Mail bag

The year of the pitcher continues in the World Series featuring the Giants and Rangers. The only thing that could change that dominance on the mound is if the Texas bats heat up and take charge of the series early on. They are capable. The Giants aren't.

The Jays in the next week will finalize their coaching staff and start exploring free agency, their own and the open market. The influence of Farrell will be seen in the Jays' bullpen. The Jays have free agents in Jason Frasor and Scott Downs and potential non-tenders. Farrell knows Brian Tallet from his days as the Indians' presonnel director which changes that dynamic. He also surely has ideas on useful pitchers that are six-year minor-league free agents he will suggest be brought in. It will be an interesting winter for the Jays as they decide what to do about Jose Bautista, Travis Snider, Lyle Overbay, John Buck and other decisions with a multitude of arbitration guys that may change with the Farrell influence. On to the Mailbag.

Q: A few questions around the hiring of John Farrell: Will this mean the end of Brian Butterfield? I would think this would be a huge loss given how he developed guys like Aaron Hill and Derek Jeter into solid defensive players. With the Adam Lind first base experiment on-going, would the Jays consider giving Butterfield a huge deal to remain as a bench coach? How do John Farrell's and Bruce Walton's pitching philosophies mesh together? Walton is going to stay, but I can't imagine Farrell not wanting to have heavy input into his pitchers' development.

Jason Sinnarajah, Tokyo, Japan

A: I'm amazed and pleased that Brian Butterfield decided to stay with the Jays despite being passed over as manager. He may in fact have had a shorter path to becoming a manager if he had left the Jays and joined, let's say for argument's sake, Buck Showalter's staff in Baltimore. But Butter is a different character. He has come a long way with this group of players and with the Jays' organization, joining the major-league coaching staff in '02 when Carlos Tosca replaced Buck Martinez. He has stayed with the Jays as either third-base coach or bench coach through the regimes of Tosca, John Gibbons, Cito Gaston and now John Farrell. Clearly Butterfield has never hitched his cart to any one manager, with the largest percentage of his loyalty always going to the Jays. Butter will be a good manager, but this was probably not the best situation to debut as manager for him, going from friend and confidant to boss-man. It's tough to pull that off when your persona for so long has been friend. It's not certain yet which role Butter will fill, third base or bench coach, but his presence will help Farrell's transition. As for the question of Farrell and Walton being able to work together, Farrell said at the press conference that he would give Walton free rein because of his history with most of these young guys, especially in the rotation. It hasn't been an issue in most cases in which the manager was a former pitching coach. The primary job of a pitching coach is to work with 12 different individual and their repertoires, their psyches and their approach. The two men will be able to discuss pitchers much the same way that Cito and Dwayne Murphy discussed hitters. As long as what the pitchers hear is one voice, it doesn't matter if it comes from two minds.

Q: Hey Richard,

Does it make sense for the Jays to pursue Manny Ramirez for next season?

David Sussman, Toronto

A: I love the idea of the Jays' pursuing Manny Ramirez. The guy is a pure student of hitting and works harder at his craft, studying video and learning pitchers, than most in the game and is a positive influence on young hitters. He does not need to play left field. He can DH and he needs to re-establish himself as a future Hall-of-Famer. It would fit in with the Jays' efforts to increase the Latin presence in the clubouse. At the right price and for a short-term deal, with a new Jays' manager in John Farrell that Manny said he wants to play for (even if he doesn't have much choice right now), I think it could work. A good example of a simlar situation was when Frank Thomas was out of work and knocked on doors at the winter meetings, then Oakland signed him at bargain-basement price and he had a great season leading the A's to the post-season. Hurt used that bounceback year to trick the Jays into signing him to a multi-year contract when the year to have got him was the year the A's got him.

Q: Richard,

As I continue to watch these playoffs, I can't help but think that if the Jays had somehow gotten in that they would have a good chance at beating Texas, Tampa, Yankees, or Twins to make it to the World Series and subsequently lose to whichever team they face since they can't win against the NL. The Playoffs the last 2-3 years is about good starting pitching (which the Jays have) and some small window(s) of opportunity for offense (aka, HRs by the Jays). What do you think?

J. T., Richmond Hill

A: The key phrase is “somehow gotten in”. There is a huge difference between a 162-game marathon and a short seven-game sprint. I know there have been seasons where I beieved the same thing you're saying that if the Jays had been in the playoff field, they would have had a good chance to advance. But there's also a huge difference in playing stressful innings down the stretch in a pennant race than just playing for fun in September, nice and relaxed and fresh. But you'll notice that the final four 2010 teams Yankees, Phillies, Giants and Rangers all had a monster ace at the top of the rotation, while the Jays, despite a solid Top 4, still haven't settled on which one is the stud ace. The Jays were able to rest their starting pitchers down the stretch, even shutting some guys down. No the Jays are not ready to earn their way onto the dance floor, even though once there they woud have as good a shot as anyone.

Q: Hi Richard,

Although Josh Hamilton's career (and life) is finally off to an impressive start, I need some clarification from you as to how he "is becoming the Mickey Mantle of his generation." Really? Mickey (79 years young today) had an 18 year career that was rock solid in its consistency, and as inspired as Hamilton has been, he has yet to put together back to back seasons without suffering debilitating injury. Just a wee bit early, I think, to begin comparisons with a durable all-time great.

Cheers

D. Zentner, Oakville

A: I was talking more from a fan perception standpoint than from any Hamilton accomplishments that have marked his career thus far. Like Mantle, he runs like the wind, has a great arm, tremendous power and hits for average. Plus he's a good-looking, white star with tremendous charisma. Contrary to being healthy, I think that Mantle's career was also diminished by injuries, especially to his knees and now that the inner story of the wild Yankee clubhouse have come out, the Mick (who was my favourite player growing up) was also a wild child in his prime. Hamilton's pretty damned good.

Q: How disappointed to you think the MLB head offices are that a dream Yankees-Phillies rematch turned out the nightmarish Giants-Rangers?

Greg Picken, Strathroy, Ont.

A: Whenever baseball gets an unattractive matchup on the marquee, they always say that maybe viewers in North America will be interested in seeing two new teams, new storylines in the Series. It never works out that way. I would assume ratings will be way down from last year's Yankees-Philles but that has nothing to do with whether this is going to be a good World Series or not. This will likely be a well-pitched series, but it looks like the Rangers are the stronger team. The Giants need to win the opener with Lincecum facing Lee to get casual fans interested. As for your question about MLB, there's not much the Commissioner's Office can do other than sit back and enjoy.

Q: Richard,

I really enjoy reading about your insight into this sport, so would you tell me if you think Jose Bautista could become an everyday third baseman, and how does he compare defensively to the likes of Scott Rolen or Evan Longoria?

Jim Anderson, Cambridge, Ont.

A: Bautista has played a lot of third base in his major-league career and even in 2010 we saw some strong plays and a great throwing arm, at the hot-corner. In fact that's where I would play him fulltime next year, finding an offensive option for right field – unless they want to move Hill to third base which I think would be the best way to go. But as far as matching up with Rolen and Longoria, Bautista would have to be ranked a notch below because of the consistency day-in and day-out.

Q: Richard,

Love the mailbag. Let the offseason banter start. I have a two part question. 1)As you have stated in previous weeks the Jays could be looking at potential trades. Would the Jays look at getting Matt Kemp, Zach Greinke or even dreaming here Joey Votto (1st year arbitration eligible). With a trade for Kemp, Wells would be able to move to RF and Snider in LF, thus enabling the Jays to move Bautista to 3rd base, I know they like his arm in RF but In a single move they have filled holes in positions for years to come. Would the Jays look at a move like this and if not why? 2) Looking at the potential free agents at first base; Adam Dunn, Lance Berkman, Carlos Pena, Adam LaRoche, Derek Lee, Paul Konerko do you see the Jays pursuing and more importantly being able to sign one of these players?

Scott Cochrane, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

A: Trades are the way the Jays will likely go until AA feels poised to win and that the team is one player away from serious contention. As for Votto, why would the Reds even consider that. They made the playoffs and Votto is young, controllable and the likely NL MVP. He's the type of player the Jays covet, but so do the Reds and every other team. With Greinke, if the Jays believe they can win this year, they could consider picking up the $27 million remaining on his contract for 2011-12. The Jays do have the inventory of young minor-league prospects that could satisfy the Royals needs. But like we've said before, they had Halladay through 2010 if they had so desired and could have negotiated with him as a free agent if they truly believed they could compete in 2011. They didn't. As for Kemp, he's a good looking player with all sorts of skill, but he's coming off a 28 homer season, with a .249 average and .310 on-base mark. Sure, that fits in perfectly with the Jays' offence in 2010, but doesn't fit in with what John Farrell is looking for in 2011. Kemp is signed for 2011 at $7 million and then is arb-eligible for one year after that. Plus, he brings the added bonus of Rihanna to the Jays' celebrity fanbase. Nothing wrong with that. The Jays definitely want Snider to end up as the everyday left fielder. If they can't find an outfielder in trade, they may end up installing Bautista in right. On your list of first basemen, you're forgetting about Lyle Overbay. Analyzing your list, who would you rather have than Overbay for the contract numbers that he would demand. I might take Adam Dunn or Derrek Lee, but Dunn's defence would be an issue. Lee is 35-years-old and made $13 million per year. He would lilely take less, but his age is a factor. His defence is not. Konerko is a Type A and you would be giving up a first-round pick. If you're going to sign a free agent first baseman for the long term, it might as well be Overbay. If you're going to try and shift one of your own over to learn the position, then I would not even look at that free-agent list.

Q: Richard:

I love the game of baseball and have a fondness for many of the players. They've been a happy part of my life for exactly 60 years. There is, however, one thing I've long wondered: Where do they spit in the off season? And in your experience, has there ever been a major leaguer who resolutely did not spit?

Sincerely,

Jerry Lawton, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the International Anti Expectoration League

A: One big downside to High Definition TV is the vivid, detailed looks we get at those constant sprays of white, foamy liquids and loogies coming out of players mouths in all those big-screen closeup shots. The next alarming step in sports TV is all the injuries from viewers wearing their 3-D glasses bailing out of their Barca Loungers as they see a huge spinning wad of gob heading right at them. As for getting rid of the disgusting practice, I have no great expectorations that will ever happen. The one player I can truly never recall seeing spit is John McDonald. Honestly. And Jerry, when you get that TV telethon organized for your fine I.A.E.L. organization, count me in for a buck or two. Nasty habit.

Q: In the Q & A part of your last blog, when asked about former Blue Jays you would like to see return to Toronto, you did not seem to consider Orlando Hudson. Would he not be a good, one or two year, addition at the top of the batting order? I realize it would mean shifting Hill to 3B but he said he was willing to play there. Does AA, like JPR, have something against the O-Dog? Do his former Blue Jay teammates?

Fred Pulfer, Indian River

A: I simply forgot about Orlando Hudson as a potential repatriated Jay. I love the guy and I, like you, could see that as a nice one or two-year acquisition. I could also easily see the move of Hill to third base as a necessity to revive his Jays' career moving forward. The Twins as part of their deal will not offer arbitration to the O-Dog. He made $5 million in 2010. His former Jays teammates love him as well. When the Jays were in Minneapolis on that final weekend, in the moments between Twins and Jays batting practice, O was like the Pied Piper collecting a half dozen Jays as they naturally drifted over to banter with the gregarious second baseman. Vernon Wells talked about the fun back-and-forth he had going with Hudson in the series. In the first game, Wells tried to steal second, got a bad jump and the throw had him easily. VW laughed when he talked about hearing O-Dog yapping at him about his speed and telling him he was out even before he started to slide. Later in the series, Wells made a great catch crashing into the centre field fence to end an inning and rob Hudson. I watched Wells as he stared at O-Dog all the way from the outfield as he jogged towards the third base dugout. When Hudson refused to look at Wells as he retrieved his glove and headed to his position, Wells the last six steps to the dugout imitated his friend's slump-shouldered walk, with pigeon-toed gait and the dugout broke into laughter. Hudson would be a great fit until Adeiny Hechavarria is ready to play.

Q: How rare is it for a catcher to be his team's cleanup hitter? San Fran's Posey, Montreal's G Carter and LA/NY Piazza are catchers that are/were cleanup hitters. Was Lance Parrish Detroit's cleanup hitter for a time?

Thanks,

Marcus Heinrichs, Stouffville

A: It's not that rare for catchers to bat fourth. If you think about the Jays' history, it's just that they haven't had that many offensive catchers in their primes. Just a partial list of catchers that started games in the cleanup spot: Ted Simmons (1,228), Mike Piazza (811), Lance Parrish (760), Johnny Bench (713), Gary Carter (696) and Carlton Fisk (290).

Q: How is Dustin McGowan doing? If he is able to come back and be the starter that he used to be I think a top 5 team ERA in the AL is very likely for the Jays. If he's not the same, what are the chances he drops a pitch or two and ends up being the fireball closer we need?

Mike S., Toronto

A: The Dustin McGowan story is a tough one for the young man. I think that any speculation of if and when he can come back is not worth it. It's up to him and his work ethic and his desire and his belief in himself. The second part of that is that I think there is a certain nostalgia to McGowan's career that is unwarranted. His best season was 12-10, 4.08 ERA in 27 starts. His career record is 20-22. He always had tremendous potential, but after missing two full seasons with shoulder issues and other injuries, it is tough to expect him to return and be better than he was. Closing is out of the question because of the requirement of warming up multiple days in a row.

Q: Hi Richard –

Wonderful sports column. I'm thinking about this year's free agents and in paricular Cliff Lee of Texas and Carl Crawford from the Rays. I hate to think that the Yankees might go after both of these guys, What do you think, and is there any way to prevent the Yankees from going after every top player each year.

Thank you

William Scott, Fenelon Falls

A: Well, we've got Cliff Lee's wife and the fact she does not like New York. That's a start. As for Crawford, the Bombers do have room for him in left field and at the top of the order. Referring to an earlier question, Orlando Hudson and Crawford are good friends from being teammates on a Team USA squad back in the day. If the Jays signed O-Dog could they make it a package with Crawford? How about Crawford in left for the next five years, with Bautista moving to right, Hudson at second, Hill at third and Travis Snider learning how to play first base. I say the Yankees don't get either one.

Q: Three quick questions for you:

a) All the John Farrell to manage the Jays stories came out of Boston, nothing local. It reminded me of the J.P. era and am curious to know your position on this. b) After covering Doc Halladay for so many years, what did it feel like to watch him throw a no-hitter in the playoffs? Do the lines ever get blurred between being a professional journalist and being a fan of a player you watched and covered so closely for many years? c) What about the Jays signing Jason Werth to play RF and to keep Jose Bautista full-time at 3b?

Thank you

Jordan

A: The Farrell out of Boston news is interesting. The T-O local media was hoping that Anthopoulos would go 180-degrees away from the Ricciardi methods, but instead he went 360-degress meaning that he kept heading around that circle and ended up back at the same spot, arriving from a different direction. Ricciardi's idea with the local media was that he would say nothing here but would let the National US media know what was going on. The news broke in Boston, New York or on one of the major .com's. When the new GM arrived, he saw what happened, because he is a keen observer of life its ownself. Alex's answer was to not let anyone know anything from anywhere, to conduct his business behind closed doors. However, every negotiation has two sides and the other side, particularly in the Farrell case, involved the same Boston, New York, .com sources as when J.P. was running the show. Paul Beeston laughed the other day at the press conference because the first official confirmation of the Farrell hiring was a statement from Red Sox owner John Henry, not from the Jays. Alex has proved that what goes around comes around resulting in what looks like the same thing. But it's not. It is more civilized and respectful.

Part b is an interesting question regarding Halladay. Usually around the sixth inning of a no-hit bid, the press box is full of writers hoping someone gets a hit, especially in night games where deadlines are a factor. I found myself, after Doc had finished the sixth, not only hoping we would see a no-hitter, but actually believing he was going to do it and being excited when he did. The excitement was more about being a part of history, that it had not been done since Don Larsen in 1956. But as far as being a fan of a certain player you covered for years, I think with Doc it's more a case of being an admirer oif what he's accomplished. There is no cheering in the press box and honestly, when the Phillies lost it was more a case of feeling bad for Doc that he would not reach his goal this year. The other factor was that I knew I was now going to have to fly all the way across the country instead of the one-hour jaunt to Philly. The upside is that San Francisco is a great city.

Part c is another interesting question. I would sign Jayson Werth to play right field in a heartbeat. The guy is a gamer, a professional hitter, a good defender and a clutch player. I also prefer Bautista at third base in terms of value to the Jays – unless they plan on moving Hill to third which I think is his future.

Q: Hi Richard, what will happen to coaches like Butterfield, and Murphy? and in the case of Murphy will the next hitting coach be asked to change the hitting style from that of pure power hitting to one of a little more balance? Finally why shouldn’t the Jays go after Cliff Lee. If we are serious we will have to start fighting the Yankees and Red Sox for some of the big time free agents.

Justin Davies, Toronto

A: Butter is back. Murphy I believe would prefer to go somewhere else even though he is guaranteed a position within the Jays' organization. The way Farrell was talking at his presser, he did not admire the three-run homer as the main source of the offence. I would be surprised if he brought Murphy back although I have been surprised many times before.

 

Griffin: Process coming down to Farrell and Butterfield

According to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com, Demarlo Hale has been told that he is no longer in the running for Jays manager, while it was also reported earlier that Sandy Alomar, Jr. has been called and thanked for his interest. The search process which began on August 1 is quickly reaching a conclusion for Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos.

The clear favourite as the Jays' manager is now John Farrell, the Red Sox pitching coach with his connections to assistant Jays GM Tony LaCava dating back to when they both worked for the Indians in 2002. Farrell, 48, a former major-league pitcher, was director, player personnel for the Tribe but was also considered for the managerial position eventually awarded to Eric Wedge.

Farrell has been Red Sox' pitching coach since 2007. Sox manager Terry Francona has consistently touted his pitching coach as a future manager.

Once a final decision has been made, GM Alex Anthopoulos must still reach a contract agreement with the manager-designate in terms of salary and length of contract and then must have the deal approved by Rogers' ownership. As such, Butterfield, who has been with the Jays as a coach under three different managers since 2002 and knows the players and the organization better than anyone on the list, has not been eliminated.

An announcement on the Jays manager could be made as early as Monday in Toronto.   

 

 

 

 

 

Mail bag

The latest news on the Jays' managerial search is that the process has almost played itself out and as soon as the Jays believe they have found their man, they won't necessarily wait until the week after the World Series. The Jays, despite the number of interviews and the unprecedented due diligence on dozens of candidates, have narrowed the list of managers to about a half dozen, led by Sandy Alomar, Jr. of the Indians and DeMarlo Hale of the Red Sox, plus the fallback of Jays' coach Brian Butterfield, although it's difficult to see the club going in his direction. There is still likely a candidate on one of the four remaining playoff teams, but before the World Series begins, if that candidate becomes available because his team lost in the LCS, the Jays will not wait and will go ahead whenever the time is right. On to the mailbag.

Q: Hi Richard,

Hope you enjoy this postseason as much as a lot of us do. I don't remember when was the last time I was so attached to the game because of the starting pitcher matchup. Looking at the last four teams left in the playoff, all of them have CY winners. Doc sure is very special, Cliff Lee is amazing, the evil empire is always loaded and the Freak could have been ours. So it looks like in this post-juice era, pitching once again becomes the dominating force in the game. So my questions are with all the expiring contracts, how much room do the Jays have this off-season? And do you think it make sense for the Jays to sign a front-line starting pitcher this off season? I sure hope so and it is better then trading the prospects away.

Davy P., San Jose

A: This is my 33rd consecutive major-league baseball post-season in some form or the other and I continue to enjoy the heck out of it. To me the move away from home runs and back to real baseball is one of the most exciting aspects of the 2010 season and the playoffs. That your most important players include Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Roy Oswalt, Matt Cain, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, C.J. Wilson and Andy Pettitte is refreshing, which does not preclude the offensive MVP candidates like Cody Ross, Josh Hamilton and the rest. But it's all about execution and balance.

As for the Jays, since they work without a strict payroll budget and since they are saving the salaries of B.J. Ryan ($10 million) and Doc ($6 million) and losing some significant salaries in free agency, they will have enough money to add a front-line pitcher. However, I disagree with you on the advantages of adding a free-agent rather than making a solid baseball trade. In this day and age, when it comes to available free agent pitchers, I think the old caveat emptor should prevail. Most teams have figured out that their good young pitchers if they are a part of the future, need to be wrapped up and signed to a multi-year deal before they ever reach free agency. If a team these days allows a pitcher to reach his free agency, it's either because he's going to command a huge salary as a compensation Type A free agent – which the Jays don't like to give up their draft picks – or elese there are issues of durability and/or character. The Jays have collected a nice inventory of prospects and not all of them can ever make the 25-man major-league club. Therefore, some may be more valuable in trade and an area of strength for the Jays is in young, minor-league starting pitching. If Alex Anthopoulos can pinpoint a stud starter who fits between or with Ricky Romero and Shaun Marcum and has 2-3 years of service, then put a package together and go for it. There are about a dozen pitchers out there but it depends on the post-season direction those front offices are heading. It's too early to speculate. But trade is the word.

Q: With all the money we've shed in the last few years (Alex Rios, A.J. Burnett, Roy Halladay, Scott Rolen et. al) don't the Jays brass owe it to the fans to pony up this off-season? I know spending for the sake of spending isn't a winning formula...but we gotta make a splash though free agency or the trade market. I know Zack Greinke is disgruntled in KC...who we going after? I think we need a true ace.

Tyler Belcher, Mississauga

A: The way teams get themselves in trouble is when they feel they “owe it to their fans” to spend money on free agents. That is not the proper way to think about it. They owe it to the players in the clubhouse. They owe it to ownership. They owe it to their staff in player development and scouting. But feeling you are spending money to show the fans something is what got the previous regime in trouble. I like your thinking on Zack Greinke. He had a disapopointing season with the Royals and that is a team that may be looking to move Greinke and the $27 million remaining for 2011-12 for prospects.

Q: Why is A.A. interviewing so many candidates for the Jays' manager? He's talking to so many he won't be able to keep track of all of them. How can he possibly manage and judge and compare all their attributes with so many people? Does he really know what he's doing?

Bruce Hutchison, Winnipeg

A: It does seem like Anthopoulos is spending an inordinate amount of time and effort in discussing and investigating his candidates internally. He has likely talked to more people either informally on the phone or in person in interviews than any GM in Jays history. Hell, it's not that tough. The opposite of what A.A. is doing came when they hired John Gibbons. After a loss, in the old Yankee Stadium visitors clubhouse, GM J.P. Ricciardi walked through the room and quietly said to coach Gibbons, “Don't go anywhere.” Then he walked into Carlos Tosca's office, fired him, came out and said, “Gibby, you're the manager.” Now that's a process.

The truth is that there are side benefits to what the Jays' second-year GM is doing. Now if any of his rejected interviewees ends up somewhere else as manager, he knows his opponent's inner thoughts, his managerial philosophy, his personality and maybe even his tendencies. He has got to personally know a broad cross-section of baseball people that he didn't know before and if this first hire for Jays manager doesn't work out, he's got a file drawer full (or the computer equivalent) of future candidates that he can call upon and with whom he is already familiar. There is no downside to being thorough, unless, of course, he had planned on hiring Eric Wedge and waited too long.

Q: Hi Richard:

Evidently the L.A. Dodgers refused permission to the Blue Jays to speak to Tim Wallach about the Jays managerial position while at the same time allowing another team permission to speak with him about their managerial position. Unless the Dodgers have a grudge against the Jays why on earth would they do that? Does not Wallach deserve the opportunity to at least interview for the job?

Stan Grossman, Toronto

A: Wallach was one of the first guys that Anthopoulos asked permission to speak to back on the final weekend of the regular season. Wallach is a west coast guy with three sons, two of whom are in pro ball and one of whom is at university. He is a family man and there is a possibility that his refusal to interview was a courtesy to Anthopoulos and that when the Dodgers found out how popular their Triple-A manager was they offered him a major-league coaching role with new manager Don Mattingly as a fallback, as leverage in his negotiations, and then let him interview wherever he felt he wanted to. Wallach played the best years of his career in Montreal from 1982 on, so he's not scared of working in Canada. Even though Mattingly was named Dodgers' manager, Wallach wanted to stay on the west coast near home, unless he was blown away by an offer to manage. It says here that it was not just the Dodgers refusing to allow Wallach to interview. There was more input by the man himself than that. Sometimes, “No thank you,” are the hardest words to say.

Q: Hi Richard.

I have a two-part ex-Jays question for you. Are there any ex-Jays out there whom you would like to see back with the team in the next year or two? Obviously Halladay isn't possible but would Rolen be interested, now that we are heading in the right direction? His defense and leadership could be invaluable? Any others? The second question is whether you think a team of active ex-Jays would beat our current Jays? I ask because I wonder how much better off we are now than we were over the past 5+ years.

Thanks for all the insight...

Todd Malfus, Markham

A: Halladay is never coming back unless it's at the tail end of his career a la Pat Hentgen. Rolen asked Paul Beeston if he could get a trade to the midwest to be closer to home and so his parents wouldn't have to travel so much and he landed in a perfect spot for him. He's not coming back. Alphabetically, following is a list of former Jays I wouldn't mind seeing returning to play in Toronto: Casey Blake (bench), Miguel Cairo (bench), Scott Downs (pen), Eric Hinske (bench), Alex Rios (rf), Justin Speier (pen), Matt Stairs (bench), Jayson Werth (rf) and Chris Woodward (bench).

As for an all-former-Jays opponent team?

Rotation: Roy Halladay, Chris Carpenter, Ted Lilly, A.J. Burnett and Randy Wells.

Bullpen: Brandon Lyon, Brandon League, Miguel Batista, Sergio Santos, Scott Schoenewis and Chad Gaudin.

Catcher: Bengie Molina and Rod Barajas.

1B: Troy Glaus and Brett Walace. 2B: Orlando Hudson and David Eckstein. 3B: Michael Young and Casey Blake. SS: Alex Gonzalez and Cesar Izturis. OF: Jayson Werth, Reed Johnson, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross and Joe Inglett.

Rotation is pretty good, but I think the current Jays could handle these guys in a seven-game series. Outfield is a real weakness, reflecting the Jays' farm system.

Q: Richard,

I know Ernie Whitt was canned when Cito made his comeback to managing. I'm wondering if the Jays would consider bringing him back (at least for an interview) to manage or coach at some point in the future. I always thought he had what it takes to manage.

Thanks

Rich Hill, Hamilton

A: Whitt applied for the job when Buck Martinez was named manager and was very disappointed not to get it. He has done a great job with Team Canada over the past 12 years and should go into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys just for that contribution alone. But as far as coming back to the Jays I think that moment in time has passed and that window has closed. Ernie was not happy with the way he was dismissed as a coach and has moved on. His Team Canada just qualified for next year's Pan-Am Games and World Cup in a tough tournament in Puerto Rico.

Q: Richard,

What do you think the chances are of the Jays making a big splash or signing of a free agent like a Carl Crawford? It solves their leadoff hitter situation plus gives them a decent defender in LF so that Snider can settle in RF. Or do you think the Jays will simply try to add via trades?

J.T., Richmond Hill

A: I think Crawford is a wonderful player, but will be asking for Vernon Wells type money and I don't think the Jays can afford another Vernon Wells type contract. Therefore, with Jose Bautista as the wild-card, they will look in trade for another bat the old-fashioned way using inventory on the farm as bargaining chips.

 

Griffin: Butterfield can only sit and wait

The search for a Jays manager to replace Cito Gaston continues, conducted by the thorough, but tight-lipped GM Alex Anthopoulos. One of those candidates that has applied and is apparently still under consideration, Jays' third-base coach Brian Butterfield can only sit and wait for news. He has not spoken to Anthopoulos since the season ended.

Reached at his home in Bangor, Maine, Butterfield had not heard anything, but is patient with the process. He underwent foot surgery two days after the season ended and has been confined to what amounts to house arrest while he recovers. The 52-year-old veteran coach was told to sit tight by Anthopoulos after the season ended and his interview process had been completed. And now, that's all the hyperactive Patriots fan can do.  

"No news is good news," Butterfield said. "They know where to find me."

On Tuesday it was reported by Shi Davidi of Canadian Press that Yankees third-base coach Rob Thomson and Rays' bench coach Dave Martinez had been told that they were no longer under consideration. In addition, Davidi reported that most of the internal candidates with the Jays had also been eliminated, except for Butterfield and Nick Leyva. But the bench coach, Leyva had said on the final weekend in Minneapolis that he had not asked for an interview and would only do so if the Jays asked him. He flew home from Minnesota.

Still on the Jays' radar, according to CP, were Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale and Indians' first-base coach Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Also believed to be alive in the managerial derby is Angels' bench coach Ron Roenicke, plus at least two more candidates, at least one of whom is busy with a team that is alive in the playoffs and will interview later.

A decision is expected by the Jays in the week after the World Series concludes.

 

 

A.J. Burnett's trick or treat excuse merely variation on theme

A.J. Burnett was late for his own press conference on Monday at Yankee Stadium because he was buying "zombie hands and vampire teeth for the kids" and lost track of the time. Life and baseball are all one large trick or treat these days for the up-and-down righthander with the electric stuff as he prepares to start Game 4 of the ALCS for the Yankees against Tommy Hunter and the Texas Rangers. Should be a Thriller.

It shows the wealth and speaks for the integrity of the Yankees that they chose to keep a man earning $16.5 million each year for the next three seasons out of the Division Series rotation because he was too unreliable. Of course what is Burnett's recourse if unhappy. To opt out of his contract. Not likely. The Yankees have added him to the ALCS rotation because they needed a fourth starter, but every day manager Joe Girardi is bombarded with media questions about whether he has changed his mind or not on A.J.

"To be honest with you," I hear it everywhere," Burnett said when he finally made his date with the media. "But I'm not really paying attention to it. I was told when I was pitching and I was preparing myself to pitch until told otherwise. I know a lot of things have been written. I don't read a lot. I don't dig into it too much, but I do go off with everyday people that I meet at breakfast and lunch and stuff and it's been nothing but positive towards me."

When Girardi was asked for the umpteenth time about whether he could possibly change his mind again if the Yankees were to lose Game 3, he responded.

"We are on rotation is probably the easiest way for me to put it. We all know what A.J. can dial up and we believe in him."

The fact is Burnett at 10-15, with a 5.26 ERA in 33 starts, his worst season since leaving the Marlins as a free agent to join the Jays in 2006. He made five post-season starts last year, with a 1-1 record and a 5.27 ERA, but that was coming off of a better regular season.

"It's easier for me because I've had a rough (year)," Burnett said. "I'm going to feed off what I did last year. I told a few people my seasons have been similar. The only thing is that I have three or four good games towards the end last year where everybody is more confident. But I feel great. I feel like I'm where I need to be."

Tuesday will be Burnett's first game appearance in 17 days, since October 2 vs. the Red Sox. He has lost three straight decisions over six starts since his last win on September 1.

 

 

 

 

Mail bag

Even though the Major League post-season is in full swing, the biggest news of the week for Canadians did not involve Joey Votto, Justin Morneau or Roy Halladay. The biggest news was that Greg Hamilton's plucky Team Canada defeated Puerto Rico 14-6 on Monday to qualify for next year's Pan-Am Games and for the next World Cup of Baseball. The win was huge. Manager Ernie Whitt's Team Canada had its backs to the wall. A loss to Puerto Rico would have dropped them out of the Top 5 and out of the qualifiers, but they came up big against the host Puerto Ricans.

The starter Scott Diamond (Guelph), playing Triple-A in the Braves' system, went four strong innings but had no decision as Canada pulled ahead for good from a one-run deficit in the seventh inning by putting up five runs. Overall, Canada had fourteen hits including homeruns from Chris Robinson (Dorchester), Adam Stern (London), Scott Thorman (Cambridge), and Jamie Romak (London) who smacked his fifth of the tourney. Robinson was 5-for-6 with three RBI's. Canada qualifies for the Pan-Am's for the first time since they were in Winnipeg in 1999. Congrats to Greg Hamilton and his scrappy program that continues to move this country forward as a force in world baseball. On to the Mailbag.

Q-Hi, Richard -

Love the mailbag. I have to ask – what's up with Shaun Marcum's attitude towards Roy Halladay? During spring training he came out with comments about how Doc was so intense, everybody had to walk on eggshells, etc. When Sportsnet aired the Jamie Campbell interview with Marcum, Ricky Romero, Bandon Morrow and Brett Cecil on the final weekend of the season, the question came up again and Marcum jumped all over it with the same comments. Nothing good to say about Doc at all. In fact, it really seemed like there was true animosity there. Sure, Doc was (is) intense, but look at the results! (E.g. first post-season no-hitter in 54 years, thank you.) Maybe some of the Jays (pitchers and hitters alike) could benefit from being a bit more intense, rather than showing the fans how much fun it is to be really rich, pull silly pranks on your teammates – and, oh, not smell the playoffs. Any insights into Marcum's attitude?

Corey Perrin, Fredericton, NB

A-In terms of potential bombshells blowing up in the Jays' clubhouse, it's a non-starter. “Crank up the Crapola Gay” is the truth when it comes to Marcum and his continuing, mostly well-intentioned attempts at leadership in moving him and his teammates beyond the Roy Halladay Era. Yes, Marcum, at 28, is trying to be a leader among the young starters and that's good, but the fact is that he is basically making comments about Halladay's negative influence in the clubhouse for the other young starters in 2009, from a year in which Marcum wasn't even there. He's going off of hearsay and is being quite strong in his comments for someone that didn't go through it. Yes he was there in '08 but so were A.J. Burnett and a different, more experienced cast of starters. Tension in the clubhouse was not an issue in '08 but became one in '09?

There was nothing tense around Burnett and his pie-in-the-face for after game interviews, nerf-tipped rocket launcher in the clubhouse mentality. But they didn't win then either. In '09 when, according to Marcum and the others, you should have been able to cut the tension with a chainsaw, Marcum spent the season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery – first at minor-league camp and then at various Jays' minor-league teams before being shut down and sent home. During the horsehide October Crisis with Cito's leadership questioned, Marcum was at home.

• If Brett Cecil felt intimidated by Halladay in '09 and believed he had to cut a wide path around Doc's locker and be careful and act differently in his presence, maybe Cecil should look in a mirror. Going from 7-4 in '09 with Halladay in, improving to 15-7 this year when the Doctor was out has more to do with being 22 to 23 years old and with adding a devastating changeup than with who he lockered next to.

• If Jays pitchers felt like Halladay was hogging the attention of pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, maybe they should blame Arnsberg who would definitely spend inordinate amounts of time sitting with Halladay, maybe the guy who needed him the least. Doc is so focussed he would not have noticed.

• If Jays pitchers resented the media coverage and attention garnered by Halladay while he was with the Jays, it's only because he was the best pitcher in the AL, certainly not because he was the best quote – unless the words “fun” and “neat” and “nice” make you the next great orator of your generation.

• The Halladay criticisms started at the end of spring training this year when Marcum had a press briefing about being named Opening Day starter. That's where he detailed the new attitude in the clubhouse. It's where his perception of leadership as the Opening Day starter taking over from Doc took hold. There was nothing malicious about his intent but it continued to grow as a reality. It seemed to be working, so like those T-shirts with inspirational messages that certain groups use to create unity, he kept preaching the message of “better without Doc” and it kept working.

• The fact is the “better without Doc” argument is hard to support. All the tension on the Jays' young starters prior to 2010 was internal. Face it, the real reason Doc always comes to do his training at 5:30 a.m. at spring training is so that he can be alone. Young pitchers thought they needed to follow what Doc did to impress him. All it does is annoy him because now he needs to share the weight room and wait for them to catch up on his ironman runs. The real improvement in the rotation was as a result of Bruce Walton's nurturing coaching style, his all-inclusive manner with the starters and bullpen and in insisting that it was easier to take 12 miles per hour off your fastball (called a changeup) than to add 12 miles per hour to your fastball (called impossible). The Jays' rotation improvement was also as a result of maturing as pitchers. To present the argument that any MLB clubhouse or rotation would be better by removing the best pitcher in the game makes no sense. But whatever works. And it worked.

You mentioned the Jamie Campbell interviews. I just wanted to comment that I feel Campbell did a great job with the Sportsnet pre-game show all season and that he may have found his niche. Maybe the fact of his already having had the experience in the booth as play-by-play man gave him the insight to confidently do his new job as host and bridge to Buck Martinez and his colour analyst. Maybe it was his Joe-Carter-career-moment at the Vancouver Olympics calling Canada's first-ever gold medal on Canadian soil that relaxed his on-air work. Campbell was already a keen baseball historian and truly enjoys creating some of those offbeat background features and vignettes.

Q-Mr. Griffin:

What are the possibilities that Jays are, in fact, ready to contend next year? With the Rays set to lose Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Rafael Soriano PLUS having their payroll cut to around $50 million, is it not reasonable to expect them to regress? I've also read that the Red Sox are viewing 2011 as a “bridge year.” To me, the AL East in 2011 looks like the Yankees up top, with the four other teams fighting for second. If the Jays can fill a few holes, I can't see why they won't be the one team that floats to the top, hopefully challenging for the wild card.

Eric Ashby, Toronto

A-The carefully optimistic GM of the Jays, Alex Anthopoulos has said that he won't tell this team when it will become a contender, that the team will tell him. What that means to me is that he will not automatically spend those extra few dollars for what is perceived by optimistic fans as that last missing piece of the puzzle in this upcoming off-season, but if the club gets off to a jackrabbit start in 2011 and stays strong at the trade deadline, while other teams look vulnerable, then he may go out and get that same piece in July to take a run at it in the second half of 2011. Oh sure, A.A. will make winter trades when available and use minor-league inventory to add major-league pieces and likely get the real payroll back up to around $80 million, but in his mind he is still rebuilding. The 2011 schedule has a daunting look in April and May with a really tough stretch of travel and roadwork. As such it will be tough to create that platform scenario in which Anthopoulos will be encouraged to make those moves.

You are right about the Rays. Their window of opportunity may have slammed on their fingers with Cliff Lee's domination of David Price in Game 5 of the ALDS. They still have some nice players on hand and the rotation is young enough to carry them for the next couple of seasons before they price themselves out of the Bay area, but even then the Rays will have significant holes in the lineup with young players to fill them. As for Boston, never count the Red Sox out. If Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia return healthy and strong and if they re-style their pitching staff, they have the financial resources to contend again. Their fan base will never accept rebuilding, so “bridge year” is just GM Theo Epstein code for “don't bother me until I'm finished what I'm doing.” Calling it a bridge year also allows him a smokescreen to explore the possibility of getting rid of Jonathan Papelbon.

Q-I read some of the letters re: the Jays for 2011. But what does it matter if we have no access to these games on T.V. I have not seen too much of a protest from fans regarding what Sportnet ONE has done. I just don't understand how they could take 25 ballgames away from us. Why isn't anyone protesting or picketing Rogers all over Canada? In my books, this is just plain greed. I don't know how many games we are going to get but missing one is enough to anger me, and some say you don't want to make me angry.

Doris Mac Neil, Cobourg, Ont

A-Well, Doris, one thing I do know is that I certainly don't want to make you angry. If this was the CBC we were talking about that was screwing Jays fans then it would be easier to do something as a large group of disgruntled, tax-paying citizens of this great country. But Sportsnet is not the CBC and Rogers Media is not Canada – although it has a larger surplus. We support Rogers by using their wireless phones, their Internet, by renting their videos then paying their late fees, and by paying to watch what used to be free on Sportsnet ONE – where available. The way to protest is by cutting out your patronage on other of their services and letting them know why you are doing it. The media has pointed out the “money-grab” perception that fans have of Rogers’ greed, but we get the same e-mails at the Rogers tower and they have not responded. We are learning the future of sports is pay-per-view.

Q-Hi Richard.

Thanks for the columns. Roy Halladay's no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLDS was brilliant. Given what he's accomplished (and may still accomplish) compared to current generation pitchers, what do you think of his chances of getting into The Hall? And if he does, do you think he'll be wearing a Jays cap?

Dave O'Grady, Waterloo

A-Halladay is 33-years-old. If he averages 20-plus games won for the next six years until the age of 39, he will have 289 wins. At that point, and, actually, even a year before that, he would have what it takes to be a Hall-of-Famer. Take into account his complete games compared to his peers, his win-percentage (.633) compared to history, his 200-plus strikeouts per season for a guy that preaches pitching to contact and add to that the fact that for the last four years he has been high in the mix of any argument regarding the game's best pitcher and for me those are Hall-of-Fame credentials. A World Series win would be the capper. However, if he does attain those numbers of wins in the upcoming seasons, he would likely go in wearing a Phillies' hat but with hundreds of admiring Jays fans driving down from Toronto for the induction in any case. One also hopes that Doc's future presence in the Hall-of-Fame clubhouse won't cause those other happy-go-lucky Hall-of-Famers to become too tense and uptight. Let's just laugh and have a good time, Doc. Don't fog up the windows at Cooperstown.

Q- Richard,

Love the mailbag. Quick question about the final out of Doc's no-hitter. Correct me if I am wrong, but if the ball makes contact with the bat in fair territory (which replays clearly show occurring), isn't the batter automatically out? Obviously it's a moot point, as Carlos Ruiz made a great play, but I am curious.

Thanks for your hard work.

Josh S., Windsor

A-That same question was asked in the immediacy of the win on Oct. 6 and I think it was the great ESPN.com writer Jayson Stark that completed the investigation and found the answer. It seems there is a fine line of semantics that explains the ruling. See if you can spot the difference. Apparently if the bat hits the ball in fair territory the out can be automatic but if the ball hits the bat it is in play. The difference is that Phillips did not drop his bat on the ball as it rolled up the first base line. He had dropped his bat in the field of play when he realized it was fair and the dribbler rolled into his discarded weapon. That was the explanation. You're right, Ruiz made a great play on it from his knees. The follow-up question is would the umpire have called Phillips out for running down the line in fair territory, which he did? That would have been a chance for Jim Joyce to be 1-1 for '10 in no-hitters.

Q-Hey Richard,

I really enjoy your columns and blog. I was watching the Yankees celebrate their ALDS championship with champagne, and couldn't help but think it looked a bit ridiculous. The same thing happened when teams clinched the wild card. You don't see any other sport celebrate reaching a milestone on the way to a championship as hard as baseball. I can understand that in the past when you finished first at the end of the season you were the League Champion and that was worth celebrating. I could even understand continuing the tradition when teams won their division when there were only two in each league. But now with eight playoff teams, shouldn't the champagne remain on ice until you win a series (LCS perhaps) closer to the championship? What do you think?

Nauman Vania, Oshawa

A-I agree completely. The wild-card celebration was silly. “Hey fans, look at us. We're the best second-place team in all of baseball – well, uh, at least one of the leagues. Yay!” The Yankees should have at least had to settle for some cheap brand like Ballatore Spumanti as the champagne of choice instead of the really good stuff. By the time the World Series champs are crowned they will have sprayed each other four times. Pretty soon you'll see Derek Jeter on TV endorsing scuba goggles. I agree with you – wild card? No! Division Series? No! LCS and World Series? Yes. It was almost embarrassing to watch some of the veterans on all clubs try and act like they were really enjoying the hijinks when deep down they're saying, “Hey boys, settle down, we've got three series and 11 wins to go before we celebrate.”

Q-Hey Griff,

Non-Jays question, but I'm a huge fan of both them and your work. I understand that your son is currently the coach of OUA's Guelph Gryphons. What are your thoughts on Ontario university baseball as an alternative to young players who may not be able to make that jump to D-1 ball (or other American college competition). Also, as a Guelph alum, Go Gryphs!

Jay Reimer, Mississauga

A-Since you brought it up, congratulations to my son Matt Griffin on being named OUA Coach of the Year for the 2010 baseball season. As for the quality of OUA baseball, it is a relatively new varsity sport and is still growing in terms of being an option for this country's elite midget-age players. Unfortunately, the ultimate for young players, drummed into their heads by previous generations of young players and adults, is to be recognized by a U.S. university and to earn a scholarship or partial scholarship to a college in the States, any college – 10 points if you can tell me where Carl Sandburg J.C. is located. My esteemed colleague Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun has a fabulous Canadian baseball website called The Baseball Network that has a list of all the kids currently in the U.S. listed on college rosters. It's an impressive site and an impressive number, but the truth of the matter is that even if a player is down there on a scholarship, by comparison the Canadian university system, paying full freight, is a more cost-efficient way to a good education, while still allowing for young players to pursue a competitive baseball schedule.

There have been a couple of kids drafted out of the OUA over the years, but it's not because nobody is watching. If you have the talent and you are playing OUA baseball, scouts will find you. Every MLB organization scouts Canada. The Jays have Kevin Briand on the prowl. The A's have Matt Higginson living here as a fulltime scout. They are both Canadian. Andrew Tinnish is the Jays' scouting director and he played at Brock University in the OUA. There are scouts from every team on the look-out for Canadian talent wherever it performs. The problem with OUA baseball right now is the depth of the talent – but it's improving. There are good players on every university team, but they need more of the quality players, the ones that go away for a year or two at two-bit junior colleges in the States so they can say I played on scholarship in the States. They need some of these players to get realistic and stay home, get an education and play ball.

Griffin: Baker strategy sabotaged by Reds defence in Game 2

The reality of the moment heading into Game 3 for Reds' manager Dusty Baker was that he needed only a split in the first two games in Philadelphia to give himself a real shot at winning the NLDS. As such, his purposeful strategy was to hold back starter Bronson Arroyo, his top winner and the only man in his rotation with significant post-season experience, keeping him away from the aura of Roy Halladay, instead throwing Edinson Volquez into Doc's waiting room to nowhere. It almost worked save for the Reds' unexpectedly shoddy defence. Now playing twice at home, they are pretty much toast.

When you look closely at Scott Rolen when he is not in the spotlight, either hitting or making a play, he looks like he's very hurt. He has always had lower back issues and he is doing a lot more grimacing than his normal intensity produces. Then add to that his horrible 0-for-7 at the plate in two games and his iffy glove work and it makes sense. Following the off-day workout between Games 1-2 Rolen did not make an appearance at his locker for the first hour after the workout ended. He was getting treatment. 

But Rolen in Game 2 was a significant part of the huge snowball of defensive gaffes that sabotaged Baker's strategy. It's not just the runs that score, it's the extra pitches that are made and turning the batting order over so that the best hitters get more at-bats.

The debacle started maybe just coincidentally after Orlando Cabrera hurt his oblique turning a double play to end the Phillies' fourth. In the fifth, Brandon Phillips raced to his left and made an awkward slide on a groundball by Domonic Brown for an error putting runners at first and second. Then Rolen squared up defensively on a high hopper by Placido Polanco that caught him in the midsection for a second Reds' error. loading the bases. Chase Utley singled home two runs to make it a 4-2 game. The comeback was on.

In the sixth, the pitchers had no one to blame but themselves, with two walks and two hit batters producing a third run -- but those particular Phillies guys would not have been up if not for the errors back in the fifth. Finally, in the seventh came the well-documented meltdown of leather that has virtually knocked the Reds out of these playoffs.

First Rolen makes a poor decision on a fielder's choice with Utley safe at second. Then comes the Stevie Wonder moment in right field for Jay Bruce, blinded by the light, flailing at ghosts and on the same play, after the ball was quickly recovered, having Phillips bobble the relay with a clear shot at Jayson Werth coming around third. Go-ahead run.

"It is a tough spot, but it's not impossible," Baker said at the off-day workout. "All things are possible through faith and perseverance. I've been in this situation, down 2-1, down three (runs) with three (innings) to go. Arroyo was in Boston when they were down 3-0 in a best-of-seven and they came back and won four. The hardest thing is to win one. And you win one, and you got yourself some action. And we've got our backs up against the wall, but this club performs well with our backs up against the wall. That's the kind of club we have. I wish we didn't always have our backs against the wall, but, you know, we've been there before, not necessarily in elimination, but we're just trying to get one (win)."

A thread that runs throughout pro sports, especially in the playoffs, is that if you give a game away that you should haver won, it is very difficult to overcome, especially against a superior opponent. The Phillies are the superior opponent, but it doesn't necessarily mean they were going to win the series, especially a best-of-five. Now the Reds have to win three in a row against Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt. It's not going to happen. We'll give the profound country philosopher Manuel the final word.

"Sometimes when you play and when you look and say, 'There is no way that can happen,' the more I think about it and the longer I've been in the game and how we talk about the day-to-day thing and how we're going to play on that day, it can happen," Manuel reasoned, then added: "It ain't goin' to happen, but it can happen."

The Reds have a backs-to-the-wall chance to stretch this series to four games with Johnny Cueto facing Cole Hamels on Sunday, but to win the series? No! They lost that chance in the blinding lights of Citizens Bank Park on Friday.  

 

 

 

 

Griffin: One-on-one with Joe Morgan

Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is currently a national broadcaster with ESPN and has no aspirations to manage in the big leagues. He spoke to The Star on the off day of the NL Division Series in Philadelphia regarding Cito Gaston's place in history and baseball's disappointing record, still, when it comes to minority hiring.  

RICHARD GRIFFIN: I spent the last weekend with Cito Gaston in Minneapolis and it seems to me he underestimates his importance to African-Americans progress in baseball being the first to win a World Series and then back-to-back. He downplays it. Do you think he underestimates his place in history.

JOE MORGAN: Cito was only reacting to the way that he's been treated. He's been treated like it's an underachievement and there's nothing there. I've never seen a manager win two world championships in a row and everybody gets the credit but him. That's why when he won those two championsips he didn't get the credit. Pat Gillick got the credit and the organization got the credit. He didn't get the credit. But I remember, they were floundering until he took over as manager and then they became world champions after he he became manager. I don't think he underestimates it. He's just reacting to the way he was treated and he's being treated like he doesn't have any importance to them winning. He's reacting like he's not important.

Even now, he's retiring and Bobby Cox is retiring and Cito Gaston won more championships than he did, World Series championships. But Cito is retiring and it was no big deal. So he's been treated that way his entire life, his managing career. That's why he doesn't want to make a big deal out of it since nobody else did.

RG: To that point, he's talked about Tony LaRussa and a man who didn't match his World Series total until the Cardinals won in 2006. Cito's never been high in manager of the year voting which means the media thought the same way.

JM: Well that's how it started. It was Pat Gillick's team. It wasn't Cito Gaston. Again, before he took over, look where they were. They turned it around and he still didn't get the credit. I saw a guy, Jim Tracy, take over mid-season last year and (Colorado) won and he won manager of the year and he didn't win the World Series. To me Cito's only reacting to the way he's been treated. He doesn't want to be tooting his own horn because nobody else did.

RG: When he took the time off, when he was fired by the Jays at the end of 1997, he still wanted to manage at that point. He was interviewed a couple of time and then he was a finalist with Ozzie Guillen in Chicago with the White Sox then after that he took the attitude that he was like 'What do I want to interview for. I've got two World Series rings. I've got four division championships', so he was waiting for a team to come to him, which the Jays eventually did (in 2008). Hal McRae ended up doing the same thing refusing interviews. Even though it's a good thing that Jerry Reindsdorf and Bud Selig and those guys want minorities interviewed do you think it was counter-productive?

JM: I don't know because I don't go for interviews so I don't know what goes on in those interviews like guys who go in for those interviews, like Cito, like McRae, like guys who've been in there. It just doesn't add up for a guy that's won two World Series, got fired and he didn't get a chance to win another one. I mean Sparky (Anderson), who was a great manager. He won two world championships in Cincinnati and then he went right somewhere else. Tony LaRussa got fired and he went somewhere else. A lot of guys who've been fired went somewhere else. He hasn't been treated fairly by the system or baseball itself, so it's just the way it is.

RG: Frank Robinson was the first, there's Dusty has been there and Cito's won the World Series, can you speak for his importance then and put it in perspective for African-American managers, like Ron Washington coming up, what Cito did.

JM: I mean, they should see what he did. You don't just come into baseball one day and you're here. You had to see what's been going on all these years. You had to see that African-American guys were trying to get jobs and couldn't get them. You have to see that every one of the guys you mentioned, Don Baylor, Cito Gaston, Frank Robinson, Dusty Baker. You figure their importance. They were important all the time. Even Dusty won. He got to the World Series with the Giants. He won two or three managers of the year. He couldn't get a job for a few years, while other guys were just moving around. So, look, it is definitely better, because there are some African-American managers now. But it's not easier. It's better, but not easier.

RG: It sounds like you either wanted to manage...

JM: No, no. I never wanted to manage. I got offers, but I never wanted to manage. No, I'm just talking about the guys that wanted to manage, what I've seen from afar. I never actually wanted to manage. I was asked to manage a couple of times, actually. But that wasn't something that I wanted to do at the time.

RG: There's an awful lot of openings this year. Are you....

JM: No, no.

RG: No, not you. Are you looking at it and saying that if there's not a proportionate number of minorities...

JM: Well, there's never been. I don't know what you're...You're not looking at the history of this. Even last year when there were several manager openings available, options open, how many got 'em. Or the year before. I mean there's managers fired every year. There's going to be 11 or something like that openings. I've seen all the candidates out there right now. Everybody, there may be one African-American guy, or two. Even if those two get it, it's still not going to be proportionate.

RG: I asked Cito on the wekend, I said from 1947-79 the first half of the time elapsed since Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier, and '79 to now, has there been proportional improvement for African-Americans. He said no.

JM: He shouldn't have to answer that for you. You should be able to look. See how many openings there's been and how many African-Americans got those openings. Like I said, there's going to be 11 openings and I only saw two African-American names on that list. Both of them aren't going to get a job and probably neither of them.

RG: Jerry (Manuel) is gone in New York. Cito's gone.

JM: Right.   

 

Phillies-Reds: This-and-that, notes from the clubhouses

*Charlie Manuel began his post-game conference on Wednesday taking credit for the no-hitter with a quip about how it was his managing. On Thursday as Manuel walked through the clubhouse shortstop Jimmy Rollins yelled out: "That's damn good managing, son."

*Roy Halladay following his no-hitter on Wednesday was invited to appear on the Letterman Show, CNN and the CBS Early Show and turned them all down. There is no truth to the rumour that for the Top 10 list on Letterman he wanted to read the Commandments. Halladay did receive a call from vice-presidnet Joe Biden and the mayor of Philadelphia. Halladay dressed and left the park quickly after the workout. It was son Ryan's sixth birthday. Down the road it will be easy for father and son to remember the exact date of the historic Game 1 gem. Halladay has donated his game jersey to the Hall-of-Fame.

*Meanwhile Don Larsen who was perfect in the 1956 World Series was interviewed from his west coast home on Sirius satellite radio. In one of the vaguest interviews ever looking for reaction to someone duplicating his post-season heroics, Larsen said: “Well, I didn’t even watch it. I heard about it. A lot of calls yesterday [but] I didn’t answer the phone. I wasn’t home so I couldn’t do much about it. Hey, it’s a nice effort. I’m glad for him. Anything like that, I think, is very important to the person.  That’s a plus bonus, you know.  He did a great job.” 

*Phillies' bench coach Pete Mackanin said after batting practice he was indeed interested in interviewing for the Jays' managerial position, but had not been contacted. Mackanin has had a couple of shots as an interim manager with some success. Meanwhile the Jays' have interest in exploring the candidacy of former Expos' third baseman Tim Wallach, currently at Triple-A with the Dodgers. They have been asking background questions.  

 

Phillies-Reds off-day notes

Canadian first-baseman Joey Votto is not comfortable in the media spotlight and, intensely private, may never learn to be. After the Reds' workout, he addressed reporters and answered all the questions about the dominance of Roy Halladay and being down a game in the series. He was first asked about any hangover the Reds may feel on Friday.

“We're not hung over and we're down 1-0 in the series," Votto said. "I think we've talked as much as we could about Roy throwng a no-hitter. We genuinely have turned the page and moved on to the next game."  

The situation may be a little more daunting than Votto is letting on because Game 2 features Roy Oswalt, arguably better than Halladay in the final two months of the season.

“He seems to be throwing really well in Philadelphia, we're aware of that," Votto said. "We know we have to pick it up a notch and really compete. We know we have our hands full with all three of their guys. We have the same approach and mentality as we do against Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

"Again, a lot of it is not in our hands. It's really difficult when a guy throws a no-hitter and makes so few mistakes to beat a pitcher, a guy who's as good as it gets last night. We don't anticipate every pitcher's going to be like that. We'll try to capitalize on mistakes."

The questions kept coming. Was Votto aware his team had not scored a run in 30 innings at Citizens Bank Park? And what were they going to do about it?

“I'm not conscious of it," Votto said. "You just wait it out. You have to wait everything out in this game. You're going to go through slumps, you're going to go through stretches where you just don't score any runs and you just continue to compete. If you don't compete and you buy into the 30 shutout innings, these guys are too good, this is the best team in the National League, if you buy into that that's when you're going to start running into problems. We don't. I just don't see it on this team."

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The key moment in Game 1 may have been Roy Halladay's first pitch line-drive single to left field that bounced in front of Johnny Gomes scoring Carlos Ruiz from second. Manager Charlie Manuel spoke of the work that his ace pitcher has put in improving with the bat.

"He's getting better at being able to -- I think his timing. You've got to remember, he hasn't been used to swinging at 97, 96, 95 miles-an-hour fastballs. He's definitely improved. He still needs work on his bunting, but I guess the old saying is if you can hit you may not have to bunt a lot. He's been getting big hits for himself."

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Reds manager Dusty Baker tried to put Roy Halladay's season, capped by the Game 1 no-hitter, into perspective with what he has seen in his career as a player and manager.

"This is probably one of the best seasons I've seen in a long time," Baker said. "I remember right here in Philly, the years that Steve Carlton had. The years that Nolan Ryan had (in California, Houston and Texas) and J.R. Richard had down in Houston. The fact that (Halladay) had a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season probably sets him apart from the rest of the guys."