Post-Season Wit and Wisdom of Pedro Martinez

Wednesday’s Phillies’ Game 6 starter, Pedro Martinez has spent the post-season alternately lecturing and entertaining the national media on the sport’s biggest stage. Following are some examples of the wit and wisdom of the deep-thinking Martinez.

Pedro was asked a question in Spanish. As he was about to answer in Spanish the moderator asked him if he could translate his answer into English after.

Pedro: “Why? This is America. English-speaking America? Is anybody going to give me an extra ring for translating for you guys?”

Pedro was asked prior to his postponed Division Series start in Denver if he could recall the first time he saw snow.

Pedro: “I think I was going across the mountains of Reno, Nevada on a bus. It was a 12-hour bus ride. I came straight from the Dominican and I was dropped right in the middle of Great Falls, Montana. If you're going to talk about drastic changes and stuff, when I got to Florida, I kind of understand English. But when I got to Montana and the accent I said maybe I don't know that much. But when I saw snow, I actually stopped to grab a little bit and put it in my mouth to see if it felt like ice. Now I have a house in New York where I see snow every winter.

Pedro was asked his feelings about returning to the Bronx to pitch in Yankee Stadium, where he has had some big career moments.

Pedro: “I don't know if you realize this, but because of you guys I might be at times the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium. I have been a big fan of baseball for a long time, since I was a kid. My first ball I ever got from a Big League player -- I actually got to purchase in Dodger Stadium in a silent auction -- was Reggie Jackson. I was actually a big fan of the Yankees, too.

“For some reason with all the hype and different maybe because I played for the Red Sox is probably why you guys made it such a big deal every time I came in, but I have a good bond with the people. After playing in New York, I realize something: New York fans are very passionate and very aggressive. But after you take your uniform off and you deal with the people, they're real human beings. It's all just being fans.

I have all the respect in the world for the way they enjoy being fans. Sometimes they might be giving you the middle finger just like they will be cursing you and telling you what color underwear you're wearing. All those things you can hear when you're a fan. But at the end of the day, they're just great fans that want to see the team win.

Pedro lectured the media on the way they have portrayed him, especially in the New York papers.

PEDRO: “I think in every aspect, the way you guys have used me and abused me just because I wore actually a red uniform just like this one while playing for Boston. I remember quotes in the paper, ‘Here comes the man that New York loves to hate.’

“Man? None of you have probably ever eaten steak with me or rice and beans with me to understand what the man is about. You might say the player, the competitor, but the man? You guys have abused my name. You guys have said so many things, have written so many things. There was one time I remember when I was a free agent, there was talk that I might meet with Steinbrenner. One of your colleagues had me in the papers with horns and a tail, red horns and a tail. That's a sign of the devil. I'm a Christian man. I don't like those things. I take those things very serious.

“Those are the kind of things that the fans actually get used to seeing, and actually sometimes influence those people to believe that you are a bad person, that you are like an ogre. I see Mariano, and that's probably the player I admire the most because of how he goes about his business, how he does it, and he remains a humble Christian man admired by everyone in baseball. The way people perceive me in New York, it's totally different than the way I am; I just compete. And yes, I will do whatever it takes to beat you. But I'm a human being after I take my clothes off.”

Pedro reflected on his infamous takedown of Yankee coach Don Zimmer.

PEDRO: “I'm sorry I'm going to recall this because it was an ugly scene -- this is probably the first time I'm ever going to talk about it publicly. But when Zim came over to me, I thought he was going to just give me advice or something, just ‘Go, Pedro, you need to slow down or something,’ or try to make it look a little bit different.

“But at that time, I'm going to be honest right now, my shoulder was barking. I was pitching on three days rest, I think. It was two men on. I loaded the bases with a hit by pitch that wasn't a hit by pitch. The ball hit the bat on Karim Garcia, and Zim charged me, and I think he's going to say something, but his reaction was totally the opposite, was trying to punch my mouth and told me a couple of bad words about my mom.

“I just had to react and defend myself. But the tweak that it took made me look like a monster that just came in to play Yankee Stadium. And you know what I did, go out there, compete, and nothing else. I remember getting back to my dugout and seeing middle fingers. My mom, poor mom. I'm glad she's blessed by God because all those curses were, I mean, unbelievable.

“I remember going back, and I blew up the lead, yes, I blew up the lead, but I don't regret it. It was a great moment. It was a great game. I competed. I did everything I had to do to actually win a ballgame. Fell short. So what? I had the great honor to pitch one of the biggest games that a player has ever played in the whole stadium. And that's a good memory for me to have. But I didn't like the tweaking that you guys gave to the whole scenario, because I don't feel like it was my fault.”

Pedro talked about the unfortunate “maybe the Yankees are my daddy” quote that led to the fans at the stadium chanting, “Who’s your daddy?” every time he pitches.

Pedro: “You know any time I hear that, ‘Who's your daddy?’ it reminds me that God is my daddy. It gives me strength. It keeps me strong and healthy, and I believe I can do anything. And when you have 60,000 people chanting your name, waiting for you to throw the ball, you have to consider yourself someone special, someone that really has a purpose out there. Maybe when I said that quote out of frustration, I had the purpose of maybe hearing it now, hearing it the following few years that I played. Every time I hear it, it reminds me not to make the same mistake. And at the same time it reminds me that God is my real daddy, and he's the one that keeps me strong to compete, just like he does to Mariano. I've seen Mariano when I know his shoulder is barking, and he still succeeds. Men of faith. It's only God who can probably do that for him.

Pedro talked about it being a new Yankee Stadium but the same old fans.

Pedro: “I remember one guy sitting right in front of the front row with his daughter, sitting with his daughter, and his daughter in one arm, and a cup of beer in the other hand and saying all kinds of nasty stuff. I just told him, ‘Your daughter is right beside you. It's a little girl. It's a shame you're saying all these things.’ I had to stop and tell him because I'm a father myself, and God, how can you be so dumb to do those kind of things in front of your child? What kind of example are you setting?

“But the fans, I enjoy. I played for the Mets. I know they really want to root for me. It's just that I don't play for the Yankees. That's all. I've always been a good competitor, and they love that. They love the fact that I compete. I'm a New Yorker, as well. If I was on the Yankees, I'd probably be like a king over here.”

Pinstriped Star Wars: Return of the Yankees

The Evil Empire is back and TV ratings for the World Series are soaring. There will never again be talk of a salary cap in baseball. Baseball needs it Davids and its Goliaths. Do you think the networks really want the Tampa Bay Rays as the centrepiece of the Fall Classic or, instead, the Bronx Bombers and their legions of lovers and haters? The World Series without the Yankees is like Star Wars without Darth Vader. "Hank,,,Hal, you are my sons!"

There is absolutely no pressure on A.J. Burnett for tonight's Game 5 start against the Phillies so he has every chance in the world to do something special. Think about it. 1) This is the World Series. It's the time to relax and enjoy the moment. The most intense pressure came in the Division Series and the Championship Series; 2) Burnett already has vindicated himself by coming up huge in Game 2 after his big buddy CC Sabathia lost Game 1 to Cliff Lee; 3) The game is in Philly on the road with a hostile crowd against the Phillies' ace, Lee. Expectations are lower on Burnett; 4) Even if he loses, the Yankees go home with a 3-2 lead in the Series and the winningest pitcher in post-season play, Andy Pettitte and the big man waiting to work Games 6-7;  5) A.J. is pitching on short rest. He has a built in excuse if he runs out of gas or spits the bit. Hey, I volunteered to pitch on my fourth day. Gimme a break.

Imagine the Roy Halladay household tonight in Denver, with Doc settling down in front of the flatscreen to watch his former "little buddy" work the possible World Series clincher. Do you think he's wondering how he's going to respond when the new GM Alex Anthopoulos calls later in November. Will he say, "Alex, I've thought about it and I really like the way the Jays are heading, so I'm going to stay for my final year." Or maybe will he perhaps say, "Alex, please find me a big budget contender and trade me there. I don't need a team that is already going to win next year without me, because that's why I am going there. I can actually lead a team to victory instead of being along for the ride like some guys making $82.5 million for five years. I am the one who is going to put them over the top. I don't need a cushy situation where I can be a No. 2 guy with a team that would have won whether I'm there or not. I'm the man."

Anthopoulos will agree to trade him. How serious can the Jays be about hanging on to Halladay when they allow his friend, mentor and pitching coach Brad Arnsberg to leave for the same job with the Astros? If they couldn't afford Burnett, they cannot afford Halladay who will rightfully use A.J.'s Yankee numbers as a platform for negotiations for his own five-year deal. Don't begrudge Halladay his due and I don't believe under Paul Beeston and Double-A (Anthopoulos) the new GM that the Jays' organization will try to tar and feather him or tarnish Doc's reputation in the court of public opinion as he heads out the door like they did with Carlos Delgado, Kelvim Escobar and others, making it seem like the club had a fair and balanced offer on the table and the players spurned the city. There is too much class there. 

I still say the Yankees in six...but I've been wrong before.   

               

Tainted McGwire Named Hitting Coach by Cardinals

Tony LaRussa is a lawyer. But that doesn't make him the smartest man in the room. The Cardinals' manager thinks he is doing his friend Mark McGwire a favour by hiring him  as the hitting coach of the major-league team, replacing veteran instructor and noted non-steroid user Hal McRae. What is LaRussa thinking?

McGwire has been in self-imposed exile since his less than satisfying appearance before Congress in March 2005 where he famously refused to perjure himself, but also refused to deny past steroid use during his run at Roger Maris's single-seasoon home run record in a riveting, mano-a-mano duel with Samnmy Sosa in 1998. That waffling, teary, self-serving command performance on national TV not only cost him prestige in the eyes of baseball fans, but also cost him what likely would have been first-ballot election into the Hall-of-Fame when he became eligible in 2006. He's been stuck at around 25-percent of votes by eligible baseball writers, when 75-percent is necessary for enshrinement. That's not likely to change anytime soon, even as he tours major-league parks with the Cards this summer.

What were the Cardinals thinking? Yes they wanted LaRussa back as manager and one of the things that he wanted was McGwire as batting coach. Yes they need free-agent outfielder Matt Holliday back and he has had an off-season relationship as a pupil of McGwire's at his home batting cage in California. Yes, the Cards' hitting disappeared in the '09 post-season, posting a .133 average with runners in scoring position in the playoffs. That wasn't McRae's fault. By and large, once you get past Albert Pujols and Holliday, the Cards' hitting is just not that good. Blame ownership and budget not McRae. 

McGwire is not a beloved baseball figure, a guy misunderstood and merely needing exposure to rehabilitate his image. Maybe that might be the case in St. Louis, but it's not the case around the rest of North America. His image with the ordinary baseball fan is of a hulking, cheating liar. His testimony in March '05: "I'm not here to talk about the past..." was frustrating to fans looking to move forward and wanting to hear some remorse from its brawny heroes.

Make no mistake about it, McGwire was certainly smarter than Raffy Palmeiro, Miggy Tejada, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens who all pretty much looked into the camera and lied. McGwire just used his Fifth Amedment rights against self-incrimination...but what he wouldn't say spoke volumes to fans. 

This hiring of McGwire is not a good move for the Cardinals. Running a batting cage at home and helping individual hitters does not make you automatically a solid major-league hitting coach. There are the long hours that a good hitting coach has to put in. The best coaches show up before the first player at spring training and leave after the last. They hang around the cage looking for players to show up and ask for extra work. They work as well with the .190 banjo hitters as they do with the stars. They go to the ballpark early on road trips and wait for students to show up.

McGwire has not proved he is willing to do any of that. The proper way of going about this would have been to give Big Mac a season in the minors or as an organization roving instructor to gauge his work ethic and if young players respond to him and respect him despite the cloud that hangs over all of his personal accomplishments. But time is  one thing LaRussa doesn't have. He signed a one-year contract to manage the Cardinals and he wanted McGwire -- now.

Granted McGwire is not the same case as Pete Rose. He has never been suspended or sanctioned for using steroids. He admitted to using androstenedione when that powerful supplement was not on MLB's banned substance list. But wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Say no more. We all know, right? Right!!

In the court of law and in testifying before Congress, McGwire is innocent until proven guilty. In the court of public opinion McGwire by his refusal to testify, is already guilty. This was a bad hire and it won't take a full season before McGwire, LaRussa and the Cards all come to that same conclusion. 

This is a short term appointment for McGwire and a step backwards for the Cards.

              

  

Mail bag

The Jays have moved quickly under the new GM Alex Anthopoulos to re-structure the scouting and player development departments. According to a source with knowledge inside the organization, the more pressing question of the future of the major-league coaching staff will be addressed in the next few weeks before the World Series is over.

There are three options available for Anthopoulos to correct the obvious clubhouse dysfunction that surfaced on the final weekend in Baltimore: 1) Replace Cito Gaston and therefore, with him, third base coach Nick Leyva and batting coach Gene Tenace; 2) keep Gaston as manager and replace Leyva and, perhaps, Tenace; 3) Replace pitching coach Brad Arnsberg with someone from within the organization that knows the young starters.

As much as I like Cito, I believe Option 1, replacing the manager, is the best course of action for the Jays moving forward. Gaston has already indicated that 2010 is likely his final season as manager after which he wants to kick back and play more golf while maintaining some kind of role with the Jays. If they replace him, he still gets his $2.5 million salary for 2010 which is at least what he deserves as a belated reward for the two World Championships in the ’90s and the 11 years away from the game as manager. He could stay on as a senior advisor to Anthopoulos in whatever way he sees fit.

Make no mistake about it. Cito’s presence was important to the franchise in replacing John Gibbons back in June of ’08. He taught young hitters like Lind the importance of having a “plan” every time you step into the batter’s box. Lind ran with it. But after the key injuries to the rotation and the Vernon Wells and Alex Rios debacle seasons, the Jays in ’09 took a step back to 1997 levels of incompetence and we know how that turned out for Gaston. Not well. He works better with veteran players who are self-driven.

Option 3, getting rid of Arnsberg and keeping Cito would not work. Arnsberg is like a father and a brother to the pitching staff and by the end of the season, their relationship with the manager was only through Arnsberg. That explains the pitchers complaint of no communication with the manager. The replacement of their father-confessor in blue would mean an irreparable rift with Gaston and his pitchers.

Option 2 is not an option either because without his hand-picked coaches and good friends, Gaston would be isolated, especially on the road. He doesn’t need this gig that much.

So if they are going to replace Gaston, with whom should they make the managerial change? The perfect short-term candidate is Buck Showalter, currently an analyst for ESPN. Showalter in his career has shown an ability to turn teams around in a hurry. Of course, afterwards, he wears out his welcome and moves on – sort of baseball’s Mike Keenan. Showalter’s first gig was ’92 with the Yankees. The Bombers hadn’t been to the post-season since 1981. Following the strike in ’94, the Yankees went to the playoffs in ’95 losing to the M’s with a bunch of homegrown guys he had managed in the minors. George Steinbrenner fired him after the loss to the Mariners and brought in Joe Torre.

Buck was hired by the expansion Diamondbacks in ’96 to manage when they started play in ’98. The Snakes went from last place to 100 wins in ’99, but missed the playoffs in ’00 and he was fired. The D’backs went on to win the ’01 World Series with Showaltger’s team but without Showalter. In 2003 he took over the Texas Rangers who went from 71 wins his first year to 89 his second. They fired him after the ’06 season, following two straight sub-.500 finishes. Short-term solution? Yes. Effective in the short-term? Yes.

Anthopoulos, before he was named GM, acknowledged that he has talked to Showalter professionally in the past and mentioned him on the conference call when he revamped the front office. On that same call, he also mentioned Dana Brown who he has subsequently hired. Other connections? Brian Butterfield was a coach under Showalter with the D’backs and also worked with him in the Yankee organization. Jays’ minor league field coordinator Doug Davis worked with Showalter in Texas, as did Perry Minasian, Jays’ new director, pro scouting. If you want a quick turnaround using a guy you could sell to disgruntled fans in the off-season, Showalter’s the one. He has also been mentioned in the Nationals’ manager search.

The mailbag will be taking a hiatus for several weeks until free-agent season is underway in mid November - or unless there is a special need to answer some mail before that. In any case, on to the mailbag.

Q: Hi Richard,

First, it was a huge relief to learn about the much-anticipated end of J.P. Ricciardi's tenure. Now, what can we expect from Alex Anthopoulos? Is he simply the J.P. protege who was perhaps partly responsible for the notorious Ricciardi-era contracts, or do you expect different tactics from A.A.? Does he have the baseball knowledge, the business sense, the media savvy and the people skills to have a real impact in MLB?

Chris M., Collingwood

A: Not to be overly simplistic, but the difference for the Jays between the Ricciardi regime past and the Anthopoulos years to come is like the difference between two countries - one governed by a dictatorship and another by a parliamentary system. Yes, the Ricciardi statue in the village square has been toppled and democracy takes over, signaling the dawn of a new Blue Jays day.

Next let’s go down the list of Anthopoulos attributes in your question, “does he have…” Baseball knowledge? Yes, and in addition to his own knowledge (he skipped a few grades okay) he listens to his advisors and then makes the decision he thinks is right.

Business sense? No, but that is what the new CEO will bring and the Rogers people have plenty of business sense. If you doubt that, check your monthly wireless, cable, bundling statement.

Media savvy? Not yet, but there has already been a tremendous difference in confidence and attitude between the A.A. we saw on the final weekend in Baltimore when he sat at Paul Beeston’s left elbow at the podium and machine-gunned his way through an opening statement and the calmer, more in charge A.A. that announced on a conference call with passion and conviction the changes in scouting and player development and the direction in which he saw the Jays moving.

People skills? I believe sincerity and respect for your audience goes a long way in terms of demonstrating “people skills”. A.A. has a lot of that because he himself was a fan not too long ago.

As for making a difference, the innovative Aaron Hill contract is an example of what Anthopoulos can bring to the Jays. Even though it was similar in dollars to many others, it was the first of its kind in many respects and was seemingly lifted by the Rays months later when they announced their contract with Evan Longoria. The Jays have him locked up through the years 2010-14 for $4 million, then $5M, $8M, $8M and $10M. The final two years are the first two years of his free agency. The last three years are club options that must be exercised or rejected following the 2011 season. It’s not a player opt-out like A.J. Burnett and Vernon Wells. If the economy had changed for the worse, the Jays could have an option to get out from under the deal, yet the player agreed to the deal because it was all guaranteed and was fair to him financially throughout his arbitration years. Agents and players like it when they know that there is some wiggle room to sweeten a deal using imagination.

Q: Hi Richard,

Any thoughts yet on the location for the Jays' farm system clubs in 2010? It seems to me that the AAA team should be somewhere in North East North America in order to compete with the Yankee and Red Sox farm clubs. By the way, it's a great experience to attend a AA game in Manchester, New Hampshire. Newer ballpark, comfortable and affordable seating and a look at the up and coming players in the different organizations.

Dave McLeod, Sussex, NB

A: I’m pretty sure that they are still in contractual agreement with all of their farm cities, including Las Vegas. But I had a conversation with Anthopoulos several months before he got the new gig. He talked with a real sense of regret about the loss of Canadian cities in affiliated farm systems. I believe that at every level of the system, A.A. will at least explore the possibility of using a Canadian town as the farm affiliate. How about a Triple-A team somewhere in the Montreal area? How about re-converting Jarry Park from tennis back to baseball in the International League?

Q: Why doesn't Jim Balsillie buy the Blue Jays? I mean, if he wants to be a professional sports owner, why not step up and be a Canadian owner for Canada's only MLB Franchise. If he's willing to buy the Coyotes for $250 million, surely he can afford to buy the Jays. Plus, it's probably a good forum to move some Blackberry's.

Jordan Sharon, Toronto

A: Maybe he should, but there would be problems. When Labatt engineered the awarding of the original expansion franchise in 1976 for the ’77 season they made sure the team name BLUE Jays related one of their top products, Labatt Blue. Marketing and all that. So if Balsillie purchased the club, he would likely change either the name of the ballclub or the name of his signature product. It could either be “Black Jays” or else you would be surfing on your hand-held “Blueberry.” And they would have to reverse the recent Anthopoulos philosophy of de-emphasizing Pacific RIM scouting.

Seriously, I think you have to have a passion for a sport if you’re going to own it as an individual for anything other than a business investment. Balsillie clearly has a passion for hockey, but I’m not sure it translates to baseball. I believe if the Jays are ever sold, that Paul Beeston would be able to round up a group of rich guys that love baseball.

Mail bag

The playoffs start tonight and if that fabulous play-in game at the Metrodome was a preview, it will be great sporting drama. The Yankees look unstoppable but we’ve said that every time since 2001 when the D’backs stunned them in Game 7 as Mariano Rivera threw a ball away and Luis Gonzalez ended it in walk-off fashion. I called the Yankees earlier and I’ll have to stick with them. The Angels look deep and balanced but Boston always seems to have their number. As for the NL, none of those starting rotations is too impressive except for the top two in Philly. They are defending champs until someone takes their crown. The Dodgers looked great for most of the season, but there seems a certain negative karma going on when you go out and get a DH for the World Series in August (Jim Thome) when you’re still seven playoff wins away from even getting there. In any case this should be a fun month for baseball fans.

On to the mail bag.

Q: Hi Richard:

Let me start out as saying I'm not a J.P. Ricciardi fan. That being said, I'm getting a little tired of 20/20 hindsight regarding some of his signings. People (and that includes media) should be remembering what they thought about some of his signings when they were made, rather than how they turned out. This is especially true in the case of B.J. Ryan. When he was signed I believe it was generally reported that the Jays had finally obtained a legitimate closer. I remember the first time he came in for the Jays he was awesome. It is not J.P.'s fault that Ryan got hurt and was terrible when he came back. Likewise, it seems that when Alex Rios and Vernon Wells were signed to their long term contracts, that there was a general consensus that the Jays should lock up their young stars. Should J.P. have predicted that a couple of years later that these two players would be awful? Should J.P. have predicted that Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan would be injured for more than a year?

Marv Rose, Toronto

A: The signing that I always have trouble getting righteously indignant over is the Rios signing. At the time, the Jays were rewarding a young player brought up in the organization and locking him up for a couple of seasons into his free agency. The money wasn’t outrageous even for the pair of free agent seasons – that is as long as he was producing. But for most of us when we’re discussing bad contracts it’s too easy to say “Wells and Rios” or “Rios and Wells” when lumping wasted cash. The bad thing about the Rios deal was the Jays feeling they had to dump him for nothing in August when two winters before, just prior to signing him to his long-term deal, Alex’s name was being mentioned in trade with the Giants for a very good starting pitcher (not Tim Lincecum). Even at this year’s deadline, there were two teams willing to take all of Rios’s contract and actually give back prospects but the Jays refused. Then the plan changed 15 days later when he was claimed by the White Sox.

“Plan? Plan? We don’t need no stinkin’ plan!”

And I may be wrong, but I don’t remember a universal outpouring of joy when B.J. was introduced at the press conference at the Rogers campus. He was given too many years and too much money for the role of closer, since they are notoriously short-term producers as a breed. At the time he was the highest paid closer ever, even coming off just one season of success in the role for the O’s. Plus he had the type of delivery that baseball scouts know can lead to arm problems (not back problems).

As for Vernon, Ricciardi had just spent a full season and a winter dissing him as a MLB player and a Jays’ leader to his friends in the U.S. media and trying to trade him to his friends in the U.S. major league front offices. After he could not trade Wells and after he failed to sign either Ted Lilly or Gil Meche he was embarrassingly left with a pocketful of unspent money. So Ricciardi spent it on Wells. That is precisely why Paul Beeston in his role as interim CEO for life to this day refuses to state a hard payroll figure for any season…because if the GM has a number on paper, he feels obliged to spend it.

As for predictions, in baseball it’s called scouting and those in the front office of a major-league team are supposed to know more about the abilities of their players than we do. As for Marcum and McGowan, all organizations have the same types of injuries and proceed.

Q: Hi Richard,

The J.P. firing is not at all a shock, but the timing of that, or specifically the promotion of Alex Anthopoulos, is confusing. Why would he be appointed, without an interim title, only weeks before a new President is named? I thought the idea going into next year was to give this team direction, an improvement over this lame duck year without a permanent President and a GM as good as gone. Wouldn't the best approach to restoring the faith of the fan base be to allow the President to call the shots and choose his GM (and potentially a manager)? Why couldn't the naming of a new GM wait? I understand trying to overshadow the Cito-lost-the-clubhouse story, but we continue to go in circles.

Shaun A., Toronto

A: I don’t see the confusion in the appointment of Anthopoulos as GM. It had to be done at the end of the season so that everyone in baseball could know who’s in charge and what direction the Jays are headed. The fact that there is no interim in the title means to me that either Beeston is retaining one of the titles, either president or CEO, or else he already knows who his new chief executive is and has run the GM appointment by him and the new guy is on board.

Even Branch Rickey was a young GM at some point in his career. Many teams have come to the same conclusion, before the Jays, that you don’t necessarily need an older guy that has done the job before.

As for Gaston, I’m still not convinced that he is a sure-thing as manager for next season. He has a contract, but if the Jays feel that moving forward they would be better off with someone else, it still might happen with Cito moving upstairs as one of the Jays’ senior advisors.

Q: I get the feeling Riccardi may have been thrown under the bus owing to this “rebellion” by malcontented players. I'm sure he was scheduled for termination at a more fitting time and I’m assuming he had little to do (or gain) by instigating a rebellion, hence his departure was a heave-ho onto the freeway to serve as the bait to switch the topic from “Bad Gaston” to “Bad Ricciardi” or “Lousy players” or a vision of what to expect in the next few years. They are really sticking by Gaston. Are the problems he's having helping explain why he had trouble getting a job until last season?

Frederick Duquette, La Mirada

A: Ricciardi was scheduled for termination on the weekend in Baltimore so that he did not have to fly back to Toronto and hear the news there and then fly home. Of course that situation would have been more flexible if Ricciardi actually had a home in Toronto, but he didn’t and so Beeston and Tony Viner from Rogers flew to Baltimore to talk to him there. Ricciardi had a real inkling about it because he did not come to the ballpark on Friday night, or, if he did, he was not on the field or in the clubhouse or the pressbox.

As for the clubhouse insurrection, this may have been the weakest mutiny in history. As soon as the news was leaked and players were forced to go on the record on Friday night with accusations of “negativity”, “old-school-ism” and “lack of communication” Beeston met with a panel of representative mutineers on Saturday afternoon, listened to them, refused to agree with them and then moved on to his clubhouse meeting with the entire group. By that night, the players were making fun of their own situation with Gaston, downplaying it and trying to make it sound like it never happened – which it did. Since Beeston did not let it be known how he felt about the players’ complaints, it leaves it open for him and Anthopoulos and the new chief executive to make a managerial change. All they would say in Baltimore is “Cito has a contract for next year and we expect him back.” Not the strongest vote of confidence.

Q: Hi Richard,

How much does an organization's reputation matter in attracting free agents or other talented personnel? It seems like it matters much more in baseball than it does in other sports. Is that so? It seems as if Toronto has completely missed the boat with this one (citing many prior GM muck ups) and the problem may be heightened by the fact that we live in the Great White North.

Joshua Grant, Toronto

A: An organization’s reputation matters a lot. It used to be in the early days of free agency in the mid-’70s and all through the ‘80s that money talked. The guys with the most money had the final word on the distribution of free agents throughout the game. Now there is so much money out there for the premium talent that a player can think about final location on a par with total dollars. If one organization has a bad reputation for dealing with players, for dealing with player agents, for a bad clubhouse environment, for a bad manager, word gets around in a hurry. They are all union brothers and many have the same agents. Toronto has always had a good reputation as player-friendly and family-friendly but had recently been getting bad word-of-mouth because of recent circumstances, many involving the ex-GM.

Q: Hi Richard! Look forward to your column every Wednesday! There have been a lot of retaliation pitches lately, where the batter is hit, for whatever reason.

My question is how this pitch is communicated between pitcher and catcher. Do they have a quick chat about it between innings? Does the catcher call it or does the pitcher somehow signal to the catcher that he is going to throw at the batter? Or does the pitcher just go lone wolf and hit the batter with no signal? Thanks!

Terry Fallat, Espanola, Ont.

A: No conversation is necessary. Pitchers know the best time and game circumstance to get the job done without risking the game result. It actually does not happen that often and pitchers will never admit it. Pat Hentgen was prompt and reliable in his retribution for teammates and would always just say later that the pitch got away. It was never a loopy breaking ball either. His body language after an intentionally hit batter was always the same. Three steps off the front of the mound, mouth set in a frown, glove up to receive another ball from the umpire or his catcher. Next! Many hit batters are the result of the pitcher-catcher approach to a hitter. With an 0-2 count the pitcher tries to come inside and back the hitter off the plate. The hitter’s guessing outside. Boom! Or some guys dive across the plate to cover the outside corner and be able to drive it hard. The pitcher comes inside, just off the plate by a couple of inches. Boom! You hate to see head shots or leg shots, but body shots should be part of the game.

Q: Hi Richard,

Much as we all love to beat this dead horse, I want to borrow a line from the American presidential debates (introduced by Ronald Reagan) to bury JP (and not to praise him). The bottom line on JP's time with the Blue Jays is very simple: Did we emerge from the era in better shape, or worse than we started?

With dissention in the clubhouse, no visible monsters in the minors, a disaffected fan base, and no real savings in payroll, I think we can say he was a (mitigated) disaster. However, the big blame goes, as always, to ownership: Rogers is responsible, ultimately, for everything, including letting JP run a major league franchise as a personal ego trip. Class starts at the top. Rogers doesn't have it, although some of the people they've hired have. Labatt's had it, and it infused the organization. I love the Jays. I hate what has happened to them. I think you're dead right about following the Twins' formula, but it all starts with ownership.

Thanks for giving us the straight goods through the season. We do appreciate it, even when we snipe and second guess. And we'll look forward (with hope, as always) to February, and pitchers-and-catchers.

Best regards,

Richard Worzel

A: Amazingly, as Ricciardi leaves, his Jays of ’09 had 75 wins and a $80 million payroll. Gord Ash’s ’01 Jays had 80 wins and a $76 million payroll. Pretty close. But to Rricciardi’s credit, prior to this June’s disastrous non-signing process, his last four drafts had produced lots of promising arms on the farm, many of whom were forced into action ahead of schedule. His top position players, Aaron Hill, Adam Lind and Travis Snider have a chance to be around and star for a long time just like Ash for J.P. left Halladay, Wells, Rios, Shannon Stewart, Orlando Hudson, McGowan, Kelvim Escobar, Billy Koch and others. The disaster that Ricciardi left was not in the farm system, it was in disenfranchising the fan-base and damaging the front office reputation.

Click here to send Richard a question, and he'll answer a selection in his mailbag Wednesdays in this space. **Note: please follow the link above to send a question to Richard. Questions posted in the comments section may not make it to the mailbag. Thanks.**

Ricciardi Out; Anthopoulos In as Jays' GM

The curtain finally came down on the J.P. Ricciardi era as general manager this morning. The Jays issued a terse release at 10:38 a.m. announcing that Ricciardi has stepped down from his role that he had filled since November 14, 2001, eight seasons without a post-season berth.

"This was a tough decision and a difficult one for me personally, as I have enjoyed J.P.'s friendship and his perspective on the game," team president Paul Beeston said in a written statement. "J.P. has put an incredibe amount of effort into improving the team and he has brought along a number of great young players. However I feel that it is time for a change and accordingly we have decided to move on."

Replacing him will be 32-year-old Alex Anthopoulos, a native of Montreal. He joined the Jays in 2003 and was named an assistant GM under Ricciardi after the 2005 season. Anthopoulos attended McMaster University,  majoring in economics, getting his first job in baseball with the Expos in 2000, in  media relations. He moved into the scouting department in 2001, advancing quickly through the organization.

Ricciardi leaves with an eight-year record of 642-651, highlighted by reducing payroll in 2002, winning 86 games in his second season, 2003, winning 87 in 2006, 86 in 2008 and watching the development of draft choices Aaron  Hill, Adam Lind and Ricky Romero in 2009.

The change takes place immediately. Anthopoulos and Beeston will address the Jays in a clubhouse meeting prior to tonight's game at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The trend in baseball has been towards younger GMs with no playing experience but knowledge of running a farm system and scouting department. In the AL only Mike Flanagan (O's), Kenny Williams (White Sox) and Billy Beane (A's) are former major-league players.

-30-

Gaston Disparaged Anonymously

A Fox Sports report by Ken Rosenthal this morning claims that virtually the entire Jays' clubhouse is in agreement that manager Cito Gaston needs to go. He has lost everyone, says the source. Since Rosenthal is not around the Jays' clubhouse and has very rarely quoted any Jays' players directly in recent years, this "clubhouse insider" information has to come from someone in the Jays' front office.

Here's a clue. Needing confirmation for the column, Rosenthal claims he was unable to reach GM J.P. Ricciardi for comment. If it's true that he was unable to contact the GM that would be a first. This has the feel of a Ricciardi scud missile on his way out the door.    

A Canadian Press piece by Shi Davidi followed up on the same theme, quoting unnamed players interviewed on the final weekend as being upset with Gaston and his "lack of communication, old-school approach and negativism."

That sounds bad. Let's see, if an entire team wants a manager out of the way, the usual strategy is that a team quits playing for him and virtually mails in the results. Unfortunately for the conspirators, the Jays have won six in a row and nine of 10 and have returned to the offensive juggernaut numbers of April and May - and even beyond that production. Way to deliver a message to management boys.

No, some significant discontent is definitely there towards Gaston, but it is far from as rampant as Rosenthal insists it is. When the New York Yankees visited Toronto September 3-6, they already knew about the clubhouse anger. The links are former Jays Josh Towers, A.J. Burnett and Eric Hinske, who heard about it from friends with the Jays. The knowledge of the discontent has certainly permeated the Jays' clubhouse. They have all heard it, but for young players trying to establish themselves and fit in, stating that position and adopting it as their own would be professional suicide.

So if guys like Adam Lind, Travis Snider, Aaron Hill, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Jason Frasor, Jesse Carlson and every one of the young starting pitchers has likely listened to the leaders of this revolt without offering comment that does not mean they are among those ready to burn Cito at the stake. For the most part, they are earning close to the major-league minimum salary and have long careers to look forward to.

The leadership of the revolt likely comes from the bullpen and likely started with the treatment of B.J. Ryan as he struggled to regain his form at spring training and was subsequently released.

At spring training Gaston threw Ryan under the bus during a trip to Orlando to play the Braves. He discussed the diminishing returns issue and scratched his head over Ryan's loss of velocity, even though he was healthy. The baton of explanation was immediately passed to a distressed pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, who while trying to defend his friend B.J., inadvertently backed the bus up over Ryan and moved forward, crushing him again. That was the beginning of the end.

The soap opera moved to Minnesota in April. After a failed Ryan appearance, Arnsberg snapped on the media, saying that he was never asked positive questions about his pitchers. It was always negative. That he had to deal with his pitchers every day and didn't want to comment on failure. He was still shaken by the spring training "loss of velocity" discussion.

The major-league bullpen is a virtual social club during every one of 162 games. They have six innings to sit and chat before two of them have to get up and start getting loose. The pitching coach is the father figure. Arnsberg treats all his pitchers like sons. When one of their bullpen family is mistreated by the manager, or anyone else, they all feel the pain.

Fast forward to Yankee Stadium in July. By that time B.J. Ryan had become an afterthought in the manager's mind. Despite what Cito had protested to me earlier in the year, that he "likes his own pitchers" but doesn't like other teams' hurlers, it doesn't fly. Gaston, a hitter, loves his hitters and is loyal to them. He allowed Alex Rios and Vernon Wells to bat third and fourth in the order this year until it was impossible to leave the underproducing pair there. He does it out of loyalty. That's old school. Pitchers see that loyalty. In the Yankee clubhouse, Ryan challenged his manager. He said he needed to pitch more to be effective but he understood that to pitch more he needed to be effective. He expressed frustration. When asked about it, Gaston scoffed and the next day the Jays released Ryan and ate his remaining $15 million.

Gaston is not patient with pitchers. Scott Downs, a good friend of Ryan's and another of Arnsberg's disciples, has been the latest whipping boy for Gaston. He took over from Ryan as closer, then got hurt and was replaced by Jason Frasor, came back and got hurt again. The last time he was hurt it was in leaving the mound to cover first, and he strained a hamstring. The manager and trainer George Poulis went to the mound to check on Downs. When Cito found out his pitcher was hurt again, Gaston strode back to the dugout, leaving the trainer and injured reliever to hobble off the field. It seemed strange at the time, but seems to be part of the mutual discontent that has clearly developed.

It comes down to this. There are many villains and few heroes in this Jays' piece. In hindsight, that's exactly the way their disappointing season has gone. Many changes will be made.  

  

Mail Bag

The saga of Aroldis Chapman is the reason why the annual major-league baseball amateur June draft needs to be universal and include players from around the world. The concept of a universal draft will certainly be prominent in the next negotiations with the major-league players’ union.

Life used to be so simple and predictable. Refugee Cubans seeking a better life away from the oppressive Castro regime would sail off in the dead of night and invariably wash up on a beach in south Florida to start a new life in the land of milk, honey, oranges and opportunity. No more, especially if you happen to have mad baseball skills.

The fact is if you actually land your boat on U.S. soil you immediately become eligible for the baseball draft and Lord knows you didn’t paddle 90 miles to not cash in as a free agent.

The change in travel plans became obvious in one of two ways: 1) at a certain point in time, refugee boats populated by at least one draft-eligible Cuban, would veer off, likely led to the promised land by speedboats teeming with player agents, amazingly but not coincidentally washing up on Bahamian atolls or hunks of land not claimed by America; or 2) they would sneak away from Team Cuba hotels at tournaments in Mexico or central America turning up as residents of that country, also not eligible for the draft. Jackpot!!

But the story of left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman takes the Cuban “free-agent” story to another level. Here is text of the triumphant release from his agents:

Athletes Premier International (API) announces that Major League Baseball has declared Aroldis Chapman a free agent following its investigation. The United States Department of the Treasury has also licensed him as an unblocked national of Cuba. Chapman is now free to sign a contract with a Major League club interested in procuring his services.

“I wish to thank Edwin and the rest of the API team for helping me get to this point,” stated Chapman. “It has been a dream of mine to pitch in the Major Leagues and I’m very excited to start the next phase of my life.” “This is a great reward for nearly three months of hard work, but our real objective is helping Aroldis achieve his personal and professional goals,” stated Edwin Mejia, CEO of Athletes Premier International. “We look forward to speaking with Major League teams and other potential partners interested in helping Aroldis attain them.”

Such a heartwarming tale. Where’s Walt Disney? A new ride at Disney World? Free Agents of the Caribbean. With a yo-ho-ho and a bottle of Dom.

Chapman left the Cuban national team at an international tournament in Rotterdam, stepping off the team bus into a waiting car inexplicably still holding onto his passport (their custom is to confiscate players’ passports until they go home) and sped off to a safe house and to freedom. Of course, Chapman had had an earlier chance to do the same thing at the World Baseball Classic but that tournament ended in the U.S. and he would therefore have been draft eligible. Chapman is a 21-year-old left-hander whose fastball tops off at 101 m.p.h. - which is about the same speed at which his driver screeched away from the team bus with the meal ticket firmly buckled in.

After working out at the old ’84 Olympic complex in Barcelona, strutting his stuff for pro scouts and taking Rosetta Stone English lessons, after months of being scared for his safety, he is now a proud resident of … Andorra (?) and eligible for free agency instead of he 2010 draft. For those unaware, Andorra is a landlocked nation renowned as a tax haven nestled in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. The national anthem is Le gran Charlemany, mon pere. The population is 84,000. Hmm, maybe Canada could make sure that we draw Andorra in our group for the next World Baseball Classic and then have Scott Richmond actually pitch.

The scouting report on Chapman is one great pitch, but tough to coach. They are looking for a huge amount of money and a one-way ticket to a major-league roster.

On to the mailbag.

Q: Richard, couple of questions.

Since Vernon Wells is the only speed threat that we have, should Wells be batting 2nd? Also if the Jays want to trade Doc, would it be more logical for the Jays to keep JP and let him pull the trigger. It would be a tough spot for the new GM to come in and trade Doc, so I am expecting JP to finish his contract and you will have more GM jokes and the Jays will have a scapegoat for next season. Everybody wins?

Davy P., San Jose

A: Cito Gaston has already talked about Aaron Hill and Adam Lind batting third and fourth next year. That means Wells would have to bat either second or fifth. If the Jays signed a legit leadoff hitter like Chone Figgins (who has great personal respect for Cito) then, if they re-signed Marco Scutaro, it would make sense that the shortstop bat second. If they had only one out of Figgins or Scutaro that would be their leadoff guy and I believe Wells would be a decent choice (process of elimination) to bat second.

As for keeping J.P. to trade Halladay, that makes no sense. Ricciardi alienated all the GMs that he was dealing with in July by letting the media know virtually every step of the way which teams he was talking to. They will do him no favours in re-bidding for Doc. Besides, J.P. in his eight years has never made a deal in which he has received more than two players back. The biggest players he has traded are Billy Koch, Raul Mondesi, Orlando Hudson, Troy Glaus and Scott Rolen. Why is he the right guy to trade Halladay? As for the offensive term “GM jokes” they are more like “wry observations” and stem from the same frustration that the fans have finally arrived at re the current regime.

Q: When was the last time the Jays had a speed demon, a threat to steal every time he was on base? Has there been anyone since Dave Collins way back when? The Jays have had some guys with decent SB potential recently (Vernon, Rios), but it seems that the SB has not been part of the team’s game. Your comments? Thanks.

Emmanuel Rivelli, Thornhill

A: When he broke in, Shannon Stewart was a speed demon. Then he got bulky. Vernon Wells was somewhat of a speed demon. Then he got bulky. Alex Rios was a speed demon. Then he got balky. Raul Mondesi, Jose Cruz, Jr. and Shawn Green could all steal a base when needed. But chicks dig the longball. The last real, legitimate stolen base threat they had was Otis Nixon in 1996-97, but he was past his prime. The steal has not been important for the last eight years. Neither has October.

Q: Hey Griff,

With the season nearing its end, I thought I'd give you a philosophical question to think about. Currently no Blue Jay is in the hall of fame where the Blue Jays are considered the player’s primary team (ie Molitor is listed as a Brewer). With Robby Alomar and Fred McGriff eligible next year do you think either of them would make it? And if not who do you think could/would be the first?

Dave Fulton, Oakville

A: I would expect Alomar to go in, but maybe not on the first ballot because of his great expectorations with regard to umpire John Hirschbeck. Alomar was the greatest second baseman I have ever seen and an offensive threat that included some power as well as speed and base-running instincts that were unmatched. He will go in wearing the Jays’ hat. I don’t think McGriff will ever get in because the old standards for home runs no longer govern hall-of-fame voters. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.

Q: With consideration for player positioning next season after comments you made yourself, might you offer some insight into the present and perhaps the future of the Jays infield and outfield corners? It has dawned on me the best situation for the Blue Jays might be to move Encarnacion to right field where his arm and range could be maximized whilst his errors minimized? Does Dopirak have the tools to man first next season?

Nick Boileau, Whitby, Ont.

A: Gaston has already said that he can’t see Travis Snider and Adam Lind manning the corner outfield spots in 2010. One yes. Both no. Not enough combined defence. He also said he needs another RBI bat. Something doesn’t add up unless Lind moves to first base and Lyle Overbay is traded. As for Encarnacion moving to right field, I think the only reason he is on the ’09 Jays is because they had to take his salary in order to move Scott Rolen to the Reds. If that is the case, then the RBI bat Cito wants is either a DH or a right fielder. Jose Bautista has shown me more than Encarnacion as a hitter and potential right fielder. They will try to move Encarnacion and maybe even eat some of his ’10 salary. As for Brian Dopirak in the majors as a first baseman with the Jays in 2010 … no.

Q: Dear Richard,

Another frustrated UK Jays fan here. While I agree that it's time to move on from the JP regime, I think your repeated criticism of this era suggests that any half competent GM could have put together a team to jump past the Yankees & Red Sox over a 162 game season. As bad as it seems in T.O., it’s worse in Baltimore. Tampa Bay had seemingly all the pieces in place - but they fell way short. I think history will prove the ‘08 Rays as the Haley’s Comet of the AL East. I’m not making excuses, but I’ve no doubt that if the Jays had been in the Central rather than in the East the last 10 years there would have been at least one playoff appearance. I just don’t believe that if Chicago or Minnesota or Cleveland or Detroit had been in the East instead, that any of those teams would have had the same success. Yet all those teams get to catch pennant fever now and again and they get perceived as ‘mid-market’ successes, while the Jays get tagged as the AL’s answer to the Pirates, which I don’t think is fair. As of the AL standings today (Sep 23), outside of the Yanks/Sox only the Tigers (56-41, 0.577) have a better record against the AL Central/West than the Jays in 2009 (39-29, 0.574). I know every season hasn’t been like this but it illustrates my point. So my question is, do you think baseball would ever try to address this competitive disadvantage? Be it, a balanced schedule - or 2 divisions of 7 with 2 wild cards even. In the ESPN Yanks/Sox obsessed post-strike world, I fear that the rest of the AL East is being left for dead!

Thanks,

Iain Carey, Manchester, UK

A: The least of my worries as critic has been whether a competent GM could have vaulted the Jays past the Yankees and/or Red Sox. The biggest issues I have had with the GM over the years are the way he has treated his players as men, the way he has treated his payroll as the basis for his failures and the way he has treated the Jays’ fans as not worthy of knowing what he’s thinking, in terms of direction, ahead of fans in the good ol’ U.S.A.

Nobody has ever tagged the Jays as the AL answer to the Pirates. When Ricciardi took over he was handed a team that was 22 games above .500 for the previous four seasons. If this is his last season, J.P. will hand off a team that is 16 games above .500 for his final four years heading into Wednesday night. Not the Pirates. Not the Yankees. More like the 1998-2001 Jays.

As for the suggested changes to the league and playoff format, see last week’s lead into the mailbag that would allow 12 playoff teams into a post-season time frame that would be just over a month. Any more than that is too much.

Click here to send Richard a question, and he'll answer a selection in his mailbag Wednesdays in this space. **Note: please follow the link above to send a question to Richard. Questions posted in the comments section may not make it to the mailbag. Thanks.**

Mail Bag

Okay, so baseball has almost two weeks left and the only race is for the AL Central between the Tigers and Twins. Will 30 markets be paying attention to that? No! MLB lucked out last year with races all over the place down to the final weekend. This season is providing a reality check. The game needs a revamp. Here it is.

American and National leagues are split East and West:

AL EAST STANDINGS: 1-Yankees 2-Red Sox 3-Tigers 4-Rays 5-Blue Jays 6-Indians 7-Orioles (all seven are in the Eastern Time Zone)

AL WEST STANDINGS: 1-Angels 2-Rangers 3-Mariners 4-Twins 5-White Sox 6-A’s 7-Royals (four in Central Time Zone and three in Western)

NL EAST STANDINGS: 1-Phillies 2-Braves 3-Marlins 4-Astros 5-Reds 6-Mets 7-Pirates 8-Nationals (seven in Eastern Time Zone and one in Central)

NL WEST STANDINGS: 1-Dodgers 2-Cardinals 3-Rockies 4-Giants 5-Cubs 6-Brewers 7-Padres 8-Diamondbacks (three teams in Central Time Zone, one in Mountain and four in Western)

NEW POST-SEASON PLAYOFF FORMAT

(if season ended today):

AL First place Yankees and Angels both get bye

NL First place Phillies and Dodgers both get bye

ROUND 1: Second place in East and West each host wild-card best of three series in their home park starting two days after the season and played on consecutive days. The two league wild-cards are the next two best records. They can come from the same division. Best second place record plays worst wild-card record.

October 6-8 (best of three)

Mariners at Red Sox

Tigers at Rangers

Giants at Cardinals

Rockies at Braves

ROUND 2: Top seeded first place team hosts Games 1-2-5 in a best-of-five vs. lowest ranked winner of wild-card Round 1:

October 10-15 (best of five)

At Yankees

At Angels

At Phillies

At Dodgers

ROUND 3:

ALCS and NLCS (best of seven)

October 17-25

ROUND 4:

WORLD SERIES

October 27-November 4

On to the mailbag.

Q: Read your piece on Johnny Mac - wonderful read! I hope Cito read it too and does give him the start in that last home game; the fans deserve that pleasure as much as McDonald himself. I have two related questions for you. Where do you see McDonald landing next year? Is there a team out there that appears to fit for him more than another? Secondly, while it seems obvious (and positive!) that the Jays will try to resign Marco Scutaro, who do see them turning to in the event that he signs elsewhere? The only name that comes to mind immediately is Orlando Cabrera, someone I know they expressed interest in last year. Thanks, as always!

Jon Empringham, Woodstock, Ont.

A: Obviously McDonald is going to play a more important role down the stretch with the plantar fasciitis (foot) injury to Marco Scutaro. It’s ironic to check the quote in the column from Johnny Mac about his playing time relying on the health of Scutaro and Hill and that thankfully they have both been healthy.

As for where he might play next year, he can play anywhere he wants. The great thing about his situation is that this contract with the Jays at $1.9 million for each of 2008 and ‘09 was the most money he had ever earned in a season. That is extremely affordable for a backup infielder with his mind-blowing defensive skill-set. It was suggested to Mac that his talents would seem to fit better on a National League bench. He pointed out his entire career has been in the AL.

Family is very important to him. He comes from Connecticut and lives in the Cleveland area and so I think the top four five potential employers for McDonald would be 1-Indians; 2-Red Sox; 3-Yankees; 4-Jays; 5-Mets.

The pickings are slim at shortstop on the upcoming free agent market. Realistically at the Jays’ affordability level might try Scutaro, Johnny Mac, Cabrera, Bobby Crosby or Khalil Greene. The best bet is Scutaro who will find that nobody wants to sign him and give up two draft picks to the Jays. He is worth more to Toronto than anywhere else. How about two years for $13 million plus an option for 2012? Justin Jackson is still three or four years away, which would fit in nicely with the timing of a Scutaro deal.

Q: Hi Richard:

In your last mailbag, Sept 16, you said the Jays should field their best defensive team. Given the errors, missed cutoff men and missed defensive opportunities generally I could not agree with you more. In listing the lineup that would provide that defence you placed Lind at DH and Snider in left field. Shouldn't that be reversed? Snider is consistently missing cutoffs and sometimes seems shaky out there. (A ball went off his glove on what should have been a catch this past week.) Isn't Lind currently a better defensive option? This would also allow Snider to focus on how to deal with big league pitching. Keep up the great work!

Tim Rorke, Timmins, Ont.

A: I still believe that for the sake of a) the young pitchers; b) Roy Halladay; c) the fans and d) Cito Gaston’s mental health that playing the best defensive baseball currently on hand is a key for making the Jays interesting in the final two weeks. That means Barajas or Chavez; Lyle Overbay every day (no Millar); Hill; Johnny Mac; Vernon and Jose Bautista in right (who has been amazingly solid). Of course with the injury to Scutaro, Edwin Encarnacion must play every day at third. Besides if you ever want to trade him in the off-season, he needs to be treated with respect as if he’s the Jays’ starter for 2009-10. That leaves left field.

Both Snider and Lind are below average, however, despite the rookie brain farts of throwing to nobody in particular, missing cutoff men, throwing to the wrong base and forgetting how many outs there are, Snider is the better option. Lind is slower, gets worse reads and jumps and is important for his healthy RBI bat. Not ringing endorsements for either man, but maybe if Lind was eventually moved to first base that would allow the Jays to reach out for another RBI bat at DH or in right.

Q: Hi Richard,

I have followed the Jays now pretty closely for several years and read your mailbag with much intrigue. To me the Jays are really not that far off being a contender. We have two great power hitters in Hill and Lind. We have an under-performing star who I believe will no doubt bounce back in Wells. The Jays have a core group of good players. Except for the important win-loss column we are not terribly behind in overall stats with our big spending friends south of the border.

This is a big if, but IF we are able to spend a little more (Paul Beeston suggested we could see a roster worth $120 million given the right business plan) could we not put together a winning team next year? If you had the additional 55-odd million available to spend for next year, what would you do to get us over this bump? Am I in lala land here in thinking this is even possible?

Bryan Freeman, Oakville

A: I was watching Vernon Wells in batting practice on Monday and Tuesday and the ball is jumping off his bat again. He is loose and confident in his swing. That’s good and bad. Does that mean he can only perform at his best when his team has fallen out of contention or does that mean that he has finally got his groove back and we can look forward to him carrying it into next season? It’s up to Vernon.

Here’s some suggestions on how to spend the Jays’ money. Make an intelligent trade for Roy Halladay, sign Chone Figgins of the Angels to play third base and re-sign Marco Scutaro. Either re-sign Rod Barajas for a reasonable two-year salary, or else find another decent catcher (there’s tons of them out there), get a healthy Shaun Marcum back and take a chance on a reasonably priced Rich Harden as a free agent. Move Adam Lind to first base and let ‘er rip in 2010. That would not even take the Jays up to your $120 million if they could find deals to trade away Overbay and Encarnacion.

Top of the Lineup: Figgins; Scutaro; Hill; Lind; Wells etc. etc.

Rotation: Marcum; Romero; Harden; Halladay trade; Rzepczynki or Cecil.

I truly believe that Scott Downs has not been the same pitcher since his first injury. This guy needs to stay anchored to the top of the mound and never leave. Every time he ventures down the hill he strains something – including our credulity.

Into the Valley of Death rode the Jays’ closer … But when he was completely healthy at the time B.J. hit the road, Downs had closer-ability. I would suggest Jason Frasor could do it on a regular basis except he takes so damn long between pitches it’s painful.

Q: Hi Richard,

Question I've been wondering for quite some time now. In pucks, players get paid less in the minors and more in the majors (two way contracts and all that); on the same note, how much do minor league players get paid when they get called up? Pro-rated version of the league minimum? And the same thing with guys who are signed and sent down; do they get their regular major league stipend or the minor league stuff? I tried figuring it out but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Let me know!

Nicholas Hung, London

A: Guys that get called up earn pro-rated major league minimum of $400,000 which is paid out basically over six months. So if a player comes up in September he pretty much earns one-sixth of the minimum. All young organization players on the 40-man are on two-way deals. If they are on the 40-man roster and are sent out at the end of spring training, they earn their minor-league money. If they’re called up they earn their major-league agreement. Veterans and top-tier free agents usually sign guaranteed deals that pay them major-league money even if they are sent to the minors. However there are so many free agents out there now that fringe veteran players don’t have any bargaining power and the major-league guarantees are fewer and further between.

Q: Hi there.

Why isn’t Cito Gaston playing Randy Ruiz on a more constant basis? The season has been over for months now and this is a great time to see what he’s got. From what I've seen, this guy seems to hit a bomb every three or four games. Why isn’t he in the lineup everyday? Ruiz could be in the starting nine next year with the type of power he’s showing.

Dave Roberts, Brantford

A: The choice for Gaston came down to playing Ruiz or Jose Bautista in the starting lineup. When Lind is in the lineup he either is the DH or must play LF. In the case of left field Travis Snider is in right, which means Wells must cover an area the size of Algonquin Park. Bautista has become their best bet defensively in right field. He’s better even if Joe Inglett gets healthy again. If Lind moves to first base over the winter there would be room for Ruiz as a platoon DH and bench player as an emergency outfielder or Millar-like first baseman.

Q: Hi Richard,

Let's say in a wildly altruistic move, Vernon Wells decides to option out of his contract so he can play for a team in the playoff hunt, or close to home or just wants to get rid of the criticism. Would the player's union allow him to do that? At the least, wouldn't they advise him not to opt out? I know their concern is for their players to make top dollar.

Kevin Layman, St. John's

A:You never know. Vernon said that peace of mind and personal happiness are worth more than any amount of money. If he has two bad years between now and 2011 there would be no market for him as a free agent but, on the other hand, by that time his life at the Rogers Centre may be so miserable he might want out no matter what. If he has two great years, he may want a fresh start and may feel like he can still get a pretty good deal somewhere close to home or with a contender. It is possible he could opt out. I don’t think any of us mortals would given the amount of money he would be leaving on the table.

The players’ union would surely advise him not to opt out. Their concern is not so much for Vernon making top dollar as it is for future players earning top dollar and if one of their marquee contracts is torn up and replaced just because a player wants to be happy, what kind of a precedent does that set? Choosing happiness over money? What ever happened to the “American way?”

At much lower numbers, catcher Darrin Fletcher was always hearing about it from the Players Association because he took deals with the Expos and then the Jays that he was happy with when the union said he could earn more. But they didn’t block his decision. They just didn’t like it.

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Cannon Cup: Amateur Baseball Alive in Ontario

The prestigious Cannon Cup, the final tournament of the year for Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) and its affiliates, took place on the weekend in Oakville with 13 all-star teams competing for the trophy named in memory of the late Mike Cannon, an enthusiastic supporter of Ontario amateur baseball, a resident of Oakville and the Jays' first traveling secretary.

Inter-County, trailing 4-3 against Hamilton in the championship game on Sunday, loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the game on the line, ICBA received a towering walk-off grand slam into the trees behind the right field fence at Oakville Park by DH Justin Interisano. The 7-4 win was the sixth Cannon Cup championship for Inter-County in the 15-years history of the event.

Interisano in the semis and finals, combined, was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and six RBIs. Starter Michael Gatchene worked six solid innings with no decision. Cudey Howard picked up the win in relief, working out of a jam in the top of the seventh to keep the deficit at just one, setting up the slam.   

Highlighting the 29 games of the Cannon Cup weekend, featuring 13 all-star teams of 18 and under Midgets from around the province, eventual champion Inter-County beat Oakville 7-2 in one semi-final while Hamilton reached the championship game with a 7-3 win over Georgetown. Oakville advanced to the Final Four, entering its own team for the first time in Cup history, competing with two all-star teams from its parent Central Ontario Baseball Association (COBA). 

The quality of baseball in the Cannon Cup demonstrated to me that despite the pessimism of many concerning the state of the amateur game in Ontario, there is still significant talent and enthusiasm for playing baseball across the province. The next step in a baseball renaissance as a game of interest for young teenagers is for the Blue Jays to reach the post-season again and bring back the next tier of young athletes that may have lost interest in the sport at the same time their parents did after the major-league strike in '94 and the Jays' 15-year struggle to repeat their World Series exploits of the early '90s.

Congratulations to Inter-County and manager Jeff Amos and to the other semi-final managers, Hamilton's Larry Wood, Oakville's Doug Stirling and Georgetown's Bill Byckowski.