GAME OFF??

It was a bizarre scene that unfolded at City of Palms Park just prior to gametime today.

The lineups were announced, the fat lady sang the anthems, an old dude threw out the ceremonial first pitch and the announcer yelled, "Play Ball." Unfortunately, there were no players in either dugout.

Finally Jason Varitek came out sans catcher's equipment, a sure sign the game was not going to start on time. Varitek, the captain, was swarmed by Boston media as he stood down in the dugout. Finally other players trickled out looking not ready for primetime.

In the Jays dugout, an out-of-uniform Vernon Wells eyed the scene curiously, with Mike Lowell finally coming across the field to update the Jays' player rep. Yet there was no firm announcement either way.

Maybe it should be called City of Palms Up and Outstretched Park. Show us da money.

I agree with the players and think baseball has mishandled another delicate affair causing a major P.R. gaffe just one day after the Yankees visited Virginia Tech University to honour the slain students.

The deadline for a game was set at 12:30 p.m. If the game was to be called, the Red Sox were going to come out and sign autographs, likely so the fans would not riot and the players would look good. When the P.A. guy made the announcement, he blamed a dispute between the Red Sox players, the Players Association and Major League Baseball.

No mention of the Red Sox organization. Very inscrutable these Red Sox officials. 

Game in jeopardy

As of 11:45 a.m. this morning, the status of today's game between the Red Sox and Jays was still in doubt. The Sox players are threatening to cancel the game and boycott the trip to Japan unless the coaches and manager and probably the trainers, receive the same compensation of $40,000 for the trip that begins tonight.

The only written agreement between baseball and the players association covered the players for their eight day trip to Japan to play two exhibitions against Japanese teams and the first two regular-season games against the A's. The coaches, according to Curt Schilling, were covered in an oral agreement that is being breached by MLB. This would never happen with the NFL.

JAYS: David Eckstein ss, Dhannon Stewart dh, Alex Rios rf, Vernon Wells cf, Scott Rolen 3b, Lyle Overbay 1b, Aaron Hill 2b, Gregg Zaun c, Reed Johnsoon lf. Brian Tallet p

SOX: Dustin Pedroia 2b, Kevin Youkilis 1b, David Ortiz dh, Manny Ramirez rf, Mike Lowell 3b, J.D. Drew rf, Jason Varitek c, Coco Crisp cf, Julio Lugo ss. Daisuke Matsuzaka p

Apparently, as soon as the Jays arrived by bus this morning in Fort Myers, Kevin Youkilis met with Jays player rep Vernon Wells to discuss the issue. The A's in Arizona, the other touring squad, did not seem to care that the coaches were not being compensated and were ready to fly.

Blue Jays mail bag

Every Wednesday, baseball columnist Richard Griffin answers your Blue Jays questions. Click here to submit a question.

Q: Hi Richard. J.P. (Ricciardi) recently mentioned that he would be “looking internally and externally” for rotation help now that Casey Janssen is out for the season. Other than Jesse Litsch, who would you expect to be the best candidates for the rotation? Brian Wolfe? Randy Wells? Who might the jays be interested in “externally”? One name that comes to my mind is Joe Blanton, although it could be a pipe dream. We all know J.P. loves wheeling and dealing with the A's. I would love to know your thoughts on who might be out there.
Kevin Cooke, Toronto

A: At this point, Jesse Litsch is the man. When J.P. talks about looking “internally and externally” for rotation help it has about the same significance as when O.J. said he would be looking for the “real killer”. The other day, the Jays’ “internal” selections, of an immediate nature according to Ricciardi, included Josh Banks, David Purcey and a 32-year-old guy named Kane Davis, signed to bolster the Syracuse rotation. Only pitching coach Brad Arnsberg ever really mentioned Wolfe as a starter, touting him near the end of last year. Rule 5 selection Randy Wells is likely to either be purchased and sent to the minors or else be offered back to the Cubs. As for Blanton, he will make $3.7 million in ’08 with two more arbitration seasons before free agency. He would solidify the Jays rotation but there are other teams willing to give up more quality prospects. Besides, if the Jays were interested in Blanton they wouldn’t have waited until Janssen got hurt, because he was still going to be a last-minute decision between the pen and the rotation.

Q: Should John Gibbons shoulder (no pun intended) some of the blame for Casey Janssen’s health problems? After all, Gibby basically managed a three-man bullpen last season, ignoring the likes of Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet for long periods of time while getting Janssen up and into games at least four times a week, even into games that were out of reach.
DeShaun Kozak, Uxbridge, ON

A: I don’t think it’s fair to point a finger at the manager in hindsight, but the fact is that Janssen made 70 appearances in his first year as a fulltime reliever, having never appeared in more than 28 games as a pro – 26 of them starts. Certainly what you say is true about relying on three men and ignoring the rest of the pen. Sometimes you wondered why they had 12 pitchers on the staff, when the manager only really trusted Jeremy Accardo, Janssen and Scott Downs. There were two seasons in a row, 1997-98, that Cito Gaston and Tim Johnson rode Paul Quantrill and Dan Plesac into the ground, but they were both veterans and when Plesac’s arm went numb, he asked for time off and received it from Johnson late in the ’98 season. Young pitchers tend to pitch through the discomfort. Hopefully everyone involved has learned a little about handling a bullpen.

Jays acquire pitcher

The bullpen situation became more crowded for the Jays yesterday afternoon, when lefthander Bill Murphy was claimed from the Diamondbacks and added to the 40-man roster. To make room, Casey Janssen was placed on the 60-day disabled list.

Murphy, 26, spent most of the ’07 season with AAA-Tucson, going 3-3, with a 3.68 ERA in 54 games. He walked 43 and struck out 102 in 100-1/3 innings. In a brief callup to the D’Backs, he posted a 5.68 ERA in 10 appearances.

Lefty relievers in camp include B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs, Brian Tallet, John Parrish and Murphy.

Early Jays-Bucs action

The wind at McKechnie Field was blowing briskly from right to left. In the Jays' first inning, Eckstein fought hard when the count was two strikes and bounced a single to centre. He was eraced on a double play from Wells. In the bottom of the first the wind came into play. McLouth sky-ed one to second, that drifted, drifted drifted until Eckstein had to finalyy make the play falling to his knees and hitting his face on Hill's thigh. He and Aaron looked like two drunken smurfs emerging from a darkened bar after an all nighter looking up into the dizzying morning sun. With two out, A.J. walked a couple of guys in a row and then induced a grounder to Hill to end it. He threw 29 pitches.

The longtime Pirates mascot, the Pittsburgh Parrot went though his mostly humourless routines on the field as BP ended. But it was St. Patrick's Day and he was green and on this day that's what counts. I remember back in the day the original Parrot used to be skinny and  sinister looking with a hooked beak that made him look like he wanted to peck your eyes out. Then he got caught up in the drug scandals of the early '80s. The Parrot was apparently dealing cocaine. "Polly want a toot!" In any case, now the Parrot is fat and jolly looking. It's called evoultion through incarceration. 

No snakes Bradenton, just Jays

It's a snakeless St. Paddy's Day morning in Bradenton today, despite the presence of most of the regular sporting media. I must be feeling generous.

The Jays are taking their bottom-feeding 7-11 record to face the NL Bucs, who are sporting their traditional green hats in honour of the holiday. Speaking of 7-11, GM J.P. Ricciardi chose to foresake any green in his ensemble, favouring a bright red golf shirt with a wide blue shoulder-to-shoulder stripe looking far less MLB GMish and far more like the guy ringing up your slurpy on the register at the 7-11. He signed autographs for several fans as he headed down the line towards the clubhouse at the end of B.P.

In any case, here are the starting lineups:

JAYS
David Eckstein ss
Alex Rios rf
Vernon Wells cf
Scott Rolen 3b
Frank Thomas dh
Shannon Stewart lf
Lyle Overbay 1b
Aaron Hill 2b
Gregg Zaun c

PIRATES
Nate McLouth cf
Jack Wilson ss
Freddy Sanchez dh
Jason Bay lf
Adam LaRoche 1b
Xavier Nady rf
Ronny Paulino c
Jose Bautista 3b
Luis Rivas 2b

Rolen, who lives in the Bradenton area, called in during the morning to explain that he was in a huge traffic jam and might be late. But, hey, it's spring training.

Facing a lefthanded Zach Duke, this was a pretty representative Jays lineup for the regular season. John Gibbons isn't locked into a set linup either way, but one thing he didn't want to do against righties is to have Overbay and Matt Stairs hitting back-to-back.

Dave LaRoche, pitching coach at Double-A New Hampshire, always makes the trip to Bradenton and is in the dugout in uniform because his son Adam is the Bucs' first baseman.

Twins fans: Who are these guys?

The Jays sent a ragtag group of representatives to play the Twins in Fort Myers today, led by Dustin McGowan, John McDonald, Reed Johnson, Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas. Meanwhile back at the ranch. it was a loose and relaxed morning for the true Blue Jays. It was fun to be around, watching grown men acting like kids. And why not? It is a game.

Frank Thomas seemed to be everywhere, like Forrest Gump. Wherever you looked, there he was looking over someone's shoulder in the money shot. When Armando Benitez threw his bullpen session to Sal Fasano, with Bruce "Pappy" Walton watching, there was the Big Hurt standing in the batter's box with a war club on his shoulder watching strikes buzz by. Hey, that sounds like his game action so far.

"Wow. I thought he was behind," Thomas said of Benitez on his way to hit on the main diamond. "He had good stuff, in and out, hitting his spots."

Then, when Thomas took his hacks, even despite his 2-for-28 struggles, the other guys, showing no mercy, were cackling and howling whenever a Hurt bolt would fail to clear the fence and ohhhing and ahhhing in mock admiration when he crushed one into the trees. He seems to be fitting in much better with teammates this spring. Then, amazingly, there was Frank, shagging in the outfield -- not too vigorously, but present nonetheless.

At the end of the morning, the highlight was Alex Rios bringing his five-month-old hobby out onto the field -- a four foot long, gasoline-powered, remote control helicopter. As Rios set up, refuelling his impressive looking machine on the warning track in front of the bullpen, one of his teammates remarked jokingly, "I'm staying away. I don't trust a Puerto Rican with a sharp object in his hands." This was just men being boys. Rios quickly showed his proficiency, as the copter rose into the air and toured the empty stadium apparently looking for traffic tie-ups or O.J.'s Bronco, chasing a lone jogger on the warning track and alarming the ospreys nesting in the light towers.

Rios, after a 15-minute flight plan, brought the chopper in to land and handed the controls to Roy Halladay who can often be seen flying his own airplanes inside the Rogers Centre late into the post-game night. After Doc had aimed the copter straight at the gathered media corps, veering abruptly off into the sky, we wondered if it was equipped with machine guns. A good way to control the news. Ouch. Standing off to the side, among the half-dozen curious players to come out for the air show was, of course, Frank Thomas.   

Bics vs. Jays II

Good signs for the struggling Jays offence. Rios doubled into the left field corner in the first. Overbay doubled to left-centre in the second. Wells lined a single over second base in the third and Rolen showed his tremendous baserunning instincts in the same inning, lining a ball that was cut off before it got to the corner in left, but hustling into second base when McCutchen looked too long at Vernon heading to third. Rolen didn't hesitate around firstt, making it into second without a throw. Unfportunately the Big Hurt struck out with runners on second and third and one out. His average is now approaching right calf status. Stairs doubled in two runs.

Stairs was ecstatic about Canada's Olympic quialifier, as both a New Brunswicker and a teammate at the World Baseball Classic of Stubby Clapp and some of the others. He knew the team's won-lost record and that they finished first in Taiwan, but wasn't aware how they just edged past Germany 2-1 in 10 innings in the finale. Perhaps the boys had been celebrating the win over Korea all night, which would be understandable.

Speaking of Cuba, it's interesting that Livan Hernandez has signed with the Twins and is facing the Jays tomorrow. Years ago, when Livan was fresh off the raft, he was feted and wooed by Gord Ash in Toronto. Gord took him to the best Cuban restaurant in T-O, which didn't quite cut it with the highly sought after free agent. He chose the Marlins and Miami where Cuban cuisine is on every street corner.  Now late in his career, he signs with Minnesota. I'm not sure the Cuban population is much bigger in Minneapolis or St. Paul than it is in the GTA. But in the words of another Toronto columnist, "It's a living."

Halladay completed his five innings in an efficient 63 pitches. In his final frame, Aaron Hill dove to his right on Neil Walker and to his left on Brian Bixler, coming up with no ball but a mouthful of dirt. Then Doc made the defensive play of the game, fielding a bunt on the third base side, spinning and throwing to Rolen for the force.

Gotta go talk to Doc. Blog at ya later.

 

Jays vs. Bucs

It's the ides of March. In recognition of that, I may go to dinner at Littlle Ceasars tonight. 

The lineup the Pirates sent up from Bradenton may not be a world-beater but it certainly is better than the one the Jays are sending to Fort Myers tomorrow to face the Twins led by Dustin McGowan, John McDonald, Marco Scutaro and Reed Johnson. How does that make you feel, Reed, in your battle for left field. Showcase for a trade perhaps?

LINEUPS:

Bucs: Nyjer Morgan cf; Andrew McCutchen lf, Chris Gomez 1b, Xavier Nady rf, Ronny Paulino dh, Neil Walker 3b, Brian Bixler ss, Raul Chavez c, Josh Wilson 2b...Ian Snell p

Jays: Eckstein ss, Rios rf, Wells cf, Rolen 3b, Thomas dh, Stairs lf, Overbay 1b, Hill 2b, Zaun c...Halladay p.

Halladay breezed through the first inning on just 12 pitches. McCutchen is regarded as a future star at just 21 years old and gave Doc a nice battle including a ball pulled just foul and over the left field fence.

A beautiful day at Knology Park after Allan Ryan headed home, handing off the games on a dark and stormy day in St. Pete yesterday. Scout Bob Johnson the other day speaking of the temperature at the usually still air of the Jays home park quipped: "If the earth is 40 million miles from the sun, then Dunedin is four miles from it." There is usually a couple of faintings per year at the spring home of the Jays. There hasn't been enough offence this spring from the Jays to prompt any heart attacks. 

Rios looks like he's starting to swing the bat, stroking a line drive double to the fence in left. He runs the bases like a gazelle with long loping strides, minus the curly horns. Speaking of good at-bats, Rolen turned one in with Rios on second and two out, forcing Snell to throw nine pitches, drawing a walk, setting up Frank Thomas for a popup to centre. Frank is now hitting .080. That's not even the weight of his right thigh. 

 

Ryan sterling in debut

ST. PETERSBURG—Not only is it "game on" here, but B.J. Ryan was on as well.

Actually getting the start against the Tampa Rays — to sidestep the possibility of afternoon rain — the big guy needed only 12 pitches (eight strikes) to log his much-anticipated spring debut.

He missed, low, with his first pitch to Elliott Johnson, caught the outside corner with his second, then was quick off the mound to his left for an easy comebacker.

It would get better. After Carl Crawford took a ball low, the Tampa stud went down on three straight rips. Willy Aybar followed by taking a called third on a 2-2.

"It was good, finally coming out there, both anxious and nervous and not really knowing what to expect," said Ryan, who, depending on how he feels tomorrow, expects to be back out there Monday.

Only 10 months removed from his May 10 Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, it marked Ryan's first meaningful appearance since last April 14, when he blew a save against the Tigers.

Jays have already said that, not only will Ryan not be going back-to-back days in Florida, but that they plan to carry on that path through April as well.

Was it hard for him to buy into this one-day-at-a-time philosophy?

"It's tough because you're kind of bull-headed and stubborn and set in your ways," Ryan said. "Then again, I've never gone through something like this and George and Dave (trainers Poulis and Abraham) have. They've always been in my ear and I know what they're doing is in my best interest."

---

So originally scheduled starter, Jesse Listch, was out there to start the second and wound up turning a spring high five (seven hits, three runs). Score is 4-3 for the Jays, Rays coming to bat in the sixth. Jays scored two in the second on Lyle Overbay's RBI-double and sac fly by Aaron Hill; two more in the third on a two-run shot by Alex Rios, his first homer of the spring.