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We hardly knew ya. One of the more embarrassing legacies of El Gordo's tenure is getting fleeced in a deal by Kenny Williams, who may be dumber than Syd Thrift. There are going to be inevitable comparisons to that "ingrate" Al Leiter, who got paid to stick his blisters in Toronto pickle brine for a few years, then moved on to win a World Series or something, but this lefty was far more seriously injured. The guy has a zipper in his shoulder for the surgeon's convenience.

I'm a Canadian. I walked away from being Director of Racing in the big leagues of harness racing (Pompano Park in Florida) to the relative obscurity of Ottawa's Rideau Carleton, mostly because I didn't like raising my family in the U.S., so if Mike Sirotka wants to continue his unlikely comeback attempt in his homeland instead of a foreign country, je comprend. He never asked to come to Toronto.

Chris Carpenter, on the other hand, is supposed to be "loyal," but why shouldn't he leave, if the Mariners or Rangers offer him the same minor-league deal he's going to get from the Jays? It feels different when you have a long investment in a player's development, as a fan or as an organization. Last winter, some pretty nasty contract bickering through the media appeared to be Carp's ticket out of town, but then he got hurt. Just before the deadline, his curve was as good as it's ever been, and you know they wanted to deal him. I'll bet there's a lowball offer or two J.P. wishes he'd taken.

The difference, prior to his shoulder surgery, between Carpenter and Roy Halladay reside primarily above the neck. Doc reminds me of Schilling -- a big, efficient machine. Relentless, unflappable, every pitch the same effort, unless you really need a little extra. Chris had that heartbreaking deuce, the knee-buckler, straight down. Kid threw pitches that umps apparently thought went over the strike zone; called them high, but the catcher caught them on the ground. But he still hasn't learned to pitch. And now that he's damaged goods, it's easy to be philosophical: no hard feelings, son, get well, best of luck. If you want to move on, who are we to complain?

While we're waving farewell, good riddance to Esteban Loaiza, a man who can be very good, but doesn't much care when he isn't. Steve Parris, you really showed us something last year before your arm fell off again. If you'll take one year at a million plus incentives, c'mon back.

It wouldn't break my heart to say goodbye to Kelvim Escobar for new closer Cliff Politte. Pete Walker should pitch the eighth (often the seventh, too) until someone better comes along. He could have five good years in middle relief, and still be your spot starter. Sign him. If nobody covets Escobar enough to tempt the determined J.P., leave Walker in the rotation indefinitely. What were the Mets thinking?

I really like the big lefty. I have to be careful imagining how good Mark Hendrickson might be, and I'll probably own him on my fantasy teams next year. Jordan may have numbers that will prove me wrong, but I think he's a mentally tough veteran with a "young arm" because of his late commitment to baseball, so I'm expecting further improvement on a very promising debut in the rotation. He throws strikes on the corners from an unusual angle, nothing wrong with that.

Justin Miller worries me a little, maybe because he looks worried. His fastball, toward the end of the year, had a juicy little screwball-hop at the end, though. Gotta like that, if he can find it every time, especially in the first inning. I will not be drafting him; he makes me hold my breath.

Hello Doug Creek, goodbye Felix Heredia. What's the difference? Scott Wiggins has three saves for the Grand Canyon Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. Of course, he gets lit up, too -- a 5.40 ERA -- so at best, he's the "early" lefty in Toronto, but I'd send him to Syracuse for a full year, setting up and/or closing. You can find southpaw middle relievers under rocks. Look at Scott Schoeneweis; out of nowhere! Or Scott Eyre of the NL champion Giants, waived by some second-division AL team. Lefty short men. Dime a dozen, which means the Jays were generous to Creek, whose name suggests a lot of unfortunate nicknames and headlines. Jason Kerchner looked as good as anyone in 2002, in just 16 outs over 10 appearances: a 1.69 ERA, a hold and a save.

I love Corey Thurman. An even better scoop than Walker by the astute J.P.; the kid was hyperventilating in his start this season, nowhere near ready. Stretch him out in the spring, start him in AAA and see what happens. He might end up your #5 by August, and be #4 in 2004. For such a big guy to feature the changeup makes it all the more effective.

Does anyone know if Ricciardi has picked his PTBNL from the Astros for Pedro BorBlown? As I recall, it was a choice among all but certain excluded Houston prospects, and the Jays could scout all year. Pretty shrewd return for an expensive spare part.

The Brandon Lyon release puzzles me. I had just mentioned him (as "forgotten at 23" but still a rotation possibility) in my ESPN column and they cut him. Obviously, he was picked up, by a division rival no less. I can see it now: late September, Fenway, Halladay vs. Lyon for the wild card. No, I can't. So I guess that's why they cut him. To make room for someone better. Boston gets an accurate, but not overpowering arm to fill their AAA roster.

My Christmas wish list for the Jays includes two decent big-league starters. Innings-eaters, a little better than Loaiza and Parris but with more reasonable salary demands. One has to be a respectable #2 kind of guy. My preference is to trade some combination of Cruz, Stewart, Lopez and Escobar for that arm, and shop the free agency list wisely for another useful veteran. If that happens, the four year mission might be accomplished in two, and the SkyDome scalpers will be smiling by 2004.
So Long, Sirotka. Bye, Carp. | 5 comments | Create New Account
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_Jordan - Thursday, October 31 2002 @ 10:12 PM EST (#75252) #
Excellent summary, Kent! (It's a mutual admiration Weblog hereabouts. :-)) I'm glad you've done the pitchers, since I'm not as conversant with them. Here's just a few additional comments:

- I agree Sirotka isn't Leiter, either as a pitcher or a comparable situation. Big Al was major-league ready when he left for Florida, while Sirotka is at least a year away from big-league effectiveness, if he ever makes it back (which I seriously doubt). I didn't take Leiter's departure as personally as others did, but I was still pretty miffed. Nonetheless, it was a good reminder not to take all this "loyalty" talk seriously. Athletes are businesspeople, and they can work wherever they like. Whatever Al Leiter may have owed Gord Ash, he owed nothing to Blue Jays fans. If we were as "loyal" to our teams' players as we expected them to be to us, we'd never boo a slumping hitter or a pitcher who can't find the strike zone. But double standards are what fandom's all about, I guess. Sorry for the cynicism outbreak. Moving along....

- I would like to see Carpenter stick around, and I hope JP will make more of an effort to keep him than Sirotka. Kent's right, he has (or had) dominant stuff; all he was missing was the most important parts, health and common sense. I think he finally acquired the latter this year, and the former is less difficult than ever to recover. I think his ceiling is still way high.

- Loiaza, man, I don't know. I thought he was a good signing at the time, which is yet another reason why I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a major-league front office. There but for the grace of God go I, someone with a world of talent and no evident inclination to make the most of it.

- Parris I also like. He'd be my ideal minor-league contract guy, but I'm sure the Orioles or someone equally bright will give him a guaranteed $3 mil for 2003.

- I've come to the point with Escobar that I eventually came to with Todd Stottlemyre (and let's bow our heads for a moment at the end of a mercurial career) -- whatever he's going to become, he should become in a different uniform. In terms of pure stuff, I place him with Dave Stieb and Duane Ward among all-time Blue Jays -- devastating, and when he's on, untouchable. But he's not reliable as a starter, he's not sufficiently focused as a closer, and he's too expensive to keep as a reliever anyway. Hey Kelvim -- throw your fastball! Package him for a starter with Felipe Lopez and let him find his destiny elsewhere. Maybe his karma is out of whack, maybe his aura is brown, I don't know, but Toronto is not his town. Politte can hold the fort till David Bush arrives.

- Kent, I agree with you entirely regarding Mark Hendrickson's composure and mental age: this is not a guy who'll be fazed by the big leagues, not after the NBA. His statistical sample size is of course way too small to conclude anything, but I sure liked what I saw down the stretch. I have to try hard not to get excited about what he could become. I'm not foolish enough to imagine a Northern Unit, but I can't help but smile at the thought of a 6'9" lefty in the rotation next year. Let's wait and see and enjoy.

- I would love to know more about Miller personally, to get a sense of where his head and heart are and how he's evolving. Because crazy as it sounds, I think there's an ace in there somewhere. Not next year -- I foresee some Syracuse time for him -- but 2004, maybe, look out.

- I first read about Corey Thurman when Rany Jazayerli wrote a Baseball Prospectus column decrying the Royals for leaving him unprotected in the Rule V Draft last winter. Days later, he was a Blue Jay. The good in '02: fewer hits than IP (65 in 68) and almost a strikeout an inning (56 in 68), great numbers for a AA pitcher in the majors. The bad: a BB/K ratio of 45/56, and getting overstretched and overmatched when the pen was burning down. But control and refinement is all he needs; he has the stuff and the intelligence to be really good. A year in Syracuse, and we'll see what we have in Dunedin in February '04. Sorry, Rany.

- I haven't heard whether the back end of the Borbon deal has arrived yet. It's fair to say Kirk Saarloos won't be heading back this way, but Round Rock has some nice pitching prospects, and one might yet fall through the cracks onto the available list.

- I saw Lyon pitch against the Lynx here in Ottawa at the end of August, in what turned out to be his last start with the organization. Five and two-third innings, six hits, two runs, one earned, four Ks, but only one swinging, the #9 hitter. He never seemed in control, never seemed comfortable, and seemed awfully reluctant to throw his fastball. Still, as I said over at Primer, I would not have jettisoned a 23-year-old who has succeeded at the major-league level.

- Doug Creek I'll come to in a future article that includes Trever Miller, Doug Linton and any other free-agent signings JP makes by then. I'll also throw out my wish list, maybe even speculate a little. Tomorrow's my birthday, so it'll be my gift to myself. :-)
Coach - Friday, November 01 2002 @ 10:38 AM EST (#75253) #
Mutual admiration, my ass! Who does this Jordan guy think he is, hijacking my blog? How the hell does anyone follow baseball in Ottawa? Even the Expos bailed on Ottawa!

(Just trying to fan the flames of flaming, but it's not easy -- for two people who have never met, and approach baseball from different perspectives, it's strange how often we agree. I think the rivalry between Canada's real city and its capital is possible grounds for argument, and I haven't told Jordan yet how I feel about lawyers or other predators.) Cynicism is not only tolerated in this space, it's encouraged. Don't get me started on BeelzeBud, or Toronto "fans" booing Halladay for putting Bonds on with first base open in a close game.

Escobar is one of those baffling underachievers for whom the sum of the parts adds up to much less than it should. Your exasperated "Throw the fastball" advice is a more concise version of something I think I said on ESPN, or should have. Kelvim's in love with all four pitches, but fails to understand that the slider and Mr. Splitty are supposed to fool good hitters; make them chase something out of the zone. The change is another tool of deception; not always necessary.

I coach a very talented young man in high school ball; let's call him Jesse, 'cause that's his name. Pro scouts and college recruiters wish he was taller. I wish he was younger, so I'd keep him longer. Otherwise, he's nearly perfect. Andruw Jones in CF, Pudge behind the plate, hits like Bonds, runs like Barry used to before his body magically changed. (These comparisons are relative to our level of competition, of course.)

Like any youth coach, I put my most talented player on the mound in big games. Jesse doesn't project as a pitcher (perhaps a closer) in higher levels; his rifle arm is put to better use thowing 250-foot bullets to bases from the outfield or eliminating the opponent's running game. But when he does pitch for us, he's reminiscent of Escobar, and makes many of the same mistakes.

Why show "trick" pitches to a guy who is overmatched, if not intimidated, by the express? Jesse often gets ahead 0-2 with a called strike and a feeble, late swing by a clearly intimidated hitter, then (despite the kindly old Coach's admonitions) he wastes at least one breaking ball in the dirt almost every time, before finishing the poor kid. My beef is that until someone at least hits a loud foul off your fastball, it's pointless to get them off-balance with anything else.

It's the dangerous hitters you need to pitch to, break patterns, go deeper into counts. Kelvim seems compelled to show all four of his weapons to every batter, every at-bat. If the fastball misses high, most guys are taking. So he throws a slurve that's just outside. A splitter that drops out of the zone. 3-0, again. Then the grooved fastball, maybe a change that gets fouled off, followed all too often by a walk or a hit, because he didn't challenge some backup catcher.

Throw four fastballs, Kelvim (and Jesse.) You'll punch a lot of guys out, find yourself ahead 1-2 if they start catching up and foul one off, 2-2 occasionally. (If you're down 3-1 after four heaters, or have issued a walk, the problem isn't pitch selection.) Then, depending on your stuff that day, the type of hitter and how he's responding, you consider something off speed.

The exceptions are usually their 3-4-5 hitters, who may tee off on the first heater. Pitch "backward" to those guys. I love a ninth-inning, tying run on, first-pitch straight change (or splitter) to a slugger. Swing and a miss, or five-hopper to third. They are, of course, the guys Escobar decides to be macho with, resulting in potential neck damage as he tries to follow the ball out of the yard. He's quite exasperating, and I would prefer to see the Jays hitting against him than relying on him to mature.

Politte (Roy Halladay's "Mini-Me"?) is a good changeup away from being a stopper. Batters gear up for the high, straight, 97-mph heat; not many can hit it, and even Bonds, on the sweet spot, settled for a rope to the opposite field. A second-pitch change would make his next fastball completely unfair. My friend Mr Jimmy said in July that Cliff "has no idea where it's going," which seemed correct at the time, but later in the season, he got better at controlling the horizontal axis, working inside-outside. When you throw that hard, it's difficult to be precise on the vertical plane, but "wild high" can be an advantage.

I play in a fantasy league with a bunch of guys from Carolina who hadn't noticed how sharp J.P. is before the amateur draft. They rave about Russ Adams, who they think might make it at SS, and couldn't believe David Bush, one of the better college closers, lasted as long as he did. It remains to be seen whether Politte has the psychological stuff for the ninth-inning role, but I think he'll be at least as good as his two most recent predecessors, allowing the Jays to develop Bush in the Duane Ward manner.

Though I'm in favour of a Delgado deal and the sacrifice of Stewart and/or Cruz for a starter, it's not because I dislike the incumbents. Kelvim's departure, with any reasonable return, would be cause for celebration. Maybe the Red Sox would like him...
_tracy - Friday, March 26 2004 @ 01:35 PM EST (#75254) #
All I have to say is that both Carpenter and Sirotka were absolutely sexy as hell and looked amazing in their tight uniforms bringing in lots of us girls who could care less if they could play a game!
Toronto needs to start getting us some eye candy if they expect us to come back to their silly park again.
_tracy - Friday, March 26 2004 @ 01:36 PM EST (#75255) #
All I have to say is that both Carpenter and Sirotka were absolutely sexy as hell and looked amazing in their tight uniforms bringing in lots of us girls who could care less if they could play a game!
Toronto needs to start getting us some eye candy if they expect us to come back to their silly park again.
Craig B - Friday, March 26 2004 @ 02:42 PM EST (#75256) #
Yes, but what do you think of Colin Farrell? And is tina there?
So Long, Sirotka. Bye, Carp. | 5 comments | Create New Account
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