthing.

It's mild, but it's completely besides the point. "Not only did you say stupid things about me, but you said them in CANADA. LOLOLOL."

Haha okay but in the context of the full quote I think it's more like he's not in the clubhouse, he's not in the city, he's NOT EVEN IN THE DAMN COUNTRY so where the fuck is he getting this from more than LOL CANADA.

and really? j.p. ricciardi was totally out of line...even if adam dunn DOES have a propensity for hitting rally killing home runs!

yeah too many times i've seen dunn batting with no one on and someone in the on-deck circle, then he hits a homer, eliminating the chance that he can be driven in by the next guy.

ok. wtf. how do you cough up an inside the park homerun to PRINCE FUCKING FIELDER!?

wicked case of bronchitis?

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/1381/eptsportsmlbexperts1381si6.jpg

Doesn't Fielder already have an inside the park hr?
Bush is doing *really well through 6 innings /wink wink

by that i mean he might get a no-hitter ***jinx***

but seriously, how about those former jays fuckin pwning us lately

lately!?
fuck it. i was actually trying not to jinx Bush! i hope every pitcher the J's face from now until JP is ejected from this city throws no fucking hitters. and every slow moving behemoth to step up to the plate against J's pitchers (with the exception of Halladay and Marcum) hits an inside the park home run on the first swing.

GOD THIS TEAM FUCKING SUCKS! WAY TO FIND THE BALL WITH A RUNNER ON WHEN IT'S TOTALLY BEYOND REACH RIOS!

ermm...

ok then. they still suck.

Inglett killed the rally.

John Gibbons axed!!!

Replaced by Cito Gaston!!!

they always come in threes.

Oh Canada

That's what she said

that's sort of nutty. do you think cito had been chairing a mangerial search committee?

not sure if Cito is the man for the job here.
also sad to see Whitt go.
hopefully the next head on the block is JP's.

j.p. blinked.

from espn:

"J.P. Ricciardi, general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, apologized profusely for critical remarks he made about Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn earlier this week, and indicated he is trying to reach out to Dunn -- who blasted Ricciardi in response to his remarks -- to apologize directly."

he must have remembered that big adam was coming to toronto to play in a few days. i wonder if the jays fans will give him a standing o?

wow! I think Cito becoming part of the Old Recycled Managers' Club is nearly as significant as Obama getting the presidential nomination.

This is like the Mets bringing Davey Johnson back.

This franchise is on cruise control. CITO FUCKING GASTON????? ARE YOU SHITTING ME?????????????????????????????????????????????

Seriously, JP could re-sign and re-release Frank Thomas another five times and it wouldn't be as dumb as hiring Cito Gaston to be the new manager.

i was reading an article where they were saying this all the doing of the team president and ricciardi basically had to sit back, shut the fuck up and take his medicine.

i noticed at the press confrence riccardi looked like he was ready to jump out of his skin. i assumed it was because it's his neck stretched over the block next.

well, today was unexpected.

Dumb question: has Ernie Whitt been dismissed completely out of the Blue Jays organization? After being with the Jays for more than 30 years and from the very beginning of the franchise?

think so.

So, another classy move in a year full of classy moves ...

JP is all about being a class act and a straight-shooter.

"The caller said, 'Hi, this is Adam Dunn,' " Ricciardi said. "The person said, 'I'll see you in Toronto.' If it's not him, then it's some prank. But I don't know how the person would get my cellular phone number. I mean, I don't even give it out to you guys [the press]."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJhzaGNp_q0 was pretty sweet.

wow.

listening to the game on the radio and Labatt just had an ad air advocating the immediate dismissal of JP Ricciardi!
i have never heard anything like that before in my life!

While Rolen and his balky shoulder have managed just six homers and 30 RBI north of the border, Glaus has accumulated 18 jacks and 66 RBI in St. Louis.

not surprised. i thought the deal stunk as soon as i heard about it.

but lets not forget rolen's **brilliant* *defense**!! :o

http://www.greggzaun.com/

The intro flash is hilarious.

G n' f'n R man!

is it true that halladay's on the block now?

nope.

Bye bye Shannon Stewart.

David Purcey Cy Young lookin' boy
David Eckstein buntin' gettin' tagged called safe lookin' boy
Alex Rios hittin' bad hop infield single lookin' boy
Vernon Wells grand slam off old man lookin' boy
Brandon "All Mouth Breathin'" League with Delmon Young narrow escape lookin' boy

ysi?

Maybe I'm the only one who cares about this, but Roy Halladay at #39 on the BP Ultimate Fantasy Draft, behind about a dozen other pitchers?

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7975

OK, you generally don't want to bank on pitchers who are in their thirties, and Halladay is the oldest pitcher on the list. But guys like Beckett and Webb are only a couple of years younger, as is Johan Santana (who is arguably regressing over the past couple of years), so is there really that big of a difference between them?

Beckett? if he's ahead of Halladay it's because of the team he's on and nothing else.

Beckett is #22 and Halladay has had at least three seasons (including this year) that are better than Beckett's best season. But in a Game Seven, Beckett's your guy! (acc. to Nate Silver)

While I generally agree that Halladay deserves to be ranked higher, for some reason PECOTA really does not like him.

I think PECOTA likes high K rates, but his K rate this year is the highest it's been in years! And although his K/BB ratio has always been good, but star pitchers with good K/BB ratios usually get that ratio by having lots of K's, not fewer BB's.

I'm basically saying that PECOTA might not handle these Halladay/Bret Saberhagen/Greg Maddux type of extremes very well.

Looking at that list, Beckett's (and Harden, but that's only two spots) really the only guy in his range who doesn't deserve to be rated higher than Halladay. Sabbathia, Webb and Santana are all younger and better (albeit not necessarily by much in the former two cases) and healthier.

Guess Haren is debatable too, but he's four years younger as well and been steadily improving for the past two seasons.

But chances are that the really young pitchers (i.e. Chamberlain, Lincecum) will be hurt at some point in the next six years (or right now!), which should reduce their value on this kind of list. What happened to the saying about pitchers arms not properly maturing until they're 25?

AFAIC, a guy like Sabathia is way more valuable that a guy like Lincecum, because he has more of a track record and has proven to be essentially a freak of nature who doesn't get hurt. We have a much clearer idea of how many innings Sabathia (or Halladay) will pitch over the next six years compared to Lincecum, and I don't think Lincecum's higher upside makes up that difference in uncertainty.

Nate def. seems like he's in love with upside, I'll give you that.

As far as injury risk goes, Chamberlain is IMO less of good bet over the next six years than Lincecum who if recall has never had even a minor injury in his post-high school years and who takes pretty good care of himself.

Sabbathia is rated higher than Lincecum on the list btw.

SIX INNINGS? Gut one out just once, "DOC."

So I guess Adam Lind is this year's low-rent Ryan Braun (in that, if Toronto actually brough up / played the dude to start the season instead of dicking around with D- alternatives for 1-2 months, they'd have a better record to show for it)?

Stairs traded! :(
Snider up! :o

His 11th team, I think.

lord of hustle - gone!

well it was a fun 10 game winning streak while it lasted!

I saw JP at the Timmies by my office!
i did not slap him, however.

RIP Ted Rogers.

this can mean nothing but more crappy news for the J's.