Mail bag

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

Chris M., Collingwood

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

Dave McLeod, Sussex, NB

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

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

Jordan Sharon, Toronto

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

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

Mail bag

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

On to the mail bag.

Q: Hi Richard:

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

Marv Rose, Toronto

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

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

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

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

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

Shaun A., Toronto

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

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

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

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

Frederick Duquette, La Mirada

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

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

Joshua Grant, Toronto

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

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

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

Terry Fallat, Espanola, Ont.

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

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

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

Best regards,

Richard Worzel

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

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

Mail Bag

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On to the mailbag.

Q: Richard, couple of questions.

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

Davy P., San Jose

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

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

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

Emmanuel Rivelli, Thornhill

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

Q: Hey Griff,

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

Dave Fulton, Oakville

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

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

Nick Boileau, Whitby, Ont.

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

Q: Dear Richard,

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

Thanks,

Iain Carey, Manchester, UK

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

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

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

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

Mail Bag

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

American and National leagues are split East and West:

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

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

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

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

NEW POST-SEASON PLAYOFF FORMAT

(if season ended today):

AL First place Yankees and Angels both get bye

NL First place Phillies and Dodgers both get bye

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

October 6-8 (best of three)

Mariners at Red Sox

Tigers at Rangers

Giants at Cardinals

Rockies at Braves

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

October 10-15 (best of five)

At Yankees

At Angels

At Phillies

At Dodgers

ROUND 3:

ALCS and NLCS (best of seven)

October 17-25

ROUND 4:

WORLD SERIES

October 27-November 4

On to the mailbag.

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

Jon Empringham, Woodstock, Ont.

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

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

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

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

Q: Hi Richard:

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

Tim Rorke, Timmins, Ont.

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

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

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

Bryan Freeman, Oakville

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

Nicholas Hung, London

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

Q: Hi there.

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

Dave Roberts, Brantford

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

Q: Hi Richard,

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

Kevin Layman, St. John's

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

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

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

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

Mail bag

It was really nice to see someone on another team go down on Tuesday night in the Bronx, with Jesse Carlson lurching off to the first base side of the mound and throwing a warning shot across his body, all the way behind the right-handed hitting Jorge Posada. Carlson is 160 lbs. soaking wet and did not back down. When Posada stepped in front of the plate and preened his peacock feathers, Carlson stepped towards him and gave it back. When Posada crossed home plate and threw an elbow, Carlson turned and called him out while walking towards a dugout full of angry millionaires. Mayhem ensued. The Jays were hit by a pitch six times in four games back in Toronto including Randy Ruiz in the face by Josh Towers, albeit with the bases loaded, making it unlikely that it was intentional. Nevertheless the Yankees swagger says nobody should be able to send a message to us. Here are some quotes from the Jays’ clubhouse last night.

===

“I was kind of just trying to do what I had to do,” Carlson said of his uncomfortable time at the bottom of the pile. “Things were kind of going so fast. I’ve never been involved in anything like that. It was a fastball in and I yanked it. It was a bad pitch. We’ve been hit a lot, but what are you going to do? What happened, happened. Hopefully it doesn’t carry on and one of our guys gets hurt. I don’t even know if I got tossed. I’m not sure. I’m probably one of the smallest guys in MLB and we were right near their dugout and I was hoping I got out of there all right. Somebody got in a shot and I didn’t get hurt. In the minor-leaguers I was involved in just a few bench-clearers, but nothing serious like that.”

===

“Hell no,” said John McDonald who was one of the first Jays on the scene, when asked if he was the one that landed the telling blow on Yankees skipper Joe Girardi. “It’s important to go out there and separate everybody. The guys that are involved, if they have a problem then they solve it but you just get out there and separate it as quick as you can so nobody gets hurt. That’s the last thing you want to have happen. Emotions ran high and obviously they weren’t happy with the way it played out. (Girardi’s) been in the game a lot longer than I have. Unless you’re the one that’s actually mad, you have to go out there and try and separate the guys. You don’t want to see anybody get hurt and a guy gets lost for the season. I just got a hold of Mark (Teixeira) and pulled him back and tried to make sure nobody else got on the bottom. On the ground is where all the injuries happen.”

===

“I missed it,” Roy Halladay said when asked whether he made it out of the clubhouse for the main event. “I was scrambling to get ready. It’s a shame but I think those are the types of things that could be avoided.”

On a personal note, I disagree with Halladay. I think if he had a bit if a mean streak it would complete him as the best pitcher in baseball.

===

“I was not paying attention, that was the last thing I expected,” Travis Snider said of his participation in the fracas. “I knew Posada was on base but I didn’t think anything was going to happen. I was a little late getting there and was able to kind of separate some things. It’s part of baseball.”

===

“There was intent,” catcher Rod Barajas. “It wasn’t like Jesse was in the way and Jorge was trying to avoid him. Jesse saw where he was and on the way by he threw an elbow. That’s what triggered the whole situation.
“He said ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that,’ ” Barajas explained of Posada’s reaction to the brush-back. “That’s all I heard. I’m standing in front of him to protect my pitcher.
“I’m not going over there to throw punches, be an instigator,” Barajas said of his approach to the fight. “By the time I reached there, you’ve got 15-20 guys on their team right in front of me. Once we got there, I just kind of lost track. I was just trying to get to my pitcher. I had no idea what was going on beside be, behind me. I heard Edwar Ramirez was dragging my chest protector trying to get me out. Basically, I’m trying to keep the peace. He’s my teammate. I’m protecting him. From what I’ve heard there were a few guys over there throwing punches. If two people have a problem you let them deal with it themselves. Everybody else is just there to get people away from each other. You don’t go into an altercation like that thinking you have to do something to hurt somebody. From what I heard there were a couple of (Yankees) that didn’t do that. It’s disappointing.”

===

However the best line of the post-game came from Brandon League. Coach Brian Butterfield used to be a Yankees minor-league instructor and has constantly regaled anyone that will listen regarding his positive influence on the development of at least one Yankee captain superstar middle infielder future Hall-of-Famer. Butter was asked jokingly if he was the guy that punched Joe Girardi. Before he could answer, League walked by and said, “No, Butter was busy hugging Jeter.” then walked out of the room.

On to the mailbag:

Q: Richard,

Is it just me or has JP disappeared off the face of the earth (not a bad thing)? I notice in the past three weeks that Cito is more the spokesperson for the team. Is this an organizational decision and a sign that JP is not going be around much longer? What are you hearing? Keep up the good work on the blog.

Brian M., Barrie

A: It’s not so much that Ricciardi has disappeared off the face of the earth, but he’s become less quotable in the U.S. media. For example when the Jays were on the field for batting practice at new Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, Ricciardi sat in the dugout – as he usually does in N.Y. and Boston – and was approached by one, count them, one Japanese journalist. Usually the way it works, J.P. emerges from the tunnel and is swarmed by his U.S. high-profile East Coast media friends. However since most of these same friends have buried J.P. in the press in the last three weeks, they may feel a little chagrined in coming up and backslapping him now and quoting him about the unfairness of the T-O media and the impossibility of competing against the big boys of the AL East. The organizational dependence on J.P. as its face peaked back in the winter of 2003-04 after the Jays unexpectedly won 86 games. It has now reached its nadir.

Q: So Cito wants fans to come out and support his ball club? Where does this guy live? He puts Jose Bautista out day after day, pencils in Kevin Millar against lefties when his offence and defence is worse than Lyle Overbay’s, waits until pitchers are up to their eyeballs in trouble before getting the bullpen up, rarely moves runners over with a bunt, rarely uses the hit-and-run, etc. If he wants people at the Centre why doesn’t he put out the best he has, play some of the call-ups to see what they have, maybe give Vernon a break (from the boos), maybe show that he cares. Is he to blame for this awful team? No. But doesn’t he share some of the responsibility?

Bill Canale, Brockville, Ont.

A: Cito’s mistake is the same one I hear from many, many players and too many front office people all the time. The erroneous belief that fans somehow “owe” their support to their home team because the players are trying and playing for them and so they should buy tickets and come out to support them. That may be the way it works in some places (e.g. Leaf Nation) but it is not the way it should be. People have a limited amount of money to spend on entertainment, including movies, pro sports, participation sports, etc.

I’m not so sure I agree with you that Gaston should be playing some of the call-ups. At positions, post September 1, that would include only catcher Kyle Phillips and infielder Joe Inglett. The scrappy Inglett has been hurt, but otherwise was playing a lot of right field – which is clearly not his best position. Phillips behind the plate is not a part of the Jays’ future. Instead, I believe that the Jays should be playing their best defenders around the diamond which includes Overbay every day at first base, John McDonald somewhere in the infield, Lind at DH, Travis Snider in left and Bautista in right. But, yes, Gaston does share some of the responsibility. When the team was doing well at the end of 2008 he was given a lot of the credit. When they’re not doing well, he takes some responsibility. But he’s not the guy responsible for what happened to B.J. Ryan, or dumping Scott Rolen and Alex Rios.

Q: As an overseas Jays fan I perhaps a different perspective but I have to say I was slightly bemused by Cito’s call to arms to Jays fans in the face of pitiful attendances as the season comes to a close. Now, no ball club is entitled to success and another season of rank mediocrity does not necessarily justify fans voting with their feet. But how, in all seriousness, can Cito and the Jays management not expect this to happen? The Jays transfer policy this season has been simple. Offload players to lower the salary burden. There is no other aspect to this policy. There is no planned rebuilding, no planned marquee signings, just a steady exodus of talent to generate net profits. In short, there is no intention at all to turn this ball club into a World Series contender. How can they even say to Roy Halladay with a straight face that they intend to be a contender when they ship out guys like Scott Rolen and Alex Rios and replace them with journeymen (or no one)?

The sad reality is that the Jays are now nothing but a triple AAA feeder club for proper ball clubs. An attendance of 11,000 is pretty decent for a triple AAA side so surely management should be pleased. Forgive my very British sarcasm but am I alone in thinking this way?

Arnie Siva, London, UK

A: I honestly feel that Jays management entered the 2009 season with two conflicting, often conflicted trains of thought. One was the desperate call of the GM to give him more money to help him compete with the Yankees and Red Sox that was refused by ownership that had finally come to realize that the plan was not working and that throwing good money after bad in 2009 was not a solution. While J.P. Ricciardi was on his Quixotic mission, tilting at AL East windmills, ownership under Paul Beeston’s guidance just wanted to quietly plod through ’09 surviving as best as possible, finding out which young pitchers would be part of the future while cutting bait with anyone that wasn’t. There are two reasons for doing what Jays’ ownership has done this year. One is to prepare the franchise to be sold. Two is to reach rock-bottom on the field and start building for a run at a World Series. It’s 50-50 as to which one is the truth but I think all fans are hoping it’s option two.

It’s why they can afford to stay with Gaston one more year until he chooses to retire. It’s why they don’t need to go out immediately and sign up a Terry Ryan/Pat Gillick type of GM with an established track record for 2010. Depending on the trade package they get for Halladay, they will be better in 2010 and will start building attendance back up.

Q: Hi Richard. I have been hearing a lot of frustrated fans who are concerned that the Blue Jays could be moved? I know that Jays haven't been doing good over the past 16 seasons, but there are teams that are in worse shape. Do you think they will stay in Toronto for good? I've been a fan for many years. I hated to see the Expos go. Are fans just nervous because of what happened in Montreal?

Chris McGarry, Charlottetown

A: Sold yes. Moved no. I believe that with the size of the Toronto market and with the history of the franchise and its fan base there is no way that the Jays will be moved out of the country. The Jays ownership has no doubt been streamlining the operation over the past 11 months. That may be to sell it internally as viable to Rogers’ shareholders as much as to sell it to any other outside group. But don’t discount the possibility of new Canadian ownership in the next few years. Interim club president for life Paul Beeston is a member of the Order of Canada and as such feels a real responsibility in keeping the Jays in Canada. It was the same patriotic feeling that Charles Bronfman had in Montreal and is why he took a ridiculously cheap offer from the Claude Brochu consortium rather than more lucrative American ones at the time back in the early ‘90s and why there was a clause that the Jays could not be sold and moved for a decade after he left.

Q: Hi Richard,

Well it looks like the only Jays story right now is the dismal attendance at the Dome. How do you feel Toronto fans compare to those in other cities, in terms of team support (attendance, crowd spirit, etc), and team knowledge (knowing something about the game strategy, and the organization besides the starting lineup)? Do you think that this is a bandwagon town that will only support a winner (unless its the Leafs)?

Dave Glen, Toronto

A: I know there are some readers that hate it every time I make an Expos reference, but the fact is I spent 22 years of my major-league baseball life with that organization and am finishing my 15th at The Star. In that light I think I do pretty well in keeping ancient history out of my mailbag answers. But in this case, I digress (again). I always remember the explanation regarding sports fans that the eccentric, obstreperous, cantankerous Expos’ reliever Mike Marshall told writers back in 1973 when he was asked about fans not being supportive enough at Jarry Park.

He said that cheering and booing at sports events are the result of something missing in your own life. The louder the stadium, according to Marshall, the worse the quality of life in the city. Sports fanaticism is the result of a void in your own personal life. Marshall preferred quiet fans because, according to his theories (he was a Michigan St. University graduate in kinesiology) Canadian sports fans were more quiet because they were more well-adjusted…well those that aren’t drunk, anyway.

As for my opinion on Jays fans compared to those in other ballparks, I believe that in terms of percentage, given a similar crowd of 30,000, I would say that there is a higher percentage of “home-team fans” as compared to “baseball fans” than in other parks. There is a core baseball fanbase in Toronto with an intense knowledge of the entire major league scene but there are more fans like that given a similar attendance in other parks. Toronto is not necessarily a “bandwagon” town but it is a “big-event” town.

Q: Please help me understand. Why does it seem likely Marc Rzepczynski will not be in the rotation next year? He has really impressed me, not in the Halladay staff ace way, but in the fact that every time he goes out there, you almost always get 6-7 innings, and three or less ER. I think he more than deserves the fifth spot, no offence to Richmond, but I feel Rzepczynski has been way more consistent. With a 3.67 ERA, 60 Ks and on 30 BBs, and only 51 hits in 61.1 innings, am I missing something? Because I think you can get way more potential out of the 23 year old rookie outperforming the 30-year-old second year player. Again, no offence to Richmond, but realistically…

Alex Lawson, Brampton

A: I believe it’s too early to make any speculation on Rzepczynski’s chances for next year. He and Brett Cecil are spending a month working one-on-one with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg in their own personal Instructional League while travelling with the Jays and not having to worry about pitching. It’s a brilliant concept. Why hand these two guys off to a minor-league instructor that has not seen any of their major-league travails and successes? Instead, Arnie gets to work with them on what they need to correct.

In any case, they have not said a lot about any of their starting pitching guys other than Richmond and Romero because those two guys are being allowed to finish the year in the rotation. Taking Halladay out of the rotation in an off-season trade, I would rate the Jays’ starting candidates for next year as follows: 1-Shaun Marcum; 2-Romero; 3-Guy they get for Halladay; 4-Dustin McGowan; 5-Rzepcyzynski; 6-Richmond; 7-Brian Tallet; 8-David Purcey; 9-Cecil; 10-Zach Stewart. That doesn’t count Jesse Litsch who likely won’t be ready for next Opening Day. McGowan is questionable because of all his setbacks but has started to throw again.

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

Mail Bag

The most disturbing aspect of this September for the Jays is the lack of prospects among the organization’s position players that earned promotion to the big league roster during the period of 40-man maximums.

Granted, among players from the June 2007 draft and later, most don’t have to be protected on the 40-man roster until next year. But it’s not just that J.P. Arencibia and Brian Jeroloman, two catchers that were supposed to be in competition for the starting job in 2010, both had mediocre minor-league seasons. It’s the fact that when looking at those guys, you realize the number of hotshot prospects that are struggling down on the farm. And most of the touted position-prospects have not yet even advanced to Double-A making them still a couple of years away.

Next year, the Jays will have to fill with free agents again. Among those with disappointing seasons: AA-New Hampshire – David Cooper (1B); A-Dunedin – Kevin Ahrens (3B), Justin Jackson (SS) and John Tolisano (2B); A-Lansing – Kenny Wilson (CF); A-Auburn – Eric Eiland (OF).

How about the Lansing offence in the Midwest League. They were 54-83 with a .255 team batting average, but the startling stat was 1,176 strikeouts in 4,617 at-bats. That is an average of 153 strikeouts every 600 at-bats (roughly a full major-league season).

Some of the walks-to-strikeouts ratios among Lugnuts were stunning. Third baseman Balbino Fuenmayor had seven walks and 71 Ks. Justin McLanahan (2B) had 25 walks and 11 Ks. The three catchers combined for 45 BB and 174 Ks.

The bottom line here is that for those that are hoping the Jays will get team payroll back up to the $100 million area, don’t count on it until the B.J. Ryan contract is off then books and, more importantly, until some of the team’s top[ prospects are ready to contribute to a winning team. That’s another year away at least. On to the mailbag.

Hey Richard,

I have stood by this (Jays) team for the last several years with the understanding that even though we haven't made the playoffs, that at least management was doing the best it could to make this team better. But this latest inaction has kind of put an end to that. How on earth do we not call up any prospects to at least see what we have with them for this month of September? Why not bring up Fabio Castro (24) and see if he is the real deal or not. Why not call up a guy in Brian Dopirak (25), who for two seasons in a row has hit over .300 and hit almost 30 hrs with over 100 RBI? What about catcher of the future J.P. Arencibia (23)? Instead, they call up Inglett, Wolfe and Hayhurst? These guys aren't prospects that will help shape our organization in the near and long-term future. I am baffled with these moves.

And what the heck has Jeremy Accardo done that was so bad that he continues to get no appreciation for doing what half our bullpen has failed to do and that is get outs? Any insight? I'm almost done here!

Bontley Pootter, Kingston, Ont.

A: I’m with you on much of what you say. I believe that in this, a season of their discontent, fans, as few as there might be at the Rogers Centre, would prefer to see a lineup of: C-Arencibia; 1B-Randy Ruiz; 2B-Aaron Hill; 3B-John McDonald; SS-Marco Scutaro; LF-Jose Bautista; CF-Vernon (for his glove); RF-Travis Snider; DH-Adam Lind. When Halladay pitches, he can have Barajas behind the plate.

As for the callups, the second wave came in on Tuesday and the human yo-yo, Accardo was among them, with the disappointing David Purcey and the unknown backup catcher Kyle Phillips. What amazes me is that even though they now have the flexibility with Phillips on hand to be able to pinch-run for Barajas or Raul Chavez in late innings, there is nobody on the bench with any speed to do that job – even in September with expanded rosters.

As for the pitching callups, the Jays now list 17 pitchers. With Brett Cecil about to make his final start and Marc Rzepczynski already shut down, it leaves four starters (Halladay, Romero, Richmond and Purcey), one closer (Frasor) and 10 middle relievers (although Tallet will start). Guys like Josh Roenicke, Casey Janssen, Brian Wolfe, Accardo and Dirk Hayhurst are praying for blowouts so they can have a chance to pitch.

At the moment, management is not doing the best it can to make this team better. This will be the toughest off-season selling job to Jays’ fans … ever!

Q: Dear Richard,

Please provide a critique of the Jays' scouting department. This team has lost a number of good people in the last few years; the “major league” roster is chronically plugged with over-aged dreck already dumped by other teams (Jose Bautista the most recent example); over three decades all catching prospects (except Pat Borders ) have faded away before reaching Toronto and now Arencibia and Brian Jeroloman seem to be sinking too. Why? Thank heaven the management of this team isn't trying to develop wine since they always pick and spoil good grapes before they ripen (Mills, Cecil, Ray, etc.).

Thanks,

Selby Martin, Toronto

A: It’s hard to say whether any problems lie in the professional scouting itself or whether it’s the sometimes flawed decision-making after the scouting reports have been absorbed by the GM’s office. How to explain Frank Thomas one year too late or David Eckstein in the AL or Dave Dellucci or Kevin Millar ort Matt Bush or Royce Clayton or Brad Wilkerson or Kevin Mench or Shannon Stewart replacing Reed Johnson or John Ford Griffin or Jason Arnold or Terry Adams or Jeff Tam or John Thomson or Tanyon Sturtze. On the other hand there have been some good decisions on overlooked players to balance some of that – like Scutaro, Barajas, Chavez, Tallet, Shawn Camp and Gregg Zaun when he came on board as a released free agent. The problem with that track record is that if you are the Yankees or Red Sox you can afford to make mistakes and just eat the money, but in a market like the Jays, you need to be almost perfect. J.P. is far from it.

The catching situation has been a mess on the farm forever, but don’t give up on Arencibia and Jeroloman. In a couple of years they may team up on the major-league roster like the Angels’ duo of Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli. But in support of your premise on the woes of catching past, note that the only homegrown catchers to appear for the Jays in the past 10 years are Curtis Thigpen, Guillermo Quiroz, Kevin Cash and Josh Phelps, none of whom were a starter.

As for your suggestion on management’s potential development of bad wine, I beg to differ. The Rogers Estates already features a variety of winter wines, albeit most of them slightly bitter. They ferment all summer and are on display between season. Some of the most prominent of these Rogers Estate wines are issued under a variety of amusing labels: Chateau des Blessures (The Whine - Hey, come on. We did all right considering all the injuries we had. How can you compete when all your stars are always hurt?), Chateau de Malchance (The Whine - Hey, how can we compete when we’re in the AL East. Those guys buy championships. If we were in the Central we would have been in the playoffs several times by now) and finally Chateau de Media Fou (This particular vintage is made largely from sour grapes. The Whine - How can we do our job when the local media does nothing but criticize and poison the minds of our otherwise mindless fans? The public would buy what we were selling without your infernal lies and twisted misrepresentations.) Medias Fous was in fact the favourite wine of Richard Nixon during the Watergate years.

Q: Hi Richard,

I have a question on the responsibilities of the fans in regards to supporting the team. In short, what constitutes a good fan? I consider myself a Jays fan, and try to get to 3-5 games per year, while also watching at least part of pretty much every game on TV, at least while the team is somewhat contending. I've lost interest over the past few weeks as the wheels have fallen off, and have only caught a few innings. We always hear about how Toronto fans don't do enough to support the team, and don't buy enough tickets, so I was wondering, if someone asked you to put a number on the amount of games attended by a "good" fan, what would that number be? I'm getting tired of hearing about how if the attendance was better, the team would be better, how about Rogers improving the product first?

Shaun Q., Oakville

A: I agree with you 100 per cent about improving the product to increase the revenue instead of increasing the revenue then improving the product. Think about if you owned a fancy restaurant. It used to be jammed every night with a great menu and a fine staff of world-class chefs. Then for some reason – competition, the economy, you closed for six months – the clientele started to slip away. Saturdays were half full. Patrons were finding other places to go. What would be your response? It certainly would not be to get rid of your superior kitchen staff, replace them with cheaper chefs still learning the business, then ask all your former customers to come back because you need them. The smart reaction in that restaurant scenario would be to upgrade your menu, hire even better chefs and try and lure back the client base you know is still out there.

As for the definition of a good Jays fan, that’s an interesting question. The first factor, I believe is liking the sport of baseball first and loving the Jays second, that combo allows you to go to games at the Rogers Centre and come away satisfied, even when the Jays lose a well-played game. It gives you a sense that you got your money’s worth even in defeat. Being a good fan involves paying attention to Jays’ televised games and listening to Jerry and Alan on radio when you’re in the car, even if it’s just tuning in and out to check on scores. There is no number of games attended that can make you a good fan. Much of that depends on economic circumstances.

As for your diminished interest of late, I can’t blame you for that. There are too many nights lately where the entertainment value is not there. The offence is flat. The starting pitching gives it up early and there is no fight in the Jays. This has been an unusual Jays second half because usually this is a team that is improving as the season winds down offering hope for the next season. It ain’t happening.

Q: Hey Rich,

Perhaps I've missed a recent mailbag query on the subject, but it is disconcerting to a rotation projection for 2010 without McGowan. I take it the rehab isn't going terribly well?

Ben F., Toronto

A: The McGowan rehab is not going well. But I think that the Jays have learned a valuable lesson from last winter and are trying to downplay the various timeframes for returns from surgery – Shaun Marcum, Jesse Litsch and McGowan in particular. They oversold the “McGowan being ready for May” factor last winter and it burned them. Just because Dustin is not being mentioned does not mean his career is over.

Q: What are the Jays’ plans for Randy Ruiz next year? I think he would make an excellent option (not to mention affordable) for DH. I like Kevin Millar, but he will most certainly not be on the team next year. Why not see what this guy can do for an extended period of time, instead of sitting him on the bench for both games during a double header.

Drew E., Kirkland Lake, Ont.

A: I admire a guy like Ruiz that can take a fastball in the face, spit blood all over the batter’s box and then say he’s ready to go the next day. That’s the attitude you develop after 11 seasons in the minor leagues. Ruiz at this moment is a factor for next year in place of Millar. Ruiz is enthusiastic about his bench role in a sincere way and plans on working on his corner outfield play to go with first base, as well as his conditioning to shed a few pounds in order to increase speed and endurance. Yes, Ruiz sat out the doubleheader in Texas, but he is certainly getting enough of an opportunity this month to impress his manager and be considered a factor for the 25-man rebuilding roster in 2010.

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

Mail bag

The hand-wringing angst seems to be fading for Jays Nation as it comes to grips with the mediocrity of the ’09 Jays. Judging from this week’s questions, fans are already looking ahead to 2010, some even holding onto a true fan’s sense of optimism.

September has arrived and the Jays, despite ending the month with 12 position players, added just Joe Inglett. Unless they add more players after the Las Vegas seasons ends in Portland on September 7 it could be the shortest September bench in major-league history. As an aside, the Vegas ’51s end their home schedule tomorrow with the first pitch thrown by Peep Show star, Holly Madison. Ms. Madison is described as “an American model and television personality, best known for appearing as Hugh Hefner's number one girlfriend with Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson on the reality TV series The Girls Next Door. She has appeared in nude pictorials with her Girls Next Door costars and fellow Hefner girlfriends Marquardt and Wilkinson”. Go you ‘51s. On to the mail bag.

Q: How does one market the Jays for next season? Halladay will likely be gone, taking with him his connection to Jays fans. It’s painful watching him lose games now. He deserves a team that's competitive. Popular players such as Rolen and Rios, suddenly raptured out of Toronto, leaving others like Vernon Wells anchored to the turf by the cherubic girth of his contract. I would argue that the owners will keep J.P. around for another year because there's no one else. Who wants to be the fall guy for an inevitable bad season waiting on a possible sale? I wouldn’t blame Cito Gaston if he called it a day after this season, looking forward to a team treading water next year. He'd rather be coaching his grandkids in little league. Is there something to be excited about next year?

Frederick Duquette, La Mirada, CA

A: That is a very good question. How do the Jays market themselves for next season if and when Halladay is traded? Here are the Top 5 most marketable Jays for the upcoming off-season, if all the potential free-agents go free.

1. Aaron Hill

2. Adam Lind

3. Ricky Romero

4. Scott Richmond

5. Travis Snider.

Notice that Vernon Wells is not on the list. As far as the GM situation is concerned, I think ownership has come to the realization it would be a mistake not to buy out the final year of Ricciardi’s contract. He has become very defensive about his role in the current debacle and another season would be painful for all involved.

As for Gaston, recall that his final season the first time around, 1997, resulted in a 76-86 record, fired with a week to go. After back-to-back World Series, he was frustrated in the post-strike Jays’ world, handed a combination of unpolished youngsters and bad veterans to go with Rogers Clemens and Pat Hentgen. Consider that Clemens and Hentgen combined to go 36-17. The rest of the staff was 40-69.

This time around, any decision not to come back is entirely in Gaston’s own hands. Gaston has already indicated that 2010 will be his final season as manager, but the feeling here is that he will finish out his contract. The fates of two of his coaches, Nick Leyva and Gene Tenace, also hinge on his decision to stay or go.

As far as something to be excited about next year…hmmm! How about a comeback year from Shaun Marcum?

Q: Am I the only one who believes in Edwin Encarnacion? I am a true baseball cynic, but this guy hurt his wrist, which makes hitting the rest of the season difficult (Just ask Overbay), because your timing is off. He's got great potential, and if we obviously can't compete next year, give him a chance. It's not like we have the next Mike Schmidt in AAA, so we can wait it out. Your thoughts?

Michael Lawson, Brampton

A: Encarnacion is making $4.75 million in 2010. The Jays were forced to take him to help the Reds balance their own books if they wanted to make the Scott Rolen deal with Cincinnati, getting back the two good young arms they actually coveted. The best-case scenario with Encarnacion is that he plays winter ball in the Dominican and proves he is healthy, attracting the attention of a National League team that makes the Jays an offer. They would take a mid-range prospect straight up for him as long as they didn’t have to pay any 2010 salary. The Jays’ answer at third base – because they truly don’t have anyone close down on the farm – would be to sign a free agent at the position, someone like Chone Figgins of the Angels. If they re-signed Scutaro for a couple of years, the top of the order could be: Figgins, Scutaro, Hill, Lind. Not bad.

Q: How can you say Scott Rolen moved comfortably into the cleanup role? OBP of .370, SLG % of .476, 43 RBIs … those are numbers for a shortstop who is about to go the minors, not a third baseman hitting fourth. But he must be a nice guy to deal with, so that excuses him, huh Rich.

David Isaacs

A: Reader Isaacs is referring to an offhanded observation in a column about trading Rolen to the Reds. Clearly fans that spend most of their time with their heads buried in statistics fail to see much of the beauty of the game. It’s a shame.

Rolen did not ask to bat cleanup for the Jays and in a perfect world would have stayed in the six-hole with Rios and Wells batting 3-4, but it is not a perfect world. Rolen accepted the assignment and handled it seamlessly, not putting extra pressure on himself and changing his approach in clutch situations. As for being a nice guy, Rolen arrived in Toronto with a reputation from his previous stops of being somewhat of a prick-ly character. He does not go out of his way to ingratiate himself to media, but he does appreciate writers that do their job.

Q: Ok, granted I am more a Bill James disciple than an old-school type but still ... why is Scott Richmond the one getting the fifth starter treatment? His WHIP, at 1.29, is easily better than any starter but Doc (at least anyone with any innings) and 91K in 101 IP is a pretty nice ratio. And he's still under 30 so it's not like he couldn't be around for 4-5 years. Why trot Cecil and "Zipper" out there every 5-6 without fail when, at least, the former is clearly fatiguing? Is Richmond's injury holding him back? Honestly I think he's been a better hurler than Romero this year - but because he's older and was never considered a prospect it's been under-reported (and not just by The Star).

Conor McCreery, Toronto

A: There’s no need to apologize for being a Bill James disciple. I remember as a P.R. man with the Expos receiving the stapled together 8-1/2” x 11” James pamphlets annually and being fascinated by this unique approach to baseball statistics. I am a big fan of Bill James but I also feel no need to apologize for being an old-school type. Every team in baseball now incorporates the two sides of talent procurement, the traditional scouting and the data evaluation. It’s those close-minded types (and they exist on both sides) that insist one or the other is the only way to go that will be left by the side of the road.

As for Richmond, as a starter, he is to Roy Halladay what Michael Buble is to Frank Sinatra. Although, come to think of it, thanks to the flat-lining of the Jays lately, Halladay’s nickname in that Sinatra analogy would have to be “the Chairman of the Bored.” Richmond has been better than anyone expected coming out of a spring training where he struggled to secure a starting spot. It’s been a real feel-good story in what has become a feel-bad season. Richmond’s fate as a swingman, missing several starts due to off-days and Halladay’s need to pitch every fifth day, are as a result of Scott’s experience and his ability to pitch in relief. By the end of the year, his numbers will rank third to Halladay and Romero, right where they should be. He has a chance to be a useful 4-5 starter for the Jays for the next several years.

Q: Hi Richard,

Please help me with some math. John McDonald is acknowledged as an excellent defensive player and poor offensively. A good batter hits .300 and a poor hitter hits .200 which means the good hitter gets one more hit every ten at bats. Hitting 9th in the order would mean it would take John McDonald over two games to get his ten at bats and one less hit and therefore one more out. If he can get one more of the other team out than would have happened otherwise in every other game, doesn't that put his team ahead by playing him all of the time?

Tony Bibbings, Hamilton, Bermuda

A: That makes sense to me…and obviously it’s starting to make sense to Cito also because Johnny Mac seems to be getting more and more playing time heading into the final month. I would venture to say that using your very simple analysis, McDonald is worth more than one out every two games on the defensive side of things, while being far better than a .200 hitter. Like I’ve often said, this guy will have a meaningful role on someone’s major-league roster until he’s ready to hang up the leather.

Q: Good Morning Richard:

What are your thoughts on Cito Gaston and will he still be here in 2010? I realize his contract runs until the end of 2010. I know you have to be gentle when answering a question like this. I was just as thrilled as anyone when I read that he was coming back this year but I guess I forgot why I wanted Cito fired in 1994. He doesn't like pitchers, rookies, (Bob McCown), bunting or pinch-hitting for veterans. What he does like is pulling the ball, and I guess that’s it. Cito wants Scutaro to pull the ball more, but he doesn't want Hill to be so aggressive at the plate. I wonder what some of the managers in the other dugouts think of Cito's moves, or non-moves.

Thanks,

Jim Gosleigh, Newcastle, Ont.

A: I am sure Gaston has had some second thoughts about accepting an extension through 2010 when he did last August. But as long as he enjoys his time in the clubhouse, he will finish his commitment. The Jays will not be competing for a playoff spot in 2010, but it will be a season of development with ownership looking ahead to 2011. Using Cito as a bridge to the future is a comforting thought for the GM, because since he has already announced he is leaving after this deal runs out, he will not be trying to prove how good a manager he is by actually trying to win games at all costs in 2010. He will go with the flow of the program as he is doing this year by shutting pitchers down and by playing Travis Snider regularly despite his struggles. As long as he does not lose interest, Gaston is the perfect man for 2010.

As for his likes and dislikes, Cito aired me out for a column earlier in the season that suggested he didn’t like pitchers. I can respect that scolding, but the fact is that he doesn’t like pitchers. In all the spring training visits that Gaston made as a guest coach while he was in managerial limbo, he admits that the only pitcher he ever spoke to was Halladay. As for not liking rookies, he just doesn’t like any player that doesn’t know how to play the game. That could include many veterans. As for McCown, who can blame him. As for not pinch-hitting, the fact is that with 12-13 pitchers all year, Gaston has the shortest, weakest hitting bench in the AL with no special skills. What’s a manager to do? As for wanting Scutaro to pull the ball more, I have never heard that said and concerning Hill, Gaston told him at the start if spring training that he would be his full-time two-hole hitter, but not to hit like a two-hole hitter. He wanted him to be aggressive and attack the ball as he would anywhere else in the batting order. Obviously good advice.

Q: Hi Richard,

I would guess that having to write about what's been going on lately with the Jays is no more fun for you than it has been for us fans to watch (or not watch). True, you get paid for it, but you also have to run your nose in it every day. For either of us, what a letdown this season has been.

Two questions. First, at the beginning of the season, everyone thought that this team would hit a ton, but that pitching would be the problem. Yet, even though there have been a lot of pitching injuries, the pitching has been surprisingly good. Early in the year, the hitting combined with the pitching produced magic - for a time. Now the lack of hitting (and lately the lack of defence) is wearing the pitchers down, and we've got a vicious cycle of losing going. The real key, in my mind is: What happened to the hitting? Especially with Cito at the helm, I would have expected it to hold up better. I was away for the month of July and the record just turned to crap. What happened?

Then the second question: what can a poor, hopeless Jays fan do to get J.P. canned? I've stopped going to games, and can't stand to watch any more, and the horror show they inflected on Doc Halladay was inexcusable.

Richard Worzel, Toronto

A: Guys in 2009 that performed above expectations: Hill, Scutaro, Adam Lind, Rod Barajas, Raul Chavez, Romero, Jason Frasor. Guys that performed below expectations: Wells, Rios, Snider, B.J. Ryan, David Purcey. The first month and a half was when the Jays needed to build a buffer, playing most of their games vs. the AL Central and West. They shone. After that, the schedule got tougher and the lack of offence from the middle of the order killed them. Gaston is slow to make adjustments when it comes to veteran players and he left Rios and Wells in run-producing spots too long.

Consider that all winter the Jays sold their fans on a contending rotation of Halladay, Jesse Litsch, Purcey, Richmond and another youngster. The closer in a deep bullpen was Ryan, with Downs as the setup man joined by Frasor, Brian Tallet, Shawn Camp, Jesse Carlson and Brandon League. The first-half defence propped up the young, improvised pitching staff, but with the departure of Rolen and Rios the D suffered, bringing down the pitching house of cards. But the real problem for the pitching staff has been the disappearance of Halladay in terms of wins. He won eight of his first nine starts and had 10 wins in the Jays’ first 59 games. He has won only three decisions since that time, in 72 team games. Halladay’s season from hell was born on the 4th of July when Ricciardi let it be known he was available if the price was right. He has been miserable in the clubhouse ever since.

Q: Hi Richard,

Love the mailbag. Two things seem obvious - Doc will be traded, and none of our current Doogie Housers have Doc-like stuff. So starting pitching next year will be mediocre at best. But let's accentuate the positive. Hill and Lind are 30+homers/100RBI guys. Snider is a slugger, Arencibia has great power potential, and if Wells starts drinking Red Bull we could retool the Jays into an offensive powerhouse. If ownership peeled off 10 million or so of the sixty-five million they've saved, wouldn't that be enough to buy a couple of big bats to fill third base and right field? In my unscientific research, it seems to me that teams that get early leads tend to win the ball game. And wouldn't it be fun to see some offence again?

Mark Weatherley, Stratford, Ont.

A: Without Halladay next year, if he is not replaced with an established presence, the Jays staff will be in trouble. As even Todd Palin knows, every Iditarod sled needs a good lead dog. When the hounds are all working together in sync with a good bitching coach, you hardly notice the leader as a leader. But take that lead dog out of the harness and you have a bunch of direction-less pooches. They may be good, strong dogs on their own, but…well you know what I mean.

How does a 2010 rotation of Marcum, Romero, Richmond, Cecil and Rzepczynski sound? Consider that in a full season of 162 games, you’re hoping a major-league rotation can eat up over 1,000 innings. If the five starters mentioned were to match their career highs as professionals, it would only add up to about 800 innings. They need a lead dog.

Consider this payroll scenario for 2010. If the Jays let McDonald, Scutaro, Barajas and Kevin Millar go to free agency and trade Halladay, Encarnacion and Overbay, moving Lind to first base, they would have guaranteed salary commitments for 2010 of $39 million committed to Wells, Hill, Downs and B.J, Ryan. Add arbitration eligible players Bautista, Frasor, Tallet, League, Casey Janssen, Marcum and Raul Chavez. That’s now about $50 million for 10 active players, plus Ryan. How about these eight players, Carlson, Richmond, Cecil, Zep, Snider, Joe Inglett, Randy Ruiz and Romero are all under control for well under $1 million for 2010. That’s potentially 18 players plus Ryan for $57 million. If they cowboy up and match this year’s payroll, the Jays could have $23 million to spend on seven players. They could certainly do something creative with that.

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

Mail Bag

All of a sudden the Jays’ season seems to be in freefall. The revamped defence is turning 27 out games into 30 outs or more on plays not being made. Roy Halladay’s body language is suddenly speaking to us in a foreign tongue and the Jays’ young starters are careening out of control towards the brick wall that manager Cito Gaston relates to innings pitched. But baseball is a game of momentum and streaks and if the Jays can gain some around the strong right arm of Halladay, the rest of the season may still be worth watching. On to the mail bag.

Q: Rick Sutcliffe says that the Jays insisted any team that took on Roy Halladay had to take Vernon Wells’ contract as well, going so far as to say two general managers said this to him. J.P. denied this but given his record on telling the truth, do you think Sutcliffe is on to something? I can't see the Phils offering up top quality prospects and taking on Wells’ contract, Usually taking on such an onerous dead weight as Wells would mean lower-tier prospects going the other way.

Kevin Layman, St. John's

A: That is categorically not true. I asked around and I do believe that Ricciardi may have inquired of several GMs, in passing, as they discussed combinations of prospects for Halladay, whether they were interested at all in Wells. It would have been like the Plasma TV that’s thrown in as a bonus when you buy a major appliance – only this TV had no “on” button.

It may be semantics, but it’s the word “insisted” that’s wrong. You are absolutely right that if that were the case, the package of prospects coming back for Halladay would have been necessarily watered down since taking Wells would have been doing the Jays a financial favour. That lessening of talent coming to the Jays would have been counter-productive for the organization as they were specifically testing the waters in July to see what Halladay was worth on the open market. Why muddy that water?

Q: Just read your August 19th mailbag. Do you really believe the Jays can get Chone Figgins, Brandon Wood and Joe Saunders for Roy Halladay? I think you are building in an assumption that the Angels will underachieve in the playoffs as usual and bow out. Thereby their management will look to make a big change and thus give up major league players for a Hall of Fame pitcher like Roy Halladay? Any chance the Jays could get Trevor Bell as well. That would be appropriate since Trevor Bell's grandfather was Bozo the Clown, and we have clowns running this team currently.

Jason Sinnarajah, Sydney, Australia

A: No, that would not be the Halladay deal. Figgins will be a six-year free agent and he would fit in perfectly in Toronto. The Jays did not realize how much they were going to miss Scott Rolen, but a solid everyday third baseman is a must for this Jays’ team moving forward and clearly there are no internal options. Figgins has a great respect for manager Cito Gaston and he would earn slightly less than Rolen, a contract the Jays were willing to live with if he had not asked for relocation. As for Wood and Saunders, that would be the Halladay deal, along with a couple of prospects.

As for the Bozo the Clown take. It’s true. Trevor Bell’s grandfather for 25 years on television in Chicago was Bozo the Clown. When Bell was drafted as the 37th pick overall by the Angels in 2005, as I wrote in the notes section of the paper the day he faced the Jays last weekend, the greatest headline ever ran in the Chicago Tribune: Prospect has Big Shoes to Fill. In the “small world” category, Jordan Bastian of bluejays.com and MLB.com was telling the story in the press box the other day about how his wife Kelly was actually on TV with Bozo back in the day. Clearly that inspired her later on in life when she was settling on a husband. Seriously, Jordan will be off for a couple of weeks for the birth of his and Kelly’s first son. Congratulations and best wishes of good health to all.

Q: Richard:

While listening to yet another Jays’ loss on Saturday afternoon, Jerry and Alan Ashby had a brief discussion about Wells and his past hamstring problems. They briefly touched on this perhaps being a contributing factor for his decline (also, no Gold Glove for 3 years which might reflect not getting a jump on the ball etc). Watching Wells at the plate this season reminds me of watching my aging father-in-law’s (80 years old) golf swing ... all arms and no body. Not a thing of beauty. Wells swing is very “wristy” and all arms with little lower body power. Hamstring limitations? A guy with square wheels? Might be worth an investigation. Keep up the good reporting and mailbag.

Grant Carter

A: I have a tendency to agree with the radio guys on this one. Wells has always had the reputation as a fast healer and sometimes, especially with leg and groin injuries, that’s not always a wise thing. In the 2000 media guide, following Vernon’s rapid rise through the farm system to the majors in ‘99, he was listed at 6-1, 210 lbs. Right now he is listed at 6-1, 230 lbs. I recall the spring, it must have been around 2003-04, that he showed up to camp after a winter of working out at some elite athlete facility, carrying that extra muscle. Now that may be good for a first baseman or DH, but a centre fielder needs more twitch muscles and long muscles, not bunched up muscles.

Wells has clearly tried to back off the weight training in recent years, but the hamstring injury that sidelined him from July 10 to August 8, 2008 may indeed still be lingering. As for the absence of a Gold Glove for three years, I don’t put any credence in relating that to anything else. The Gold Glove Awards are voted on by coaches ands managers on a piece of paper thrust into their faces before a game sometime in early September. There are three outfielders on the ballot – they could all be centre fielders or left fielders or right fielders – and the spectacular catches and booming bats are what make and impression on coaches. Since Vernon’s bat has less “boom, boom, pow” than the Black Eyed Peas and since he makes tough catches look effortless and doesn’t dive, that explains the lack of a Gold Glove.

Q: Hi Richard,

I love your no-nonsense criticism of the way JP has done his job as Jays GM. Here’s to hoping that the team gets a fresh start under a better GM; JP has run out of chances to turn this ship around. I have a question about these two Jays prospects - No. 1 pick Chad Jenkins (RHP) and third round pick Jacob Marisnick (OF). I pour over the Jays farm system each morning, looking at boxscores and rosters and can’t see them mentioned on any rosters. Do you know where they will start their careers?

Thanks.

Andy Appleton

A: Firstly, I prefer to think of what I do not as criticism, but more as critique. Criticism is inherently negative. Critique usually includes positive suggestions for improvement. That’s how I roll. As for Jenkins and Marisnick, the top two draft picks (out of five) that the Jays managed to sign are both going to report to Instructional League at the Bobby Mattick Training Centre, effectively missing out on their first year as pros. The reason for that is that they, like many of this year’s top draft choices around baseball, did not sign until close to the deadline in mid-August. Since minor league seasons are over at the end of August, there was no time in integrate them with either of the short-season teams. In the old days, there were always dozens of draft picks, including the top ones, that would be signed by the end of June. They would have two months to play in the organization giving the team an opportunity to preview their placement to start the next season. But it’s a whole new ballgame out there.

Q: Hi Richard,

From an avid Blue Jays fan I just wanted to throw a name into the mix for the next GM. How about Dan Shulman? Listening to him talk about baseball and especially about the Blue Jays he really showed a passion for both the game and for the team. He is very knowledgeable both in understanding the economics of the game and the challenges that face the Jays economically and socially. He explained many scenarios on Bob McCown's Fan 590 show and had some very interesting options. Almost sounded as a GM with a vision. Wow, a GM with a vision. Let me know your thoughts.

Sincerely,

M. McLeod, Niagara Falls, Ont.

A: Dan Shulman for GM? Hmmm! I love Dan Shulman because at the end of his time in Toronto, the two guys that David Wells would not talk to were me and Dan. But does that mean Buck Martinez would be back as manager? They always did work tremendously well together in the booth. In any case, I think Dan’s making too much money at ESPN and gets to spend tons of time with his family in between making guys like Dave Campbell (baseball) and Dick Vitale (hoops) look good. He loves his current job and is great at it and that counts for a lot with most people.

Q: Hi Richard,

Firstly I really enjoy reading your column. I wanted to ask for your opinion on the absolute disrespect the Blue Jays have shown towards John McDonald this season. Here is possibly one of the best defensive shortstops in the majors. They started out doing the right thing offering McDonald a contract extension prior to the (2008) season, only to now have him watch the game from the dugout, and trot out to the middle as a base runner in the late innings. With the acquisition of a third basemen that apparently we didn't want, couldn't he be playing now?

I do believe Scutaro proved himself to be more than competent at third last season in cover for Scott Rolen. Add to this situation the very public comments in the media suggesting that with Marco Scutaro (who has played well - can't hold anything against him) becoming a free agent, the Jays must now consider shopping for (wait for it) a shortstop for next season.

My thoughts at the trade deadline were that the one position that the Jays had adequate cover for, and an asset to trade, was at shortstop. Am I to believe that the good play of Scutaro didn't attract any interest from other teams? The Jays have treated a couple of players poorly this season, (Joe Inglett, Jeremy Accardo) but I think what they have done with McDonald is disgusting. What are your thoughts?

Kiwi converted to Blue Jays supporter

A: John McDonald is a great defensive shortstop and a good clubhouse presence. As such, like his mentor Omar Vizquel (but without as much offensive talent), Johnny Mac will be playing in the majors as long as he is still enjoying himself. McDonald signed a two-year $3.8 million extension after the ’07 season and has not been a part of the Jays’ shortstop mix since then, playing behind David Eckstein and now Scutaro. McDonald is a family man of simple needs and, even though he believes in his own abilities as a starter, he can be quite comfortable for the next 5-6 years earning what the market will bear for a superior defender off the bench in the middle infield. That amount ranges from $800,000 to $1.5 million per year.

That being said, I agree with you that the Jays have not always treated him with the greatest respect and that he should be playing every day the rest of this season at shortstop with Scutaro shifting over to third. If the goal for the final month of this year is indeed to develop and study their young starting pitching, you can’t do it giving away two or more outs per game on plays that are not made in the field as they have been doing since Rolen left the scene. Give the young starter guys their best defenders and see what they can do for you. As for Inglett and Accardo, Inglett is a minor-leaguer or a 14th position player that can move around the diamond, while Accardo has really been dissed by the organization for reasons only they know.

Q: Hi Richard:

When the Blue Jays were playing and hitting well everybody was praising Cito Gaston. Why don't reporters and fans blame Gaston when the players are hitting poorly? Personally, I never liked Cito as a manager as he uses either no strategy, or strategy that even a novice fan could employ. As for him making Adam Lind a better hitter, I think he just happened to be manager when Lind matured as a hitter. What are your thoughts?

Marv Rose, Toronto

A: Here we go again with Cito bashers coming out of the woodwork as the GM systematically dismantles any semblance of a major-league contender.

On the opening day of spring training looking at the projected Jays’ lineup if someone had said that on August 25 Gaston would – not have Jesse Litsch or David Purcey in the rotation; not have B.J. Ryan and have Scott Downs down and out for much of the summer lose third baseman Scott Rolen replaced by two guys that play the hot corner like backcourt jai-alai players and lose Alex Rios for nothing but a handshake, where would the Jays be projected. Strategy? We don’t need no stinkin’ strategy.

As for Lind, what does “matured as a hitter” mean? What it means is finally going to the plate with a plan, an approach, an educated guess on what a pitcher is trying to do to you as a hitter. That’s what “mature” means to a hitter and Lind will be the first to admit he had no plan before Gaston and Gene Tenace arrived. You don’t just wake up one day and find out you’re “mature as a hitter.” It’s not like growing facial hair.

Q: Hi Richard,

I, like most Jays fans, feel J.P. must go. Please list your top five candidates for general manager in 2010. My choice would be Bruce Manno assistant GM in Atlanta. Previous to that he was in St. Louis for many years, two very successful and consistently competitive franchises.

Brian Young, Kingston

A: I believe the list of the top five candidates for Jays’ GM will be profoundly different in 2011 than it is now. This is not a plum job for a veteran GM right now or an up-and-coming one looking to establish his credentials coming in from the outside. The Jays need to right the ship and turn it around before bringing in the most sublime GM candidate out there.

The only two experienced GMs that I would bring in right - now if either one would take the job - are Terry Ryan (advisor with the Twins) or Pat Gillick (advisor with the Phils), but I don’t believe either one would take the gig under the current Rogers’ financial guidelines. Therefore, I would appoint young Alex Anthopoulos, currently a Ricciardi assistant, to the position and surround him with good advice from reliable senior guys. A.A. is not quite the smooth media operator that J.P. has become but he would have the opportunity to learn. And he is a straight shooter. If he grows into the job, he could have a chance to stay on. Otherwise, in 2011, the Jays could reach out for a GM stud to take them to the next level and back to the post-season.

Q: Richard, this is a toughie!

I am trying to locate the name and status of a pitcher that pitched for TB, Jays and Yankees, in that order. When he was with the Rays, he set or tied a record for the most losses as a starter. It was somewhere around 19 or 20. I believe it was in the mid 2000 era. The following year he worked out of the "pen" for the Jays. And the year after that he was with the Yankees, out of the "pen". If I remember correctly, he was involved in a bench clearing "shoving and yelling match" while with the Yankees. This is driving me crazy.

Thanks,

Jim, Newcastle

A: I believe the guy you’re thinking of is Tanyon Sturtze. The right-hander was from Worcester, Mass., the same hometown as Jays’ GM J.P. Ricciardi. In fact, Ricciardi is the scout listed as having signed Sturtze. He pitched in 2000-02 for the Rays with a 19-30 mark. In 20-02 he was 4-18 and led the majors in losses. Then in 2003, he joined the Jays as a projected starter, but receded into the bullpen, posting a 7-6 record and a 5.94 ERA, allowing 107 hits and 43 walks in 89-1/3 innings. In 2004 with the Yankees he was involved in a July 25 brawl with the Red Sox emerging from the undercard of the A-Rod Varitek bout with a bloodstained jersey. He is 38 and a free agent.

Q: Hi Richard.

In your opinion, what are some of the best books ever written about baseball - fiction and non-fiction?

Thanks.

Chris M., Collingwood

A: There are tons of them. Here’s a sampling: The Heart of the Game by Thomas Boswell; Tuned to Baseball by Ernie Harwell; Damned Yankees by Bill Madden and Moss Klein; Hardball by Bob Elliott; The Northern Game by Elliott; Collission at Home Plate by James Reston, Jr.; Catcher in the Wry by Bob Uecker; The Ticket Out by Michael Sokolove; Feeding the Monster by Seth Mnookin; Beyond the Sixth Game by Peter Gammons; Ball Four by Jim Bouton; Why Time Begins on Opening Day by Thomas Boswell; Shut Out by Howard Bryant; Heat by Mike Lupica; Bums by Peter Golenbock; The Era by Roger Kahn; The Boys of Summer by Kahn; Moneyball by Michael Lewis; The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty by Buster Olney. There are so many more.

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

Mail Bag

The first chance to spend the hoarded Alex Rios/Scott Rolen savings came and went and the Jays failed to sign three of the top four draft picks going 0-for-8 with Canadian draft picks and 0-for-2 in compensation for A.J. Burnett.

There were clues in speaking with GM J.P. Ricciardi that even inside the draft room in June, he took a lesser role. The negotiations for signed No. 1 pick Chad Jenkins were handled by Jon Lalonde, for Sandwich pick James Paxton represented by Scott Boras by Paul Beeston and for Jake Eliopoulos by Alex Anthopoulos. Ricciardi said he had input.

Here is a direct quote from J.P. on Tuesday, re the draft: “They took some kids who slid. (Jake) Marisnick, (Kris) Hobson, (Robert) Webb. They took them a little later with the understanding that if the top guys didn’t sign we’d have a little bit more money to sign some guys down below and they’d be able to get those guys. So Jonny (Lalonde) did a really good job. He had a really good game plan going in. We’ll see.”

The “they” that Ricciardi is referring to is, of course, the Jays.

On to the mail bag.

Q: Hi Richard,

So let's review. The Jays saved $65 million in dumping Alex Rios and Scott Rolen for financial flexibility and to reinvest in the club. And instead of signing their young draft picks (James Paxton, Jake Barrett or Jake Eliopoulos) they lose all three. How can they get better if they won't spend the money investing on prospects? I don't think I will be spending my money on the Jays next season.

J. M., Toronto

A: I also find it amazing that they failed to land three of their top four picks in the June draft. They knew Scott Boras, the most difficult agent in baseball, was the agent for Paxton. But if you can’t go over slot for a Canadian kid that throws 97 m.p.h. and was projected to be possibly your major-league closer as early as 2011, then what are you possibly going to spend the money on in the future…unless you were not really planning to reinvest that Rios/Rolen money.

And how about going 0-for-8 in signing Canadian draft picks. I recall how excited everyone was that the Jays finally had focused on drafting some Canadian talent. Then they go Canuck-less when push comes to shove. Go figure.

It almost looks like they are clearing the decks for a sale of the club. The Jays will get compensation picks for not signing Paxton, Eliopoulos and Barrett and if there was a new ownership in place by June 2010, they could make their own decision on whether to spend the money necessary to sign a Top 100 draft pick. They already have six picks in the first three rounds next year, which could increase if Marco Scutaro goes elsewhere. No wonder nobody pays attention to baseball’s June draft.

Q: Hi Richard,

What on earth is going on with the Jays? Can J.P. find any more ways to ruin the Jays? The dumping of Rios for nothing and making of Snider into a "Super Two" player (when two days would have avoided that) join the long list of financial incompetence by JP. The worst though is the failure to sign three of the Jay's top four picks - especially after Rios' contract was dumped to free money up. Have the Blue Jays become another Pittsburgh Pirates type organization? There doesn't seem much hope of a contending team for many years to come.

Andrew M., Willowdale

A: Speaking of Rios to the Chisox being such a great deal, I came home last week and gave my wife some great news: I gave away our car for nothing, but it was a good deal because we were paying $1,500 a month in insurance, gas and monthly payments. If I give away our house, pretty soon we’ll be millionaires. That’s Jay-conomics 101.

As for Snider and the Super-Two controversy, in terms of eventually being arbitration eligible, it was based on a projection and is still a long way off. The fact is that as soon as Rios went to the White Sox, Snider should have been on his way to join the Jays. They were caught in an ethical quandary and ended up doing the right thing. Snider began the year with 31 days of major league service. When he was sent down in May, he had 47 more days. If he remains with the Jays until season’s end, that will be 48 more days. The three stints add up to 126 days. In MLB, a total of 172 days constitutes a full season. The only certainty right now is that the Jays control Snider until he is eligible for free agency following the 2015 season.

Yes, he will likely be a Super Two after the 2011 season (the top percentage of players with two-years plus random days in terms of major-league service time). But if history repeats itself and if Snider becomes an important part of the Jays future, they will likely take care of him with a multi-year deal ahead of time like they did with Aaron Hill, making arbitration somewhat irrelevant. So they promoted him. Good for the Jays. Good for Travis.

As for Toronto becoming another Pittsburgh, never. Toronto women have a much better fashion sense, while the hairstyle of choice in the Steel City is still Mary Tyler Moore.

Q: I will make this question brief as I doubt that you will respond: How do you defend your criticism of Mr. Ricciardi for having the Wells contract on the payroll of the team when you seemed to lavish praise on Mr. Godfrey as being the driving force of a contract that you wrote was a smart move in the days leading up to the deal?

Michael L., Toronto

A: I, unlike Mr. Ricciardi, am willing to admit that I made a mistake. The criticism of Mr. Ricciardi re Wells is more for the GM’s habit of pointing at bad contracts as the reason his hands are tied and can’t compete with the Red Sox and Yankees. (See Ryan, Rios, Wells). Thinking back to the year the Jays signed Wells to the unfortunate contract extension, the North American economy was good, the money was out there and it looked like a player like Wells, projected with Manny-like numbers down the road was worth locking up for Manny-like money. Unfortunately for the Jays, the Manny that Vernon has most resembled turned out to be Lee, not Ramirez.

As for the task of assessing at the time whether the deal would be worth it, it is always up to any major-league organization to make that assessment with their own players using the expertise of their scouts, talent evaluators, right-hand advisors and ownership. That’s what they’re paid for. We as columnists are paid to assess what they tell us and then offer an opinion. Someone that is not willing to change his opinion when proven wrong is doing his readers a disservice.

It is just interesting to me that in the 12 months before signing Wells long-term, Mr. Ricciardi was denigrating Wells to the national media in the States as not being a team leader and being overrated. They made an all-out assault at trading Wells in the winter, then when they couldn’t get the right package in return, signed him to a long-term deal. That chain of events – diss, dangle, sign – made some of us in the media believe that the decision to lock Wells up as a long-term Jay was due more to the influence of M r. Godfrey than Mr. Ricciardi. I still believe that.

Q: Could the Jays make a run in the 2010 season? They have Gaston to manage for one more season. They keep Halladay until the contract expires; maybe they ink a fading veteran like Pedro Martinez as a #2 – he would likely play in Canada – he was decent in his last outing and fill out the rotation with the young arms. Maybe they catch a break with some rookies in the batting order and cross fingers?

Frederick Duquette, La Mirada, CA

A: I think I’m having a flashback. That 2010 building scenario, if the Jays are in fact serious about ever contending, was something they should have done in June, earlier this season when they were just starting to fade. That window of opportunity with Pedro et al slammed shut on J.P.’s fingers a while ago. If the Jays are indeed thinking about trading Halladay in the off-season and are counting on Shaun Marcum coming back to join Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil with other youngsters in the mix, then they need a 2-3 mid-rotation starter for Doc plus a couple of solid, emerging bats, led by, maybe, a shortstop. This organization is not looking to spend the Rios/Rolen/Halladay(?) savings in 2010. Maybe in 2011 when B.J. Ryan’s $10 million comes off the books and new ownership is in place, making it officially J.P.’s 10-year plan.

Q: Hi Richard,

I need you fearless forecast. What do you think the Toronto Blue Jays roster (starting 9, 5 starters and closer) will be on Opening Day 2010?

J.M., Toronto

A: Here goes:

C-J.P. Arencibia
1B-Adam Lind
2B-Aaron Hill
3B-Chone Figgins
SS-Brandon Wood
LF-Edwin Encarnacion
CF-Vernon Wells; RF-Travis Snider
DH-Randy Ruiz
SP’s: Joe Saunders; Shaun Marcum; Ricky Romero; Brett Cecil; Scott Richmond.
Closer-Jason Frasor.

Q: Three of the best Canadian baseball players (Jason Bay, Rich Harden and Erik Bedard) and one great former Blue Jay (Carlos Delgado) are all free agents at the end of the season. With the money saved from the recent salary dumps, do you think it is conceivable for the Blue Jays to take runs and possibly 2 or 3 of these players? I believe they have an opportunity to win and generate more fan support right now, but it is crucial that fans are engaged in the process. Adding two of the above mentioned household names and re-signing Marco Scutaro would, in my mind, re-energize the Jays fan base. What are your thoughts?

Tim Lichti, Tavistock

A: Consider that the Jays went 0-for-8 signing Canadians out of the 2009 June draft, so what are their chances of signing a high-priced Canadian free agent that will be commanding ridiculous B.J. Ryan, Alex Rios, Roy Halladay dollars for 4-5 years?

Bay just became an American citizen, which doesn’t rule him out of coming to T-O but gives a clue as to his intentions. Harden is injury prone and will never be a staff ace. Ditto for Bedard. As for Delgado, he’s pretty much done as a contributor and if he came in as a DH would only have the chance to disappoint and end his career as a homegrown Frank Thomas. The memories of Delgado as a Jay should remain as they are so his number can some day be lifted to the level of excellence with the other great Jays. Don’t spoil that memory.

Q: Richard,

You always seem to have a good handle on the situation in Jaysland and I really appreciate the work you do. My question is this: With the Rios salary dump, the current GM and ownership have lost all credibility. While JP will take the hit in the media, Paul Beeston and Rogers (ownership) are even more to blame for allowing this to happen.

What is Beeston doing in all of this other than, allowing it to happen? It’s a sad day and my usual 10-pack of tickets will be at thing of the past after this year. What ownership and management have allowed to happen, starting with the Doc fiasco and culminating in the Rios salary dump, is just tragic. Why would Beeston allow this to happen?

Respects,

Richard JP French, Toronto

A: I believe Paul Beeston’s first greeting to Ricciardi each morning is: “Hello J.P. How much rope will you be needing today?” If Ricciardi is being set up as the scapegoat, which I do believe, he is being asked to reduce payroll to the bare essentials before a new GM and perhaps new ownership try and rebuild the team and the relationship with the community. There is no new president in place because there is no guarantee Rogers will still be the owners. Beeston is a member of the Order of Canada and one thing that can be guaranteed is that any new ownership will be 100 per cent Canadian.

Q: Hey Richard,

Love the column. My question is in regards to free agent eligibility. How does a player become a 'type A' free agent? I understand that it must be based on performance? For example Zaunie left last year and we didn't get anything for him, but I keep hearing about how Scutaro would be a 'type A' and we can get 2 picks for him if he signs elsewhere (which would be a good deal for us I think). If you could let us know how that works it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Nigel B., Toronto

A: The fabulous Elias Sports Bureau headed by the legendary Seymour Siwoff is assigned the annual task of determining Type A and B free agents using a self-concocted formula based on the previous two years. Players are ranked against others at a similar position – 1B and DH; 2B, 3B, SS; OF; starting pitchers and relief pitchers. The top 20 per cent are ranked and if they are free agents they rate compensation in the form of draft picks. The problem with Scutaro being a Type A free agent is the same as confronted Orlando Cabrera last winter. Marco is a good player, but is he worth another team giving the Jays two draft picks in June, one of which comes from your allotment? Cabrera, a very good player, went all winter without a sniff before settling on a one-year deal with the A’s.

Q: Hi Richard,

Veering off from the Rios rumblings, I have a question regarding Vernon Wells. Everyone is saying that Wells is untradeable, which I understand. But next season (or the one after that) comes around and he's playing up to, or beyond, his potential, would he not be easier to trade? Is his salary the major hindrance or is it the salary combined with the lacklustre play?

Daniel D., Toronto

A-His salary alone makes him untradeable at this point in time. His lackluster play makes him embarrassingly untradeable. In the future, if the top salaries bounce back and his performance bounces back, then he might become tradeable again. But it’s doubtful unless the Jays were willing to eat huge portions of the contract, which may be the only answer down the road.

Q: Hi,

I was just wondering what the chances of Aaron Hill winning a gold glove this year were?

David Ng, Toronto

A: The Gold Glove voting is done by managers and coaches and if they have been paying attention, then Hill has a decent chance. But as a former PR guy, I remember bringing the Gold Glove ballots into the coaches’ room at the ballpark and seeing them filled out in 30 seconds, sometimes by committee, most of the time by previous reputation, meaning the same guys tend to win multiple times. Like I said, if coaches have been paying attention then Hill has a fighting chance. Otherwise, it’s Placido Polanco, Dustin Pedroia or Brian Roberts. Round up the usual suspects.

Q: Richard,

The incident involving Hiroki Kuroda last week (Dodgers’ pitcher hit by line drive by Rusty Ryal of the Diamondbacks) was tremendously scary, and it was great to hear he was released from hospital relatively unscathed. My question is about the play itself. The ball lined off Kuroda's head, shot up quickly, bounced in foul territory and then landed in the crowd. Ryal was thus awarded a rare ground-rule double (the ball didn't leave the infield). If the ball “didn't” bounce foul (that is, just plunked off the pitcher's head and landed in the crowd), would that have been scored a home run? I wouldn't think so, but I keep thinking of Canseco's home run ball off the head a few years back. Can't seem to find anything on the rulebook on this one. Your help here is appreciated. P. S. great mail bag, long time reader.

Geoff Rawlinson, Toronto

A: The number of highlights lately involving head-shots to hitters and pitchers has been scary in and of itself. It’s August and the dog days are here, with tempers being shorter and maybe fatigued reactions being a twitch slower. In any case you’re right about the relief in hearing that Kuroda has been released from hospital.

The ruling even if the ball had bounced directly into the stands off Kuroda’s head would still have been a ground-rule double. Going back to Canseco and the ball off his head over the fence in Texas or the Alex Cora ball at Fenway Park off of (ahemm!) Alex Rios’ glove into the bullpen a couple of years ago, in both cases, if the player had been in the right field corner and the ball had bounced off of him in fair territory and then past the pole into the stands in foul territory, instead of a homer it would have been ruled a double.

Not all body shots are bad things. On August 2, 1984, Cubs; closer Lee Smith entered in the ninth inning with one out at Wrigley Field nursing a 3-2 lead against the Expos. With runners at first and third, Pete Rose lined a ball up the middle off Smith’s ample butt with the ball caroming in the air out to Dave Owen (Spike’s brother) at shortstop. He lobbed the ball over to first base to complete the game-ending double play. Ass-ist to Smith. Just 12 days later, Rose was sneaking down the backstairs of a San Francisco hotel to catch a flight to Cincinnati where he would be a player-manager. It turns out the flight wasn’t the only thing Pete booked.

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

Mail Bag

A lot of Rios in this week’s mailbag, but also plenty of other stuff as well. I really still can’t believe that a two-time all-star has been allowed to go to another team on a waiver claim and some people are saying that it is a good deal. In any case, that’s what’s great about sports is that we all don’t have to agree in order to enjoy the same game. On to the mailbag.

Q: Dear Richard, I happened to catch the headline on the Jays website where Riccardi is quoted as saying “he likes where the Jays are headed”. I had to re-read it several times in disbelief. This is the direction we should, as fans, be excited about? All I see is a team that was once at the top of the standings this year and is now in free fall. No longer can we complain that it is because of the big bad American East division as we would be at or near the bottom in all divisions. So, is this the direction JP is referring to? The article again stated that once the Jays got past the impact of the injured pitching staff, he could see the light (I’m paraphrasing). And, he mentioned that Rios and Wells are just having a bad year and that’s it. Therefore, I can only conclude that the direction next year will be as follows, a promising rookie crew of pitchers who may not sustain their success once they have been seen by the visiting teams and a right, centre and left (when Lind isn’t playing) fielder and a couple of first baseman hitting way below what is required and no real clean up hitter. My question to you, if you suddenly found yourself in charge, what is the first and second thing you would do to bring about a new “direction” (assuming you think there needs to be one!).
PS - love the blog, Carrie from Clarkson

A: As Capt. Edward Smith said to the steward during dinner at the captain’s table on April 12, 1912, “I think we’ll be needing more ice.” Coincidentally, the Titanic’s captain also liked the direction he was heading as they steamed across the north Atlantic.

If I was to take over the Jays’ ship heading into the off-season here’s what I would do. I would sit down with Roy Halladay and ask for his help in creating the best deal possible. I would ask for his input in terms of teams that he would like to pitch for. Then I would ask the commissioner’s office for a window of opportunity to allow any of those teams — say from among the Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Angels or Red Sox — to negotiate with Halladay a five-year extension giving him the free-agent type money he will surely get after 2010. If that is successful, then he would be worth far more in terms of a trade and I would ask for a current, young, mid-rotation starter and a speedy young outfielder on the cusp of reaching the majors to bat at the top of the order, plus maybe a couple of young Class-A arms. Second, I would move Adam Lind to first base and allow catcher J.P. Arencibia a full shot at the major-league job. If none of that worked, my third option would be to punt.

Q: Hi, Richard.
Question: J.P. Riccardi is quoted as having made the difficult decision of having to let Rios go on waivers to the White Sox because of the change in the economy of sports in the last year and how this allows the Blue Jays to address multiple positions as opposed to just one. He mentions shortstop and catching as two positions that need to be addressed. Correct me if I am wrong, but are these not the same two positions that he has constantly tinkered with since he joined the Blue Jays and now seemingly with no permanent resolve? How is it possible that 8 years have been removed and he still has not figured out how to address what he describes as our weak spots (and I thought it was the 4th and 5th in our rotation in addition to closer)? And how is it that catching prospects in the Jays organization never pan out — Delgado and Sprague being the rare exceptions, maybe Greg Myers — in the last 20 years?
Martin Keogh, Toronto, Ontario

A: Eight years is normally enough to sign and develop your own players at certain positions. You’re right about catching and shortstop in the Ricciardi era. His first move in December 2001 was to dump incumbent shortstop Alex Gonzalez on the Cubs. Russ Adams and Aaron Hill were drafted in consecutive Junes to fill that shortstop need. Now they are waiting for Justin Jackson who is still at least two years away. In the meantime they have had Felipe Lopez, Chris Woodward, Mike Bordick, Adams, Chris Gomez, John McDonald, Royce Clayton, David Eckstein and Marco Scutaro. Behind the plate they sent J.P. Arencibia to Las Vegas so that he would be ready to catch for the Jays on Opening Day 2010. They picked up the option year on Rod Barajas as a bridge to their catching future. Now they feel they need to dump Rios to save money to spend on a catcher. What happened to Arencibia? How about Brian Jeroloman? These questions have nothing to do with the current North American economy.

Q: This club has deteriorated before our eyes this year. I am not talking about the players, but the organization. You are on the inside. Is there an upside or a plan that this organization is going to show their fans? I know that this is probably a rhetorical question and that the answer is no. No vision, no future, but at least we kept J.P.
Bob James, Calgary

A: “At least” is the exact right turn of a phrase because there is no “at most” to be seen anywhere from Jays horizon to horizon. The only ray of hope is that they actually do re-invest the saved money on some solid talent.

Q: Richard,
Can things possibly get any more asinine than this? Is there no bottom to the asinine barrel in Rogersland? Not even a draft pick for the two-time all star? Bueller? Bueller? Oh right, Bueller's in Chicago.
David McCabe, Ottawa

A: Ricciardi can’t be ripped for not getting at least a draft choice for Rios because baseball is one sport that doesn’t allow the trading of draft picks. That’s to protect bad GMs from becoming worse GMs. So we can say that at least the Jays (perhaps only because of the rules) still have all their draft choices.

Q: Richard,
I just cannot believe what I just heard. How in all that is holy do you let a two-time all-star who is under 30 go for nothing? I mean at least you could have got a bag of batting practice balls in return. This is the stupidest thing I think I have ever seen. Officially the Jays are now the Florida Marlins. What a complete joke. This is just absolute stupidness.
Will Dickinson, Rycroft

A: The Marlins would never trade an established major-leaguer for nothing. If this is a result of the current economy, then why haven’t more small market teams been forced to do the same thing? Maybe because other MLB regimes are proactive and not reactive.

Q: In the Alex Rios transaction I keep waiting for the rest of the deal to be announced but I guess what you see is what you get. Or in the case of Rios a talented player, relatively young and under contract for an extended period is sold off for nothing in return. I find it appalling that at the time Roy Halladay was being shopped similar feelers weren't out for Rios. There are teams in the midst of the pennant race that would have taken Rios in a trade where the Jays would at least get prospects or players to be named later in return. I can think of Minnesota, San Francisco, Chicago as examples. I did not hear of Rios being shopped but I may have missed it. Was this the case? Is there any chance the White Sox have committed to compensate the Jays after the season ends. A real blunder in my mind on Ricardi's part.
Don Pearson, Richmond

A: There was no planning involved in the Rios dump. Every player every year is placed on this type of recallable waivers by their major-league teams. Nobody ever hears about it because they are supposed to be confidential. I honestly believe that there is a possibility someone allowed the Rios waiver claim to leak out to the media to make an uncomfortable situation for Ricciardi and the Jays in retaliation for the way he handled the Roy Halladay trades talks, making it uncomfortable for the Phillies, Rangers and others with added daily pressure from their fans and media to get a deal done. Because, as you point out, if there was a plan, they would have been discussing a Rios trade with other teams prior to July 31. At least they would have got something back. Even White Sox GM Kenny Williams thought he was going to have to give up a player or two and was surprised when they said, “Just take him and his contract. He’s all yours.”

Q: Greetings Richard. Am I the only one who likes the Rios dump? Yes, in a perfect world, we'd have gotten something tangible in return. But frankly, players should be paid for production, not potential. While I hope to high heaven JP isn't the man for the job, the Jays now have freed about $15 million of 2010 salary obligations (Rolen vs. Encarnacion, Rios) in the last 2 weeks. If, and that's a big if, the Jays can in fact spend this money, and spend it wisely, they can easily find one impact bat, if not two, and then again rely on hope and rainbows and sunshine that everyone stays healthy and performs to "expected levels" and maybe compete. But of course if it's JP spending the money, watch out four years and $60 million for a bought out Pat Burrell. Didn't JP lust after him once before? Good riddance to Alex Rios. Give the remaining 150 RF AB's to Snider, and let's start 2010 now.
Cheers,
Josh Silver, Toronto

A: So now, let’s see. If I go out and buy a Lamborghini convertible that I can’t afford and am making payments of $1,500 per month and then find someone to take over the payments and take the car off my hands that I am now up $1,500 per month?

Players are always paid for potential. It’s up to an organization to have scouts with enough knowledge to know what production veteran players still have left and which young players are going to develop into stars.

Q: Richard,
There is obviously confusion in the hierarchy of the Jays as well as Rogers in the direction of the team and also, most importantly, rumblings if Rogers will keep the team.
When you hear rumblings like this do you envision potential local owners for the Jays? Despite the inconsistent Canadian dollar, is there someone out there who might be interested? I cannot see how this can be a bad potential deal for an investor with interest, due to the fact the current ownership received such a good deal on the stadium.
Jody Mattie, Toronto

A: The way the Rogers ownership is running the Jays certainly makes it seem like all they care about is the bottom line and are not interested in putting in the effort needed to create new revenue by creating a winner on the field. If that is indeed the case, can selling the team be far behind? And yes there is local ownership out there somewhere. I don’t believe it would ever get to the point of the Expos or Coyotes. There will always be Canadian ownership of the Jays. And yes, the stadium is a bargain and a key asset.

Q: Hi Richard, Love the mailbag, wish more baseball guys would run one weekly — I always find the best under-the-numbers info comes from here! Which comes to my question: Marco Scutaro. JP has long been obsessed with finding a reliable, consistent, and identifiable shortstop for the Jays (haunted by the ghost of Tulowitzki, perhaps?) and it seems to me that he's stumbled across one in utility-man turned SS Marco Scutaro. My question is, with Scutaro heading for free agency, why isn't there more talk of the Jays extending or pursuing his contract? I seem to recall someone even mentioning the Jays had no intention of bringing him back. He's not a defensive liability. He's hitting nearly .300 but perhaps more importantly runs a .387 OBP (as of Sunday) out of the leadoff spot, seemingly solving THAT glaring lineup problem everyone has been worried about since Reed Johnson departed. He'll likely drive in 65-70 runs this season, with enough pop to manage 12 home runs or so (almost Jeter-type power of the last few years).
Granted he's no spring chicken at 34. But it seems to me he has at least a few good years left to fill the role he fills very well, and I just can't understand JP's comments/actions (IE trying to get Aybar out of the Angels and other SS prospects in the Halladay "deal") about not having solved the SS problem.
Matt Mistele, Waterloo, Ont.

A: The question of re-signing Marco Scutaro is a good one. I think the problem lies on both sides of the equation. Since Scutaro has only been a starting shortstop for one season, how much is he worth as a 34-year-old free agent. The Jays don’t know and neither does Marco. There were some bargains available at shortstop last winter on short-term deals. The Jays will need a two-year shortstop (2010-11) at which time, hopefully Justin Jackson will have figured it out and be ready to play in the majors. Scutaro would be the perfect fit, but he may want a three- or four-year deal. The Jays and Scutaro should be able to work something out.

Q: Halladay seems so well adjusted and methodical (despite Ricciardi's attempts to distract him). I've read that Roy has consulted a sports psychiatrist for a long time and closely follows his theories. Does the Doctor have any superstitions or odd rituals? What are some of the strangest things that pitchers do to prepare?
Chris M., Collingwood

A: His long-distance guru is a guy named Dr. Harvey Dorfman. He discovered Dorfman at the time he was trying to put his career back together after being sent back to Class A back in 2001. Dorfman preaches worrying only about the things that you can control. He taught Halladay to take pitching one pitch at a time and to forget about the one that you just threw and think about the one you are about to throw. Original, huh. Anyway it works for Halladay and you can see him before every game in front of his locker reading the same Dorfman book over and over and over.

As for pitchers and their rituals, they all have them, from the same music in the clubhouse before a start, to having the same guy hand them the ball before warming up, the same seat in the dugout, a towel over the head, not watching their own hitters between innings, the same undershirt every start, etc. I believe Doc is a creature of habit and likes everything the same on the day of a start, but that’s not really a superstition.

Q: Richard,
It looks like things fell apart with Blue Jays this year, but I noticed one part which really improved; the catching. Yes, I am not talking about Rod Barajas, but Raul Chavez. Every time I saw Chavez gunning down the base-stealers, I tried to remember when was the last time we had such a solid back up catcher. He doesn't play every day, but he plays really hard. Although we didn't win the game, I liked his bunt-hit in the bottom of ninth against the Phillies on June 28th. To me, he plays the game as if it's his last. I wish Vernon Wells and Alex Rios would play the game same way. I am not sure about Chavez' contract situation, but hope he will stay.
Yosuke Abe, Vancouver

A: The Jays have done very well with Chavez as a backup catcher. He’s been better for them than Michael Barrett would have been. There are dozens of guys like Chavez on the free-agent market every year. The key is having a starter that can play 125 games.

Q: Three questions for you Richard.
1. Do you feel that Ricciardi has dropped the ball in the past at deadline time? For example, he managed to deal Rolen at his peak value and got two good young arms. However, they've not been in a pennant race the past few years and there were opportunities to trade guys and stockpile the minors with some younger players in the process. Instead the team would find a way to finish strong and you would hear Ricciardi saying in the off-season "Look how we finished, we're capable of being a good club next season" and we go around and around.
2. Who do you see getting the September call up? Other than Snider that is. I'm thinking we'll likely see Fabio Castro. Arencibia is also a possibility. I know that he hasn't had the best offensive season in Vegas, but if he's being touted as catcher of the future shouldn't he get a look at the big league level?
3. Why in the world does Kevin Millar hit clean up when he's in the line up? I mean, it's not as if anyone else would be any good...but Kevin Millar? Yikes!
Pramit Bose, Brampton

A: The Rolen deal was just his fifth in the month of July in eight years and the first he has made on deadline day. He dumped Raul Mondesi in ’02, traded Shannon Stewart for a more Moneyball-type player in Bobby Kielty in ’03, dumped Terry Adams in ’04 and dumped Shea Hillenbrand in ’06, ending up with a decent reliever in Jeremy Accardo.

The reason the Jays finish strong every year is that they are always playing for keeps in September trying to win as many games as they can so they can sell tickets in the off-season instead of using the month to see what they may have down the road.

I don’t think Fabio Castro will get the call because he’s a non-roster player. Arencibia might get called up and allowed to play, but that would go against the philosophy I outlined above. They don’t usually call up more than two or three guys, plus activating some disabled guys. It saves them money not having to pay ML salaries and meal money, plus giving unnecessary days of service that later on might contribute to arbitration eligibility.

I agree with you about Millar. He should just be happy to be here.

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