Blue Jay farm hand AJ Wideman of Mississauga is going to the Olympic qualifying tournament in Thailand with team Canada.

You can get more information at www.baseball.ca on the team and their schedule.

New feature on Baseball Reference - stats by batting order position with tons of breakdowns.

Click Here to see the Jays leadoff stats.

Using this you see that Rios was the main leadoff guy in the first half, Johnson in the second. That after a hot start for Wells as a leadoff hitter (309/387/745 in the first half over 14 games) he slumped horribly in the second half (178/282/244 over 22 games).

Jay leadoff hitters vs righties were McDonald quality (219/289/359) but vs LHP they were MVP quality (342/429/572).

Gotta say, B-R just keeps getting better and more time-sucking.

well, there's the obvious but still awesome Casey "Tek" Janssen (although our Alpha Squad 7 hero hasn't been around the Report much recently)

From Blair, on Matt Stairs' winter training regimen: "Slapshots and skating," was his main focus, Stairs said. "I picked up a ball today. I had to sign an autograph. That was the first time [all winter].

Tek may be around more now that Colbert has his writers back ...

Anyways, looks like the Jays were 7-0 with Stairs hitting leadoff last year.  Guess his .414 OBP from that spot helped.

According to William Houston's column today, the March 2nd spring training game on CityTV is going to feature an "unconventional" broadcast crew.  That should be... interesting.

Interesting to play with the batting order thing.

With Wells hitting 3rd the Jays were 26-36
With Rios hitting 3rd the Jays were 40-32

For cleanup hitting it didn't matter if they hit well (358/415/569 in Sept, 292/407/500 in June) or poor (255/306/427 in August) or like McDonald (236/268/396 in July) as the Jays went 15-13 in Aug/Sept, 14-12 in July, 14-13 in June.

Fun stuff.

According to William Houston's column today, the March 2nd spring training game on CityTV is going to feature an "unconventional" broadcast crew.  That should be... interesting.

At the State of the Franchise meeting, Godfrey said that it would consist of Jennifer Valentine and Katherine Humphries of CityTV.

I'm sure even Gord Martineau & Katherine Humphreys will be better than the completely insufferable Rob Faulds.

I really hope this doesn't give Ted Rogers any ideas...

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/0221dbacks0221.html

I'd wait till the end of '08 then Rogers should decide if JP and crew should be extended. The longer term your GM is locked in for the longer term they think about when doing trades/free agency/etc. If they aren't happy with JP after '08 then I'd give JP '09 to try to wow us but with a plan to do a 'Raptors' after the '09 season - namely find the best GM you can and give him (or her - there are a couple of women assistant GM's out there iirc) an offer that can't be refused.

5+ year deals for GM's just makes sense to ensure long term thinking. The GM is the most important signing a team can make - the difference between Billy Beane and Chuck LaMar is far bigger than the difference any one player can make. We're talking 20-30 wins a season minimum between the top and bottom.

Jordan Bastian has some interesting photos on his blog site...   http://mlbastian.mlblogs.com/photos/2008_spring_training/index.html

John, I'm not opposed to long-term GM contracts per se. I just don't think JP has earned a long-term extension. I agree that he should get the benefit of the doubt for 2008 (and I hope this is the year that everything comes together and the team wins 95+ games), but my overall impression is that the Jays can do better. I think we're all a bit numbed by perennial mediocrity and have forgotten what it's like to have a truly up-and-coming organization.

Jumpin' Murphy... Ryan Howard was awarded $10M in arbitration ... as a super-two.

I still don't quite understand how Howard is arbitration eligible and Hill isn't.

According to Cots, Howard has 9 more days of service time then Hill, who just missed the "top 17% of all players between two and three years" cutoff.

Greenfrog - agreed that JP is nearing the end of his rope if something doesn't go right this year. Which is why I mentioned 'Raptoring' it as they did the smartest thing they could - they went out and grabbed the best GM in the business (as far as I know) and locked him up.

Now, that begs the question, who is the best GM in the game today? What would it take to get him? What about the best potential GM?

For top GM guys like Schuerholz, Beane, Epstein, and Dombrowski come to mind but none of them would move right now. Other top GM's haven't been in the role for that long thus, again, probably wouldn't move unless their contract was up.

Prospect GM's? DePodesta was considered over JP at the time and showed some promise in LA before being dumped after just two seasons. People under the top GM's are always interesting. Kim Ng (Dodgers VP) would be interesting as no woman has ever had that position and she is viewed as a top prospect. Lots of others are out there too.

FYI: http://www.baseballamerica.com/execdb/ shows GM's for all teams throughout history.

In Joe Posnanski's latest blog entry, he goes into a long rant about how he's got some serious love for the Rays, while the Jays... well, they leave him cold.

In any case, I started casually looking at this year’s Toronto’s team. I noticed that they’re picked to finish third again, and I nodded, my gut feeling has long been that you can pencil the Blue Jays into third place until the year 2084. Then I looked at the team and I realized, much to my surprise, that I CANNOT STAND the way this team is put together. I mean, I really, really, really despise the philosophy behind this team. Frank Thomas? David Eckstein? Reed Johnson? Lyle Overbay? A.J. Burnett? Let me just say: Ugh. And I don’t know what to make of Vernon Wells now — I was always a fan but he was brutal last season. I don’t know what to make of Scott Rolen now — he’s got injuries, and he has that 89 OPS+ last year. B.J. Ryan’s coming off the injury. Really, you take away Halladay and Alex Rios, I’m not sure they have another championship caliber guy on this team.

I think this speaks to the general skepticism that non-Jays fans and writers have about Toronto; later on, he does admit to liking McGowan, but there seems to be a common belief that the Jays just won't score enough runs to get anywhere.  The comparison he makes with the Rays is essentially based on all the young talent that Tampa has accumulated, and there certainly is a lot of potential there.   Would I rather have the Rays' roster instead of the Jays' roster?  No, but I do think the two teams will be pretty close in the standings throughout the season, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Tampa pushed ahead of Toronto by the end.

I for one think the Rays are being seriously overrated by most writers and fans alike, it seems like the popular belief to consider them serious threats in the AL East, a lot of writers and fans view them as serious competitors to overtake the Jays this year. I just dont see it happening, they still  have the same problem that they have always had(pitching) yes I will admit their pitching looks better than it ever has(which is not a difficult task) but they are still young and unproven and there best pitcher(Kazmir) is what I would call injury prone. Yeah there team is improving and should be good in 2 years time when the real pitching prospects (Price etc...) have at least a year under their belt. The Bullpen has added Troy Percival who just turned 48 and he's going to be the closer?? People jump off that silly bandwagon as it isn't going anywhere for a couple years.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think some commentators aren't fully aware of how hard the team was hit with injuries last year--or how well they pitched. Health, not talent, is the main issue for the 2008 Jays.

That said, I find myself falling somewhere in between the doomsayers and the breathless "here come the Jays!" forecasters. The team is pretty solid, but I think they're a frontline starting pitcher and/or a big bat short. And injuries will likely still affect some players (probably close to half the 24-man roster carries a significant injury risk).

Here is the recent press release for the Blue Jays broadcast schedule (PDF). 100 games on Sportsnet, 20 on TSN, and 24 on CBC. I held out a little bit of hope that CityTV might pick up a handful but am looking forward to some CBC broadcasts.

Jesse Barfield has his own blog up at CBC:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/barfield/

 

I admit they aren't the *greatest* comparisons (Wells/Young isn't close), but you get the point.

Everybody on the upcoming 2006 Tigers:

In any case, I started casually looking at this year’s Detroit team. I noticed that they’re picked to finish fourth again, and I nodded, my gut feeling has long been that you can pencil the Tigers into fourth place until the year 2084. Then I looked at the team and I realized, much to my surprise, that I CANNOT STAND the way this team is put together. I mean, I really, really, really despise the philosophy behind this team. Magglio Ordonez? Brandon Inge? Craig Monroe? Sean Casey? Kenny Rogers? Let me just say: Ugh. And I don’t know what to make of Dimitri Young now — I was always a fan but he was brutal last season. I don’t know what to make of Carlos Guillen now — he’s got injuries, and he has that [uhh...87GP] last year. Really, you take away Bonderman and Curtis Granderson I’m not sure they have another championship caliber guy on this team.

I admit they aren't the *greatest* comparisons (Wells/Young isn't close), but you get the point.

Everybody on the upcoming 2006 Tigers: ...

I agree with you in almost all ways. Personally I think the 2006 Tigers were one of the worst AL championship teams in a long time.  That year, if I look at the rosters of the Yankees, Twins, Angels, and Tigers - I've gotta say the Tigers have no chance of ever being the team to come out of the AL.  I realize that's exactly your point, and as I said, I agree - you gotta play the games to see how things fluke out.

As an aside - I think Wells and Pudge could go as a good comparison - I think Pudge brings more though, but as far as dropoffs, they might be similar (Pudge as a high 90s OPS+ is much more value than Wells as a high 80s OPS+, but Pudge going from 120-130 OPS+ to high 90s is like Wells going from 105-125 OPS+ to high 80s).

Pudge works in a lot of ways, but he was on a pretty steady decline before 2006, and I think many of us agree that Wells has some pretty respectable years ahead of him (at least I do and Dimitri Young did).

The other point, maybe the larger point was that they/we completely ignored the young pitching that both the Tigers and Jays have and even with an an average offense, having Doc, AJ, McGowan, Marcum, and Janssen going everyday, along with that defense, and bullpen reminds me a lot of the Tigers. The Jays broke camp last year with Towers, Ohka, and Chacin (!).

The Jays are being under appreciated.  Detroit is a good comparison.  The Jays, like the Tigers, won't be taken seriously until it's too late.  I'm a Jays fan, but I like to think I'm realistic.  This is a damn good team if everyone plays to their career norms (that's the kicker - how Overbay, Wells and Rolen bounce back from their surgeries).  Toronto has a very good rotation, great defense, a solid bullpen if Ryan's healthy, and a solid lineup.  I can honestly say that I wouldn't switch rosters with any team in the AL except Boston.  Even Detroit, with all their power, doesn't come close to the Jays' bullpen and their rotation is a notch behind (Willis will flop and Rogers is 80 years old).

This year the playoffs, next year the world (series).

Completely off-topic, but wow!

Completely off-topic, but wow!

I looked at the URL for that link and was expecting it to be a Chris Berman story.

I don't think it's been posted before, but Jordan Bastian has an article up covering a variety of Jays tidbits.  There isn't anything surprising, except that there seems to be some confirmation from JP about some things that had been assumed:

• Thigpen is probably staying at catcher since they have Rolen at 3rd - I think this means, barring injury, Sal doesn't start the season in the Jays organization (his trade request, or at least suggestion, also makes me think this way)
  
• Arencibia might start this year in Dunedin
• we have 22 pitchers in camp with major league experience (I didn't realize the number was that high) - that seems like a ton - this seems like good depth, but I also don't think all these guys are going to stay.
  

The Jays have been placed at 9, 9, 13, 14, 14, and 20 by various power rankings. The number 20 ranking qualified it by saying that if the Jays are healthy, they can move up into the middle of the rankings. Thoughts, anyone?

Ranking the Jays 20th implies that there are at least six teams in the NL superior to the Jays, and probably more, since the author almost certainly didn't have the Jays dead last in the AL. I don't know how anyone can rationalize that.

Ranking the Jays 20th implies that there are at least six teams in the NL superior to the Jays, and probably more, since the author almost certainly didn't have the Jays dead last in the AL. I don't know how anyone can rationalize that.

Easily.

There rankings are based on the potentials for wins. NL teams win games too. Even if you consider the odds of making the playoffs, it's the same thing.

Well I'm assuming by 20 you meant 19, and this is the power ranking. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/080219.

It's rather obvious that this is not a serious ranking. Due to some ludacris reasoning and placing (CHW at 3?), and the fact it's on page 2.

Actually, that ESPN power ranking of 19 was in addition to the number 20 one. The Jays don't get that much coverage, so it is a chance to see how others view the strength of the team. I am seeing quite a spread between the Jays being picked as a top 10 team, middle of the pack, and as a non-contender. I don't think the Jays should be taken too seriously by most of the pundits until they show they can win 90 games. The Jays have had two recent seasons of terrible injuries.