Griffin: A friend's fond farewell to Duke Snider

The first time I met Duke Snider as a 19-year-old scared, punk kid statistician, my first season as an intern for the Expos in 1973, I was in awe. By the time Snider retired from the Expos as a broadcaster in 1986, it was different. I felt I was losing a friend. But still I remained in total awe, mentally genuflecting to the Duke Snider I would remember every time I shook his hand at major baseball events. He was baseball royalty and now 38 years later with the announcement of his death at 84, I remain in awe.

Sure, it's easy to find character flaws, areas of weakness to tear down legends, including Snider, the Dodgers' elegant hall-of-fame centre fielder. If you try hard enough you can do it with anyone. For instance, it's true that as the third of the big three centre fielders in New York in the '50s, he could seem jealous of the attention given Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. He at times seemed petty about his place in baseball history, especially when it took added time to reach the Hall-of-Fame. So what?

Even former Expos' manager and fellow hall-of-famer Dick Willliams, a teammate with those great '50s Dodgers, believed that when he was fired in 1981 as the team was headed to the post-season for the only time, Snider's constant criticism on radio played a part in his departure. But whatever you want to accuse Duke of, the fact is he was never anything but genuine in his friendship amd character.

I've worked with a lot of active and former superstar athletes that were accorded the trappings of fame. Many take the adulation and perks with a large dose of cynicism and divine right, but Snider was not like that. It wasn't something he worked on. It was something he was. I recall in the early '80s going as a threesome with this year's Frick Award winner Dave Van Horne and Duke to a fabulous Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was an old Broklyn Dodgers' haunt.

All the way to New York, all the way to the restaurant, Duke talked about the owners with genuine affection. As we walked through the door, Snider, who you should remember had been gone from the New York sports scene for over 25 years, was wined and dined, as were we, and greeted by reverent bocce ball players like he was still playing for a New York team. It was sweet and innocent.

For three hours the great Duke Snider was genuinely wrapped in the moment. No autographs, no ass-kissing, just laughing conversation and happy memories and when we left after a great meal to return to the Grand Hyatt, there was no change in Duke's attitude like, “Hey I'm glad to be out of there, boy what I have to do for a free meal.” Duke genuinely liked these people as friends and the perks were clearly secondary. It made an impression on me as a 30-year-old already in a position where you could go either way on how to respect people that love your game in the high profile world of pro sports.

Another time, as the Expos' P.R. guy, Duke one day patted me on the shoulder and gave me responsibilty for a special project. It seems there was a former Brooklyn Dodgers' fanatic named Israel Shapiro who had become for one reason or another, a street person. Israel had a sister on Long Island, but lived on the street. He had wild grey hair that stuck out in long greasy shocks, with about 12 of his original teeth in his head. He wore sneakers with holes and no socks. His only companion was a shopping bag from a book store that was weighed down by that year's current Green and Red Books and by an Expos' press guide that I gave him on every first trip to New York of the year.

Like clockwork, every time the team bus would pull up to the Grand Hyatt, Israel would be on the sidewalk peering through the glass door looking for the Duke of Flatbush. Hotel security was at a loss. He knew the schedule. He was crazy but he wasn't dumb. When the Duke would saunter elegantly down the steps of the bus with briefcase in hand, he would always, always stop and call Israel by name and chat with him for a couple of minutes until he calmed down. To me that tells a lot about the man.

The great Dave Van Horne is going to the Hall-of-Fame this year joining his former broadcast partner. It's a shame Duke won't be there to see it happen. From 1973 to 1978, my first years with the Expos, the period before I began traveling with the team as media director, I scored every road game off radio in order to compose stats that would later be used in arbitration. I learned more about baseball, about appreciating the game, about loving the players, about laughing at stories of horsehide bromance and camaraderie from listening to Dave and Duke tnhan I knew existed. It has led me to where I am today. Rest in Peace, my hall-of-fame friend Duke Snider.

 

Live at 1 p.m.: Blue Jays spring training Q&A

Jays mailbag: Bautista, Bautista and more Bautista

At this moment I'm still at home gratefully packing for a 4:20 p.m. Air Canada flight to Dunedin on Wednesday aternoon heading to spring training.

It's actually the latest date in February for a Florida departure for this columnist since my frst year in Toronto in 1995 at which time the real players were regrettably still on strike and the “replacement player” experiment was being peddled to a skeptical, savvy, not-buying-into-it public.

The Jays' organization, to its credit, was preparing back then to play the entire '95 home schedule at Dunedin Stadium, with Bob Didier as manager, allowing real manager Cito Gaston to maintain his dignity and credibility -- and lower his handicap.

The real major-league Jays players meanwhile were forced to practice on their own at local high schools and public parks waiting for the strike to be settled...which it was on the eve of phony Opening Day in Miami.

My personal crisis that spring, having spent 23 years in the National League and then coming to Toronto, was that when I showed up at that particular day's ever-changing Jays' workout venue somewhere in the Dunedin area, the only guy I recognized was Dave Martinez, an outfielder who had just recently played for the Expos.

The Globe & Mail's beat guy Larry Millson, who I had known well from multiple beer-soaked sunrises on long Montreal homestands during Expos' pennant races in the early '80s, laughed his butt off at this rookie columnist's daily dilemma but he always ended up helping, quietly slipping a note with the Jays' proper identities (I think).

The season finally opened in late April and there has been labour peace in MLB ever since, although the Jays have never recovered from the season-ticket hit they took that year. Thursday at 1 p.m. I'll open from Dunedin with a live chat online. On to the mailbag.        

Q. My question is in regard to Jose Bautista's new contract. Often teams will give a player a multi-year contract where the player's salary increases over the last few years. With the Jays not planning on competing this year, and extra money to spend now, why couldn't the Jays do the reverse? Give Bautista the same $64-million deal but pay him around $20 million this year and/or next year, then go down from there. This would give the Jays more financial flexibility when they are that "one player away" from really competing and need the extra money to make a big signing.

Josh Cymbalista, Thornhill

A. The Jays' $1 million buyout of Bautista's $14 million option year in 2016 actually makes the official guaranteed value of the five-year contract $65 million, with the average annual value being $13 million.

The details start with an $8 million payment in 2011, followed by $14 million for each of the finaI four guaranteed years. Then comes the option season, by which time Bautista will be a 35-years-old.

I originally had the same thought as you in that given the money they saved on Wells, Overbay, Downs, Gregg et al this year, the Jays might have been wise to front-end load the Bautista contract, with the least money being doled out in 2014-15, but they didn't.

Then I re-thought that logic, trying to place myself in GM Alex Anthopoulos's shoes. When you think about it realistically, with no salary cap in baseball to worry about, it doesn't make much difference in what order you pay the money out. Rogers ownership quite frankly has the financial wherewithal to put any or all of the $65M aside right now in an interest-bearing account if they so desired. There is also the factor that the Jays already had a $5 million obligation to send to the Angels for Vernon Wells. Combine that debt with Bautista's '11 money, and it adds up to $13 million.

The other thing is Bautista was headed to arbitration at either $7.6 million or $10.5 million if they had not been able to work out the long-term deal. Perhaps Anthopoulos was concerned that in future years, if  he had started the Bautista contract with a $15 million season, that number might be used by future arbitration-eligible Jays as a precedent, complicating matters. Then again, it might just signal that Anthopoulos was still planning on the possibility of adding another big contract prior to this season.    

Q. Richard. My problem with the Bautista deal is not so much that he has no track record of producing at the level he did last year — it is that he has a lengthy track record of producing at an underwhelming level. To use an example close to home, Adam Lind had no track record of performing at the level he did in 2009 (.305 average, 35 home runs, 114 Rbis), and yet he signed for a steeply-discounted $18 million over four years. Why does Bautista, (who at some point in time over the course of this deal will become a diminishing asset) merit three times the amount given to a young player who appeared to be on the rise?

Neil Paris, Toronto

 

A. There is a huge, huge difference in the rationale and the amount in the Jays negotiating Bautista's five years plus an option contract as opposed to Lind's four years plus three options deal signed on the eve of opening day last year.

The four guaranteed years for Lind were his arbitration years leading up to free agency. He had nowhere to go. That's automatically a lower price than buying out years of free agency.

The Jays made sure they also built in club options for what would be Lind's first three years of free agency (2014-16) at below market value. On the other hand, with Bautista, only the 2011 season was an arbitration year, after which they will be paying him market value for the first four years buying up his free agency.

There's a dramatic difference in terms of the gross amount of money to be paid between the two men. It's forever a two-way street. There are different advantages built in to the process both for player and for team in the Lind and Bautista deals.

For Lind, he's getting more money up front taking the mystery out of his arb years and also does not have to worry about injuries because the money is guaranteed. For the Jays there is cost certainty for the four years of his obligation prior to free-agency, then  they also have him for three free agent seasons at a reasonable price ... or not.

They can always let him go if it's not working out production-wise or if there's long-term injury. With Bautista, he receives his guaranteed free agency reward a year before his free-agent class in a city and clubhouse of his choosing, while the Jays for their part  removed all question marks and uncertainty surrounding 2011 and now have a contract with a player they hope will be an offensive cornerstone, also tradeable down the road, if circumstances change.   

Q. Why are people comparing the Bautista deal to the one signed by Uggla? Uggla has not only posted exceptional numbers (career OPS 100 points higher than Bautista's) but has also been the model of consistency over the past 5 years all while playing in one of the game's worst-hitter parks.

More importantly, Uggla is a middle infielder, not a corner outfielder, which increases his value tremendously. Personally, I am stunned by how many fans (and often media members) do not understand the relationship that exists between a player’s position, offensive output, and overall value. Valuing a power hitting middle infielder the same as power hitting corner outfielder (with similiar stats) makes about as much sense as the Leafs’ "rebuilding" plan. $65 mil over 5 years for Bautista is insane given his career numbers (not solely 2010) and age.

Kyle Smith, Toronto 

A. On the other hand has Uggla ever had a 54 home run season with a .995 OPS? Face it, teams are supposed to be paying future money for future performance, not throwing future cash at the past. It's all well and good to point out Uggla's consistency and his four straight 30-homer seasons, but which of the two men has the higher ceiling moving forward? Which is a better two-way player? Which is more important to the fabric of his team? In looking at the dollars, people underestimate the importance of simlar age and years of service in determining market value of MLB players, as a factor over homers, RBIs slugging average and OPS. Uggla and Bautista were born eight months apart and were each playing their final arbitration year prior to free agency. That, even more than recent on-field results, is why the two players were compared when it came to contract time.

Q. True or False: Rajai Davis and Jose Bautista are the first outfield combo with the same birth date since Ozzie and Jose Canseco.

Tony Baer, Baraboo

A. However, it should be noted Jose Canseco's biceps, triceps, quadriceps and lats are far younger than Ozzie's, although both twins apparently attended the same driving school.

Q. Love the blog. Scott Podsednick hit .297 and stole 35 bases last season. Nobody on the Blue Jays matched him in either category. Why did have such trouble finding a major league job?

Josh Lavine, Toronto

A. Good question. One reason might be the re-occuring foot problem that sees Scott reporting to Jays camp on Wednesday in a walking cast to ease the pain of his plantar fasciitis.

Another reason he may have had trouble finding a job this winter can be found in his personal transactions history.

Since turning pro in 1994, the 34-year-old lefthanded hitter has been traded three times, was selected in the Rule 5 draft, was plucked off waivers once and has been a free agent six times. Even after batting leadoff for the World Series champion White Sox in '05 and hanging with them for another two seasons, he has continued to have trouble gaining respect.

Passed over and ignored? Consider that in this day and age, with 12 pitchers on most staffs, the versatility of bench players becomes of utmost importance. Podsednik is a lefthanded thrower that does not play first base or the infield. At age 34, earning over $1 million, there are younger, cheaper, more versatile options for teams to have coming off the bench. The Jays became a logical landing site after the Wells trade to the Angels and with new manager John Farrell's desire to upgrade team speed. He or Corey Patterson should make the team.  

Q. Hi Richard. I like the Bautista signing for all the reasons AA said. Another consideration is the if (maybe it's a big if) he hits say 40+ home runs in 2011, he's a $25-30 million Yankee or Red Sox playing against us in 2012. That would be a lose-lose for us.

Gerry Bleau

A. Hey, realize nobody has ever been able to post consecutive seasons of 40+ home runs without first having had one season of 40-plus home runs.

Since you bring up the Red Sox, it's worth mentioning once again the similar case of Big Papi. As a young player, David Ortiz was a lefthanded DH and occasional first baseman for the Twins.

In six Minnesota seasons, Papi hit 58 home runs. What a stiff. Then he went to the Red Sox and put up a 31-homer season in 2003 followed by 41, 47 and 54. His 54 home runs came at age 30, the same age as Bautista with the Jays in 2010.

The next season, his HR total dropped to 35, but he still drove in 117 runs and the Sox won their first World Series since 1918. Following the 2006 season at age 31, Ortiz signed what amounted to a five-year, $64.5-million contract (sound familiar) and was lauded for his loyalty, for cutting Boston some hometown slack.

And yes, if the Jays had not signed Bautista this winter and allowed him to play out his final season and if he did hit 40-plus homers again, the Jays would have ended up being asked for a lot more money and likely would not have paid it.

Rules of the Basic Agreement need to be optimized. When you have a star player and you have exclusive negotiating rights for 12 more months, why not take advantage and get a deal done. The dollar amount is nowhere near as onerous as that of Wells and is tradeable.   

Q. I love your column and baseball knowledge. I like Jose Bautista a lot and hope he does well, but I'm dumbfounded at the Blue Jays for giving out another albatross contract (think Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, Frank Thomas, etc.). Could you explain how it's possible for Bautista to be awarded more years and total money (5 yrs, $64M) than both the NL MVP Joey Votto (3 yrs, $39M) and the AL MVP Josh Hamilton (2 yrs, $24M)?!?!

Votto has had one great season and two very good seasons, while Hamilton has had two great seasons. Bautista has had exactly one career year and even then only a .260 average, and is still only a .244 career hitter. Given all these numbers, Bautista definitely deserved less money ... why not something like 3 years $30M or an Aaron Hill-like contract with more club options and an increasing scale? I'm worried that awarding $65M might represent another very expensive Blue Jay mistake. From what I can see, the Dan Uggla contract is a bad one. I'm not sure how this became the one and only contract uses as a benchmark for negotiating with Bautista.

Thanks for listening.

Brian

A. There are huge differences between Bautista's contract compared to Votto and Hamilton. The key is that the Reds and Rangers negotiated those deals with their best hitters locking them up only through their arbitration years, bringing them to unrestricted free agency. Four of Bautista's years are free agent years. It's not primarily statistics that account for salary levels. As important is service time.

Consider there are three levels of contract negotiations between players and teams. The resultant salaries at those three levels are almost totally distinct.

First from 0-3 years of service (with some 2-plus exceptions called Super-Twos), the player is totally under team control. Most times that salary will range from major-league minimum (just over $400,000) to just under $1 million.

The second level is 3-6 years of major-league service during which a player is arbitration eligible. During those arbitration years contracts can almost be entirely predictable by running all the variables of service time, age and performance through a computer and comparing to those that have gone before.

Both club and agent have access to the same numbers which is why so many cases are settled before reaching an arbitration panel. The third level is six-plus years of service declaring free agency. This is the least predictable and most expensive level for teams. All you need is for one crazy, desperate, delusional ownership that thinks they are one player away from winning the Workd Series. Then all you need is that one team to overpay that one player and the ripple effect hits all free agents. That's why the players association loves A-Rod and loves the Yankees.

Jays mailbag: About Bautista's reported deal

The early fan reaction to Jose Bautista's reported five-year contract for $65 million guaranteed, plus an option has been decidedly negative. One-year wonder? Well, so far he has been but you must admit it was a wonderful one year.

Is he the baseball equivalent of some other one-hit wonders, maybe Knockin' Boots, Ride Captain Ride, Funkytown, Rapper's Delight or Billy Ray Cyrus's forgettable Achy Breaky Heart? Maybe. But the seemingly valid comparison to Dan Uggla's freshly negotiated five-year, $62 million deal with the Braves has not sold Jays fans on the wisdom of inking the current MLB home-run king with the journeyman past to anything more than his final arbitration year.

Consider that David Ortiz was 27 before he hit 30 homers and was 30 when he hit his own 54 homers. That's a year older than Bautista played at last year. Consider the legendary Arthur was a mere stable urchin until he pulled the sword from the stone. Then he became king and never looked back. Sometimes people are late bloomers and 29 is not really ancient.

The argument is made by doubters that despite being the same age (Bautista eight months younger) and with the same “five-plus” service time (Bautista an extra 170 days), that Uggla more deserved his money because of his 30-homer consistency over the last four seasons. But that's also a ceiling. I think that whenever it is finally announced, even given  the reported terms, it will be a solid signing for the Jays. Bautista's value to his club is more than just with a bat in his hands. He is a far better defender at two positions than Uggla. He is a far bigger clubhouse presence than is Uggla, relied upon by his team for more than just on-field accomplishments.

Bautista's ceiling, considering his 54 homers, 100 walks, 124 RBIs and .995 OPS in 2010 is clearly higher than Uggla's. Consider that throughout major-league baseball in 2011, there will be 55 players that will earn more than $12 million (total of guaranteed money averaged out per year on their current deal), according to the reliable Cot's Baseball Contracts website. That is almost two $12 million-plus players per franchise. Bautista will be the only one on the Jays once his contract is finalized. Those player in 2011 in a similar range between $12-14 million include: Bautista, Uggla, Chipper Jones, K-Rod, Chase Utley, Brad Lidge, Victor Martinez, Paul Konerko, Chris Carpenter, Joey Votto, Jorge Posada, J.D. Drew, David Ortiz, Todd Helton, Justin Morneau, Mark Buehrle and Adam Dunn.     

Q: In regards to Bautista, would it not be a wise idea to sign him for one year via arbitration, see if his season was a fluke or not? As he is 31 years old, and with the Jays looking to compete in 2012 and the seasons to follow, why not keep an eye on Bautista in 2011, and if this season is like last for him, why not trade him before the deadline for blue chip prospects? This train of thought seems more inline with A.A's direction than signing a 31-year-old to a 5-year contract when the Jays aren't even in compete "mode", they are still in the rebuilding stage.

Scott Cochrane, Niagara-on-the-Lake

A: First of all, Bautista will be playing the 2011 season as a 30-year-old. The one big advantage the Jays had until 15 days after this year's 2011 World Series is that they are the only ones with the exclusive ability to negotiate with Bautista. Use it. If they had chosen to “keep an eye” on  the home-run king for a second year to see if it was a fluke and if he then had another powerful season, the price would have gone up and competition for his services would likely have knocked the Jays out of the box. As for the strategy of trading him at the deadline for “blue chip prospects” that's always easier said than done. As a likely Type A free agent playing out his contract heading into free agency, you would have to get back the equivalent of a first-round prsopect and a sandwich-level pick, minimum. Recall the Jays got pitchers Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke from the Reds for Scott Rolen, but Rolen was still under contract for a year and a half when the Reds acquired him. Besides, at some point the “rebuilding” must end and the will to compete for a post-season berth must kick in. Under your scenario, it seems keeping Bautista long-term was never an option. Under Anthopoulos' scenario keeping Bautista long-term seems to be clearly in line with his “direction” moving forward to competing in 2012. 

Q: Hey Richard,

How important is it that AA signs Bautista in order to show the other latin players coming up that Toronto is not a stepping stone to somewhere better. You can play your career in Toronto.

Michael S, Toronto

A: Just as when the Jays had a huge Latin American profile in the heyday of scout Epy Guerrero in the early to mid-'80s, with guys like Alfredo Griffin, Tony Fernandez, Damaso Garcia and George Bell, when young kids in the streets of the Dominican Republic walked around wearing Jays hats, the pending Bautista signing to a huge multi-year deal, highlighted by the professional way the Jays have handled the risk-reward situation with the power-hitting Dominican, anticipating the positive spinoff effect it will have on their current Latin players like Yunel Escobar, Edwin Encarnacion, Octavio Dotel, Carlos Villanueva, Frank Francisco, Jose Molina and Adeiny Hechavarria, it offsets some of the criticism that the Jays may have overpaid their player. There is more than just statistics and breakdowns to consider. This is not the Yankees throwing money around on a whim. This is an up and coming organization trying to rebuild its image and enhance its profile in the free-agent world.   

Q: Richard,

With all the talk about who will fill in the back end of the rotation I was wondering how Dustin McGowan was coming along. A few years ago him and Shaun Marcum were young studs, then both got hurt, and hurt again, then managed to injure themselves. Marcum eventually made it back, is there any hope of a timeline for a possible McGowan return? And any hope of a return to form?

Matt Driscoll, Toronto

A: Don't count on the 29-year-old McGowan at any point in 2011 — at least at the major-league level. He has missed the last two seasons and is continuing to do his best to rehab and as long as he is willing to fight, the Jays will stick with him. He has had two shoulder surgeries and one knee surgery since last pitching in a major-league game. Shoulders are far less predictable than elbows because of the number of muscles and other things in the shoulder compared to the elbow joint. McGowan has not yet begun throwing from a mound again and the fact is that if he misses another full season, there are very few pitchers that have missed three years and have come back. The Jays have a number of young starting pitchers in the minor-league hopper that are passing McGowan month-by-month.

Q: Hi Richard,

I was just wondering if Albert Pujols does not sign an extension with the Cardinals, would the Blue Jays have an interest in perhaps trading for him. They likely have the assets to do so. What do you think?

Joe DiFranco, Mississauga

A: It would make no sense for the Jays to make an offer unless they are willing to sign Pujols long-term for 10 years, $300 million, which is what he reportedly wants and which the Jays are not likely to do. Besides, the reports are that Pujols has insisted he will invoke his no-trade clause for 2011 if the Cards try and deal him before the end of his contract. The Cards want to wn the NL Central.

Q: I have seen much written on who will make the Jays pen and why. It seems like everyone has Frank Francisco, Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch and Jason Frasor as sure things and most likely Shawn Camp & David Purcey in as well. I also hear the names of Casey Janssen & Carlos Villanueva and few others. Nowhere do I hear or see the name Wil Ledezma. Why is that? Seems to me to be a perfect guy to come in and face that one lefty in the 7th or 8th, yet because he was sent to Triple A and is a non-roster invite to spring training he doesn’t warrant a mention?

Shawn Keba, Caledon

A: I have mentioned Ledezma in past mailbags and columns. I always liked him as a bullpen part when he was with the Tigers. You listed eight Jays' names for 2011 and yes those are the top eight names that have been mentioned. One of the main reasons those guys are always talked about is that other than Purcey, the other seven guys have guaranteed contracts for more than $1 million. Tough to send them to the minors. Therein lies the Jays' dilemma. With five starters, there is room for only seven relievers on the 25-man roster. The seven guaranteed contracts are all righthanders. That means out of the group of four lefties – Purcey, Jesse Carlson, Jo-Jo Reyes and Ledezma, the only way to carry two of those guys is to clear the decks of two of those millionaire righties. The bullpen situation will be interesting to watch as opening day approaches. Ledezma deserves a mention.

Q: Do you think that the Jays would undo the Roy Halladay trade today if they were able to? Financially, they could easily afford to pay him through 2013 and if their goal is to compete in 2012/2013 they would be more competitive with Doc as the No 1 instead of Drabek at 4. They also would still would have tons of flexibility financially to sign other players. (If they also held on to Marcum, they might have had the top rotation in the MLB in 2012/2013)

Josh Cymbalista, Thornhill

A: That's a great, multi-layered question and you make some good points. The bottom line is that the Halladay trade was necessary for Anthopoulos to move forward to building a sustainable contender for the wild-card (especially of they add another one) starting in 2012 and beyond. Doc was the equivalent of human handcuffs. Dealing Halladay to the Phillies signalled to his own players, to his staff and to other GMs where the Jays were heading. If he had kept Halladay, every move would have had to be made towards winning right here, right now, which, when you think about it was one of the reasons J.P. Ricciardi was replaced because of his kneejerk reaction to every five-game winning streak, to every 85-win season as being the surefire stepping stone to the post-season. It never turned out that way because of the short-term nature of most of J.P.'s player-acquisition moves. If the Jays had kept Halladay, how could A.A. have ever traded Wells, because that would have been a signal they were rebuilding which would not have been the promose they made to Doc. And with Halladay earning $20 million per year moving forward and with Wells at $23 million, that's $43 million for two guys. They would have re-signed John Buck, kept Lyle Overbay, re-upped Scott Downs, let Jose Bautista go and not traded Shaun Marcum. In five years where would the Jays have been? In that light, I don't think they regret the Halladay trade. He wanted to play in a World Series and he reached the NLCS in his first year with the Phillies and is now part of the greatest four-man rotation of this century. I can't include Joe Blanton.    

Q: Hi Richard,

You and everyone else in the Toronto media is so ecstatic over Vernon Wells departure, but how has no one addressed the fact that they are a worse team in 2011 without him in the lineup and playing centrefield? Who cares if they shed his contract, a) it's not our money, b) Rogers claims they will spend well over $100 million if the team becomes competitive anyways. I think we should have kept him, his contract, his bat, his presence, and the depth he could have provided. Depth is at the heart of every championship team.

Stefan Rentas, Vancouver

A: I'm not so sure that “ecstatic” is the word that I would use to describe the reaction to Wells' departure. It was more a case of being stunned that Anthopoulos was able to move the contract with four years and $86 million remaining. No, you're right, the '11 Jays are not a better team without Wells in centre field, but Wells' ceiling had been reached and people were ducking to get through the doorways. He wasn't the best centre fielder in baseball. He was good. He wasn't the best middle of the order hitter in baseball. He was good. He didn't have the best throwing arm. It was alright. He was a good baserunner. Not the best. He is a good human being and has a social conscience, but so was Mother Teresa and she didn't command $23 million per year. Wells, like Halladay, is another Jays player that had yet to taste the post-season and is happier where he is. Wells is ecstatic. Media is not.

Q: Via Twitter:

So..... would I be crazy saying I'd take the Jays rotation over any other in the AL East?

(@AABurke81) Andy A King

A: Let's see. This is according to the ESPN.com depth charts.

JAYS: Romero, Morrow, Cecil, Drabek, Litsch/Rzepczynski.

YANKEES: Sabathia, Hughes, Burnett, Nova, Mitre.

RED SOX: Lester, Beckett, Lackey, Buchholz, Dice-K.

RAYS: Price, Shields, Davis, Hellickson, Niemann.

O's: Guthrie, Matusz, Duchscherrer, Tillman, Arrieta.

The Jays have an opportunity to stay together for a while and become very good, but right now with Romero being the only 200+ pitcher in the Jays' bunch, I would rank the rotations: Boston, Tampa Bay, Jays, New York, Baltimore. The Jays and Rays are very close. 

Q: Richard,

Do you think the acquisition of speed will significantly help the Jays who struggled last year at the plate? (Hill, Lind). If the Jays raise their OBP and are a legit threat to steal, will this force pitchers to go after hitters more aggressively by throwing strikes? If so, would Hill and Lind be able to capitalize? If those two players had combined for 15 more HRs between them, and Bautista had only hit 20 HRs, the Jays still would have lead the league by a wide margin.

Chris Grasman, Clearview

A: There are players in Jays' major-league camp that can fly on the bases -- Scott Podsednik, Cory Patterson, Rajai Davis, Mike McCoy. Anyone who is a regular reader of the mailbag knows how much I admire speed as a weapon in baseball. Not just stealing-bases-speed, but first to third and second to home speed. Much overlooked is that the Jays stole 170 bases when they won the World Series in 1993. I agree with you that just the threat of the stolen base from your table-setters batting at the top of the order changes the way that pitchers approach your middle-of-the-order RBI guys. That threat was missing last season and in the recent Jays' past. Pitchers could focus totally on pitching to the hitter using his entire repertoire. The key is that the Jays truly need to increase their on-base average.  

Griffin: Jays taking calculated risk in signing Bautista long-term

In the two years that Alex Anthopoulos has been Jays' GM, in fact, going back even further than that to five winters ago under his predecessor and mentor J.P. Ricciardi at a time when the up-and-coming executive had just begun dealing with many of the club's high-profile, long-term contracts, the 32-year-old boy wonder has never been afraid of negotiating with players during spring training and into the season.

There had been Aaron Hill and Alex Rios, each signed just as the season was beginning in '08. There was Adam Lind on the eve of Opening Day 2010 and Ricky Romero during the course of the season last year. One suspects that was to be his strategy all along in locking up Jose Bautista...that is until the impatient home run king laid down his own royal decree late last week that if a long-term deal wasn't struck by the time they entered the arbitration hearing on Monday, Jose wasn't going to talk again until after the season.

That unexpected hardball deadline for multi-year talks from his most important player, perhaps mirroring Albert Pujols' declaration to the Cards, forced Anthopoulos's hand. Luckily there is a clause written into the Basic Agreement with the union: “a hearing may be postponed by the arbitration panel upon the application of either the Player or Club based upon a showing of substantial cause.” He did it and now has until Friday.

The “substantial cause” in this case was that the Jays really, really wanted to get this long-term deal done with the new face of the franchise and so does Bautista. This will be shortly accomplished through his agent Bean Stringfellow. Recall that on the date that they exchanged arbitration numbers, Anthopoulos praised Stringfellow for the respectful, positive exchanges that they had. There can be no more postponements, because February 18 is the final day of arbitration hearings for this year. The clock is ticking.

Where to start? How about looking for a recent model in structuring a multi-year deal for Bautista? How about Dan Uggla? The art of the deal in modern baseball is all about history and precedent and both sides can agree that for Bautista, Uggla's the one.

Uggla, who will be 31 on March 11, is seven months older than Bautista (basically the same age) and like Jose was scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the 2011 season. The power-hitting second baseman, after being obtained by the Braves in trade with the Marlins, worked out a five-year contract for $62 million (all figures U.S.) in Atlanta through 2015. That's a model with some negotiable modifications for Bautista in this market, even though there are obvious differences in player histories.

There can be arguments made that because of Uggla's consistency, he is a safer bet to offer a five-year deal to for that amount of guaranteed money. With Uggla, what you've seen is what you're getting. He'll give you 30 homers, 90-100 RBIs and an OPS in the .800s. He'll also give you 150 strikeouts per year and some shaky moments on defence.

But with Bautista, there's something to be said for playing it safe when looking for a place to live (Uggla) and there's something to be said for moving into a renovated loft in what once was a shaky structure, one with spectacularly high ceilings (Bautista). It's risk/reward. You can learn to live with the leaky faucets. With Bautista you know he's only done it once, but you're getting great outfield defence with above average ability to play third base. Plus, you're giving a reward focus for other young players in the clubhouse. 

Bautista has not yet proven he's a one-year wonder. What he's done is had one wonderful year. He showed in 2010 that when given regular playing time, whether it was improvement due to the added repetitions or finally grasping the hitting philosophies of Dawyne Murphy, the man that will continue to be his hitting coach, or whatever it was, he gets it. At some point the Jays have to quit pleasing fans in Las Vegas, New Hampshire and Dunedin simply backing up the prospects and roll the dice to re-fill the Rogers Centre.

The easiest thing to do is to say Jose can't and won't do it again. That's the easy way out for Toronto sports fans and, given recent history, who can say that they are wrong?

But at the recent State of the Franchise get-together president Paul Beeston scoffed at the idea that Toronto is anything but a large market and suggested that if needed, this franchise could support a player payroll of $140-150 million. Right now in terms of payroll for the coming season, they sit about halfway there for 2011. Anthopoulos likes to recall one of his favourite conversations from his first winter meetings in Indianapolis in '09 when he was trying to get the best deal possible for Roy Halladay. He met Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti in the hallway. Colletti talked to him about trades and moving forward and offered this simple piece of advice: “Alex, if you're scared, get a dog.”

 

Jays mailbag: Remembering two great Expos

It was a tough week for the old Expos' organization, with the passing of two popular former Canadian major-league baseball stalwarts, Ron Piche a 75-year-old native of Verdun, Que., and Woodie Fryman, a 70-year-old native of Ewing, Ky. RIP.

First came the announcement at the end of last week of the death of Piche, a former major-league pitcher with the Braves, Angels and Cardinals and a lifetime Expos employee from 1969 to 2004 when the franchise shifted to D.C.

After a couple of seasons in the Expos' fledgling minor league system, trying to get back to the bigs and qualify for his MLBPA pension, Piche retired as a player and joined the front office in any area he could help. He was listed briefly as a major-league coach in 1976 but spent most of his time in stadium operations, public relations and scouting.

Piche was a terrific minor-league pitcher and was a solid contributor in the Braves' bullpens of the late '50 and early '60s. He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Fame at St. Marys. When I started with the Expos in 1973, Piche was one of the first to befriend the 19-year-old college kid printing off notes, running stats and just wanting to be around the major-league game soaking up any knowledge he could.

The friendship lasted throughout the rest of his life, the last 15 years like all good friendships separated by distance. Whenever we were at a press conference where a new player or a current one did or said something self-serving or silly, Piche, always dressed for business in white shirt and tie, would turn with a half-smile and quietly say, “Rich, this game has really changed.”

Whenever I hear that expression to this day, I think of Ron and smile. 

I recall fondly Piche's many stories of life in the majors with the Braves. He told of sitting in the lobby of a road hotel reading the newspaper with teammates, looking at the boxscores killing time before going to the ballpark. Johnny Logan was a light-hitting shortstop who didn't get many hits but had proudly recorded one the night before.

Alarmed, Logan looked up from the paper and said to his teammates. “Hey they have me oh-for-four.” Lew Burdette answered, “Maybe it was a typographical error.” Logan snapped back, “It was no error, it was a line drive up the middle.”

The story has been re-told by others, but I believe it started with Piche. Another favourite memory was of the Expos' small area at Jarry Park on the second floor above the executive offices set aside for post-game libations, professional bartender and all.

Some nights, if Gene Mauch and his coaches came in, joining media, front office and coaches it stayed open until 4:00 in the morning. It was a good place for a kid like me to soak up some major-league knowledge – and other things.

One night Piche brought his buddy Burdette into the Jarry Park lounge. By then, a Braves coach, Burdette as a player was a master of the spitter. Piche encouraged Burdette that night to play the “wet or dry” game with a baseball. Rapt attention was paid Burdette as inebriated Expos staff gathered around.

Burdette took a baseball and fiddled with it in both hands back and forth like he was standing on the pitching rubber. Finally he would ask “Wet or dry?” He would have either spit on the ball or not as everyone watched closely. Nobody ever got it right. The guy was good and Piche was in heaven. Now he truly is.

As for the lefthanded Fryman, he was my first example of a good ol' boy, a country gentleman farmer who played baseball as a hobby and with passion.

In 1976, he was a sublime presence on a ridiculous Expos' team that won 52 games in the year of the Summer Olympics, in the final year at Jarry Park. While Tim Foli fought with the manager, Karl Kuehl, who had replaced Gene Mauch, Fryman just went out every fifth day and competed.

Kuehl was fired mid-season because he lost the clubhouse and the bombastic Charlie Fox took over for the rest of the year. Fox apparently had won WW II by himself, as a Navy Seal storming the beaches of Italy from the sea. It was a decidedly weird year. But Fryman's 13-13 record (25-percent of the team's wins) and a 3.37 ERA earned him player of the year, even though his left arm ached every day and he could never straighten it at the best of times.

The simple act of competing in the annual Farm Day at Jarry Park where he was the designated cow-milker, even the simple act of squeezing a teat hurt him. But he never complained and tossed 216 innings. In the off-season, with Dick Williams now on board and the prospect of moving into Olympic Stadium, the Expos were able to deal the 36-year-old Fryman and Dale Murray to the Reds to get future Hall-of-Famer Tony Perez. Fryman always had something wise to say as he bemusedly sat in road lobbies watching the world go by. Hopefully heaven has a lobby. On to the mailbag.            

Q. Hey Richard.  Last year, the Brandon Morrow-Jose Molina combo really worked well. Do you think the Jays will continue to use them together, or do you think the Jays will try to use J.P. Arencibia with Morrow? Thanks.

Nathan Zaltsman, San Francisco, CA

A. With a new Jays manager, John Farrell, the whole question of pairing a certain pitcher with a personal catcher like Morrow-Molina did last year starts anew. Pitching is very much a mental skill. A guy with average stuff but with great confidence and a game plan can be more effective than a pitcher with great stuff and no clue. If a pitcher thinks that a certain catcher knows his stuff better and is on the same page and he feels he can trust impicitly the fingers the catcher drops for every pitch, throwing it with supreme confidence, he's already way ahead of the pitching game. As a manager, don't fight it.

An example of that lack of confidence that cost a pitcher sending him into a funk last year was Jason Frasor. In 2009 he developed that relationship of trust with former Jays catcher Rod Barajas. But in April last year coming out the chute with two new catchers, installed as the closer, it was obvious early on that Frasor and John Buck did not have that type of “same page” relationship and he soon lost the Jays' closer role to Kevin Gregg.

Frasor is not the “take charge” kind of guy with regard to his own game and in the end he also worked better with the chest-thumping, more vociferous Molina.

Most managers, including Cito Gaston last year's skipper, don't encourage the notion of a personal catcher. It expecially does not work well for a team if you have one catcher that hits lefthanded and one that bats right, because in that case you would rather get the backup catcher his once or twice a week work depending on the opposing pitcher, lefty/righty.

But with both Arencibia and Molina being righthanded hitters and with Arencibia being a raw rookie targeted at around 120 starts, Farrell may give in to Morrow's comfort level since he does want Molina to get some work anyway. Don't look for the personal catcher thing at spring training, though. You'll see Morrow throw a lot to Arencibia and sometimes to some of the minor league guys, but at the end of the spring in the final week, in the final tuneup, if Morrow, slated as the rotation's No. 2 guy, wants Molina as his catcher, he'll likely get him.     

Q. Hey Richard. First of all, thanks for the continuing enlightment of our beloved Jays! Looking forward to another mailbag season. That being said my question pertains to the HoF induction ceremony. I know it is a ways away, but a couple of buddies and I will be heading down to show our support of Robbie and Pat. We have booked our room already (thankfully as it was a mess) but we were wondering: As HoF induction rookies, what should we plan on doing and being ready for? Any pointers you could provide us on how to make the most of this weekend would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Isaac V., Toronto

A. The main thing to have on Hall-of-Fame induction weekend is patience. The ceremony for Alomar, Bert Blyleven and Gillick is on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The best idea from my standpoint as far as the chance of meeting Hall-of-Famers is to troll the real estate on Lake, Chestnut and Main Street between the Otesaga Hotel (where the Famers stay) and the Museum on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Also at Doubleday Field at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon is a free admission event for fans to the induction of Expos' broadcast icon Dave Van Horne, followed at 6:00 p.m. by a parade down Main Street of the Hall-of-Fame members on hand. Once you have a parking spot if your hotel is out of town, you're there for the day. Enjoy. You can stay updated on the itinerary of events at the Hall's website, http://baseballhall.org/

Q. Is it by design or is it mere coincidence that the team seems to be heading in a younger and “by extension” more fleet-footed direction? With the off-season pick-ups of Corey Patterson and Rajai Davis and the departure of Vernon Wells the ball club appears to be re-defining itself (at least on paper, anyway). I like these moves that A.A. has made, in bringing in some speedsters, hopefully to help electrify the Jays' running game. Are the Jays, through these moves, consciously trying to change their image and in-game style, from being a notoriously base-to-base ball club to more of a heart-and-hustle team? If so, then I'm one of those who are all for it.

Darrell Holtze, Guelph

A. The Jays have always believed in being aggressive on the bases (within their capabilities), the ongoing philosophy of third-base coach Brian Butterfield, but that can only include stealing bases if you have guys capable of stealing bases.

Even slow guys can take the next base if they get an aggressive secondary lead and quickly read a ball in the dirt (see: Brad Fullmer, Kevin Millar, Scott Rolen). It doesn't have to go to the backstop to move up a base and change a potential force play at second into a scoring opportnity.

Even slow guys can go from first to third on a single if the third base coach is aggressive, if they know the strength of the outfielder's arm and if you approach each base as if you are going to take the next one as well.

The Jays have always approached base frunning that way, but have never approached base running with the actual intent of stealing bases. Now they have Davis, Patterson, Yunel Escobar, Brett Lawrie and even Aaron Hill and Travis Snider that can steal a base.

They're still not the Go-Go Blue Jays by any means, but have more weapons in the arsenal than in recent years. It's down the line in the pipe where fans should be excited. Other Jays' organization players that can steal a bag include infielder Mike McCoy, outfielders Darin Mastroianni, Kenny Wilson, Jake Marisnick and Eric Eiland.

People tend to forget that the Jays when they won back-to-back World Series stole 129 and then 170 bases in 1992-93. Last season, they stole 58. Unlike what many analysts today would have you believe, it's not a sign of weakness to steal bases. Even the threat of a steal can be a useful offensive weapon. The Jays are consciously heading in that direction. 

Q. After reading your article about Delgado's attempt at a comeback, do you think the jays would be interested in services? He would fit AA mold of a DH/1B player and it would be great for the fans and for the organization if Carlos finishes up his career with the team that he spent 11 arduous years with.

Matthew Lee, Toronto

A. I enjoyed writing the Delgado comeback piece, because I like Carlos as a human being and as a great Jays' player in his prime, but he does not fit into what the Jays are trying to do right here, right now.

A few years ago when the Jays were intent on celebrating the past with promotions like Flashback Friday and Kelly Gruber Groundhog Day wherein the former third baseman seemed to be making more top-of-the-dugout appearances than Ace the mascot, the current clubhouse at that time bristled.

The feeling among the guys on hand was that the Jays cared more about the past than the present, that they would rather sell memories than accomplishments. The current front office does not want to repeat that mistake.

Delgado is not a young, controllable player. He bats lefthanded just like Adam Lind the man they are hoping can grab first base by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. His presence would distract rather than focus this group.

They are looking for a new Delgado-Shawn Green, or Delgado-Vernon Wells combo to step up. Carlos is still two months away from being able to showcase himself to teams and probably another two months after that from playing in the major leagues, barring any setbacks to the two surgically repaired hips.

My hope is that some team finds a spot for him and that he reaches his goal of 500 home runs and that some day in the future he can return to the Rogers Centre to be honoured with his number hoisted to the Level of Excellence.

Q. Ricky Romero looks to be a lock to be the Jays opening day starter. I seem to recall that not so long ago (2006-2008) there was a perception that Romero was a failed prospect (I say perception because Romero was ranked in the top 10 Jays prospects in 2006/2007/2008). Perhaps the idea that drafting the “soft-tossin' lefty” was mistake was due to his injury issues, a guy named Troy Tulowitzki, or a dislike of the man who drafted him. Question: Who do you view as an underrated Jays prospect who may still surprise, David Cooper, Kevin Ahrens, Justin Jackson?

Michael Spratt, Ottawa

A. Romero was chosen 6th overall in the 2005 June Draft out of Cal-State Fullerton University. Unfortunately for Romero, the Jays and for GM J.P. Ricciardi, the guy chosen 7th overall, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki became the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year and led his Rockies to the World Series where they lost to the Red Sox.

It looked worse because Ricciardi's first two first-round draft picks had been shortstops Russ Adams in 2002 and Aaron Hill in 2003, neither of whom filled the Jays' shortstop void. Then a legitimate one came up and he passed.

Tulowitzki became a one-word code for Jays' draft failure as Romero struggled with injuries and development. There is still no doubt that Tulowitzki would have been a better pick for the franchise at the time, but Romero's progress under Brad Arnsberg and now Bruce Walton has been redemptive. Unfortunately for Ricciardi, just as the worth of his draft of Romero is being rescued, the rest of his legacy is sinking in quicksand faster than an ivory poacher in an old Tarzan movie.

I think the view of Romero was affected more by Tulowitzki's early success more than anything else. The fact that Ricciardi's reflex was always defensive whenever Romero's name came up, like the SNL sketch spoofing the cigarette executive being questioned by 60 Minutes, it spun off into the rest of his relationship with the local media. (See: Chris Carpenter winning Cy in St. Louis).

As for darkhorse leftovers from high draft picks of the Ricciardi Era that have thus far been perceived as failures, I like switch-hitting third baseman Kevin Ahrens. He'll be playing his fifth Jays minor-league season now as a 22-year-old. Drafted 16th overall in 2007, guys like J.P. Arencibia, Rick Porcello, Julio Borbon, Brett Cecil and Tommy Hunter were selected after him in the first round. Justin Jackson has dropped off the radar on the Jays' shortstop depth chart, while Cooper, the lefty-swinging first baseman could become a major-league player, but likely not with the Jays.

Q. Since the L.A. Angels missed out on all of the big time free agents, do the Jays get L.A's first round pick #17 overall for signing Scott Downs? Thanks in advance.

Terry Giffen, Minesing

A. The Jays apparently get the Angels' second round pick fror Downs. If you finish in the bottom 15 of standings, then your first round pick is protected. Even though the Angels are picking 17th overall, there are three unsigned compensation picks ahead of them in  the draft. The Jays also get a sandwich round pick for Downs after the first round.

Q. Is it just me, or has this been a disappointing off-season? We don't make any serious upgrades, missing out on Dan Uggla and Zack Greinke. We have no (willing) 3rd baseman. We create payroll flexibility and the money is pocketed. By the way, is there a Guinness world record for the most former closers on one team? Five must be getting pretty close.

Frank S., Toronto

A. I do agree with you on the five closers issue. It's like a guy bragging about his vintage car collection and you go in his garage and they're all '68 Camaros.

As for pocketing the money, I don't see it that way. The previous front-office regime, if they had made similar savings by trading high-priced players, they would have felt obligated to go out and spend the money just because they had it.

Usually by the end of the winter it was on leftovers and usually it was money mis-spent, but back then the obsession with competing with the Red Sox and Yankees was unhealthy for the organization.

The money saved this off-season has not been pocketed as much as it has been tabled for future use. The third-base situation will work itself out, likely with Jose Bautista moving to right field.

As for Uggla and Greinke, every team goes after a variety of players each off-season and every team fails more than it gets their man. Building a team is an ongoing process. I suppose if a fan was anticipating winning the AL East in 2011 then it has been a disappointing off-season, but if one sees it as finding nine answers in the field and five answers in the rotation, with five (??) answers at closer, then it has been a productive winter.

Q. Good afternoon Richard. What do you think about Michael Young for one or two years at 3rd base for the Jays pending Brett Lawrie's arrival? Maybe he wouldn't agree to a short term deal, but 91 RBIs would be nice from that position for the Jays. Is .950 FPCT too low for a 3rd baseman? Encarnacion was .932 in 2010. I can't figure who they could offer in trade, a reliever perhaps plus Encarnacion (?), however, spring training hasn't started so how do you decide who are the keepers? Thanks for a great column. Look forward to it every week.

D'Arcy Draper

A. I do like Young as the short-term answer at third base. No fan should be looking at the $48 million for three years left on his contract because it's not our money so why should we care.

The fact is the Jays are one of the few teams that can afford the contract and with a 20-year-old Brett Lawrie set to inherit the position when he's ready, Young would help the Jays to compete better right now. When Lawrie is ready and the Jays can compete without Young, they can move him and help pay the rest of the contract.

Remember, Paul Beeston said the Jays' franchise can support $140-150 million per year. As for Young's defence, third base is his third position in the majors and mechanically there was a lot of room for improvement given some one-on-one work and a willingness by Young to get better. Hand him over to Brian Butterfield for a spring and see what happens. Young is an infielder and an athlete.    

Mailbag 02-10-11

by Richard Griffin

 

It was a tough week for the old Expos' organization, with the passing of two popular former Canadian major-league baseball stalwarts, Ron Piche a 75-year-old native of Verdun, Quebec and Woodie Fryman, a 70-year-old native of Ewing, Kentucky. RIP.

First came the announcement at the end of last week of the death of Piche, a former major-league pitcher with the Braves, Angels and Cardinals and a lifetime Expos employee from 1969 to 2004 when the franchise was shifted to D.C. After a couple of seasons in the Expos' fledgling minor league system, trying to get back to the bigs and qualify for his MLBPA pension, Piche retired as a player and joined the front office in any area he could help. He was listed briefly as a major-league coach in 1976 but spent most of his time in stadium operations, public relations and scouting. Piche was a terrific minor-league pitcher and was a solid contributor in the Braves' bullpens of the late '50 and early '60s. He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall-of-Fame at St. Marys. When I started with the Expos in 1973, Piche was one of the first to befriend the 19-year-old college kid printing off notes, running stats and just wanting to be around the major-league game soaking up any knowledge he could. The friendship lasted throughout the rest of his life, the last 15 years like all good friendships separated by distance. Whenever we were at a press conference where a new player or a current one did or said something self-serving or silly, Piche, always dressed for business in white shirt and tie, would turn with a half-smile and quietly say, “Rich, this game has really changed.” Whenever I hear that expression to this day, I think of Ron and smile. 

I recall fondly Piche's many stories of life in the majors with the Braves. He told of sitting in the lobby of a road hotel reading the newspaper with teammates, looking at the boxscores killing time before going to the ballpark. Johnny Logan was a light hitting shortstop who didn't get many hits but had proudly recorded one the night before. Alarmed, Logan looked up from the paper and said to his teammates. “Hey they have me oh-for-four.” Lew Burdette answered, “Maybe it was a typographical error.” Logan snapped back, “It was no error, it was a line drive up the middle.” The story has been re-told by others, but I believe it started with Piche. Another favourite memory was of the Expos' small area at Jarry Park on the second floor above the executive offices set aside for post-game libations, professional bartender and all. Some nights, if Gene Mauch and his coaches came in, joining media, front office and coaches it stayed open until 4:00 in the morning. It was a good place for a kid like me to soak up some major-league knowledge – and other things. One night Piche brought his buddy Burdette into the Jarry Park lounge. By then, a Braves coach, Burdette as a player was a master of the spitter. Piche encouraged Burdette that night to play the “wet or dry” game with a baseball. Rapt attention was paid Burdette as inebriated Expos staff gathered around. Burdette took a baseball and fiddled with it in both hands back and forth like he was standing on the pitching rubber. Finally he would ask “Wet or dry?” He would have either spit on the ball or not as everyone watched closely. Nobody ever got it right. The guy was good and Piche was in heaven. Now he truly is.

As for the lefthanded Fryman, he was my first example of a good ol' boy, a country gentleman farmer who played baseball as a hobby and with passion. In 1976, he was a sublime presence on a ridiculous Expos' team that won 52 games in the year of the Summer Olympics, in the final year at Jarry Park. While Tim Foli fought with the manager, Karl Kuehl, who had replaced Gene Mauch, Fryman just went out every fifth day and competed. Kuehl was fired mid-season because he lost the clubhouse and the bombastic Charlie Fox took over for the rest of the year. Fox apparently had won WW II by himself, as a Navy Seal storming the beaches of Italy from the sea. It was a decidedly weird year. But Fryman's 13-13 record (25-percent of the team's wins) and a 3.37 ERA earned him player of the year, even though his left arm ached every day and he could never straighten it at the best of times. The simple act of competing in the annual Farm Day at Jarry Park where he was the designated cow-milker, even the simple act of squeezing a teat hurt him. But he never complained and tossed 216 innings. In the off-season, with Dick Williams now on board and the prospect of moving into Olympic Stadium, the Expos were able to deal the 36-year-old Fryman and Dale Murray to the Reds to get future Hall-of-Famer Tony Perez. Fryman always had something wise to say as he bemusedly sat in road lobbies watching the world go by. Hopefully heaven has a lobby. On to the mailbag.            

 

Q-Hey Richard.

Last year, the Brandon Morrow-Jose Molina combo really worked well. Do you think the Jays will continue to use them together, or do you think the Jays will try to use J.P. Arencibia with Morrow? Thanks.

Nathan Zaltsman, San Francisco, CA

 

A-With a new Jays manager, John Farrell, the whole question of pairing a certain pitcher with a personal catcher like Morrow-Molina did last year starts anew. Pitching is very much a mental skill. A guy with average stuff but with great confidence and a gameplan can be more effective than a pitcher with great stuff and no clue. If a pitcher thinks that a certain catcher knows his stuff better and is on the same page and he feels he can trust impicitly the fingers the catcher drops for every pitch, throwing it with supreme confidence, he's already way ahead of the pitching game. As a manager, don't fight it.

An example of that lack of confidence that cost a pitcher sending him into a funk last year was Jason Frasor. In 2009 he developed that relationship of trust with former Jays catcher Rod Barajas. But in April last year coming out the chute with two new catchers, installed as the closer, it was obvious early on that Frasor and John Buck did not have that type of “same page” relationship and he soon lost the Jays' closer role to Kevin Gregg. Frasor is not the “take charge” kind of guy with regard to his own game and in the end he also worked better with the chest-thumping, more vociferous Molina.

Most managers, including Cito Gaston last year's skipper, don't encourage the notion of a personal catcher. It expecially does not work well for a team if you have one catcher that hits lefthanded and one that bats right, because in that case you would rather get the backup catcher his once or twice a week work depending on the opposing pitcher, lefty/righty. But with both Arencibia and Molina being righthanded hitters and with Arencibia being a raw rookie targeted at around 120 starts, Farrell may give in to Morrow's comfort level since he does want Molina to get some work anyway. Don't look for the personal catcher thing at spring training, though. You'll see Morrow throw a lot to Arencibia and sometimes to some of the minor league guys, but at the end of the spring in the final week, in the final tuneup, if Morrow, slated as the rotation's No. 2 guy, wants Molina as his catcher, he'll likely get him.   

 

 

Q-Hey Richard.

First of all, thanks for the continuing enlightment of our beloved Jays! Looking forward to another mailbag season. That being said my question pertains to the HoF induction ceremony. I know it is a ways away, but a couple of buddies and I will be heading down to show our support of Robbie and Pat. We have booked our room already (thankfully as it was a mess) but we were wondering: As HoF induction rookies, what should we plan on doing and being ready for? Any pointers you could provide us on how to make the most of this weekend would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Isaac V., Toronto

 

A-The main thing to have on Hall-of-Fame induction weekend is patience. The ceremony for Alomar, Bert Blyleven and Gillick is on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The best idea from my standpoint as far as the chance of meeting Hall-of-Famers is to troll the real estate on Lake, Chestnut and Main Street between the Otesaga Hotel (where the Famers stay) and the Museum on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Also at Doubleday Field at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon is a free admission event for fans to the induction of Expos' broadcast icon Dave Van Horne, followed at 6:00 p.m. by a parade down Main Street of the Hall-of-Fame members on hand. Once you have a parking spot if your hotel is out of town, you're there for the day. Enjoy. You can stay updated on the itinerary of events at the Hall's website http://baseballhall.org/

 

 

Q-Is it by design or is it mere coincidence that the team seems to be heading in a younger and “by extension” more fleet-footed direction? With the off-season pick-ups of Corey Patterson and Rajai Davis and the departure of Vernon Wells the ball club appears to be re-defining itself (at least on paper, anyway). I like these moves that A.A. has made, in bringing in some speedsters, hopefully to help electrify the Jays' running game. Are the Jays, through these moves, consciously trying to change their image and in-game style, from being a notoriously base-to-base ball club to more of a heart-and-hustle team? If so, then I'm one of those who are all for it.

Darrell Holtze, Guelph

 

A-The Jays have always believed in being aggressive on the bases (within their capabilities), the ongoing philosophy of third-base coach Brian Butterfield, but that can only include stealing bases if you have guys capable of stealing bases. Even slow guys can take the next base if they get an aggressive secondary lead and quickly read a ball in the dirt (see: Brad Fullmer, Kevin Millar, Scott Rolen). It doesn't have to go to the backstop to move up a base and change a potential force play at second into a scoring opportnity. Even slow guys can go from first to third on a single if the third base coach is aggressive, if they know the strength of the outfielder's arm and if you approach each base as if you are going to take the next one as well. The Jays have always approached base frunning that way, but have never approached base running with the actual intent of stealing bases. Now they have Davis, Patterson, Yunel Escobar, Brett Lawrie and even Aaron Hill and Travis Snider that can steal a base. They're still not the Go-Go Blue Jays by any means, but have more weapons in the arsenal than in recent years. It's down the line in the pipe where fans should be excited. Other Jays' organization players that can steal a bag include infielder Mike McCoy, outfielders Darin Mastroianni, Kenny Wilson, Jake Marisnick and Eric Eiland. People tend to forget that the Jays when they won back-to-back World Series stole 129 and then 170 bases in 1992-93. Last season, they stole 58. Unlike what many analysts today would have you believe, it's not a sign of weakness to steal bases. Even the threat of a steal can be a useful offensive weapon. The Jays are consciously heading in that direction. 

 

 

Q-After reading your article about Delgado's attempt at a comeback, do you think the jays would be interested in services? He would fit AA mold of a DH/1B player and it would be great for the fans and for the organization if Carlos finishes up his career with the team that he spent 11 arduous years with.

Matthew Lee, Toronto

 

A-I enjoyed writing the Delgado comeback piece, because I like Carlos as a human being and as a great Jays' player in his prime, but he does not fit into what the Jays are trying to do right here, right now. A few years ago when the Jays were intent on celebrating the past with promotions like Flashback Friday and Kelly Gruber Groundhog Day wherein the former third baseman seemed to be making more top-of-the-dugout appearances than Ace the mascot, the current clubhouse at that time bristled. The feeling among the guys on hand was that the Jays cared more about the past than the present, that they would rather sell memories than accomplishments. The current front office does not want to repeat that mistake. Delgado is not a young, controllable player. He bats lefthanded just like Adam Lind the man they are hoping can grab first base by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. His presence would distract rather than focus this group. They are looking for a new Delgado-Shawn Green, or Delgado-Vernon Wells combo to step up. Carlos is still two months away from being able to showcase himself to teams and probably another two months after that from playing in the major leagues, barring any setbacks to the two surgically repaired hips. My hope is that some team finds a spot for him and that he reaches his goal of 500 home runs and that some day in the future he can return to the Rogers Centre to be honoured with his number hoisted to the Level of Excellence.

 

 

 

Q-Ricky Romero looks to be a lock to be the Jays opening day starter. I seem to recall that not so long ago (2006-2008) there was a perception that Romero was a failed prospect (I say perception because Romero was ranked in the top 10 Jays prospects in 2006/2007/2008). Perhaps the idea that drafting the “soft-tossin' lefty” was mistake was due to his injury issues, a guy named Troy Tulowitzki, or a dislike of the man who drafted him. Question: Who do you view as an underrated Jays prospect who may still surprise, David Cooper, Kevin Ahrens, Justin Jackson?

Michael Spratt, Ottawa

 

A-Romero was chosen 6th overall in the 2005 June Draft out of Cal-State Fullerton University. Unfortunately for Romero, the Jays and for GM J.P. Ricciardi, the guy chosen 7th overall, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki became the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year and led his Rockies to the World Series where they lost to the Red Sox. It looked worse because Ricciardi's first two first-round draft picks had been shortstops Russ Adams in 2002 and Aaron Hill in 2003, neither of whom filled the Jays' shortstop void. Then a legitimate one came up and he passed. Tulowitzki became a one-word code for Jays' draft failure as Romero struggled with injuries and development. There is still no doubt that Tulowitzki would have been a better pick for the franchise at the time, but Romero's progress under Brad Arnsberg and now Bruce Walton has been redemptive. Unfortunately for Ricciardi, just as the worth of his draft of Romero is being rescued, the rest of his legacy is sinking in quicksand faster than an ivory poacher in an old Tarzan movie.

I think the view of Romero was affected more by Tulowitzki's early success more than anything else. The fact that Ricciardi's reflex was always defensive whenever Romero's name came up, like the SNL sketch spoofing the cigarette executive being questioned by 60 Minutes, it spun off into the rest of his relationship with the local media. (See: Chris Carpenter winning Cy in St. Louis).

As for darkhorse leftovers from high draft picks of the Ricciardi Era that have thus far been perceived as failures, I like switch-hitting third baseman Kevin Ahrens. He'll be playing his fifth Jays minor-league season now as a 22-year-old. Drafted 16th overall in 2007, guys like J.P. Arencibia, Rick Porcello, Julio Borbon, Brett Cecil and Tommy Hunter were selected after him in the first round. Justin Jackson has dropped off the radar on the Jays' shortstop depth chart, while Cooper, the lefty-swinging first baseman could become a major-league player, but likely not with the Jays.

 

 

Q-Since the L.A. Angels missed out on all of the big time free agents, do the Jays get L.A's first round pick #17 overall for signing Scott Downs? Thanks in advance.

Terry Giffen, Minesing

 

A-The Jays apparently get the Angels' second round pick fror Downs. If you finish in the bottom 15 of standings, then your first round pick is protected. Even though the Angels are picking 17th overall, there are three unsigned compensation picks ahead of them in  the draft. The Jays also get a sandwich round pick for Downs after the first round.

 

 

Q-Is it just me, or has this been a disappointing off-season? We don't make any serious upgrades, missing out on Dan Uggla and Zack Greinke. We have no (willing) 3rd baseman. We create payroll flexibility and the money is pocketed. By the way, is there a Guinness world record for the most former closers on one team? Five must be getting pretty close.

Frank S., Toronto

 

A-I do agree with you on the five closers issue. It's like a guy bragging about his vintage car collection and you go in his garage and they're all '68 Camaros. As for pocketing the money, I don't see it that way. The previous front-office regime, if they had made similar savings by trading high-priced players, they would have felt obligated to go out and spend the money just because they had it. Usually by the end of the winter it was on leftovers and usually it was money mis-spent, but back then the obsession with competing with the Red Sox and Yankees was unhealthy for the organization. The money saved this off-season has not been pocketed as much as it has been tabled for future use. The third-base situation will work itself out, likely with Jose Bautista moving to right field. As for Uggla and Greinke, every team goes after a variety of players each off-season and every team fails more than it gets their man. Building a team is an ongoing process. I suppose if a fan was anticipating winning the AL East in 2011 then it has been a disappointing off-season, but if one sees it as finding nine answers in the field and five answers in the rotation, with five (??) answers at closer, then it has been a productive winter.

 

 

 

Q-Good afternoon Richard, What do you think about Michael Young for one or two years at 3rd base for the Jays pending Brett Lawrie's arrival? Maybe he wouldn't agree to a short term deal, but 91 RBIs would be nice from that position for the Jays. Is .950 FPCT too low for a 3rd baseman? Encarnacion was .932 in 2010. I can't figure who they could offer in trade, a reliever perhaps plus Encarnacion (?), however, spring training hasn't started so how do you decide who are the keepers? Thanks for a great column. Look forward to it every week. Regards, D'Arcy Draper

 

 

A-I do like Young as the short-term answer at third base. No fan should be looking at the $48 million for three years left on his contract because it's not our money so why should we care. The fact is the Jays are one of the few teams that can afford the contract and with a 20-year-old Brett Lawrie set to inherit the position when he's ready, Young would help the Jays to compete better right now. When Lawrie is ready and the Jays can compete without Young, they can move him and help pay the rest of the contract. Remember, Paul Beeston said the Jays' franchise can support $140-150 million per year. As for Young's defence, third base is his third position in the majors and mechanically there was a lot of room for improvement given some one-on-one work and a willingness by Young to get better. Hand him over to Brian Butterfield for a spring and see what happens. Young is an infielder and an athlete.    

Jays mailbag: Vernon Wells and the mysterious $5 million

The Jays staged their annual State of the Franchise meeting at the Rogers Centre last week in front of 400-plus season-ticket holders.

The tone was far different than it ever had been in the final winters of their discontent from the J.P. Ricciardi years.

Other than the obvious lack of soon-to-be-broken promises for the upcoming season and minus the failed promises to build up an impressive pool of minor-league prospects, never fulfilled, the major differences between this Jays' pep rally and others from the past was in the tone of respect accorded the fans emanating from the Jays.

The fact is there are no more well-informed fans in baseball than Jays fans. The Jays' faithful has always understood that this is not a small market in terms of the ability to compete.

When Paul Beeston promised that the Jays at some point in the near future were willing to spend $140-150 million on payroll, the tendency was to believe it. The Jays won 85 games in 2010. They may not win 85 games in 2011, but they will be closer to contending for the playoffs, especially when an extra wild-card is added in each league for 2012. Am looking forwards to spring training. On to the mailbag.    

Q. I love A.A's moves. But c'mon you cannot tell me he did not make a mistake signing Edwin Encarnacion when he could have signed a much better bat in either Manny Ramirez or Vladimir Guerrero. I know you are going to say well those guys can't play defence and A.A. wants to have guys who are not one dimensional and can run etc. But give me a break, these guys are much better hitters and both hit extremely well at Rogers Centre so their numbers would be incrementally better than Encarnacion as a DH/backup 1B.

Jason Sinnarajah, San Francisco

A. The question of Vlad Guerrero and his eventual 2011 destination becomes more about himself and his pride than anything else. In the wake of his fine regular season with the Rangers in 2010, helping them to the post-season, he was reportedly looking for three years, $24 million, turned down two years, $16 million and is apparently still haggling with the O's at one year, $8 million. He will probably settle for less at this stage, maybe with big performance bonuses. He badly misread the market.

Even though Guerrero will be 36 years old next week and he struggled in the post-season last year, at least the Rangers made it to the post-season with Vlad at DH. Clearly, he still can hit and has something left in the tank with a bat in his hand. He doesn't run well anymore and he proved in the Series last year, without a doubt, that he can no longer play the outfield, in fact, doesn't even want to play the outfield any more. The point is the Anthopoulos and the Jays were interested in finding someone to DH sooner in the off-season and for less money – and did so by signing Encarnacion.

As for Manny Ramirez, I would have preferred him over Encarnacion as Jays' DH for a one-year plus an option contract in which Manny was intent on re-establishing himself at age 38. He settled for $2 million in Tampa. Even in a down year, 2010, Manny posted an .870 OPS, on pace for 18 homers, 84 RBIs given a full season of ABs. The guy is a student of hitting and his work ethic in that regard would have been a good influence. Manny is in the same situation as Frank Thomas was when he was signed as an unwanted DH with the A's, the year before the Jays signed him to an unfortunate three-year deal. The key is to get them while they're trying to prove something to the world. I know that AA wanted to have someone on hand that could DH and possibly trade off with Adam Lind at first base if he fails to make the transition defensively. But Edwin is as much of a novice at first base as Lind, so it's a gamble anyway. The Jays believe that Edwin without the defensive stress of third base, can hit 30-plus homers.     

Q. Richard. I keep hearing the Jays paid the Angels $5 Million in the Veron Wells trade but A.A. doesn't admit to it. When will the 100% TRUTH come out on this? Doesn't the commissioner's office release that type of info or doesn't it show up somewhere?

Scott Ross, Greenwood

A. The total secrecy umbrella under which Anthopoulos prefers to work is annoying at times, but the fact is that major-league teams are under no obligation to share the financial background implications of any trade. The only TRUTH that fans need to know is that Vernon Wells is an Angel and will report to spring training in Arizona and that Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera are, or in the case of Napoli, were Jays. Most GMs, especially in the situation of Angels' GM Tony Reagins, where he was being publicly criticized for the Wells deal, inheriting the final $86 million for four years of a bad contract, would want the world to know that he was getting an extra $5 million as part of the deal. My educated guess is that's what eventually happened, that the truth of the $5 million transfer was supposed to remain between the teams, but there was fan pressure in Anaheim and the Angels side leaked the info to make them not look so bad as being had in the deal. The Commissioner's Office and the players' union must be notified of all financial details, but it's not up to New York to release money numbers. Anthopoulos continues to refuse comment and I know is upset that the additional transfer of funds was leaked. Recall that the $6 million to the Phillies for Halladay also came out after the rest was announced.   

Q. Hi Richard. I enjoy your blogs. I also am a big fan of AA. Last summer, I bailed from Toronto and the G20. The Jays gave up their home series with Philly by having it at their park. Was any thought given to having the series in Montreal? If not, why not? It would make sense given that they have good fans in Montreal and the PR would be terrific. I think the Jays missed a great opportunity there.

Warren Viegas, Toronto

A. It would have been great PR to play the series in Montreal, home of Canada's first major-league team, but there were several mitigating factors at play. First, when the Expos were actually playing at Olympic Stadium, the Olympic Installations Board had trouble getting the stadium ready to play. Imagine this set of circumstances. The lead time was for the Jays-Phillies series was not great and the baseball configuration of the field had been lost. The stadium scoreboard would have had to have been re-programmed and the logistics of major-league clubhouses and facilities, with batting cages, etc. was daunting. A second factor was that the Jays ended up negotiating to trade off that three-game series last June for a three-game series vs. the Phillies, the 2011 July 1 holiday weekend. That would not have been an option if they had chosen to play lasy year's series at a neutral site like Montreal.    

Q. Describing Chad Jenkins as potential trade bait got me thinking. Two and a half questions:

1. Which Jays prospects would you not trade under pretty much any circumstances and which ones would you say you'd be willing to trade?

2. When will we see Anthony Gose and looking back, do you like the trade of Gose for Wallace?

Marc Oliver, Toronto

A. Chad Jenkins, a 23-year-old power righthander, was the Jays' first-round pick in 2009. He has a major-league quality slider and a low 90s fastball, but when the name Joe Blanton comes up as a good future comparison, then he's obviously tradeable. The Jays really do have a stockpile of quality pitching arms, so it's hard to say that any one of them, including Kyle Drabek, is untouchable. Of course, you have to trust that the top guys would only be moved in a deal that brought back quality in another area.

Part two of the question minor-league guys within the organization, in terms of position players that I would have trouble giving up? First is Adeiny Hechavarria since he was a major international coup for Anthopoulos and has been receiving hard-fought for major-league salary since being signed. He is the poster boy for the Jays re-entering the marketplace as “players” with the big boys for international free agents. I would want to at least have a look at him at the major-league level in my own organization. The other two youngsters I am fascinated by and would have trouble giving up are outfielders Anthony Gose and Jake Marisnick. I love five tool guys that can both steal bases and hit for extra-base power and both these guys fit that bill. Gose, 20, and Marisnick, 19, are both at least 1,000-1,500 minor-league at-bats away from being contributing major-leaguers, but I would love to anticipate a 2014 starting outfield of Travis Snider in left, Gose in centre and Marisnick in right. That scenario, of course, would change if Jose Bautista signs a longterm deal with the Jays unless he stays at third base.     

Q. Hi Richard: A question. Why not leave E.E. at third base? I know he makes errors on routine plays but we have also seen him make very difficult plays as well. There still are some capable free agent D.H.'s out there (how about Vladimir Guerrero?) that the Jays could acquire.

Marv Rose, Toronto

A. Assigning Encarnacion back to third base would be a sign of weakness or indecision in the Jays' master-plan as designed by AA. Consider that EE was designated for assignment last summer, then was let go on waivers after the season, both times as a third baseman. What makes him any better or form-fitting now than he was back then. When he was re-signed by the Jays in December it was with the understanding that he was the No. 1 DH and would learn to play first base in the winter and at spring training as his second position. They are looking at his bat and his potential to hit 30-40 home runs as his DH credibility. Of course with much of his 2010 success coming in two road series, if Edwin played all of his games at Minnesota's new outdoor stadium and in that bandbox in Phoenix he might hit 70 homers. As for Vlad fitting in with the Jays, moving Edwin to third base, I think everything the Jays are doing is for the future and Vlad would be about the present.    

Q. Firstly, what AA has done so far with the franchise is nothing short of miraculous. My question is regarding 2012-2013. With the trade for Brett Lawrie there appears to be 4 players almost ready to cover 2B, SS & 3B with Lawrie, Yunel Escobar, Hechavarria and Aaron Hill. Does AA keep all 4 guys and rotate them through a bench spot? Does AA pick up Hill's options? Does AA trade Escobar away? Does Lawrie move to a corner outfield spot?

A. That is a tremendous question and an interesting dilemma for Anthopoulos and the Jays. The Hill option is interesting in and of itself, in that by the eve of Opening Day, by this March 31, they have to decide whether to keep his three option years (2012-14) at $8-8-10 million. If they choose not to do so, then by the end of the '11 season, September 28, they will have the right to only pick up just two options, 2012-13. If they don't even do that, then Hill joins the free-agent class of 2012 and the Jays can offer him arbitration. This is very interesting because, if Hill has a good enough season wherein he ranks as a Type A free agent by the end of the year, you could see AA letting him walk and taking the two draft picks. But if Aaron does have a bounceback season (yeah, I know he hit 26 homers), then you could also pick up the 2012-13 options, making him more desirable for another team in trade. I think AA will wait until the last minute, in late March, before making his first decision on Hill's options.

As for Escobar, the jury is still out on whether he is a long-term solution at Jays shortstop. He had a great debut couple of weeks in August with the Jays after the Alex Gonzalez trade, but then levelled off. He makes a lot of bonehad decisions on the bases and in the field. He's still young. Is Yunel the guy at short for the future or is the prized Cuban defector Adeiny on the fast raft to the majors?

The Jays surely have a lot invested in the 22-year-old Hechavarria, but if Escobar does turn out to be the real deal at short, then Hechavarria could still move to second base and what do you do with Hill? Or if Escobar flames out, then you could leave Hill at second and count on Hechavarria in 2012 and beyond as your shortstop. As far as Lawrie's future, at 21, they don't want to keep moving him around the diamond. The Jays are a little shallow at third base with the once heavily-touted Kevin Ahrens and his lack of steady development at the not-so-hot-corner. Therefore, it would behoove the ultra-cocky Lawrie to take to third base and run with it this spring. As we pointed out in an earlier answer, the Jays all of a sudden have some very hot outfield prospects a year or two (or three) away and if Lawrie was shifted to and learned to play the outfield just adequately what would you do with those guys when they're ready. The answer is for Lawrie to learn to play and learn to accept third base. In the short term, that would also allow Jose Bautista to play more right field, his best and favourite position.       

Q. Probably been asked this already, but after Hawk, will there be another Expos cap in Cooperstown? Rock? Vlad? Walker? Pedro?

jonah_n Jonah N, via Twitter

A. Another good question. The Expos already have Gary Carter and Andre Dawson at Cooperstown wearing the Expos' cap. It was neither player's first choice, but the Hall and the players ultimately made the right decision. The potential HoF guys remaining that you mentioned?

Tim Raines when he makes it in will go in as an Expos because he was the NL equivalent to Rickey Henderson as a leadoff man in his Montreal years. Vlad Guerrero will go in with the Angels cap, even though it's a great story with the way the Expos found him and signed him and even though his best years as an outfielder and total-package, five-tool player were in Montreal...hmm, maybe he would go in as an Expos. Larry Walker would be a tossup between Expos and Rockies. Colorado would have a bigger claim other than the fact he is a Canadian and would join Fergie Jenkins as the only two Canadian players. That would be a tough call. I lean to the Rockies. As for Pedro Martinez, he would go in as a Red Sox. Just listening to him answer questions at a press conference for the Phillies at the World Series a couple of years ago, when speaking of his past it was all about the Red Sox.   

Q. Hello Richard, I was wondering if you have heard anything about how many games are going to be broadcast on Sportsnet One?

Shawn Stirling, Burlington

A. It's a little early for a TV schedule, besides I'm sure Rogers Communications doesn't want to spoil the warm, fuzzy feelings of this winter with an announcement that is sure to be annoying to fans.  Besides, I think there has been some resolution to the Sportsnet One issue. I think one of my boys told me we now get it on Cogeco. I know I didn't order it. Who knows, but we'll find out for you.