The Blue Jays held their annual bash for season-ticket holders tonight at Alice Fazooli's. A lively crowd of more than 400 enjoyed the complimentary food and beverages, then a Q & A session, with Paul Godfrey and J.P. Ricciardi among the head table guests.
Speaking by telephone from Florida, Carlos Tosca said, "Our number one goal, our priority this year, is to get into the playoffs." The skipper believes it will take between 94 and 96 wins, and seems confident that he has the talent. "The biggest key for us to be able to do that is to stay healthy," he explained. "The one thing that we are unable to do that those other ball clubs can, is reload in the middle of the season. If we stay away from key injuries, I don't see any reason why we won't be in the pennant hunt. I will not be satisfied this year if we don't get into the playoffs."
Needless to say, that drew a large round of applause. So did the mere mention of Roy Halladay's new contract, and the return of Pat Hentgen to the fold. Asked about Doc's workload, Tosca cited his efficiency and mechanics and predicted he could throw 250+ innings "for many years to come."
J.P. warmed to the subject of Hentgen. "We didn't bring Pat here for a farewell tour. He pitched his butt off in the last half of the season, and we think he'll be a great addition to our club. We'll take advantage of those extra things, like his leadership, but he has a lot of baseball left in his arm, and he'll help our staff."
Nothing is carved in stone, and April is still far away, but the team's brain trust is at least considering starting Hentgen, the nominal #4, in the first series against Detroit, and saving the #3 man, Ted Lilly, to face the Red Sox. "That thought's already crossed our mind," said Ricciardi.
The skipper, who was in fine spirits, also told the gathering that Eric Hinske arrived at the complex February 2, some 15 pounds lighter, and his swing looks terrific. While J.P. cautioned that the big spenders in the AL East would be formidable opposition, Tosca just said "Bring 'em on."
Many of the people who asked questions have been season ticket holders since 1977, and the general mood was favourable. There were well-deserved complaints about the SkyDome concessions, to which Godfrey could only agree, saying the Jays might be the only big league team without a say in that part of their operation. As you might expect, a few people who own season's tickets in the 500 level were somewhat resentful of the Toronto Star $81 deal appreciated by many of us on lower budgets.
Pat Elster, brother of former big-leaguer Kevin Elster and a former owner of independent teams in the Western Baseball League, was the other head table guest. The newly-appointed Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service for the Jays agreed that the Star deal was "unfair" to those paying over $600 a year for the same seats, and for that reason, it has been cancelled.
If you've already renewed your $81 pass, consider yourself lucky. I don't think they will be rescinded; that would be a horrible PR move. If you received the renewal application but have procrastinated, you may not be so fortunate. If you were waiting to buy one at the box office, too bad. The surprise announcement was met with nods of approval throughout the restaurant, but I don't expect it to be as popular in this corner. It wasn't all bad news from Elster; season ticket sales are at their highest rate in ten years.
There's a lot more to report from an interesting evening, but it's getting late. I'll try to make another quick post in the morning, before going out of town on a computer installation. I enjoyed renewing acquaintances with people I met last season. Most of the media types are looking forward to going to Florida, for some reason. Jerry Howarth, who did a wonderful job as emcee, agreed to step into Da Box for an interview in April. In the morning, J.P. had appeared on CablePulse 24, and he talked briefly to the assembled press after the event, yet in the middle of that busy day, he found some time to chat with me. You can expect a Box exclusive spring training preview with the GM on Monday.
I also met some fascinating people for the first time, including Jeff Blair of the Globe, whose work I've always admired. In a very brief conversation, I learned quite a lot about that other Canadian team, as Blair still keeps a close eye on the Expos. A couple of our regular readers were nice enough to introduce themselves, as did Maxwell Kates, who organizes the meetings of the local SABR chapter. Another SABR member, Ken Warren, gave me a copy of his amazing book, Ballpark Figures 2004. I haven't had time to delve into it yet, and may pass it on to my more statistically-adept colleagues for a detailed review, but even at first glance, it's great. Warren's 2004 player forecasts are endorsed by Gary Huckabay of Baseball Prospectus, and there are many other terrific features. I wish I had this at the start of my Diamond Mind auction with those TRHL sharks.
OK, I'm officially getting sleepy. To be continued...
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040212120415999