Blue Jays manager John Gibbons Unplugged: Griffin

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

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

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

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

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

1-GIBBONS FAMILY SAN ANTONIO CONNECTION

2-SURPRISE FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICK BY THE METS

3-DISAPPOINTING PLAYING CAREER LEADS TO CAREER IN COACHING

4- “NOT MY JOHN GIBBONS”: DAVEY JOHNSON

5-FAMOUS CONFLICTS WITH JAYS PLAYERS

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

7-QUE SERA SERA CAREER -- BLOND AMBITION

8-DEVELOPING KEY RELATIONSHIPS FOR THE FUTURE WITH METS

9-GIBBY'S DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEX

10-HANDLING A DIVERSE BLUE JAYS CLUBHOUSE

11-COULD HAVE BEEN A LONGHORN WITH CLEMENS 

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1-GIBBONS FAMILY SAN ANTONIO CONNECTION

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

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

RG: What was his top rank?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RG: What about your kids?

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

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

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

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

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

 

2-SURPRISE FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICK BY THE METS

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RG: He never does.

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

 

3-DISAPPOINTING PLAYING CAREER LEADS TO CAREER IN COACHING

 

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

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

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

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

JG: Yeah, that's him.

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

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

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

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

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

RG: Hey skip, stay out da way.

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

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

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

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

 

4- “NOT MY JOHN GIBBONS”: DAVEY JOHNSON

 

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

JG: Yeah, I remember reading that.

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

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

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

JG: Yeah.

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

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

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

 

5-FAMOUS CONFLICTS WITH JAYS PLAYERS

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

7-QUE SERA SERA CAREER -- BLOND AMBITION

 

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

JG: OK. I can do that.

RG: Jays bullpen catcher.

JG: No.

RG: Jays first base coach.

JG: No.

RG: Jays manager – first time.

JG: No.

RG: The contract extension with J.P.

JG: No.

RG: You didn't demand an extension?

JG: No (laughs).

RG: Royals' bench coach.

JG: Yes.

RG: San Antonio manager.

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

RG: This time around as Jays manager.

JG: No.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JG: Yeah.

 

8-DEVELOPING KEY RELATIONSHIPS FOR THE FUTURE WITH METS

 

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

JG: That was Beane and J.P.

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

JG: 1980

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

JG: In '81, Shelby, North Carolina.

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

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

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

 

9-GIBBY'S DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEX

 

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

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

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

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

RG: A bench coach.

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

 

10-HANDLING A DIVERSE BLUE JAYS CLUBHOUSE

 

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

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

RG: Does athletics play a part in acceptance?

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

 

11-COULD HAVE BEEN A LONGHORN WITH CLEMENS 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JG: Yeah, you're right.

RG: Thanks John and good luck.

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PED Blockbuster in Miami New Times implicates Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera and others: Griffin

One of the many Blue Jays' prized off-season signings, Melky Cabrera is in the headlines again, but for all the wrong reasons. His name was one of a half-dozen major-leaguers linked to a recently-closed anti-aging clinic in a story in the Miami New Times. Fact is that Melky already has served a 50-game suspension last August for a failed PED test while with the Giants. Tuesday's revelations linking him to the Florida clinic are simply details.

There is no doubting that major-league baseball will continue to take body shots for years and years to come, as head-shaking, often sensational facts from a sad and embarassing period in the history of the National Pastime continue to emerge. The perception mess from the Steroid Era is slowly being cleaned up syringe by syringe, cheater by cheater. No, there will likely never be a landscape totally clear of this garbage, but the fact that the majority of players in the union are fighting the cheaters is a good sign. And they are.

On Tuesday MLB took another breathtaking blow to the solar plexus as New Times based in south Florida released a blockbuster story, which tragic hero once again is Alex Rodriguez.

Apparently, for four years, from 2009-12, Biogenesis, a modest anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables, FL, had been helping normal citizens feel young (wink, wink). Get a legitimate prescription from a legitimate doctor and Biogenesis could supply the feel-goods. It was all legal, as long as the doctor had physically examined the patient. And that had been the catch a few years ago for all those other, online, anti-aging clinics that had been caught handing out prescriptions, sight unseen. They were breaking the law.

On the surface, Biogenesis was a legitimate business enterprise, but, at the same time as it was helping normal folks improve their lives, the clinic's owner, a 49-year-old hustler named Anthony Bosch, whose father is a well-respected physician in Miami, had allegedly been working with a an elite, more secretive client list, keeping personal, handwritten records and allegedly supplying performance enhancing drugs, steroids and human growth hormone to prominent athletes, including many well known MLB stars. Not good.

Biogenesis and its owner, Bosch, as a person of interest, had been well-known to major-league baseball and its Department of Investigations, an important new arm of the commissioner that came into existence as a recommendation of the Mitchell Report back in 2007. Bosch's father, Dr. Pedro Publio Bosch, had been part of an earlier investigation of former Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez, several years ago. Manny was suspended, twice.

It seems the younger Bosch was never a great businessman. He was forced to close his Biogenesis clinic in December. Unfortunately, he has had this annoying, habit, well-documented by New Times, through the years, with wives, creditors and business associates, of not paying his bills. So it came to be that a disgruntled employee had taken a box of Biogenesis records with him in lieu of salary, walked into New Times offices and dropped the evidence on the desk. Writer Tim Elfrink took it from there.

A startling nugget of information in the tremendously researched piece is that the distribution of Human Growth Hormone in America has become a $1.4 billion industry with the general public. So is pro sports a reflection of society or the other way around?

In any case, the true blockbuster news on Tuesday was that in its four-year existence ending in December, there existed a sloppy paper trail implicating current major-league players Rodriguez, Melky, Nelson Cruz, Bartolo Colon and Yasmani Grandal.

There will be no further implications in terms of future punishment for Melky as he prepares to bat second and play left field for the Jays -- as long as he keeps his nose clean. Nothing new was learned of PED transgressions for the period after he was suspended. In fact, Cabrera, Colon and Grandal, a young catcher with the Padres, have already been punished with their 50-game suspensions for failed tests in 2012. But in the two other cases of A-Rod and Cruz, there will most certainly be more news to come.

When A-Rod allegedly came clean a few springs ago, he explained that his use of performance enhancers was restricted to a time between 2001-03 when he was with the Rangers. However, in the new story, his name appears over and over in the handwrittten records of Bosch – between the years 2009-12. The timelines don't jibe. Rodriguez will have some explaining to do to the Yankees and MLB.

As for Cruz, the Rangers' power-hitting outfielder has never failed a drug test that has become public and therein lies the rub. That is the basis for a player being suspended. But his reputation from this moment on in the court of public opinion, will likely never recover.

The current drug agreement in baseball's CBA suggests that what starts as random drug testing can be made more specific and more frequent if there's legitimate suspicion of wrongdoing -- as now seems to be in the cases of A-Rod and Cruz – but that a suspension cannot be issued unless there is a failed result.

By the way, the name of Nationals' lefthander Gio Gonzalez was also in the Biogenesis files, but the pitcher's father, a Miami resident, insisted to New Times that he, himself, was the client for personal health issues, not his son. 

Clearly, Biogenesis, BALCO and other shady businesses of that type, have been a big part of baseball's problem. However, someone with an axe to grind wandering into a newspaper office and dumping a bunch of files onto a desk, taken from a clinic that is officially out of business is not enough to hold up in court, in producing further action against anyone, including Bosch. Biogenesis was obviously no BALCO in terms of efficiency, since three of the five named baseball clients all failed drug tests and have accepted their punishments. Then there was Manny and A-Rod, also now tied to Bosch. That incompetence in the art of cheating should also help to act as a deterrent to many young major-league players.

This is never good news to a sport that sells itself as family entertainment. But this entire cleansing process with more and more details from the Steroid Era continuing to become public, would seem a necessary evil to atone for earlier sins.

Two steps forward, one step back. MLB is confident that with a new hGH blood-testing program the World Anti-Doping Agency has labelled the most stringent in pro sports, that the sport is headed in the right direction in efforts to restore the game's image. Let's hope.

Blue Jays mailbag: Busy World Baseball Classic for Toronto

Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia will represent the U.S. at the World Baseball Classic in March. RENE JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR

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It’s almost here folks. Spring training in Dunedin begins on Feb. 12 for pitchers and catchers and if there is any non-roster or invited player in camp that values the opportunity to make an impression on manager John Gibbons and GM Alex Anthopoulos this is the year to get it done.

It’s a busy World Baseball Classic for the Blue Jays. There are seven major-league Jays that will participate in the first round, March 4-10 — Brett Lawrie for Team Canada; R.A. Dickey and J.P. Arencibia for Team USA; Jose Reyes, Esmil Rogers, Edwin Encarnacion and Melky Cabrera for Team Dominican.

The biggest surprise in the group is Cabrera, who had been suspended for a PED infraction at the end of last season with the Giants. It was believed that because of that, he might be passed over for the honour of repping his country. As of now, the only three outfielders listed on the Dominican’s provisional roster are Cabrera, Carlos Gomez and Nelson Cruz.

These guys may be gone for a while. There are four groups of four countries in that first round, with the top two teams in the round robin advancing. The tiebreaker is head to head. Canada is in Phoenix in a group with the U.S., Mexico and Italy. The Dominican is in Puerto Rico, so all three countries and all seven Jays could advance to Round 2 which would be another week away from camp. The Jays made a wise decision by not letting the recovering Jose Bautista participate in the WBC. On to the mailbag.

Q. Hi Richard,

I have a question about R.A Dickey’s longevity as a 38-year-old who is signed into his 40s. It seems to be established fact that knuckleballers can pitch longer than conventional pitchers because they’re throwing less hard and the pitch puts less strain on the arm. I was wondering, however, if that rule necessarily applies to Dickey. I ask for two reasons. First, he was a conventional pitcher for a long time before switching to the knuckleball. Is it possible that all those years put enough strain on his arm to reduce his longevity, despite having now switched? Second, because he throws his knuckleball harder than the average knuckleball pitcher, could that additionally limit his longevity? I’m not concerned about him significantly declining next season — I just wonder if he could possibly play as long as a guy like Tim Wakefield, for example. Thanks!

Jack Newman, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

A. It’s difficult to compare Dickey to any other knuckleballer — in fact any other pitcher — because of the absence of any ulnar collateral ligament in the 38-year-old’s right arm. That is from birth, and has even Tommy John scratching his head. The absence of that important but tear-able ligament was actually what cost Dickey a huge portion of his agreed-upon signing bonus when he was examined post-draft and the missing ligament was discovered. As for his shaky past as a traditional pro pitcher, most knuckleballers also began their careers as traditional pitchers and changed over as professionals. If Dickey has no existing injuries, it’s hard to see in throwing the knuckleball that he will develop one. Most injuries to knuckleballers are in other body areas, like the line drive by Ron LeFlore back through the box that shattered Wilbur Wood’s kneecap. I don’t believe that throwing a hard and soft knuckler will have any affect on his longevity especially given his unique elbow structure. As long as he can keep the spin off his pitches and keep his balls dancing, there’s no saying how long he can pitch.

Q. Hi Richard,

After reading R.A. Dickey’s book, I almost feel that his character and personality outweigh his value as a Cy Young winner. It may be too soon to rush to other ideas before he throws a pitch in Toronto, but should A.A. already be thinking about keeping R.A. in the organization long term?

P.S. Great to see the Jays Winter Tour return to Saskatoon, line up for autographs was hundreds deep.

Thanks,

Trevor Brown, Saskatoon

A. The Jays winter tour was once again a huge success, not just with Canadian baseball fans, but with Jays players that participate and suddenly realize how much enthusiasm there is for baseball across the entire country. It’s a nice initiative that was re-instituted under Paul Beeston for the past three winters.

As for Dickey and his unique personality, his life experience as outlined in his autobiography shows that post baseball he will have many options outside of the game, not the least of which could be as a motivational speaker. It’s funny, after meeting him at his press conference at the Rogers Centre, to hear the reputation that came with him was as a bit of a polarizing figure in the Mets’ clubhouse, seen by some anonymous Mets players as a shameless self-promoter and publicity magnet.

This is just a personal theory, but I see his value to the Blue Jays in 2013 and beyond not as a clubhouse leader in the traditional sense, but more as a lightning rod for media attention, taking the off-field spotlight away from guys like Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow, who never had asked for it in the first place, just allowing them to pitch. That can be as valuable as a rah-rah leadership type.

Q. With the Houston Astros joining the better . . . I mean the American League this season, I think its time to re-visit the issue of the designated hitter. The new more integrated schedule means there is even more of a discrepancy between the two leagues since, in my opinion, the designated hitter makes comparing the stats for the two leagues like apples and oranges. Is it time to make the two leagues the same on this issue one way or the other?

In addition, having the all-star game decide home field advantage for the World Series puts too much weight on a game which is supposed to be a fun display of the two leagues’ best players. I think that the cumulative result of the season’s interleague play (which unfortunately is here to stay) is a better way to determine who should have home field advantage.

Keith Nelson, Oakville

A. When I came to Toronto to cover baseball for the Star in ’95 I was definitely not a fan of the DH, having spent 22 years in the NL watching a nine-man lineup that also played the field. That was real baseball the way it was invented. However, some things change, many perceptions change and reality has set in. I agree with you now that the two leagues should play by the same rules, but at this point in time, I see no way that uniformity can enter the picture without there being with the designated hitter.

The players’ association knows that the DH can often be a higher-paid veteran player rather than an extra bench guy that can be a younger farmhand with one specific skill, more importantly, making the minimum. That being said, the union would want to protect the veteran earning more money, maintaining a higher average salary. Plus, in all high schools and U.S. colleges they don’t allow pitchers to hit, thus if they are going to make the rules uniform, the only fair thing to do is to convert everyone to the DH, rather than have players picking up a bat after years of not hitting. I’ve come around.

Former Expos’ manager Felipe Alou said it best, when he admitted that as an NL player who grew up in the ’60s, he had always been a purist, but by the early ’90s, he had changed his mind: “People talk about more strategy in the National League, that it’s easier to be a manager in the American League. I disagree. Strategy? Even my three-year-old daughter knows the strategy in the NL. You manage nine innings trying making sure your pitcher doesn’t come up in a game situation with the bases loaded.”

As for the all-star game earning World Series home field, I have no problem with it. You say it’s supposed to be a “fun display,” but you can still have fun and at the same time compete. Consider the fans and the televising network that are paying big bucks for the all-star game, seeing the stars have one at-bat then out of the game and gone from the stadium as was happening in the late ’90s. The problem with your suggestion of using interleague play as the determining factor for World Series home field is that it might come down to the end of September still up in the air as to the dominant league. That would be chaos, because there is a lot of advance preparation needed for MLB and teams in the World Series including hotels, etc. that can’t be done at the last minute.

Q. Hi Richard,

In looking at the Jays’ schedule for the coming season, I was intrigued by an anomaly that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around. On Wednesday May 22, the Jays play a home game against the Rays starting at 4:37 p.m. I know the Jays have experimented in the past with mid-afternoon starts on Saturdays, but I can’t recall this ever being the case on a non-holiday weekday.

The scheduling would have made sense if either the Jays or the Rays were heading out to the west coast for a game the following day, but this isn’t the case as the Jays remain at home to face the Orioles and the Rays head home for a series against the Yankees. I’m wondering if this 4:37 start may be an experiment to determine if fans like the notion of ducking out of work a little bit early and still getting home at a reasonable hour following the game?

Cheers,

Brendan Clough, Toronto

A. That’s a pretty good call by you as to the reason for that 4:37 p.m. start vs. the Rays. As you point out, not only are the Rays returning home, but they have an off-day before facing the Yankees. The Jays used to schedule 4:37 Saturday games because of the Fox network’s exclusivity in the States. It meant that moving the start time out of the Fox window, they could televise the game themselves. But this Wednesday late-afternoon start in May can be for no other reason than an experiment to see if fans like it — or maybe there’s a potential conflict with the Leafs in the conference semi-final . . . nahh.

Q. Hello Richard.

I have two questions for you today. One is hard and one is easy.

If you crystal ball these five players, who do you see as being the most successful in five years? Anthony Gose, Brett Lawrie, Adeiny Hechavarria, Brett Wallace or Travis D’Arnaud.

If you were not sitting in the press box, where would you sit in the stadium?

Hope you enjoy the season.

Richard Campbell, Edmonton

A. In descending order, I see by the end of the 2017 season a success ranking among this group of: 1. Lawrie; 2. Hechavarria; 3. Gose; 4. d’Arnaud; 5. Wallace.

Depth at certain positions is cyclical and right now third base is pretty shallow around the majors. Lawrie will be an all-star by then if he remains healthy. He can bat 6 or 7 in the order and be an RBI guy with aggressive base running skills and an extra-base bat. He challenges groundballs not flinching on contact like many at the hot corner and has a great third baseman’s arm. Hechavarria was coming on with the bat last September and will thrive back at shortstop for the Marlins. When Gose quits chasing pitches out of the zone, he will be an impact player who fans will be excited to watch play. D’Arnaud is a solid catcher with a 15-20 HR bat but one of the questions is health, so in five years who knows. He’s a better receiver than Arencibia with a chance for higher OPS but less power. As for Wallace, I don’t know why he’s on this list. He still must find an optimum position and has been less than promised.

As for where I would choose to sit. To see the game properly I would be first row upper deck behind home plate but if I’m there just to chill and relax, I would like to be in those close-to-the action seats so I could second-guess the manager in a very loud voice in person.

Q. Hi Richard,

I know Dickey throws a bit harder than the ‘typical’ knuckleballer, and I’m getting ahead of myself a bit here, but hey, it’s a long off season so . . . Do you think that if the Jays are in the race in September, they would consider using Dickey every five days as well as in between starts as a reliever for a couple batters?

Thanks,

J.F., Muskoka

A. I believe that using Dickey as a reliever, in addition to starting him, is a Jays’ possibility only in late-September if they are in a division race, or in the post-season if he is the best option at the time in a key game. He could do it, but pitching, no matter what you throw, is a mindset with accompanying rituals and mental preparation. Starters have their own between start routines on each of their four off-days, so they would have to tell Dickey never to do his bullpen work until the eighth inning, just in case they need him. That’s a mental grind. Besides, the Jays already carry seven relievers. What are you telling those guys about your faith in their ability to get three outs and contribute to a win if you keep bringing on Dickey in relief? Let’s not over manage.

Q. A few years ago the Blue Jays held a fan barbecue where regular fans could buy tickets and get autographs from the whole team that was set up on the field. This was an amazing experience for both myself and my 12-year-old daughter. Do you see them doing anything like this again? I e-mail them and they never answer which is kind of frustrating.

Thanks, Jason Nesbitt, Aylmer

A. The Jays usually don’t abandon things that have worked for them in the past. I remember the barbecue you talk about and it seemed to go really well. Send an e-mail to Stephen Brooks, the Jays’ senior vice-president who is very interested in fan feedback and always responds.

Q. Hi Richard.

Do you think Rogers is going to switch the Jays to pay-per-view and start charging for SportsNet One once they start winning with their solid lineup this year? Let’s stop this possibility by nipping it in the bud.

Bruce Hutchison, Toronto

A. I don’t believe the Jays are considering pay-per-view for regular-season games. Not everyone gets Sportsnet One in their cable package, so in a way it’s already a premium channel. But there are other ways to add new broadcast revenues. I do believe that Rogers sees a huge potential in its sports properties for various wireless platforms. They can charge for access to cell phones and iPads and tablets, etc. If you listened carefully, there was a lot made of it when the MLSE purchase was announced last year and “content” was a key word at the time. The Jays play 162 games and with a good team this year, the coast-to-coast audience will grow and provide added value for ownership without going to the very unpopular pay-per-view concept.

Q. Nice to see the Jays are giving Adam Loewen another shot . . . sadly I doubt his status could ever rise above a fifth outfielder . . . with most of his time spent in AAA . . . he strikes me as a perfect candidate to take up the knuckleball . . . with Dickey around to tutor him in spring training . . . then give him awhile in the minors again . . . if he’s successful he’ll pitch into his 40’s . . . otherwise he’ll just hand around the fringes for another year or so.

David Dales, Huntsville

A. Throwing a good knuckleball ain’t as easy as it looks. Recall that Dickey was rocked his first year as a newbie knuckleballer. Major-league hitters if they know, for example, that one of every four offerings is going to be a spinner rather than a dancing floater, will wait until they see that first disobedient pitch and then crush it. In his first start as a knuckleballer with the Rangers on April 6, 2006, Dickey allowed six home runs in 3-1/3 innings vs. the Tigers, facing 17 batters and throwing 61 pitches. In a great show of faith by the Rangers (not!), they promptly shipped him out and he never pitched for them again.

As for Loewen, he said that he always wanted to be a hitter and never really wanted to be a pitcher when he was drafted in the first round by the O’s. But the mound was his quickest road to the majors. Now that he has had serious arm issues, he’s an outfielder for life. I’m looking forward to seeing him at the W.B.C. for Canada. A good performance there would be a boost. He did play in Buffalo last year in the Mets system and will return there again to begin the season.

Q. Hi Richard,

Who do you think in the Toronto rotation will benefit the most from the addition of Dickey? I am thinking that it will be Josh Johnson. If a hitter looks at a one-of-a-kind knuckleball all day, with a fastball pitcher like Johnson pitching the next day; his fastball will for sure look and feel faster than normal, which makes his breaking pitches even tougher to hit. I am looking forward to teams coming into TO (say 3-game series) facing a knuckleballer (Dickey) in Game 1, a hard throwing power righty (Johnson) in Game 2, then a soft-tossing lefty (Buehrle) in Game 3. The next three-game series, the Jays can start a fireballer (Morrow) in Game 1, a power lefty (Romero) in Game 2 and a knuckleballer (Dickey) again in Game 3. All I want to say is that it will get awfully tough to get comfortable hitting in TO as an opposing hitter, as hitters are all creature of habits.

Thanks,

James Ho, Burnaby, B.C.

A. It’s funny, but coincidentally I was just talking to Jays’ manager John Gibbons about this very thing the other day. He asked me if this was my team how would I set up the Jays’ rotation going into the year. I suggested that I would throw Morrow after Dickey vs. the Indians in the opening series because if you go the other way and have Brandon and Ricky Romero 4-5 in the rotation what kind of message are you sending to last year’s team. Besides, Morrow is your long-term Jay for the moment, committed to the organization and deserves some loyalty. Johnson can be a free agent after 2013. Gibby agreed and said that’s the way he was leaning right now. The hard-throwing Morrow would benefit as much as Johnson, in the same way, following Dickey.

Former Jays’ manager Cito Gaston was a big believer that facing a knuckleballer can mess you up for a few days after as a hitter. Even if it’s not a fact and is only in some opposing hitters’ heads, it’s an advantage. The Jays need to benefit from that by trying to get Dickey as many starts in Game 1 or 2 of a series. For instance his Sunday start vs. the Red Sox in the first week of the season will only benefit the Orioles’ pitcher on Boston on Monday.

Q. Hey Richard,

I have a very bizarre non-PED Hall of Fame question for you. It’s about the makeup of the ballot itself. We all know the rules for appearing on the ballot: at least 10 big-league seasons, and retired/out of MLB for at least 5 years. This year we saw 24 first-time candidates, and with the legends and controversies came some surprising names.

A few random examples: Royce Clayton, Aaron Sele, Woody Williams and Todd Walker. Each of these guys had respectable and solid careers, and obviously did just enough to earn a one-and-done spot on the Hall ballot, and maybe even a bizarre token vote to tell the grandchildren about (seriously though, who voted for Aaron Sele?).

But there were far more than just 24 players who met the criteria to get on the 2013 Hall ballot and didn’t make the final vote. Some random names in this category: Mike Lieberthal, Bob Wickman, Tony Batista, Paul Shuey, and Neifi Perez. Not a bad group: these six guys have at least four all-star appearances and one Gold Glove combined. Now don’t read this wrong: none of the players I’ve mentioned, whether they made the ballot or not, have a hope or prayer of entering Cooperstown without first buying a ticket. What I’m interested in is the process of how the pool of eligible first-time candidates becomes the 24 or so who actually make the final vote — after all, when you read the rules it does sound like 10 or more years and no ineligible list means ‘hello ballot.’

So who’s the man or woman that’s charged with deciding why Todd Walker is more worthy of a ballot appearance in 2013 than, say, Mike Lieberthal? What makes Aaron Sele more worthy of a chance to get the one throwaway vote instead of Neifi Perez?

And if it’s not an automatic that 10 years of service gets you at least one year of Hall consideration, then what’s to stop the ballot makers from simply not adding a so-called “first-ballot” player to the ballot before he even gets a chance, and putting a marginal guy with 10-12 years in the league on in his place? Obviously that last one wouldn’t happen, but if there’s no internal qualifications to narrow the pool of candidates I’d guess that situation is technically possible. Anyway, thanks for giving my strange question a bit of time.

Simon Sharkey, Toronto

A. Actually there is a committee of senior representatives from the BBWAA that pares down the eligibles in terms of service to determine which names should appear on the final ballot mailed out to voters the beginning of December. As I have often said, the writers’ association takes its Hall of Fame responsibilities very seriously and I can guarantee there would never be any manipulations on the listing of candidates.

By the way, for the life of me I can’t figure out why there is such rancorous discussion regarding Aaron Sele receiving one vote. Whoever put his name on his or her ballot knew he was not going to get in but do people rage about people that vote for the Green Party? They know they’re not going to win but the name is on the ballot. I remember Dave LaPoint the left-hander from Glens Falls, N.Y., who also received one vote in the year he was eligible and called it the highlight of his career. By the way, It’s MLB that keeps Pete Rose off the ballot as ineligible. It was never a BBWAA decision.

Q. Richard,

It’s great to hear Mr. Dickey credit Charlie Hough with his development. Charlie is my all-time favorite and a highly undervalued baseball figure with 22 years in the majors. He was never paid like regular pitchers but always went out to the mound, stuck his bum out and threw his 50 mph butterfly. He finally retired when his hip gave out . . . not his arm. There’s no reason R.A. can’t follow that course of action.

Peter Thomson, Elizabeth City, N.C.

A. Charlie Hough won his 100th career game at the age of 36 in 1984. From the age of 37, until he retired after the ’94 season, during the horrible strike, Hough won 116 more games. From age 39, the same age Dickey will be in 2013, over the next three seasons, Hough won 18, 15 and 10 games. That’s a good sign for the Jays’ three-year contract.

Hough was one of the few likeable guys on those Dodgers teams of the ’70s. Maybe I’m just saying that because they used to kick Expos butt for the entire decade. I hated them. But Hough is a good guy.

Blue Jays mailbag: Baseball moves to clean its own house with drug announcement

 

Baseball has clearly taken the next step towards cleaning up its own house. It’s only the timing of Thursday’s announcement that could be questioned by the cynics.

Major League Baseball and the MLBPA in 2013 will jointly institute the most comprehensive program in pro sports in blood-testing for human growth hormone. Was it a coincidence that the commissioner Bud Selig and the union chief Michael Weiner emerged the day after the Hall of Fame firestorm, nobody voted in from the first steroid era ballot, to make the announcement that there will be a program with built-in penalties in time for this season.

Sure, the timing seems an attempt to head off controversy and re-direct public attention. It seems a little slick, but that should not be the point. If that’s the biggest complaint, then baseball is a winner. The fact is that the announcement was made following the first day of an ownership meeting in Arizona that had long been scheduled.

Baseball, for years, has been chided by its critics for the legitimate perception of keeping its drug program seemingly one step behind the technology of the cheaters. Baseball was always playing catch-up. Critics were forever quoting officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency in Montreal and comparing baseball’s measures to the Olympics. But in this Thursday announcement, with a season of experimental blood-testing under its belt as a guideline of how it might work, even WADA is impressed with the new teeth that baseball now has when it comes to HGH testing.

Selig has long promised this day since being slapped down by the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill on March 17, 2005. It was important that he has joined hands with the union to try and keep government off its back. For years the union objected to the idea of mandatory testing, well, just because it was something ownership wanted and it could be used as a bargaining chip. But when the government became involved, when the Mitchell Report suggested the extent of the abuse, when the majority of clean MLB players told the union that they wanted testing, the wheels were set in motion.

Baseball quietly threw millions of dollars into HGH blood research at a prominent West Coast university to find a foolproof blood-testing method. If baseball and the union had jumped in back in 2005 with existing growth hormone testing, that was not close to 100 per cent, the disputed results would only have served to muddy the waters and stain the game’s integrity further. Now more accurate testing is available and MLB and the union are in agreement. In addition, there will be at WADA headquarters in Montreal a running history of players and their testosterone history. Don’t look for any more 70-home run seasons, but enjoy the game as it was meant to be played.

On to the mailbag.

Q. Hi Richard,

Back when all the Dickey trade rumours were flying around, I was wondering about what the Winter Tour meant from a player personnel standpoint. A couple of players that came up in trade rumours (Anthony Gose, J.P. Arencibia) are taking part in the Winter Tour and I was curious if a player being included in the Winter Tour meant that they were “safe” from a trade standpoint. I know it’s a bit far fetched — why would AA turn down a trade just because the player had agreed to do some publicity? — but is there some link between the Winter Tour and a player’s value to the club???

Thanks,?

Mike W, Toronto

A. The winter tour and a particular player’s participation in no way will protect him from imminent trade, if it’s a solid baseball move and best for the team. Gose, for example, made an impact with fans in his brief time with the Jays and is simply an outgoing young man and an exciting talent. Last off-season he travelled to play in Venezuela after the Arizona Fall League and was unavailable for winter tour duty. This year he was available so he volunteered. As for Arencibia, an honurary Canadian, he travelled on a road trip on his own to Edmonton earlier in the winter and loves participating in any team-building projects the Jays throw at him. He’s Captain Canada and a huge hockey fan, which, of course does not hurt his value to the Jays, but the fact, also, is the Mets insisted on Travis d’Arnaud in the trade for R.A. Dickey while the Jays did not in any way want to move Gose in the same deal.

Q. Am I the only one not happy with the NHL coming back? I am very concerned the playoffs will cut into my Blue Jays coverage this spring. Anyways Mr. Griffin, enjoy your articles as always.

My question is while everyone is talking about the Blue Jays starting rotation and rightfully so, am I a fool to think the offence is going to be that much better as well. Reyes and even a non-juiced Cabrera seem to huge upgrades over Escobar and Snider/Thames/Davis . . . Do you think we have a World Series calibre offence . . .

Chris McMillan, Marsville

A. All things being equal, the offence is as solid as it has been since the World Series years 1992-93. The concerns are with Jose Bautista’s injured wrist, if Edwin Encarnacion can continue his steady upward trending as a consistent major-league power hitter, whether Melky Cabrera off the juice is still a solid line-drive hitter, if Jose Reyes going from the NL to the AL will struggle early like so many before him changing leagues, whether Arencibia can harness that line-drive stroke to right and right-centre that makes him more than a one-dimensional hitter, whether Maicer Izturis or Emilio Bonifacio can handle second base with decent pop at the plate and whether Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus can take the next step towards being consistent offensive threats. Then there’s always the DH.

Q. Hi Richard,

Enjoyed the article on R.A. Dickey and totally agree he is going to be fun to watch and to listen to. At the other end of the rotation, given Romero’s struggles is he definitely going to take the fifth spot? For sure J.A. Happ isn’t a future Cy Young candidate but he certainly looked better than Ricky in the home stretch.??

Frank Taker, Prescott

A. Romero is solid in the rotation. He has guaranteed money in a long-term deal with the Jays that ensures he will get a full shot at re-establishing himself in the rotation. There are a variety of factors that are encouraging for Ricky with regard to being able to bounce back. He has been surgically repaired from the nagging physical issues of last season, including both knees. He has Mark Buehrle, a fellow lefty who throws strikes and works quickly with confidence to lean on, plus Dickey, a man who has gone through much adversity of his own and come out the other side. Romero doesn’t need to lead.

The Happ issue will be one to pay attention to at spring training. He did show in his brief time with the Jays last year that he is capable and can be a starter in the AL. If he has the patience to stay with the Jays at the start of the year and does not ask for a trade from GM Alex Anthopoulos, then he will surely get his opportunities to start due to injuries, as well as being a left-hander out of the pen.

Q. Richard,?

After reading your Ryan Freel column, I am wondering if you have re-considered your opinion on home plate collisions. It seems to me that allowing players to launch themselves at full speed into catchers at home plate is a recipe for disaster. Isn’t it time to change the rules so that only a regular slide is permitted on a play at home (or any other base, for that matter)??

On an unrelated matter, now that Jays fans are talking World Series again, we need to establish the list of the most significant hits in Jays history: So, isn’t Ed Sprague’s Game 2 homer against the Braves in 1992 more significant than Roberto Alomar’s Game 4 homer against Dennis Eckersley? Sprague’s homer comes in the 9th inning, with the Jays down 1 in the game, down 1 in the series, with one out while pinch-hitting on the road against Jeff Reardon in only his third AB of that post season.

Alan G, Toronto

A. I have not changed my mind with regard to regulating home plate collisions. You make it sound like players launching themselves into catchers is a regular occurrence. The thing about collisions at the plate is that because of the fact that catchers are protected by gear and the fact that home plate is so important, catchers are encouraged to block the plate and hold the baseline even before the ball gets to them. Umpires allow it because it’s the way it’s always been. If you now insist that a player must slide at all times and if the baseline is being effectively blocked, then you are saying that he slides into the shinpads, the ball arrives and he is tagged out. If a catcher is blocking your path to the plate you must either go around him or through him. The catcher is expecting contact, although sometimes it’s an imperfect storm of timing with ball and runner arriving at exactly the same time. Most times, it’s not like a defenceless football receiver over the middle. Besides, most base runners will try to find a way around the catcher because of the very real possibility of injury to the unpadded player, the runner.

The bottom line is that the collision at the plate is a rarity and though I agree that the Buster Posey collision with a blow to the head and an awkward twisting of the lower body was unfortunate and a dirty play, that is the exception rather than the rule. Nothing fires up a team more than an inning-ending out at the plate with the catcher bowled over, hanging into the ball, jumping to his feet, holding up the ball and rolling it out to the mound. That’s baseball. Both my sons are catchers and have been hurt in collisions at the plate with me as manager. It’s baseball.

Q. Hi Richard,?

Why is the acronym for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America written as BBWAA? I’m pretty sure “baseball” is one word. The second ‘B’ in ‘BBWAA’ is a bit dumb, no?

S. Postma, Waterdown

A. The BBWAA is an association that was formed in 1908. That was at a time when, even though the underrated Alexander Cartwright invented it half a century earlier and laid out the official rules, the word baseball was written in two words “base ball.” There are enough other reasons to call the BBWAA “dumb” The extra B is not one of them.

Q. Richard,?

How serious are the consequences if Casey Janssen and Sergio Santos don’t return to top form? Is there an internal reliever who you project could step up to be a reliable closer? Signing a player like Rafael Soriano would make the Santos deal seem misguided, but I think AA’s taking a very big risk.

Chris McKee, Toronto?

A. There is no reason to believe that Janssen will not be able to continue his bulldog aggressiveness in the ninth inning, despite his minor surgical procedure in the off-season. As for Santos, this is a guy who when healthy, is a mid-to-high 90s fastball with a devastating slider and a developing change. The Santos question is whether he can get back to top form at any point this year after missing most of last season, his first with the Jays. In the meantime, Janssen is clearly the man in the ninth inning. The reports on Santos are optimistic but we’ll see how it goes as spring training unfolds.

The next Jays’ pitcher in line to be a closer if something happens to Casey would be Steve Delabar. The right-hander with the permanent steel plate surgically implanted in his elbow, was acquired from the M’s at the deadline. When he came over, Delabar cut down his repertoire that made him much more effective, less prone to the home-run ball that plagued him. He throws 96 mph with a devastating splitter that is his strikeout pitch. He misses a lot of bats and is extremely valuable as the guy called upon with runners in scoring position and less than two outs at a key moment in late innings.

Q. Hello Mr. Griffin,

I just finished reading that know one go inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, and while the backlash for Barry Bonds et al., was expected, what really irked me is that there was FIVE blank ballots. Do you agree with handing in a blank ballot? I think when the voters themselves try to make a statement, they tend to make a mockery of the process as a whole. If you don’t want to vote, then get off the list of voters and let someone else have a chance. Is this kind of behaviour accepted behind the scenes? Also, why does it matter if a guy was a so-called jerk to the media, what does that have to do with anything? Barry Bonds not getting in on the first ballot is a joke, and dare I say, race motivated. I see Clemens got more votes and he was actually caught doing something wrong, but alas, he is white. Do you think writers should even be the one’s who vote? Seems to me like that is a giant conflict of interest that I’m sure, no writer will ever bring up.

Shawn Linton, Bowmanville, Ont.

A. This is perhaps the most rambling, nonsensical letter to the Mailbag in a long time. The guidelines for voters is that you can fill out your ballot with from zero to 10 names. Yes, those blank-ballot voters were trying to make a statement by handing in a blank ballot, but to say that it irked you is silly. I don’t agree with them, but I respect their right to make that decision. How is it a mockery of the whole process for someone to suggest that they believe nobody should go in this year? It is a process. The list of qualified voters is in the rules. Ten years in the BBWAA. There is no handing off your vote, since everyone eligible already has a vote.

Your letter is also the first time I have seen anyone suggest that Bonds being a jerk to the media had anything to do with the result of not getting in. Eddie Murray was as bad and as surly at dealing with media, when he was playing, as anyone in the game and he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. And then, no, you dare not say the Bonds rejection was race- motivated. It’s almost as if your letter is a hodge-podge of cliches you have heard from other sources over the years. Grow up.

Q. Hi Richard,

Not to beat the trades in the offseason to death, but I still can’t believe that they occurred and at times I wake up thinking, “wait, am I in Toronto where this type of thing NEVER happens?”

My question is this. It seems that the Jays gave up a lot more talent to get one player (Dickey), than they did to get three stars from the Marlins. Is this mainly because the Marlins were desperate to offload all the contracts, while the Mets knew they had a solid market from where to draw from? Thanks,

Zake Ameen, Milton

A. I disagree. I think the list of prospects sent over in the Marlins trade is quite impressive. Outfielder Jake Marisnick and lefty Justin Nicolino to the Marlins compare well to Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard that went to the Mets for Dickey. In addition, the Jays to Miami surrendered shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, right-hander Henderson Alvarez and righty Anthony DeSclafini. I think the most impressive aspect of the deal for Dickey, at least for 2013, is that they added a reigning Cy Young winner without increasing payroll thanks to the presence in the deal of John Buck and his $6 million.

Q. Do you know which hotels the Blue Jays stay at during spring training???

Thanks,

Larry Steed, Toronto

A. In this day and age, there is no real major-league hotel anymore, other than for some Jays’ support staff and front-office short-term visitors. Many Jays players own homes in the Dunedin-Clearwater area, while most others rent condos for the seven weeks of spring training. The minor-leaguers have a team hotel because they make far less money and get shuttled back and forth to the Mattick Training Centre, but if you’re looking for a central location where major-leaguers congregate, it’s the stadium.

Q. Richard,?

What’s the word on Dustin McGowan? He fell out of the news early last season and updates were slim. Does he stand a chance of pitching in any capacity with the Jays next year or beyond???

Cory Abraham, Elliott Lake, Ont.

AND

Q. Hi Richard,?

I’ve been a frequent reader of your mailbags in the Star but never gotten up and written in — maybe all the offseason excitement is getting to me! One of your letter writers asked if R.A. Dickey would be willing to spread the mysterious wisdom of the knuckleball and you replied that it was impractical and highly unlikely because players, in general, would not want to disappear for the 2-3 years it takes to shift gears and become competent at throwing it. Well, the Jays seem to have a player whose career has (involuntarily) done just that: Dustin McGowan. Seeing as remaining a power pitcher keeps not working out for him, and the Jays keep investing in his potential return, is it possible that he might take advantage of the necessary rehab process — and the presence of an established expert — to reinvent himself with a pitch that would put less strain on his body and hopefully result in fewer and less severe injuries down the road???

Thanks for your time and keep up the great work!???

Adam Schneider, Oakville?

A. There is good news and bad news for those that are admirers of Dustin McGowan and his bulldog tenacity at trying to get back to the major leagues — which includes most Jays fans. The good news is that Dustin is signed to a guaranteed contract, two more years, for $3.5 million that was offered by Anthopoulos at the end of spring training last year, just before his bout with plantar fasciitis that led to further shoulder problems. That financial security will allow him to rehab at a safe pace rather than force anything physically and perhaps hurt himself by going too fast. The bad news is that McGowan is still in the very early stages of pitching again, if ever. He’s still a flat ground type of guy, at best.

The suggestion of McGowan dabbling in the knuckleball is not a bad one. As reader Schneider points out, he’s already been out of the spotlight for two years and as Dickey lists the mental necessities of overcoming the fear of having a spinning knuckler tonged, Dustin has already undergone his fair share of “fear, apprehension and anxiety,” the three emotional starters of any aspiring knuckleballer.

The Jays will stay with McGowan as long as he stays with himself. That’s why the guaranteed contract is so important. Since he is being paid through 2014, he can stay with the program and doesn’t have to exaggerate his progress to the front office. The thing about suggesting McGowan try the knuckleball, the throwing motion for pitchers is the same and as long as Dustin feels discomfort in the act of throwing itself, whether it’s fastball or knuckler, it makes no difference. It hurts. But it’s a good thought.

Q. I understand your feelings about not going with a grass field this year, but what about having a regular dirt infield instead of having sand at home/first/second/third bases? Do you know if the players prefer one over the other?

JJ Redington, Winooski, VT

A. I’m a huge fan of the grass field as soon as possible. It’s Jays’ president Paul Beeston that comes up with the bafflegab and poppycock about the football configuration and the bleachers on rails and the irrigation and all that other stuff. Players prefer grass and dirt. Plus it’s more aesthetically pleasing.

Q. Hi Richard:?

I don’t understand why the Jays let Jason Frasor go, why, in his words, they “closed the door on him.” He’s our career appearances guy, he’s been super reliable, and has a deceptively strong arm, maybe only a km or two shy of the kind of power arms AA’s been assembling in the bullpen. If nothing else, he strikes me as the kind of guy we’d like to have setting up the fireballers. Plus he was no doubt happy to stay in TO; he wasn’t making us sit around and wait or asking for more money like good-old Oliver. Can you help me to understand this one???

Matthew McKean, Ottawa

A. I love Jason Frasor, but I can see the Jays going in another direction. Frasor had an amazing run with the city and the team. He showed up as a kid in 2004 and married a Toronto girl and got himself a Canadian dog and all those franchise relief records. He leaves part of his heart and soul in this town. In ’04 he could hit 94 mph consistently for 30 pitches. In ’12 he was a consistent 93 mph which is pretty damned good after all those appearances, all those pitches. But very few middle relievers ever last that long with the same team. His has been an amazing Jays career. I do believe that he is better off elsewhere at this stage of his career, because the Jays look like they were setting him up for a sixth-inning role at best and he can make a more significant contribution elsewhere.

Q. Richard,

Thank you for sharing your insight with all of us. It is appreciated. What would you think of Brandon Morrow being the next Jays closer? My reasoning is I think he may be a little too injury prone to be a starter. He only pitched 21 games last year, has only topped 30 games once, hasn’t really come close to 200 innings in a season yet and while he’s great when he’s out there, it’s frustrating when you think of that talent sitting on the bench for 2.5 months. But with his outstanding stuff he would be great at closing. Seattle tried him in relief with mixed results, but I think he would be more successful this time as he has had a lot more innings to work out his pitches.

Norm B, Cambridge

A. The thing about making Morrow the closer is that Anthopoulos is a man of his word and when Morrow joined the Jays, he told him that his role would be as a starter, that there was no bullpen in his future. Morrow would have to be a part of that decision and he is quite comfortable and happy to be in the Jays’ rotation. Besides, the Jays gave him a contract last season that guarantees him $17 million over the next two years, plus a $10 million option for 2015. That’s starter money for the Jays. Morrow at 28 has not proven that he cannot stay healthy. Recall the Jays shut him down his first starter season.

Q. Hey Griff,?

Two minor complaints about the Jays/Rogers. First, I was surprised to learn the Jays ticket office closed early for the holidays (closed Friday Dec. 21 through Jan 1). I guess they figured no one was gonna buy last minute gift of tickets this year?!?!? I understand closing through New Years Day but not on the 21st — I wanted to talk to someone and buy tickets that day!

Second, I’d love to rent the documentary “Knuckleball” . . . but guess which cable provider does not have that available currently via On-Demand? Any other potential off-field screw-ups on the horizon this year for the Jays/Rogers?

Bryan T, Waterloo, ON

A. I will make sure that the right people at the Blue Jays read this letter. But if those are the top complaints that we have about Jays’ ownership then it stands to be a pretty good year.

Q. Hey Richard,

Like many Blue Jays fans, I am already looking ahead to Spring Training, and I follow the training camp news, scores and stories from the first day that pitchers and catchers report. But I have never understood why most (if not all) of these games are not televised. Especially considering the alternate programming that is offered during these Spring Training games. It baffles me that Sportsnet (as an example) would show darts, spelling bees, or log cutting when Jays baseball is in demand and is available, even if it is just exhibition. As someone in the media, can you explain why the games aren’t televised? Will someone in the Jays organization PLEASE make this happen?

Emma Kelly, Waterloo, Ont.

A. I can tell you better why not if I go back to my Expos days as a PR guy when I thought the same thing about televising more Expos games and wanted to explore, “Why not?” I already had a satellite truck that I had rented for the spring from WCAX Channel 3 in Burlington, so that was step one, but even with the basic 3-4 camera shoot, satellite time, freelance production crew, on-air talent and other expenses, bare-bones production, which people would have appreciated back home, was $40,000 per game. Now that was 21 years ago. For the Jays, they would have to make their money back from advertising, which at that time of the day is barely enough revenue to support darts, poker, lumberjacks and women’s pool. I agree the Jays should make sure every weekend and night game is televised at spring training. Hell, Buck Martinez is there every day, anyway, cutting in front of me to ask the manager questions that he will only use when the season starts. What a pain he is. Make him work.

Q. Hi Richard,

I have a question regarding David Cooper. It appears to me that he has become a forgotten piece of the current Blue Jays make up. Prior to his season-ending injury he was beginning to really develop into a reliable contact hitter. I like his approach at the plate. He can also hit left-handed pitching like Adam Lind used to three years ago. You are right when you said that Lind is not a “stiff.” He is not, but he will never, ever be the hitter he was a few years ago. I wish he would be, but I just don’t see it happening for him, at least not in Toronto. I realize that Cooper will not be a 30 HR guy, but he can hit .300, I believe, and be a very productive hitter. Why do you think the Jays brass have seemingly little faith in his potential? John Olerud didn’t hit a ton of home runs either. I certainly don’t want to compare the two, but I do see some similarities.?

Scott Hudson, Brampton

A. Cooper and Lind do a lot of the same things, so obviously there is not room for both men on the same 25-man roster. I believe that if another team approached Anthopoulos for either player, he would be available. I was shocked in the winter of 2011-12 to see the number of young first base prospects that were traded around baseball with seemingly little interest in Cooper. He can hit, but on a team vying for a championship right now, I would rather have Lind.

Q. Hey Griff,

??Love the commitment to your blog. Don’t always agree with you but still its great to have coverage. Question that has bothered me over the past couple of years. Why do the Blue Jays continue to have the names of their players on the back of their home jerseys? I love the look of the Sox, Yankees & Giants home jerseys. I don’t buy into the BS that the name on the back isn’t bigger than the name on the front or whatever reason for it. So I know this won’t benefit the on-field product, does it have to do with sales at the Jays branded stores? I would be willing to bet that the home whites sell worse than the blue jerseys. When at the Rogers Centre shouldn’t we know who plays for us? Maybe we could invest the savings in say, um I dunno ,grass at the Centre, or a shuttle bus for the Argos to play somewhere else? I kid, I kid (not really).

Johan Vincent, Burlington, Ont.

A. I do believe that marketing the jerseys is important. This year, I suspect that the Jays may become Top 3 in MLB in terms of gear sold. Much of that will be the new players and names on the jerseys is important. I don’t think that “names on the front more important than names on the back” rah-rah argument has anything to do with it. I also agree with you that the blues sell better than the whites and that fans at the RC should know their own players. Again, if this is the biggest problem, that’s good.

Q. Richard,?

I know the idea of ‘protection’ has come into disrepute for some reason — but isn’t it at least plausible that part of the reason for Rasmus’s late season decline the fact that Bautista was no longer batting directly behind him?

Tony Baer, Madison

A. The reason that Rasmus’s stats declined and became inconsistent in the second half is that, in the very same three-game series that Bautista damaged his tendon sheath at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees discovered that by pitching the centre fielder inside and above his hands they could get him out. That tied him up and in the same story of finding a weakness that frustrated his previous manager Tony LaRussa, he was unable to make the proper adjustments. Other teams have advance scouts and dissect video and John Farrell quickly acknowledged as much, in terms of the slumping Rasmus.

Rasmus proved in that time that he is not a No. 2 hitter in a winning lineup. He can hit 6-7-8 and be more effective. Rasmus proved that he liked to stand in the front of the box, with his toes on the chalk next to the plate and crush balls off the facing of the upper deck. Unfortunately that Colby power ranges from 20 feet fair to 50 feet foul. He needs to make his own adjustments to pitching adjustments to him more than he needs Joey Bats protecting him.

Q. Richard,?

With the rumours that (Miami’s Giancarlo) Stanton is available, why wouldn’t the Jays be interested? He would fit the mould of competeting the next 3-5 years, 1st base and DH with Stanton/Bautista in RF, and whoever isn’t in RF at 1st, and DH with EE, and having the ability to rotate all 3 through positions. Would a deal built around Gose or Rasmus, Sanchez and throwing in Lind to lower salary have a chance to get it done? If the Jays are looking at the next 3-5 years wouldn’t they want Stanton batting 4th behind Bautista and in front of EE? As always, a pleasure reading the mail bag. GO JAYS GO!

Scott Cochrane, Niagara-on-the-Lake

A. He’s not available. We’re getting greedy, aren’t we.

Q. I just read that Aaron Laffey signed with the Mets. Why would the Blue Jays let this youngster get away? He was dynamite on left-handed hitters.?

David White, Perth Road Village

A. He’s not a kid. He’ll be 28 on April 15. We’re getting greedy aren’t we. He wants to be a starter.

Q. Hello Richard and Happy Holidays.??

Do you think the Jays will take a look at Jim Thome for that final bench spot? Wouldn’t he be great as a late inning pinch hitter/spot DH and additional clubhouse presence? Long considered one of the nicest and most professional guys in all of baseball, wouldn’t this be an ideal situation for both parties?

Thanks!

Andrew Gould, Toronto

A. Anthopoulos suggested on Tuesday that he wants to sign a right-handed hitter for that final spot and even though Thome is at the end of his career, just out of respect you would have to pay him more than the Jays have available since they are already far over 2013 budget.

Q. Hi Rich:?

Though it’s been a couple of years since I’ve written in, read the blog faithfully and continue to enjoy. Like many Jays fans, am excited about AA’s moves and have been reading quite a variety of blog sites.?I’ve been astounded by the attitude of the sabermetric types who, in evaluation of players, dismiss character, community involvement, traditional stats, leadership and pretty much anything else that is not an “advanced metric.” What I’d like to know is what weight do the GMs, particularly AA, put on traditional stats vs. advanced metrics vs. character/leadership components.

Thanks,

Sandy Webster, St. Thomas

A. That is probably the biggest thing — maybe the only thing — I dislike about the new wave statisticians. It’s how dismissive they are to anyone that has not seen the light. Sports is one area of life where everyone should be allowed to have their own opinion about greatness, whether it stems from wins, batting average, RBIs and ERA, or whether it’s proof generated from computer-generated breakdowns. New arguments and new fans and new books about baseball and its history are welcome additions to the landscape, but they need to tone down their smugness.

As for Anthopoulos and, in fact, every other 21st Century GM, the good ones combine the new stats available, the Moneyball type look for overlooked players that are bargains, with finding “character” guys in the draft and free agency. Scouts are still very important in that area. AA has said that he has an internal debate on the 25th man for the Jays in 2013. Should he sign a good hitter even though he will not get many at-bats, or a good clubhouse presence, because he will not get many at-bats. The result of who that 25th man becomes will be a fascinating look inside the GM’s head.

Q. Given that the strain on a knuckleballer’s arm is not as significant as that for other types of pitchers, would it be feasible, in addition to a Cy Young knuckleballer’s regular start, to have him pitch 1-3 innings at the start of one or two other games during the rotation? I’m sure he pitches once or twice between starts, so why not make these pitches count?

I understand that trying to hit a knuckler can mess with the timing of the hitters, even for a day or two after facing the knuckler, so having one of the Jay’s various aces step in say the 4th inning of a game after some Dickey pitches have “dis-calibrated” the nervous systems of the opposition’s batting order, could be an unorthodox recipe for success. Dickey would become the soft throwing “opener” and the regular starter’s, ideally, would throw six or so innings to finish the game.

I would set up the order so that whichever regular starter(s) would benefit most from reduced innings expectation and the contrast in styles would have his start two or three days after Dickey’s.

You would, of course need buy-in from the pitchers, but John Gibbons seems to be the kind of manager who could sell this sort of thing to his staff.?

Another option would be to throw him for 2-3 innings if one of the starter’s only goes 4-6 innings to make the jobs of the hard throwing relievers that follow easier.?

Joseph Lubin, Toronto

A. No, no, no and no.

R.A. Dickey adds depth to Blue Jays both on and off the field: Griffin

There are not too many professional ahletes, maybe none, that over the course of a single 40-minute press conference can use the words neophyte, metamorphosis and Zen. And those were just several of the highlights from the first live press briefing for R.A. Dickey as he met the local baseball media for the first time since the trade on December 17.

Dickey, who redeemed his career and mastered the knuckleball at an advanced age, has posted three solid seasons in a row and has emerged as an unlikely star and Cy Young Award winner. GM Alex Anthopoulos compares the experience of pursuing and trusting in Dickey to when he inked Jose Bautista long-term. The 38-year-old righthander looks like a younger version of the guy from the Dos Equis beer ads, the guy they call Most Interesting Man in the World -- only Dickey is far more interesting.

Dickey was introduced on Tuesday in the interview room across the hall from the Jays' home clubhouse at the Rogers Centre. He reminded one of a more sincere Bill Lee, only less glib and off the cuff, sobered by life experiences that have shaped who he is.

Dickey co-authored his autobiography last year with Wayne Coffey. It was titled Wherever I wind Up. In it he allowed himself to admit to some horrific childhood experiences. He bared his soul on many of his most personally terrifying and testing moments, as well as his personal failings in a relationship with his wife that has become stronger through catharsis. He claimed early on in his press introduction that writing the book was a very tough process that allowed him to overcome feelings of "fear, apprehension and anxiety."

In hindsight, maybe this whole metamorphosis thing into a star would not have been possible without the other bad stuff he has gone through. Maybe even imagining a successful knuckleballer in his early 20s is impossible. Maybe you need failure and you need to have overcome the lowest of the low moments away from the diamond to be able to stand out on the mound facing the game's best hitters, Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera, armed with just a 72 m.p.h. pitch that you are hoping does not rotate or will be crushed.

No longer having any fear of failure because of what your life has taken you through may be the only way that you, as a pitcher can stand up to that challenge. That's why you can't just have a 20-something guy like Brett Cecil walk up and say "Teach me the knuckleball."

"I think that's one of the reasons," Dickey said upon reflection. "Learning to pitch. I'll never forget being on the mound as a knuckleballer throwing a 71 mile-an-hour mediocre knuckleball facing Vladimir Guerrero and thinking to myself, you better be quick as a cat to get out of the way. 

"I was at the stage in my career where I was throwing and just hoping. Please be a strike. Please knuckle. It wasn't a very confident knuckleball. I was a neophyte. But as I have grown, it's been a real educaton, an experience. I get out there now and I expect them to not hit it. That's the mentality that I have now. That's part of the metamorphosis."

Dickey is highly unusual for a professional athlete, not just physically, born as he was with no ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, but emotionally and philosophically.

Consider the reason that Dickey did not hold out for more money from the Jays than he was being offered by the Mets, a total of three years for $30 million, even though others with lesser credentials like Anibal Sanchez were getting more money this winter, may have had something to do with this statement regarding his attitude towards money.

"My wife (Anne) and I have always tried to live below our means."

Say what?? 

The truth is that Dickey, given good health (and we know he's not going to need Tommy John surgery), could become more popular than any pitcher in Blue Jays' club history. The thing about baseball that always made it America's Pastime was that it was a sport for everyman. Normal sized fans could always dream of playing baseball because it was forever populated by normal-sized people. Think about David Wells popularity. Matt Stairs.

Basketball was the land of the giants. Football was the land of the behemoths. Even the skating, stickhandling and shooting skills of NHL stars are far beyond what the majority of fans in this hockey-crazed nation are capable of.

But watching R.A. Dickey pitch is different. Fans on opening day vs. the Indians on April 2 will watch as he befuddles hitters with pitches being served up at speeds that any fan knows he could throw. It will soon make him a local sports legend if he can come close to a fourth solid year in a row for his new team.

"If I keep myself involved in the process I believe the results will come," Dickey insisted of his casual attitude towards ever gaining another Cy. "It's a process. I am looking to throw 120 pitches, 120 separate commitments, 120 separate challenges."

Prior to the 2012 season, last January, Dickey irritated Mets management by taking a risk in fulfilling a promise to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He had over $100,000 in pledges for the climb to raise money for Bombay Teen Challenge, a group that tries to rescue women from sexual slavery in the red-light district of Mumbai.

Dickey keeps his promises. He will finish that phase of his life, that promise to help others, he will finish up after the 2013 season, when he takes his wife and his two girls to India, to a Mumbai clinic that used to be a brothel. That will end that journey for him and he will likely move on to another worthy project. 

This guys is different. This guy is good. Jays fans will embrace him for his personality, for everything that he is and the values that he has. 

That guy from the Dos Equis ads may soon have to take a back seat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Jays mailbag: Growing excitement among fans as questions pour in on R.A. Dickey trade

Happy Holidays to fans around the world as we get ready to celebrate another New Year’s Eve. This one will be unlike any in a long time for Canadian baseball fans. Next year should be significant for Blue Jays fans and for Baseball Canada thanks to the recent spending spree by Jays’ ownership capped by the acquisition of a Cy Young knuckleballer, R.A. Dickey, from the New York Mets.

Spring training arrives soon enough, just before Valentine’s Day, about 40 days hence. The first order of Canadian business in March is the World Baseball Classic with likely the best Team Canada ever, if everyone is healthy and steps up to play. As for the Jays, they have already been established as Las Vegas betting favourites to make the post-season and capture the World Series for the first time since 1993. Then there’s the move of Triple-A from Vegas to Buffalo, an easy commute for players and Jays fans. Thank God the Mayans were wrong.

On to the Mailbag and Happy New Year.

Q. Hi Richard:

Thanks for coming to my rescue on Twitter.

The R.A. Dickey rumours were at their height, and (there was) concern about the price the Jays were paying. I expressed my concern to (ESPN.com expert and former Jays’ executive)) Keith Law about giving up Noah Syndergaard, and I mentioned the comparison that had been made between him and a young Doc (Halladay). “Oh Come on!” was his reply, which is among the tamer comebacks Law posts. You later pointed out that it was none other than Pat Hengten who had made that comparison, maybe in a moment of giddiness.

My question is this: we’re all prone sometimes to falling in love with prospects we’ve never seen. Truth be told, improving your roster dramatically without giving up anyone on it is a great idea, when you think about it. Do organizations sometimes (deliberately or otherwise) over-hype their prospects to improve their trade value down the line? If Syndergaard was really that good, I can’t see AA giving up on him, even though you to have to give up quality to get it in return.

Douglas, Fox, Ottawa

A. Oh, there’s no doubt that many major-league organizations allow, no, make that encourage excess hyperbole when it comes to top prospects — or any prospects that have come on strong their first few years as a pro. It’s feel-good for the particular scout who signed said player and it’s good for the organization’s reputation when it comes to selling a bright overall future to fans. It also helps in encouraging trades that may involve overpayment from an impressed opposing GM. So, why not?

The worst, or maybe the best MLB organization at accomplishing over-hype with regard to its own prospects, depending on your point of view, has been the Dodgers, dating from the ’50s through to the ’90s. One would have annually thought their AAA-Albuquerque club was stocked with future hall-of-famers. When those players finally did arrive in the majors, the PR machine continued to churn.

The Rookie of the Year Award was instituted in 1947 and in its first 50 seasons, the Dodgers had an unnatural 16 winners. The list of Dodgers RoYs: Jackie Robinson (’47); Don Newcombe (’49); Joe Black (’52); Junior Gilliam (’53); Frank Howard (’60); Jim Lefebvre (’65); Ted Sizemore (’69); Rick Sutcliffe (’79); Steve Howe (’80); Fernando Valenzuela (’81); Steve Sax (’82); Eric Karros (’92); Mike Piazza (’93); Raul Mondesi (’94); Hideo Nomo (’95) and Todd Hollandsworth (’96).

As for Syndergaard and the rave reviews he received last summer from Hentgen, there was no ulterior motive other than reaching deep for a personal reference by the Jays’ former Cy Young winner when it came to a description of Syndergaard and his teammate Aaron Sanchez as reminding him of Halladay and Chris Carpenter. Pat had just returned to the Jays for a few days after a week-long stint as guest pitching coach with the Midwest League affiliate in Lansing. I had asked him what he thought of the much-talked-about trio of starters there. He thought about it and then came up with the comparison, as much about size, presence and potential as it was about their stuff at that precise moment in time.

Q. Hey Griff,

Seriously, A.A. is making this team crazy good!

With the new signing of R.A.D, what is the likelihood that he will be willing to share his knowledge and wisdom with some of the other Jays pitchers. I know the knuckleball isn’t really a pitch that you teach to a power pitcher a la Brandon Morrow or Josh Johnson, but what about a command and control pitcher like Brett Cecil? How many left-handed knucklers have there been in the majors? Is this something that could happen?

Thanks for all the hard work, I’m sure you were looking forward to a nice and low key offseason, but got this instead.

Jeffrey Chik, Richmond Hill

A. It’s not likely that Dickey will influence any of his new Jays teammates to knuckle up. The knuckleball is a touch-and-feel pitch that needs to be perfected outside the major-league spotlight. Sometimes it takes years to master and there’s not an ego on the Jays’ roster who wants to intentionally disappear for 2-3 years as a caterpillar to try and re-emerge as a butterfly.

The most successful left-handed knuckleballer was Wilbur Wood, who posted a record of 164-156 in a career that went from 1961-78. He was mostly a traditional pitcher early on (like Dickey), but when he was traded to the White Sox after the ’66 season, Hoyt Wilhelm convinced him to go pure with the knuckleball. He was at first in the Sox bullpen, working as many as 159 innings in 88 appearances in ’68. Twice in a month that year, he appeared in six games in five days. He emerged as a 300-plus innings starter in 1971, making an incredible 42 to 49 starts per seasons for five straight years. In ’72, as a 30-year-old, he was runner-up to spitballer Gaylord Perry as the NL Cy Young winner, the highest knuckleball finisher until Dickey. In hindsight, who knows how long Wood could have stayed at that level of excellence except for a line drive by Ron LeFlore in 1976 that shattered his kneecap. He came back in 1977-78 and was never the same. For a five-year period, 1971-75, Wood averaged 45 starts and 346 innings, with four 20-win and two 20-loss seasons. Dickey has had three solid years in a row.

Q. Richard,

I’m looking forward to Florida and ready to book my flight for some spring training games.

When I initially heard that we gave away our No. 1 and No. 3 prospect for R.A. Dickey, I thought we overpaid. I went back through Baseball America’s top 10 rankings for the past seven years, and there have only been two legit star-quality players from this list — Romero and J.P. Arencibia. There’s a couple of borderline cases in Adam Lind and Travis Snider (one had a great season, the other might still have greatness in him).

Are projecting prospects like this really that much of a crapshoot? In light of this, was this a fair trade over the long-term?

Frank S, Toronto

A. The verdict on the Jays trade with the Mets for Dickey may not be fairly judged until six years from now. The reason that it’s projected as six years is because the next three seasons are the Jays’ window of Dickey opportunity, during the course of his contract extension, while the three seasons after, 2016-18, will be the time to fairly judge what the Mets have received in Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud. But just as importantly for the Jays, by 2016-18 they will have had a chance to demonstrate to themselves what they had in the system that replaced the two top prospects they just dealt to the Mets.

GM Anthopoulos was never going to get away with anyone but d’Arnaud as the centrepiece of the deal. The Mets insisted. But the Jays believe that they have pitchers in the system that in three years’ time could match Syndergaard in terms of major-league impact. That will be the key for the Jays.

Q. I often hear about teams having their grounds crew adjust the softness of the dirt or the cut of the grass near the foul lines to help the home team. If Dickey has a preference or, perhaps, if it becomes clear that it makes a difference do you think that the Jays will keep the roof closed even on days when it would normally be open when Dickey is starting?

Kevin Klombies, Calgary

A. There is no doubt that the Jays will determine specific, game-day, open-or-closed for the dome depending on the preference or the much dissected and verified open vs. shut statistics for Dickey. Even if it’s just a mental edge provided for their ace knuckleballer, they will take that into consideration. Why not? I recall the ’01 Diamondbacks during the World Series making gameday decisions for Randy Johnson at the BOB in Phoenix whether it would be open or closed. The preliminary indication is that Dickey has been very good in domes that are shut. Somehow, even if it gets uncomfortably warm at the Rogers Centre with the lid on in July, Jays’ fans won’t object if the Jays are winning.

Q. I like Dickey but would not have made trade. Hope Alex is right. Should have given up D’Arnaud or Syndergaard and someone else, not both. Why not one of them with Sierra, or Drabek, or Hutchinson. Also, why not keep prospects one more year before either bringing them up or using as trade bait. I thought they should have gone free agent route and re-signed Carlos Villanueva and possibly Shaun Marcum. Thinking that bringing in two rather than three studs all at once would be less demanding on the team as regards to egos and media attention. Basically now you can say that Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero have moved to the 4 and 5 spots instead of last year’s 1 and 2 spots.??

Thanks Richard,

Angelo Romanin, Woodbridge

...AND...

Q. Grif...

Albeit I think the addition of Dickey does make us stronger; I am concerned that the price was too high in the young talent we gave up to get him. With quality free agent arms available like that of Anibal Sanchez, wouldn’t it have been better to get a top tier free agent even if the average annual salary was higher and still keep our farm system stocked with great young talent for the future? Could you please speculate on why AA went the trade route vs the free agent route?

Doug Martin, Dalmeny

A. It’s clear that Alex Anthopoulos regards his minor-league stockpile of talent as both a means of future sustainability and a way of obtaining current competitiveness. He tried the same strategy last winter with Mat Latos and the Padres but was rebuffed because his prime trade bait was not close enough to major-league ready. It was a lesson he needed to learn as a young GM that when you are trading minor-league talent, the partner organization must be able to sell the haul of prospects to their fan base as being a solid trade. The Mets were clearly able to sell to their fans a package of d’Arnaud and Syndergaard for their Cy guy. They would not have been able to sell Sierra, Drabek or Hutchison in the same way. The deal would not have been done for anything less that what AA surrendered. Make no mistake about it, AA would have done the deal for less talent if he possibly could have.

The suggestion of Villanueva or Marcum as free agents instead of trading for Dickey is absurd when thinking of leading the Jays’ rotation into a contending year. As for your statement . . . “Thinking that bringing in two rather than three studs all at once would be less demanding on the team as regards to egos and media attention,” that makes no sense whatsoever.

In terms of Anibal Sanchez, Dickey’s $30 million over the next three seasons is chump change for the Tigers’ free-agent right-hander. What people underrate is that with the Mets taking on the entire salary of John Buck, the 2013 payroll balances at the same level as if the Jays did not add a Cy Young winner to the top of the rotation. That’s the main reason why they went trade rather than the free-agent route.

If Anthopoulos had had to go free agent, he would have instead stuck with J.A. Happ, who is a solid MLB talent. In terms of slotting the rotation, you would want to reward Dickey with the opening day start because of his Cy Young, but, personally, if it was based on 2013 ability and potential, I would slot Morrow No. 2 ahead of Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and Romero. Your opening weekend rotation against Brian Butterfield’s Boston Red Sox would be — Johnson, Romero and Dickey. I can’t wait.

Q. Hey Richard,

With the acquisition of Dickey it looks like Romero is now pushed down to the fifth starter. This has to be the first time in league history where the Opening Day starter from the year before has dropped down to No. 5 on the depth chart, no? Don’t get me wrong, this sounds like a good problem.

Barry Choi, Toronto

A. There are two things that are important for Romero and will be of benefit as he attempts to make a comeback to the Jays’ form he flashed in 2010-11. First is that no longer does he have the pressure of being a No. 1 in the rotation with all the leadership responsibilities it entails. In fact, the pressure to succeed is now internal and is all too real because of the presence of Happ on the roster as a swingman able to fill in for RR if he fails. The worst thing for a major-leaguer is not having anyone ready to replace him either on the roster or at Triple-A. They get too comfortable. Everyone needs motivation. Hopefully, Happ has not become so discouraged by losing his rotation spot that he asks AA for a trade. They need Happ to remain in the Villanueva role. The second thing about Romero being No. 5 that could work in his favour is that in 2012 Ricky had better results with extra rest. Because Dickey is a workhorse and RR is better with extra rest, the schedule can be manipulated with Romero on his sixth and seventh days more often. He can still get his 32 starts and 190-200 innings, but it will allow him a chance to re-establish himself as a solid major-league starter.

Q. I have attended maybe one game a year for 20 years at the Skydome/Rogers Centre, but I will make a personal pledge to attend 10 games if they install grass from March to October, complete with hydroponics and maybe even install a giant window beyond the centre field fence. What will it take to convince Rogers to spend the money? I will even pay for a Sportsnet package if required.

Charles Besko, Toronto

A. One thing at a time. I agree about the grass and the window in time, but damn, they have made some solid roster moves and if I had a choice of where to spend the Rogers money right now, I would choose talent over grass. I guarantee that if you are a baseball fan and the Jays start strong and stay competitive near the top of the AL East, that you will attend those 10 games even if they played on glass. The truth is the Jays need the Argos to find their own home stadium before they ponder the grass. There might be a chance they can fit an NFL configuration and moving grandstands and make it work with grass, despite the nebulous arguments that Paul Beeston makes against it being possible.

As for the centre field window thing, it would mean knocking down the hotel. Not many would object to that, but, OK, I stayed there during the ’93 World Series as a member of the MLB volunteer PR staff, so it may now qualify as a “historic site.” As an aside, a flashback, my favourite memory of the ’93 WS Game 6 is Phillies TV broadcaster Chris Wheeler passing me in the SkyDome press box as Joe Carter was settling into the batter’s box to face Mitch Williams. Wheeler earnestly said, “Rich, do you think we could borrow (Expos’ closer) John Wetteland for an inning or two?” Touch ’em all, Joe.

Q. Hi Richard,

Other than finding depth in starting pitching to fill AAA and the final bench spot player is there anything more you see AA doing? All that is left and good in the minors are Anthony Gose and Moises Sierra. Kind of scary how the talent (trade bait) has been depleted.

How many picks (in what rounds) do the Jays have for the upcoming draft? Lastly, what are your predictions in terms of W’s for best case and worst case scenario?

Thank you Richard . . . Happy Holidays!

Kam H, Richmond Hill

A. It’s silly to say that “the talent has been depleted.” The talent pool will still supply the Jays a Nos. 1-3 prospect to fill in for d’Arnaud and Syndergaard. The Jays’ farm system will definitely drop down into the teens from the Top 5, but there are still many talented young prospects who are 4-5 years away who are just forced into a higher prospect slot at a younger age.

Baseball America’s Prospect handbook is a must for any baseball fan’s personal library each year, but they rank the Top 30 prospects in every system and how many of those will ever have an impact? An organization is lucky if it’s five of the 30 listed. Besides, the organization has a big say in the rankings so it’s entertaining and informative, but not necessarily the gospel according to talent.

From the Jays’ 2012 BA Top 30 Prospects, they have traded away — 1. d’Arnaud; 3. Jake Marisnick; 5. Justin Nicolino; 7. Syndergaard; 10. Asher Wojciechowski; 13. Adeiny Hechavarria; 14. Carlos Perez; 17. Kevin Comer; 20. Joe Musgrove. In return, still on the Jays’ MLB roster are — R.A. Dickey, J.A. Happ, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Josh Thole and Emilio Bonifacio. That’s 28 per cent of the 2013 roster and 60 per cent of the starting rotation for 30 per cent of the Top 30 prospects.

As for what AA has left to do, if the GM is conceding second base to Maicer Izturis, then I would say he should be looking for a starting second baseman. If he is willing to allow Bonifacio to compete for the second-base job, then I would agree they’re OK. The final roster spot could be a DH type to replace Adam Lind (but that would still leave a final spot) or it will be the choice, in AA’s words, of “a talent guy who won’t see much action or a clubhouse presence who won’t see much action.” My opinion is they will go ahead and bring in a clubhouse guy in January or February and not worry about offence.

Q. Hey Richard,

It looks like AA is just about done with the roster, but I am still wondering about the possibility of bringing in Lance Berkman to DH and dumping Lind. The respective salaries wouldn’t be far off and Berkman would give us another switch-hitter with great on-base skills, which was the Jays biggest offensive weakness last year. He can also play OF and 1B on the very occasional day as well. Bringing in Berkman would bring back memories of Pat Gillick adding the finishing touches of Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor on those World Series teams so many years ago.

Adam Walberg, London

A. The problem with that scenario is that Berkman plays the same positions as Lind and unless they can find a team to take Lind’s $5 million contract for 2013, then they do not want to be redundant with the last spot on the roster. A fit for Lind with another team is becoming more and more difficult. He may be a good fit with the Jays as a platoon DH and pinch-hitter with 1B capability. He’s not a stiff.

Q. Dear Richard,

I value your constructive observations on R.A. Dickey. I hope you are correct. I’m a senior who has spent 50-plus years watching baseball. I also spent 38 years as a conservative financial advisor. I saw many investors buy junk at the top of the dot-com craze. Is A.A. making a similar error investing in Dickey, Inc. “at the top of the market” especially as Dickey moves up from Quadruple-A (National League) to the AL? Good chance this will be this generation’s Brock-for-Broglio fiasco (young fans, look this one up!)

Sincerely,

Selby Martin, Toronto

A. Initially I was just as surprised as you were in terms of Anthopoulos seemingly going outside of his philosophy to trade for a pitcher “at the top of the market.” However, after several conversations with the GM and listening closely to his message, I can see where he’s coming from. Anthopoulos does not normally like to pay for a guy who may have peaked already. But AA compares signing Dickey for three seasons, $30 million, to the signing of Jose Bautista at five years, $65 million. Both deals were seen as taking a chance with a player who has had one great season at what, in baseball terms, is a relatively advanced age. The Joey Bats contract has worked out well as he immediately repeated his MLB home run title and upped his OPS. The Jays are hoping for similar success from the Dickey gamble.

Your Brock-for-Broglio comparison makes me smile. That was indeed one of the worst trades in history as the Chicago Cubs, in a six-player trade, dealt the electric future Hall of Famer, 25-year-old Lou Brock to St . Louis where he set many stolen base records and batted leadoff for two World Series winners (1964-67) in exchange for the 27-year-old Ernie Broglio, who won 18 games for the Cards in ’63, then a total of seven in his three years with the Cubs. One of the worst deals ever, even for the Cubs.

Q. Wow, it feels great to be a Jays fan again! I’m so confused by all of the “the cost is too high” comments that I’ve been hearing from other fans and bloggers. Seriously? I don’t care about Noah Syndergaard in 2016, I want playoff baseball in 2013!

Also, with AA’s stated desire to have eight major league “capable” starting pitchers on the roster, do you see him offering a minor league contract to Eric Bedard? Does AA have anything else percolating on the back burner? Keep up the great work, Griff!

Cory Snyder, Cambridge, ON

A. The future is now! Plus, I would not object to a January minor-league deal for Bedard with an invite to major-league camp. Not just because he’s Canadian, but because he has had major-league success and needs to re-establish himself somewhere after a series of injuries. He will be 34 years old by Opening Day and has not worked more than 130 MLB innings in a season since ’07, all as a starter.

Q. Mr. Griffin,

A very well written and balanced column on the trade. Nice to read a column like yours. We’re still big RA fans here and many of us Met fans are not lovers of the Yankees so go Jays! Hope the trade works well for all.

Bob Grossman, New York

A. The best deals work well for both sides. I think that the fact the Jays and Mets are looking at different windows of success in terms of evaluating the trade and if everyone remains healthy, it will be a trade that helps both franchises. No GM wants to be seen as an opportunist. They need to be thinking of the next trade and the next. A healthy d’Arnaud has a chance to be an exciting major-league contributor. By the way, many Jays fans are not lovers of the Yankees, either.

Q. Hi Richard,

This may sound ludicrous, but hear me out. If the Angels don’t know what to do with Vernon Wells now, why doesn’t AA call up the Angels and offer to take Wells back, on the condition, of course, that the Angels absorb the bulk of his salary? We don’t need him, no, but he’d be a solid bat off the bench, a potential upgrade over Lind at DH, and a reliable backup outfielder. I’d rather see Wells riding the bench in Toronto than in California, he’s a great guy and a fan favourite to boot, especially if we’re liberated of his contract. I realize he’s maybe not the talent he once was, but in 2013 we won’t need him to be a superstar, just productive when called upon. And on a team and in a city where he’s comfortable and no doubt keen to prove himself again, he might be a nice addition. It could be the smoothest move AA ever makes.

Matthew McKean, Ottawa

A. I really like the idea. Wells could be for the Jays what Andruw Jones was for the Yankees the last couple of seasons. He could be that clubhouse presence, the connection to the past with the ability to contribute a little to the present. We saw him in Anaheim last summer and his role was already diminished to the point where he was clearly not very happy even though he had a beautiful home in SoCal and great weather every day. His buddy Torii Hunter is gone and he is pushed far down on the outfield depth chart. It’s a great idea if the Angels would pay the huge majority of the remaining two years, $42 million for VW. That is a ridiculous contract. Who would have signed him to such a deal??

Q. Hi Richard,

Like every Blue Jay fan, I am very excited about the recent transactions and I am optimistic about the Jays chances in 2013. However, I was wondering about Jose Bautista and if the injury he had this summer will affect his swing and offensive output next season. What are your thoughts about this subject.

Thanks,

Spencer Atin, Toronto

A. That Bautista health thing is a fingers-crossed situation to watch carefully this spring. Even a slight loss of strength in the offending Joey Bats left wrist would be alarming. I don’t believe you can compare the type of wrist surgery to anyone else who has had it in terms of gauging its success. Rays’ outfielder Sam Fuld is the main predecessor in this form of “tendon-sheath” surgery. It’s nice that Sam came back to play, but the major issue for Bautista is — he’s Sam Fuld, goddamn it.

Blue Jays newest starter R.A. Dickey will be fan favourite: Griffin

Every aspect regarding the newest Blue Jays' starting pitcher, R.A. Dickey, seems slightly offbeat, curiously refreshing. Let's start with the righthander's circuitous career path from being a Rangers' first round draft selection in '96, to being labelled a career bust 10 years later, to discovering and harnessing the knuckleball, now, to a 2012 NL Cy Young Award an accepting a sudden career detour north of the border to Toronto with little fanfare.

The list of the unusual with Dickey continues. Consider the fact that the now-38-year-old Dickey was born without an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, as Jays' fans are aware, the villain in every Tommy John surgery. Move ahead to January 2012, with his climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa to raise money for a charity that attempts to free women from sexual slavery in India. Yes, this is a different breed of pro athlete.

Dickey clearly lives by his own guiding principles, which may help explain his unexpectedly brief and obviously civil negotiations regarding a contract extension with Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos on the weekend at his home in Nashville. It was always anticipated Dickey was in the financial driver's seat. The Mets had renewed him for $5 million for 2013. They had offered to extend him two more years for $20 million, a deal that would have kept him in New York for an average of $8.3 million, through 2015. 

That's clearly a bargain for a man that produced the numbers he has, the past three Mets seasons. The veteran fan-favourite capped a three-year comeback in '12 with an NL Cy Young Award, posting a 20-6 record with a 2.73 ERA in 223-2/3 innings.

On the heels of that success, with $5 million already in place, Dickey was reportedly asking the Mets for between $25-26 million for that two year extension both sides coveted. But that was too rich for a Mets franchise that had had ownerhsip issues and was itself not expecting to truly contend for the next three years, even with Dickey. Besides, at the end of it, he would have been 41. Instead, Mets' GM Sandy Alderson began to shop him.

The Jays were the ones. There was a buzz starting on Friday, but a horsehide cone of silence seemed to descend on the proceedings on Sunday. The deafening silence from inside the Mets' office, the usual source of leaks, indicated that the ball was in the Jays' court and that negotiations for an extension were proceeding behind Anthopoulos' self-imposed veil of secrecy. Nothing new. That's just the way he rolls.

But on Monday morning, even though as Fox Sports had reported on Sunday, the Jays had been given a 72-hour window of opportunity to satisfy Dickey's demands, earlier Monday The Star suggested that a deal had been struck and that all that remained was a physical exam at Jays' spring headquarters in Dunedin. The news was quickly confirmed by Ken Rosenthal of Fox, who expanded with the dollar values.

Surprisingly, the two-year extension was reportedly for just $25 million, the same amount Dickey had been asking for from the Mets. Clearly, Anthopoulos and the Jays expected that the cost of doing business would go up because he was changing franchises, that his price of staying in New York would be off the table, that his demands would go up, with a new team, new country, new taxes, etc. 

Instead, the Tuesday deadline became moot as Dickey stuck to his Mets' demands and Anthopoulos was quickly able to reach an agreement, tying the Cy winner to the Jays for three years, a total of $30 million. According to Fox, a signing bonus will be paid up front, possibly before rich guys start getting taxed at a higher rate by the U.S. federal government. In any case it didn't take long for Dickey and the Jays' GM to become friends.

The trade is expected to be announced late Monday or early Tuesday, a seven-player deal that had been rumoured since late last week. The trade will bring Dickey, major-league catcher Josh Thole and a prospect to the Jays for an attractive prospect package that includes Top 5 organization farmhands catcher Travis d'Arnaud and righthander Noah Syndergaard, major-league catcher John Buck and a third prospect.

Why would the Jays give up two such higly regarded youngsters? They receive a Cy Young pitcher who, even at an advanced age, has seen his numbers and his production increase in all statistical areas over the past three seasons as he learned how to maximize his repertoire. Consider, also, what the free-agent market has produced this winter.

Dickey will average $10 million per year. Zack Greinke was six years and $147 million with the Angels. Anibal Sanchez, five years and $80 million with the Tigers. Hiroki Kuroda, one year and $15 million with the Yankees. Ryan Dempster, two years and $26.5 million with the Red Sox.

Dickey is a bargain. Anthopoulos considers the Jays window of opportunity to be right here, right now led by a revamped rotation that will include Dickey, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero.

The 20-year-old Syndergaard, at A-Lansing in 2012, will likely not be a contributor in the majors during that period, even if he goes on to a strong career after that. As for d'Arnaud he was the centrepiece that the Mets insisted on and you don't get quality without giving up quality.

It was suggested in this space over the summer, in a constructive way, that if the Jays continued to insist on hoarding prospects and building for the future with a powerhouse farm system, pleasing fans in cities like Vegas, Manchester and Dunedin, with mediocrity in Toronto, it was suggested that Jose Bautista would become impatient and Anthopoulos, at the end of 2013 the Jays might end up with another Roy Halladay situation, wherein your star was promised a contender around him when he signed his previous contract to stay loyal to the Jays and you failed to deliver. No such worry now.

The odd man out in a veteran rotation is lefthander J.A. Happ, who, unless someone is dealt, becomes a swingman in a deep, hard-throwing bullpen -- filling the role of Carlos Villanueva. The Jays' goal is to have a major-league capable inventory of eight starting pitchers. Happ would be No. 6, with others like Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek returning from surgery as the summer progresses.

Dickey became the third Mets pitcher to win a Cy Young Award, joining Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden. At 37-years-old when the 2012 season ended, he was the third oldest to capture Cy, following Roger Clemens, 42, of the Yankees and Gaylord Perry, 40, of the Padres.

He becomes the fourth Cy Young winner to be traded before his next season. The others were David Cone to the Jays from the Royals in '95, Pedro Martinez to the Red Sox from the Expos in '98 and Roger Clemens from the Jays to the Yankees in '99. Notice the consistent Canadian angle.

Dickey was not a one-hit wonder. For his three seasons since joining the Mets in 2010, his performance and his statistics have improved each season as he learned to harness his two speeds of knuckleball, mixing it with a mid-80s fastball and a changeup that keeps hitters guessing. But his bread-and-butter is still the knuckleball. And no chance of Tommy John.

The Mets always knew that Dickey's best before date would likely expire before they were ready to contend. At the meetings, they extended David Wright and have control of the face of the franchise third baseman for eight years, but Dickey's prime is now. Who knows when he's 41.

The Jays' farm system is deep in pitching prospects. D'Arnaud was a valued piece of their future, but now that leadership falls to incumbent J.P. Arencibia who has always embraced Toronto and is under control for at least the next four seasons. His importance has increased substantially.

Anthopoulos prides himself on never chasing a dream with money he had not planned on spending. When the Jays were finalists for young Cuban defector, Aroldis Chapman several years ago, before anyone knew they were true players, Anthopoulos had ownership's go-ahead to make the deal with the 20-year-old lefthander with the 100 m.p.h. fastball. But when the Reds upped the bonus ante at the last minute, he told Jays' ownership that despite the green light, he was out. Self-discipline.

The negotations with Dickey ended successfully at an affordable rate, even less than the GM might have been expecting to pay when he flew out of Toronto to meet his man.

The 23-year-old d'Arnaud, was the key player for the Mets. The Jays would not give up Anthony Gose as the second prospect. Syndergaard is the second of the A-Lansing Big-3 to be traded this winter. Lefthander Justin Nicolino was dealt to the Marlins in the 12-man November blockbuster.

Both prospects were rated among the Top 5 in the Jays' system. The Jays remain deep in minor-league starting pitchers and have managed to hang onto the big-armed righthander Aaron Sanchez, who may be the best of the highly touted of the Lugnut trio.

Spring training will have a different feel when Jays' camp opens in 57 days.

Blue Jays have added exclamation point with R.A. Dickey trade: Griffin

A horsehide cone of silence had seemed to descend over final day of negotiations between the Blue Jays and their highly-coveted Mets' righthander R.A. Dickey, as the two sides struggled to reach agreement on a two-year extension that would then make official a seven-player trade that had been rumoured between the two clubs since Friday. It is believed the blockbuster, multi-player trade will be announced as early as Monday night.

The trade will see Dickey, catcher Josh Thole and a prospect come to the Jays for an attractive package that includes Top 5 organization prospects catcher Travis d'Arnaud and righthander Noah Syndergaard, major-league catcher John Buck and a third prospect.  

The delay in making the announcement was that the going-for-it-now Jays were given 72 hours to reach agreement on an extension, with the knuckleballing 38-year-old Cy Young Award winner. That negotiating window closes at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal who was the first to report that the specifics of the deal had been agreed to, on Saturday afternoon.

Sources report they likely will not need the deadline.

As reflected in his hands-on style, Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos prefers to meet players face-to-face whenever an important crossroads arrives. Anthopoulos is believed to have met with Dickey at his home. Reportedly, the Jays have been able to agree on the extension with Dickey, likely for more than the $26 million, two years, he had been seeking from the Mets, but still a bargain for three years compared to recent free agents Anibal Sanchez, Zack Greinke and, assuming Dickey's higher expected return, than Ryan Dempster.  

Dickey would join a Blue Jays rotation that includes holdovers, Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero, plus newcomers from an earlier blockbuster with the Marlins, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson. The odd man out would be lefthander J.A. Happ, who would become a swingman in a deep, hard-throwing bullpen, filling the role of Carlos Villanueva. The Jays' goal is to have a major-league capable inventory of eight starting pitchers. Happ is No. 6. 

Dickey became the third Mets pitcher to win a Cy Young Award, joining Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden. At 37-years-old when the 2012 season ended, he was the third oldest to capture Cy, following Roger Clemens, 42, of the Yankees and Gaylord Perry, 40, of the Padres. He would become the fourth Cy Young winner to be traded before his next season. The others were David Cone to the Jays from the Royals in '95, Pedro Martinez to the Red Sox from the Expos in '98 and Roger Clemens from the Jays to the Yankees in '99.

Dickey was not a one-hit wonder. For his three seasons since joining the Mets in 2010, his performance and his statistics have improved each season as he learned to harness his two speeds of knuckleball, mixing it with a mid-80s fastball and a changeup that keeps hitters guessing. But his bread-and-butter is the knuckleball. 

The Mets, in October, had already picked up a very reasonable club option of $5 million for 2013 and had been hoping to extend him further with an offer of $20 million for two more years, through 2015. It was, then, at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, that negotiations became truly intense.

Dickey, a free-spirit with an eclectic past, was asking the Mets for $26 million for two seasons that would have added up to $31 million for the next three seasons. That seems reasonable, but was too rich for the rebuilding Mets. They extended David Wright and have control of the face of the franchise for eight years, but Dickey's prime is now. 

The Jays, for their part, have been loading up for a run that will extend at least three years, the length of Jose Bautista's remaining contract, along with Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes and others. Syndergaard, 20, would not have fit into that window.  

The Mets have stuck to their guns and other GM's were invited to make their best offer. The Jays' farm system is deep in pitching prospects. D'Arnaud was a valued piece of their future, but now that falls to incumbent J.P. Arencibia who has embraced Toronto and is under control for at least the next four seasons.

Face it, even with the knuckleballer winning 20 games in 2012, the Mets won just 74 games and have many significant holes to fill. GM Sandy Alderson, who was the architect of the A's in the late '80s, the man behind the curtain for Moneyball, let it be known that Dickey was available for the proper combination of prospects. The Jays, Rangers, O's and Angels are believed to have showed interest. But, a Dickey extension was always the key.  

The Blue Jays' aggressive young GM Anthopoulos prides himself on never chasing a dream with money that he had not planned on spending. When the Jays were finalists for young Cuban defector, Aroldis Chapman, Anthopoulos had the go-ahead to make the deal with the 20-year-old lefthander with the 100 m.p.h. fastball. But when the Reds upped the bonus ante at the last minute, he told Jays' ownership that despite the green light, he was out. 

Sources are now saying that negotiations with Dickey have ended successfully at an affordable rate and that the next step before an announcement can be made is for Jays' medical staff to examine the righthander at their spring training headquarters in Florida.

The 23-year-old d'Arnaud, was the key player for the Mets as the centrepiece of the trade, accompanied by highly regarded righthander Syndergaard, the second of the A-Lansing Big-3 to be traded this winter. Lefthander Justin Nicolino was dealt to the Marlins in the 12-man November blockbuster. Both prospects were rated among the Top 5 in the Jays' farm system. D'Arnaud is seen as a major-league starter sometime in 2013. The Jays remain deep in minor-league starting pitchers and have managed to hang onto righthander Aaron Sanchez, who may be the best of the highly touted Lugnut trio.

Spring training will have a different feel when Jays' camp opens in 57 days. 

 

 

Blue Jays mailbag: Baseball has truly become a year-around newsmaker

A reader asks whether Jays fans are underestimating catcher John Buck in his return to Toronto. (Drew Hallowell/Getty Images photo)

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The baseball Winter Meetings have come and gone and clearly Blue Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos is not a big fan of the process, unofficially threatening to boycott next year in Orlando because it’s too busy and he’s competing with too many other GMs and the volume of information is deafening.

But it would be a mistake for Anthopoulos to overlook the P.R. benefits to major-league baseball and to his own team. Baseball, by moving free agency up to three days after the end of the World Series at the end of October, has become truly a year-around newsmaker. That’s huge for the sport. The winter meetings have ended and all of a sudden Zack Greinke signs with the Dodgers and baseball is preparing for another wave of free agent signings now that the bar has been set for starting pitchers.

Of course maybe the fact that there’s no hockey has lent high-definition to baseball’s big picture. Nevertheless Anthopoulos should reconsider his stance and realize how much he actually accomplished in terms of setting up future trades in Nashville. Even though most of the moves at the meetings were free agent signings and player agents dominate the lobbies, AA’s trade with the Marlins in November has set the tone for the off-season. It’s not often the Jays have had as much of an influence on the way things have unfolded in the majors.

On to the mailbag.

Q. Hey Richard,

I understand AA’s wish to keep Jeff Mathis as a defensive catcher and someone to manage the young pitchers, but I’m also wondering if people aren’t underestimating John Buck. Most of the knock on him seems to be (a) payroll, and (b) his low batting average. The payroll is irrelevant at this point — it is what it is and was part of the deal. As for the batting average, I believe I read that the Marlins’ new stadium is more of a pitcher’s park than the Rogers Centre. If that’s true, then we might see Buck once again have a career year, or was he just not making contact at all?

The other thing I’d like to ask about is R.A. Dickey. Given AA’s inscrutability, and that the Jays are rumoured to be interested, that would seem to negate the possibility, but it seems to me that having a knuckleballer in the mix to screw with batters’ timing would be great, do you think AA would be interested in trading with the Mets? I mean Dickey is 38, but knucklers also tend to have longer careers. Finally, any thoughts on Canada’s chances at the Baseball Classic?

Thanks for the insights, as always.

Richard Worzel, Toronto

A. Nobody ever suggested that the $6 million and one year for Buck was a problem in the deal. The original trade report was that the Marlins sent over $4 million in cash to the Jays. Then it became $8 million and finally when asked directly, Anthopoulos suggested it was more than $8 million, so the difference between the salaries of the swapped backup catchers is meaningless. The only thing that it seemed the Marlins wanted was the upgrade defensively with Mathis as they head into a season with a very young rotation. Buck is tall for a catcher and is not as proficient as Mathis at blocking pitches in the dirt, plus Mathis is locked up for a couple of years and is a Florida native.

As for Marlins Park being labelled a “pitchers’ park,” it’s kind of early after one season to say that. The reason may be that the Fish weren’t a very good hitting team overall in the first year of their new home while their pitching was stronger. Check back on the rep of the park after three years of play, after Henderson Alvarez has hung a few dozen changeups for bombs.

Buck’s role? As long as J.P. Arencibia is with the Jays and as long as he is healthy, it will be difficult for Buck to have another career year in 2013. Look at Buck’s final season in Kansas City as an indicator of his likely 2013 role. He played 59 games that season, with eight homers and 36 RBIs. The last time he was here, AA had to promise a starting role all season just to get him to sign for one season. Hey, remember, there’s a J.P. Arencibia Bobblehead giveaway on July 7 and you don’t do the head thing for just anybody. Of course, the caveat is that since every bobblehead I’ve ever seen is so generic and so facially inaccurate, it could be anyone, if Alex did happen to trade J.P. before July 7, they could just paint in a “4” ahead of the “9” and call it Brad Lincoln Bobblehead Day.

Then there’s your question of R.A. Dickey and if the Jays should be in on him. I say yes. Apparently, in addition to the $5 million for 2013, he is asking for $26 million for two extended years, meaning the total value would be $31 for the next three seasons. Even if the Jays were coerced into bumping that number because he’s coming to another team, another country, even if the bump was to $35 million for three years, I would consider it if I was AA if the price was Colby Rasmus or J.P. Arencibia, not both and not Anthony Gose and Arencibia as was rumoured. I would also ask for a negotiating window to ensure Dickey would take the three years before I made the trade.

As for Canada’s chances in the World Baseball Classic in March. I can see Canada getting out of the first round this year as a top-two and moving on from a group with Italy, Mexico and the USA. Canada has a score to settle with Italy from ’09. The second round is a Western hemisphere thing in Miami and if the Jays pitch well in the second round and advance to the final round, it would be a hugely successful tournament. Canada at all levels of Greg Hamilton’s national baseball program, has been on a roll lately. One of my favourite moments as a Star writer was in 2006 when Canada beat the U.S. in Phoenix and in the middle of a stunned press box, Bob Elliott of the Sun and I stood up and high-fived.

Q. Richard,

What do you think of the hiring of John Gibbons, who they fired just four years ago? Boggles my mind. Seems to me he was essentially fired because he alienated the team by his aggressive nature. Hiring Gibbons is an overcorrection in my mind to the issues of the past year, way too far to the other extreme, and likely to produce the same result. And somehow I can’t believe that Gibbons chose DeMarlo Hale, as your article says, as bench coach, since he has been coveted by the Jays for the last two years. Seems to me this is AA and Beeston’s choice and Gibbons is going along with it. Hopefully Hale will balance off Gibbons’ approach. I think his hire is key and gives me faith again after I lost it when they hired Gibbons back.

Bruce Hutchison, Winnipeg

A. If you believe that a good manager can win about two games and a bad manager can lose approximately four via his in-game strategies, then Gibbons surrounded by a solid veteran team like the Jays has suddenly become acceptable and not an obstacle to contending. Gibbons could be like Cito Gaston with his Jays teams of the early ’90s. The difference between Cito and Gibby is that Gibbons rep is that he has a feel for the bullpen and managing late in games.

Anthopoulos is very comfortable with Gibbons in terms of being able to call him on the phone and suggest a pending player move, comfortable in terms of walking into his office right after a game with both of them venting freely after a tough loss and comfortable in terms of getting a solid report on the game from his manager when he is not with the team. AA trusts his new manager’s player evaluation skills from when he was here before and AA was an assistant GM and was, in fact, originally going to hire him for pro scouting before being hit by the manager-lightning-bolt of inspiration.

Often hiring a new manager is all about the polar opposite of the old manager in important ways. In this case, by hiring Gibbons, Anthopoulos is subconsciously admitting he was not comfortable with a Type A personality like Farrell and his ambitious plan to return in triumph to Boston like Caesar to Rome.

I would not have hired John Gibbons, myself, but AA has been very convincing in explaining why a guy who was fired four years ago and has not been seriously considered as a manager by any of the other 29 teams in the majors, is now the right guy for the job. I find it funny that in two stints as manager of the Jays, Gibbons has never actually applied for the job. It’s easy to accept the move because it’s hard not to like John Gibbons. Even Shea Hillenbrand in conversation with the Star’s Brendan Kennedy, seemed happy for Gibbons, showing much respect despite the fact that the former DH/3B was one of the main events in Gibbons heavyweight career with the Jays.

DeMarlo Hale is a good hire and will be the man who organizes spring training for Gibbons. He said he knows Hale from managing against him in the Mets system and from being a roommate somewhere in their background. Let’s see, Gibbons was a roommate of Billy Beane and Beane was a roommate of J.P. Ricciardi and Gibbons and Ricciardi roomed together. Now Hale and Gibbons. The next time a coaching or managerial position with the Jays opens up I’m going back and looking for old hotel rooming lists. Cherchez le roomie.

Q. I’m curious to hear your opinion on the two recent Red Sox signings — Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino. To me, while they are both pretty good players, they are neither pieces the Sox can build around, nor are they good enough to make the Sox contenders in the short term. It just feels like they are building toward the middle. Is this simply the Red Sox trying to make their team less terrible during their rebuilding phase?

Jonathan Maile, Toronto

A. The Red Sox appear to not really have a building plan since last summer when they traded a bunch of salary and name players to the Dodgers for prospects and James Loney who they let leave as a free agent. As you point out, Napoli and Victorino are not players who you build a championship team around, but the two similar contracts — three years and $39 and $38 million seem not too cumbersome and even tradable at some point. For a team with the sort of revenue the Bosox possess, the two new deals are not bad contracts. But, really, they had Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford as first baseman and outfielder before they were traded to the Dodgers. When all four men are healthy, are Napoli and Victorino a better option? Personally, I would rather have the two who got away if I want to win.

Napoli, 31, is going to primarily be a first baseman for the Sox and should be able to produce solid power numbers at Fenway Park. He must have believed that his breakout as a catcher in the post-season of 2011 with the Rangers would make his career, but he failed to follow up on it, due to injuries and inconsistent performance at the plate in ’12. His offensive numbers across the board were down significantly as he entered free-agency.

Victorino, 32, is a charming guy with a catchy nickname, The Flyin’ Hawaiian. His career on-base percentage, .341, is not really top-of-the-order worthy. As long as Jacoby Ellsbury is still around, Victorino is expected to handle the difficult right field at Fenway, which manager John Farrell suggests is best handled by another centre-fielder. Victorino is a three-time Gold Glove winner with solid base-stealing ability. He’s a good complementary player. The Red Sox must still have other moves in mind, otherwise it’s just a case, as you suggest, of being “less terrible during their rebuilding phase.”

Q. With Atlanta’s apparent interest in Emilio Bonifacio, is there a possibility the Jays make a deal for Dan Uggla?

Joel Hardy, Calgary

A. At one time, the Jays and GM Alex Anthopoulos were interested in signing Uggla as a free agent, but he chose the Braves and then AA used the Uggla contract as a model for signing Jose Bautista to his extension. Do you really want to add $39 million for the next three seasons (hmm, those numbers sound familiar) for a second baseman whose range is now below average and whose OPS decreased each of the last three years. He is a low batting average, high strikeout hitter, prone to streakiness and will earn $13 million in ’13. Even if it was a possibility I wouldn’t do it. Catcher John Buck insists that Bonifacio can start in the majors at more than one position, including second base.

Q. Years ago we used to get regular updates on minor leaguers in winter ball leagues. Do we not cover this anymore?

Allan Robertson, London

A. Hey, the Winter Leagues aren’t what they used to be. The Arizona Fall League has become the more popular destination for top prospects, players that are within a year or two of their major league club. There are no revolutions and kidnappings in Scottsdale. It’s convenient. The AFL season takes place in October-November in the Phoenix area and the scouting of player progress and development and the control of at-bats and innings pitched is easier for MLB teams.

As for the traditional winter leagues, for instance, the Jays, this winter, thus far, have nine position players and 11 pitchers listed as playing in the Caribbean winter leagues — Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico — and four prospects, including Toronto-native Marcus Knecht, in the Australian Winter League. The only four Caribbean League players that appeared in the majors in 2012 include Moises Sierra, Bobby Korecky, Jeremy Jeffress and Esmil Rogers. The Caribbean teams are stocked mainly with native Jays’ players who are still young and far down the minor-league system. Another factor in what seems to be less coverage is that The Sporting News used to be known as The Bible of Baseball and they used to have a weekly section for winter league statistics. No more.

Q. Hi Richard,

I’ve left comments about this on numerous sites and I’d like to read your response on this matter. I think it’s crucial to have at least two solid LHP in the pen that can get guys out. Grandpa Oliver is taking forever to decide if he’ll play and Aaron Loup was good but he might have a Jesse Carlson-like second season (disaster) and Brett Cecil can’t really be counted on. AA hasn’t mentioned LHP for the pen but do you think he’s overlooking this situation?

Rasmus’s name hasn’t been mentioned in a long while which would indicate to me that he could be on the move. Could this happen? Lastly, do you think AA might surprise MLB again with say . . . signing Hamilton to a 4 year +2-3 year options?

Thanks Richard and happy holidays!

Kam H, Richmond Hill

A. I can never understand. There often seems to be a pessimistic undertone to many conversations with Jays fans. For instance, to suggest that Loup “might have” a second season like Jesse Carlson is based on nothing but fear and fatalism. Loup made huge strides in 2012 after the Jays and minor-league pitching coach Dane Johnson changed his delivery to make it tougher on southpaw swingers with the specific goal of making him a left-handed relief specialist instead of a struggling starter.

Whether Oliver decides to pitch for one more season is not a major concern for Anthopoulos. He met the 41-year-old father of two boys face-to-face in Texas prior to the winter meetings and was assured that it’s the Jays or retirement and is based strictly on family concerns. He insists that it’s not a ploy to get traded to the Rangers, near his home. But if he decides to retire, the Jays will not panic. They will give Cecil a chance at spring training to strut his lefty-specialist stuff and will look at other options, including Evan Crawford. Don’t forget, Luis Perez is coming back from injury and may be ready some time during the ’13 season. Plus, there will still be plenty of LH relief options on the free agent market whenever Oliver makes up his mind.

As for Rasmus, you’re right, the fact that his name has not been mentioned publicly in trade rumours means he may, indeed, be in play on the swap market. That’s the way Anthopoulos operates and it has been a solid indicator in the past. If Rasmus does stay, an indicator of AA’s intent will be whether they extend his contract before the season starts. As far as the free-agent Hamilton is concerned, I would say the Jays are not there and have never been in that picture. The risk/reward is very high for anything beyond four years and there are those within the Jays’ organization that are not high on Hamilton being able to hold up physically into his late 30s given his past history of personal and substance abuse.

Q. Howdy Richard,

It’s been one of the most interesting Jays’ off-seasons in decades and fans should be looking forward to the 2013 season. One nagging concern is Adam Lind’s bat. When he does hit well, and it’s been a while, he drives the breaking ball to the opposite field and pulls the fastball, like good hitters should. However, in recent years, I see Lind standing far off the plate and constantly chasing breaking balls or off-speed pitches. If Lind isn’t swinging the bat well in spring training, do you see Encarnacion spending more time at first?

Paul Rudan, Campbell River, B.C.

A. Encarnacion is the Jays’ first baseman, with or without Lind swinging the bat well at spring training. Lind came back in the second half after a trip to AAA-Las Vegas and even hit better against left-handers upon his return. The new hitting coach Chad Mottola seemed to work well with Lind. However, my guess is that the Jays wil be looking for a team that would take Lind and his $5 million contract off their hands by the start of spring training. The return for the Jays would be minimal, as long as the new club takes on the entire salary. Otherwise, if he’s still there with the Jays on Opening Day, I could see a Lind/Rajai Davis platoon at DH.

Q. Mr Griffin,

Long-time reader and I hope to see you in Dunedin some year! My question is regarding Freddy Sanchez. I haven’t been able to find any information about whether he is finally healthy but if he is I wonder if he’s a good fit for the Jays. He could be the starting second baseman and bat ninth and DH against tough lefties . . . thoughts?

Thank you,

Patrick Moloney, Toronto

A. Freddy Sanchez is 34 years old and in 2012 played just three games for A-San Jose in the Giants system before being shut down and undergoing back surgery. He has played just 282 MLB games since 2009 when he was an all-star second baseman with the Pirates. He played 111 games in 2010 for the Giants but was their starting second baseman for the World Series run. The California native at this point would be a huge risk and a reclamation project for any team and even though his career numbers are decent and he is a free agent, he would have to be signed as a minor-league project for any team that would choose to do so. Prior to the back issues, in ’11 he also had surgery for a dislocated left shoulder. The Jays are in more of a hurry to win.

Q. Hi Richard,

I like the new clout that is in the top 4-5 of the jays rotation but I don’t see where it goes from there. I believe that the Jays need starting depth that can both be kept in AAA or as long relief in the pen until needed. We saw guys like Aaron Laffey and Carlos Villanueva do it last year and Pete Walker in years past, but I was wondering if you see the Jays being able to fill that role with players like Brett Cecil, Jesse Litsch and Dustin McGowan or if you think they need to find something on the market?

John Roszell, Princeton, NJ

AND

Q. Hey Richard,

I love your columns. I wanted to ask that with Alex wanting to shore up the starting rotation and adding depth to the bullpen, how do you feel about re-signing Carlos Villanueva, who has been one of the most consistent performers the last few years, and can address both issues in case of injury?

A. The thing about Anthopoulos is he doesn’t just say things about players unless he means them, because he feels that once he says something on the record, then his word is his bond. That, according to AA himself, is why he seemed so down on Carlos Villanueva’s future as a starter with the Jays and is why Villanueva was so upset at the lack of encouragement from the Jays. With three months behind them, AA checked in with a phone call to Villanueva after the Marlins deal and they talked things out. Villanueva is not seeing a lot of interest as a starter on the free agent market. Two years ago, recall, the right-handed swingman joined the rotation in June and was DL’ed in August with tired arm syndrome. Then last season, he joined the rotation again and faded again. Carlos liked the moves the Jays made so he is a possibility to return to his role with the Jays.

The thing about AA’s philosophy, his goal of having major-league capable starters 8-9 deep in the system with a reserve at Triple-A is that if they’re good enough to start in the majors, why would they settle for non-guaranteed MLB money at Triple-A. You will always end up with guys like Jesse Chavez and Robert Coello at Triple-A. That’s why one MLB-veteran swingman is important on the major-league staff and one of the best the Jays have had in recent years is Villanueva. If the best offer he is going to get is as a long-man in the bullpen, then the Jays should offer and he should come back.