Blue Jays Notes Feb. 28, 2013 including Jays-Yankees; Loria-Reyes: Griffin

Jays edge Yankees 1-0

The Blue Jays shut out the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field on Thursday, behind the seven-hit pitching of Brandon Morrow and seven relievers. Morrow worked two innings, throwing an efficient 23 pitches, 15 for strikes. The righthander said that in his first start five days earlier in Lakeland, he treated it too much like an extension of live batting practice, rather than a game against a live major-league opponent. He made the adjustment.

“I treated it more like game speed,” Morrow said. “I was more aggressive to my spot, with the ball where I wanted to throw it. I felt the same kind of rhythm in my delivery last time but I was a little soft with throwing the ball. That's why everything was up. This time everything was down, good locations and a couple of good innings.”

The Jays' only run came on a solo homer by non-roster third-baseman Andy LaRoche in the seventh inning off rookie Chase Whitley that made a winner out of lefthander Brett Cecil. The young veteran Cecil touched 90 m.p.h. on the radar gun, but packed the wrong jersey for the trip across the bay, forced to wear the No. 26 of Adam Lind.

The Jays raised their record to 3-4 and will host Tampa Bay on Friday, with LH Mark Buehrle against RH Jake Odorizzi.

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Coach Luis Rivera breaks out the infield shift

For the first time this spring, the Jays made use of the exaggerated infield shift popularized in Toronto by former coach Brian Butterfield. In the first inning, with Mark Teixeira hitting, third baseman Brett Lawrie crossed the diamond to take his position at the back of the infield dirt between Edwin Encarnacion and Maicer Izturis. He played the situation at double-play depth with a runner at first, but Morrow struck Teixeira out.

With two outs, Lawrie backed up deeper into short right field for Travis Hafner. The Yankee DH ripped a hard ground ball off Encarnacion's glove that was then fielded by Lawrie and fired to first for the final out, the highly unusual 3-5-3 putout. Before the game, coach Luis Rivera had discussed the strategy.

“(Lawrie) is one of the keys to it,” Rivera said. “He can play so deep and he can come in and get the ball. I see him catching line drives to right field where it can be a base hit. We'll have to wait and see. There's a lot of video that I have to watch, even though last year I watched all those guys. Then we have to make a decision after that.”

It's not perfect. Later in the game, with Sergio Santos pitching, Hafner sliced a popup to medium left field. Using a normal defensive alignment, it would have been a routine play by the left fielder, but with the shift on, Jose Reyes had to race out at full speed and make a spectacular over the head catch. The shift taketh away and the shift giveth. Manager John Gibbons seems to have mixed feelings, but will leave the decision up to Rivera, with input from all five starting pitchers.

.”What I want (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) to do with some of those new pitchers when they get their gameplan together is sit down with Luis, the defensive guy, and make sure it all matches up,” Gibbons said. “Guys like (Mark) Buehrle, they know the (hitters). They know how they pitch. We want to make sure he's on board with it too, where he wants his defence to play. A guy like that is such a command guy. He's not going to miss a whole lot. We've got to make sure we get the guys in the spots where he likes them too.”

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Rasmus late scratch from lineup

Centre fielder Colby Rasmus had been in the original batting order that was posted on the board in Dunedin, but by the time the bus arrived at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, he had been replaced by Rajai Davis. Manager John Gibbons said that Rasmus had injured the back of his non-throwing shoulder on Wednesday, but nobody was quite sure of the play on which it occured or the circumstances. Rasmus is day-to-day.

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Gibbons not big on regulating home plate collisions

There have been suggestions raised by a couple of major-league managers, Bruce Bochy of the Giants and Mike Matheny of the Cardinals, that perhaps collisions at home plate wherein the baserunner charges home and often rolls over the catcher resulting in injury, should be eliminated. Runners would not be allowed to contact a defenceless catcher.

Recall that Bochy's catcher Buster Posey was injured in a collision at the plate early in the 2011 season and missed the remainder of the season. In Posey's rookie season, 2010, and in his next healthy season, 2012, the Giants were World Series winners both years.

Meanwhile, Matheny's career as a major-league catcher was ended by concussions, some of which were likely caused or enhanced by collisions at the plate.

Like Matheny and Bochy, Jays' manager John Gibbons is a former major-league catcher, but he does not agree. In fact, Gibbons won the Mets' starting catching job at the end of spring training 1984, before Phillies outfielder Joe Lefebvre raced home from third base and threw an errant elbow that fractured Gibbons' jaw. He never regained the starting post after returning from the DL. Despite that, Gibbons prefers the rules the way they are.

“I want (J.P. Arencibia) to play like the game's always been played,” Gibbons said when asked if we would advise his man not to block the plate. “Injuries are freak things. But when a guy gets one at home plate, that's usually pretty serious though. That's the only problem with that.

“If you look at it, most catchers in baseball, they drift out (in front of the plate) anyway. Very rarely do they hold their ground on that, unless it's important like a game-winning run. The big complaint was, well they start leaking out. They've got to make a swipe tag or a dive tag. You end up missing the guy, so you always tell them, 'Hey, hold your ground.' I want him to play the game the way it's always been played. Injuries at home plate are very rare anyway.”

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Reyes insists Jeffrey Loria advised him to buy a new house

Down the pike in Miami, the Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told the Sun Sentinel's Juan Rodriguez that Jose Reyes' memory of events was not quite correct.

Loria insisted to Rodriguez that Reyes is the one that told the owner at a charity banquet that he and his wife were house-hunting and, further, Loria said that as soon as he found out from team executive Larry Beinfest that the trade with the Jays was potentially happening, that the owner called Reyes' agent to inform him. The charity fundraiser took place on Nov. 11 in New York City raising money for research for Lou Gehrig Disease (ALS). Honourees were Reyes and Mets' starter R.A. Dickey. The 12-player trade was leaked on Nov. 14. 

When Reyes was informed during Wednesday's batting practice prior to the Jays' game against the Yankees, of Loria's differing memory of those events, he laughed and quickly repeated his earlier assertions he had made in Jays camp in mid-February that the owner had told him to “buy a nice house.”

Reyes several days later, then left on vacation and it was while he was away in Dubai with his wife that he found out he was traded to the Blue Jays.

 

 

 

 

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The Bullpen: Stroman vows to overcome taint of drug suspension

YEAR 2, VOLUME III, Feb. 25, 2013

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Spring training is always and easily the best time of the year for baseball fans. But this spring, before the games started, you had to get there early or you missed it with regard to seeing the Jays players working out at the Mattick Centre. Manager John Gibbons runs quick workouts.

Most days, the players’ bus would leave Florida Auto Exchange Stadium at 9 a.m. heading the 12 minutes to Mattick. Players would stretch at 9:20 a.m. and before noon they were done, except for some late conditioning. Now granted, most of them did early work before nine at the other park and the weight room is always jammed and rocking to a loud Latin beat. But still. Noon?

General manager Alex Anthopoulos has no problems with the run-and-gun workouts.

“I think, one, it’s a longer spring training, so we’re going to be here that much longer,” Anthopoulos said. “The other thing, players are coming in, it’s an older team, our young players, other than Brett (Lawrie) who’s 23, are Colby (Rasmus) and J.P. (Arencibia) at 26-27. So we have a bunch, for the most part, of veteran players that know what they need to do to get their work done and when it’s done they get to go home.”

Most springs, the club will add some “B” games in the morning, usually prior to the regularly scheduled game against a team that’s geographically close like the Phillies or Yankees. But this year, with only one split squad scheduled, the Jays chose to add nothing, even with 35 pitchers in camp.

“I think there’s so many spots on the roster that are set,” Anthopoulos explained. “In the past we’d get a lot more ‘B’ games because there was more competition in the rotation, more competition in the bullpen. You really need to get people as much of a look as you can.

“Going in with so many jobs already sealed, we tell the players right out of the chute. You know what the five-man rotation is. The bullpen, this is the short list, if things change, but otherwise, when players sign as mino- league free agents. So there’s no need to schedule extra games. We’re going to see those guys in minor-league camp.”

Even through it’s a more veteran Jays team, there’s still a lot of work to be done during the Grapefruit League schedule and a lot of that work has to do with the new coaching staff being on the same page and correcting mistakes, making sure they are not repeated. That became apparent in the opener vs. the Tigers when Moises Sierra was thrown out at third base to end an inning one step before Adam Lind scored a run, nullifying the tally. Later on in the game, it was Mike McCoy colliding with Ryan Langerhans. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale addressed both issues.

“Seeing (those situations occur) helps you evaluate, but it also brings up some situations where we have a group meeting,” Hale said. “With McCoy and Langerhans. I’m sure Murph (Dwayne Murphy), when we have some time, outfielders working together, he’ll address it again, because he’s done it before, how important it is to communicate. That’s part of the game. You learn from it.

“There were a few coaches that did speak to Sierra and just remind him. The good thing is I saw some players saying something. I thought that was very key, because that means your teammates are having accountability too. That’s good for any team. It happened in the flow of the game. We were able to get some time to speak to him when he came back in from the three outs. I saw Luis (Rivera) say something, even Marty Brown. It’s flow of the game. It’s not scripted. You can’t script that.”

But the two highlights of the camp thus far are undeniably:

1. Lance Zawadzki’s game-winning grand-slam in Saturday’s opener and

2. Jose Bautista’s monster mash on Sunday proving his critics wrong and even though he won’t admit it, laying his own mind to rest concerning the left wrist.

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THE ESSAY

The fact is Marcus Stroman failed a PED test. The Blue Jays’ third-ranked prospect, last August while he was in Vancouver, was tested under terms of the more stringent minor-league program and was caught using a banned stimulant, suspended 50 games. By that time he had already been promoted to AA-New Hampshire. The negative mental image fans have of the PED drug cheat is of a shifty-eyed underachiever trying to take his limited talents to the next level, entering something illegal into his system deep in the shadows, away from his clean teammates, using an illicitly obtained liquid, cream or pill to make himself bigger, faster, stronger. Makes you shiver just thinking about it.

However, the Jays’ 21-year-old right-hander, selected 22nd overall in June 2012, Stroman shatters that stereotype. Stroman sat across a table from reporters the other day at the Mattick Centre in Dunedin, Fla, young, wide-eyed, looking like someone’s college-aged son, the kid ncxt door you would approve dating your daughter. Stroman had driven to Florida ahead of the minor-league reporting date, from his home in New York, with just a side-trip to his alma mater, Duke University to attend a Blue Devils-Tar Heels basketball game. In three years at Duke, he had never done that. Stroman had arrived at the Mattick Centre in time for the first day of the Jays’ annual mini-camp for top prospects, but of course, he had not been invited because he is currently serving a suspension that has 42 games left to go.

As a reward for his eagerness and enthusiasm, Jays brass allowed him to throw a bullpen on the side with Justin Jackson, a former first-round pick converting to pitcher after a failed infield career. Keenly watching the 15-minute session were GM Alex Anthopoulos and AGM Tony LaCava.

It had been a shocking moment for everyone when MLB announced that Stroman, the son of a long-time Long Island detective and a kid one semester away from graduating at Duke, had been suspended under the minor-league PED testing program, for using a banned stimulant.

“It was devastating at first, just a huge shock, and it was tough,” Stroman said. “The Toronto front office guys, they definitely helped me through it and let me know everything was going to be all right. I was in contact with Alex throughout the whole process. Alex let me know, if I was on the 40-man roster it wouldn’t have resulted in any suspension, it’s just part of the minor-league drug program.






“He let me know from the beginning, it is what is, you’re going to serve it, but we’re all here behind you and we’re going to help you get through it, everything will be all right. That and my family, I just have a very close-knit family and a few couple of friends. I stayed away from everything for a bit right after it happened, and moved past it. I realized it was a mistake, I put it in the past, and I’ve just been focused on the future and the present.”

Stroman offered his explanation of what happened. As part of his personal workout program, he had been consuming an over-the-counter product for a pre-workout boost that he obtained from a health store similar to GNC. It contained OxyElite which is on the banned substance list in the minor-league program, slightly different and more inclusive, more extensive than the major-league list.

“It’s just like Jack-3D and all that stuff like you take in college,” Stroman said. “I had no idea it was illegal, so it was an honest mistake. We do get a list. It was definitely neglectful on my part because I didn’t look at the list, so it was definitely my fault and I owned up to it. I understand exactly what it was. I’ve kept my head and down and worked harder than I ever have this off-season just to be prepared for this upcoming season.



“I have 42 games left and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be on the Double-A roster, they start April 4, and May 17, I’m pretty sure that’s the day. I’ll be down here, I’ll be working hard every single day and when the time comes, the time comes and I’ll be ready to go.”

Stroman is well aware that similar arguments of innocence through ignorance have been used countless times by countless disgraced players before. It will be a tough road back to being completely accepted, with fans in ballparks taunting him. The stain of suspension is hard to wash away.

“I know that’s the response I’ll get, I know that’s how it’s going to be looked at, there’s nothing you can do about it,” Stroman shrugged. “I understand people are going to automatically assume things and put me in certain categories, that’s where my family and my close-knit group comes in. I do care what people think about me, but there’s only so much you can care about what someone thinks about you. Literally, I’ve put (the incident) in my past, it’s in my past. I won’t mess up ever again, man. Everything goes through Donovan (Santas, minor-league strength and conditioning co-ordinator) and all the trainers here. I can promise you that won’t happen again.

”

Over and over again, Stroman referred to the strength of his family as his personal strength. His parents divorced when he was in the fifth grade, but stayed close for his sake, living a mile apart, giving him an ability to shuttle back-and-forth between the two homes with close relationships continuing with both parents. His paternal grandmother passed away a year ago, but she had watched every game he played in high school, both basketball and baseball and continued to drive the nine hours from Long Island to North Carolina to watch him start games on Friday nights at Duke.

“I can honestly say without my family I wouldn’t be nowhere near where I am today,” Stroman said. “It starts from obviously my dad . . . and my mom who have been unbelievable. My dad pushed me since I could walk at the age of three or four. He had me outside running with parachutes, training me, taking me here, taking me there, taking me all over the country to play. He was always the hard one, my mom was always the consoler when my dad was too hard. So it kind of worked out well.”

Stroman talked about the special relationship with his late grandmother.

“She was the foundation of it all,” he said. “She was the type of woman who was at the church, taking trips, travelling the world. She managed to do everything with her family too, so that was definitely a tough loss, but at the time it put everything in perspective. When that happened it made me realize, just live, stop worrying so much, just live in the present. That kind of helped me get through this suspension. If my grandmother was here, she would have been my number one supporter. She would have backed me up 100 per cent.”

At times in the conversation, it seemed that in living the dream, Marcus was actually living the dream of his father, a high school football player who tore up an Achilles and could never get there himself. The stories about parachutes on the back and dragging Marcus around the country for baseball seem driven. Was there ever a resentment of his father for that added pressure to live his dream?

“Yeah. I have this conversation with him now,” Stroman admitted. “Me and my dad have actually gotten closer as I’ve gotten older. Yeah, it was tough. It was very tough growing up because he pushed me so hard that I did start to resent him at one point and we did have a bad relationship for a little bit. But now when I look back on it, I thank him for it. ’Cuz who knows if he never was like that, who knows if I would be in the position I am today.”

So now Stroman has simply to bide his time until his circled May 17 date on the calendar, the day he believes he can return, likely to AA-New Hampshire. He can participate in minor-league spring training with the others, but he can’t play in any games with a paid admission, or be on a roster.

“It’s going to be hard knowing I could be out there playing, but I actually think I’m going to be able to develop more, I’m going to be able to stay here with the guys and I’m going to be able to work on all four of my pitches,” Stroman rationalized.

Stroman has, in fact, always been a basketball-first kind of guy. He was a position player when he went to Duke, but became a pitcher, as well, in his freshman year at Duke. He went to the Cape Cod Summer League where he enjoyed great success, then when he went back for his second and third seasons became the No. 1 starter and emerged onto the radar of MLB teams. Basketball is still his first love, but at 5-8, he was always going to be too short for Division I. At 5-8 and right-handed, many scouts would also say he’s too short to be a major-league pitcher. Old beliefs, ingrained myths die hard.

“I love it because it’s a stereotype,” Stroman said. “I’ve had that my whole life, people always used to say I’d never be big enough. I was never going to have the height, my dad’s not very tall, my mom’s not either, so it’s definitely a stereotype I love overcoming. (points to HDMH shirt he has on) It means Height Doesn’t Measure Heart and that’s something I trademarked recently, something that keeps me motivated and focused. I like the stereotype, I like beating the odds, I’m never going to be one to sit here and say I wish I was six-foot.”

Stroman’s suspension has already likely cost him future money and service time. The draft experts had suggested that of all the players in the 2012 process, Stroman was the closest to being major-league ready, possibly as early as last September. That would have set his service time in motion, guaranteeing an earlier arrival at those money-making MLB moments, arbitration and free agency.

“That was never even a thought, the whole money thing,” Stroman dismissed. “I just love being around the game and love playing, so yeah, it was definitely a setback. That would have been unbelievable to be up in the big-leagues in my first year, that was the hardest part. Income had nothing to do with it, it was just the fact of being at the big-league level, competing against big-league talent. That was something I had to get over, but that also drives me know, it makes me want to be there faster even more now, because I knew I could have possibly had a chance at that last year.

”

Stroman spent the past winter active on Twitter (@MStrooo7) waking up and going to be with Tweets to his fans, attending New York Knicks games, purchasing a new car . . . it’s all out there.

“I just kind of live now, man,” Stroman laughed. “I always have a smile on my face. I’m rarely, rarely in a bad mood. I try to enjoy every moment. That’s just the type of person I am. I’m never one to stress. If I get mad I’m over it within the next couple of minutes.”

The moment that Stroman feels will prove he has finally made it is when his Twitter handle needs to become “verified” with a little blue check next to his name. They only do that for the stars.

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THE RANT

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria came out of seclusion with guns-a-blazing on Sunday, purchasing full page ads in three south Florida newspapers to attack those who would suggest he did anything wrong in negotiating a sweetheart deal with taxpayers to build a new stadium, in loading up a roster of high-priced talent in 2012 to win it all, then dismantling after one season and in sending most of his star players packing in trades for prospects. This guy has huge cojones and admirable chutzpah. Following are the various sections of Loria’s statement followed by editorial comment.

Intro: It’s no secret that last season was not our best — actually it was one of our worst. In large part, our performance on the field stunk and something needed to be done. As a result of some bold moves, many grabbed hold of our tough yet necessary decision only to unleash a vicious cycle of negativity. As the owner of the ballclub, the buck stops with me and I take my share of the blame where it’s due. However, many of the things being said about us are simply not true. I’ve sat by quietly and allowed this to continue. Now it’s time for me to respond to our most important constituents, the fans who love the game of baseball.

Griffin’s comment: Yeah, the Marlins were horrible at 69-93, with a new stadium that taxpayers had forked over $450 million in public money for. So what did they get for their investment? One year of the promised stars, one year of Ozzie Guillen, a manager who immediately alienated the Miami Cuban population by praising Fidel Castro, a friend of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Guillen’s homeland. Who could have seen that coming, Jeffrey? Loria is calling the Jays deal a bold move. Yes, they got some good prospects, but he broke a promise that helped him land stadium financing.

The roster: Losing is unacceptable to me. It’s incumbent upon us to take swift action and make bold moves when there are glaring problems. The controversial trade we made with the Toronto Blue Jays was approved by Commissioner Bud Selig and has been almost universally celebrated by baseball experts outside of Miami for its value. We hope, with an open mind, our community can reflect on the fact that we had one of the worst records in baseball. Acquiring high-profile players just didn’t work, and nearly everyone on our team underperformed as compared to their career numbers. Our plan for the year ahead is to leverage our young talent and create a homegrown roster of long-term players who can win. In fact, objective experts have credited us with going from the 28th-ranked Minor League system in baseball to the fifth best during this period. Of the Top 100 Minor Leaguers rated by MLB Network, we have six — tied for the most of any team in the league. We’ll evaluate this roster and possibly bring in additional talent based on our assessment of what we need. The very same naysayers who are currently skeptical once attacked us for bringing Pudge Rodriguez to the Marlins in 2003. More than any other, that move contributed to our World Series Championship.

Griffin’s comment: Bud Selig also approved contraction of the Expos and Twins back in the day, but that didn’t make it right. Selig was as embarrassed and distressed as anyone when the announcement of the trade was made with the Jays sending Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck to the Jays. Selig’s personal reputation was involved, because he had helped Marlins’ ownership campaign for the public funding needed to build Marlins Park. The fact that the commissioner even took extra days to review the trade speaks volumes of his displeasure.

Acquiring high-profile players just didn’t work for the Fish because they overpaid a mediocre closer, Heath Bell, upset their best player Hanley Ramirez, moving him to third base to make way for Reyes, and gambled on Guillen as the loose-cannon manager with baggage. Having good farm teams is not what the taxpayers laid out their money for. Then Loria plays the ’03 Pudge Rodriguez card. Yikes. This has not been a well thought out plan for winning, with a kneejerk reaction to dismantle.

The Ballpark: The ballpark issue has been repeatedly reported incorrectly and there are some very negative accusations being thrown around. It ain’t true, folks. Those who have attacked us are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. The majority of public funding came from hotel taxes, the burden of which is incurred by tourists who are visiting our city, NOT the resident taxpayers.

The Marlins organization also agreed to contribute $161.2 million toward the ballpark, plus the cost of the garage complex. In addition, the Marlins receive no operating subsidy from local government funding. The ballpark required that all debt service is paid by existing revenue. Furthermore, many are attacking the County’s method of financing for its contribution, but the Marlins had nothing at all to do with that. The fact is, with your help, we built Marlins Park, a crown jewel in our beautiful Miami skyline, which has won over twenty design and architecture awards and will help make us a premiere ballclub moving forward.

Griffin’s comment: The ballpark has not changed the basic Little Havana neighbourhood in which it was built. It seems like a big spaceship settled down on top of local housing. Beyond the parking garages, there was little indication of the promised urban renewal. The same houses sat across the street, with the same residents sitting on the same front steps. From the ballpark you can see the Miami skyline, but Marlins Park is certainly not part of the Miami skyline. And inside it’s garish and ugly.

As for the $450 million coming from tourism taxes, money is still money and could have better gone to other issues that better served the public welfare. Good faith was broken.

Our finances: The simple fact is that we don’t have unlimited funds, nor does any baseball team or business. Fans didn’t turn out last season as much as we’d like, even with the high-profile players the columnists decry us having traded. The main ingredient to a successful ball club is putting together a winning team, including a necessary core of young talent. Are we fiscally capable and responsible enough to fill the roster with talented players, invest in the daily demands of running a world-class organization and bring a World Series back to Miami? Absolutely! Is it sound business sense to witness an expensive roster with a terrible record and sit idly by doing nothing? No. I can and will invest in building a winner, but last season wasn’t sustainable and we needed to start from scratch quickly to build this team from the ground up.

Griffin’s comment: Loria does not take any responsibility for his management team building that untenable, losing roster. He is a micro-manager and there would not have been one major signing or trade for high-priced talent with which he was not closely involved. Reyes suggested that Loria advised him to buy a nice home in Miami just a week before he was traded and just before he left on vacation. That does not sound like there was a lot of advance planning in this new direction. The Fish are in a very strong NL East with teams that aren’t going away any time soon. Ticket sales were disappointing last season in the first year of the new stadium. How is he going to attract fans this year. It won’t be via attack ads in the three local dailies.

Communication: An organization is only as good as its connection with the community. We know we can do a better job communicating with our fans. That starts now. From this point forward we can ensure fans and the entire community that we will keep you abreast of our plan, rationale and motivations.

Amidst the current news coverage, it can be easy to forget how far we went together not so long ago. In 2003, I helped bring a second World Series Title to South Florida. We know how to build a winning team, and have every intention of doing so again. I know you share my passion for great Marlins baseball, my love of Miami and my desire to win again. We’re in this together and I humbly ask that we start fresh, watch us mature quickly as a ball club, and root for the home team in 2013.

Griffin’s comment: After the trade and the bad press coverage, Loria convinced his club president David Samson to cancel his weekly radio spot. Loria hid himself away. Now that initial ticket sales have been dismal, he has decided to emerge and that communications is suddenly the key.

We’ll let you know what’s going on, fans. Let’s see, when Ricky Nolasco, Placido Polanco and Adeiny Hechavarria are your three highest paid players, your payroll is $45.5 million and your manager is Mike Redmond you can see why ticket sales might be a little slow.

The other thing about fan trust is that the Marlins won the World Series in ’97 and then dismantled the roster and the payroll. They won the World Series in 2003 and did the same thing. It’s been 10 years and promises to be at least another five before they can hope to do it again. Why should Marlins fans ever trust Loria and his baseball franchise ever again? What a mess.

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THE RANT, Part 2

We always talk about the unique selflessness of the Canadian players when it comes to the spirit of playing for your country in the World Baseball Classic, then Russell Martin comes along and spoils the entire feel-good atmosphere. Selfish! The Pirates catcher wants to play shortstop for Canada. He won’t be allowed to by Team Canada and the Pirates, so he’s not going.

That is unbelievable. The WBC is in two weeks and Canada has just two catchers on the roster and one of them, the starter, decides he doesn’t want to go. If Martin was injured that would be one thing. He skipped the first WBC in ’06 because he was trying to win a job on the Dodgers’ roster. He played in 2009, but Canada lost two of three and was eliminated. This is Canada’s best chance and now Greg Hamilton has to go looking for another catcher, maybe George Kottaras or Mike Nickeas.

“It’s just too much grind,” Martin wahh’ed to MLB.com. “The catcher’s out there the whole game, and it just takes your body so long to recover from catching 20 innings or so.”

Martin suggested he wanted to play shortstop or not at all. He has never played shortstop professionally, but played some second base prior to being drafted.

Hey, just stay home Russ and don’t expect a phone call in 2017.

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BAEBALL AMERICA TOP 10 BLUE JAYS PROSPECTS

The fabulous Baseball America Prospect Handbook is now in bookstores everywhere, profiling the Top 30 prospects in every organization. The pre-season Jays list must be adjusted because Nos. 1-2, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and RH Noah Syndergaard were both included in the R.A. Dickey trade with the Mets.

Following is the new Top 10 for the Jays, according to BA.

1. RH Aaron Sanchez, 20...6-4, 180...8-4, 2.49 at A-Lansing last year

2. RH Roberto Osuna, 18...6-2, 230...1-0, 1.50 at A-Bluefield & 1-0, 3.20 at A-Vancouver last year

3. RH Marcus Stroman, 21...5-9, 185...1-0, 3.18 at A-Vancouver & 2-0, 3.38 at AA-N.H. last year

4. OF D.J. Davis, 18...5-11, 170... .250, 5HR, 25SB at three levels last year

5. RH John Stilson, 22...6-3, 200...5-4, 3.88 ERA at A-Dunedin and AA-N.H. last year

6. LH Daniel Norris, 19...6-2, 180...2-4, 8.44 ERA at A-Bluefield and A-Vancouver last year

7. LH Matt Smoral, 19...6-8, 220...Injured last year

8. OF Anthony Alford, 18...6-1, 195... .167, 1HR, 4SB at Rk-Gulf Coast last year

9. C A.J. Jimenez, 22... 5-11, 200... .257, 2HR in 27G at AA-N.H. last year

10. RH Tyler Gonzalez, 20...6-2, 170...1-1, 8.40 at Rk-Gulf Coast last year

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN – ARIZONA VS. FLORIDA

Not much changes at spring training from year to year, but a nice break from Florida will come next week with the first round of the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix. To me, other than the time difference from Toronto, Arizona is a far more attractive site for baseball training camps.

There are all 15 teams within an hour and a half drive of each other, even in traffic. The weather is more consistent, the golf is fabulous and the restaurants more diverse. Hiking, climbing and things for tourists to see like Sonoma and the Grand Canyon are endless. The only negative for fans is that prices are more expensive. But, by now, after 36 years, Florida is like home in the spring.

The Bullpen: Blue Jays’ cost of building instant contender is a weaker minor league system

YEAR 2 VOLUME II, Feb. 19, 2013

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Unfortunately, the cost of doing business, of building an instant contender as Alex Anthopoulos has seemingly done over the past off-season, is inevitably the weakening of a franchise’s farm system.

As such, following trades over the past eight months, that have sent away nine of last year’s Top 30 prospects, according to the authoritative Baseball America, the Blue Jays have dropped from being ranked as one of the six most highly regarded farm systems to somewhere in the 20s. Hindered by restrictive rules on spending internationally and accumulating draft picks, it won’t be as easy to rebuild.

Gone from the 2012 Jays Top 30 are catcher Travis d’Arnaud and pitcher Noah Syndergaard to the Mets for R.A. Dickey; outfielder Jake Marisnick, pitcher Justin Nicolino and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to the Marlins for all of their stars and pitchers Asher Wojciechowski, Kevin Comer and Jose Musgrove, plus catcher Carlos Perez to the Astros for J.A. Happ. That’s a steep price.

In fact, as per this year’s just-published Baseball America Prospect Handbook 2013, only 12 names that were on last year’s Blue Jays list appear again in 2013. That’s after removing d’Arnaud and Syndergaard, who were ranked 1-2, because the publication date arrived before the Dickey trade. That is a huge turnover. Also gone from this year’s Jays’ rankings is outfielder Wuilmer Becerra (No. 25), also in the deal with the Mets. But the Jays’ cupboard is far from bare, just different and younger.

According to the age numbers in Baseball America, 25 of the Jays’ Top 30 prospects were born in 1990 or later. That number of youngsters ties the Red Sox and Rays for the most on the list at 23-years-of-age or younger. The Diamondbacks and Royals each have 24, while the Rangers and Mets have 23. Interestingly, the five AL East franchises rank among the Top 12 in the majors in that regard.

Starting on Friday afternoon, at the Mattick Training Center, the Jays will stage the club’s third annual elite mini-camp, inviting 30 of the organization’s most highly regarded prospects to three days of intense instruction prior to the official opening of minor-league camp on March 3. It’s impressive to go over and be able to watch the future of the Jays on display. This year will be no different.

A total of 17 of this year’s BA Top 30 have been invited, including outfielders D.J. Davis, Dwight Smith, Jr. and Jesus Gonzalez. Anthony Alford, who was playing football at Southern Miss, was booted off the team and has enrolled at Ole Miss, is not invited.

Among the pitchers who are Top 30 Jays’ prospects will be Aaron Sanchez (No. 3), Roberto Osuna (No. 4), Daniel Norris (No. 8), Matt Smoral (No. 9), Tyler Gonzalez (No. 12), Alberto Tirado (No. 15) and Chase DeJong (No. 22). The former first-round draft pick Deck McGwire, now fallen to No. 20 overall in the Jays’ system will also be in attendance following a couple of seasons at major-league camp.

There are four players among the Jays’ elite 30 that are participating in major-league camp — catcher A.J. Jimenez, plus pitchers John Stilson, Chad Jenkins and Sean Nolin.

And don’t forget No. 5 prospect, right-hander Marcus Stroman, a hard-throwing reliever from Duke University selected high in the 2012 June draft. Stroman, who was projected by BA as possibly the first to reach the majors out of last summer’s draft, is currently serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs at the end of last season and is ineligible to participate.

If you’re in the area, the weekend of Feb. 22-24, drop by for a glimpse of the Jays future.

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PREVIOUS BULLPENS:

Feb. 11: Dickey is in a league of his own

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THE ESSAY

The Blue Jays’ likeable 32-year-old outfielder, the effervescent Rajai Davis is one of just six current major-leaguers born in the state of Connecticut. Former Jays’ fan favourite John McDonald is another. One thing that the two men have in common is a keen sense of family and a strong belief in God. As such, it must have been particularly distressing when the news was announced of the killings of 26 victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School, including 20 young children, in Newtown, Conn., back on Dec. 14, 2012. The memory, from just over two months ago, still shakes Davis to the core.

“That’s unfortunate for those families,” Davis said. “Especially being so close to home. The whole state was in mourning. It’s just something that you don’t want to see happen, but it happened and the best thing we can do is try to move forward from there.”

You can easily observe the connection Davis has with young fans, whether it’s visiting schools as part of the Jays Care efforts during the summer, or interacting with fans at any ballpark his team is visiting. But in terms of what can be done moving forward to protect the children, Davis is at a loss.

“I’m not so sure as a society we can protect from something like that,” Davis said. “It comes down to we have to look after our families, pay attention to problems and see how our families are doing. It’s more than just protection. I think it helps, if it’s harder to get supplies (for the weapons), but ultimately if somebody wants to obtain something, it’s hard to stop them.”

Davis, after he suffered a season-ending leg injury in August of 2011, was able to accept the unfortunate accident by explaining it was God’s plan, God’s will and that God works in mysterious ways. But in a case like Newtown, it’s hard for the most God-fearing of men to see anything that makes sense. How do you explain something that makes no sense, teaches no lessons.

“It’s tough to see it,” Davis admitted. “That’s the mysterious thing about God. You don’t understand him. Neither do I. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to learn how he thinks because the way He thinks is different than the way we think. The way we do things, how we would do things is not the way He does things. And that’s the mystery about God. It’s a mystery. You don’t understand it, but it’s going to take a lot of devotion.”

But being back at spring training and looking forward to the season is a comfort for all major-league players. This is their extended family, their safe haven for the next seven months. Davis is realistically looking at a role as a Jays’ fourth outfielder, or perhaps a platoon DH and pinch-runner.

“Yeah, I think the chips are going to fall where they may,” Davis said of his own situation. “I’m going to do my best to help us win and that’s my goal. That’s I believe our team’s goal. We’re here to win and the front office did a great job of bringing the talent here to win. Now we just have to go out and put the pieces together and put what we have on paper on the field.”

Life sometimes renders athletic achievement meaningless.

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THE RANT

Baseball and the major-league players’ union simply need to do more for the majority of the players who have never cheated by juicing with performance-enhancing drugs. It’s almost the same brother-against-brother crisis the NHL Players’ Association faces when it defends players who have seriously injured an opponent, trying to minimize punishment to the perp while the victim is ignored.

The fact is that despite the lasting stain to the MLB game brought on by West Coast BALCO, East Coast Biogenesis and those coast-to-coast online pharmacies; despite 67 suspensions in the era of mandatory testing, despite Ryan Braun beating the rap, despite Melky, Manny, Raffy, Rocket, A-Rod and the Bash Brothers, among many others, thumbing their noses at the game, baseball has done a decent job, in cooperation with the players’ union, combining in an effort to rid the game of cheaters.

But they could do more. They could do far more. The dilemma for the MLB Players’ Association is that in defending the abusers of PEDs, especially and particularly those who have cheated since mandatory testing was included in collective bargaining, in ’04, in defending those defiant cheaters that continue to defy and obfuscate, the union is letting down the majority of its constituents, the ones who don’t abuse and are being cheated out of money as the victims of unethical and illegal actions by their own union brethren. Which group deserves to be defended more?

So what could the union do? How about sanctioning with hefty fines and perhaps suspending agents from recruiting new clients for a year, that have had more than one player who fails a drug test over a certain period of time, maybe two years? That would encourage agencies to participate in additional and important drug education to players, sponsored by the people with whom they deal the most, especially in the off-season, their agents. For agents to plead ignorance of PEDs is outrageous.

How about baseball guaranteeing that there would be no further suspensions or repercussion taken against players like Melky Cabrera who have already served their 50 games and, later, are mentioned as part of new revelations concerning old news, if said players cooperate. It sould be a union-sponsored investigation to find out all that they know after their names are mentioned. The results could be shared between the MLBPA and the commissioner so that mistakes are not repeated.

Cabrera and others who were included in the Miami New Times story from Coral Gables and perhaps also listed in the private files of Biogenesis owner Anthony Bosch should be allowed to step up and tell their stories without repercussion, or details being leaked. The knowledge gained would help create a more level playing field for the hard-working majority of card-carrying union members.

But perfectly crafted statements of regret released by their clubs in lieu of any and all probing questions from the media, is a disserrvice to the fans’ trust and not healthy for the game’s future.

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IBAF TOP 10 RANKINGS HEADING TO WBC

The following are the world ranking heading to the WBC later this month.

1. Cuba

2. United States

3. Japan

4. Korea

5. Chinese Taipei

6. CANADA

7. Netherlands

8. Venezuela

9. Italy

10. Australia

The Japanese have won the first two WBC tournaments, but some of their star players like Yu Darvish, Dice-K and Ichiro will not be playing. The U.S. would have to be seen as the favourite this year, but in Group D, Canada is the second highest ranked team ahead of Italy (9) and Mexico (11). The rankings do not include major-league players and are from performance in IBAF tournaments only.

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN – THE GHOSTS OF SPRING TRAINING PAST

I arrived in Florida on Sunday for my 36th consecutive major-league spring training. The first was in Daytona Beach with the Expos from 1978-80. They moved to West Palm Beach and shared a facility with the Braves starting in 1981. I stayed with them there for the next 14 years, through 1994. Then it was on to the Star during the great strike of 1994. It’s been 19 years for me in Dunedin.

That’s a lot of oranges, a lot of Sunshine State hooey and a lot of exhibition baseball with a lot of players who never made it to the big leagues. It’s also been a lot of fun. On to the next chapter.

The Bullpen: R.A. Dickey is in a world of his own

RICHARD GRIFFIN’S BASEBALL BULLPEN

YEAR II VOLUME I, February 11, 2013

THE BULLPEN — YEAR TWO

Last year, we began the experiment of an extensive Monday baseball roundup and that young tradition will continue again this year. With spring training officially underway on Tuesday, with the Jays reporting a day later and with the World Baseball Classic in March, it should be a busy spring for the Bullpen and with the Jays listed as Las Vegas favourites, the buzz is palpable. Here we go.

THE ESSAY

It’s hard to ignore the phenomenon that is R.A. Dickey. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner was brought on board in a stunning trade pulled off by Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos, sending two of the organization’s top prospects, Travis D’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard, along with catcher John Buck, for the 38-year-old knuckleballer and catcher Josh Thole.

Recall when Dickey made his first official visit to Toronto, he spoke of his pending trip to Mumbai, India, on behalf of the charity, the Bombay Teen Challenge. He was taking his two young daughters, Gabriel and Lila, as part of their education in terms of becoming better human beings.

A week ago, Dickey was available nationally for a conference call from Mumbai, covered in a nice piece in the Star by Brendan Kennedy. But on Saturday, he further to that offered a heart-wrenching first-person account of the time in Mumbai with his daughters. It was written exclusively for The Daily News, because of the fact that most of the contributors, the $130,000 he had raised the year before for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, were Mets fans and he wanted to thank them.

I cannot think of another athlete with a world view and personal priorities quite like this pitcher that is arriving in uniform with the Jays on Wednesday. There was debate about whether he was a clubhouse leader or was just looking out for himself in the Mets’ room. That point is moot.

I believe that Dickey’s importance to the Jays’ clubhouse will not be in a traditional leadership role as much as it will be in acting as an unintentional, but effective lightning rod for media, deflecting attention away from other members of the club that will not be accustomed to the Jays’ status as pre-season favourite and the accompanying attention it will attract this spring and into the season.

Anthopoulos suggested that Dickey’s contract — $30 million for the next three years — was as much of a gamble, because of his age and late-blooming excellence as was the Jose Bautista deal following his breakout 54 home run season in 2010. Jays fans were in need of this team taking some risks and just like it’s hard to criticize the Bautista signing even after his 2013 season-ending injury, it will be equally difficult to second-guess the Dickey trade even if the kids are all right for the Mets.

Dickey is a unique athlete with a social conscience and no ulnar-collateral ligament. The Jays’ Opening Day starter is already a clear and deserved fan favourite and has not yet thrown a pitch.

THE RANT

On most occasions, when push came to shove, I have more often backed the position of the major-league players’ association when it comes to clashes with ownership. But in the current cases of unsigned free agents, outfielder Michael Bourn and right-hander Kyle Lohse, I have no sympathy.

An important change in the last CBA was written in jointly by owners and the union modifying the rules of draft-pick compensation and basically taking the imagination of GMs like Blue Jays’ Alex Anthopoulos out of the equation. No longer would there be Type A and B free agents and no longer would teams losing free agents be able to accumulate Top 100 draft picks that strengthen their futures.

Instead, any free agent that received a qualifying offer from his original club, those players would be the only ones to affect the amateur draft the next June. There is a formula in place to determine the amount that the club offer needs to be — the average of the Top 125 salaries in baseball. For instance, this year the qualifying offer was $13.3 million for one year, of which 13 players including Bourn and Lohse received the needed offer from the Braves and Cards, respectively.

It seems no coincidence that all 13 free agents, in concert, dismissed the club offers and confidently put themselves out on the free agent market. Once they refuse their incumbent club, any club that signed them to any contract would lose a first-round draft pick that would not be awarded to the other team, but would just disappear into the atmosphere. The catch was that the first 10 draft picks would be protected so teams that were really bad still got their picks. The team losing a player would get a compensatory pick between the first and second rounds.

Well, Bourn and Lohse, and their agent Scott Boras have clearly made a huge tactical mistake and with a day to go before spring training, neither player that could have accepted $13.3 million in November has a job. My reaction? Well, that’s just too bad.

In the case of Bourn, the Braves went out and immediately obtained B.J. Upton to play centre field. They never made another offer to Bourn. Worse, Boras used the Upton numbers as his floor figure for negotiating with other teams for a long time. Let’s see, now. Your former team does not want you and signs someone younger and your strategy is to seek more than that elsewhere?

Boras was not able to come to terms with the Braves but has come to terms with reality. The Mets now seem the likely landing spot for the speedy Bourn, but while Boras was asking $60 million for four years, the Mets might go as high as $40 million for four according to New York media reports.

What’s worse is that both Boras and the Mets are claiming foul on the CBA. The Mets think since they were one of the worst 10 records in baseball in 2012, that the rule should protect their first-round pick. The league’s alternate picks, no matter the comparative records. But, unfortunately for the Mets, the rules doesn’t read like that. As for Bourn, he needs the Mets to win their challenge or else his man may not have a job. The Lohse issue is just one of future value and the loss of a pick.

This time, I can’t feel any sympathy for the players and the union. Live and learn. Maybe next year you’ll see some players seriously consider the qualifying offers, instead of arrogantly dismissing them.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN—FINALLY

The familiar voice of Blue Jays’ manager John Gibbons could be heard on the other end of the phone connection as the clock approached midnight in the Courtyard Riverwalk in San Antonio. It was a welcome sound after having merely texted back and forth most of the day as I made my way, first from Albany, N.Y., to Buffalo, to Detroit, to my eventual destination deep in the heart of Texas.

The trip to bag an interview with the Jays’ new/old manager on his home turf before the pressures of spring training, started in Albany, after dropping my son Patrick off at school for his second semester as a freshman at College of St. Rose.

The brilliant idea of being dropped off at Buffalo airport on the way home to Oakville saved a load of money on the flight, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. The only thing that I forgot to check was the pesky two hour and 15 minutes layover in Detroit, before connecting to San Antonio.

Seemingly one of the last flights arriving in Texas’s third-largest metropolitan area, bigger by far from the air than I had imagined, a car rental shuttle took me from the almost-empty main terminal to a remote parking lot with two bare bulbs still lit, guiding me as I did a virtually blind inspection of a nice little mini-SUV that proved to be a really smooth, reliable ride for the next two days.

Unfortunately, this was my first trip to the hometown of Gibbons and Cito Gaston and Al LaMacchia and Tommy Lee Jones, like most men my age, all I had was a hotel address near the Riverwalk and the idea that I needed to head due south on the interstate that splits San Antonio in two. We don’t need no stinkin’ maps ... and I don’t even know what GPS stands for.

An hour later, on what should have been a 20-minute ride, I had passed the Alamo three times and still couldn’t remember it. Finally I stopped at another competing hotel and got directions. Old dog, new trick, I guess. I had just checked in when the Jays’ manager called. I finally was able to relax.

It was left up to me to find us a spot for lunch on Tuesday, the idea being that John would swing by the hotel and park nearby and we would do lunch and a major portion of the interview, then head to the Alamo for some photos, as well as on to the home field of the San Antonio Missions where Gibbons had managed in 2012.

That 11:30 a.m. planned meeting allowed me time to scout out the old city downtown area before John arrived. I used the time wisely, finding the Alamo again, on foot, then scouting out some good photo locations at the old mission as background. The idea was for a stern-looking and combative Gibbons, who is most remembered by Jays fans for standing his ground in the face of overwhelming odds, to be photographed for the feature in meaningful, but ultimately tragic locations.

Right on time, a huge F-150 pulled up in front of the Courtyard and I hopped in. This was Gibby’s home turf. Surely he could find a nearby parking lot and we could head to The Esquire Tavern, the spot I had picked out for lunch because of its big privacy-promoting wooden booths as I wandered the streets earlier in the day. Plus it billed itself as the oldest tavern in San Antonio.

Fifteen minutes later, the manager still was looking for a parking spot getting farther and farther away from The Esquire. Finally, as he called dibs on a street parking spot, I looked to the left and there, once again, was the Alamo. I felt like I had scouted out this old fort in 13 hours more than the busiest of General Santana’s front men. With a slight change of plan, Gibby and I headed to the Alamo.

A couple of pics with the Alamo looming sadly behind him. A photo with Gibbons looking stern sitting on a window ledge outside what I imagined was the room where Jim Bowie had been gunned down as he unleashed his last Bowie knife at a shocked Mexican soldier’s abdomen. Then the one that made Saturday’s paper with two proud flags of the State of Texas billowing behind him.

But it was the 15-minute walk back to the restaurant that impressed me the most in learning the true personality of the Jays manager. For a guy that lived in the area, John seemed to have no idea where he was going. In the space of that quarter hour, he stopped to ask a strolling tourist, three city-worker guys that seemed to be dragging the river for drunks that may have fallen in the night before, a woman setting up her desk by the river for the soon-to-be-arriving lunch crowd and a policeman on the Riverwalk. He treated them all with quiet respect, giving no indication that he was in any way special. When he guided me to the back door of the Esquire down by the river, I said we needed to go around front. Gibbons said, “Richard, if you’re right I’m going to say you know more about getting around San Antonio than I do.” A strong rattle of the padlock and we were doing it my way.

Three hours later (the transcript of the complete interview was posted on my blog on Sunday) we were heading down the highway for a meeting with Missions’ GM Burl Yarbrough. The entire Double-A staff greeted Gibbons like a long-lost brother. He promised some Jays swag for their charity.

Some more sightseeing later on the way home and then I was back at the hotel. The next morning was a scheduled meeting with Gibby at Douglas A. MacArthur High School, at the ball diamond where teammate Matt Foley remembered the 18-year old catcher clubbing home runs over the science building. I took some more photos, although somehow these never turned out.

Then I was on my own for the rest of the day. I drove back out to the Missions ballpark for an interview. On the way I stopped at a Latin copycat of Hooters for lunch, but, truthfully, I was only there for the wireless. After checking in to an airport Courtyard, I found a place to eat and then a nightcap in a joint I had spotted across the street from the hotel called the Texas Boiler Room.

Ah, my kind of place. Wide-open ground floor warehouse, dark and noisy with a huge music selection on the jukebox, pool tables in the back and a selection of interesting locals seated at the long bar. The Lone Star tall boy cans were $1.50. The waitress was young and typical.

She stopped in front of me as I watched the Spurs thrash the Grizzlies on TV and was dripping blood on the bar as she pulled out a handful of Band-Aids. “Are you OK?” I asked. “Oh yes, my boyfriend turned 21 last night and he had a few and tried to ram his head through the window,” she said. “I put my hand out to stop him and I cut my hand.” I suggested she go to the hospital. She said, “No, it’s all right. I’m a nurse.”

Good to be back on the road again.

MLB POWER RANKINGS — Feb. 11 (Last Week)

1. San Francisco Giants (10)

World Series champs must be ranked No. 1 until further notice

2. Atlanta Braves (7)

Either B.J. or Justin will likely become second Upton in ’13 to make SI cover

3. Toronto Blue Jays (22)

Gibbons philosophy is to stay out of the way; good move with this talent

4. Washington Nationals (1)

Young and getting better — these guys are good and won’t sit Strasburg again

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (14)

Dodgers are the NL equivalent of the Jays in marquee upgrades

6. Texas Rangers (2)

Have something to prove to themselves after ignominious finish of a year ago

7. Detroit Tigers (9)

Ended the year with question marks in the bullpen; closer issue still there.

8. Oakland A’s (3)

Dangerous to be counting on so many first- and second-year starters at 24-25

9. Cincinnati Reds (6)

Votto and Phillips still the key, with Chapman taking his 100+ heat to the rotation

10. Tampa Bay Rays (8)

Counting on development of young starters Moore and Cobb and healthy Longoria

11. Baltimore Orioles (4)

O’s bullpen will have trouble repeating last year’s magic, but bats are better

12. Los Angeles Angels (12)

The Achilles heel despite the hoopla is the bottom three in the rotation

13. St. Louis Cardinals (11)

Some great young arms are ready to go, but will offence be as powerful

14. New York Yankees (5)

This team has bludgeoned opponents with 10 players at 14+ HR

15. Philadelphia Phillies (18)

Phils’ window of opportunity has slammed on their fingers in tough NL East

16. Boston Red Sox (23)

Many Jays fans have marked the first weekend on their calendar — Farrell fever

17. Arizona Diamondbacks (16)

Even though trade looks bad now, Aaron Hill would never have rebounded with Jays

18. Kansas City Royals (19)

The veteran rotation gives them cred, but too much else needs to come together

19. Chicago White Sox (13)

The ChiSox looked good at times last year, but in a shallow division

20. Cleveland Indians (28)

Tribe has made a lot of short-term moves trying to be this year’s O’s

21. Seattle Mariners (17)

No so fast on the King Felix coronation — needs a show of arms before cashing in

22. Milwaukee Brewers (15)

Brew Crew quietly has a chance to rebound after an off season a year ago.

23. San Diego Padres (20)

Pads can be much improved, but still won’t get them above .500

24. Chicago Cubs (27)

Theo’s great uncle in Casablanca wrote: “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon ...”

25. Colorado Rockies (29)

The Rox have been down for a few years, and that trend will continue

26. Minnesota Twins (25)

Mauer and Morneau can’t do it by themselves

27. New York Mets (21)

Mets host all-star game this year — that could be the highlight

28. Pittsburgh Pirates (24)

Two years in a row the Bucs have had fast starts and walked the plank after break

29. Miami Marlins (26)

This franchise has seen better days with fans still steamed

30. Houston Astros (30)

And first prize is a transfer from the horrible NL Central to the powerful AL West

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons Unplugged: Griffin

The recently re-hired Blue Jays' manager, John Gibbons, sometimes misunderstood but never misleading, had just returned to his family home in south Texas after fulfilling key off-season obligations to his new/old employer. It was a bright and sunny mid-January mid-morning in San Antonio, following the bone-chilling experience of a winter weekend in Edmonton on the Jays' winter tour.

The Star had flown in from Toronto the night before to meet with the 50-year-old former MLB catcher, the unexpectedly-reprised Jays' skipper, to find out what may have changed for him in the past four-plus years since he was fired mid-season in 2008, what had remained the same, since that mixed-bag experience as manager the first time around.

Following a walking tour of the downtown, remembering the Alamo and the Riverwalk, we stopped in for lunch at a place called The Esquire Tavern, billing itself as the oldest drinking establishment in San Antonio, with the longest solid wood bar in town. It was dark, quiet, the beer was cold. They had me at "Hello."

San Antonio is also home to former Jays' skipper Cito Gaston, former Jays' DH Cliff Johnson, late Jays' super-scout Al LaMacchia, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, former Mets catcher Jerry Grote, actor Tommy Lee Jones, four active U.S. military bases and the NBA powerhouse Spurs. It seems a perfect match for Gibbons, low-key, friendly and seemingly underappreciated.

Following is the totality of that Gibbons unplugged interview, offering a relaxed, reflective, realistic look at his life and career.The headings here are merely for purposes of navigation, although the full read is well worth it. 

1-GIBBONS FAMILY SAN ANTONIO CONNECTION

2-SURPRISE FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICK BY THE METS

3-DISAPPOINTING PLAYING CAREER LEADS TO CAREER IN COACHING

4- “NOT MY JOHN GIBBONS”: DAVEY JOHNSON

5-FAMOUS CONFLICTS WITH JAYS PLAYERS

6-FIRED FOR THE FIRST TIME; STAYS BUSY BETWEEN JAYS STINTS

7-QUE SERA SERA CAREER -- BLOND AMBITION

8-DEVELOPING KEY RELATIONSHIPS FOR THE FUTURE WITH METS

9-GIBBY'S DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEX

10-HANDLING A DIVERSE BLUE JAYS CLUBHOUSE

11-COULD HAVE BEEN A LONGHORN WITH CLEMENS 

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1-GIBBONS FAMILY SAN ANTONIO CONNECTION

RICHARD GRIFFIN: You're from a military family. Is that the reason your birthplace is in Great Falls (MT)? There's a major NORAD military base there. I flew in when Tim Johnson was named Jays' manager in '97. And there are military bases in San Antonio too. Is that why your dad (Bill Gibbons, a Boston native) moved here?

JOHN GIBBONS: My sister and I were born in Great Falls. My father was stationed out there for two years, 1962. We bounced around when we were really young. Then he got stationed here in San Antonio when I was in the fourth grade. I've been here ever since. He had an assignment that was 13 years, which is unheard of in the military. I ended up spending my whole school years here. He finished it up in Bolling Air Force Base in D.C., then retired. San Antonio is one of the bigger military towns.

RG: What was his top rank?

JG: He retired a full-bird colonel. Thirty years.

RG: You said your mom's still here. Did your parents move back here after he retired, or did they always make San Antonio home?

JG: When they finished up in D.C. he came back here and retired here. You get everything you need with the (military) bases here.

RG: And by then you had already been drafted (by the Mets) and moved ahead with your career.

JG: Yeah, by then I was out playing ball and would come back in the winter.

RG: Did you ever think of moving the family anywhere else or is it that you just loved this area?

JG: This is home. I've been here for so long. My wife (Julie MacFarlane) grew up in El Paso, Texas. She went to high school right outside here, so it's kind of a natural fit for us. It's a good town. We've enjoyed it.

RG: What about your kids?

JG: My daughter's my oldest one. She's 20. There's Jordan. Middle son, Troy, 18. And then Kyle, my little one, 13.

RG: The relationship with your dad, when he was sick, it seemed that – and I know father-son relationships are close – but it seemed to affect you tremendously at the time.

JG: In 2006 he found out that he was sick. Everybody goes through it. It's part of life. You get older, everybody's touched by it. Just being away. You know, the end's coming and you're not there. That adds...that takes it's toll on you. You don't know if you're going to see him again. I was able that one year to sneak home for a couple of days (during the season). The team went to Kansas City and (GM J.P.) Ricciardi told me, 'Go ahead, take a couple of days,' so I met the team back in Kansas City. He hung on 'til I got home then he died in January, 2007.

RG: Your mom has come to grips with it and she's doing fine now?

JG: Yeah, she's fine. She's a very independent woman. Life goes on. It gets us all sooner or later. One thing is nobody gets out alive. She's always been into horses her whole life and so that's kind of her thing. She's still riding, actually, at 74.

 

2-SURPRISE FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICK BY THE METS

 

RG: That 1980 draft the Mets had three choices in the first and four among the first 35...

JG: The Mets hit it (in the draft) the year following (laughs). They had some pretty good drafts. (Darryl) Strawberry (first overall) turned out to be a pretty good player. He may have had other issues. Billy Beane (No. 23 overall), he struggled like I did and turned it into something else (as GM of the A's).

RG: That first minor-league spring training (in '81) with the Mets...was J.P. at that training camp, or was he signed after that?

JG: No, J.P. would have been there because I played with him in '81 in Shelby, North Carolina.

RG: So it would have been you and Billy and Straw and all those young guys in that signing class. What was your thought about your future being a hotshot draft pick and all that, at that point?

JG: You're on top of the world. You think you're guaranteed to be a major-leaguer, but that's not the reality. I've always been a humble individual I think, for the most part. I never really got carried away with myself. But you could see it.

Coming out of high school, I was pretty good. I got drafted high. But you look at a guy like Strawberry, I mean there's something different about it. Everything's easy. Myself, I had to work for things. Even Beane. He was a very talented kid, but mentally it just got away from him. You think the sky's the limit. You don't think it's going to be easy, but here it is, a dream come true, now do something with it.

I actually moved up through the system on a good pace. Then in 1984, going into spring training (the Mets) threw the catching job up for grabs. I came into camp, there was myself, Ron Hodges, Mike Fitzgerald, Ronn Reynolds and Junior Ortiz. Those were the five guys that were there.

I had had a good year in Double-A in '83. Davey Johnson was the (Mets) new manager and he'd seen me play. He liked what I did, apparently. I had a good spring training, they gave me the job and then two days before we broke camp, I took an elbow in the cheek on a play at the plate. Joe Lefebvre was with the Phillies at the time. It was kind of a cheap shot. There was a throw coming up the line. He was trying to score from third. The ball was kind of drifting into him. He threw an elbow at me and cracked the cheekbone. So I started the year on the DL, a couple of weeks, maybe.

But when I started playing again I wasn't hitting anything. I think I was 0-for-15 (actually 0-for-12) and then we played you guys (the Expos) at Shea Stadium (on April 17, 1984), the Mets home opener. (Gary) Carter hit a grand slam (off Ron Darling). It was Bryn Smith or Charlie Lea, whoever started (it was Smith), I got my first hit. They say that after the first one they come in bunches. Well, that wasn't the case (laughs). It was kind of downhill from there. Then I injured my elbow, partially torn ligament. That winter they traded for Carter, sending Hubie (Brooks) and those guys. That was kind of it. Floyd (Youmans) had as good an arm as any of them. He had as good an arm as Gooden did. The (Mets) drafted some boneheads...talented though (laughs). Herm (Winningham) had a nice career.

RG: What was your initial reaction when they traded for Carter? Could you see writing on the wall?

JG: I thought, you know, I'm done here. I can remember Steve Schreyver was the farm director at the time, he called me after the trade and said, 'Listen, don't let this influence you.' (laughs). I said OK. This guy's the best catcher in the game. He's still a young man. I knew then that my chances of playing here...there might be a shot at a backup job. So I went to the next couple of spring trainings and there was really no shot at backing up.

They wanted me playing every day. In '84 I was 21, so I was still a young guy. They wanted me playing. Then the game started getting tougher on me. Finally, Ed Hearn and Barry Lyons. (The Mets) went through a few backups that did a pretty good job for them. Well I got called up a couple of Septembers. That was it.

I was there in '86, I got called up in August. Carter was playing first base and dove and dislocated his thumb. I got called up from Triple-A and Ed Hearn and I were the catchers. I was there two months and stayed with them through the playoffs catching in the bullpen. I wasn't on the active roster.

The following year, I got called up just in September, in '87. I couldn't sniff an inning. Not even a blowout backup game. Throw me a bone, catch me an inning. I think we were in St. Louis end of the season, I thought this is it. I've gotta go somewhere else. I've gotta figure out whether I've got a career or not. So I told the GM, Frank Cashen, that it's time.

They brought me to camp in '88 with the Mets and eventually at the end of the spring they traded me for (infielder) Craig Shipley, to the Dodgers. I went to Triple-A with the Dodgers in Albuquerque and split time with Gil Reyes. That was kind of it, then bounced around a couple of years in Triple-A. Basically what I was doing was hanging on.

RG: So, what was the whole experience like in the '86 World Series? Pretty exciting for a 24-year-old guy, even though you weren't on the active roster, you were part of it.

JG: The first (playoff) series was in Houston and my job was to warm up the pitchers. In Houston (at the Astrodome) you're on the field warming up and that place was rocking. It was such a great, classic series. You want to be part of the action, but in a lot of ways it was intimidating at the time too. We ended up squeaking that out somehow. Then, of course, in the World Series against the Red Sox I can remember in Game 6 just as all hell broke loose (with Bill Buckner's error), Gooden was warming up right after we started to get something going, just in case. I can remember, they had the police with all the horses in the bullpen. Gooden was throwing to me and every time the ball would hit the glove, you'd have the horses getting jumpy (laughs). Oh, hell man, then the miracle happened. That series was sort of the highlight of my career. Didn't get to perform in it, but I played a very, very small part on some pretty good teams.

RG: That was a time in baseball where many of the off the field temptations seemed bigger than ever and grabbed some guys' careers by the throat. Did you sort of have to push those temptations aside. There was all sorts of things going on in the early '80s. (The Star's baseball writer Mark Zwolinski) talks about his couple of years in the Mets farm system being unusual and exciting...

JG: Yeah, I didn't know he was (in the Mets system) until you told me that at the winter meetings.

RG: Yeah, Dr. (Ron) Taylor scouted him for the Mets.

JG: Is that right? I'll be damned. He never mentioned a word about that.

RG: He never does.

JG: Yeah, (as far as the partying) I was a nobody and in a lot of ways I'm a loner. I keep to myself. It wasn't like I had earned anything to be in the middle of that team. I was a part of it, but I wasn't an integral part of it. So, I just kind of kept to myself, did my own thing. Back then, in the olden days, you had to earn your stripes. Nowadays everybody just kind of hits it from Day 1, even if you're not. So I kind of kept to myself. On the outside, you witness a lot of crazy stuff. That was a wild bunch.

 

3-DISAPPOINTING PLAYING CAREER LEADS TO CAREER IN COACHING

 

RG: The experience of not going on to establish the career that people expected obviously doesn't mean that you weren't paying attention, because you did manage in the Mets farm system afterwards and you've managed twice now for the Jays. Did you realize at the time, that you were in fact paying attention to details, to guys like Davey Johnson, maybe for a future role. You have mentioned Johnson as a major influence as a manager. Did you consciously pay attention to detail or was it just something that you absorbed?

JG: I'm one of those guys. As a catcher you've got to pay attention day-to-day. But consciously, I don't think I was sitting there going, I want to manage in the big leagues, I've got to pay attention to what this guy's doing. No, but you can tell who's got it, who doesn't. The thing I got most from Davey is Davey's a very confident guy, I'm sure you know that. The players picked up on that. That helped those guys getting to the task.

He believed in it and that's kind of what rubbed off on me. He's very smart, always on the ball. He let you do your thing. He didn't talk very often directly to a player. He very often came through a coach, especially for the young guys. But there was something about him, this guy's on the ball. That was kind of it. But I don't really remember noticing, saying 'God, that's what I want to be.' I thought I wanted to get into coaching, but it could have been high school, it could have been college, it could have been professional. But, at that time it was sort of open.

RG: But those attributes that Davey has, of never letting your players see you react, never showing your players when you're behind, staying on an even keel when times are tough in a game...

JG: Yeah, that's him.

RG: Communicating with players, not necessarily face-to-face. I mean you're going to have to do a lot of that with the number of Latin players this year to get the proper message across.

That's something you said Davey already did. Being in charge, letting guys play the game, just get out of the way, you've said that's one of your attributes. Are you just putting guys out there letting them play the game? Is it your goal to just not get in the way?

JG: I think so. The biggest mistake people make in this game is they try to control too many things. As a manager you have your job. You have to run the pitching staff, the bullpen and all that. There's got to be some structure there. You call the shifts, but, eventually, guys that are control freaks, it catches up with them. The players are the show. When you bring in the type of players we've got this year, guys that have been successful, there's a reason they're successful. You've got to let them do their thing.

RG: Is it easier to manage that way, let them play, easier when you have a very talented team compared to a very mediocre team? Just observing Cito (Gaston), those '92-'93 teams are relatively like the team you have this year. But then later on, in the mid-to-late-'90s, Cito, the same manager, was given younger teams that didn't already know how to play. He wasn't able to perform the same magic with those groups. Do you agree that with a team that's talented and self-motivated it's easier for the description you've given.

JG: Everybody wants to manage a team they don't have to coach so much. It makes things easier.

RG: Hey skip, stay out da way.

JG: Yeah. It's the old 'push-button' club. I don't mind people saying that, we've got a push-button club. That's great. As long as you're winning.

RG: Was it different the first time (with the Jays), because those weren't push-button clubs.

JG: I wouldn't say that. We had some very talented guys. I don't want to say something was missing, but there just wasn't enough with us to get over the hump. Whatever the expectations were, we went into a couple of years expecting a lot, whether that was legit or not. Sometimes you think you're better than you are.

There were some times we achieved our level. There were times we underachieved too. We hung in there, but to be honest with you, I don't know if there was enough to get over the hump. We had the Yankees and Red Sox, the way they were built. That's not an excuse, taking the easy way out on my part, but that's the way it was.

 

4- “NOT MY JOHN GIBBONS”: DAVEY JOHNSON

 

RG: I don't know if you've ever heard the story. When you got named to replace Carlos Tosca, it was an Olympic year. It was Athens, the end of '04. Davey Johnson was an adviser for Team Netherlands.

JG: Yeah, I remember reading that.

RG: The news came out over there that you had taken over. His reaction was, 'Not my John Gibbons!!??'

JG: (laughs, laughs again) He said that. (laughs again)

RG: Do you find it humourous that Davey would say that spontaneously?

JG: Yeah.

RG: Like you said, you weren't necessarily sitting next to him in the (Mets) dugout...

JG: I rarely got on the field and when I would do anything it would be down there warming up in the pen. And let's face it, you don't get recognized in this business until you've accomplished something. If you're successful as a player, it carries some weight, it buys you some time. If you haven't accomplished anything, you get the shot but then if you don't do anything great, everybody and their brother in the baseball world is going, 'How did this guy get that job?' You know how it is.

So, I mean it doesn't surprise me (with Davey). I had some good people on the way that gave me some opportunities, you know. Let's be realistic. The odds of coming back here a second time, you gotta have a charmed life in some ways. But that is kind of funny.

 

5-FAMOUS CONFLICTS WITH JAYS PLAYERS

 

RG: The other thing that I wanted to know, if you found surprising, was when Brendan Kennedy called Shea Hillenbrand after you got the job, he was totally complimentary and wished you the best and thought you were a great person, a people manager and stuff like that. Does that surprise you?

JG: It shocked me 'cuz I read it, but the point is that Shea and I had a pretty good relationship from the get-go, when he first showed up. I had great respect for him. I knew he had some problems (with the Red Sox) in the past. But with us early on, everything was fine. He was a big part at first. He played very well for us. Then the thing with playing time (in the field at third and first) when we got Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay. I mean that soured him. But you know there's nothing you can do about it. That's the way it was set up. Those guys were our position players. Things happened and things came to a head. I hadn't run into him since, but to read that it kind of shocked me a little. I didn't know how he was going to react. He didn't have to say it, but it was pretty nice.

RG: You also weren't big on Hillenbrand's 'country-club' comment (at spring training '06) when he said there was too much of a country club atmosphere.

JG: You know, every spring training I've been at, whether it's the Mets or the minor leagues, you get to a certain level, a certain point in the game and – I don't want to say it's a country club, but baseball is a relaxed, get-after-it type game. It's not football where you're beating people down, rah-rah type. Country club? I don't really understand what that means. The manager's not sitting there screaming and yelling, 'Go run a lap, you missed a ball.'

RG: I agree. I remember as late as '72, guys would show up to spring training totally out of shape. They needed spring training for that. These days, they come up and the first day they're throwing 90 miles-an-hour in the pen. So, like, now you have them do their work and then they go home.

JG: You know what I've always believed, too. I tell the players I've been with whether it's managing in the minors or the big leagues, 'Hey, if you've got a beef, got a problem, come see me. Let's hash this thing out. You know you may be right.'

The back-biting and the bullshit, that get's you nowhere. (The player) might be right. Even sometimes as coaches, you get blinded to some things. You're doing the same things over and over. Somebody might have something to say. You know what, we're a little lax, we need to push this, push that. I have no problem with that, but take your shots elsewhere. You come and see me first.

RG: At what point during the (Ted Lilly) pitching change did you decide that you were going to go down the tunnel.

JG: It was kind of just a reaction thing. I got to the mound, Ted wouldn't give me the ball. He was barking. We were barking a little bit back and forth. He gave the ball and then we kind of bumped on the way off. So I was walking off the mound and I just looked into the dugout – there's stairs going up to the clubhouse – and he's just standing there and he was going back and forth like a shooting range with a duck, or something. That's what I remember. I just walked there.

RG: So you saw him as you were coming off the field.

JG: Yeah. It wasn't like pre-meditated on the mound saying, 'I'm going to get that sucker,' you know. It was like I walked down (the tunnel) and he said something to me first and I said something to him. We were grabbing each other and that was that.

 

6-FIRED FOR THE FIRST TIME; STAYS BUSY BETWEEN JAYS STINTS

 

RG: When J.P. decided to replace you with Cito -- and at one point much earlier, J.P. had said when he gave you the extension, if you weren't managing the Jays, there'd be seven or eight teams lining up to hire you -- do you think that reputation as a hothead made it seem, in your mind, that you were going to be a one-and-done kind of manager. Like you talked about earlier, guys that get one chance then gone.

JG: I figured that's not going to help me. When you get fired and you're seen as carrying some baggage now, regardless of how it got there, it's going to be tough.

I've never been one of those guys. I love this profession. I love managing, but I wasn't obsessed that I've got to manage. I'm content. I always believe that if your reputation is good out there and the right thing opens up, somebody will give you a shot.

I'm never one to pursue things to promote myself. I'm not good at that. But, yeah, your first shot, you're nobody, no name, if you get to the post-season that carries a lot of weight. It can carry you for the rest of your career. That didn't happen, so (in your own mind) there may not be another shot. Then I got the bench job (with the Royals) and I was very, very happy with that.

RG: How did the bench job come about? Were you interested in a managing job in the time after you left the Jays? Did you ever apply for anything after you left the Jays?

JG: I was fired in June ('08) and at the beginning of September I started calling different teams. I talked to a couple of GMs directly and then I left some messages. But I basically said, 'You know if you have any openings on the staff, I'd like to throw my name in there. I'm not looking for anybody's job, but if something comes up, what have you.'

Trey Hillman was managing the Royals. His bench coach was Dave Owen. He didn't really have much coaching experience. So they were looking to change it. I knew Trey. It's like DeMarlo Hale. We all managed together coming up through the minor leagues. Fellow Texan, that ain't all bad. He called and said, 'Listen, we're going to put our bench coach over at third base, why don't you come in for an interview.' It was kind of a natural fit. We knew each other. He went through a tough year and he probably wanted somebody that he knew. So, they called and I met with Trey and Dayton Moore at the airport in Austin (TX). We sat down for an hour and that was when he called me and said do you want the job? Knowing him in the past, that's big. That put it over and, I'll tell you, I had a blast doing it (for three years).

RG: Do you think that Royals job kept you in the public eye enough that when Alex was looking again...do you think it was important that you had that major-league bench coach stint?

JG: Yeah. Just being out of the major-leagues for one year is probably pushing the limit. I could go back and I'm managing here in San Antonio for a second year, you know that. But maybe, you might not be able to sell yourself next year, you know what I mean. You've got to be around (the major leagues). If it's the other way you get lost in it.

RG: San Antonio could have been like coming home for good. When Felipe Alou was passed over when the Expos hired Buck Rodgers (in '85), at that point, Felipe said, OK, I'm still in the organization but you're obviously not interested in me as a (major-league) manager, so have me manage in the Florida State League. I live in West Palm. Have me manage West Palm. I'll be at home. When you said at your (Blue Jays) press conference that San Antonio was your dream job, was that in your thinking, that I might as well manage at home if I'm going to do anything.

JG: Yeah. You know, what happened...you know how you drag, you bat things around when you're young, not a whole lot of stability. They won't say it, but they get tired of that too. As you get a little older at this point last year, my middle son's going off to college next year. I'm not going to have much time left with him. When I got cut loose at Kansas City, if this job was open and I heard it was, I thought I'd love to do that, go home for a year, maybe two. I had my 10 years (service time) in, so the pension was set. Things were good. I pursued that.

If that hadn't happened, I had talked to Toronto about a fulltime scouting job. I talked to other teams about scouting, roving type jobs, so I was perfectly content with that. I didn't give much thought that this may be it for me. I better not do this, but I understood that that was possibly the case.

 

7-QUE SERA SERA CAREER -- BLOND AMBITION

 

RG: I'd like to do a small exercise with you. I have a list here of John Gibbons post-playing career jobs that you have had. If you could respond whether you applied for each one or not.

JG: OK. I can do that.

RG: Jays bullpen catcher.

JG: No.

RG: Jays first base coach.

JG: No.

RG: Jays manager – first time.

JG: No.

RG: The contract extension with J.P.

JG: No.

RG: You didn't demand an extension?

JG: No (laughs).

RG: Royals' bench coach.

JG: Yes.

RG: San Antonio manager.

JG: Yes, I had a couple of people call (the Padres).

RG: This time around as Jays manager.

JG: No.

RG: That's pretty good. That's a pretty good record of landing on your feet.

JG: Yeah. You know that (Jays) bullpen catching job. When (J.P.) got the (Jays' GM) job, he was helping make calls for me because I'd walked away from the Mets and the Triple-A team because I wanted to get closer to home with my family. I would have taken an A-ball job, anything.

RG: So you just didn't go back to the Mets (after '01). You didn't want to be there anymore.

JG: Yeah, I'd been with the Mets as Triple-A manager for three years. (Bobby) Valentine was managing at that time. Every year they were going through at least one coach, maybe two. I didn't get one of the jobs and, I mean, that's the way it goes. He wanted one of his people. But usually a Triple-A manager slides in there after a few years. That didn't happen.

So, I applied again that following year after the 2001 season. I think Valentine was looking for a third-base coach. They called and said, we don't need an interview. We interviewed the year before. Then I didn't get it, so I told them, you know what, I'm going to move on. It's time. It's no big deal. (Mets beat writer) Marty Noble called me and wrote an article and (GM) Steve Phillips called me the day after it came out and said 'I think we definitely need to part ways.' I told him, 'Well I told you that' (laughs).

Billy Beane was out in Oakland and he always told me when I was in the Mets system as a coach, to keep in touch. He said if you ever want to come over and are looking for a job, just let me know. So I thought that was my ace in the hole. But around this time (when I quit), I hadn't even checked with him. He told me and I didn't think he was bullshitting me.

They were having some success at the time. I can remember with J.P. (an assistant at the time to Beane with the A's), they were in New York playing the Yankees in the playoffs and I walked up and said, 'Do you guys have anything over there?' And he goes, 'No, we don't' (JG laughs). I thought, well, OK. So J.P. started making some calls around the game for me. Nothing broke.

Let's see, I had two weeks left on my contract with the Mets. I had been living in New Mexico for a couple of years and had just moved back to San Antonio. I had three kids and just bought a new house and had two weeks left on my job. So, yeah, I needed to find something.

One day I called Beane and he told me, 'Hey, I'll call you back. J.P.'s having a press conference (in Toronto).' That's when (Ricciardi) got (the Toronto) job out of the blue. My thought was, you know he's been trying to help me find a job, he should at least have something over here for me. I don't know what it is but I need something. So, he called me back and he said, 'Hey, listen, we've got the third base coaching job here and the bullpen catcher.' I don't even remember if he said bullpen catcher right away. He said, 'I'm bringing in Carlos Tosca up here.' They had a connection from the Yankees. He said come on up and interview. I said alright.

So I went up there and met with him and Buck Martinez. At the end of the interview they say, 'Well we have the bullpen catching job. Do you have any interest there?' I said, 'No I can't do that.' I'm going a little better than that. Right then I realized, well, they've already settled on this (as the best offer). There goes my coaching interview. So I get home and I'm thinking, damn, you know I need a joB. I've got 10 days left. So, I called him back.”

RG: Basically at the time you would have qualified as a minority hire in that you're an idiot for quitting your Mets job before you had another one lined up.

JG: (laughs) Exactly. So I call him back and I say, hey, you know what, the more I think about it, it makes sense. I've spent my whole life as a bullpen catcher and now I'm going to do it again. So, he gave me that job. I go to spring training – I haven't squatted in 10 years – the first day my knee breaks down. So now I'm the only bullpen catcher in the big leagues that can't catch. I remember Greg Myers was there. He was ragging me too. Tom Wilson and those guys.

Honest to God, I'd be down in the bullpen catching, once the season starts and it's, man, we've got 10 guys (warming) up every game. We're getting beat down pretty good. Nobody can get anybody out and my knee's killing me. I'm catching on one knee. I thought, I might not be able to make it to June. I can't do this. Maybe I should get into scouting. I may have to go to J.P. and say something. Then June came around. He ended up firing Buck and putting in Tosca to manage. I took over at first base. That's how it all started. It was a relief physically and professionally.

RG: The good thing is you didn't have to go to one knee too often coaching first base.

JG: Yeah.

 

8-DEVELOPING KEY RELATIONSHIPS FOR THE FUTURE WITH METS

 

RG: When all you guys were coming up as prospects through the Mets organization, there's all sorts of random stories about who was playing with who in the New York-Penn League.

JG: That was Beane and J.P.

RG: Beane and J.P. and then...

JG: 1980

RG: Were you and J.P. on the same team at one point?

JG: In '81, Shelby, North Carolina.

RG: But it wasn't New York-Penn?

JG: No, that was a short-season draft year. I don't remember exactly how it happened, but J.P. eventually ended up with the Yankees. I think that's how he connected with Tosca. But then, I didn't hear from him or see him for years. I was roving (instructor) around '90 with the Mets as a catching guy. I'm in the Boston airport, I'm walking through Logan and I come to the gate and J.P.'s sitting there. He's going down to scout some player in Richmond, Virginia, I'm going to Norfolk. We sat next to each other on the plane, got to talking and I want to say we kept in touch a little bit after that.

But I hadn't seen him in a while and when he became Beane's righthand man we talked a few times. Then he actually came when I was managing the Mets' Triple-A team, he came to town to watch a couple of players. (The A's) were making the trade for (Jason) Isringhausen for Billy Taylor. So he came to watch (outfielder) Terence Long who was on my team. We got together and it was like old times.

 

9-GIBBY'S DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEX

 

RG: Alex told me when he was an assistant GM that he'd go down...and I even remember him on trips that he went on -- he would hang around the coaches room and this and that. Obviously, he was paying attention too, but are you surprised at how adamant he is at how strong he is in publicly backing you and your player evaluation ability and the (personnel) suggestions you've made that he knows about and how he says they've always been bang-on? Did you realize that talent evaluation was one of your strengths?

JG: You never know. I've always believed that you tell it like you see it. You don't ride the fence and give the easy answers. That mainly stays within the organization stuff that I've mentioned. When he's asking about outside guys, I don't see that as much. It's a crapshoot anyways, but you just do what you can and hope you're right on. You don't stick your neck out for guys unless you believe they can do something. It's easy to (go with the crowd) when everybody else is against something. If you back (a player), he better do it or he may never get another shot. Who knows if you're going to be right. I thought I could evaluate decently, but you're lucky if you're right half the time anyway.

RG: Did you think, in hindsight, after you got the manager's) job in November, that Alex knew something ahead of time. It's kind of unusual for a GM to ask someone to fly up just for an advance scout job or a bench coach job without having a manager in place yet. In hindsight, did you think maybe he had an idea about you as manager?

JG: No, he's so tightlipped nobody knows. What I thought was happening was he committed to a veteran manager, a guy with some experience and I thought, well you know he's not matching up with a guy, whoever he's looking at. It's not working, so he might have to go back to one of the young (candidates), the inexperienced guys. This might be my chance to, you know, I wouldn't have minded, I wouldn't have had any problem being a coach.

RG: A bench coach.

JG: Yeah. You like to be in positions where you can call your own shots and of course the money's good, but I'm not so stuck on myself that you've got to be the guy.

 

10-HANDLING A DIVERSE BLUE JAYS CLUBHOUSE

 

RG: Again, this question comes down to, completely going back to your youth growing up, but it seems that there's not one prejudgmental bone in your body in terms of dealing with a diversity of players, dealing with Latin kids, African-Americans. I mean you grew up in the deep south in the '60s and '70s where that (tolerance) wasn't always the case, societally. Who do you credit for your even-handed vision of race and of handling the people that you are around?

JG: Some of my best friends have always been minorities. There's a big Mexican community down here. We're all the same. We're all equal. We just look different. But you know my mom and dad, I don't remember them saying anything, but they managed to keep their kids level-headed and appreciative of what they have, that they're no different than that other guy.

RG: Does athletics play a part in acceptance?

JG: No doubt. It's kind of the way we were brought up, with my friends.

 

11-COULD HAVE BEEN A LONGHORN WITH CLEMENS 

 

RG: Was your high school experience good for you in terms of developing who you are today, or was it a tough time in your life? Did you have college options.

JG: Yeah, I was going to go to the University of Texas to play. I actually would have been up there with Roger Clemens. I talked to Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Stanford, those kind of places. When (Longhorns head coach) Cliff Gustafson called, he never saw me play but he had scouts who told him, hey we've got this kid down here. He offered me a scholarship. I was going to be there. But I wanted to get into pro ball. Something was drawing me. Then, when I had a chance to be a first-round pick. That helped.

RG: When you came back home after your first pro year, was it hard when you came back and you're hanging around with the same kids that you went to high school with to stay level-headed with all that pro money. How much of a bonus did you get?

JG: Fifty-five (thousand). Straw was picked No. 1 and he got $230,000 I think. Beane, who was picked right in front of me, got $130,000. (Pitcher) Jay Tibbs, who was picked (first by the Mets in Round 2 got like $90,000. I signed in three days. Those guys all signed in the middle of June, July or something. I couldn't believe it. I asked them and they all got the same first offer – 45 grand.

After the scout drafted me to the Mets – he came to the Blue Jays later, his name was Jim Hughes – so I don't know, if he got fired for signing me or got a big promotion from the Blue Jays (laughs).

The Blue Jays had come around and gave me a private tryout at my high school. (Fellow San Antonio native Jays scout) Al LaMacchia would have been there, but they brought some other guy. They came here and gave me a tryout, then they went to Austin, same thing for Kelly Gruber. There were four or five guys they were looking at. It was kind of that group they were looking at and the settled on (shortstop) Garry Harris.

RG: (laughs) It shows you the imprecise nature of scouting.

JG: Yeah, you're right.

RG: Thanks John and good luck.

 

 

Blue Jays' State of the Franchise reflects state of confidence in their future: Griffin

It happened again on Tuesday night, the State of the Franchise event for the Blue Jays, presided over by president Paul Beeston, GM Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons. The host of the event, featuring four men in easy chairs sitting easily on top of the home team's dugout, was broadcaster Buck Martinez, who greeted Gibbons with the line of the night...being fired as manager of the Jays is alright. “Things gets better.”

The concept of staging a Blue Jays' State of the Franchise get-together as an annual event was first unveiled in 2002 with the arrival on the scene of a newly-hired, bright young general manager, J.P. Ricciardi. Brimming with optimism and a misguided missionary zeal, the young Bostonian promised that his teams would be able to compete in the uber-tough AL East, despite working under a tight payroll budget. 

Of course that competing-and-winning thing never happened under Ricciardi, but that seldom stopped the spirit of the SoF love-fest. Year after year, whether staged at a downtown restaurant, a hotel or, now, back to the Rogers Centre, there has forever been a sense of optimism emanating from the assembled fans, plied as they are with light snacks, refreshments and a clean won-lost slate. Of course, the Jays' target group is composed mainly of season ticket holders and their guests, so it's definitely preaching to the choir.

I remember the first two years of the event in 2002-03. The young GM with the bulletproof reputation would stand at the microphone, a grin on his face, and feel the love of Jays fans that, one after another, stepped up to the mic to express their unshakeable belief in the direction his team was taking. It was magic, more sleight of hand.

There was the one February where Carlos Tosca, via conference call, went off script and, apparently, sitting at home with a glass of wine and a big cigar, boldly predicted 95 victories. How did that turn out? The Jays plummeted from 86 wins in 2003 to 67 in 2004. Tosca was fired in-season and replaced as manager by Gibbons, who was, of course, one of the major stars of Tuesday's SoF love-in at the Rogers Centre.

Historically, the only negative blip on the feel-good radar came in February 2008, when Ricciardi was inexplicably missing from the annual event, replaced by team president Paul Godfrey as the chief spokesman/apologist. That may have been the only time that the thick atmosphere of fan discontent could have been cut with a knife. The previous season had seen the disaster of closer B.J. Ryan's injury, wherein a spring training “back issue” had turned into Tommy John surgery for the $47 million lefthander, spawning the line “it's not a lie if we know the truth.” It was the beginning of the end for Ricciardi.

Fast forward to Tuesday evening. There was an estimated crowd of 1,500 people at the Rogers Centre, a mix of young professionals and older Exhibition Stadium veterans, all with one thing in common – an enthusiastic view of the coming season.

The gift shop offered a 40-percent discount on Jays' gear and a very unofficial report from the young, enthusiastic sales staff was that the three most popular jerseys flying off shelves were Jose Reyes, R.A. Dickey and Brett Lawrie. One guesses perhaps Jose Bautista's fans already have theirs.

So confident were Beeston, Anthopoulos and Gibbons of the team's elevated status in the current Toronto sporting universe that, on Tuesday, some tough e-mail questions even made it through the screening process, flashed on the giant scoreboard. One question described centre fielder Colby Rasmus as “awful” and another demanded an explanation from Anthopoulos of the club signing Melky Cabrera considering his 2012 suspension for steroids. It was quite a departure from usual swattable softball questions of the past.

There were a few interesting nuggets of information that came out of the 45-minute panel session. Beeston finally admitted that his personal preference is for grass on the stadium field, but that as long as the Argos are there, it's impossible. He soft-peddled the idea of increased ticket prices, but my interpretation is don't be surprised if prices go up next year, given the expected team success.

Beeston talked about the future possibility of playing an end-of-spring-training exhibition game at a Canadian locale – either Montreal or Vancouver. He said that he wants to see it happen and 2014 has not been ruled out. The Montreal question is whether Olympic Stadium could be reasonably re-configured for baseball with safety of the players in mind. The Jays have a Class-A team in Vancouver.

The team president spoke of the possibility of reaching 3-million in attendance again, for the first time since 1993. The Jays' attendance high since the devastating strike of '94 was 2,826,483 in 1995. The stadium high in this century, since the Jays' began their State of the Franchise tradition was 2,399,786 in 2008, although that figure is tainted by hugely discounted tickets and questionable accounting procedures. The 2,099,663 of 2012 in fact, produced more actual ticket revenue.

One priceless moment on Tuesday demonstrated how emphatically and how far Jays' fans have moved away from their enfatuation with the past, preferring a look to the future. It came following the panel event, up on the Level 100 concourse with Jays' celebrities mingling with season ticket holders.

A throng of fans, many of them women, had formed a three-deep semi-circle around Gibbons, talking baseball, waiting patiently for a chance to be photographed with the manager's arm around their shoulders. He accommodated them all as Frank Sinatra played softly on the speakers behind him. Surreal.

Meanwhile, nearby, Jack Morris, the newest member of the club's radio broadcast team and a key member of the Jays in the World Series years, was speaking to a mixture of Jays' staffers and a few older fans, before wandering quietly off in another direction his night's work done. It clearly seems from that scene that there's no longer a need for that annoying Flashback Friday mentality with this new generation of Jays' ticket holders.