There is definitely something going on here... possible trade involving Lind? Other than that, I cannot think of any other explanation to explain why he hasn't been called-up yet. He's showing he's too good for AAA.

Rolen went 0-9 on his rehab stint so he is obviously ready to go.  I love the idea that his return will inspire everyone else to play better even if he is not ready.

I hear athletes say all the time they are giving 110%.  That is already 10% more than is physically possible, so I am not sure what Rolen could add to that.

I think it was Green who wrote yesterday that delaying Lind coming up must be about pushing back his arbitration/free agency clock. What else could it be other than some sort of voodoo employed by Joe Inglett.

I've heard that not calling Lind up might have something to do with his arb/FA clock, but isn't the situation distinctly different from, let's say, the Longoria situation, because he's already had several months of ML experience? How much is gained by keeping Lind down until the calender flips to May? I just don't buy that excuse, it seems very implausible.

Something is fishy here.

Lind has about 100 major league games, so I would think the Jays would have to keep him in the minors until August to delay free agency a year.

Rios getting a couple days off for the flu, then getting thrown out of the game last night (nice work on the part of the umpire to ensure that everything about this series was completely Mickey Mouse - but I guess I am glad that Rios's helmet didn't hit a bad patch and drill him in the face) while Lind continues to punish AAA hitting is a freaking joke. This is absolutely ridiculous. Ricciardi should come clean as to why Lind is still down there, but of course, the media is beneath his contempt. Even if he is working on a trade -- which would be something, as this team needs a leftie bat with pop in left more than anything else, even an upgrade to Litsch -- he does know you can bring Lind up and help the team in the meantime, right? It also better be one hell of a trade, seeing how it's gone on for about a week. (I'm not buying the "neck strain" thing, either.)

The only thing I can think of is that he is planning on trading Lind (for God knows what) and was afraid that the field conditions in this last series would get him hurt. If the team is going to get swept by Tampa with our 9 best guys on the field, then that's one thing. To get swept with how he is playing isn't acceptable.

"Adam, you're joining us in Toronto, can you please bring back some Dinosaur barbeque?"
"Er, I don't think I can bring food through customs, J.P. but I'll -- "
"THEN ROT DOWN THERE" (hangs up phone) (lies to media)

Sorry, meant to say Super 2 status - which in fact means early arbitration. If they had called him up when they released Thomas, Lind could conceivably be a super 2 after 2009. I'm sure they have an precise date circled where they feel they are safe - it might be today or over the next few days.

..." I'm sure they have a precise date circled where they feel they are safe "... Isn't there some quote about a kingdom and a horse that might apply?

For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost.

*Sigh*

You guys seriously have no idea how many times I log onto bluejays.com through the day now waiting to see at the top "Lind up", or something along those lines.

This is just getting really, really silly. 

Let's be patient though. We've got 139 games left and an outstanding pitching staff that as a group just went through its roughest "turn" through the rotation. There is reason to be hopeful still....

My understanding of "Super 2's" is that it's a precentage of the "class" of players in question. that means that if the Jays were indeed trying to manipulate that situation they would have to be tracking the service time of every player in the majors to whom the designation potentially applied.

That seems like a tall order and one that does not easily lend itself to waiting for a specific date for a call-up.

There was a discussion in BTF at the start of the year about the free agency/super 2 implications of the promotion date for Evan Longoria.  Keith Law commented (I am paraphrasing) that it was reasonable for an organization to delay free agency for a ML ready player by waiting 2 weeks or so to call up Longoria but not reasonable to postpone until sometime in June to avoid super 2 status. There isn't enough money involved in the super 2 to justify the performance hit.

It looks like the Rays agreed with him.

I'm sure that rather than track every player who will have between 2 and 3 years of service after 2009, they are looking back historically to see how many days of service to become a Super 2.  Say it's 2 years and 125 days, then they're making sure Lind is in the minors for more than 20 days.

Of all the many, real problems the Blue Jays face, the entirely hypothetical problem presented by the prospect of  Adam Lind being recalled, becoming a Super 2 and playing so well over the course of this year and next that as an arbitration eligible player he is entitled to a large one year contract for 2010 seems pretty far down the list.  In fact, the playing so well part doesn't seem like it should pose much of a problem for the Jays, since that is, as I understand, one of the objectives of the competition.    

Put a little less sarcastically, if the Super 2 possibility is motivating this, that strikes me as foolish.  If he doesn't play well upon his recall, he won't be part of the team's plans after 2009 anyway.  If he plays great, to the point where he has some leverage going into arbitration, good for him - and good for the Blue Jays, who could use all the offensive help they can muster this year and next.

Blair touches on the topic in today's mailbag.  He says that service time is 95% of the reason for keeping Lind down.

Even as someone (me) who doesn't think it is time to promote Lind, I completely disagree with the Jays decision.  If they're that confident he's ready that he'll never be sent down to the minors again in the next two years, I can't see why you'd keep him down.

I'm in favor of keeping him down if it's to give Lind an opportunity to work on hitting lefties or other aspects of his game, but not at all if it's service time.

By the way - what is it with everyone and making up the 95% figure? 

Put a little less sarcastically, if the Super 2 possibility is motivating this, that strikes me as foolish.  If he doesn't play well upon his recall, he won't be part of the team's plans after 2009 anyway.

It may be foolish, but that is the way budget-conscious teams think. You have to put a value in terms of expected wins by delaying X number of Days - then compare that to the expected monetary savings (which hopefully can be spent to improve the team in future years).

I'm in favor of keeping him down if it's to give Lind an opportunity to work on hitting lefties or other aspects of his game, but not at all if it's service time.

There are lefthanded pitchers in the majors too, so he'll have plenty of opportunity to work on that in Toronto. The only real question is does Lind improve the team more than the player they would send down to bring him up. Most of us think yes.

There are lefthanded pitchers in the majors too, so he'll have plenty of opportunity to work on that in Toronto. The only real question is does Lind improve the team more than the player they would send down to bring him up. Most of us think yes

I wouldn't play him in the majors against lefties given his and Stewart's performance against lefties (this year and historically).

Lind has 145 days logged. According to Law, the cutoff is usually 2.130 to 2.135, and never below 2.120. The season now being 25 days old, he could be called up and end 2009 with roughly 2.120. Should be any day now if service time is the reason.

I know we've touched on this before, but again, I think Lind's struggles against LHP this year have more to do with small sample size than an inabilitiy to hit lefties.  It has never been a problem for him before.  He had an OPS of .830 against lefties in A+ in 2005, an OPS of .849 against lefties between AA and MLB in 2006, and even during a bad season last year in Syracuse, he had a .755 OPS against lefties.  I'd probably move him down in the order against left-handers, but I'd have Lind playing everyday in LF, but would have Stairs as the platoon DH solely against righties.

As for Stewart, I don't think he's the answer as the right-handed side of the DH platoon.  He's always had relatively even splits and doesn't hit for power.  While I know it's unlikely that Stewart will be released, if the Jays are going to go with a platoon DH situation I'd like to see them do it right.  Craig Wilson is available, would be very cheap, and has demolished LHP over the course of his career (.917 OPS vs. LHP and .788 OPS vs. RHP).  He can't find a job because he can't hit righties, but would be a great fit with Toronto in a platoon situation.  Having both McDonald and Scutaro as back-up infielders is redundant.  Trade or release Stewart, make Scutaro your 4th outfielder and McDonald your back-up infielder, and sign Wilson to platoon DH with Stairs and pinch hit against LHP.

Just an idea.  Maybe I'm out to lunch.

It may be foolish, but that is the way budget-conscious teams think. You have to put a value in terms of expected wins by delaying X number of Days - then compare that to the expected monetary savings (which hopefully can be spent to improve the team in future years).

I understand all of that - the problem is that when a team is purportedly built to contend now, it makes no sense to me to field a AAAA lineup for weeks at a time in the hope of saving some money in 2010.  The money is only saved if he plays well upon his eventual recall and would otherwise have earned a bigger contract, but that quality play stretched over a longer period of time is worth, presumably, a few wins in the here and now when they might come in handy.  A bird in the hand and all that. 

I know we've touched on this before, but again, I think Lind's struggles against LHP this year have more to do with small sample size than an inabilitiy to hit lefties.  It has never been a problem for him before.  He had an OPS of .830 against lefties in A+ in 2005, an OPS of .849 against lefties between AA and MLB in 2006, and even during a bad season last year in Syracuse, he had a .755 OPS against lefties.  I'd probably move him down in the order against left-handers, but I'd have Lind playing everyday in LF, but would have Stairs as the platoon DH solely against righties.

I understand what you're saying - I just agree to disagree on this one.  However, I think you should at least give full disclosure while listing stats instead of the biased listing you gave.  I also assume by never been a problem for him before you meant to add 2007 at the end of that sentence, because lefties certainly were a problem last year.

The three stats that I think you left out are: .611 OPS career against MLB lefties, .542 OPS against MLB lefties last year, and the .606 against AAA lefties this year.

As to Stewart being the answer for a right-handed side of a platoon - he's not "the" answer but given our current roster construction, I think he's the Jay's "best current" answer. 

I agree that there are better people out there right now - Craig Wilson is one as is Phelps - but we don't have any of them.

I understand all of that - the problem is that when a team is purportedly built to contend now, it makes no sense to me to field a AAAA lineup for weeks at a time in the hope of saving some money in 2010.

I agree with you: for a contending team the Super 2 issue should be an extremely minor consideration. But you used the perfect word (see bold); this team is not actually a contender, though it is purported to be one by some.

Fair enough CJF, but while Lind had an OPS of .542 against LHP last year in his first major league season, he also struggled against RHP as well.  He posted a .720 OPS against righties, so his struggles against lefties have to be taken into context.  I'm of the belief that his struggles against LHP last year were a result of a generally poor season overall, and that since he's proven over his minor league career that he can hit left-handers, he should be able to carry that over to the major leagues as well.

We'll agree to disagree though.

As for Stewart, he may not even be the best option for a right-handed hitting platoon partner for Stairs on the current roster.  He's had reverse splits since 2003, and hasn't had an OPS over .700 against LHP since 2004.  That's not what you want to see from a DH facing only lefties.  Wilson and Phelps would definitely be better options.  It looks like we agree on that one.

 

I agree with you: for a contending team the Super 2 issue should be an extremely minor consideration. But you used the perfect word (see bold); this team is not actually a contender, though it is purported to be one by some.

That word was quite deliberately chosen, as you note - this team may contend for many honours, most of them dubious, but the playoffs isn't one of them.  By not calling up Lind, it's apparent that Ricciardi agrees with us. 

What's most bizarre about this, however, is that the team seems barely better positioned, if at all, for 2010 and beyond.  With all due respect to Adam Lind, if he is one of the top producers on the 2010 team, the money saved for marginal improvements by avoiding Super 2 status isn't likely to be the difference between first and second place.

The team is not well positioned for 2010, at all, in my view, due to the shortage of near-ML talent save for Snider.  The 2007 draft has a chance to be quite good, and with the long-term signings of Hill and Rios, this is a club that could reasonably compete sometime when those players mature.

If the team is worried about Super 2 status for Lind, it speaks very, very poorly for them. One of the jobs is to communicate clearly in broad strokes with the fans.  Ricciardi has indicated clearly that he feels that the team should compete in 2008.  This obviously does not necessarily mean making significant sacrifices of future talent, but what it does mean is that super 2 status for a player like Lind in 2010 should not be a barrier to fielding the best team possible now.  The Rays are in much better shape for 2010 than the Jays are, and are in a tighter financial position, but they feel that they owed it to their fans to field the best team possible in 2008 rather than worry about a couple of million dollars extra salary they might owe Longoria a few years from now.

The Rays are in much better shape for 2010 than the Jays are, and are in a tighter financial position, but they feel that they owed it to their fans to field the best team possible in 2008 rather than worry about a couple of million dollars extra salary they might owe Longoria a few years from now.

If you're referring to Longoria - I don't think it's a coincidence that he signed a long-term contract shortly after he was promoted. 

Everything I had heard around Longoria's demotion / non-promotion to start the season is that it was service time related.  As such, my belief (and it is only my opinion) is the only reason he was brought up is because there was already a deal in place, in principal, so service time no longer was a concern.

Longoria's demotion at the start of the season indeed was service-time related.  But, what the demotion did was delay by a year Longoria's free agency eligibility.  For a 2 week delay, the Rays got an extra year of Longoria.  That is easy to understand.  Super 2 eligibility is an entirely different thing.  The club gets no extra time, but simply saves a couple of million (potentially) two years down the road. 

Lind has 145 days logged. According to Law, the cutoff is usually 2.130 to 2.135, and never below 2.120. The season now being 25 days old, he could be called up and end 2009 with roughly 2.120. Should be any day now if service time is the reason.

Actually, if Lind were to be recalled today, he would accumulate 157 days of service for 2008 and when service days from partial seasons are combined, 172 days constitute a full year.

Lind would thus end 2008 with 302 days service, or 1 year and 130 days, and subsequently end 2009 with 2-130.  If service time is the issue for Lind's not being in Toronto yet, and if the Jays want to keep him near the lower 2-120 threshold of the Super 2 qualification, then his recall would not be for another 10 days, say around May 5th.

Longoria's demotion at the start of the season indeed was service-time related.  But, what the demotion did was delay by a year Longoria's free agency eligibility.  For a 2 week delay, the Rays got an extra year of Longoria.  That is easy to understand.  Super 2 eligibility is an entirely different thing.  The club gets no extra time, but simply saves a couple of million (potentially) two years down the road.

Agreed - but I don't think you can write the above statement and then give them credit for fielding the best team possible for this season.  They're simply making a better (easier is probably more accurate) decision about future versus short-term, but still weren't fielding the best players in the organization for the season.

It can't be said they wouldn't have kept Longoria down to puch free agency back since they signed a deal in the interim, so I don't feel comfortable projecting one way or the other that they wouldn't have acted the same as the Jays are with Lind.

I have to say that as a die-hard Jays fan, this Lind nonsense is really disheartening. RIcciardi tells us he is serious about competing in 08. What if (and i realize the way things look so far this is indeed a rather large if) the Jays end up getting hot with Rolen back and a productive Lind recalled, find themselves in the thick of the wildcard race and end up falling short by 1 or two games. Will it have been worth holding Lind out to save a few breadcrumbs?

I can't even fathom what is going on behind closed doors right now. The other night we had a lineup featuring Diaz, Barajas, Zaun and either Scutaro or Inglett (doesn't really matter who). I'm sorry, but when half of your lineup is made up of fringe major league players, i don't care how good we can pitch.

I really don't think that even if this team can find its groove that they'll be running away with any pennants.This team will have to scrape and claw for every win down the stretch to get in. Every win counts!! J.P. Ricciardi, please, please wake up; you are letting the fans (those who drive this lovely baseball economy) down.

Save Adam Lind, and save all of us fans from watching games that have three catchers in the same lineup.

Adam Lind is NOT in the lineup for Syracuse tonight.  Take from that what you will.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_25_syraaa_pawaaa_1

Well, Lind is not with the Jays tonight, but may be as soon as tomorrow night, according to Blair's recent blog.  The grueling wait is almost over.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/baseball

Well, missed every game this week due to social functions. Thank God.

But looking forward to tonight. Hey, what other TV show can give you more unexpected twists in turn than MLB. Seriously, who would have predicted back on April 1 that by month end:

• Baltimore would be 13-9
• Detroit would be three games under .500
• Halladay would have 3 CGs but a losing record
• Frank would be gone and
  
• Adam Lind is our saviour in waiting
  

Gotta love surprises. Be nice if some were pleasant.